Club News Sheet – No. 255

Out website is www.pattayabridge.com   

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                  23rd Sept 2007

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 17th    N-S   1st  Gerry & Per-Ake             59%         2nd Bjorn & Knud                       57%

                  E-W   1st  Phil & Tomas                   53%         2nd Lewis & Terry                      51%

Wed 19th              1st Gerry & Per-Ake             70%         2nd Jan & Tomas                        58%

Fri    21st              1st  Bjorn & Knud                  62%         2nd  Phil & Tomas                       58%

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 2♣ and you bid 2♦. Partner then

bids 2NT (22-24), what do you bid?

♠ 8                   ♠ QJ65

♥ 8754             ♥ KJ86            With Hand B partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1♥. What do

♦ AQ9852      ♦ J54                you bid if (a) the opps are vulnerable, (b) the opps are non-vul?

♣ 109              ♣ 65

                             

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C you are playing a weak NoTrump (12-14). What,

if anything, do you open?

♠ KJ8              ♠ 98                

♥ Q1092          ♥ 643               With hand D partner opens 2♣ and you reply 2♦. Partner then

♦ 1052            ♦ Q652            bids 2♠, what do you do?

♣ AJ10            ♣ 10876

                                                                                           

Bidding Sequences Quiz            All of these sequences occurred this week

       

E      1♣     pass   1♦      pass      

2♠      pass   3♣     pass       What is 3♥ - is it natural (so presumably 4414 or 4405)

3♥                                        or 4th suit forcing??

F      2NT   pass   3♠                    You play Stayman and transfers over 2NT, so what is 3♠?

G     2♣     2♥      dbl                   What is double when partner’s strong 2♣ opener has been overcalled?

H     2♦      dbl                             2♦ is Benjamin (game forcing), what is double?

 

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

1811.4  Dave Cutler                 644.2  Dave Cutler                   340.3  Jan v Koss

1751.6  Bob Pelletier                644.1  Bengt Malmgren            332.9  Paul Savelkral

1716.7  Phil Lovell                   636.7  Paul Savelkral                332.0  Lewis Berg


 This week’s  re-opening double                         Board 23 from Monday 17th 

 

With vulnerable opponents, even a 1-level double can be lucrative: -

     

 

Dealer:             ♠ 73                                               West          North         East(B)       South

South               ♥ AQ10975                                   -                 -                 -                 pass

both vul            ♦ A9                                              1♣             1♥              pass (1)      pass

                        ♣ J93                                             dbl   (2)      pass           pass (3)      pass

 

♠ A84                   N             ♠ QJ65              (1)  What did you bid with this East hand B(a)

♥ 43                  W    E          ♥ KJ86                    in this week’s quiz? These are nice ♥’s and

♦ KQ62               S              ♦ J54                        against vulnerable opponents I prefer to

♣ KQ87                                ♣ 65                        go for the penalty; the magic 200 should

                        ♠ K1092                                        be a good score if there is no game.

♥ 2                                           (2)  Automatic of course     

♦ 10873                                   (3)  East followed through with his plan.

♣ A1042                                       

 

And what happened? 1♥ doubled went one down for a joint top to E-W. Most other E-W’s overbid and went down when East responded 1NT, 1♠ or dbl (negative to show 4 ♠’s).

The bottom lines: -

-         If you play negative doubles, then don’t forget the automatic re-opening double.

-         Even at the one level penalties can be lucrative, especially against vulnerable opponents.

 

The dreaded Multi 2♦ again                                Board 9 from Monday 17th 

 

I don’t particularly like the Multi 2 diamonds - I prefer Benjamin twos. The problem with the multi is that all too often nobody knows what’s going on.

     

Dealer:             ♠ 974                                             West          North         East            South

North               ♥ J4                                               -                 -                 2♦    (1)      2♥

E-W vul           ♦ K754                                          dbl   (2)      all pass

                        ♣ Q763                                        

 

♠ K105                 N             ♠ AQ8632         (1)  The dreaded Multi 2♦, this time a weak 2♠.

♥ A985             W    E          ♥ 107                       At vulnerable against not this should be a

♦ Q109832          S              ♦ A6                        decent hand and I think the opening is OK.

♣ -                                         ♣ 952                (2)  Penalties. Negative doubles do not apply

                        ♠ J                                                 when partner pre-empts or it’s a probable

♥ KQ632                                       pre-empt

♦ J                                           

♣ AKJ1084                                  

 

And what happened? 2♥ doubled made +2 when West led a ♦ which East won and retuned a ♦ - South discarded his losing ♠. Double dummy 2♥ can be beaten but that’s double dummy and also because East is maximum for his pre-empt. The bottom lines: -

-     If you insist upon playing the Multi 2♦, then understand it. At (2) West can be pretty sure that partner has a weak 2♠ opener and should pass or bid 3 or 4 ♠’s or, even better, 2NT (ignoring the overcall) to establish partner’s hand type. 4♠ makes comfortably.

