Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 365

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 8^th Nov 2009

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

Mon 2^nd N-S 1^st Janne & Paul Q 67% 2^nd Bob P & Robbie 57%

E-W 1^st Mike Wiss & TerryQ 66% 2^nd Guttorm & Tomas 59%

Wed 4^th N-S 1^st = Jean & Lars B = Richard M & Tomas 56%

E-W 1^st Janne & Per And… 71% 2^nd = Jan & Sigurd 53%

= Hans V & Sigurd 53%

Fri 6^th N-S 1^st Janne & Lars B 57% 2^nd Gerry & Per-Ake 56%

E-W 1^st Guttorm & Paul Sc 63% 2^nd Terry Q & Jean 59%

	to news-sheet main page
	to Pattaya Bridge home page
	to bridge book reviews	to bridge conventions	to No Trump bidding
	to bridge CD's and computer games and software

Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A partner opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls 2♣, what

do you do?

♠ KQ74 ♠ KQ8532

♥ Q87 ♥ A52 With Hand B partner opens 1NT. You transfer with 2♥ and

♦ 7 ♦ Q76 partner bids 2♠, what now?

♣ QJ854 ♣ 6

Hand C Hand D With Hand C partner opens 1♥ and you bid 1♠. Partner rebids 1NT, what do you do?

♠ A983 ♠ J105

♥ 105 ♥ A102 (a) Do you open with Hand D in first seat?

♦ A7654 ♦ KQJ85 (b) Suppose you open 1♦, LHO overcalls 2♣ and this is passed

♣ QJ ♣ 76 round to you, what do you do?

Bidding Sequence Quiz

E 1♦ 2♣ pass pass

dbl What is the double – does it show extra values?

F 1NT pass 2♥ pass

2♠ pass 4♣/4NT What are 4♣ and 4NT?

The Tripple

Congratulations to Janne Roos for winning the triple (winning all three sessions in the same week) two weeks in a row(!?)Wow! I note that Hans has won it three times and Paul Q and now Janne have both won it twice and so I expect that one or more of them will soon overtake the old codger who won it five times many moons ago when the standard at the club was no so high.

You can help to finance the Pattaya bridge club by using the Amazon boxes below to purchase items (not necessarily bridge)

Current club championship standings

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1945.1 Janne Roos 1924.0 Hans Vikman 1890.8 Paul Quodomine 1804.7 Sally Watson 1732.1 Ivy Schlageter 1725.8 Bob Short 1719.9 Bob Pelletier 1709.7 Paul Scully	690.6 Janne Roos 682.1 Hans Vikman 659.1 Paul Quodomine 636.6 Sally Watson 625.4 Jeremy Watson 625.0 Per Andersson 624.0 Per-Ake Roskvist 621.4 Guttorm Lonborg 619.7 Ivy Schlageter 618.9 Bob Short	355.2 Janne Roos 351.7 Hans Vikman 337.1 Paul Quodomine 329.8 Per Andersson 328.1 Per-Ake Roskvist 326.0 Sally Watson 325.4 Jeremy Watson 325.3 Ivy Schlageter 321.7 Bob Short 319.5 Lars Broman

The Gold Cup standings are quite likely to be unchanged at the end of the year, but anything cam happen in two busy months I guess? The bronze is the interesting competition, and presently it seems that whoever plays with Janne leaps into the lead?

Worth a raise? Board 26 from Friday 30^th

This board is actually from the previous week but there was no room in the news-sheet which I try to keep to 6- 8 pages.

Dealer: ♠ J1054 Table A

East ♥ AJ93 West(C) North East South

both vul ♦ K108 - - 1♥ pass

♣ 102 1♠ pass 1NT pass

2NT (1) all pass

♠ A983 N ♠ Q2

♥ 105 W E ♥ Q8762 Table B

♦ A7654 S ♦ J92 West(C) North East South

♣ QJ ♣ AK3 - pass 1♥ pass

♠ K76 1♠ pass 1NT pass

♥ K4 pass (1) pass

♦ Q3

♣ 987654

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? 11-12 points is the norm for a 2NT raise and that’s what virtually everybody did.

Table B: (1) This West knows a bit more about hand evaluation than most. The ♣QJ are not worth three points, the ♦ suit is nothing to write home about, and it looks like a mis-fit. So this West (me) passed.

And what happened? Everybody in 2NT went down, as Dealmaster Pro says you should, and my partner made a clear top in 1NT with the only positive E-W score. J

The bottom line:

- Understand hand evaluation – it is not just a matter of adding up high card points.

Values – what values? Board 17 from Monday 2^nd

I was asked to write this one up by somebody who did not think much of East’s bid.

Dealer: ♠ J West North East South

North ♥ 972 - 5♦ dbl (1) pass

Love all ♦ QJ1098652 6NT (2) all pass

♣ 6

(1) Apparently ‘values’. Now I doubt that many

♠ K8643 N ♠ Q975 have discussed exactly how many points

♥ AKQ W E ♥ J105 you need to show ‘values’ over a 5-level

♦ K4 S ♦ A3 pre-empt, but I suspect that most would

♣ AQ2 ♣ J1053 like to have a bit more than eight points with

♠ A102 two 10’s?

