Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                       Club News Sheet – No. 482
Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                    
My mobile phone number is 083 6066880                                                            12th Jan 2012
My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com
My Windows Live Messenger is tj_quested@hotmail.com

Mon 30th  N-S      1st   Sean & Jeremy               62%            2nd  Paul Q & Martin H        52%
                 E-W     1st   Bob S & Lars G             65%            2nd  Gerard & Derek             59%
Wed 1st    N-S      1st   Jeremy & Ron                61%            2nd  Paul Q & Dave C           59%
                 E-W     1st   Enzo & Alan K              55%            2nd  Gerard & Derek             54%
Fri 3rd       N-S      1st   Alan K & Per-Ake         68%            2nd  Bob S & Ari J                57%
                E-W     1st     Jens & Kristinn               60%            2nd  Henry & Sigurd              52%

Bidding Quiz          Standard American (short ♣) bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A           Hand B                 With Hand A LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♥, what
                                                      do you bid?
♠ A954            ♠ KJ                     
♥ QJ3              ♥ AKJ964                        
♦ J1064            ♦ K                        What do you open with Hand B?      
♣ AQ              ♣ AJ107

 

 

 


The Unassuming Cuebid                                    Board 8 from Wednesday 8th Feb 

     
Dealer:             ♠ KQ8                                           Table A    
West                ♥ K9652                                        West          North         East           South(A)
Love all           ♦ 92                                               1♦              1♥              pass           3♥     (1)
                        ♣ 875                                            all pass      
                                                                             
♠ 1076                   N             ♠ J32                       Table B
♥ 74                   W    E          ♥ A108                    West          North         East           South(A)
♦ AKQ53              S              ♦ 87                         1♦              1♥              pass           2♦  (1)
♣ KJ9                                    ♣ 106432               pass           2♥              all pass
                        ♠ A954                                   
                        ♥ QJ3                               
                        ♦ J1064                                   
                        ♣ AQ                                           

 

                                                                                                        
Table A:    (1)  What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? Many experienced
                        players still play this as invitational, despite the fact that it is totally illogical.
Table B:     (1)  This is the correct answer to question A, the Unassuming Cuebid showing a sound
                        raise to 3♥ or better. And this is a perfect example of why you need to use this
                        convention. Despite the fact that you have a decent 14 points opposite an overcall,
                        3♥ stands no chance.
                                     

And what happened? Five players managed to stop in 2♥, and so presumably know about the
USB. Just two overbid to 3♥ and both went one down.

The bottom lines:

  1. When partner overcalls in a major and you have 11+ points with support, use the USB.
  2. Remember, partner is only promising +-8 points for a 1-level overcall.

 

Dave’s Column                                          Bidding:    
                                                                    West          North         East           South
West                East                                     -                -                 1♣             pass
♠ A765            ♠ 43                                    1♦               pass           1♥              pass
♥ AK4             ♥ J862                                 1♠              pass           1NT           pass  
♦ 108754         ♦ AK6                                 3NT           all pass
♣ K                 ♣ A984        
                       
You are East, declarer in 3NT. South leads the ♠K,Q,J and you take the third round with
North following three times. Plan the play after you win the ♠A. 


Dave’s Column Answer                                        Board 10 from Wednesday 8th Feb 
     
Dealer:             ♠ 982                                             Bidding            
East                 ♥ 75                                               West          North         East           South
Both vul          ♦ J2                                                -                 -                 1♣             pass
                        ♣ QJ10732                                    1♦              pass           1♥              pass
                                                                              1♠     (1)     pass           1NT               pass
♠ A765                  N             ♠ 43                         3NT           all pass
♥ AK4               W    E          ♥ J862                    
♦ 108754               S              ♦ AK6               (1)  Natural and forcing.
♣ K                                       ♣ A984            
                        ♠ KQJ10                                
                        ♥ Q1093                                 
                        ♦ Q93                                Plan the play after you win trick three with the ♠AQ.
                        ♣ 65                                 

Counting nine winners here gets declarer only partway towards his goal. More important is
planning the play to ensure that those winners are cashed.
Barring a bad ♦ break East counted nine winners – one ♠, two ♥’s, four ♦’s and two ♣’s.
Without further ado, East played the ♦A, ♦K and a third ♦, getting both good news and bad.
The good news was that ♦’s split; the bad news was that he could not now reach his ♣A.
To make the game, declarer has to consider entries as well as winning tricks. After  winning the
third ♠ he should duck a round of ♦’s. South can cash his 4th ♠ but declarer then has the rest with no entry problems.

 

Dave’s 2nd Column

North               South                                       Bidding
♠ 43                 ♠ K8                                        West       North        East           South
♥ KJ1092        ♥ A84                                      -              -                -                 1NT
♦ Q98              ♦ KJ102                                   pass        2♦             pass           2♥
♣ K75             ♣ AJ98                                    pass        3NT          pass           4♥
                                                                        all pass
                                                                 
You are South, declarer in 4♥. West leads the ♣3, plan the play. Ifyou play small from dummy
East plays the ♣Q; and here’s a clue, trumps are 4-1.

