Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 276

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 24^th Feb 2008

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 18^th N-S 1^st Gerry & Per-Ake 60% 2^nd Ken & Tomas 54%

E-W 1^st Hans V & Lars G 54% 2^nd Agne & Britta 52%

Wed 20^th N-S 1^st Bob & Jo 62% 2^nd Val & Terry 53%

E-W 1^st Lars G & Tomas 67% 2^nd Sean B & Tom Hanlon 60%

Fri 22^nd N-S 1^st Ivy & Wolfgang 60% 2^nd Britta Borg & Sally Watson 55%

E-W 1^st Dermont & Joron 61% 2^nd = Hans V & Lars G 60%

2^nd = Kees P & Paul S 60%

Bidding Quiz

Hand A Hand B With Hand A you open 1♣ and partner bids 1♥, what

do you rebid?

♠ A654 ♠ QJ7

♥ KJ7 ♥ J85 With Hand B LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♠. RHO

♦ 1086 ♦ 94 doubles (negative, showing 4 ♥’s), what do you do?

♣ KQ4 ♣ 109874

Hand C Hand D With Hand C you open 1♦, LHO bids 1♠, partner bids 2♣ and

RHO bids 2♠. What do you do?

♠ K4 ♠ K72

♥ AQ104 ♥ 9742 With Hand D partner opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls 2♣, what

♦ A1085 ♦ 3 do you bid? Note, this is the hand that should have been

♣ 632 ♣ A10962 Hand D Last week.

Hand E Hand F With Hand E partner opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls 1♠, what

do you bid?

♠ 1083 ♠ J1085

♥ K743 ♥ J62

♦ 32 ♦ 3 With Hand F LHO opens 1♣ and partner doubles, what do

♣ AKQJ ♣ KJ652 you do?

Hand G Hand H What do you open with Hand G?

♠ A964 ♠ A963

♥ AKQ4 ♥ Q54 With Hand H partner opens 3♣, what do you bid?

♦ K872 ♦ AQ10942

♣ 10 ♣ -

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 1♥ pass 2♣ pass Is 3♥ forcing?

3♥

K 1♦ 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ (a) How many points is 2NT,

2NT (b) and does it show a ♠ stop?

Error in last week’s news-sheet

♠ K72 Hand D on the front page of last week’s news-sheet was incorrect (it was

♥ 9742 correct in the inside pages of the news-sheet). This is the correct hand and

♦ 3 you were asked what to do when partner opened 1♦ and RHO overcalls

♣ A10962 2♣. The hand has been put in again this week again as Hand D.

Never deny a 4-card major – part 1. Board 13 from Monday 18^th

Here we go again, with East at Table A getting a poor score for ‘showing the points’ rather than showing the 4-card major.

Dealer: ♠ KQ7 Table A

North ♥ 95 West North East(A) South

Both vul ♦ K752 - - 1♣ pass

♣ J1082 1♥ pass 1NT (1) all pass

♠ 10982 N ♠ A654 Table B

♥ AQ106 W E ♥ KJ7 West North East(A) South

♦ J3 S ♦ 1086 - - 1♣ pass

♣ 763 ♣ KQ4 1♥ pass 1♠ (1) pass

♠ J3 2♠ all pass

♥ 8432

♦ AQ94

♣ A95

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this East hand A in this week’s quiz? The hand is totally flat but you should still try for a 4-4 ♠ fit; since partner has 4 ♥’s, if he also has 4 ♠’s then he has shortage in one minor and you will score an extra trick with a ruff (or two).

Table B: (1) This East got it right.

And what happened? INT went one down for a poor score. 2♠ was bid 3 times and made twice. The bottom lines: -

- The 4-4 fit virtually always makes an extra trick.

- Never deny a 4-card major.

Play Problem

Dealer: ♠ 1083 West North(E) East South

East ♥ K743 - - pass 1♦

Both vul ♦ 32 1♠ 2♣ (1) 2♠ 2NT (2)

♣ AKQJ pass 3NT all pass

♠ A9652 N You are West, defending against 3NT. You choose to lead the

♥ 96 W E ♦K and partner plays the ♦9 (count, probably a doubleton).