♥ 8643 (2) Presumably expecting a little more opposite?

♦ 7

♣ K9874

And what happened? Not surprisingly, this pair were the only ones to bid 6NT. It made easily enough when the ♣K was onside and restricted choice (together with the information that North had very long ♦’s) picked up four ♠ tricks to go with the two ♦’s, three ♣’s and three ♥’s. Maybe East realized how important the ♠97 were when he bid? So 990; 5♦* scored -4 and 800 at another table for a second and most of the field were in 4♠ making +1 or +2.

Playing negative doubles Board 2 from Friday 2^nd

Dealer: ♠ A962 West(A) North East(D) South

East ♥ K953 - - 1♦ (1) 2♣

N-S vul ♦ 6432 pass (2) pass dbl (3) all pass

♣ 9

(1) Did you open with this East hand D(a)?

♠ KQ74 N ♠ J105 I did. It’s only 19 for the rule of 20 but has

♥ Q87 W E ♥ A102 two tens and a great ♦ suit which is clearly

♦ 7 S ♦ KQJ85 worth more than 6 points.

♣ QJ854 ♣ 76 (2) What did you bid with this West hand A in

♠ 83 this week’s quiz? A negative double

♥ J64 (guaranteeing just one 4-card major here) is

♦ A109 a poor choice. Playing with a sensible partner

♣ AK1032 you should pass and pass his “automatic’

re-opening double.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand D(b) in this week’s quiz? Fortunately for West, East was indeed ‘sensible’ and doubled.

And what happened? +800 and a clear top on a part-score deal. The bottom Lines:

- If you think that West should bid at (2) or that East should not double at (3) then do not play negative doubles (play penalty doubles!?) – you will let the opponents get away with too many huge penalties if you do not appreciate the penalty pass and ‘automatic’ re-opening double. Note that South had a decent hand (although some would like a sixth ♣) but he still went for 800. East’s ♦ suit and West’s ♦ lead were huge assets for the defense.

What is 4♣ and 4NT? Board 5 from Friday 6^th

Dealer: ♠ 6 Table A

North ♥ K10876 West(B) North East South

N-S vul ♦ J52 - pass 1NT pass

♣ 10987 2♥ pass 2♥ pass

4NT (1) pass pass (2) pass

♠ KQ8532 N ♠ A109

♥ A52 W E ♥ Q9 Table B

♦ Q76 S ♦ K843 West(B) North East South

♣ 6 ♣ AQ52 - pass 1NT pass

♠ J74 2♥ pass 2♠ pass

♥ J43 4♣ (1) pass pass (3) all pass

♦ A109

♣ KJ43

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand B in this week’s quiz? Apparently this West thought that 4NT was asking for aces.

(2) East knew his partner, and despite holding a maximum with decent ♠’s he correctly surmised that 6♠ would stand no chance,

Table B: (1) This West thought that 4♣ was a splinter, agreeing ♠’s and suggesting slam.

(3) East thought that partner was ace asking as so showed two aces.

And what happened? Apart from the spurious 4NT contract, everybody else was in 4♠, generally making or making +1 J

The bottom line:

- I guess established partnerships have to agree what 4♣ and NT mean after a transfer. With no agreement I believe that Gerber and Quantitative are standard, and in the vote after the meeting Linda Lyen cast the final vote confirming this by the narrowest of margins. If you want to play splinters, then have a look at Marty Bergen style ambiguous splinters (three of the other major) which can be played over Stayman and also over transfers.

- And what is my answer to question B? I guess that an ambiguous splinter is possible, but I think it’s a bit pushy with no super-accept and I would simply bid 4♠. The 4♠ bid is, in any case, mildly slam invitational if you play Texas Transfers or South African Texas.

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

West East West North East South

♠ Q854 ♠ A1062 - - 1♣ pass

♥ 10962 ♥ AKJ3 1♥ pass 2NT pass

♦ 832 ♦ K6 3NT pass pass pass

♣ KQ ♣ A43

South leads the ♦5 to North’s ♦Q and your ♦K. That is one benefit for 3NT. It attracted a ♦ lead allowing you to score the ♦K. With the ♦A apparently on your left, you would not have scored a ♦ trick in 4♥.

Still, you need to bring in 4 ♥ tricks in 3NT what do you play at trick two?

Suppose you choose the ♥K: ♥7, ♥2, ♥4. How do you plan the rest of the play? Be specific.

Dave’s Column answer Board 10 from Wednesday 4^th

Dealer: ♠ K93 Book bidding

East ♥ 854 West North East South

both vul ♦ Q107 - - 1♣ pass

♣ 10875 1♥ pass 2NT (1) pass

3NT (2) pass pass (3) pass

♠ Q854 N ♠ A1062

♥ 10962 W E ♥ AKJ3 (1) 4♥ is the alternative.

