Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                             Club News Sheet – No. 285

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                   27th April 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 21st      1st    Jeremy & Sally                       65%       2nd    Frode & Kenneth             56%

Wed 23rd      1st    Dave & Kenneth                    60%       2nd    Hans M & Jean                60%

Fri 25th         1st    Dave/Bengt & Jan/Ken = Bob/Tomas & Philip/Gene                             51%

               

Bidding Quiz                   

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A everybody is vulnerable. RHO opens a weak 1NT, what do you bid?

KJ107542    AQ32

109               A108            With Hand B you open 1 and partner bids 1.

4                   5                   (a) What do you bid now? Suppose you choose 1 and partner

J54               AK642         bids 2, (b) What do you bid now?

 

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C RHO opens 1, what do you bid?

                       

A84              A10              With Hand D LHO opens a weak 2 and this is passed to you.

7653             9                   (a) What do you bid now? Suppose you choose 3 and partner

AK               J1082            bids 3NT, (b) What do you bid now?        

J874             AKQ1074

 

Hand E            Hand F            With Hand E it’s both vulnerable. You open 1, LHO doubles

and partner redoubles. What do you bid?

AJ43             KJ643

1095             -                   With Hand F it’s both vulnerable. You choose to open 1, LHO

AK43           KJ76532       doubles and partner redoubles. What do you bid?

54                3

 

                             

Bidding Sequence Quiz

                               

G     1      2NT                           What is 2NT?

H     2      2NT                           What is 2NT over the weak 2 opening?

J      1      1      pass   1NT       How many points does 1NT show?

K     1      dbl     redbl                What does the redbl show?

L      1      dbl     redbl  pass      

1                                        What type of hand does this 1 bid show?

M    1     pass   1      pass

        2                                        Is the 2 jump shift invitational, forcing or game forcing?


Bridge Without a Partner

 

On Monday we had a bad number (a 4-board sit-out with me left over) and so I called for dummies. After four years of news-sheets I had hoped that the standard of bidding at the club had improved.

I did not call over any extremely weak players to bid with me, the next six articles are examples of how some of the ‘better’ players bid when they partnered me!  

 

When a pre-empt is not pre-emptive                  Board 23 from Monday 21st    

Here’s the first of my sextet of appalling bids I faced on Monday with spurious partners.

 

Dealer:             83                                               West(A)     North         East            South

South               KJ                                              -                 -                 -                 1NT (1)

Both vul            AKQ985                                   3    (2)      dbl   (3)      all pass

K62

(1)  Weak (12-14)

KJ107542         N             A6                  (2)  What did you bid with this West hand A in

109                 W    E          Q7542                  this week’s quiz? This hand is not good

4                       S              J107                      enough for a 3-level bid when vulnerable

J54                                     987                      and 2 is quite adequate if you want to bid.

                        Q9                                             Also, 3 here is extremely dangerous when

A863                                         RHO has opener a weak No Trump – it has  

632                                            little pre-emptive effect as RHO has already

AQ103                                       stated her hand as balanced 12-14 and also dbl by LHO is penalties.

(3)  North knows that there is no fit their way (they do not allow 5-card majors in their 1NT opening) and so taking the penalty was easy.

 

And what happened? Even though there were no trump losers 2 went two down for -500 and a complete bottom. Other N-S’s missed the doomed (on a lead) 3NT and most ended in sensible contracts.

 

The bottom lines: -

-     Beware of pre-empting over a 1NT opening with a very weak hand – RHO has said her hand and LHO knows the points situation and also can double for penalties. Such a pre-empt actually has little pre-emptive value and is often simply sticking your neck out.                                             

 

 
17 points is worth a try!            
                          Board 21 from Monday 21st   

A different partner this time, he made no effort with a 17 count when I responded twice.

 

Dealer:             K965                                          West(B)     North         East            South

North               J6532                                         -                 pass           pass           pass

N-S vul            K93                                            1             pass           1              pass

7                                                1    (1)      pass           2              pass

pass (2)      pass

AQ32                N             J7                  

A108              W    E          K7                  (1)  What did you bid with this West hand B(a) in

5                       S              AQ10862             this week’s quiz? A jump to 2 looks reasonable

AK642                               1095                    but unfortunately that is game forcing and this

                        1084                                          hand is only worth an effort. 2NT is just about

Q94                                           OK but a slight overbid and so I think that 1

J74                                              is probably best.

