Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 331

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My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 16^th March 2009

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Mon 9^th N-S 1^st Janne & Hans 62% 2^nd Eddie & Tom 54%

E-W 1^st Bob Short & Per And.. 67% 2^nd Jacky & John 54%

Wed 11^th N-S 1^st Eddie & Janne 64% 2^nd Lars G & Lars B 61%

E-W 1^st Ivy & Terry 59% 2^nd Gene & Paul 54%

Fri 13^th 1^st Ian W & Johan 60% 2^nd Mike & Tom 59%

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Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hands A and B it’s the same problem. Both vulnerable.

You open 1♦ in 1^st seat and partner responds 1♥. RHO then

♠ 3 ♠ 3 bids a weak 2♠, what do you do?

♥ AJ ♥ AJ

♦ AQ732 ♦ A8732

♣ AK1076 ♣ QJ1076

Hand C Hand D With Hand C it’s favourable vulnerability. RHO opens 1♦ and

you overcall 2♣. This is passed round to RHO who doubles

♠ Q ♠ - (‘automatic’). What do you do?

♥ J762 ♥ QJ1098542

♦ A5 ♦ 9

♣ AJ7643 ♣ 10752 With Hand D partner opens 1♠, what do you bid?

Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
Current standings 14-March-2009	628.8 Janne Roos 608.3 Hans Vikman 603.2 Paul Quodomine 602.3 Bob Short 601.1 Sally Watson 591.1 Lars Broman 586.4 Johan Bratsberg 566.9 Lars Gustafsson	326.0 Janne Roos 321.3 Hans Vikman 320.1 Bob Short 316.7 Sally Watson 311.6 Paul Quodomine 311.2 Eddie Richart 308.8 Per Andersson 307.8 Lars Broman 305.0 Derek & Gerard 303.9 Per-Ake Roskvist

Don’t be bullied into overbidding Board 23 from Monday 9^th

Dealer: ♠ A984 Table A

South ♥ K10873 West North East South(B)

Both vul ♦ 6 - - - 1♦

♣ 432 pass 1♥ 2♠ (1) 3♣ (2)

pass 3NT (3) all pass

♠ 105 N ♠ KQJ762

♥ Q542 W E ♥ 96 Table B

♦ KQ54 S ♦ J109 West North East South(B)

♣ A85 ♣ K9 - - - 1♦

♠ 3 pass 1♥ 2♠ pass (2)

♥ AJ pass pass (4) pass

♦ A8732

♣ QJ1076

Table A: (1) A weak jump shift – excellent bid with this good suit.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? This 3♣ bid is incorrect as it shows a huge hand (like Hand A) – remember, it is the opposition and not partner who has pushed the bidding up to the giddy heights of the three level.

(3) Believing that partner had 16+ or so points, North tries the 3NT game.

Table B: (2) This is the answer to question B, a simple pass, you simply do not have the values for any other bid.

(4) North has options here; two chose to pass, double (an Action Double) is probably best (and then South will bid 3♣ to end the auction in the top spot).

And what happened? 2♠ by East was the contract at two tables and it came home +1 and +2 when the defence failed to find their ♦ ruffs. 3♣ by South was bid twice and made +1 and +2. 3NT by North should be a disaster (Deep Finesse says -3) but the contract came home with some help from the defence.

The bottom lines

- Don’t rebid at the three level when partner responds at the one level unless you have a very strong hand.

Where are the ♣’s? Board 5 from Monday 9^th

Dealer: ♠ J965 Table A

North ♥ A9 West North East South

N-S vul ♦ 32 - pass pass 1♦ (1)

♣ K9852 2♣ pass (2) pass pass (3)

♠ Q N ♠ 10843 Table B

♥ J762 W E ♥ KQ84 West(C) North East South

♦ A5 S ♦ K984 - pass pass 1♦

♣ AJ7643 ♣ Q 2♣ pass pass dbl (3)

♠ AK72 3♣ (4) dbl (5) all pass

♥ 1053

♦ QJ1076

♣ 10

Table A: (1) An OK opening in 3^rd seat.