♦ KQJ76 S What card do you play next?

♣ 5 Answer next page.

Never deny a 4-card major – part 2. Board 10 from Wednesday 20^th

This time North at Table A is a beginner and did not know about negative doubles. But the hand is interesting because of the play in the inferior 3NT contract that was reached.

Dealer: ♠ 1083 Table A

East ♥ K743 West North(E) East South (C)

Both vul ♦ 32 - - pass 1♦

♣ AKQJ 1♠ 2♣ (1) 2♠ 2NT (2)

pass 3NT all pass

♠ A9652 N ♠ QJ7

♥ 96 W E ♥ J85 Table B

♦ KQJ76 S ♦ 94 West North(E) East(B) South

♣ 5 ♣ 109874 - - pass 1♦

♠ K4 1♠ dbl (1) 2♠ (3) 3♥

♥ AQ104 pass 4♥ all pass

♦ A1085

♣ 632

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand E in this week’s quiz? The bidding at Table B is best.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? This shows 12-14 points (partner has bid a new suit at the 2-level) and a ♠ stop and so is fine.

Table B: (1) This North got it right, a negative double showing 4 ♥’s.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand B in this week’s quiz? I totally agree with this raise – it may make life difficult for South…

(4) … Indeed, but with good 4-card ♥ support South really has to possibly overbid here.

Now the interesting thing about this hand is not the bidding, but the play at Table A. North was a beginner but all of the other three players like to believe that they are good players.

West enquired how many ♦’s the 1♦ opening guaranteed and as told ‘4’. He led the ♦K anyway and got the ♦9 (count, so obviously a doubleton or perhaps singleton) from partner. What did you lead next in the problem set on the previous page?

In my opinion West went very wrong here when he continued with the ♦Q. Declarer won with the ♦A and cashed the ♥A and ♥K and then simply led the ♦10 to establish his ♦8 as a tenth trick.

At trick two West should not continue ♦’s as declarer is favorite to hold the ♦8 and you are then setting up a trick for him. A ♠ is likely to give declarer a trick and I think it’s best to passively exit with a ♣, declarer has only nine tricks then unless he can engineer an end-play. But this South is probably not a good enough player to manage that, noting the ♦ pips is his limit.

And what happened? 3NT scored +1 for a good score, with 4♥= being the popular spot.

The bottom lines: -

- Be wary of leading into declarer’s suit, especially twice!

- Don’t forget negative doubles, 4♥ is easy on this deal.

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

North South You are South, declarer in 4♠ on the ♥Q lead. Plan the play.

♠ J876 ♠ A543

♥ 4 ♥ A8632

♦ AKJ1098 ♦ Q4

♣ A3 ♣ KJ

Dave’s Column answer Board 17 from Wednesday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ J876 West North East South

North ♥ 4 - 1♦ pass 1♥

Love all ♦ AKJ1098 pass 1♠ pass 4♠

♣ A3 all pass

♠ 2 N ♠ KQ109 East leads the ♥Q, how do you play?

♥ K75 W E ♥ QJ109

♦ 7532 S ♦ 6 Dave’s book says:

♣ Q9854 ♣ 10762 Win the ♥A, cash the ♠A and begin playing ♦’s.

♠ A543 You lose three ♠tricks and no more. It’s that simple.

♥ A8632

♦ Q4 Terry’s comment. Is it really that simple? This is a pairs

♣ KJ competition and if the ♠’s break 3-2 (68%) then you will

make one less trick than the rest of the field.

I did not play this hand on Wednesday so Dave gave it to me as a play problem. I won the ♥A and led a low ♠ at trick two, ruffed the ♥ return and then played the ♠A. If ♠’s split 3-2 I would then have made 11 tricks by then playing on ♦’s; if ♠’s are 4-1 this line loses only if the player with 4 trumps also has 4 or more ♥’s. On this deal it failed but I believe that this is a superior line to Dave’s book at pairs scoring. And another consideration is that many players will be in 3NT making +1, so 4♠ making will be a bad score. You must try for 11 tricks.

The point of the hand is that you should not play the ♠A at trick two and then continue with a ♠ as if trumps split 4-1 the opponents will draw trumps and then cash a bunch of ♥’s.