                                                                                     


Dave’s 2nd Column Answer            Board 15 from Wednesday 8th Feb 
     
Dealer:             ♠ 43                                               Bidding            
South               ♥ KJ1092                                      West          North         East           South
N-S vul            ♦ Q98                                            -                 -                 -                 1NT
                        ♣ K75                                           pass           2♦              pass           2♥       
                                                                              pass           3NT           pass           4♥
♠ A976                  N             ♠ QJ1052               all pass
♥ 3                    W     E          ♥ Q765                 
♦ 765                     S              ♦ A43                     
♣ 106432                              ♣ Q                  
                        ♠ K8                                       
                        ♥ A84                                Plan the play in 4♥ on ♣3 lead.
                        ♦ KJ102                            
                        ♣ AJ98                             

Here’s the amusing tale of what happened when this hand was first played:
Declarer captured the ♣Q and played the ♥A followed by another ♥.
With West discarding a ♦ declarer decided for some reason to play the ♥J.
What happened next should not be discussed with children in the room.
East took the ♥Q and shifted to a low ♠. Declarer played the ♠K which lost to the ♠A and back came a ♣ which East ruffed. Now the coup de grace. East underled his ♠QJ10 again! West had the ♠9 and so got in again to give his partner another ruff. The ♦A then meant three down.


Paul’s Column

On 2/7/12, Paul Q  wrote:
Terry, had this not happened TWICE in less than a week I probably would ignore it.  These, however, were glaring examples of inappropriate and outrageous behaviour as well as ignorance of the laws governing duplicate bridge as propounded by the World Bridge Federation.

 Incident 1.  During the play of a hand by East, West (dummy) demanded that South expose to him a trick quitted two tricks before and therefore face down.  South, a current director at this club, told West that he had no right to inspect the trick.  West, one of the club's best players, persisted.  After play concluded North, a former Tournament Director for the American Contract Bridge League, calmly told West that South had been correct. West stated with some hauteur "I've  played bridge for sixty years and you are not going to teach me bridge."  North said no one was trying to teach you bridge, only explain a rule.  West's reply with the same attitude as before was " You ALWAYS are trying to teach bridge!" ignoring entirely the subject and instead launching a personal attack on North. From Law 66C of the WBF, "... until play ceases, the cards may not be  inspected (except at the Director's specific instruction; for example if necessary to verify a claim of a revoke." This Law governs the inspection of tricks. It is quite remarkable that anyone playing bridge for sixty years has not learned this basic rule and those regarding dummy's conduct!
Incident 2.  During the auction South opened 1 spade, West passed, and North bid 4 clubs. South alerted and explained North's bid as showing a singleton club and game forcing support for spades after East had asked for the explanation.  East passed.  After the auction had concluded and prior to West's opening lead North asked West to wait a moment and explained that South's explanation was incorrect. The correct explanation was that the alerted bid showed a singleton or void.  Play then commenced and after it had concluded East claimed North had no right to make the explanation. West (one of the least respected players in the club) chimed in that was right.  North explained that he was REQUIRED to make the explanation at that time. North was the aforementioned ACBL Tournament Director and identified himself as such.  East then claimed that HE ALSO was a Tournament Director and the rules worldwide were in disagreement, an assertion which East  agreed with.  North told East/West that if they felt they had been damaged to please call for the Director.  They declined. From WBF Law 75B giving an example and then an explanation where South is to be dummy "South must do nothing to correct the mistaken explanation while the auction continues; after the final pass South if  he is to be declarer or dummy should call the Director and must volunteer a correction."  Note the use of the word must.  Also note that nothing is said about the explanation being made in private conference. Perhaps West's behaviour can be explained by the onset of senility. Perhaps his bag had suddenly developed a gaping hole.  Certainly his knowledge had one.  East's claim to be a Tournament Director and subsequent claim that rules worldwide were in disagreement with me begs the question what world he was living in.
                                                                                          Paul

Terry’s comment: It may be a bit long-winded for some, the pertinent points are:

  1. At this club we do allow you to look at the last trick, but not after the next trick has been

played to. Obviously you cannot look at the cards from two tricks ago.

  1. When an incomplete or incorrect explanation has been given and you end up declaring, then the player who made the bid MUST inform the opponents before the opening lead.
  2. Don’t spout out rules if you have no idea what you are talking about.

Bidding Quiz Answers  

Hand A:   2♦, an Unassuming Cuebid showing a sound raise to 3♥. Even though you have 14
                  points 3♥ may be too high if partner has a minimal overcall (it was and he did).
Hand B:    1♥ or 2♣? This is difficult, the problem being that 1♥ may get passed out (it was at

one table) when game is cold. A 2♣ opening should be 9 playing tricks and this is close enough for me, so that’s what I would open. One player opened 2NT – it has the points but with a 6-card major is not a good idea. If you play Benjamin twos then you could open 2♣ and if you rebid 3♥ then that will get you to game (2♥ would be passed), but the problem with Benjamin as most play it at our club is that it is not forcing and so it’s difficult with two-suiters, If playing Benjamin