The power of the 4-4 fit                                       Board 20 from Monday 17th 

 

Just one pair bid the great 6♥ on these E-W cards: -

     

Dealer:             ♠ J1042                                         Table A

West                ♥ K103                                          West(A)     North         East            South

both vul            ♦ J6                                                -                 -                 2♣             pass

                        ♣ 8752                                          2♦    (1)      pass           2NT (2)      pass

3♣   (3)      pass           3♥              pass

♠ 8                        N             ♠ AK75                   4♦    (4)      pass           4♠    (5)      pass

♥ 8754              W    E          ♥ AQJ2                   6♥              all pass

♦ AQ9852            S             ♦ K10                     

♣ 109                                    ♣ AQ3                     ‘Expert’ Table

                        ♠ Q963                                          West(A)     North         East            South

♥ 96                                               -                 -                 2♣             pass

♦ 743                                            2♦    (1)      pass           2NT (2)      pass

♣ KJ64                                          3♣   (3)      pass           3♥              pass

4NT (4)      pass           5♣   (5)      pass

5♦    (6)      pass           5♠    (7)      pass

6♥    (8)      all pass

 

Table A:     (1)  Waiting and maybe negative.

                  (2)  22-24

                  (3)  What did you bid with this West hand A in this week’s quiz. You should know my opinions by now; Stayman 3♣, looking for the 4-4 ♥ fit is the bid.

(4)  Natural and forcing, quite why West did not bid as our Experts I don’t know.

(5)  East assumed that West had 4 ♠’s.

‘Expert’      (4)  RKCB (today our experts are not playing Kickback).

 Table         (5)  0 or 3 keycards.

(6)   West knows that there is a keycard missing and he also has very poor ♥’s. He only really wants to be in 6♥ if partner has the ♥Q – so he asks for it!

(7)   Showing the ♥Q and also the ♠K.

(8)   Fine.

 

And what happened? Just the one pair bid 6♥ and made +1. Another chose to ignore the 4-4 ♥ fit and played in 6NT making exactly. 3NT and 4♥ were popular spots.

The bottom lines: -

-         Roman Keycard Blackwood really is a powerful convention – especially if you want to know about the trump queen.

-     When you bid Blackwood and then ask for kings, most play that that promises all the keycards present and looking for the grand.

-     But asking for the trump queen is different and does not guarantee all of the keycards and you may well end up in 5 of the suit if the trump queen is missing.

-     Having got a 0/3 or 1/4 response to RKCB, the next bid up (not 5 of the trump suit) asks for the trump queen. There is not always room to be able to stop in 5 of the trump suit if the queen is missing – 1430 tries to solve this problem but the only real solution is to play Kickback.

A very poor hand opposite 2♣                             Board 13 from Monday 17th 

 

You need to have a mechanism to show a bust hand opposite partner’s strong 2♣ opening. I like 2♥ negative and 2♦ waiting (positive) but most do not play that. If you play 2♦ negative (or waiting and maybe negative) then you need a bid to subsequently show a miserable hand.

     

Dealer:             ♠ AKQ104                                    Table A

North               ♥ J2                                               West          North         East            South(D)

both vul            ♦ A                                                -                 2♣             pass           2♦    (1)

                        ♣ AKQ94                                      pass           2♠              pass           2NT (2)

pass           4♣   (3)      pass           4♦

♠ 72                      N             ♠ J653                     pass           4NT           pass           5♣

♥ K987             W    E          ♥ AQ105                 pass           6NT           all pass

♦ K10973            S              ♦ J84                       

♣ J2                                       ♣ 53                        Table B

                        ♠ 98                                               West          North         East            South(D)

♥ 643                                             -                 2♣             pass           2♥    (1)

♦ Q652                                          pass           2♠    (4)      pass           3♦    (5)

♣ 10876                                        pass           4♠    (6)      all pass

 

Table A:     (1)  Waiting, and maybe negative I think.

                  (2)  What did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? Unless you play 2♦ waiting and 2♥ negative, you need a bid here to show a bust hand. Traditionally it’s 2NT but most prefer 3♣ these days. I believe that South meant this as a 2nd negative – showing a virtually bust hand.

                  (3)  Presumably North thought that South had values. Quite why he jumped I don’t know.

Table B:     (1)  This pair play 2♥ negative – 5 or less points and no ace.

(4)   Game forcing even opposite a declared weak hand

(5)   This South decided to show his ‘suit’; 4♠ is the alternative.

 

And what happened? 6NT went -3. 6♣ was bid at one table and made (it needs a ♥ lead to beat it). Four N-S pairs stopped in a partscore! This North hand is easily worth a 2♣ opener. Just one pair bid and made the sensible 4♠ - well done Harry & Paul O. The bottom lines: -

-         If you do not play 2♥ negative then you need a way to show a really bad hand opposite a 2♣ opener. With Lewis I play that 2♦ is waiting or negative and that 3♣ is a 2nd negative (or 3♦ if the sequence is 2♣ - 2♦ - 3♣). This is much better than the traditional 2NT 2nd negative as you don’t want a bust hand being declarer in a possible NoTrump contract with the big hand on table.

-         But my real preference, 2♦ waiting and 2♥ negative, is written up on the website: -

Conventions > Section 1 > Responding to partner’s strong 2♣ opening.

 

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

 

North               South               You are North, playing in 6♠ after an uncontested auction.

♠ AKQ742      ♠ 85                 East leads the ♥K, how do you play the hand?   

♥ A762            ♥ 3                

♦ J8                 ♦ AKQ1072 

♣ A                  ♣ 10852

Dave’s Column answer                Board 17 from Wednesday 19th

 

   

Dealer:             ♠ AKQ742                              “When you can afford to lose a trump trick, it

North               ♥ A762                                    sometimes makes good sense to duck a round

Love all            ♦ J8                                          of trumps early in the play, while you still have

                        ♣ A                                          trumps in dummy to protect against attack in the

defenders’ best suit: -

♠ J1096                N             ♠ 3                     East leads the ♥K against 6♠ and you win with

♥ 10954           W    E          ♥ KQJ8             the ♥A. Thirteen tricks will be easy if the trumps           

♦ 4                       S              ♦ 9653               break 3-2. (Thirteen tricks would have been easy

♣ Q976                                 ♣ KJ43              in ♦’s even when ♠’s do break 4-1. Still, it’s too

                        ♠ 85                                         late to worry about the bidding now). Your task

♥ 3                                           is to ensure that you make 12 tricks in ♠’s. 

♦ AKQ1072                                 

♣ 10852                     

 

You win the ♥ lead with the ♥A and play the ♠A, do you?

If that is your first move then you will go down! The ♠K will reveal the 4-1 break and the defenders will be able to cash a ♥ or two when West gains the lead with his ♠J.

What else can you try? Perhaps you should ruff a couple of ♥’s in dummy? Let’s see what happens if you try that. You win the ♥ lead, ruff a ♥, cross to the ♣A and ruff another ♥. You return to your hand with the ♦J (or a ♣ ruff) and play the ♠A and ♠K, discovering the 4-1 break. You draw a 3rd round of trumps and turn to the ♦ suit, hoping to discard your last ♥. Not today! West will ruff the 2nd round of ♦’s and you will be one down.

There is only one safe line. You must lead a low trump from your hand at trick two! West wins his trump trick at a moment that is convenient to you. There is still a trump in dummy and so he cannot profit by a ♥ return. Whatever else he tries, you will win, draw trumps and run the ♦’s.

So that’s another technique to add to your repertoire. To guard against a possible 4-1 break, give up a trump trick when the defenders can do you no damage.”

 

Terry’s comments. As the author indicated, 6♦+1 and 7♦ are cold. If you are playing matchpoint scoring (pairs) then I think the odds for playing this recommended safety play in 6♠ are very dubious. You only get a 4-1 break 10% of the time and the line of ruffing two ♥’s only fails when the ♠’s are 4-1 and the ♦’s are also 4-1. So the safety play only gains in about

1-2 % of deals! Perhaps you should play it at teams scoring, but I would not at pairs scoring.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? I was South and did not have any problem at all as my partner played the hand in 6♦ making +1. One pair was in 4♠ making plus two, perhaps they did indeed find the safety play, but I doubt it. The other two pairs were in 3NT +2.

The bottom line: -

-         Safety plays are important at teams or rubber bridge scoring, but not at pairs.

 

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    3♣, Stayman, looking for the 4-4 ♥ fit.

Hand B:    There are 3 options here: 1NT, 1♠ (or double to show 4 ♠’s) or pass for penalties.

(a)    Against vulnerable opponents I prefer to go for the penalty and pass.

(b)   Against non-vul opponents I would bid, and as the hand is worth just one bid you have to decide whether to show the ♠’s or to bid 1NT. With these great ♥’s I would bid 1NT. I guess that this sort of situation is a case for playing 4-card majors.

Hand C:    1NT. You could pass but let’s look at the + and – factors. First of all, it’s 3433 shape, so deduct a point. But then look at the ‘texture’ of the hand. Three tens are 1˝ points and the ♥9 is a good card (as you hold the ♥10). I would not argue if you chose to pass but I would open a weak 1NT (or open 1♣ and rebid 1NT if playing a strong NoTrump). This is only in the quiz because somebody complained to me about an opponent opening a weak 1NT with this hand. The bid is fine by me, and the laws state that a 1NT opening bid may be +-1 outside the stated range.

Hand D:    2NT or 3♣; whichever you have agreed to play as the 2nd negative (I prefer 3♣). You cannot pass as partner’s 2♠ bid is game forcing.

 

Bidding Sequences Answers    

 

 

E      1♣     pass   1♦     pass       3 ♥ is 4th suit forcing, if partner was 4414 or 4405 then

2♠      pass   3♣     pass       he would have bid 2♥ rather than 2♠. If partner is 4423 then

3♥                                        he would have opened or rebid 2NT.

F      2NT   pass   3♠                    You have to agree this, but the best use of 2♠ is to show a hand with exactly 5 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s, as this cannot be bid using transfers without going past 3NT.

G     2♣     2♥      dbl                   Dbl is penalties.

H     2♦     dbl                             Dbl of a strong 2♦ shows ♦’s. Similarly the double of a strong 2♣ opening shows ♣’s – it is most certainly not take-out!