Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 266

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 9^th Dec 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 3^rd N-S 1^st Lewis & Terje 65% 2^nd Dave & Ursula 55%

E-W 1^st Derek & Gerard 56% 2^nd Goran & Margit 54%

Wed 5^th N-S 1^st Sean & Paul K 64% 2^nd Frode & Robbie 57%

E-W 1^st Lewis & Terje 67% 2^nd Lars & Lennart 54%

Fri 7^th N-S 1^st Lennart & Paul S 62% 2^nd Par & Lotta 61%

E-W 1^st Hand V & Lars 63% 2^nd Lewis & Terry 61%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

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

♠ QJ5 ♠ KJ5 With Hand B RHO :-

♥ Q98 ♥ AK96 (a) Opens a strong NoTrump, what do you bid?

♦ KJ10 ♦ J1076 (b) Opens a weak NoTrump, what do you bid?

♣ AK82 ♣ Q4

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

♠ K3 ♠ Q97643

♥ AKJ ♥ Q53 With Hand D it unfavourable vulnerability. LHO opens 1NT

♦ Q643 ♦ 9 and partner doubles, what do you do?

♣ Q975 ♣ A63

Hand E Hand F With Hand E you open 1NT and LHO overcalls 2♠. This is passed

round to you, what do you do?

♠ AKJ ♠ -

♥ Q9 ♥ K10932 With Hand F LHO opens 1♦. (a) What do you bid?

♦ A10643 ♦ 1065 (b) Suppose you choose a weak jump overcall of 2♥ and LHO

♣ QJ2 ♣ KJ976 bids 4♠. This is passed to you, what do you do?

Bidding Sequence quiz

G 1♣ 1NT 2♥ What is 2♥ - weak or forcing?

H 1♠ pass pass 1NT How strong is 1NT?

J 1♠ pass pass 1NT

pass 3NT How strong is 3NT?

K 2♠ pass 3♣ pass 2♠ is weak, 3♣ is forcing for one round, 3♦ shows a non-minimum.

3♦ pass 3♠ Is 3♠ forcing?

The Club Championships

The championship race is very close and took a dramatic turn this week; Lewis had three results above 60% and leapt into top place in the Gold Cup. Lewis, however, has now returned to the USA and with 3 weeks to go it’s anybody’s championship with Jan and Dave very close behind. Mind you, both Dave and Jan need scores of above 57% to make an impression and that may be difficult as we now have a number of good players around; but a few results above 60% from either of them could be good enough. Time is running out!

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1855.6 Lewis Berg 1846.1 Jan v Koss 1845.0 Dave Cutler 1832.7 Paul Savelkral 1816.8 Janne Roos 1806.4 Lars Gustaffson 1770.0 Bob Pelletier 1748.7 Ivy Schlageter 1747.1 Wolfgang Foitik 1731.7 Sally Watson	670.5 Lewis Berg 666.8 Janne Roos 655.4 Dave Cutler 655.2 Jan v Koss 647.8 Lars Gustaffson 644.1 Bengt Malmgren 645.3 Paul Savelkral 631.8 Derek & Gerard 627.1 Gunnar Barthel 624.3 Bob Pelletier	350.4 Janne Roos 346.0 Lewis Berg 343.2 Bengt Malmgren 341.1 Jan v Koss 336.7 Paul Savelkral 335.2 Dave Cutler 333.1 Terje Lie 332.5 Lars Gustafsson 331.8 Derek & Gerard 325.6 Gunnar Barthel

Bridge Cryptogram Each letter denotes a specific letter in the alphabet.

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5

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7

8

9

10

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12

13

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26

__		__				__			__		__		__	__		__		__				__	__		__		__			__			__				__			__	__		__
10		24				4			9		11		19	1		6		11				17	9		16		6			23			9				14			6	11		22
__		__		__			__				__		__	__		__		__				__	__		__				__		__		__		__
13		26		1			25				4		9	18		23		6				9	1		12				19		2		6		1
__	__		__		__			__		__		,			__		__		__		__			__		__		__				__		__		__			__			__		__
4	9		23		23			6		23					19		2		6		1			22		26		18				2		9		14			6			19		26
__		__		__			__				__		__	__		__		__		__			__		__		__				__		__		__			__			__
4		9		23			23				18		1	13		6		23		23			22		26		18				2		9		14			6			9

__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	.
14	6	11	22	7	13	6	9	11	21	10	12

A poor penalty double Board 9 from Monday 26^th Nov

This article, and the next one, are left over from last week as the news-sheet was full.

Dealer: ♠ A108 West(D) North East(B) South

North ♥ J104 - 1NT (1) dbl (2) pass

E-W vul ♦ AK82 pass (3) pass

♣ 1052

(1) Weak, 12-14.

♠ Q97643 N ♠ KJ5 (2) What did you bid with this East hand B(b)

♥ Q53 W E ♥ AK96 in this week’s quiz? This hand is not good

♦ 9 S ♦ J1076 enough for a double of 1NT (either weak

♣ A63 ♣ Q4 or strong), especially as it has no clear lead.

♠ 2 Pass is called for

♥ 872 (3) What did you bid with this West hand D

♦ Q543 in this week’s quiz? Partner’s double should

♣ KJ987 be the same strength as a strong NoTrump

opening and at this vulnerability West should

either make an effort (3♠) or possibly 4♠.

And what happened? East led the ♦J and 1NT doubled made +2 – the only +ve score in the N-S column. Apparently West did not bid 3 or 4♠ at (2) because his partner had ‘told him off’ when he did so on an earlier occasion.

The bottom lines: -

- When partner doubles 1NT you should generally leave it in with 6+ points. But with a shapely hand and 8+ points you can bid or try for game, especially if vulnerable against not.

- A double of 1NT should be about 15-17 with a decent lead, this East hand does not qualify on either count.

- The criteria for doubling a weak NoTrump is exactly the same as for a strong NoTrump – it is incorrect to think that you can double a weak NoTrump with less than the standard 15-17 points.

That dreaded 4333 type shape again Board 26 from Monday 26^th Nov

Dealer: ♠ QJ5 Table A

East ♥ Q98 West North(A) East South(C)

both vul ♦ KJ10 - - pass 1NT (1)

♣ AK82 pass 6NT (2) pass pass

dbl all pass

♠ A6 N ♠ 1098742

♥ 105432 W E ♥ 76 Table B

♦ A852 S ♦ 97 West North(A) East South(C)

♣ J4 ♣ 1063 - - pass 1NT (1)

♠ K3 pass 4NT (2) pass pass (3)

♥ AKJ pass

♦ Q643

♣ Q975

Table A: (1) What did you open with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? I suspect that everybody opened with a strong NoTrump. But actually it’s very borderline – the shape is reasonable but both of the 4-card suits are very poor, AKJ does not pull its weight in a 3 card suit and the hand lacks intermediates. I would devalue and open 1♣.

(2) What did you bid with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? It’s a combined 31-33 points and slam will often be there; but 6NT is an overbid with this totally flat hand. 4♣, Gerber, would have worked.

Table B: (2) This 4NT bid is quantitative. I think it’s close between 3NT or trying with 4NT.

(3) Obviously South declines with his ultra-minimum.

And what happened? No less than three pairs reached the giddy heights of 6NT doubled and 200 away. The bottom lines.

- It’s obvious that many players do not understand hand evaluation: -

- This South hand is a miserable 15 and not worth 15 points.

- This North hand is a miserable 16 and not worth 16 points,

- If two miserable hands bid on regardless then the result is misery.

When partner pauses and passes – part 1

This is a familiar topic, here we have the same person apparently taking advantage of partner’s pause three times in one week. The rules about hesitation are quite clear, if partner pauses and then passes then you have to have a very clear bid, otherwise you are barred from bidding.

West North East South (1) after a very long pause

- pass 3♠ pass (1) (2) E-W called the director.

pass dbl (2)

I’m afraid that I do not have the hand record, but North had a 0355 shape with about 10 points. I was called over. I explained to North that he could not bid even, if he had intended to, after partner’s long pause. The bid was very dubious and obviously not a bid that 75% of his peers would make - I showed the hand to Dave (without mentioning the pause) and Dave said pass. So it is VERY clear that the hand could not bid. I tried to explain these rules to North but apparently in vain – as he did the same thing twice more on Friday: -

When partner pauses and passes – part 2 Board 16 from Friday 7^th Dec

Dealer: ♠ - West North(F) East South

West ♥ K10932 1♦ (1) 2♥ (2) 4♠ pass (3)

E-W vul ♦ 1065 pass pass (4) dbl all pass

♣ KJ976

♠ 972 N ♠ KQJ86543 (1) I would never dream of opening this hand.

♥ 64 W E ♥ 875 (2) What did you bid with this North hand F(a)

♦ A9843 S ♦ K in this week’s quiz? 2NT (unusual showing

♣ AQ4 ♣ 5 ♥’s and ♣’s) looks right to me but I suspect

♠ A10 that this pair had not discussed it. So North

♥ AQJ chose a weak 2♥ overcall.

♦ QJ72 (3) After a very long pause

♣ 10832 (4) What did you bid with this North hand F(b) in

this week’s quiz? 5♣ is far from obvious and most certainly cannot be bid after partner’s pause.

And what happened? Unfortunately the director was not called (I only heard about it later). N-S got a good score and had I been called (or had it made and difference to any of the player’s championship standings) I would have re-set the contract to 4♠ by East making and warned North.

When partner pauses and passes – part 3 Board 16 from Friday 7^th Dec

Dealer: ♠ AKJ West North(E) East South

North ♥ Q9 - 1NT 2♠ (1) pass (2)

Both vul ♦ A10643 pass 2NT (3) all pass

♣ QJ2

(1) Apparently natural. 2♣/2♦ (whichever you

♠ 972 N ♠ Q10865 use to show both majors) is better.

♥ J842 W E ♥ A1073 (2) After a very long pause.

♦ J2 S ♦ K5 (3) What did you bid with this North hand E in

♣ 10964 ♣ K7 this week’s quiz? This 2NT is totally

♠ 43 ridiculous and was obviously influenced by

♥ K65 partner’s pause.

♦ Q976

♣ A853

And what happened? North got a bottom anyway. Had I been called he would have been guaranteed a bottom whatever the outcome and again warned. The bottom lines: -

So here is the warning, in writing. You are not allowed to take advantage of partner’s long pause and pass, this deal is a blatant example. Anybody who repeatedly behaves like this will be penalized.

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

West East You are East, playing in 6NT after North has opened 2♥.

♠ AK8 ♠ Q9 South leads the ♥6 and North plays the ♥10 (or the ♥A).

♥ 85 ♥ KJ9 You need 5 ♣ tricks to make the contract but do not know

♦ A86 ♦ KQJ if a defender has ♣Q95. How do you play the hand?

♣ AJ743 ♣ K10862

Dave’s Column answer Board 25 from Wednesday 5^th

Dealer: ♠ 105 West North East South

North ♥ AQ10732 - 2♥ 2NT pass

E-W vul ♦ 53 6NT all pass

♣ Q95

This is the bidding given in Dave’s book. At

♠ AK8 N ♠ Q9 our club almost everybody was in 3NT and

♥ 85 W E ♥ KJ9 so the problem is to make 3 overtricks.

♦ A86 S ♦ KQJ

♣ AJ743 ♣ K10862 South leads the ♥6 and North plays the ♥10,

♠ J76432 how do you plan to make 12 tricks?

♥ 64

♦ 109742

♣ -

If the ♣ suit breaks 2-1 there is no problem, so you have to plan your play to find out which defender holds three ♣’s if indeed one does. Since North is known to hold 6 ♥’s the odds are slightly in favor of South holding longer ♣’s and playing the ♣K is the favorite and is what you should do if you were in 6♣, but you can do better than simply playing the percentages.

Playing in NoTrumps you do not need to play the ♣ suit straight away. The best strategy is to play on the other suits before making the final decision in ♣’s. So you cash 3 rounds of ♠’s and note that North started with just two ♠’s. Next you play 3 rounds of ♦’s. Although you have no reason to expect to receive such clear-cut information, North also shows out on the third round of ♦’s. You now have an almost certain count of the hand. North appears to be 2623, but even if he started with 7 ♥’s he still has at least two ♣’s, so you pay a ♣ towards dummy and collect twelve tricks.

And what happened?

Three players made 12 tricks. I know that one of them simply played a ♣ towards dummy immediately, I don’t know if the other two got a count of the hand or simply played the anti-percentage play.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input involving the best play for the contract.

North South You are South, playing in 4♠ and West leads the ♣K.

♠ K102 ♠ AQJ65 How do you play the hand?

♥ 963 ♥ J87

♦ KQ2 ♦ A875

♣ A1042 ♣ 3

Dave’s 2^ND Column answer Board 27 from Wednesday 5^th

Dealer: ♠ K102 West North East South

South ♥ 963 - - - 1♠

love all ♦ KQ2 pass 2♣ pass 2♦

♣ A1042 pass 2♠ (1) pass 4♠ (2)

♠ 983 N ♠ 74 (1) Forcing playing 2/1

♥ Q52 W E ♥ AK104 (2) Showing a minimal hand (fast arrival)

♦ 103 S ♦ J964

♣ KQJ85 ♣ 976 West leads the ♣K, how do you play the hand after

♠ AQJ65 winning with the ♣A?

♥ J87

♦ A875

♣ 3

One possibility is to draw two rounds of trumps and then play three round of ♦’s. Here West would ruff and you go one down.

The correct play is a dummy reversal. Ruff a ♣ immediately, play the ♠A and ♠10 of trumps, noting the 3-2 ♠ break, and ruff a 2^nd ♣. Go to dummy with the ♦K and ruff a 3^rd ♣. Finally you return to dummy with the ♦Q to draw the last trump. 10 tricks are made: 1 ♣, 3 ♣ ruffs, 3 ♦’s and 3 ♠’s.

And what happened?

Only one declarer made it (along the lines given). At our table West led the ♦10! South tried the dummy reversal but was now unfortunately unable to return to the dummy after the 3^rd ♣ ruff as West ruffed the ♦. Dave reckons that the contract is unmakeable on a ♦ lead (or on a ♥ lead and a later switch to ♦’s).

The bottom lines: -

- It looks like the books do not cater for the non-obvious opening lead, and not everybody at the Pattaya bridge club does ‘the obvious’. I guess that the author should have given North the ♠9 instead of the ♠2; South can enter dummy after taking the three ♣ ruffs by overtaking a last trump provided that he previously drew just one round of trumps.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 4NT (quantitative) or perhaps even just 3NT. The hand is totally flat and certainly not worth any more than a try for slam.

Hand B: (a) Pass. The hand is not good enough for a double, especially as it has no obviously decent lead.

(b) Pass. You need the same strength hand to double a weak NoTrump as you do to double a strong one.

Hand C: 1♣. Now I know that I will me in a minority of one here and that everybody will open 1NT, but this hand is not worth it! The two 4-card suits are very weak, the hand has no tens or intermediates to speak of, and 8 points are concentrated in a three card suit. Just about everything is bad about this hand and it’s simply not worth 1NT.

Hand D: Bid! It’s best to try for (or bid) game with this shapely hand at this vulnerability. If you pass then partner will doubtless find a poor ♦ lead. I would bid 3♠ as partner is not guaranteeing two ♠’s for his double but I would not argue if you chose 4♠.

Hand E: Pass, obviously; you have said your hand. This is only in the quiz because of the antics of one individual who chose to bid 2NT after partner had made a long pause and passed.

Hand F: (a) 2NT, unusual, showing the two lowest unbid suits and usually weak as here. If you do not play the UNT then I suppose that a weak 2♥ is reasonable.

(b) Pass or 5♣? 5♣ is certainly very pushy but one thing is for certain – if partner made a long pause over the 4♠ bid (thus implying values) then you are obliged to pass.

Bidding Sequence Answers

G 1♣ 1NT 2♥ 2♥ is weak, with a good hand (8+) you double.

H 1♠ pass pass 1NT 1NT in the balancing seat is about 10-13, or whatever you agree – it is certainly not the normal 15-17.

J 1♠ pass pass 1NT

pass 3NT 3NT here should be around 14-15 points.

K 2♠ pass 3♣ pass Two of our leading players disagree on this one. In my opinion

3♦ pass 3♠ 3♠ is forcing, presumably with a doubleton ♠ and offering the choice of game contracts.