QJ83                                    (2)  What did you bid with this West hand B(b) in

this week’s quiz? Partner can have anything from 6-10 points and with 17 I think that West has to make an effort this time. 2NT looks right.

 

And what happened? 2 made +3 for a complete bottom. Everybody else was in 3NT making anything from 9 to 12 tricks.

 

The bottom lines: -

-     With 17 points opposite a response, you have to make an effort 2nd time round (if you did not 1st time).


With a long solid minor, don’t remove partner’s 3NT!        Board 18 from Monday 21st   

 

Here we have my partner failing to make a good 3NT bid, and then removing 3NT when I bid it!

 

Dealer:             A10                                            West          North(D)    East            South

East                  9                                                 -                 -                 2              pass

N-S vul            J1082                                         pass           3   (1)      pass           3NT   (2)

AKQ1074                                  pass           5   (3)      all pass

 

5                        N             KJ9762          (1)  What did you bid with this North hand D(a) in

KQ1086         W    E          J72                      this week’s quiz? I would bid 3NT but this

AQ75                S              K                          North chose a rather feeble 3.

985                                    632                (2)  I was South and knew that I was partnering

                        Q843                                         a rather erratic player who could well have

A543                                         a very good hand, so with a stop I bid 3NT.

9643                                     (3)  What did you bid with this North hand D(b) in

J                                                 this week’s quiz. North proved just how erratic he is with this crazy 5 bid, pass is clear.

 

And what happened? 5 went -2 for a clear bottom. The top score was 3NT making by North.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         If 3NT is an option, then bid it.

-         If partner bids 3NT at some stage and you have AKQ10xx in a minor, then PASS!

-         5/ is hardly ever a better contract that 3NT.


Obey the Law – part 1                                         Board 21 from Monday 21st   

 

This time my partner ignored The Law and got us way too high vulnerable.

 

Dealer:             AJ6                                             West          North         East            South

South               Q95                                            -                 -                 -                 pass

N-S vul            K73                                           pass           1             1              1

K1064                                       pass           pass (1)      2              2    (2)

3    (3)      3    (4)      all pass

1093                  N             K2                 

62                   W    E          AK8743         (1)  This is fine with three card support.

Q1042               S              A65                (2)  This is in accordance with the Law – a 5-3 fit.        

AJ95                                  32                  (3)  A spirited bid with just a doubleton.

                        Q8754                                  (4)  This is totally undisciplined, especially       

J10                                            vulnerable. It would be acceptable with

J98                                            4 ’s but not with just 3 ’s. Simply defend!

Q87                                          

 

And what happened? 3 went -2 for 200 away and a clear bottom. Most E-W’s were scoring 140 in ’s. The bottom lines: -

-         Obey The Law, especially vulnerable

 

Obey the Law – part 2                                         Board 7 from Monday 21st   

 

This time my partner again ignored The Law when vulnerable.

 

Dealer:             AQ6                                           West          North         East            South

South               852                                             -                 -                 -                 pass

both vul            K532                                         pass           1              1              1

A106                                          pass           pass (1)      2              dbl   (2)

pass           2              all pass

J9753                N             2                          

109                W    E          AKQJ74        (1)  This is fine with three card support.

Q4                    S              1076              (2)  Apparently take-out. I would pass – it’s   

KQ32                                J87                       vulnerable and probably just a 4-3 fit.

                        K1084                                        Partner has opened in 3rd seat and this bid

63                                              simply takes the partnership too high, vulnerable.

AJ98                                          

954                                           

 

And what happened? For the first time I don’t get an absolute bottom. I was North and at another table North passed the double at (2) and 2 doubled made.

The bottom lines: -

-         Obey The Law, especially vulnerable


When Partner redoubles – part 1                                Board 10 from Monday 21st   

 

This is the last (and worst) of my bidding partners’ eccentricities from my Monday session.

