Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                             Club News Sheet – No. 281

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                   30th Mar 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

       
bridge news sheets to news-sheet main page Bridge conventions No Trump bidding book
   
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recommended bridge books reviewed to bridge book reviews
   
    to bridge conventions to No Trump bidding

Mon 24th      1st    Hans V & Lars Broman          65%       2nd    Paul B & Ivy                              55%

Wed 19th     1st    Jean W & Terry                     61%       2nd    Paul B & Sally = Arne & Jan      56%

Fri 21st         1st    Gerard & Ursula                     65%       2nd    Paul B & Oranong                      57%

               

Bidding Quiz                   

 

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

 

AQ43           J952

Q753            A1042          With Hand B you open 1 and partner responds 1, what

KJ643           A5                do you rebid?  

-                   A63

 

Bidding Sequence Quiz

                               

C     1     pass   1                    Does the 1 bid deny a 4-card major?

D     1     pass   1      pass      

1NT                                     Does the 1NT bid deny a 4-card major?

E      1      pass   2      pass      

2      pass   2                    Is 2 forcing?

F      1      pass   2      pass      

2      pass   3                    What is 3?

G     1      2NT   3      dbl         2NT is Unusual (both minors here), what is the dbl?

         

Holiday in South Africa with Bridge?

I received the following e-mail if anybody is interested: -

Dear Terry, I found your website whilst planning our trip to the Far East. My husband and I are bridge players, I would say intermediate level. We are both in our 50's and have just got our son married off this week so we are off travelling. We will be travelling through India, Far East and Australia and Japan.

 We were wondering if any of your members may be interested in hosting us, with a view to returning to us in Cape Town South Africa.

My husband and I were both born in Nairobi, Kenya, emigrated to UK where we have lived and brought up two boys. Three years ago we moved to Cape Town to a warmer climate and an outdoor life. We play bridge at the Pinelands Club and Sea Point (Atlantic Seaboard) club in Cape Town.

Please let me know if you have any members who would like to host us for a couple of weeks or so and we would be happy to return the favour.

 Kind Regards, Kirn and Vipin Jethwa, kvj1721@gmail.com


Play in the 4-4 major suit fit                                Board 18 from Friday 21st

We saw this deal last week, a few people have indeed enlightened me as to how they ended up in silly 2NT and 3NT contracts: -

 

Dealer:             AQ43                                         West          North(A)    East            South(B)

East                  Q753                                          -                 -                 pass           1

N-S vul            KJ643                                       pass           1    (1)      pass           1NT   (2)

-                                                 pass           2NT (3)      all pass

 

K1087               N             6                     This was apparently the auction at three tables

86                  W    E          KJ9                (except that North bid 3NT at (3) at two tables)           

109                   S              Q872                   

Q10852                             KJ974            North thought that the 1NT rebid denied a 4-card

                        J952                                     major and South thought that the 1 response to

A1042                                  1 denied a 4-card major. So who got it wrong? 

A5                                             

A63

 

(1)   What did you bid with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? 1 is absolutely correct and is what most people would respond even if 4441 shape. Generally speaking, responder should respond up the line.

(2)   What did you bid with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? Unless you play Walsh (which is a rather advanced convention) you must bid 1. This 1NT bid denies a 4-card major in standard methods.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         Look for the 4-4 major suit fit.

-         Bid 4 card suits up the line.

-         If you go past an unbid major to bid NoTrumps then that denies a 4-card major.

-         To answer the question, South got it wrong, apparently at three tables!

 

 

 

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

 

North               South         You are South, declarer in 6, plan the play if: -

Q                  A873      (a)  West leads the J

843               AKQ7    (b)  West leads the J upon which East plays the K.

AKQJ98       65

874              AK3

                                                                 

                                               

                                                     


Dave’s Column answer                      Board 1 from Wednesday 26th 

 

   

Dealer:             Q                                                West          North         East            South

North               843                                             -                 1              pass           1

Love all            AKQJ98                                    pass           2              pass           3

                        874                                            pass           3              pass           6

all pass

J109542             N             K6                               

J952               W    E          106                 This is the bidding from Dave’s book.