(2) The 2♣ overcall has made it slightly difficult for North; he does not really have the values for a negative double at the two level so pass and see what happens is probably best.

(3) This is a tricky one, some believe that you should not re-open with a double when holding a singleton but I would.

Table B: (3) This South, after some thought, decided to make the ‘automatic’ re-opening double.

(4) What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? West reasoned (quite correctly) that N-S probably have a ♠ fit and so bid 3♣. But I’m not so sure about this logic – it is by no means certain that N-S will find their ♠ fit and where are the rest of the ♣’s?

(5) I believe that North would have passed 2♣*, so he was happy to double 3♣.

And what happened? 3♣* by West went -1 for just 100 away when N-S can make 2♠ for 110. But the other six results prove my point – N-S will not find their ♠ fit after the 2♣ overcall (no N-S pair did). Results were all over the place but 100 for N-S was a joint top and 2♣ by West was the E-W top.

The bottom lines

- Think twice about bidding your hand twice.

Dave’s Column Here is Dave’s input about the play of the hand.

North South You are South declarer in 3NT. West leads the ♥Q,

♠ A87 ♠ K52 plan the play.

♥ 65 ♥ AK2

♦ QJ542 ♦ A963

♣ Q32 ♣ A76

Dave’s Column answer Board 7 from Wednesday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ A87 West North East South

South ♥ 65 - - pass 1♦

both vul ♦ QJ542 pass 3♦ pass 3NT

♣ Q32 all pass

♠ J943 N ♠ Q106 This is the bidding from the book.

♥ QJ1083 W E ♥ 974 West leads the ♥Q, plan the play

♦ - S ♦ K1087

♣ J984 ♣ K105

♠ K52

♥ AK2

♦ A963

♣ A76

Answer: You have 6 top tricks; if you can collect 4 ♦ tricks you will be home.

You win with the ♥K and should start by leading a low ♦ towards dummy, this way you do not waste the potential power of the ♦9.

Dummy’s ♦J loses to East’s ♦K and he returns a ♥. You win and play a ♦ to dummy’s ♦Q, return a ♦ to the ♦9, unblock the ♦A, cross to the ♠A and cash the ♦5. That give you 9 tricks.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? Everybody was in 3NT, three made it and the other four did not.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input the play of the hand.

West East You are West, declarer in 3NT and North leads the ♥J.

♠ KJ764 ♠ 83 Where do you win, and plan the play to make the contract.

♥ K43 ♥ A65

♦ AK84 ♦ 72

♣ K ♣ AQ10983

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 8 from Wednesday 4^th

Dealer: ♠ AQ2 West North East South

East ♥ J10987 1♠ pass 2♣ pass

Love all ♦ Q105 2♦ pass 3♣ pass

♣ 72 3NT all pass

♠ KJ764 N ♠ 83

♥ K43 W E ♥ A65

♦ AK84 S ♦ 72

♣ K ♣ AQ10983

♠ 1095

♥ Q2 This is the bidding from the book.

♦ J963 North leads the ♥J which South overtakes with

♣ J654 the ♥Q. Plan the play.

At most tables West took his ♥K, cashed the ♣K and led a ♥ to dummy, hoping for an easy overtrick. Unfortunately the ♣J was guarded with three small and the hoped for six ♣ winners became only three.

The chances of scoring 6 ♣ winners are better than 50% (actually 54%). However, going for the whole lot puts the contract at risk. The safety play is to overtake the ♣K at trick two and run the clubs, you loose a perhaps unnecessary ♣ trick to the ♣J but the contract is assured.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 3NT+1, 3NT=, 4♠-1 and 3NT-2 four times.

The bottom lines: -

- It’s always debatable whether to go for the safety play or not at pairs scoring. My (Terry) personal opinion is that cashing the ♣K and then crossing to the ♥A and then playing the ♣A,Q is the best play at pairs scoring (what we play at the Pattaya Bridge Club). Safety play problems are generally inapplicable to our club.

0 or 3 keycards? – part 1 Board 32 from Wednesday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ 7 West North East South

West ♥ KQ54 1♠ pass 4NT (1) pass

E-W vul ♦ Q9753 5♣ (2) pass 5♠ pass

♣ 1072 6♠ (3) all pass

♠ AK952 N ♠ Q1084 (1) 4♦ (a splinter) is an alternative.

♥ J108 W E ♥ A763 (2) 0 or 3 keycards

♦ A6 S ♦ J (3) This is the point of this article, when you

♣ J63 ♣ AKQ8 bid 0/3 or 1/4 in reply to RKCB and partner

♠ J63 signs off, then if you have the 3 or 4 you should

♥ 92 bid the small slam, assuming that partner is

♦ K10842 taking you for the lesser number of keycards.

♣ 954

And what happened? 6♠ is cold of course but 7♠ is not there because there is nowhere to park the ♥ loser (only one goes away on a ♣). 4 pairs bid the small slam (so presumably know about what to do with ambiguous responses to RKCB when they have 3-4). Three pairs stopped in 4♠ (chickens) and shared the near bottom.

The bottom lines

- When partner signs off in 5♥/♠ after using RKCB and you have 3 or 4 keycards (as opposed to 0 or 1), then bid the slam.

0 or 3 keycards? – part 2 Board 6 from Friday 13^th

Here we go again, but unfortunately for N-S the above article was written one week too late!

Dealer: ♠ Q85 West North East South

East ♥ K10 - - - 1♠

E-W vul ♦ AKQJ85 pass 4NT (1) pass 5♣ (2)

♣ A6 pass 5♠ (3) pass pass (4)

♠ J1064 N ♠ 7 (1) I would bid 2♦

♥ Q732 W E ♥ 986 (2) 0 or 3 keycards

♦ 2 S ♦ 9763 (3) Perhaps North could have worked out that

♣ Q854 ♣ KJ973 that South had 3 keycards as there are only

♠ AK932 10 other points in the deck, but I guess that

♥ AJ54 it’s just possible that South opened on

♦ 104 ♠J109632 ♥QJ54 ♦- ♣KQJ.

♣ 102 (4) No, the real fault lies with South; this is the

same situation as above and with three keycards South should correct to 6♠.

And what happened? 5♠ made +1. Other results were 7♦=, 6NT+1, 6NT=, 6♠=, and 6♠-1.

The bottom lines

- As above.

- Also, with loads of points to spare and a great long solid suit, don’t necessarily assume that a 5-3 major suit fit is best. With these particular N-S hands 7♦ is the best contract. Well done Richard Mullins and Philip Wall Morris for reaching 7♦.

An Impossible hand to bid? Board 21 from Wednesday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ Q1082 Table A

North ♥ 6 West(D) North East South

N-S vul ♦ AJ7643 - pass 1♠ pass

♣ J3 2♥ (1) pass 3♣ (2) pass

4♥ (3) pass 4NT (4) pass

♠ - N ♠ AK953 5♣ (5) pass 5♥ (6) all pass

♥ QJ1098542 W E ♥ A7

♦ 9 S ♦ Q ‘Expert’ Table

♣ 10752 ♣ AK986 West(D) North East South

♠ J764 - pass 1♠ pass

♥ K3 1NT (1) pass 3♣ (7) pass

♦ K10852 4♥ (8) pass pass (9) pass

♣ Q4

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand D in this week’s quiz? This hand is virtually impossible to bid using standard methods. You know that you want to end up in 4♥ - but how do you get there and then get partner to stop bidding. This is the problem: -

- If you pass, then North may also pass (I would with his hand).