Dave’s book says that you must avoid losing control. It states ‘On this hand there are two ways of losing control. If you play ♠A and a ♠ then that’s clearly curtains.

Alternatively if you duck a ♠, ruff the ♥ return and then play the ♠A (my line) you are not much better off. When you begin to play ♦’s East will ruff, draw your last trump and then score two ♥ tricks. Down two.’

This last paragraph is misleading (incorrect, even!). There are three errors; to start with “your last trump” should read “dummy’s last trump”. Secondly, you have not lost control – you have only run out of trumps in dummy. Thirdly, having discovered the 4-1 ♠ break at trick 4 when he leads the ♠A, declarer will obviously ruff another ♥ in dummy and go only one down when East turns up with the remaining ♥. Had West held 4 or more ♥’s (odds-on with East having 4 ♠’s) then the contract would make despite East holding 4 trumps.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? The board was played 6 times and 4♠ was reached on 4 occasions; -3, -1 and contract. The bottom lines: -

- I think it’s best to go with the 68++% (it’s more like 80%) chance rather than a safety play to make an inferior contract at pairs scoring. But then who am I to argue with Eddie Kantar?

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

West East You are East, declarer in 3NT. South leads the ♠7 and North

♠ 32 ♠ KJ9 plays the ♠10, Plan the play.

♥ A942 ♥ K3

♦ AJ1083 ♦ K952

♣ A10 ♣ K653

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 7 from Wednesday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ 1064 West North East South

East ♥ Q1065 - - pass pass

N-S vul ♦ Q74 1♦ pass 3NT all pass

♣ Q97

South leads the ♠7 and North plays the ♠10,

♠ 32 N ♠ KJ9 Plan the play

♥ A942 W E ♥ K3

♦ AJ1083 S ♦ K952

♣ A10 ♣ K653

♠ AQ875

♥ J87

♦ 6

♣ J842

You have 5 sure tricks outside your strongest suit, ♦’s – one ♠, 2 ♥’s and 2 ♣’s. Therefore you only need 4 tricks from the ♦ suit to make your game.

You know from the lead and North’s play to the first trick that South has the missing ♠ honours (Third hand plays high and the rule of 11 imply that North has only the one card higher than the ♠7).

Knowing that South has the ♠AQ makes North the danger hand. It is North, not South, who can hurt you (with a ♠ through) if he gets the lead. Your plan should be to keep North off lead.

Lead a ♦ to the ♦A and run the ♦J at trick three. Even if it loses you have nine tricks and are safe from a ♠ attack with South on lead.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? The board was played 6 times but only one pair ended up in 3NT, making an overtrick for a clear top. The bottom lines: -

- When you have a vulnerable holding (usually a king) it is the hand that can lead through your honour that is the danger hand, not the hand sitting over your king.

Cards on the table - Disputes over the number of tricks made.

There have been occasions when the sides disagree on the number of tricks made. My solution is very easy – I always leave my cards on the table in the correct orientation until the score is agreed and written down. If I am called over when there is a dispute and three players have returned their cards to the board, then I will state that the result of the player with his cards on the table is correct.

The bottom lines: -

- Leave your cards on the table until the score has been written down.

Incidentally, at our club it is quite permissible (encouraged even) for anyone to mention to anyone else that they have a card the wrong way round.

Stay low with misfits Board 8 from Friday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ 1087 West North East(H) South

West ♥ AKJ6 3♣ pass 3♦ (1) pass

Love all ♦ 6 3NT (2) dbl pass pass

♣ AK832 4♣ dbl all pass

♠ QJ4 N ♠ A963 (1) What did you bid with this East hand H in

♥ 73 W E ♥ Q54 this week’s quiz? This East has a totally

♦ J S ♦ AQ10942 different opinion about the hand than I do.

♣ QJ107654 ♣ - He thinks it’s a good hand, I think it’s a

♠ K52 pile of junk opposite a 3♣ opener, and to

♥ 10982 make a forcing bid of 3♦ is sheer folly.

♦ K8753 Pass is very clear.

♣ 9 (2) What else can West do?