104                    S              732                      

J                                         Q109652       Anyway, you are in 6 when: -

                        A873                                    (a)  West leads the J

AKQ7                                  (b)  West leads the J

65                                              

AK3                                     plan the play.   

 

Before you can run the suit, a solid suit that has no outside entry, you must be able to draw trumps – all of the trumps.

 

(a) With the J lead this is no problem. Simply win the opening lead and play out the three high trumps. If trumps are 3-3 that’s great; if they split 4-2 concede the trump trick and you have 12 tricks.

(b)  Unfortunately with a lead you do not have the luxury of this play. If the trumps do not break and you give up a 4th trump trick the opponents can then cash their winners. If, instead of giving up the 4th trump you begin to run the ’s, somebody will ruff and you are stuck with your black suit losers. If you try to ruff two ’s in dummy you might be over-ruffed or run into other troubles.

No, the correct technique on a lead is to concede your likely trump loser at trick two. Lead a low trump! This safety play concedes an unnecessary trick if the trumps split 3-3 but ensures the contract with a 3-3 or the more likely 4-2 split.

You can then win any return, draw the remaining trumps and run the ’s. Note that you could not make this play had you had a singleton in hand as the defence could switch to a at trick 3.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? One pair was in 6 making. Other contracts were 7-1, 6NT=, 6=, 4+2 and 3-1.

The bottom lines: -

-         Running a solid side suit in a suit contract may require special handling. Ducking an early round of trumps is often the answer.

 

 

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

 

West                East                You are East, declarer in 3NT and South leads the 3

QJ10            K54            upon which North plays the 7. Plan the play.

652               AK8          

QJ1076        K93           

43                AK72
Dave’s 2nd Column answer              Board 2 from Wednesday 26th 

 

   

Dealer:             76                                               West          North         East            South

East                  Q1073                                        -                 -                 2NT           pass

love all              A54                                           3NT           all pass

                        10986                                       

         

QJ10                  N             K54                South leads the 3 and North plays the 7     

652                 W    E          AK8               Plan the play in 3NT by East.       

QJ1076              S              K93               

43                                      AK72            

                        A9832                                 

J94                                            

82                                             

QJ5                                     

                                                           

The problem here is to recognize the problem. You would like to establish the ’s but you must count on the possibility of the opponent winning the 3rd round of ’s.

If that turns out to be the case you will need an entry to dummy’s ’s . The only possible suit in which you can develop that entry is ’s. Therefore you should win the K at trick one to ensure a later entry to dummy. Do this and you will have no trouble winning at least ten tricks. Win the first cheaply and you will have trouble getting to nine!

North will win the 3rd and return a ; if you play the K, South will allow you to hold the trick, and if you play low South will win and return a , locking you in hand with no chance of reaching dummy.

The bottom lines: - Look out for unblocking plays if a hand is short of entries.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? Just for a change, everybody was in the pre-ordained contract of 3NT. One made +2, three made +1 and two went down (presumably missing the unblocking play of the K).

 

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     1. This does not deny a 4-card major.

Hand B:     1. Partner may well have a 4 card major and you should look for the 4-4 fit. 1NT is wrong as it denies a 4-card major.

 

Bidding Sequence Answers

                               

C     1     pass   1                    The 1 bid does not deny a 4-card major.

D     1     pass   1      pass      

1NT                                     The 1NT bid denies a 4-card major.

E      1      pass   2      pass      

2      pass   2                    2 is a reverse and absolutely forcing…

F      1      pass   2      pass       … thus I would take 3 here as a splinter, showing shortage

2      pass   3                    and presumably just 3 ’s as there was no direct splinter.

G     1      2NT   3      dbl         The double here is surely penalties, overcaller has defined his

hand and responder presumably stretched to bid over 2NT.