Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                             Club News Sheet – No. 332

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                   23rd March 2009

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

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Mon 16th     N-S      1st  Lars B & Jean                67%       2nd    Eddie & Dave H               59%

                    E-W     1st   Ado & Derek                 60%       2nd    Paul Q & Terry Q            56%

Wed 18th                  1st  Paul Q & Terry Q          63%       2nd    Bob S & Johan                 53%

Fri    20th      N-S     1st  Hans V & Per And..       59%       2nd    Bob P & Robbie              56%

                    E-W     1st   Paul Q & Terry Q          58%       2nd    Dave & Royd                   56%

 

     

     
Ron Klinger web site
     

              

 

Bidding Quiz                    Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 1 and you bid 1. Partner then

jumps to 3, what do you do?

K105432      Q9872

93                 A86              With Hand B it’s favourable vulnerability. LHO opens 1 and

J5                  102               partner doubles, what do you do?

J72               532

 

Hand C           Hand D           What do you open with Hand C?

 

K108            A8                With Hand D you open 1 and partner bids 1  

AK2             AKQJ6        (a)  What do you bid?

AK10           3                   (b)  Suppose you bid 3 and partner bids 3. What now?

AJ87            K10943

                                               

 

 

 

Gold Cup = Best 30

Silver Plate = Best 10

Bronze Medal = Best 5

 

 

 Current standings

  21-March-2009

628.8 Janne Roos

617.6 Hans Vikman

612.8 Paul Quodomine

603.8 Lars Broman

602.3 Bob Short

601.1 Sally Watson

588.6 Derek & Gerard

586.4 Johan Bratsberg

574.6 Jean Wissing

568.9 Lars Gustafsson

326.0 Janne Roos

321.3 Hans Vikman

320.1 Bob Short

316.7 Sally Watson

316.1 Lars Broman

314.3 Paul Quodomine

311.4 Eddie Richart

310.7 Per Andersson

307.1 Derek & Gerard

303.9 Per-Ake Roskvist

 

 

 

 

 


Everybody bid the slam                                       Board 15 from Wednesday 18th     

 

We played this board in the first round on Wednesday against Eddie Richart and Janne Roos (N-S). They bid confidently to the slam and we had to sacrifice in 6. My partner (Paul Q) was apprehensive that we would get a poor score as not many would bid the slam. But the standard has improved! – and in fact every N-S pair bid the slam and all but one E-W pair found the 6 sacrifice, so we actually scored slightly above average on the board. Well done everybody. This is the bidding at our table: -

 

Dealer:             J6                                               West          North         East          South

South               AKQJ64                                    -                 -                 -               pass

N-S vul            QJ109                                        2              3    (1)      4            5    (2)

                        2                                                dbl   (3)      6              6            pass (4)

pass           dbl             all pass

AK8432             N               Q10975             

10                   W    E            9                   (1)  dbl is the alternative, but I prefer 3.    

742                     S                5                   (2)  presumably showing a void and supporting ’s.

654                                      AQJ983       (3)  Showing good values in spades, and by

-                                                 inference not much outside, so this may aid

                        87532                                         partner if he is thinking about sacrificing at

AK863                                       the 6-level.

K107                                   (4)  Forcing.

                                               

So good bidding all round, and it was presumably similar at all of the other tables.

 

And what happened? 6* by West went -2 for just 300 away at four tables. At the other table 6 made for 1430.

The bottom lines

-         When partner opens a weak two, you have 5 cards in the suit, and partner shows good cards in the suit then do not expect partner to make any tricks in defence.

-     I would play the 5 bid at (2) as Exclusion RKCB, but this N-S pair were unfamiliar with each other and presumably do not play that.

 

 

 

Leading Quiz               Here is an opening lead problem from Monday 16th

 

South                                                               West        North         East          South

K                                                                  -               pass           1            dbl  

KJ74                                                            pass         pass           pass

Q65                                                            

AKJ84                                 You are South and partner has converted your take-out double into penalties, what do you lead?

                                                                             


Good enough for a penalty pass?                        Board 9 from Monday 16th     

 

Dealer:             Q9872                                        Table A

North               A86                                            West          North(B)    East          South

E-W vul           102                                            -                 pass           1            dbl   (1)

                        532                                            pass           pass   (2)    pass        

 

63                       N               AJ1052               Table B

Q1053            W    E            92                      West          North(B)    East          South

K98743              S                AJ                       -                 pass           1            dbl

10                                        Q976                 pass           1NT   (2)    all pass    

                        K                                               

KJ74                                         

Q65                                          

AKJ84                                      

                                                                             

Table A:     (1)  This dbl is far better than the 2 overcall found at another table.

(2)  What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? This pass (going for the magic 200 at pairs) is very tempting but I would have a good look at declarer (is he any good?) and also at partner (does he know to lead a trump if you pass?). I personally would like better trumps and a better hand to leave the double in.

Table B:     (2)  This is the obvious alternative for question B and is what I would bid most of the time.

 

And what happened? 2 doubled was the final contract twice and it made on both occasions. 1NT by North was a good result and 2 by West scored an average. The other two contracts were 2* by South -2 and 2 by East -4 (undoubled!).

The bottom lines: -

-         When you decide to pass a take-out double for penalties you must have very good trumps (particularly intermediates) that can stand trumps being led from dummy.

-         Bearing this in mind, the player on lead should virtually always lead a trump if he has one as this may cut down a ruff in dummy.

 

Leading Quiz Answer

 

So the answer to the lead problem on the previous page is the K. On the actual deal this prevents the ruff in dummy and leads to -1 and what should be a top score of 200. The actual lead of the A was a disaster as then declarer had no problem scoring a ruff and making the contract.

 

The bottom line: -

-         When a take-out double is passed for penalties, a trump lead is virtually mandatory.

 

 

 


Rebid a 6-card suit?                                             Board 3 from Friday 20th     

 

At table B N-S got into a terrible mess, who would you blame?

 

Dealer:             K105432                                    Table A

South               93                                               West          North(A)    East          South(D)

E-W vul           J5                                               -                 -                 -               1

                        J72                                             pass           1              pass         3   (1)

pass           pass (2)      all pass

6                         N               QJ97           

108754           W    E            2                        Table B

K10942              S                AQ876              West          North(A)    East          South(D)

AQ                                       865                    -                 -                 -               1

                        A8                                              pass           1              pass         3   (1)

AKQJ6                                      pass           3    (3)      pass         4NT (4)

3                                                pass           5             pass         5

K10943                                     pass           pass           dbl           all pass  

                                                                             

Table A:     (1)  What did you bid with this South hand D(a) in this week’s quiz? This 3 bid is game forcing but is an overbid in my opinion. 2 is quite sufficient – it’s a possible mis-fit and I do not think that this south hand has the values to force to game.

(2)  What did you bid with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? Maybe this North new that his partner was an over-bidder and so passed (and this worked out well as South had indeed overbid). I prefer the bid at table B but then I expect partner to have a much better hand for a game forcing 3 bid.

Table B:     (1)  This South also overbid.

(3)  And I too would re-bid the six card suit here and 3 is my answer to question A.

(2)   What did you bid with this South hand D(b) in this week’s quiz? This 4NT is clearly way over the top – partner may well have a hand just like she had (or perhaps a little stronger). 4 is enough. You have already overbid your hand and if slam is there partner will bid again.

 

And what happened? 3 at Table A was the only plus score for N-S but I disapprove of the bidding (I would not bid 3

as South and I would not pass as North). Two wrongs make a right?

At Table B 5* went -4 and 800 away and a clear bottom.

So who was at fault at table B? South gave North a mouthful of stick, but in my opinion South was totally at fault in both

the 2nd and 3rd bids and in my opinion North bid perfectly. I note that the most popular contract was 4 undoubled, so I guess

most North’s bid their ’s twice.

The bottom lines

-         17 points is not enough to force to game opposite a 1-level response which is a mis-fit.

-         Generally don’t pass partner’s game forcing bids unless he/she is known to frequently overbid.

 


Super-Accept?                                                      Board 27 from Friday 20th     

 

At table A N-S got into a poor contract, who would you blame?

 

Dealer:             K108                                          Table A

South               AK2                                           West          North(C)    East          South

Love all            AK10                                        -                 -                 -               pass

                        AJ87                                          pass           2NT (1)      pass         3    (2)

pass           4    (3)      all pass

62                       N               J75              

983                 W    E            J1054                Table B

Q863                  S                J95                     West          North(C)    East          South

K1064                                 Q53                   -                 -                 -               pass

                        AQ943                                       pass           2   (1)      pass         2

Q76                                            pass           2NT (4)      pass         3    (5)

742                                            pass           3    (6)      pass         3NT

92                                              pass           pass (7)      pass

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? This hand is a balanced 22, but knock off a

point for 3334 but add on a point for the two tens, good intermediates and great top cards. So it’s easily

worth 22+ points and if you play 2NT as 20-21 then this hand should open 2♣.

(3)   A transfer.

(4)   North realized that he had possibly underbid last go and so now super-accepted to ensure that he was in game. This is clearly wrong – partner may have no points and you need 4 trumps to super-accept in this situation.

Table B:     (1)  The correct opening and the answer to question C.

(4)  22-24

(5)  A transfer

(6)   Having said his hand pretty exactly, North has no reason not to simply accept the transfer.

(7)   And with all of these points outside ’s North obviously chooses to play in NoTrumps rather than the 5-3 fit.

 

And what happened? This was the last board at Table A and decided the winners of both sections. Going into this last

board N-S were winning in their direction and E-W were 2nd in their direction. However, 4 making exactly was a clear

bottom to N-S and so they dropped to 2nd place and the top to E-W gave them first place in the E-W line. 3NT +2 or +3

were the popular scores. The bottom lines

-         You need 4 trumps to super-accept, after either a 1NT or 2NT opening.

-         With a 5-3 major suit fit, go for the NoTrump game if most of your points are outside the major suit and you have no obvious weakness.

 

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

 

North               South               You are North, declarer in 4 via a Stayman sequence having

Q942            K876            opened 1NT in 4th seat. East leads the A followed by the

J6                 1032             K and Q which you ruff. Plan the play.  

KJ9               AQ102        Will declarer succeed if he leads a low from hand at trick 4?

AKQ4          J7                


Dave’s Column answer                      Board 2 from Wednesday 18th

     

Dealer:             Q942                                          West          North         East            South

East                  J6                                               -                 -                 pass           pass

N-S vul            KJ9                                            pass           1NT           pass           2

                        AKQ4                                        pass           2              pass           4  (1)

all pass

A5                      N             J103                    

9874               W    E          AKQ5                 This is the bidding from the book and

764                     S              853                      also from our table where Paul Q was

9652                                   1083                    North and I was South.

                        K876                                   

1032                                    (1)  With 10 points and two tens this is easily 

AQ102                                       worth bidding game.

J7                                        

 

Answer: Declarer will fail if he leads a trump at trick 4.

In order to hold the trump losers to one, declarer needs one of his opponents to hold the doubleton A or the J10 doubleton or else West to hold the singleton J or 10 so that he can take a later finesse against East’s remaining guarded J/10.

So the critical question is – who has the A?

West must have it as East has already turned up with 9 points and with the A in addition he would have opened as dealer. Therefore declarer must lead the first from dummy through West. So cross to dummy in a minor suit and lead the 6. If West plays low declarer wins the Q and leads another . Whether East plays the J or the 10 declarer must play low from dummy, hoping that West began with Ax and will have to play his A on thin air.

This form of play is known as an obligatory finesse. It is not really a finesse but is a close relative.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 4= (by my partner along the lines given above), 4-1 twice, 3NT-1 and 2+2.

The bottom lines: -

-     I simply cannot understand the contracts of 3NT and 2, surely the given auction is automatic?

 

 

 

 

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

 

West                East                  You are East, declarer in 3NT.

J7                 AQ9             South leads the 3 which North wins with the A and returns

53                 KQJ2           the 10. You win and South follows with the 2.

865               KQ9             There is a 100% play for this contract – can you find it?

J109863       AKQ

 


Dave’s 2nd Column answer              Board 1 from Wednesday 18th

     

Dealer:             65432                                         West          North         East            South

North               10976                                                           pass           2             pass

Love all            A10                                            2             pass           3NT (1)      all pass

                        54                                                       

 

J7                       N             AQ9               (1)  I personally hate this bid – it made no   

53                   W    E          KQJ2                  difference with this particular hand but

865                    S              KQ9                     if partner has say 4 (or 5) ’s then you

J109863                             AKQ                    are probably in a silly contract.

                        K108                                          There are various options: play Benjamin

A84                                           twos, the Multi 2, or the Kokish relay.

J7432

72                                                     

 

The 100% play is to cash three top ’s and then lead the Q (key play). If somebody overtakes the K then the J is an entry to those lovely ’s.

If the Q wins the trick there’s no problem. Knock out the A and you have at least 9 tricks – 3 ’s and two tricks in the other three suits minimum.

Notice that if you try to knock out the A before leading the Q South can win, exit with a and, holding the K as yet another entry, you go down.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 3NT+2, 3NT+1, 3NT= and 3NT-1 twice.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         If you have a cashable long suit, look hard for an entry.

 

 


Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    3. Partner’s 3 is game forcing and I prefer to rebid this reasonable 6-card suit rather than giving (false) preference to 3.

Hand B:    1NT, or possibly pass. The opponents are vulnerable and if you get them one down by passing then 200 will be a very good score. But I would prefer better trumps (and a better hand) and would bid 1NT unless LHO is a beginner and I’m feeling mean.

Hand C:    2, to be followed by 2NT, showing a balanced 22-24.

Hand D:    (a)  2. 3 is game forcing and is an overbid.

(b)  4. Having already overbid, the only way to salvage the situation is to bid 4. 4NT (as bid at one table) is way over the top.

 

 

       

 Ron Klinger web site