 

Dealer:             Q106                                          West          North         East(E)       South

East                  83                                               -                 -                 1              dbl

both vul            97652                                        redbl  (1)    pass           1    (2)      pass

Q98                                           3NT   (3)    all pass

 

K8                     N             AJ43               (1)  10+ points and looking for a penalty.          

KJ74              W    E          1095               (2)  What did you bid with this East hand E in

108                    S              AK43                  this week’s quiz? Pass is totally obligatory

KJ1072                              54                        without an extremely distributional hand.

                        9752                                           This East showed his lack of knowledge

AQ62                                        about basic bridge with this appalling bid.

QJ                                        (3)  By this stage I was getting totally fed up.   

A63                                           

 

And what happened? 3NT went -1 for a joint bottom (somebody else was in 2NT-1). It would have been nice to take the 1100 on offer, but if your partner does not understand the very basics of bridge bidding then I guess that’s just life.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         If you open, LHO doubles and partner redoubles, then PASS!!!!

-         The only exception is a very distributional hand like Hand F.

-         The meaning of redouble is clearly defined on the website: -

General Bridge Topics > When RHO Doubles.

 

 

-         I only played 18 boards on Monday – and 6 of them were worthy of writing up. Fortunately the other 12 were fairly sensible and I scrambled about 50%


When Partner redoubles – part 2                        Board  16 (2nd session) from Friday 25th    

 

Here we have another player who simply does not understand the redouble

 

Dealer:             A84                                            West          North(C)    East            South

East                  7653                                           -                 -                 pass           pass

E-W vul           AK                                             1              dbl   (1)      redbl  (2)    pass   (3)

J874                                           pass   (4)    1              dbl             1

pass           pass           dbl             pass

952                    N             QJ10                    2      (5)    pass           3NT   (6)    all pass            

KJ4                W    E          AQ102          

J8432                  S              Q9                  (1)  What did you bid with this North hand C in

AK                                     10952                  this week’s quiz? With over 1/2 of the points

                        K762                                          in ’s and two miserable major suits I would

98                                              pass.

10765                                   (2)  Looking for the penalty.

Q63                                     (3)  A bid here should show a 5-card suit.

(4)   This West got it right and passed…

(5)   but unfortunately he fell from grace here.

This bid is terrible and pass is very clear.

(6)  Like me in the previous deal, this East was annoyed and bid 3NT in desperation.

 

And what happened? 3NT went -1 for 50 away when 1 doubled would have netted anything from 300 to 800, depending upon the line of play adopted and the defence.

The bottom lines: -

-         If you open, LHO doubles and partner redoubles, then pass; and what’s more, pass when partner subsequently doubles anything for penalties.

-         The only exception is a very distributional hand; with three trumps it is maniacal to pull the double.

-     The meaning of redoubleis clearly defined on the website and all subsequent doubles are for penalties.

 

 

 

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♥. The defence take three tricks  

J52               963               and switch to the K. Plan the play.

J109             AKQ75

A942            3

Q87             AK32

     

                                                                   

                                                     

                                               


Dave’s  Column answer                    Board 11 from Wednesday 23rd 

     

Dealer:             J52                                             West          North         East            South

South               J109                                           -                 -                 -                 1

Love all            A942                                          pass           2              pass           3 (1)

                        Q87                                           pass           4              all pass

                                                                       

KQ7                   N             A1084            (1)  A help-suit game try.

642                 W    E          83                        

108765               S              KQJ                West leads the K and Q and a which East

J9                                       10654            wins with the A. East shifts to the K.

                        963                                       Plan the play.

AKQ75                                     

3                                          

AK32                                  

 

Your only loser is the 4th . Given that you cannot discard it on a side suit winner from dummy, there are still three other ways to avoid losing it:

(1)   The suit breaks 3-3

(2)   Draw two rounds of trumps and then play  3 rounds of ’s. If ’s are 4-2 and the player with the remaining trump(s) also has long ’s you can ruff the 4th in dummy.

(3)   Discard it on a trump!

In order to do (3) you must ruff 3 cards in your own hand leaving dummy with one more trump than you. On that extra trump you can discard your .

Win the A and ruff a high. Cross to the 9 and ruff a 2nd high. You now have two trumps in each hand. Cross to dummy with the 10 and ruff the last with your last trump. Enter dummy with the Q and discard your 4th on dummy’s J. This is a dummy reversal.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? Just one pair out of four bid and made 4.

Terry’s Comment. Trump lead or trump switch at trick 4 anyone? It looks fairy clear for East to switch to a trump at trick 4.

 

 

 

 

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

 

West                East                  You are East, declarer in 7NT and South leads the 10.

KQ6             AJ3               Plan the play.

QJ6              AK10                                  

Q63              AK42        

AK42           Q65                                          

                                                             

                                               

       


Dave’s 2nd Column answer              Board 10 from Wednesday 23rd  

     

Dealer:             542                                             West          North         East            South

East                  97                                               -                 -                 2NT           pass

both vul            J1098                                          7NT           all pass

                        J1098                                        

                                                                        South leads the 10, what is your plan?

KQ6                   N             AJ3                

QJ6                W    E          AK10             You have three sure tricks in each suit for a

Q63                    S              AK42             total of twelve. Besides that, you have an extra

AK42                                 Q65               trick in a minor if one breaks 3-3.       

                        10987                                   When playing a contract in which you have all

85432                                   the tricks but one, play the suits in which you    

75                                         have no chance of an extra trick first.

73                                        In this example North must make a fateful

discard when the 6th major suit card is led – this is a very basic squeeze play.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? Three pairs bid 7NT and made it with the line given. The 4th pairs stopped in 6NT and made that exactly.

 

 

 

Don’t ask unnecessary questions

 

Ax                You hold this hand and RHO opens a weak 2. You choose to bid 2NT – fine.

x                   LHO then asks partner what 2NT means and partner dithers – saying that some

AKJ10xx     play it as the minors and some as natural. He eventually come up with the

QJxx            (incorrect) explanation that it is for the minors. So LHO passes and partner

bids 3, what do you do now?

 

This is really a problem as you have the unauthorized information that partner has misunderstood your bid. But what do you do? Do you pass? Do you treat partner’s bid as Stayman and bid 3? Or do you bid what you think you can make (3NT)?

I was in this spot last week, and after considerable thought I decided that it was not unethical to bid 3NT, which made for a top.

Why did I decide this? Because in my opinion the whole mess was caused by LHO asking a question during the auction when he had no intention of bidding. I mentioned this to him at the end and his answer was “I wanted to know”. In my opinion that is not good enough and I will rule in a similar way in future if people ask totally unnecessary questions during the auction and get an erroneous reply.

The bottom lines: - Do not ask unless the answer will affect your bid – leave your questions to the end of the auction if you have no intention of bidding.

 


Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     Either pass or 2. 3 is too much vulnerable as you are very likely to get doubled (for penalties) as LHO knows RHO’s strength.

Hand B:    (a)  1. It’s not quite good enough for a game-forcing 2 (which I would bid if partner had responded 1). Also, it’s not quite good enough for 2NT (but very close).

(b)  2NT. You really have to make an effort now. It’s a mis-fit but partner may well have 10 points or so (he did).

Hand C:     Pass. With 7 points in the suit opened and horrible majors, this is a very poor hand for a double.

Hand D:    (a)  3NT. You have a stop and hopefully 7 top tricks.

(b)  Pass. Partner has corrected your error for you. 5 is sheer lunacy but is not the worst bid I faced on Monday.

Hand E:     Pass. Partner says you have the majority of the points and he is looking for the (vulnerable) penalty. You have no reason whatsoever to bid and lose the 1100 on offer.

Hand F:     1. This type of very weak distributional hand with no defence is the ONLY example of when you can bid opposite partner’s redouble.

                 

Bidding Sequence Answers              

 

                               

G     1      2NT                           2NT is Unusual, showing the minors and usually weak.

H     2      2NT                           2NT is natural, just the same as 1NT over a 1 opening.

J      1      1      pass   1NT       1NT opposite a 1-level overcall is about 10-11 points.

K     1      dbl     redbl                10+ points, very often a mis-fit and looking for a penalty.

L      1      dbl     redbl  pass       1 shows a  VERY shapely WEAK hand that cannot stand to

1                                        defend.

M    1     pass   1      pass       The jump shift is game forcing.

        2