- If you bid 1NT then this may get passed out.

- If you bid 2♥ then partner will think that you have 11+ points.

- If you bid 3♥ then partner will usually pass as it show a very weak hand with 6-7 ♥’s (this hand has far too much playing strength).

- If you bid 4♥ then that’s a splinter agreeing ♠’s.

I was West, playing ordinary Standard American I chose to respond 2♥.

(2) This does guarantee extra values the way I play it, but it’s still game forcing.

(3) Fast arrival (3♥ would be stronger).

(4) But with 19 points opposite 11+ East reasonably tested the waters.

(5) 0 (or 3) keycards.

(6) I guess that partner really has zero this time.

‘Expert’ (1) Our experts have absolutely no problem at all with this hand. They play 2/1

Table: and so 1NT over a 1♠ opening is forcing and partner cannot pass.

(7) Showing a strong hand and game forcing.

(8) Fast arrival again.

(9) But this time West has not shown 11+ points and East knows not to bother with RKCB.

And what happened? 3♣+2. 5♣+2, 6♥-1, 4♥+2 twice and 5♥+1 twice. I would be interested to know how the two pairs stopped in 4♥. As it happens of course, 5♥ is perfectly safe.

The bottom lines

- Play two-over-one?

- Not everybody agrees on the meaning of 1♠ - 3♥. If you play this as a splinter then you can bid 4♥ directly to show this hand D.

- If you play Bergen raises, then 3♥ is an ambiguous relay with splinters and 4♥ again shows this hand type. However, I have yet to meet a player who says that they play Bergen Raises but actually plays a jump to 3 of the other major as an ambiguous splinter.

- A good variation of ambiguous splinters is given on the website.

After a 2NT jump rebid… Board 2 from Friday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ J7 Table A

East ♥ K1075432 West North East South

N-S vul ♦ J962 - - pass 1♣

♣ - pass (1) 1♥ pass 2NT

pass 4♥ (2) pass 4NT (3)

♠ A9863 N ♠ 1042 pass pass (4) pass

♥ Q8 W E ♥ J9

♦ Q73 S ♦ 1084 Table B

♣ A84 ♣ QJ963 West North East South

♠ KQ5 - - pass 1♣

♥ A6 pass 1♥ pass 2NT

♦ AK5 pass 3♥ (2) pass 4♥

♣ K10752 all pass

Table A: (1) I can see nothing wrong with the obvious 1♠ overcall

(2) South was a beginner and North did not know if he would consider 3♥ as forcing or weak, and so he bid 4♥.

(3) Apparently South meant this as Blackwood.

(4) North had no idea what 4NT was and so passed.

Table B: (2) This is the correct bid as long as partner knows it is forcing.

And what happened? 4NT made because of the lucky 2-2 ♥ split but deservedly scored a near bottom anyway as most were in the sensible contract of 4♥+2.

The bottom lines

- South was apparently surprised by North’s pass of 4NT and asked me how he should ask for aces – the answer is of course that he cannot. He has already limited his hand (2NT) and partner is the captain. If responder wants to play in 4♥ then you cannot over-rule him.

- After a jump 2NT rebid you have to agree what is forcing and how responder can bail out in three of his major if he has a very weak hand.

- Best is to use the PARROT convention which is explained on the website; this is a far superior and more extensive convention than the Wolff sign off.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 3♣, showing a very good hand with both minors.

Hand B: Pass, this is nowhere near as good as hand A!

Hand C: Pass, you have said your hand, and where are the ♣’s? (with LHO). The opponents may well have a ♠ fit but they probably will not find it because of your 2♣ overcall and so there is no need to bid 3♣ now.

Hand D: 4♥, provided that you do not play it as a splinter. If you do but play 2/1 then bid a forcing 1NT and then 4♥. If you play basic Standard American and 4♥ as a splinter then you have to bid 2♥ and hope to be able to put the brakes on later.