Club News Sheet – No. 256 

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 30th Sept 2007

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                 

It is best to use my home number to contact me unless I am at the bridge club.

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

         
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Mon 24th              1st    Per-Ake & Sally             58%         2nd Bob & Dave                         57%

Wed 26th              1st   Bob & Sally                   61%         2nd Gerry & Per-Ake                  61%

Fri    28st              1st    Phil & Tomas                 61%         2nd  Bob & Dave                         55%

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 1♠, what do you bid?

                             

♠ AK63           ♠ A7543                                 

♥ 8754            ♥ AJ1085        What, if anything, do you open with Hand B?

♦ K6              ♦ J9

♣ Q85             ♣ 3

 

 

Obey the Law                                                       Board 13 from Monday 24th 

     

Dealer:             ♠ Q92                                            West          North         East            South

North               ♥ QJ85                                          -                pass           pass           1♦

both vul            ♦ -                                                1♥              pass           2♥    (1)      dbl     (2)

                        ♣ 1087643                                    pass           pass           3♥    (3)      all pass

 

♠ J65                     N             ♠ 8743               (1)  This is correct – always raise partner with 3

♥ 109762          W    E          ♥ A43                      card support.

♦ J104                  S              ♦ K9852            (2)  Take-out

♣ AK                                     ♣ J                     (3)  This is silly – it’s one above the Law when

                        ♠ AK10                                         vulnerable against a partscore.

♥ K                                               

♦ AQ763                                     

♣ Q952                                        

 

And what happened? Even though 3♥ was not doubled West went minus four for 400 away and a poor score on a partscore deal.

The bottom lines: -

-     Obey the Law; East needs 4 ♥’s to bid 3♥ at (4).

 The Jump Cue Bid overcall                                Board 20 from Monday 24th 

 

I wrote a page on the website about the jump cue cid overcall a few months back and subsequently noted that Google took months to find it. They have finally found it and it’s listed at number 1. Also, my recent blog article on it is at number 2. It makes one wonder if it’s worth having a website if blogs get indexed immediately and web pages take two months.

     

Dealer:             ♠ KQ                                             West          North         East(B)       South

West                ♥ 42                                               pass           pass           1♥    (1)      3♥      (2)

both vul            ♦ A8432                                        4♥              4NT (3)      dbl   (4)      pass   (5)

                        ♣ 8754                                          pass           5♣   (6)      all pass

 

♠ 1062                   N             ♠ A7543                 

♥ KQ976           W    E          ♥ AJ1085               

♦ K765                  S              ♦ J9                         

♣ 2                                        ♣ 3                         

                        ♠ J98                                            

♥ 3                                          

♦ Q10                                          

♣ AKQJ1096                               

 

(1)  What did you open with this East hand B in this week’s quiz? When 5-5 in the majors, you should open 1♠ and then bid ♥’s next go.

(2)  The jump cue bid overcall, it promises a completely solid minor and asks partner to bid 3NT if he has a ♥ stop.  The ♠ and ♦ suit should really be a bid better for the bid.

(3)  North did not understand partner’s jump cue bid overcall and for some reason thought that he had both minors. Anyway, North bid 4NT now in the asking partner to bid his best minor. Had North understood the 3♥ bid he should bid 5♣ as that is obviously partner’s suit.

(4)  A totally unnecessary double.

(5)  South believes that North has a ♥ stop and is willing to play in 4NT.

(6)  Thanks to East’s double, North can now bid the correct contract.

 

And what happened? 5♣ made exactly. 4NT would have gone four down.

The bottom lines: -

-         When 5-5 in the majors, open 1♠.

-         Do not double the opponents if they are in a silly contract and have a decent place to run.

 

 

Dave’s Column   Here is this week’s Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

 

West                East                  You are West, playing in 4♠ after North has bid ♣’s.

♠ AKQ976      ♠ J10               North cashes the ♣AKQ and switches to the ♦K, how

♥ A42              ♥ K86              do you play the hand?

♦ 10                 ♦ A9862       

♣ J74               ♣ 1092


Dave’s Column answer                Board 4 from Wednesday 26th

 

   

Dealer:             ♠ 32                                         You are West, declarer in 4♠. North cashes the

West                ♥ J7                                         ♣AKQ and switches to the ♦K. You win this with

Both vul           ♦ KQJ9                                    the ♦A, how should you continue?

                        ♣ AKQ83                               

You have 9 top tricks and the only hope of a 10th

♠ AKQ976           N             ♠ J10                 trick is to set up a long ♦. So at trick 5 you should

♥ A42               W    E          ♥ K86                ruff a ♦, play a trump to the ♠J and ruff another ♦.         

♦ 10                     S              ♦ A9862            Go back to dummy again with the ♠10,  

♣ J74                                     ♣ 1092              a 3rd ♦ ruff sets up the last ♦ in dummy. So draw

                        ♠ 854                                       the last trump and the ♥K is the entry to this

♥ Q10953                                winning ♦.

♦ 753                                      Can the defense do anything to prevent declarer

♣ 65                                        from making his contract?

 

Yes, North has to try to remove an entry to dummy. It is not possible to dislodge the ♥K but a trump switch at trick 4 defeats the contract.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♠ was bid just once and went one down doubled. 3♠ made exactly at another table and North went one or two down playing in a minor at the other two tables.   

 

 

The Club Championships       The current standings for the top 5 in each competition are: -

Gold Cup = Best 30                 Silver plate = Best 10                Bronze medal = Best 5

 

1826.4  Jan v Koss                  666.8  Janne Roos                    350.4  Janne Roos

1816.8  Janne Roos                  654.9  Jan v Koss                    343.2  Bengt Malmgren

1812.3  Dave Cutler                 644.2  Dave Cutler                   340.3  Jan v Koss

1760.9  Bob Pelletier                644.1  Bengt Malmgren            332.9  Paul Savelkral

1724.5  Phil Lovell                   636.7  Paul Savelkral                332.0  Lewis Berg

 

 

Dave’s 2nd Column   Here is another Dave input, this time it’ about defence.

 

                  N         ♠ J3                       North opens 1♠, you (East) overcall 2♥ and South bids 3♠

              W    E      ♥ AKQ963            which North raises to 4♠. You lead the ♥A and partner

S          ♦ 1095                  plays an encouraging ♥4 (playing upside-down attitude).

♣ 98                     You continue with the ♥K and partner plays the ♥8.

♠ 9764                                    You know that both partner and declarer are now out of

♥ J103                                     ♥’s, so what card do you play now and why?

♦ QJ3                                      

♣ AK7


Dave’s 2nd Column answer        Board 16 from Wednesday 26th

 

   

Dealer:             ♠ AK1082                                     West          North         East            South

West                ♥ 72                                               pass           1♠              2♥              3♠  (1)

Both vul            ♦ K6                                              pass           4♠              all pass

                        ♣ QJ62                                   

(1)  This South hand, with 4 trumps, is worth a

♠ Q5                     N             ♠ J3                         raise to 3♠. If you play 3♠ here as pre-emptive

♥ 84                   W    E          ♥ AKQ963              then bid 3♥ to show a sound raise to 3♠

♦ A8742                S              ♦ 1095                    or better.

♣ 10543                                ♣ 98                 

                        ♠ 9764                                     Here’s what Dave’s book says about the play: -

♥ J103                                          

♦ QJ3                                      

♣ AK7                                    

 

“It’s declarer’s lucky day, isn’t it? When he plays the ♠A and ♠K, the suit will break 2-2 and he won’t lose a trump trick. That’s very true if he has an early chance to draw trumps. But if East can lead a suit that both West and North can ruff it’s different. If West ruffs with the ♠Q this will force the ♠A or ♠K from declarer. East’s ♠J will score a trick.

The technique is known as an ‘uppercut’. Let’s follow the play as it could happen.

East cashes the ♥A and ♥K, what should West’s reaction be when East leads the ♥Q at trick three? You may think that he should ruff with the ♠Q, attempting an uppercut, but that would cost a trick is declarer has another ♥. The answer is that East has to lead a low ♥ at trick three – inviting West to ruff with his highest trump.”

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♠ was bid three times and made on two occasions. It went down when Ivy was West and trumped her partner’s ♥Q with the ♠Q.

 

 

 

 

Dave’s 3rd Column   Here’s another Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

 

West                East                  You are East, playing in 6♠ with silent opposition.

♠ AK63           ♠ QJ1072        South leads the ♦J, how do you play the hand?

♥ 8754             ♥ AK93          

♦ K6                ♦ A               

♣ Q85             ♣ AJ10

                             


Dave’s 3rd Column answer               Board 14 from Wednesday 26th

   

Dealer:             ♠ 954                                             West(A)       North       East            South

East                  ♥ J6                                               -                 -                 1♠              pass

Love all            ♦ Q8532                                        2♣   (1)      pass           2♥    (2)      pass

                        ♣ 963                                            4♥    (2)      pass           4NT           pass

5♦              pas             6♥              all pass

♠ AK63                N             ♠ QJ1072         

♥ 8754               W    E          ♥ AK93             (1)  What did you bid with this West hand A in 

♦ K6                      S              ♦ A                         this week’s quiz? You have values for game

♣ Q85                                   ♣ AJ10                   but a direct 4♠ is a weak bid. Unless you

                        ♠ 8                                                play the Swiss convention in conjunction

♥ Q104                                          with Jacoby 2NT it’s best to bid a minor

♦ J10974                                        and then raise partner to 4♠ next go. I don’t

♣ K742                                         like to bid Jacoby 2NT here as I prefer a much stronger hand for the Jacoby 2NT.

(2)   E-W play 2/1 so there’s no need to jump.

(3)   Playing 2/1 this shows a weaker hand than 3♥

 

Now Dave’s book’s problem was the play in 6♠, but that is without me as West. You probably know me by now – go for the 4-4 fit, so Lewis actually ended up in 6♥ rather than 6♠ but the play is very similar. Anyway, let’s look at the book’s play in 6♠: -

 

                        ♠ -                                           You win the ♦J lead and draw 3 rounds of trumps

                        ♥ -                                           (♠’s). You have a ♥ loser and maybe a ♣ loser.

                        ♦ Q8                                        You should not take the ♣ finesse unless it’s     

                        ♣ 963                                      absolutely necessary. The correct play is to

                                                                        play the ♦K discarding a ♣ and then play the ♥A,

♠ 3                        N             ♠ J10                 ♥K and another ♥.

♥ 8                     W    E          ♥ 3                     That leaves this position when South wins the

♦ -                          S              ♦ -                      3rd round of ♥’s with the ♥Q. South is end-played;

♣ Q85                                   ♣ AJ                  he must either lead into the ♣AJ or else give

                        ♠ -                                           you a ruff and discard.       

♥ -                                           Had North held the ♥Q then you would then    

♦ 109                                       have to take the ♣ finesse. 

♣ K74                                          

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? Lewis played the hand in 6♥ and made it on the lines give above. Other scores were 6♥-1, 6♠-1 and 3NT+2. The bottom lines.

-         Understand the strip and end-play, it often avoids needing to take an unnecessary finesse.

 

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    2♣. The hand is worth game but 3♠ is not forcing and 4♠ is generally played as a pre-emptive bid. So bid 2♣ and raise partner to 4♠ next go to show a sound raise rather than a pre-emptive one. If you play Jacoby 2NT then I guess that that is an option but I would like a much stronger hand (about 15+).

Hand B:     1♠. It’s 20 for the rule of 20 and well worth an opening as it has both majors and has an easy (2♥) rebid. I note that somebody opened 1♥ - that’s a poor choice as you may well miss a ♠ fit.