♦ 832 S ♦ K6 (2) More advanced players should have a

♣ KQ ♣ A43 mechanism to enquire if partner has 4 ♠’s.

♠ J7 The PARROT convention does this with a

♥ Q7 Checkback style 3♦ bid to ask for clarification

♦ AJ954 of partner’s major suit holdings.

♣ J962

(3) The bidding will not meet with the approval of purists, who would revert to 4♥ over 3NT. This East felt that 9 tricks in 3NT would be at least as easy as 10 in ♥’s. In addition, playing in no-trumps did not expose the ♦K to attack at trick one.

Anyway, whatever you think of the bidding, you are in 3NT and South leads the ♦4. You win and lead the ♥K: ♥7, ♥2, ♥4.

How do you plan the rest of the play?

You need 4 ♥ tricks. Having cashed the ♥K, the normal play is to cross to dummy with a ♣ and finesse the ♥J – it fails. The same normal play would also fail in 4♥.

Australian legend, Tim Seres, found the winning path. As N-S would not expect East to have 4 ♥’s he led the ♥K at trick two. Expecting partner to hold the ♥A, each defender is bound to give honest count on the ♥K. Seres pointed out that if both follow with the lowest card, playing natural count, the ♥Q will be doubleton.

South played the ♥7 and North the ♥4. So the position was not yet clear. A ♣ to dummy was followed by the ♥10. When North played the ♥5, that could be from ♥854 or ♥Q54. If ♥Q54 then South would have ♥87 and likely would have played the ♥8 on the first ♥. Therefore North began with ♥854 and Seres rose with the ♥8 to make his contract.

Note that North could have made the position tougher by playing the ♥8 on the second ♥ but defenders do not always find the best defense. The deal appears in Play Cards with Tim Seres which is reviewed on page 17 of the Pattaya bridge website book store.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 3NT= and 3NT-2; 4♥=twice, 1♥+3, 5♥-2, 4♥-2 twice and 4♠-1.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s second problem on the play of the hand.

North South West North East South

♠ A6 ♠ KQ32 - - - 1NT

♥ 73 ♥ AK pass 3NT all pass

♦ KQJ10 ♦ 8765

♣ 107652 ♣ KJ4 West leads the ♥2. South sees lots of tricks but the clock is against him. What chance does South have of making 3NT?

Your suggestions?

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 11 from Wednesday 4^th

Dealer: ♠ A6 Book Bidding

South ♥ 73 West North East South

Love all ♦ KQJ10 - - - 1NT

♣ 107652 pass 3NT all pass

♠ J875 N ♠ 1094

♥ Q962 W E ♥ J10854

♦ 94 S ♦ A32

♣ A93 ♣ Q8

♠ KQ32

♥ AK West leads the ♥2. South sees lots of tricks but the

♦ 8765 clock is against him. What chance does South have

♣ KJ4 of making 3NT? Your suggestions?

The normal play is to lead ♦’s but the normal play is not going to work after a ♥ lead. The defense will take the ♦ and continue with ♥’s. When they get in with the ♣A they will have enough tricks to set 3NT.

When you see that the normal play will not work, you sometimes need to look for a risky alternative. On this deal there is one that may do the trick. Look at the ♣ suit. You have three ♠ tricks and two ♥ tricks. Do you see a way of getting four ♣ tricks?

There is one layout of the cards that will work. You need East to have the doubleton ♣Q. If he has, you can make nine tricks by going to dummy with a ♠ and leading a ♣ to the ♣J. If West takes this trick with the ♣A, you will later lead the ♣K and that is nine tricks when the ♣Q falls.

What if West gets sneaky and does not take his ♣A? You should then revert to ♦’s which will, now that you have a ♣ trick, be enough to make the contract.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? All nine Souths who played the hand declared in 3NT: +2 twice, +1 three times, = three times and -1 once.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: pass, and hit partner over the head if he does not have a really good excuse for not re-opening with a double.

Hand B: 4♠, I don’t think it’s quite good enough for a splinter even if you have that in your bidding repertoire.

Hand C: pass. 11 points is usually just enough to raise to 2NT, but this is a very poor 11 points – no fit with partner, the ♣QJ doubleton are poor and so is the 5-card ♦ suit.

Hand D: (a) 1♦. It’s only 19 for the rule of 20, but the great ♦ suit and two tens make it well

worth an opener.

(b) dbl. This hand is no exception the general ‘rule’ of re-opening with a double when playing negative doubles. You expect a ♦ lead and that’s great.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

E 1♦ 2♣ pass pass No, it does NOT promise extras. It shows a hand that is

dbl prepared to defend 2♣ doubled if that is what partner wants.

F 1NT pass 2♥ pass ‘standard’ is that 4♣ is Gerber and 4NT quantitive. Of course

2♠ pass 4♣/4NT partnerships can have different agreements.

For the best hotel deals anywhere in Thailand, book your hotel using our free online hotel booking facility. Select the region/city and you can list the hotels in price or star rating order. You can also select hotels from a specific area of your region/city: