BRIDGE
Number: 164
UK £3.95
Europe €5.00
August 2016
Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding Quiz
This month we are dealing with interference. You are West in the auctions below,
playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
1. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6 3
N
♥ K 4 3 2
WE
♦ K 7
S
♣ A 9 8 7
WestNorth East South
1♣1♠
?
2. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6
♥ K 4
N
♦ K 7 6 5 4 3 WE
S
♣ Q 3 2
WestNorth East South
1♣1♠
?
3. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6
N
♥ A 4 3
WE
♦ A Q 2
S
♣ A 9 8 7 6
WestNorth East South
1♣1♠
?
Answers on page 7
7. Dealer West. Love All.
♠7
♥ K Q 6 5 4
N
♦ K J 6 3 2
WE
♣ K 3
S
4. Dealer West. N/S Game.
♠ 4 2
N
♥ A K 4 3 2
WE
♦ A K 2
S
♣ A 6 5
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠2♥2♠
?
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠2♣2♠
?
5. Dealer West. Love All.
♠6
♥ A K 4 3 2
N
WE
♦ 5 4
S
♣ A Q 9 4 3
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠
2♥3♠
?
6. Dealer West. Love All.
♠ 3 2
N
♥ K Q 6 5 4
WE
♦ A K 3
S
♣ A J 6
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠ Pass 2♠
?
Answers on page 9
8. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ Q 4 3
N
♥ K 8 7 6
WE
♦ K 7 6 5
S
♣ J 2
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠
2♥2♠3♥Pass
?
9. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 5
N
♥ K Q 7 6 5
WE
♦ 8 7
S
♣ K 9 4 2
WestNorth East South
1♣Pass
1♥1♠3♥4♠
?
Answers on page 11
10. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6 2
N
♥ A 9 2
WE
♦ A J 8 7 3
S
♣ Q 4
WestNorth East South
1♣1♠
2♦2♠ DblPass
?
11. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ A 7 6 5
♥ 9 8 6 5 4
N
WE
♦ 8 2
S
♣ 4 2
WestNorth East South
1♣1♠
Pass Pass Dbl 2♠
?
12. Dealer North. Love All.
♠ 7 6 5 4
N
♥2
WE
♦ A J 6 5
S
♣ A J 4 2
WestNorth East South
1♠ Dbl4♠
?
Answers on page 13
BRIDGE
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Page 2
Features this month include:
ADVERTISERS’
INDEX
1 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee
3Mr Bridge
4 In My Opinion by Heather Dhondy
6 Wendy Wensum’s Diaries
7 Bidding Quiz Answers (1-3) by Bernard Magee
9 Bidding Quiz Answers (4-6) by Bernard Magee
11 Bidding Quiz Answers (7-9) by Bernard Magee
13 Bidding Quiz Answers (10-12) by Bernard Magee
14 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions
18 Catching Up with Sally Brock
19 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage
20 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage
21 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett
22 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett
23 Readers’ Letters
26 Friar Tuck’s Bad Breaks by David Bird
28 Deception by Shireen Mohandes
30 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions
32 Teachers’ Corner by Ian Dalziel
33 More Tips by Bernard Magee
34 Communications by Andrew Kambites
36 Responding to a 1NT Opening (Part 2)
by Jeremy Dhondy
39 Sally’s Slam of the Month
39 Thoughts upon the Bridge by Brian Newbould
40 Russian Scoring by David Stevenson
42 Going Clubbing by John Barr
43 Seven Days with Sally Brock
45 Which Opener’s Rebids Show Extra Values?
by Julian Pottage
46 Sacrificing
by Bernard Magee
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8 Bernard Magee’s
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10 Bernard Magee DVDs
11 Mr Bridge Just
Duplicate Bridge Events
12 UK Scenes from Silver
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13 Designs for Bridge
Table Covers
13 Travel Insurance
13 Designs for Bridge
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16 Irish Christmas Markets
with Fred.Olsen
19 Denham Filming 2017
21 Mr Bridge
Festive Season 2016
25
25
31
33
Charity Events
Croatia with Mr Bridge
Better Hand Evaluation
Acol Bidding
with Bernard Magee
35 Declarer Play
with Bernard Magee
37 The Present Tea Towel
37 Be Reasonable Tea Towel
37 Life’s a Game Tea Towel
38 Bridge Traffic Signs
Tea Towel
38 QPlus 11
38 Pot Boiler Tea Towel
40Defence
with Bernard Magee
41 Club Insurance
41 Duplicate Bridge
Rules Simplified
41 Clive Goff ’s Stamps
42 We Are Survivors
Tea Towel
44 Cruises onboard Minerva
46 Ode to a Pill
Tea Towel
46 Kinds of Accountant
Tea Towel
47 Ten Commandments
Tea Towel
48 Iberia, France
& England with
Voyages to Antiquity
BRIDGE August 2016
CAUSE AND EFFECT
because otherwise there
will be no Readers’ Letters
for readers to read.
Contributions, …Short and
Sweet or …To the Point
are also most welcome.
you to cruise and Minerva
is one of the few ships
small enough to be able to
use the Corinth Canal.
FESTIVE SEASON
IN MY OPINION
More than once I have
found myself writing in
these pages to tell you that
there is nothing much
new under the sun. Most
is not new, more a part of
a gradual improvement.
‘What comes next?’ I hear
you ask and I find myself
saying something like,
‘Well, it all depends,’ or,
‘It’s a chicken and egg
situation.’ So it is with
letters and our regular
Readers’ Letters column.
It is one of the most popular
features of BRIDGE
but the most difficult to
sustain. This is because if
letters relate to comments
and/or criticism of the
content, I can pass the
correspondence to the
writer of the offending piece
or to an appropriate expert.
When readers ask questions
on general bridge matters,
such as play or defence,
these are passed to Julian
Pottage. Similarly, if they
deal with matters that
could be loosely described
as Laws and Ethics, they
are channelled to David
Stevenson. Only those
remaining are kept for
Readers’ Letters so do keep
the questions coming. They
are a vital part of any game
that is alive. Occasionally,
I slip in a personal view in
blue ink, but more often
than not, I leave it to you to
tell us all what you think.
Please don’t wait for
others to write because
that is what they too are
doing. Get on with it,
BRIDGE August 2016
This is a new series which
I am told may have very
limited appeal. Undaunted,
it is launched in this issue.
I do hope the series will
be the open forum that
bridge needs if it is to
have a secure future.
Thank you Heather Dhondy
for starting the ball rolling.
2017 DIARIES
Subscribers should have
received theirs by now.
Club secretaries may order
10 for only £50 including
postage. Ruby red, navy
blue or bottle green.
MINERVA
Now we are to provide
the full bridge service on
Minerva, it is up to me
to tell you all about her.
Mrs Bridge and I were
going to join the ship this
coming October 8, sailing
from Dubrovnik to Piraeus
(Athens). These are my
exclusive saver fares:
Inside £1,799
Outside£2,299
Balcony£3,499
No supplement for twinbedded or double cabins
for single occupancy.
Sadly, we are unable to be
part of the party, but for the
best of reasons. Grandchild
number 18 is due around
that time. Enough said.
October is a lovely time for
There are bridge parties
on Fred.Olsen’s Balmoral,
pictured above, as well as
Swan Hellenic’s Minerva
this coming Christmas.
For your own sake,
don’t leave your booking
until it’s too late. Also
on land, see page 21.
APPLE MAC
DEFENCE
At last the Bernard Magee
tutorial CD is available
for Apple Mac users.
SPECIAL SPECIAL
Whilst I am giving out
a few plugs I may as
well push my passion
and mention the special
special offer which my
re-involvement with
Minerva makes possible.
Do encourage your
friends to buy 36 issues of
BRIDGE, only £50 with my
assurance that I will make
it a publication they can
be proud to subscribe to.
CLUB EVENTS
Among this month’s
Readers’ Letters is one from
a club that booked one of
our club packages – they do
seem to be pleased. Should
your club be interested in
one, do contact Catrina
on ( 01483 489961.
WANT STAMPS?
If you need some for
posting letters and cards,
you should make use of
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Q11 & Q12
Send for QPLUS 11 and
receive QPLUS 12 when
ready at no extra charge,
with QPLUS 11 spare to
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YELLOW BOOK
David Stevenson writes:
Duplicate Bridge Rules
Simplified, also known as
the yellow book contains
two things: the laws,
which apply worldwide,
and were last revised in
2008; regulations, which
primarily apply to England
and Wales and have been
revised in some ways.
The laws of bridge as
outlined in the Yellow
Book are completely
correct. In some cases,
because of my continuing
experience, I might now
express them differently,
but there is nothing wrong.
Specifically, the section
on revokes, which some
people have suggested is
not up to date, is perfectly
correct and current.
The things that have
changed and are not correct
are the regulations.
The only important changes
are to the announcing and
alerting of doubles and
bids at high levels. I think
it might be possible to put
the most important things
on a two-sided insert.
This will be downloadable
from the library on my
website and future copies
of the booklet will have
the two-sided sheet folded
and included at the back.
All good wishes,
Mr Bridge
Page 3
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Page 4
Heather Dhondy expresses her disappointment that players are
B
ack in 1997, I played in a tournament in Reykjavik. There was
minimal exchange of system
information or system cards, everyone just got on and played bridge. Our
opponent opened 1NT and I enquired
about the range, ‘21-24,’ he replied. On
seeing my quizzical look, he added,
‘We don’t count points in the traditional fashion, we count seven for an
ace, five for a king, three for a queen
and one for a jack.’ This left me scratching my head as to whether this was,
in fact, approximately equivalent to a
strong no-trump or a weak no-trump.
My partner and I were playing, what
was then a modern style Precision
Club with several gadgets, and I don’t
think I would be exaggerating to say
that we were playing one of the simplest systems that I came across in that
tournament. It was the main national
tournament of Iceland and it attracted
a large field of mixed standard, and
the interesting thing was that no-one
minded about their opponents’ complexity of system, they just coped as
best they could. The tournament was
popular and well run, and no one’s enjoyment of the event was spoiled by an
opponent opening 2♥ to show a weak
two in either minor, or whatever they
played. Can you imagine that happening in this country? I didn’t think so.
The issue is that for years it has felt
to be important to protect the weaker
players from the nuclear weapons
produced by those with a mind for
system development, and thus the
natural development of ideas within
the game is being artificially stilted for
the sake of the enjoyment of those who
would rather see the game stand still.
The irony is that once people are used
to a new idea, and have considered a
defence to it, they don’t mind it being
played in the least. Take, for example,
the multi. How this ever got past the
legal eyes of the system regulators I
will never know. A bid which can be
any of several suits, can be very weak
or very strong – how much more
nuclear can you get? Does anyone
down the local club bat an eyelid if it
gets opened? Not many. The reason is
because it’s been around for years and
everyone is used to it.
The powers that be will argue that
if players were allowed to try out their
self-styled gadgets, no-one would be
used to them and wouldn’t know how
to defend against them, and they would
derive an unfair advantage. This may
be true in the short term, however,
the gadget itself may be found to be
flawed and the perpetrators may also
shoot themselves in the foot by using
it. Also there would be nothing to stop
those who have been wounded by such
a weapon, devising one of their own
and retaliating, or even using their
opponents’ ideas. This is effectively
what was happening in Iceland all
those years ago.
Why am I so passionate about this?
There are several reasons:
1.I believe that the game should be
left to develop naturally, and that
the great thinkers about the game
should be allowed to get on and try
out their ideas. Some will be good
and will form an integral part of
most tournament players’ armoury.
Take, for example, transfers, negative doubles, Roman Keycard Blackwood, Lebensohl etc. All these have
been developed within my bridge
BRIDGE August 2016
2161 Mr Bridge third page ad 170503BR_Layout 1 2
Opinion
Madeira,
Morocco
ions and
ent Bridge
not allowed to play conventions of their choice in tournaments.
lifetime and all are now commonplace at tournament level. Some will
be less good, and having had their
run-out, will be largely discarded.
Take, for example, fruit-machine
Swiss, Fishbein, Flint, Sharples. All
these, good and bad, were allowed
to have their day, and their success
or otherwise has been judged at the
bridge table, in competition, where
it should be judged. Not by a group
of people sitting around a (nonbridge) table discussing the merits
or acceptability of any given idea.
2.
The
system
regulations
at
international level are different
from those in this country, and
players are allowed to play HUMs
(Highly Unusual Methods) in
the latter stages of, for example,
the World Championships. These
include methods such as Forcing
Pass where an opening pass takes
on a different meaning from the
traditional – not enough points
to open – meaning. If the relaxed
view about system still presides
at Icelandic tournaments, their
players will be able to try out their
HUMs in the cosy environment
of a local congress, refine their
responses based on practical
experience, and produce it, wellrehearsed, at international level.
What English partnership is going
to risk wheeling out such a system
when they have had no chance
to practice it in a live situation at
all? Therefore, we are potentially
placing ourselves on the back foot
on the World stage.
3.Finally, who are these people that
make the decisions about whether
a system should be allowed or not?
BRIDGE August 2016
Currently, this task is carried out
by the Laws and Ethics committee.
Whilst I don’t question their
competence, they are a group of
volunteers who are frequently
elected unopposed at shareholder
meetings. In other words, pretty
much anyone who fancies the idea,
will get the job. Is it right that such
a decision is taken via this route? I
can well imagine that if a slightly
different composition of people had
reviewed, for example, Lebensohl,
it might have been outlawed. How
different our game would be in
those circumstances.
& Seville
hosted by
SANDY BELL
Enjoy the spring sunshine of
Madeira, the dramatic landscapes of
the Canary Islands and the Moorish
splendours of Morocco and Seville.
Now I do accept that newcomers to
the game should not be thrown in at
the deep end. For those who bravely
venture out of the comfort of the
May 3, 2017 - 11 days
from Funchal to Seville
classroom into the shark-infested pit
of the tournament world, we want
Fly to Funchal to join Aegean Odyssey
to encourage them to come back. If
for 2 nights on board. Cruise to La Palma
• Lanzarote • Agadir (Taroudant)
they are suddenly confronted with
• Marrakesh (overnight hotel)
what seems like a foreign language,
• Casablanca (Rabat) • Seville (overnight
from ‘Acol with a weak no-trump’
on board) • Fly home
to ‘Forcing Pass’, they may feel it has
Great value Mr Bridge fares
been a step too far, and we wouldn’t
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Single supplement only 10%
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only are permitted. What I am talking
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about is at national tournament level,
where I believe that we should permit
anything at all. After all, in Iceland,
on 01483 489961
everyone got used to this pretty
quickly and accepted all that they
met without issue, so we have seen it
working well in practice. This can give
www.mrbridge.co.uk
us confidence that the same would
happen here within a short period of
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time.
■
Page 5
The Diaries of Wendy Wensum
Episode 52:
The Pedalo Fixation
M
illie and I were sitting on
the Riverside veranda sipping pre-bridge drinks as
the River Wensum glided effortlessly
past on its journey to the sea. ‘Pedalo,’
said Millie out of the blue. ‘Pedalo?’
I enquired suspiciously, ‘Is that what
you’re drinking, a new French Cognac?’ ‘Pedalo,’ repeated my companion pointing furiously, ‘Over there,
I’ve never seen one on this stretch of
water before.’ ‘Perhaps it’s from Great
Yarmouth and lost its sense of direction,’ I suggested facetiously. Millie
looked at me with disdain. At that moment George appeared on the balcony
in his jogging gear. ‘I’ve never spotted a pedalo round here before,’ he
observed. ‘We’ve done that, George.
Now, have you remembered our pact?
You don’t come on this veranda prepared for the London marathon and I
don’t push you into the water,’ Millie
warned him menacingly. George retreated grinning from ear to ear. The
pedalo made steady progress past us;
clearly its occupants were not bridge
players seeking membership of our
club. ‘Perhaps they are illegal immigrants,’ suggested Millie playfully.
We made our way to the bridge room
for the duplicate pairs competition
and, naturally, Millie took her
opportunity to have her brandy glass
refilled in the bar. Near the end of the
session George and Sarah arrived at
our table and Millie complimented
George, now suitably dressed, on his
smart appearance. I don’t know who
was the more shocked, him or me.
Either way, George was positively
beaming as we turned our attention
to this evenly balanced partscore hand
Page 6
with twenty high cards points within
each partnership.
Dealer West. E/W Game.
♠ Q 9 8 4
♥ A K J 6 3
♦ 7 6
♣ J 9
♠ A 10 ♠ K 6
N
♥ Q 8 4 2WE
♥ 10 9 5
♦ A 10 9 S
♦ Q J 5 3 2
♣ A 8 5 4
♣ 7 6 2
♠ J 7 5 3 2
♥7
♦ K 8 4
♣ K Q 10 3
ducked and George won with the ace. I
won the club return and played another
trump. I claimed the remaining tricks
making the contract on the nose with
three clubs, one diamond, two hearts
and three spades.
The defence had allowed me to make
the diamond king and I could have
gone off on a trump lead. I admitted
that my three spade invitation had been
rather optimistic, an opinion which
was instantly and enthusiastically
confirmed by Millie.
When Kate and Jo played the hand,
West opened a weak no-trump and
Kate made a simple two heart overcall
to end the auction.
West
George opened a 12-14 no trump.
Using our recently introduced MultiLandy style defence, Millie bid two
clubs, nominally showing 5-5 in
the majors, but not vulnerable a 5-4
shape was acceptable. Sarah made a
non-forcing two diamond bid and I
showed my good support for spades
by jumping to the three level, a game
invitation which fortunately Millie
declined.
West
North
East
South
George
Millie
Sarah
Wendy
1NT
2♣12♦3♠2
All Pass
1
Both majors
2
Invitational
George led the ace of his partner’s suit,
and followed it with the ten which I
won in hand. I led a small trump to
dummy’s queen, which Sarah took
with the king. She returned a club, I
North
East
Kate
1NT
2♥End
South
Jo
East led the diamond queen and the
contract slipped two off, losing a club,
two diamonds, two hearts and two
spades. Kate recognised that finessing
the jack of hearts could have saved
her a trick and several match points,
as the traveller revealed some E/W
partnerships had played and made two
diamonds. So often a missed trick or a
lucky overtrick is critical on hands like
these.
Later, in our usual hostelry, the
subject of the pedalo re-emerged. ‘I
imagine pedalling a pedalo is rather
like riding through a wide ford on
a bike,’ opined Kate, ‘hard graft.’ ‘A
bit like playing bridge with some
partners,’ noted Millie. I assumed
the comment was general rather than
specific, but with Millie one never
quite knows. ■
BRIDGE August 2016
2161 Mr Bridge third page ad 170606BR_Layout 1 2
Answers to Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quizzes 1-3
on the Cover
1. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6 3
♠ 8 2
♥ K 4 3 2 N
♥ A Q J 5
WE
♦ K 7 S
♦ A 2
♣ A 9 8 7
♣ K 10 5 3 2
West North
?
East
South
1♣1♠
Double.
You have support for your partner’s
minor, but it is a good idea to show your
major suit first. A bid of 2♥ is no good,
because that would promise at least a
five-card suit.
You need to make use of the negative
double. After two suit bids, the double
is used for take-out; not showing much
strength, but promising at least four
cards in the unbid major.
After your double, East can show heart
support and you can reach the right
game: 4♥.
2. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6
♠ A 4 2
♥ K 4 N
♥ A Q 7 6
WE
♦ K 7 6 5 4 3 S
♦2
♣ Q 3 2
♣ K J 9 8 6
West North
?
East
South
1♣1♠
2♣.
This hand is somewhat of a problem
after the overcall. I like the double in this
auction to promise at least four cards
in the unbid major, so double is not the
right option. 1NT should usually show
some kind of stop in the opponents’ suit,
which leaves 2♦, Pass, or 2♣.
BRIDGE August 2016
2♦ should show 10 points so would
be an overbid. Pass, on the other hand,
is certainly an underbid. 2♣ is surely
the best of all: showing 6-9 points and
club support. You would usually have
four cards in clubs, but sometimes over
an overcall you have to stretch your
supporting bids.
Whenever you are borderline for a
number of calls, then tend to choose the
supporting bid.
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3. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6
♠ 9 4
♥ A 4 3 N
♥ K Q J 8
WE
♦ A Q 2 S
♦ K 9
♣ A 9 8 7 6
♣ K 10 5 3 2
West North
?
East
South
1♣1♠
2♠.
You have a very nice hand, but it is
hard to know what to bid. When you
have the strength for game (combined
with partner’s minimum), but have no
natural call available that will not take
the bidding unnecessarily high, then
consider making a bid of the opponents’
suit. Bidding 2♠ here would tell your
partner that you have the combined
strength for a game contract, but are not
sure what to bid. You are hoping for your
partner to continue the conversation.
Obviously one thing you would like
to know about your partner’s hand is
whether he has a spade stop for 3NT
to be an option. Here, East would rebid
a natural 3♥, denying a spade stopper
at the same time. Now the partnership
would need to consider the relative
merits of 4♥ and 5♣.
5♣ seems the more obvious contract,
■
but 4♥ will obtain the better score.
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Page 7
BERNARD MAGEE’S
INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS
BEGIN BRIDGE
ACOL VERSION
l Card
ACOL BIDDING
MAC
Play Technique
l Planning
l Bidding
Compatible
Card Play
Balanced
l Opening
Suits
l Responding
l Supporting
to a Suit
Partner
l Responding
to 1NT
l Stayman
l Strong
Two Opening
and Response
l Overcalls
£66
l Doubles
l Pre-empting
l Defence
against No
Trump Contracts
l Defence
against Suit
Contracts
ADVANCED
DECLARER PLAY
l Making
Overtricks
in No-trumps
l
Making Overtricks
in Suit Contracts
lEndplays
Bids and
Responses
l Slams and Strong
Openings
l Support for Partner
lPre-empting
lOvercalls
£66
lNo-trump
Openings
and Responses
l Opener’s and
Responder’s Rebids
l Minors and Misfits
lDoubles
lCompetitive
Auctions
l
£81
Contract
l
Lead vs
Suit Contracts
l
Partner of Leader
vs No-trump
Contracts
l
l
Safety Plays
l
Twos
lDefence
Defence to 1NT
lDoubles
lTwo-suited
Defences to
Other Systems
l
Misfits and
Distributional
Hands
l
Entries in
No-trumps
Strong No-Trump
l
Opening Bids
& Responses
l
No-Trump
Openings
l
Support
for Partner
l
Slams & Strong Openings
l
Defensive Plan
l
Doubles
l
Stopping Declarer
l
Overcalls
l
Competitive Auctions
Drawing Trumps
( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or 10, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
Using the Lead
l Trump
Control
l
Endplays &
Avoidance
l
Using the Bidding
BETTER
BRIDGE
l Ruffing
for
Extra Tricks
l
Doubling and
Defence
Against
£69
Doubled
Contracts
l
Play and Defence
of 1NT Contracts
l
Finding and
Bidding Slams
l
Making the
Most of High Cards
£89
Mr Bridge , Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
£76
lDelaying
FIVE-CARD
MAJORS &
Pre-empting
the Hand
Ruffing for
Extra Tricks
l
l
l
lCounting
£96
Overcalls
lDiscarding
£76
l
to Weak Twos
l
Suit Establishment
in Suits
lHold-ups
Strong Hands
Minors
& Misfits
the Hand
Playing Doubled
Contracts
l Weak
l
Signals
Trump Reductions
& Coups
Establishment
in No-trumps
l
Rebids
lAttitude
lCounting
l Suit
l
Signals
Squeezes
l
Partner of Leader
vs Suit Contracts
lCount
lSimple
l
Lead vs
No-trump Contracts
DECLARER
PLAY
lAdvanced
DEFENCE
lAvoidance
lWrong
l Basics
Basics
Hands
l Bidding
ADVANCED
ACOL BIDDING
lCompetitive
Auctions
Any 6
for £299
Answers to Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quizzes 4-6
on the Cover
4. Dealer West. N/S Game.
♠ 4 2
♠7
♥ A K 4 3 2 N ♥ Q 9 6 5
WE
♦ A K 2 S ♦ Q 8 7
♣ A 6 5
♣ J 7 4 3 2
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠
2♥2♠
?
nents’ suit is used to show
great strength.
5. Dealer West. Love All.
♠6
♠ 9 8 3
♥ A K 4 3 2 N ♥ Q 8 7 6
WE
♦ 5 4 S ♦ 7 2
♣ A Q 9 4 3
♣ K J 8 2
is much better than allowing
your opponents to make 4♠.
6. Dealer West. Love All.
♠ 3 2
♠ 9 6 5
♥ K Q 6 5 4
♥7
N
♦ A K 3WE ♦ Q 6 4 2
♣ A J 6 S
♣ Q 8 5 4 3
3♠.
Once again, you have a wonderful hand, full of points, but
not so distributional. In competitive hands like this, you
have to be careful because
the auction can quickly get
out of hand. Imagine you bid
the contract you think you can
make: 4♥, well, you might find
the auction continues 4♠ and
then 5♥ from your partner.
Now you are not so happy
because you would have preferred to double 4♠.
At this vulnerability, it is not
unreasonable for your partner, without a defensive trick
in his hand, to make what he
thinks is a sacrifice bid of 5♥.
To stop this happening, you
need to tell your partner how
strong you really are. Once
again, the way to show your
strength is to make a bid in
the opponents’ suit. This tells
your partner that you are very
strong and expect to make 4♥
as well as expecting to be able
to outgun your opponents.
Now if your opponents bid
4♠, East will pass allowing
you to double for penalties.
Once again, the oppo-
BRIDGE August 2016
West North East South
1♥1♠
2♥3♠
?
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠ Pass 2♠
?
4♣.
Double.
5-5 hands are very powerful
when you have a fit in at least
one of them, so you should
certainly go for game. However, once again, you should
expect the auction to continue
to 4♠ and then the partnership
will have a decision to make.
Five-level decisions are not
easy, but one decisive factor
can be whether you have a
second fitting suit: a double fit.
To include your partner in
the final decision, you should
bid your second suit now: 4♣.
This looks the same as a
cue bid, but when your partner has only responded 2♥,
slams are not usually in the
equation, more important is to
be able to show a second suit.
East has a pretty poor hand
but when you show your clubs,
he can see that your side has
a double fit and should therefore bid on to 5♥ if the opposition does bid on to 4♠.
5♥ will go one off, but that
Your partner passed on the
first round, but that should not
dissuade you from wanting to
compete for the contract. The
important element of hands
like this is your length in the opponents’ suit: the shorter you
are the more you should want
to take action. You should try
to involve your partner in any
decision you take. Bidding 3♥
would be unilateral and your
partner would pass. Instead,
you should make a take-out
double.
Remember that you do not
necessarily need to make the
contract to get a good score.
Much of the time your opponents will be able to make 2♠,
so going off one or two, in any
contract you bid, will usually
get you a better score.
Here, your partner will bid
3♣ and should have a reasonable chance of success,
whilst your opponents may
■
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System: 8mb RAM, CD-ROM,
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Page 9
BERNARD MAGEE
TUTORIAL DVDS
SET 1
1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks
This seminar deals with declarer’s use of
ruffing to make extra tricks and then looks
at how the defenders might counteract this.
(74 mins.)
2 Competitive Auctions
This seminar focuses on competitive auctions
from the perspective of the overcalling side
and then from the opening side in the second
part. (86 mins.)
3 Making the Most of High Cards
This seminar helps declarer to use his high
cards more carefully and then looks at how
defenders should care for their high cards.
SET 2
SET 3
7Leads
13 Hand Evaluation
8 Losing Trick Count
14 Pre-Emptive Bidding
Bernard takes you through the basic leads
and the importance of your lead choice. If
you start to think about your partner’s hand,
you will get better results. (95 mins.)
A way of hand evaluation for when you find
a fit. Bernard deals with the basics of the LTC
then looks at advanced methods to hone your
bidding. (92 mins.)
9 Making a Plan as Declarer
Going beyond just the point-count is
important. Reaching & making 3NT on 24
HCP; and avoiding 3NT on 26 HCP when there
are only 7 or 8 tricks. (110 mins.)
The art of pre-empting is so important in the
modern game. Understanding the right hands
to bid up on and realising the importance of
position and vulnerability. (96 mins.)
15 Splinter & Cue Bids
Splinter bids are a vital tool to add to your
slam bidding armoury & try your hand at
Italian style cue bidding. (116 mins.)
(83 mins.)
Bernard explains how to make a plan then
expands on how to make the most of your
long suits, both in no-trumps and suit
contracts. (87 mins.)
4 Identifying & Bidding Slams
10 Responding to 1NT
As declarer, an important tactic is to be in
control of the defenders: avoiding a particular
defender getting the lead. As a defender, you
can try to make sure the right player gets the
lead. (88 mins.)
The first half of this seminar identifies when
a slam might be on. The second
half covers some slam-bidding techniques.
(96 mins.)
5 Play & Defence of 1NT Contracts
This seminar deals with Transfers and
Stayman in detail. The 1NT opening comes
up frequently, so having a good, accurate
system of responses is paramount. (93 mins.)
11 Signals & Discards
16 Avoidance Play
17 Play & Defence at Pairs
This seminar looks at the most common
and yet most feared of contracts: 1NT.
The first half looks at declaring 1NT and
the second part at defending. (88 mins.)
This seminar deals with Count, Attitude
and Suit-preference signals: aiming to get
you working as a partnership in defence.
Duplicate Pairs is the game most of us play
and getting used to the tactics will make
a lot of difference to your performance.
(92 mins.)
(90 mins.)
6 Doubling & Defence against Doubled Contracts
12Endplay
The first half of this seminar explores penalty
doubles and the second half discusses the
defence against doubled contracts. (88 mins.)
SET 4
19 Defensive Plan
Looking at your own hand, then at dummy
and envisaging how partner’s hand will
allow you to make a plan for the defence.
(112 mins.)
Bernard takes you through the basics of
endplays before showing some hands where
you can take extra tricks, then looks at how to
avoid being endplayed. (80 mins.)
£25
per DVD
20 Further Into
the Auction
£105 set of 6
21 Weak Twos
Buy a Set
Get 1 Free
The first two bids of an auction are usually
easy, but beyond that the complications
increase. Learn how to ‘talk’ to your partner
during the bidding. (95 mins.)
It is important to bid more in the modern
game and weak twos are an important choice
for the competitive player. (104 mins.)
22 Trump Control
Handling the play of the hand when trumps
break badly is an important attribute: playing
calmly and using a variety of tactics to pave
the way to success. (76 mins.)
23Sacrificing
An exciting aspect of the auction is
outbidding your opponents and going down,
but gaining by doing so. Learn to bid more
aggressively. (105 mins.)
24 Improving Bridge Memory
Remembering every card is a dream for most
of us. However, learn ways in which
to remember the important things.
(90 mins.)
18 Thinking Defence
By far the hardest aspect of bridge, but if you
can improve your defence your results will
quickly improve. Learn how to think through
the defence. (87 mins.)
SET 5
25 Defence as Partner
of the Leader
Defence is the hardest aspect of the game,
it is where most players can make great
progress. (104 mins.)
26 Aggressive Bidding
at Duplicate Pairs
Years ago, you needed 13 HCP to open the
bidding and rarely competed for a partscore.
Now its usual to open lighter and compete for
every hand. (114 mins.)
27 Strong Opening Bids
Managing your strong bids carefully can give
you joy, particularly when you have a neat
bidding sequence to a lovely slam. (122 mins.)
28 Take-Out Doubles
Offer must close
31 July 2016
Bernard deals with basic take-out doubles and
their responses, then progresses to talk about
competing for every partscore. (99 mins.)
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Long suits are powerful things: Bernard tries to
get across his passion for them by showing you
how to develop your extra tricks. (81 mins.)
All prices include postage – UK only.
29 Suit Establishment
in Suit Contracts
30 Landy / Defending
Against a 1NT Opening
Competing against a 1NT opening allows you
to challenge for the partscore. Bernard talks
about competing over 1NT in general and then
about Landy. (85 mins.)
Answers to Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quizzes 7-9
on the Cover
7. Dealer West. Love All.
♠7
♠ 9 8 6
♥ K Q 6 5 4 N ♥ 3 2
WE
♦ K J 6 3 2 S ♦ A 4
♣ K 3
♣ A Q 9 7 6 5
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠2♣2♠
?
Double.
Your partner has made a twolevel response, so you would
expect 10+ HCP and a fivecard club suit.
You do not have a great
deal of high-card points, but
you do have good distribution. With a singleton in the
opponents’ suit you would like
your side to win the contract.
However, which is your side’s
best suit? Rather than guessing that your best fit is in diamonds or hearts by bidding
3♦, you do best to enlist your
partner’s help to decide.
When your opponents find
a fit at the two level (they have
both bid the suit), you will almost never be in a position to
double for penalties. Therefore, you should treat doubles
as take-out, asking your partner to evaluate the auction so
far and bid the suit in which
he thinks the partnership have
the best fit. Your double suggests shortage in spades and
tolerance for the other suits,
but no known fit. Since your
partner has already shown
five clubs, your honour doubleton is reasonable support
BRIDGE August 2016
if he chooses to bid them
again.
He does indeed bid the
clubs again and you should be
happy to respect his decision.
8. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ Q 4 3
♠ 7 2
N
♥ K 8 7 6WE ♥ A Q J 4 3 2
♦ K 7 6 5 S ♦ A 4
♣ J 2
♣ 7 6 5
WestNorth East South
1♥1♠
2♥2♠3♥Pass
?
Pass.
What does your partner’s 3♥
bid mean?
Traditionally you might expect it to be an invitational bid
and with your nine points you
might feel like bidding on to
4♥. However, in the modern
game, there is no room for an
invitational 3♥ bid. Your partner has to be able to bid a
competitive 3♥: he is not sure
whether 3♥ will make, but he
estimates that going one off
in 3♥ would be better than the
opponents making 2♠.
If your partner really wants
to try for game, he can use
2NT, 3♣ and 3♦ as more descriptive bids that show extra
strength and aspirations for
a game contract (remember
that hearts have already been
agreed by your partnership,
so these bids are not needed
in a purely natural sense).
You pass 3♥ and should make
a comfortable nine tricks.
2016 JUST
DUPLICATE
BRIDGE
Chatsworth Hotel
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5-7 August £199
9. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 5
♠6
♥ K Q 7 6 5 N ♥ A 9 4 2
WE
♦ 8 7 S ♦ A 4 2
♣ K 9 4 2
♣ A Q 6 5 3
7-9 October £199
11-13 November £199
25-27 November £199
Denham Grove
Near Uxbridge, UB9 5DG
WestNorth East South
1♣Pass
1♥1♠3♥4♠
?
29-31 July £199
21-23 October £199
4-6 November £199
5♣.
You correctly showed your
major before supporting your
partner’s minor and this resulted in you finding your
heart fit. However, your opponents have interfered with the
auction in a big way and you
have a decision to make.
Should you bid on or not?
The five-level is always a
difficult aspect of bidding to
deal with, but there is one
golden rule to abide by and
that is that if you have a double fit then you should bid on.
With a clear fit in hearts and
clubs, you do have a double
fit and should bid on accordingly. You expect to finish in
5♥, but why not let your partner know of the double fit by
bidding 5♣, giving him all the
information he might need.
Your partner might decide
that, with his three aces and a
singleton, along with the double fit, it might be worth going
■
6♥ rather than just 5♥.
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*subject to availability
Page 11
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Falmouth is home to a network of creeks
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Contact Mr Bridge to book now on 01483 489 961 or visit www.mrbridge.co.uk
Fares are per person, based on twin occupancy of the lead in twin/single room, subject to availability. Offers may be amended or withdrawn at any time without prior notice, are subject to availability
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intermediate days are at sea. FOCL reserves the right to amend itineraries for operational reasons. Tours, tips, premium drinks, medical facilities & other spend whilst on board & during travel to the ship
are not included, any additional expenditure will need to be paid separately. E&OE
Answers to Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quizzes 10-12
on the Cover
3♥. With such a weak hand it is tempting
10. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 7 6 2
♠8
♥ A 9 2 N
♥ K 7 6 3
WE
♦ A J 8 7 3 S
♦ K 5
♣ Q 4
♣ A K 9 8 3 2
West North
East
South
1♣1♠
2♦2♠DblPass
?
to fold up your cards and keep selecting
the green pass cards. However, your pass
on the first round has limited your hand,
so a bid now would be competitive and
it is so important to compete for these
hands. Your partner’s double suggests
shortage in spades and support for the
other suits – he should surely have at least
three hearts? With a heart fit it will almost
always be right to compete to 3♥ over 2♠.
Over your 3♥ bid, your partner should
resist the temptation to bid 4♥.
3♣. You make the natural response of
2♦ over the 1♠ overcall, but the interference continues. Over the 2♠ raise, your
partner doubles: as shown in question 7,
this kind of double should be for take-out.
When your opponents have agreed a suit
at the two-level there is very little chance
of your being able to get a penalty.
What should your response be?
You have suggested five diamonds
already and your partner will not have
more than four hearts, so bids in either
of those suits are not ideal. No-trumps is
out of the question because you have no
spade stopper, which leaves only clubs.
3♣ is not ideal either, because you would
prefer to have three-card support. The
advantage of bidding 3♣ is that it leaves
all the other options open: your partner
can bid again if he wants to.
Had your partner passed, you would
have found it difficult to bid over 2♠, but
his double showed willingness to compete
for the deal (his shortage in spades is the
key).
11. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ A 7 6 5
♠4
♥ 9 8 6 5 4 N
♥ A K 2
WE
♦ 8 2 S
♦ K 7 6 3
♣ 4 2
♣ A K 7 6 3
West North
Pass
Pass
?
BRIDGE August 2016
East
South
1♣1♠
Dbl
2♠
12. Dealer North. Love All.
♠ 7 6 5 4
♠Void
♥2 N
♥ Q J 6 3
WE
♦ A J 6 5 S
♦ K Q 8 2
♣ A J 4 2
♣ K Q 6 5 3
West
?
TRAVEL
INSURANCE
For your own quote from
North
East
South
1♠Dbl 4♠
4NT. Your partner has made a take-out
double at the one-level: suggesting shortage in spades and support for the other
three suits. Considering South’s subsequent 4♠ bid, there is no doubt your partner is short in spades. In fact, it would be
no surprise if he had none at all.
Your hand fits pretty well with your partner’s, particularly if he has a void. You
would love to play in a minor suit contract, but you would prefer your partner
to pick his better minor: it is hard for
you to choose. With length in hearts you
would, of course, bid 5♥. Instead you bid
4NT which asks your partner to bid his
preferred minor. After your opponents
have opened, slam does not tend to be
a common option, more important is to
find your best fit, hence the use of 4NT for
take-out rather than for Blackwood.
This is important in competitive auctions when both sides have strength.
5♣ is high enough: your opponents
should be able to stop you getting more
■
than two heart ruffs.
( 01268 524344
www.covercloud.co.uk
Page 13
David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics
I Pulled Out
the Wrong
Bidding Card
Q
Immediately
after laying down
the 4♠ card in
the sequence below, I
realised I had pulled
out the wrong card, and
said that I had intended
to bid 4♥. However,
South had already
played his pass card.
WestNorth East South
1♦1♥Pass
1♠2♦ PassPass
3♥4♦4♠
The director was called,
he asked South if he
would permit me to
change my bid but, he
refused. The director
ruled that my bid
stood and bidding
could continue.
My partner bid
5♥, which was the
final contract and I
made 11 tricks.
When the board
was finished, North,
who also directs, said
he would have ruled
that as my partner
had unauthorised
information, she was
barred from a further
bid. Was the director’s
decision correct?
Joseph Swift by email.
Page 14
A
Neither the director
nor North appear
to understand the
laws correctly. If you make
an unintended call, as here,
and change it or attempt
to change it without pause
for thought, then it may be
changed if partner has not
subsequently called. So, in
this case, the director has
to decide whether it was
unintended and whether
there was an attempt to
change it immediately.
Whether South has called
subsequently is irrelevant and
South has no right to accept
or otherwise the 4♠ bid.
Based on your story, it does
appear that your call was
unintended and you tried
to change it immediately. If
so, you should have been
allowed to change it, in
which case South would be
allowed to change his pass.
If the director had decided
not to allow the change,
because he deemed it
intended (ie, you changed
your mind after making the
call) or out of time (ie, you
paused for thought before
attempting a change), then
it is correct that the fact
you wanted to change it is
unauthorised information to
West. That does not mean
that West was barred, just
that she is not allowed to
take any advantage from
your attempt to change. If
she had an obvious 5♥ bid,
then she is allowed to bid 5♥.
♣♦♥♠
Q
I was in a
laydown 6NT.
After I won
the first 12 tricks, I
led my last card, the
master ♥5, to trick 13.
However, East had no
cards left. It turned out
that East had played
two cards on an earlier
trick. Two cards must
have stuck together.
The director was called.
After examining the
cards it was found that
each hand did have 13
cards, but two cards
were sticking together
in East’s hand. It was
first suggested that
we take an average.
At the end of the
evening, the hand had
been played five times.
Three pairs (including
ourselves) bid 6NT, two
bid and made 3NT+3.
The director decided
that an average was
not appropriate and
gave us the 6NT score.
Please could you tell
me how should this
have been scored?
Sally John by email.
A
An average would be
highly inappropriate:
if it were given, the
next time my opponents
bid a slam which seems to
be making for a bad score
for me, I would play two
cards to a trick and get
an average! Actually, the
principle of giving average
instead of a proper ruling is
fifty years out of date and
completely illegal nowadays.
I presume that the director
failed to open his law book.
Law 67B2 covers this case.
The extra card – presumably
the one stuck behind – is
deemed to have belonged
to the correct hand until
the end, so there might
have been a revoke. Since
you made 13 tricks this
is irrelevant. So the hand
is scored as 6NT+1.
♣♦♥♠
Q
I recently played
with a novice
who asked me,
‘Is it a rule that, in a
suit contract, dummy’s
BRIDGE August 2016
trumps should always
be placed on dummy’s
right?’ I was unable to
quote a specific rule
and ended up stating it
was an accepted ‘rule’.
Is there a specific rule
that provides for the
placement of trumps?
Jonathan White,
Stapleford, Nottingham.
A
It is a requirement
of the laws (Law
41D). This requires
the suits to be put down
in columns in order with
trumps on dummy’s right.
♣♦♥♠
Q
South opened
a 12-14 1NT,
West passed
and North bid 1♥
(insufficient). This was
noticed by East and not
accepted. I was called
to the table and took
North away to ask
what he had intended
to bid. He intended to
bid 2♥ as a transfer to
spades. I allowed this
change but now I’m not
so sure. Looking at the
relevant section in the
White Book, I see the
director can have a more
liberal view these days
in some situations. Is
this one of them? North
obviously intended
to transfer but pulled
out the wrong card.
On a related matter,
the last example given
in the book describes an
opening of 2NT with a
response of 2♣ Stayman.
This was changed to
3♣ carrying the same
meaning, but it was not
allowed. I thought that
this was allowed. I’m a
bit confused and would
welcome your advice
on both examples.
Howard Brown, Ulverston.
BRIDGE August 2016
A
The Law allows a
legal replacement
call so long as the
meaning is the same or
wider than the meaning
of the original insufficient
bid, ie the insufficient bid
must not have given more
information. So if 1♥ was
intended as a transfer to
spades then a 2♥ bid would
have the same meaning and
is allowed without penalty.
A Stayman response of 2♣
over 2NT is less clear: why
did the player bid 2♣? The
director must ask this, away
from the table. If he had a
blind spot and thought he
was responding to 1NT, then
he has shown a hand that is
willing to bid Stayman over
1NT. There are a lot of hands
where responder would bid
3♣ over 2NT, for example,
a balanced hand with a
major and six points, where
responder would pass over
1NT. Therefore, if he meant
to bid 2♣ over 1NT, it shows
additional information, and it
is not allowed to be corrected
to 3♣ without penalty.
On the other hand, if he
was actually responding to
2NT and bid 2♣ then 3♣
would not give additional
information. So the
director has to judge. The
basic point is that if the
insufficient bid gave more
information, then it cannot
be corrected without penalty.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Is it allowable
for declarer
to physically
play dummy’s cards?
Megan Nance,
Newmachar, Aberdeen.
A
Not usually. If
dummy has a
physical disability,
eg deafness, or some sort of
hand problem, or if dummy
leaves the table then declarer
may play the cards, but
in normal play the correct
method is for declarer to call
for a card after which dummy
puts it in the played position.
This applies to duplicate
bridge. In rubber, or Chicago
or four deal bridge, it is
perfectly permissible for
declarer to play the cards
from dummy herself.
♣♦♥♠
Q
East opened 2♦
and West said it
was a Multi 2♦.
I (South) passed, West
bid 2♥ and my partner
bid 4♥. It transpired that
East had only nine points
and seven diamonds.
When I queried this,
the opposition told me
that there are lots of
variations with a Multi
and this was one. Your
opinion, please.
Jean Robertson,
Lundin, Links, Fife.
A
There are a variety
of possible ways to
play the Multi 2♦ in
Scotland, but they all show a
weak hand with a major or
one or more strong options.
The hand you described
was weak with diamonds.
So either they misdescribed
their system, and they
were playing a weak two
in diamonds, or they were
playing a Multi 2♦ with a
weak hand with diamonds
option, which makes it Brown
Sticker, and only permitted in
leading events in Scotland.
One of the growing
problems in the British Isles is
that people with seven card
suits feel the need to treat
them as strong even when
they have very few points.
Many players do not seem
to realise you can open at
the one level with a seven
card suit! Accordingly, they
open strong bids with hands
that are more pre-emptive in
nature. Quite possibly that
is what happened here, and
your opponents were playing
their Multi 2♦ to include a
strong hand with diamonds.
It is still illegal, because
you may not open a
strong two with a hand
that is not strong, such as
the one you describe.
You should realise that
different people play the
Multi 2♦ in different ways.
When someone tells you
they play the Multi, they
may not play it the same
way as you, so you may
need to ask for more details
in future, but you may rely
on it not to include a weak
hand based on a minor.
♣♦♥♠
Q
At our club, Tryst,
we always score
by matchpoints,
as it shows up well in
Bridge Webs. Is this the
fairest scoring method
for 10 or 11 tables? What
if there is a half table?
Which scoring method
would you use for three
and a half tables?
Mike Scully, Stenhousemuir.
There is no fairest
scoring method.
Different methods
test different skills, just as
you could not say that to
decide between eight teams
(in any sport or mindsport)
by a league or a knockout is
fairer: they are just different.
With the exception of a
few clubs in Scotland who
still use aggregate scoring,
and one or two top London
clubs who use Butler or
cross-imps, everywhere uses
matchpoints. Its popularity
compared to the others
is probably based on two
factors: every board is
important, and the luck
factor is higher, so poor A
Page 15
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players are more likely to
win from time to time.
As far as number of
tables and half tables are
concerned the importance is
to use fair movements, such
as a Howell or a Mitchell with
all players playing most or
all of the boards. You must
have an arrow-switch or
be playing a Howell if you
want only one winning pair.
It is best to score by
computer these days, and
all the common scoring
programs show the results
in percentages, so the
number of boards played
does not matter and boards
are made equivalent to
each other using a formula
known as Neuberg.
♣♦♥♠
Q
When handsets
were introduced
to our club,
instructions given were,
‘Just use as if filling in
a paper traveller. East
or West are then asked
to verify the score.’ Two
scenarios have resulted:
the contract is filled in
as far as tricks. East or
West are asked to verify
(although the handset
does not request this);
or the score is entered
by the operator and
East or West again are
asked to verify and this
is when the handset
requests verification.
One member, when
asked to verify, turns
the handset towards
herself and proceeds
to read it aloud, as well
as the percentage and
all the other entries.
When asked not to do
this and, ‘Please may
my partner and I see
the results,’ we are told
that she cannot read the
results upside down and
that her partner (who
BRIDGE August 2016
takes no interest in the
handset) must hear the
results. Unfortunately, as
she has a loud carrying
voice, this has caused
unnecessary upset
and unpleasantness.
Valerie Fairbairn,
Darnick, Melrose.
A
The accepted
protocol is that North
(or South) enters
the board number, contract,
declarer and lead. Some
clubs use a setting that does
not require the lead. There
is no reason to verify this.
This should only be entered
after the lead is made if the
operator is on lead, and
after dummy is put down
if the operator is dummy.
After the hand is played,
the result is entered. After
this, the machine is passed
to East (or West) who checks
it and presses the button
to verify it. Usually, this is
done with it turned towards
the table so everyone
can see the results, but
if the player cannot do it
that way, turning it after
verification is acceptable.
I am not sure why a
player would need to read
results out, but if it were
necessary for any reason,
he would be required to do
so quietly so that no other
table could hear it, and
he should be penalised if
other tables can hear it.
♣♦♥♠
Q
1. Early in the
play, a defender
inadvertently
contributed two cards
to one trick and nobody
noticed. At the end
of trick 10, he saw
that he’d only got two
cards left. How should
that be sorted out?
2. West led a card
and both dummy and
East followed suit. At
this point, declarer
said that he had not
nominated a card for
dummy to play and that
he would like dummy
to play a different card.
May East now change
the card played?
Jim Straffon, Hazel
Grove, Stockport, similar
from Eugene Elijah.
A
1. The Law is clear
enough, though not
easy for the director
to implement. The director
finds the extra card played
in error and it is restored to
the deficient hand. If he is
not certain which card, he
assumes the highest of the
possible cards. Ownership of
that trick does not change.
That card is deemed to have
belonged continuously to
that hand so if he has failed
to follow suit as a result, that
is a revoke and is dealt with
as normal for a revoke.
2. Certainly, and a
strong word for dummy is
in order (or a small penalty
if dummy makes a habit of
this). RHO may change his
card, and there could be an
adjustment if declarer uses
the information gained from
seeing RHO’s first card.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Playing at a
friendly non-EBU
club, I was upset
when this happened.
My RHO opened 2♥
and I asked LHO to
describe the bid – they
are a regular pair. After
a little hesitation, he
said, ‘Weak.’ My partner
and I bid up to 5♣ and
my RHO doubled. After
the opening bid, the
opponents had passed
throughout. Our bidding
took into account the
weakness that had
been described.
After the play, (we were
three down), the opener
admitted to having 16
points. My feeling was
that the double should
not have been made
as my partner and I
had been misled. The
TD, however, accepted
that the description of
weak was a genuine
mistake (and I agree
it was not deliberate)
and the double was
allowed to stand.
Was the TD correct?
Seasoned bridge
player by email.
A
Certainly whether
the description of the
2♥ bid was right or
wrong, opener had a perfect
right to double. Bridge is
a game of mistakes and
taking advantage of your
opponents’ mistakes is very
much part of it. For all he
knows, you might have bid
5♣ whatever the explanation.
However, what is less clear
is what actually happened.
If they were playing 2♥ as
weak and opener opened
the wrong bid, either through
forgetting his system or
because he miscounted his
points or something else,
then I am afraid that is life
and the result stands.
If, on the other hand, they
were actually playing it as
strong or intermediate, then
you have been misinformed
and the director should
have considered adjusting
the score, perhaps to 4♣
undoubled: I cannot say to
what without the full hands
■
and bidding sequence. E-mail your questions (including your postal address)
on bridge laws to: [email protected]
Page 17
Catching Up with Sally Brock
T
o reward ourselves for all
our hard work on the charity
evening, Briony and I treated
ourselves to a little holiday in Italy.
We flew to Naples and the plan had
been to start with a couple of nights
on Capri.
For reasons too complicated to
explain, we ended up staying the first
night in Sorrento. I had not been there
before and it was lovely – and after a
lot of travelling, sitting outside with
our dinner in the lovely balmy evening
was a treat.
The next day we went to Capri on
the ferry. Our hotel was in Anacapri,
and after dumping our stuff we then
walked out to a local restaurant for
lunch – it was beautiful with a perfect
seaview and we later discovered that
our guidebook recommended it as
the best restaurant on the island.
After a lovely 24 hours or so, we took
the hydrofoil to Naples and had three
nights there. The last day we hired
a car and drove to Ravello on the
motorway and then back along the
beautiful coast road. The Bay of Naples
has to be one of the most beautiful sea
views in the world.
The main bridge event in this period
was the Teltscher Trophy, the Senior
Camrose, up in Edinburgh. Nicola
and I, along with Barry and Robert,
won the trials back in February. We
had arranged to add Norman Selway
and Colin Simpson to our team, along
with Chris Dixon as our captain.
However, Colin had to withdraw
because of illness so Norman and
Chris joined forces as our third pair.
In the event, everything went
swimmingly. All three pairs played
really well and we led from the
front, winning all our matches
comfortably. We had won the event
with two matches to go. A thoroughly
satisfactory weekend, and a great
confidence-booster for Nicola and me
with the European Championships
looming.
This was one of my favourite boards,
from the penultimate match:
Page 18
Dealer South. Game All.
♠ J 5 4
♥ 10 8 7 6 2
♦ 9 6
♣ K 7 3
♠ K 10 8 7 3 2
♠ A Q 6
♥ 9 3 N
♥ Q J 5 4
WE
♦7 S
♦ J 10 5 3 2
♣ J 10 9 5
♣A
♠9
♥ A K
♦ A K Q 8 4
♣ Q 8 6 4 2
West North
East
South
1♦
2♠Pass4♠?
Nicola (South) passed although she
had a huge hand, as a double would
be quite a strong take-out suggestion. I
led a diamond (maybe a trump would
have been better) which Nicola won,
cashed her top hearts and played another diamond. This was possibly not
the best defence, but declarer couldn’t
stop me from making my ♠J in the
ending. She was certainly right not to
double, as with five hearts and a working king, I would have removed to 5♥.
In the other room, South did double
and North did remove to 5♥, doubled
by East. South retreated to 6♣ and,
when doubled, North went back to 6♦.
Declarer went for 1400.
The other significant bridge event
was the Hubert Phillips final which
we played against Brian and Nevena
Senior, Sandra Penfold and Justin
Hackett. I didn’t much like our very
first board … (hand in next column).
When Phil (South) doubled on
the second round I put him with
something like …
♠ A x x x
♥x
♦ x x x x
♣ A x x x
… and thought it looked worth having
a shot at game.
Phil, on the other hand, with quite a
decent hand, thought he could afford
to double 3♥ because if I bid 4♣ he
could bid 4♦. Anyway, –500 was not a
good start for us.
Dealer East. E/W Vul.
♠ K Q 7
♥ 8 4 2
♦K
♣ K J 10 8 7 5
♠ J 4
♠ 9 8 6 5
♥ 10 5 N
♥ A Q J 7 6 3
WE
♦ A J 9 6 2 S
♦5
♣ A Q 6 3
♣ 9 4
♠ A 10 3 2
♥ K 9
♦ Q 10 8 7 4 3
♣2
West North
East
South
2♥Pass
3♥ PassPass Dbl
Pass
5♣Pass 5♦
Dbl
All Pass
Things improved after that and we
were 2,500 ahead at half-time. The
second half was a different story, and we started to dribble away
our lead. At the end, we had managed
to hang on to 460 points and we were
thankful that there wasn’t another set.
I try to visit my parents as often as I
can. They are now well settled in their
new flat and my mother has good days
and bad days.
One recurring problem is how thin
and papery her skin is – so easily
damaged. Every now and then she is
considered well enough to get out of
bed into a wheelchair, but then the
next day they find a bedsore, or some
other skin damage, and she is confined
to her bed again. Frustrating for both
of them.
I went to visit on Bank Holiday
Sunday and stayed over with my
brother …
■
BRIDGE August 2016
DEFENCE
QUIZ
BERNARD MAGEE
at Denham Grove
by Julian Pottage
13-16 January 2017
(Answers on page 20)
near Uxbridge, Bucks, UB9 5DG.
£399pp Friday – Monday
Y
ou are East in the defensive positions below playing
matchpoint pairs with neither side vulnerable. Both sides
are using Acol with a 12-14 1NT and 2♣ Stayman.
1. ♠ A 7 5 2
♥ K Q J 7 3
♦ 10 7
♣ Q 4
♠J
N
♥ 8 5 4 2
WE
♦ Q 9 2
S
♣ A J 8 6 2
3. ♠ K 10 7 2
♥ 10 9 3
♦ A J 8 2
♣ Q 4
♠6
N
♥ Q 6 4 2
WE
♦ Q 10 4
S
♣ K 9 7 5 2
WestNorth East South
1♥Pass1♠
Pass 2♠Pass4♠
All Pass
WestNorth East South
1♠
Pass 3♠Pass4♠
All Pass
Partner leads the ♦5: ♦7,
♦Q and ♦A. Declarer leads
the ♠3 to the ♠A and calls
for a low trump. What do
you discard?
Partner leads a low trump.
Declarer wins cheaply and
plays a second round, won
by partner’s ace. What do
you discard?
£369pp Friday – Sunday
Full Board – No Single Supplement1
Limited places for Thursday night available.
£65pp single, £45pp double/twin.
Topics
MORE SIGNALLING
I will be looking at different times when you signal and the
messages you might want to give. Using signals in new ways can
greatly improve your enjoyment of defence as well as pushing up
your scores.
4-4-4-1 HANDS
Everybody’s least favourite type of opening hand. I will be going
through the methods for choosing the right suit to open as well
as coping with responses. As responder you need to be aware of
the options and work out your partner’s type of hand. Strong
4-4-4-1 hands can be just as difficult and will be dealt with too.
DRAWING TRUMPS
This seminar sounds straightforward, but we will not be simply
drawing trumps, we will be considering the reasons for delaying.
Keeping control of trumps is an important part of declarer play.
Knowing when to risk leaving trumps out and when not.
FIVE-CARD MAJORS
2. ♠ A 7 5 2
♥ K Q J 7 3
♦ 10 7
♣ Q 4
♠J
N
♥ 8 5 4 2
WE
♦ K Q 2
S
♣ 8 7 6 3 2
4. ♠ 9 7 2
♥ 9 8 6 3
♦ A K Q
♣ Q 10 9
♠ 10 6
N
♥Void
WE
♦ 9 8 7 5 4 3 2
S
♣ A J 3 2
Popular around the world, this method is becoming more
popular here. It is not a method I would advocate for club players,
however it is important to understand the method as you will
need to defend against it.
FUNDAMENTALS OF DEFENCE
Defence is by far the hardest aspect of bridge: this seminar
seeks to show the building blocks that can start you off on a
wonderful journey. If you can get the basics right then the more
complicated aspects of defence can follow.
SUPPORTING MINORS
WestNorth East South
1♥Pass1♠
Pass 2♠Pass4♠
All Pass
WestNorth East South
1♥
1♠3♥Pass4♥
All Pass
Partner leads the ♦5: ♦7,
♦Q and ♦A. Declarer leads
the ♠3 to the ♠A and calls
for a low trump. What do
you discard?
Partner leads the ♠A followed by the ♠K and ♠Q.
What do you discard on
the third round?
Minors as the name suggests are not as important as majors, but
we have to bid them and it is important to know your system.
Bidding more 3NT contracts will get you better scores, but being
able to spot a minor suit slam will put you a cut above.
6 seminar sessions with Bernard2
6 sessions of supervised play3
Contact Mr Bridge to book your place
or for further details: ( 01483 489961
Subject to availability 2Filmed 3Not with Bernard Magee
1
BRIDGE August 2016
Page 19
Answers to Julian Pottage’s Defence Quiz on page 19
1.
♠ A 7 5 2
♥ K Q J 7 3
♦ 10 7
♣ Q 4
♠ K 9 6
♠J
N
♥ 10 6WE
♥ 8 5 4 2
♦ J 8 6 5 4 S
♦ Q 9 2
♣ K 9 5
♣ A J 8 6 2
♠ Q 10 8 4 3
♥ A 9
♦ A K 3
♣ 10 7 3
West
Pass
All Pass
North
East
South
1♥Pass 1♠
2♠Pass 4♠
Partner leads the ♦5: ♦7, ♦Q and ♦A.
Declarer leads the ♠3 to the ♠A and calls
for a low trump. What do you discard?
A discard allows you to signal what suit
you want partner to lead. With standard
discards, a high card encourages and
low discourages.
Since you do not hold the ♦K, which
from partner’s viewpoint you might have,
but you do have good clubs, you discard
the ♣8. A club switch from partner,
ideally the bold ♣K to ensure you cannot
misjudge which minor-suit king partner
holds, saves two possible overtricks.
These are vital tricks at matchpoints.
2.
♠ A 7 5 2
♥ K Q J 7 3
♦ 10 7
♣ Q 4
♠ K 9 6
♠J
N
♥ A 6 ♥ 8 5 4 2
WE
♦ J 8 6 5 4 S
♦ K Q 2
♣ K 9 5
♣ 8 7 6 3 2
♠ Q 10 8 4 3
♥ 10 9
♦ A 9 3
♣ A J 10
Page 20
West
Pass
All Pass
North
East
South
1♥Pass 1♠
2♠Pass 4♠
Partner leads the ♦5: ♦7, ♦Q and ♦A.
Declarer leads the ♠3 to the ♠A and calls
for a low trump. What do you discard?
The bidding, the lead and the dummy
are the same as on the previous example.
This time you have help in diamonds, the
♦K that partner might not know about –
your ♦Q was consistent with holding the
♦K but did not promise it – and nothing
in clubs.
Since the only diamond you have apart
from the winning ♦K is the lowly ♦2, you
cannot easily ask for diamonds directly.
The best you can do is discard a clearly
discouraging ♣2.
Given the strong heart holding in
dummy, partner should work out that if
you do not want a club then you do want
a diamond.
3.
♠ K 10 7 2
♥ 10 9 3
♦ A J 8 2
♣ Q 4
♠ A 5 3
♥ J 8 7 N
WE
♦ K 9 7 6 S
♣ J 8 6
♠ Q J 9 8 4
♥ A K 5
♦ 5 3
♣ A 10 3
♠6
♥ Q 6 4 2
♦ Q 10 4
♣ K 9 7 5 2
West North
East
South
1♠
Pass
3♠Pass 4♠
All Pass
Partner leads a low trump. Declarer wins
cheaply and plays a second round, won
by partner’s ace. What do you discard?
Given that the bidding (probably a 5-4
trump fit) did not really call for a trump
lead, it is likely that partner was just
trying to play safe.
This time you cannot tell whether a
club switch is good. It will work well if
partner holds the ♣A or, less likely, the
♣J-10. I say less likely since with the jack
and ten of clubs partner might have
started with the ♣J. A club switch could
be costly if declarer has the ♣A-10 and
guesses right. While discouraging hearts
could be wrong if partner has the king
and jack, a low heart seems your best
discard. Partner then exits safely with a
trump.
4. ♠ 9 7 2
♥ 9 8 6 3
♦ A K Q
♣ Q 10 9
♠ A K Q 5 3
♠ 10 6
♥ 10 7 2 N
♥Void
♦ J 10WE
♦ 9 8 7 5 4 3 2
S
♣ 7 6 4
♣ A J 3 2
♠ J 8 4
♥ A K Q J 5 4
♦6
♣ K 8 5
West North
East
South
1♥
1♠3♥Pass 4♥
All Pass
Partner leads the ♠A followed by the ♠K
and ♠Q. What do you discard on the
third round?
Are you tempted to discard the ♦2
and hope partner works out to switch to
a club? The snag is that partner might
hope for the ♥K, ♥Q or ♥J in your hand.
If you have any heart honour, playing a
fourth round of spades for you to ruff will
promote a trump trick.
While it is rare to signal with an honour,
the ♣J will get the job done. The risk of
blowing a second undertrick is slim since
the bidding makes South hot favourite to
■
hold the ♣K. BRIDGE August 2016
DECLARER
PLAY
QUIZ
2016 FESTIVE SEASON
Denham Grove
Near Uxbridge, UB9 5DG
by David Huggett
(Answers on page 22)
Y
ou are South as declarer playing teams or rubber bridge.
In each case, what is your play strategy?
Christmas 23-27 December £495
1.
♠ Q 8 7 3 2
♥6
♦ K J 3
♣ A J 9 7
3.
N
N
WE
WE
S
S
♠ A J 9 6 5
♥ J 7 2
♦ A Q 6 4
♣5
You are declarer in 6♠ and
West leads the ♥A and
follows with a low club.
How do you plan the play?
2.
♠ 9 5
♥ K 9 3
♦ K 7 6 2
♣ A Q 10 2
4.
♠ 7 6 2
♥ 8 5
♦ A 9 3
♣ A 10 9 6 2
N
N
WE
S
S
♠ Q 4 3
♥ A Q J
♦ A 9 5 4
♣ 8 4 3
♠ A 8 6 4
♥ A K 10 7 6 2
♦5
♣ A 7
You are declarer in 4♥ and
West leads the ♦A followed
by the ♦K. How do you
plan the play?
WE
♠ 7 3 2
♥ Q J 5
♦ J 7 3
♣ K 8 6 4
♠ A K 5 4
♥ A 9 3 2
♦ K 8 5
♣ K Q
Duplicates and Seminars
with Will Parsons
Twixmas 27-29 December £245
Duplicates and Seminars
with Bernard Magee
New Year 29 Dec – 2 Jan £445
Duplicates and Seminars
with Bernard Magee
Ramada Resort
Grantham
Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT
Christmas 23-27 December £495
Just Duplicate
Hosted by Shelia Rogers
Twixmas 27-29 December £215
Duplicates and Seminars
New Year 29 Dec – 1 Jan £345
Duplicates and Seminars
You are declarer in 3NT
and West leads the ♣7.
How do you plan the play?
You are declarer in 3NT
and West leads the ♠Q.
How do you plan the play?
Back to Back bookings save £50 (per additional event).
( 01483 489961
See www.mrbridge.co.uk/ukbreaks for details and itineraries.
BRIDGE August 2016
Page 21
Answers to David Huggett’s Play Quiz on page 21
1.
♠ Q 8 7 3 2
♥6
♦ K J 3
♣ A J 9 7
♠Void
♥ A K 8 5 N
WE
♦ 9 8 2 S
♣ Q 10 8 6 4 3
♠ A J 9 6 5
♥ J 7 2
♦ A Q 6 4
♣5
♠ K 10 4
♥ Q 10 9 4 3
♦ 10 7 5
♣ K 2
You are declarer in 6♠ and West leads
the ♥A and follows with a low club. How
do you plan the play?
Clearly, you have to play the trump
suit for no loser, but you mustn’t let the
excitement of being in a slam influence
the need for clear thinking. It must be
right to take a finesse in spades rather
than play for a singleton king on your
left, but you mustn’t lead a low card
from dummy in case East holds all the
outstanding trumps. If you lead the
queen and East covers, then a further
finesse against the ten is marked. If you
had led a low spade to the jack, then
you would still have a spade loser if East
started with all three missing ones.
2.
♠ 9 5
♥ K 9 3
♦ K 7 6 2
♣ A Q 10 2
♠ K 10 6 2
♥ 10 2 N
WE
♦ J 3 S
♣ K J 9 7 5
♠ Q 4 3
♥ A Q J
♦ A 9 5 4
♣ 8 4 3
Page 22
♠ A J 8 7
♥ 8 7 6 5 4
♦ Q 10 8
♣6
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads
the ♣7. How do you plan the play?
Although you have the required number
of points for game, that duplication in the
heart suit is very depressing. It also looks
as though you need to find nine running
tricks before the opposition find your
spade weakness, so is there any hope?
Indeed there is!
If that seven of clubs lead is actually
fourth highest, then the Rule of Eleven
would indicate that East has no club
higher than the seven. So cross your
fingers and play low from dummy at trick
one and win the lead with the eight in
hand.
Now play a club to the ten, return
to hand and play a club to the queen
and you will find you make three heart
tricks, two diamonds and four clubs. So
miracles do happen.
3.
♠ 7 3 2
♥ Q J 5
♦ J 7 3
♣ K 8 6 4
♠ Q 5
♠ K J 10 9
♥8 N
♥ 9 4 3
WE
♦ A K 10 6 4 S
♦ Q 9 8 2
♣ Q 10 5 3 2
♣ J 9
♠ A 8 6 4
♥ A K 10 7 6 2
♦5
♣ A 7
You are declarer in 4♥ and West leads
the ♦A followed by the ♦K. How do you
plan the play?
A count of the top tricks available will
come to nine and the tenth trick can only
come realistically from the spade suit,
either as a winner in its own right or as a
ruff in dummy.
So after winning the second trick play
ace and another spade. Win the return
and play another spade when either your
last spade will be a winner – if the suit
broke 3-3 – or you will be in a position to
ruff it in dummy.
Note that it would be totally wrong to
play even one round of trumps. If you do,
then a defender holding three trumps
and four spades will be able to lead
further trumps every time they gain the
lead and the spade ruff will vanish.
4.
♠ 7 6 2
♥ 8 5
♦ A 9 3
♣ A 10 9 6 2
♠ Q J 10 8
♥ Q 10 4 N
WE
♦ J 7 6 4 S
♣ 7 3
♠ A K 5 4
♥ A 9 3 2
♦ K 8 5
♣ K Q
♠ 9 3
♥ K J 7 6
♦ Q 10 2
♣ J 8 5 4
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads
the ♠Q. How do you plan the play?
You need four club tricks to make your
contract and you might think the chances
of doing that are good. Indeed the suit
might break 3-3 or someone might have
a doubleton jack when a straightforward
line would work.
Suppose one defender has a four-card
club holding including the jack. Then
you would not have the required entries
to dummy to set up and enjoy a fourth
trick in the suit if you cashed both club
winners in hand.
Of course the answer is easy. Cash
the king and simply overtake the queen
and if the jack hasn’t appeared play the
ten.
You may only make four club tricks
instead of five, but you will make your
■
contract.
BRIDGE August 2016
READERS’
LETTERS
AFTER DINNER
Droitwich Bridge Club is
organising a gala dinner
to celebrate its Diamond
Jubilee. It was founded 60
years ago, in October 1956.
The dinner is being held in
The Orangery at the
St Andrews Hotel in Droitwich,
on Wednesday October 26.
Tickets are available on a
first come first served basis
at £45 per person. This
includes a welcome drink
on arrival, followed by a
three-course meal. We are
very pleased that Bernard
Magee has agreed to be
our guest of honour and to
give the after dinner speech.
The dress code is flexible,
either smart casual, or black
tie – whichever you prefer.
If anyone would like to buy
tickets please contact me.
Will Parsons, by email.
[email protected]
( 01527 871459.
BOURNEMOUTH
BRIDGE BREAK
Please forward these thank
you letters to Will and Sylvia,
Rosemary and Lesley. They
were excellent – Will was
great at explaining things in
the seminars with the help of
his partner, and his ‘partner
in life’ Sylvia. I can’t praise
them enough. Rosemary
and Lesley were a very good
part of the team too, playing
with members of the club
when necessary and giving
advice when problems
arose. It was great having
two ladies to supplement
our bridge players. It was
lovely to meet them all.
I would also like to say
BRIDGE August 2016
that the hotel was excellent.
It was handy for the sea
and the shops and the
rooms were clean and of a
good size. The staff were
wonderful – they couldn’t
have been more helpful and
we were all very happy to
contribute to a communal
‘collection’. The food was
very good too, and I was
pleased to have been catered
for with my special diet.
Thanks go too to the
members of staff at the Mr
Bridge Office. To Catrina,
who was always on the ball
and helpful. Also to Sophie
and Jessica and forgive me
if I have forgotten anyone.
Everybody at Mr Bridge was
so helpful. It was a great
weight off my shoulders.
So here’s to the next time.
Will says April is a good
time for him so providing we
haven’t all ‘dropped off the
log’ we would like to arrange
the same thing for next year.
Mrs Gail Staveacre,
On behalf of the Compton
Martin Bridge Club
and the Chew Valley
Spring Bridge Break.
BRIDGE
VERSUS POKER
I first played bridge in 1947
while in the RAF. Since then,
I have observed a significant
decline in the popularity of
the game; this is regrettable.
It has now become a pastime
for the elderly. In my own
club, 90% of members are
retired. Youth participation
nationally is much lower
than in my younger days. A
British international once ran
a Bridge League catering
for 200 London schools, but
over a few years this dropped
to six. She said poker has
replaced bridge as the
favourite card game in the
USA and Britain is following
suit due to poker’s appeal to
the young. She added that we
have made bridge too hard.
When Vanderbilt created
contract bridge, it was no
more complex than poker.
Nowadays, it is burdened
by bidding systems and
conventions, some allowed
by the EBU and some not.
Bridge is the only card
game I know where one is
obliged to give detail of one’s
hand to opponents to help
them defeat you. In other
bidding games, such as solo
and Oh Hell, one assesses
the strength of one’s hand
and bids accordingly without
the need of help from the
opponents. If bridge was
played like this, it would be
more exciting, like poker,
because opportunities
for bluffs, doubles and
redoubles would increase.
However, the finer elements
of the game would remain
because accurate bidding
and good card play would
still be necessary for success.
When Vice-President Peter
Stocken was chairman of
the EBU, he was quoted
in The Independent as
saying, ‘the EBU in its
present mood is for change,
change and more change
and will give its support to
anything that promotes an
interest in bridge.’ Removing
restrictions on which bidding
systems and conventions
are allowable would be one
worthwhile simplification
of the modern game.
However, denying opponents
information about the content
of one’s hand would be, for
the EBU, one bridge too far.
I have a vested interest in
the simplification suggestion
because the Matic bidding
system I have used for 50
years does not meet the
Orange book criteria. In
2003, Mr Bridge kindly
published a summary of the
system in a letter in BRIDGE
on page 60 of number 57.
For those who have my
1996 book, I can offer a
couple of improvements.
Ronald Keith by email.
[email protected]
NEEDS REBOOTING
First let me congratulate you
on your continued support
for all things bridge.
I am bringing to your
attention a matter concerning
QPLUS 11. I find that the
system is utter gobbledegook.
I can continue with examples.
Your help is needed.
Mr John Evans,
Rothbury, Morpeth,
Northumberland.
Simply delete the program
and then re-install. If you still
have problems ring my office.
All the lovely staff here are
trained to be able to help.
BRIDGE FOR
THE BLIND
I play with a blind partner
in an EBU-affiliated
club. With the aid of a
Duplimate etc, etc…
Those interested in learning
how this works should write
in to receive the full text
of the letter. More details
are available including
contact information ....
If you can track down a
Braille-capable duplimate,
that might also be helpful.
Mr David Dansie by email.
JUST THE JOB
Just to say thank you for
recommending Cloud
Cover travel insurance.
I rang them a couple of
weeks ago and got a
human voice answering
straight away instead of
the usual recording, ‘Please press 1 if …’
Page 23
He was most helpful in
ascertaining what I wanted
and took into account age
and pre-existing medical
conditions before giving
me a quote. This compared
favourably with some earlier
research I had done, so I
accepted and paid for the
insurance cover I wanted.
I was reminded I had the
right to cancel should I wish,
within 14 days. I did say I got
their number from BRIDGE.
Chris Williams,
Crowthorne, Berks.
2017 DIARY
Thank you for the superb gift
of the Bridge Players’ Diary.
I shall put it to good use.
At first, I thought it was
my prize for guessing
Grandpa’s name. (My entry
was Grumpy – though I’m
sure he is not) from the
March issue of BRIDGE.
I totally agree with using
a simple system as my
bridge is more social than
serious. I have to say that my
husband hates the 20/20
game of cricket with its
banter – but then he was an
excellent player in his time.
Pat Spiller by email.
All subscribers should
have received their 2017
luxury version of the Bridge
Players’ Diary by now.
most bridge players regard
as practical in real life. I
contacted Ron who has found
the same. He told me that
he has stopped teaching it,
useful though it may be.
However, there is a simpler
way of applying a similar
guideline. It is less refined
in that it only allows for
subtraction of a whole loser,
or none at all, whereas the
original method allows for
either a half loser or a whole
one. But it has the advantage
that it may be more
memorable for most players,
and is probably better than
using no adjustment at all.
If you have at least two
aces and you have no more
than 2 HCP outside your
aces and kings (in other
words, no more than a
queen or two jacks), then
you subtract a loser.
If you look at the various
possible combinations, it
turns out that using this
guideline is over 80%
accurate in identifying the
type of hand for which
Ron’s calculation would
indicate subtracting a loser.
For the analytically-minded
out there, you can find out
how this is worked at the link:
https://goo.gl/m85qFE
Alternatively it can be posted
to you via Mr Bridge.
Peter Milewski, by email.
CONTROL COUNTING
I have been using Ron
Klinger’s method to account
for controls in suit contracts,
described in The Modern
Losing Trick Count. It involves
multiplying the total number
of aces (two points) and
kings (one point) in your
hand by three and a third,
then subtracting a half or
whole loser depending on
the difference from the high
card points. Unfortunately,
though, any attempt to
explain it to others has
met with incredulity. It’s
obviously not something that
Page 24
GOOD REVISION
Just to say thank you for
my diary. I found the 40
pages on bridge very useful.
Having been ill for three
years, I have not played
much bridge – it was like
having a refresher course.
Mrs Lena Morgan,
Swansea.
IN GOOD TIME
Regarding BRIDGE, number
162 of your magazine, let me
offer congratulations on the
insertion of a 2017 bridge
diary, and also your stout and
robust defence of Sally Brock.
As you say, the life of a
professional bridge player
is far from a once or twice
weekly visit to a local club.
You are also correct in saying
that some of us really do
enjoy Sally’s contributions.
D E Campbell by email.
NO CONVENTIONS
I do enjoy your magazine
and have done so for many
years. I would have liked to
have met you, as long as we
did not mention the word
‘bridge’. I would then be
interested to hear your views
on topics of the moment –
currently the referendum
and immigration in general
as I have considerable
empathy with your editorials/
leaders (eg in BRIDGE
161 and your reply ‘Oh
Dear’ in BRIDGE 162).
My main comment,
however, is that I have long
advocated ‘no conventions’
with the exception of weak
no-trump, Acol twos and
Blackwood – 90% of the time.
So I bid 1NT with a balanced
hand and four aces where the
next highest card is a nine;
similarly with an Acol two bid.
My range is standard 90%
of the time; with 4NT it can
be quantitative or Blackwood
depending on the bidding.
In short, a bid means exactly
what it says – I suggest we
play in that contract. All
doubles of 1NT and above
are for penalties (if below,
tell me your best suit, but
if weak simply to keep the
bidding open). The reason
is that I am an octogenarian
with a failing memory and
many of my fellow players
in cut-in rubber are similarly
afflicted. So I do not rely
on memory; I now rely
very much on instinct and
table presence (opponents/
partner/score) with a view to
making a positive score not
the ‘best’. As a result, I never
will bid 7NT; I will take the
money in 6NT and if ever I
bid a small slam, I must be
sure it is in the usual 90%.
I am adamant that I do
not play Stayman as there
are so many variations and
continuations which very
few players fully appreciate.
If pressed, I ask how many
points do you need to invoke
Stayman and only if they
say none am I prepared
to continue with answers/
queries to all the possible
continuations. At the level
I play, and with the people
I play with, I am totally
convinced that Stayman is a
liability and to be avoided.
I agree, however, that when
playing with a regular
partner, Stayman is useful
and on balance beneficial.
However, I disagree with
Andrew Kambites that
it is ‘possibly the most
indispensable of conventions’.
Yet I wholeheartedly
agree that bridge is to be
enjoyed in a friendly social
atmosphere. For this reason,
I try not to get involved in
any altercations (readily
giving way even though I
know I am right, at least
on balance) and always
let my partner score.
Mr Ben Lee,
Telford, Shrops.
GAME CLEAN UP
Thank you for publishing
the fascinating Dirty Hands
article. Two points arise from
this: (1) it is actually now
quite difficult to avoid being
caught, or at least being
suspected, at this high level
of the game, simply because
the standard of play is so
high. We ordinary bridge
players routinely make suboptimal plays because we
don’t know any better; at
world championship level
players will hardly ever make
an anti-percentage play out
of ignorance, so if they do
BRIDGE August 2016
and there is a pattern of
‘lucky’ leads and switches,
suspicions will be aroused.
(2) At club level we could
help towards a better ethos,
by being less tolerant of low
level unethical behaviour,
from people who would be
horrified by the thought that
they were cheating – for
example, ‘Lookers’: those
who follow a conventional
bid with a stare at partner
to make sure that the
message has got through.
Andy Elliott,
Onchan, Isle of Man.
A REVELATION
Having read the article
Dirty Hands in the July
issue of BRIDGE, along with
other articles on cheating,
I decided to watch the live
videos on BBO of some
of the games in the 2016
EBTC championship.
I watched between three
and seven hands of about
eight different games.
In general, I was
appalled by the standards
of behaviour in all but one
game – the standard being
much lower than I have
ever seen at a local club.
The 4 worst offences are:1. The Played Cards.
Touching in various
manners, picking up,
laying back down,
collapsing all into one
pile, collapsing and
uncollapsing, touching
individual cards in
random order in the
played cards pile etc.
Once played and placed
on the pile, surely these
cards should not be
touched again. All four
players were guilty of this,
dummy was worst and
then the two defenders.
2. Laying out the dummy
cards in an untidy manner,
sometimes perhaps
just being very sloppy
but often with bends or
sloping at various angles,
often not in the same
area of the table and not
always with a set order of
the suits from right to left.
3. Similar is the sloppy play
of cards to each trick –
often just casually flipped
on the table or placed in
various random spots.
Certainly not played in
a measured manner
and basically vertically.
4. Hand and body
movement. In many of
the games, all the players
were guilty of touching
various parts of the head,
arms and shoulders
or various parts of the
table. Putting down and
picking up their cards,
closing and opening
the fan of cards in their
hands. Both defenders
often did this, dummy
was very often fidgeting.
It is bad enough that
partitions have to be used
and all the other restrictions
in international bridge, but
when the above behaviour is
seen it is not surprising, as all
of the above actions could be
implemented for the process
of exchanging information.
Perhaps, one of the
international players
who write articles in
BRIDGE could comment
on the above points.
Finally one little point – on
at least 3 occasions during
the many more games I
watched on BBO, claims were
made and accepted for one
more trick than could have
been made. Is this a mistake
by the Vu-graph operators or
are the players not concerned
about the odd IMP or two?
Rod Light,
Bootle, Cumbria.
■
Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.
[email protected]
BRIDGE August 2016
CHARITY EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 2016
OCTOBER (continued)
8HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE
ROTARY CLUB. 12 for 12.30pm.
Outlane Golf Club, Huddersfield.
£50 per table (may rise to £52)
including lunch, afternoon
tea & biscuits. Raffle prizes.
Rtn Sam Smith ( 01924 402540
( 07968 868828
samuelsmith396 @btinternet.com
19 LOCAL CHARITIES
Chicago. Ashtead Peace
Memorial Hall, KT21 2DE.
7.00 for 7.30pm.
Bridge prizes, a raffle and
refreshments. £6.
Maureen and Peter Cox ( 01372 275855
[email protected]
18 CHIGWELL RIDING TRUST for
people with special needs.
Abridge Village Hall, Essex.
1.30 for 2pm start. £12 pp.
Duplicate & Chicago available.
Mrs M Walker
( 02035 390387
NOVEMBER 2016
1, 2 & 3 BRITISH RED CROSS
Birkholme Manor, Corby Glen,
Grantham NG33 4LF.
10 for 10.30am start,
3pm finish.
£17.50 pp inc 3 course lunch,
glass of wine & raffle.
Director: Colin Dale (Tues and
Thurs), Tony Ross (Wed).
Penny Hedley Lewis
( 01476 550255
penny.hedleylewis@
farmline.com
28 LOCAL CHARITIES
Chicago. Ashtead Peace
Memorial Hall, KT21 2DE.
7.00 for 7.30pm. Bridge prizes,
a raffle and refreshments. £6.
Maureen and Peter Cox ( 01372 275855
[email protected]
16 LOCAL CHARITIES
Chicago. Ashtead Peace
Memorial Hall, KT21 2DE.
7.00 for 7.30pm.
Bridge prizes, a raffle and
refreshments. £6.
Maureen and Peter Cox ( 01372 275855
[email protected]
OCTOBER 2016
1MOSAIC (supporting bereaved
children and their families)
Bridge Drive. Horton Village
Hall, Wimborne, Dorset.
10am to 4pm. Lunch,
including wine. £60 per table.
Stella [email protected]
7ST NEOTS MUSEUM. £14 pp.
St Neots Outdoor Bowling Club.
Jean Searle( 01480 212298
14 WESSEX CANCER TRUST
Rubber Bridge at Dovetail
Centre, Winchester Road,
Chandler’s Ford SO53 2GJ. 7pm.
Mrs Christine Pennell
( 02380 791046
17HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE
ROTARY CLUB.
Outlane Golf Club, Huddersfield.
12 for 12.30pm.
£50 per table (may rise to £52)
including lunch, afternoon tea
& biscuits. Raffle prizes.
Rtn Sam Smith ( 01924 402540
( 07968 868828
samuelsmith396 @btinternet.com
E-mail your charity events: [email protected]
CROATIA
From
£1,425
sharing
2-16 May 2017
Bernard Magee
( 01483 489961
Terms and conditions apply. These holidays have been organised for Mr Bridge by Great Little Escapes LLP, ATOL 5933
Page 25
Robin Hood’s Bridge Adventures by David Bird
Friar Tuck’s
Bad Breaks
O
nce a month, Friar Tuck visited
St Winifred’s Convent, twelve
miles east of Nottingham.
Since the nuns ate sparingly, it was
his custom to breakfast heavily on
kippered herrings at a nearby hostelry.
He would then arrive at the convent
around 11 o’clock in the morning.
‘You are welcome as always, Friar,’
declared the Mother Superior, as they
walked together through the cloisters.
‘Is it a coincidence that you visit us
most often on a Wednesday, when we
hold our weekly bridge session?’
‘Is it Wednesday today?’ queried
Friar Tuck. ‘My mistake entirely,
in that case. I rather thought it was
Tuesday.’
The Mother Superior suppressed a
smile. According to Sister Lydwine,
Friar Tuck had said exactly the same
thing four weeks previously. ‘You may
partner Sister Eustacia,’ she informed
him. ‘Her partner has some pressing
duties in the infirmary today and is
unable to play.’
Friar Tuck nodded his thanks.
Sister Eustacia would not have been
his first choice, but she was far from
the convent’s worst performer. Some
of the other nuns were unbelievably
timid in the bidding.
The game started at two that
afternoon and there were six tables
in play. This was an early deal at the
Friar’s table (see the top of the next
column).
The pale-faced Sister Foyla managed
to restrain herself from doubling
2♥ and could not believe her luck when
the auction had reached 4♥ at her next
turn. Putting aside any thoughts that it
might be impolite against a venerable
guest, she ventured a double.
Page 26
Dealer East. N/S Vul.
♠ A 2
♥ A J 8
♦ A K 10 3 2
♣ 9 6 2
♠ 10
♠ K Q 9 5 3
♥ K Q 9 7 6 3 N
♥Void
WE
♦ 9 8 7 4 S
♦ Q J 5
♣ 8 3
♣ K J 10 7 4
♠ J 8 7 6 4
♥ 10 5 4 2
♦6
♣ A Q 5
West
North
East
Sister
Sister
Mother
Foyla
Eustacia Superior
had made eight tricks so far and these
cards remained:
♠2
♥ J 8
♦3
♣9
♠ — N
♥ K 9 7 6 3
WE
♦ — S
♣—
♠ J 8 7
♥ 10 5
♦—
♣—
♠ K Q 9
♥—
♦—
♣ K J
South
Friar
Tuck
1♠Pass
1NT
Dbl
2♣2♥
Pass
4♥PassPass
Dbl
All Pass
The ♠10 was led and Friar Tuck winced
as he inspected the dummy. ‘I’m not
sure your hand was worth 4♥,’ he said.
‘When you made a free bid, I was
expecting five hearts and a good hand,’
replied Sister Eustacia. ‘If I raise to just
3♥ and you pass, that isn’t a game call.’
Friar Tuck won the first trick with
dummy’s ♠A and finessed the ♣Q
successfully. He cashed the ♣A and
played dummy’s ♦A-K, throwing his
last club. He ruffed a diamond in his
hand, noting that the queen and jack
had fallen from East. Would that help
him at all?
When a trump was led towards
dummy, Sister Foyla inserted the ♥Q.
Friar Tuck won with the ace, East
showing out, and dummy’s ♦10 then
allowed him to discard a spade. He
Friar Tuck called for dummy’s last club
and ruffed with the ♥10, overruffed by
West’s ♥K. He could not be deprived
of two further tricks from dummy’s
♥J-8 and the contract was made.
The Mother Superior looked wearily
at her partner. ‘You know my feelings
on borderline penalty doubles, Sister,’
she said. ‘My 2♣ rebid showed a
minimum hand.’
‘I thought they’d had a bidding
misunderstanding,’
Sister
Foyla
replied. ‘Did you not see my trump
holding?’
‘Your double allowed declarer to see
your trump holding too,’ admonished
the Mother Superior. ‘Pass instead and
he would never have made ten tricks.’
Soon afterwards, Friar Tuck was
entranced to be facing two vivacious
novices. It seemed to him that they
were not the type of girls who would
normally devote the rest of their lives
in this way.
Sister Berewyl smiled at Friar Tuck.
‘Are you a good player?’ she asked.
BRIDGE August 2016
‘Not too bad,’ he replied. ‘How long
have you two been playing?’
‘Sister Alys taught us a couple of
months ago,’ Sister Berewyl replied.
This was the deal before them:
Dealer South. N/S Vul.
♠ K 7 2
♥ Q 10 8
♦ Q 5 2
♣ Q 10 6 3
♠ 10 6 ♠ A Q J 9 8 4
♥ 9 3 N
♥ 7 6 4
WE
♦ J 9 7 6 4 S
♦ A 8
♣ J 9 8 4
♣ 7 2
♠ 5 3
♥ A K J 5 2
♦ K 10 3
♣ A K 5
West
Sister
Letha
North
Sister
Eustacia
East
that a finesse of the ♦10 couldn’t gain.
If East had begun with ♦A-J-x, her
shape would be 6-3-3-1 and he would
score four club tricks. Both defenders
followed to the ♣A-K, marking East
with 6-3-2-2 shape. Tuck finessed the
♣10 and claimed the contract when
East showed out.
Sister Letha sighed. ‘That was a lucky
guess in clubs,’ she said.
‘I’ve always been a lucky player,’
Friar Tuck replied. ‘Since I learnt how
to count the hand.’
A few rounds later, the Friar faced
two of the convent’s oldest members.
Few nuns survived beyond the age of
50 with the poor diet they inflicted
upon themselves. Sister Agnes and
Sister Mordryth were rumoured to be
nearly 70 and had been bridge partners
as long as anyone could remember.
South
Sister
Friar
Berewyl Tuck
1♥
Pass
2♥2♠4♥
All Pass
The ♠10 won the first trick and the
bright-eyed Sister Letha led another
spade to her partner’s jack. When
Sister Berewyl continued with the
♠A, Friar Tuck ruffed with the ♥J and
drew trumps. A diamond to dummy’s
queen lost to the ace and East returned
the ♦8. Tuck rose with the ♦K, realising
Dealer North. Love All.
♠7
♥ A K 10 4
♦ A 8 7
♣ A K 10 7 6
♠ K Q J 6 5 2 ♠ 8 4
♥Void N
♥ Q 9 8 6 5
WE
♦ 9 6 5 2 S
♦ J 10 3
♣ 5 3 2
♣ Q J 8
♠ A 10 9 3
♥ J 7 3 2
♦ K Q 4
♣ 9 4
West
North
East
Sister
Sister
Sister
Agnes
Eustacia Mordryth
South
Friar
Tuck
1♣Pass 1♥
1♠ 4NTPass 5♦
Pass
6♥
All Pass
The ♠K was led and Sister Eustacia
laid out her dummy. ‘The 1♠ overcall
by Sister Agnes made it easy for me,’
she informed her partner. ‘Your values
were likely to be outside spades.’
Friar Tuck nodded politely. He won
with the ♠A and led a trump to the ace,
not thinking much of his luck when
West discarded a spade. A 6-0 heart
break against the Mother Superior and
now a 5-0 heart break!
When Tuck turned to the diamonds,
his luck improved, both defenders
following all the way. He played the
♣A-K, ruffed a club in his hand and
then a spade in dummy. These cards
remained:
♠—
♥ K 10
♦—
♣ 10 7
♠ Q J 6 N
♥—
WE
♦ 9 S
♣—
♠ 10 9
♥ J 7
♦—
♣—
♠—
♥ Q 9 8 6
♦—
♣—
When the ♣10 was led from dummy,
Sister Mordryth had no counter in
the East seat. If she ruffed high and
returned a trump, declarer would
score his last two trumps separately.
She chose instead to ruff with the
♥8, overruffed with the ♥J. Tuck
then led the ♠10, covered by the ♠J,
and discarded dummy’s ♣7. Sister
Mordryth was not amused as she had
to ruff partner’s winner and lead back
into dummy’s ♥K-10. The slam had
been made.
‘Lucky again,’ said Sister Mordyth,
with a shake of the head. ‘I hear
you were lucky against the Mother
Superior too!’
(continued next month)
■
BRIDGE August 2016
Page 27
A Blast From the Past by Shireen Mohandes
Deception
F
rom the moment we learn bridge
(as with other games and many
other aspects of life – think of
the continuing debates concerning tax
evasion and tax avoidance), we know
when it is ‘within’ the rules intentionally to deceive, and when it is absolutely wrong. This article is about deceptions in card play, and it is only about
‘legal’ deceptions. It is perfectly legal
to give false count or false attitude, so
long as declarer has as much information as partner about your tendencies,
and that on any specific occasion,
partner has no extraneous information to signify ‘truth’ from ‘lie’.
The prolific Scottish writer, Hugh
Kelsey, is known throughout the world
for his varied books on bridge. In his
book Advanced Play At Bridge there
is a fascinating chapter called camouflage. A few of the deals analysed
by Kelsey don’t stand the test of time,
because nowadays defenders have better signalling methods, which they use
more frequently. However, there are
some very instructive deals about deception; the one below features from
that book.
N
WE
S
Hugh Kelsey (1926 – 1995)
Kelsey, from Edinburgh, represented Scotland 12
times at international competition, won the Gold
Cup twice and wrote some 50 bridge books.
Amongst them, Adventures in Card Play which
he co-wrote with Geza Ottlik, is considered to
be one of the finest bridge books ever written.
He fought in WW2 and spent many years in
Malaya. Kelsey also wrote two detective novels:
A Bullet For Charles, and, Please Don’t Squeeze
The Trees. Fellow Scotsman Barnet Shenkin said
of him, ‘… A man of quiet demeanour, he was
easy to talk to as a teammate and a friend.’
Page 28
Dealer South. N/S Game.
Teams.
♠ 8 7 2
♥ Q 4 2
♦ K 10 7 3
♣ Q 9 4
♠ A K
♥ J 10 9 7 6 5 3
♦ A 9
♣ J 2
The original auction.
West North
East
Pass
1NT
Pass
All Pass
South
1♥
4♥
Opening lead ♠3.
What do you think of the leap to 4♥?
Jumping to game opposite a 1NT response from partner seems far too aggressive. Nowadays a 3♥ rebid would
be more common, and even then, a
touch pushy. Opposite that, North
would, no doubt, raise to 4♥.
Willie Coyle recounts a salutory
story involving Hugh and
their winning Gold Cup team.
Apparently, one of their teammates
was Glaswegian Sam Leckie, the
bridge columnist for The Daily
Express. Leckie wrote about
a hand in which he claimed
Kelsey misplayed a contract and
shortly after received a letter
from Kelsey’s solicitor. This left
such ill-feeling amongst the
team that they never went on to
defend their Gold Cup win.
Analysis
East plays ♠Q at trick one.
It looks as if West led from a three
or four card spade suit headed by the
jack. Perforce you win, playing the
♠A, to conceal the location of the ♠K,
of course.