And what happened? 4♣ doubled went -3 for a shared bottom to E-W. After the hand East ‘did a Chuck’ and proclaimed that he had a good hand and that partner should have passed 3NT. This is total nonsense (3NT fares even worse) and the disaster is 100% East’s fault.

The bottom lines: -

- A new suit over partner’s pre-empt is strong and forcing.

- 12 points with a void in partner’s long suit is not strong.

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

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

__		__	__		__				__			__			__				__		__		__		__			__		__	__	-	__		__		__	__		__	__	__
12		10	18		19				14			3			17				17		2		10		1			6		2	12		26		2		10	12		18	23	11
__		__	__		__		__			__			__			__				__		__		__		__			__		__	__		__		__		__	__
24		7	6		7		6			20			7			24				10		1		18		10			18		16	3		2		11		2	23
__		__	__		__		__			__			__			’		__			__		__		__		__			__	__	__		__			__	__		__	__	__
25		18	24		10		23			7			24					12			14		3		23		21			12	13	2		10			2	12		23	3	10
__	__			__		__		__			__			__			.
18	23			18		12		12			7			10

Don’t pass partner’s take-out double Board 17 from Friday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ A964 West North East South(F)

North ♥ Q1075 - pass pass pass

Love all ♦ K1084 1♣ dbl (1) pass pass (2)

♣ 4 all pass

♠ K3 N ♠ Q72 (1) A shade light, but with the perfect shape and

♥A4 W E ♥ K983 two tens I think it’s perfectly acceptable and

♦ AQ65 S ♦ J972 is the bid that I would make.

♣ AQ973 ♣ 108 (2) What did you bid with this South hand F in

♠ J1085 this week’s quiz? I would need MUCH better

♥ J62 trumps to even think about passing in this

♦ 3 position. With 4 ♠’s 1♠ is very clear.

♣ KJ652

And what happened? 1♣ doubled made +1 for a poor score to N-S. The bottom lines: -

- Do not pass partner’s take-out double without excellent trumps.

16 points, so a 1NT opening? East hand 17 from Monday 18^th

♠ A964 What did you open with this hand G in this week’s quiz? It is 16 points

♥ AKQ4 but it is NOT balanced. The correct opening is 1♦. I will take this

♦ K872 opportunity to remind players that a 1NT opening with a singleton

♣ 10 IS NOT ALLOWED at this club. I would normally adjust the score, giving the non-offending side 60% but as they scored 60% anyway they just got their average. The East player was apparently unaware of the club rules and so he was not penalized this time (the board was averaged [scored as not played] and so they got their average score for the session).

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1♠. 1NT is a poor bid as there may be a 4-4 ♠ fit.

Hand B: 2♠. It’s usually best to support partner’s 5-card suit with three card support, but this is especially important in the situation when RHO has made a negative double of a 1♠ overcall. This is because RHO’s points are undefined and a raise to 2♠ may inhibit opener from bidding 3♥ with a minimum opener when they have game; or alternatively ‘push him’ to bid 3♥ and then get too high. Not that bidding 2♠ is consistent with the Law of Total tricks.

Hand C: 2NT. This only promises 12-14 points (and a ♠ stop of course) because it is partner who pushed the bidding up to the two level.

Hand D: Pass, and pass partner’s subsequent re-opening double.

Hand E: Double, negative and showing 4 ♥’s. You cannot bid 2♥ as that promises a 5-card suit.

Hand F: 1♠. Partner has asked you to bid a suit and you have 4 ♠’s. Pass is a poor bid with these ♣’s sitting under opener. 1NT would be OK if it were not for the fact that the hand has 4 ♠’s.

Hand G: 1♦, obviously. Apart from being a very silly bid with this hand, a 1NT opening with a singleton is not allowed in this club.

Hand H: Pass. 3♦ is a terrible bid, especially as it is forcing!

Bidding Sequence Answers

J 1♥ pass 2♣ pass In Standard American 3♥ is 100% forcing

3♥

K 1♦ 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ (a) 2NT is 12-14, it is partner who has bid at the two level

2NT (b) it guarantees a ♠ stop; with 12-14 without a ♠ stop opener would pass unless he had another convenient bid.