BRIDGE August 2016
There are nine top tricks (two spades,
five hearts, and two diamonds). The
issues are: where best to find a tenth
trick; how to avoid the four top losers.
Let’s take a look at the diamond suit
in isolation. If anyone has doubleton
♦Q-J, then you can cash your ace and
king and take an immediate discard
on the ♦10. The player with short
diamonds will ruff this, but unless
that player has precisely singleton
♥8 or ♥A-K-8, this will compress the
opponents’ two trump tricks into one.
Alternatively, if East has a singleton
honour, then there is a very faint
chance of a discard. You can finesse
West for the other honour, hoping
that East has a void in trumps (highly
unlikely, as that would give East 12
black cards), and discard a losing club.
Without boring you with the
mathematical detail, neither of those
lines is better than 1%.
Those are the legitimate lines. But,
might subterfuge fare better? How on
earth are we to calculate the likelihood
of success of such a tactic? Is there
a reason why it might be superior?
Might one gain a psychological edge
in a long match by pulling off such a
gambit?
Bugs Bunny,
the infamous
New Yorker
trickster, was
the first cartoon
to appear on
a USA postage
stamp.
Bugs first
appeared
in 1938, making him
almost 80 years old.
The best deceptive play chances are
to try to induce a crash of honours.
♥ Q 4 2
N
♥AWE
S
♥ Q 4 2
N
♥ K 8WE
S
♥A
♥ J 10 9 7 6 5 3
Now let’s look at West holding ♥K-8,
or indeed ♥A-8. What about playing a
trump at trick two, towards dummy,
exerting the maximum pressure on
West? If he holds ♥K-8, he may think
that he has to take his king now or
never make it. If he holds ♥A-8, he may
think, ‘If I win now, I have a safe exit,
but if I delay winning then perhaps I
will be end-played.’
Good effort, but with ♥K-8, West
should know that declarer would
either have crossed to dummy for a
finesse, or played ace and another
hoping to drop a stiff king. With ♥A-8,
West might take the ace, but he’s more
likely to play low in the hope of getting
a signal from partner.
The deception, suggested by Kelsey,
was to give the illusion to West that
South’s hand is one of the following:
♠ A 3
♥ K J 10 9 7 6 5
♦A
♣ J 10 2
♠ A K
♥ K J 10 9 7 6 5
♦A
♣ 5 3 2
♠ A 3 2
♥ K J 10 9 7 6
♦A
♣ K Q 3
In any of these situations, South has
four losers, and there is no fast entry
to dummy to take a discard on the ♦K.
So, South would need to unblock the
♦A and then ‘get to dummy as quickly
as possible’.
Hence, Kelsey suggested cashing ♦A,
then playing a trump towards dummy.
As with the previous line, this might
work when West has either ♥A-x or
♥K-x, but more likely against ♥A-x.
Do you see a slight flaw in this? West
will be relying on East giving count
in the diamond suit. But East may
be lazy, or may, herself, be wanting
to deceive. From East’s point of view,
declarer might have some diamond
holding like ♦A-Q-x, and be trying to
get a count signal from the defenders.
All this cat and mouse means you
are now late for the next round. But
if you try such a deception and you
succeed in crashing honours, you are
likely to feel a warm glow.
London author Ian Leslie’s
book Born Liars is all about
deception. Subtitled, ‘Why we
can’t live without deceit?’ his
book was hailed as ‘consistently
startling and fascinating’.
When people overbid they sometimes get away with it. As a defender
it pays to take a moment and try and
visualise what declarer might have,
including taking into account either
overbidding or a possible lie of the
cards that might be fruitful for the defence. ■
♥ K 8
♥ J 10 9 7 6 5 3
You might consider taking two top
BRIDGE August 2016
diamonds and, if nothing good
happens there, running the ♥Q. Your
hope is that East has forgotten the
bidding, and elects to cover. In the
bidding, South has shown at least
seven hearts, thus East has no reason
to automatically ‘cover an honour
with an honour’, for there is nothing
to promote in partner’s hand. So this is
pretty much destined for failure.
Advanced Play at Bridge, along with
other wonderful out of print books,
is available from Gordon Bickley of
‘Card Game Books’. ( 0161 427 4630
or email [email protected]
Page 29
Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions
How Could We
Have Bid Slam?
Q
How would you
bid the following
hands? I shall
give you our bidding.
♠Void
♥ K 10 7 5 4
♦ A K J 8 3
♣ K Q J
N
WE
S
♠ J 9 5 4 2
♥ A Q 8 6 2
♦ Q 10 5
♣Void
North South
1♥4♥
4♠4NT
5♦5♥
Pass
Most pairs were in 6♥
making 12 or 13 tricks.
Partner reckoned his
only bid with this hand
was a pre-empt to 4♥.
John Dunbar by email.
A
With such good
trumps, I would make
a splinter bid on the
South hand, despite the 9
HCP. Assuming your methods
do not include an immediate
way to differentiate a
singleton from a void, South
should respond 4♣. North
Page 30
then cue bids 4♦, the massive
hand compensating for the
known duplication in clubs.
South continues with 5♣, not
only showing the void but
denying a spade control. The
lack of spade values in the
South hand is good news to
North, who might continue
with 5NT, asking South to
bid a grand slam with two of
the top three heart honours.
On your actual auction,
having bid 4♥ and heard
North proceed with a 4♠
cue bid, South should
cue bid 5♣ in return.
If 4NT was ace asking, it
was wrong on two counts:
(i) holding a void you will
not know whether partner’s
aces are in the right suits
and (ii) without first or
second round diamond
control, the opponents might
be in a position to cash
the first two tricks with the
ace-king of diamonds.
♣♦♥♠
Q
My partner and I
always respond
in a suit over a
suit if we can, so for us
a 2NT response to an
opening 1♠ bid always
promises exactly four
hearts and 11+ HCP in
a 3-4-3-3 hand (since
we need five hearts
to respond 2♥).
If we adopt the Jacoby
2NT convention (a game
forcing raise of opener’s
major, as in BRIDGE
160) what do we bid in
the above situation?
Pat Sinclair, Edinburgh.
A
The solution is that
a hand with 10+
HCP and a 3-4-3-3
shape responds 2♣ to 1♠. I
agree that the 2♥ response
should promise five hearts.
The Jacoby 2NT is a far
more sensible use of the
2NT response than what
you have been playing.
With your current methods
you are missing game if
you have 15-16 facing 10
(responder bids 1NT and
opener passes) and you
are getting too high with
12 facing 11 (opener has to
go on over 2NT even with a
minimum if you are playing
2NT as unlimited), so your
methods are not covering
all the hands anyway.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Was I wrong to
pass with the
South hand or
should I have bid 2♥,
which could have pushed
us too high if there
was not a heart fit?
♠ 7 5 4
♥ K J 10 4
♦K
♣ A Q J 5 4
♠ A Q 10 9 6 ♠ K J
N
♥ Q 5 WE ♥ 3 2
S
♦ Q J 10 8 6 ♦ 7 5 4 3 2
♣K
♣ 7 6 3 2
♠ 8 3 2
♥ A 9 8 7 6
♦ A 9
♣ 10 9 8
WestNorth East South
PassPass
1♠2♣ All Pass
My partner had
overcalled 2♣ as the
hand did not fit the
standard shape for
a take-out double.
As the cards lie, ten
tricks in hearts are
possible on the N/S
hands. However, bidding
4♥ would been too
optimistic on this hand.
John Martin,
Evanton, Inverness-shire.
A
The North hand is
tricky. The snag with
a take-out double
is that if South were to bid
diamonds North would have
to raise the level to convert
to clubs. The 2♣ overcall
is certainly reasonable.
BRIDGE August 2016
Sorry, with two aces and
three trumps, passing is
wrong on the South hand – a
raise to 3♣ is clear-cut. A
simple raise does not promise
a particularly strong hand
because a cue bid of 2♠
would show a better hand.
♣♦♥♠
Q
What do you
recommend
responding to
partner’s 1♠ opening
with this hand?
♠9
♥ 8 6 4
♦ A J 10 6 4
♣ 9 5 3 2
Should the answer
be 1NT?
Doreen Parrington by email.
A
Five-point hands
are marginal in
responding. Here,
with a singleton spade, it
is sensible to respond 1NT
in the hope of improving
the contract. You intend
to pass any non-forcing
rebid by opener.
even if you do not have a
four-card major, so called
‘non-promissory Stayman’
and then rebid 2NT. You are
quite right that 2NT would
be a transfer to diamonds.
If the bidding starts 1NT2♣-2♥ and responder has
an invitational strength hand
without four hearts, the rebid
is 2♠ on hands with four
spades (in case opener is 4-4
in the majors) and 2NT on
hands without four spades.
♣♦♥♠
Q
What should
you do when
parter doubles
1NT and you have a
weak hand? The full
deal was as follows:
♠ K 9 8 4
♥ A 10 8 7
♦ J 6
♣ A Q 10
♠10
♠ A 7 6 3 2
♥ Q 9 6 5 N ♥ K J 4
WE
♦ 10 7 5 4 S ♦ A 9 3
♣ 8 5 3 2
♣ K 9
♠ Q J 5
♥ 3 2
♦ K Q 8 2
♣ J 7 6 4
♣♦♥♠
Q
If you use the
four-suit transfer
method for
transfers, how do you
invite your partner to
bid game if you have
11-12 points balanced?
Will partner think
you are asking for a
transfer to diamonds
if you respond 2NT?
Colleen Lockier, Chepstow.
A
If you wish to
invite 3NT and are
playing four-suit
transfers, you use Stayman
WestNorth East South
1NT DblPass
?
David Cree,
Strathaven, Lanarkshire.
A
When you do not
have a five-card suit,
it usually pays to take
your chances at defending
1NT doubled. Any move you
make could be out of the
frying pan and into the fire.
It is unfortunate that you
simply do not have your fair
share of the high cards.
Perhaps, if you are non-
vulnerable against vulnerable,
it would be right to try 2♣
on the West cards, trying
to minimise your losses.
Better Hand
Evaluation
Bernard Magee
♣♦♥♠
Q
Playing Standard
American Yellow
Card, how would
you bid the following?
Dealer is North.
♠ J 3
♥Void
♦ A Q J 3 2
♣ A Q 9 7 3 2
N
WE
S
♠ A 8 6 5
♥ A K 9 3 2
♦5
♣ K 6 5
Huw Jones, Swansea.
A
A possible auction
is as follows:
North South
1♣1♥
2♦3♣1
3♦24♣
4♦34NT4
5♠55NT6
6♣7
In SAYC it is usual to play
Blackout/Ingberman (whereby
responder bids the lower of 2NT
and fourth suit on weak hands
after a reverse following a onelevel response), so 3♣ is forcing.
2
Showing the fifth diamond.
3
Cue bid with clubs agreed.
4
Roman Keycard Blackwood.
5
Two key cards and the ♣Q
– you do not show a void in
partner’s suit.
6
South confirms that all the key
cards are present.
7
Lacking any kings, North signs
off. ■
1
Introduction
Better Hand Evaluation is
aimed at helping readers to
add greater accuracy to their
bidding. It deals with auctions in which you and your
partner, against silent opponents, can describe your
hands fully to each other
and, by evaluating them accurately, find the best final
contract. The emphasis of all
good, accurate bidding is on
hand evaluation.
There are two general types of
auction: a) a fit is found and b)
no fit is found.
When you do not have a fit,
you are aiming to describe the
strength of your hand as soon
as possible, most often using
no-trump bids. This book begins by discussing balancedhand bidding in Acol, as it
is very important that both
members of a partnership
have an accurate knowledge of
how to show hands of different
strengths.
When a fit is found, there is
much re-evaluation of the
hand to be done; point count,
though still important, needs
to be evaluated together with
distribution. The best way of
reaching an accurate assess­
ment is to use the Losing Trick
Count; this is an important
method of hand evaluation and
takes up a number of chapters.
Finally, we move on to different
forms of evaluation including
game tries and splinter bids.
You can never know enough
methods of hand evaluation;
the more you learn, the better
you get at judging your hand.
Although the Losing Trick
Count is used more easily in
tandem with your partner, a
large proportion of the ideas
in this book can be used by an
individual. For example, evaluating your hand to be worth
an extra point is going to help
anyone you partner – as long
as you get it right.
£14 including UK postage
Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961
www.mrbridge.co.uk
Questions (including your postal address) for Julian: [email protected]
BRIDGE August 2016
Page 31
Teachers’ Corner – Teaching Tips from Ian Dalziel
Bid Only Hands
(for competitive auctions)
T
he traditional method of
teaching bridge is a spoken
lesson followed, for the rest
of the time, by prepared hands for
bidding and playing. When I started
teaching bridge 39 years ago, I did just
that but I soon realised there had to be
a better way.
I now do a spoken lesson for 15 to 30
minutes. For the next 30 to 45 minutes
there are intensive exercises on the
topic of the day then it’s a 15 minute tea
break followed by an hour of random
hands with post mortems. The class is
in four stages and the students enjoy
the variety.
The unique part of my classes is
the ‘exercise’. If the topic is card
play, then the exercise is ‘play
only’; if the topic is bidding, it’s
usually ‘bid only’. The random
hands in the second half of the
class revise all the lessons that
have gone before and, if I teach
something which doesn’t come
up in my random hands, it wasn’t
that important anyway.
In BRIDGE 160 I introduced
my bidding tents which are a very
efficient way of practising the
uncontested auction. However,
these tents are not suitable for the
contested auction, which is a huge
part of bidding.
For contested auctions, I use
prepared hands in boards. These
are bid in the normal way but
not played – that would take
far too long and is a distraction
from the topic, which is bidding.
After bidding the hand without
discussion, they lay out the cards on
the table as four dummy hands and
compare their bidding (recorded on
the yellow pages – see BRIDGE 154)
with the recommended bidding on the
Page 32
traveller: see example.
Each bid is explained and all possible
contracts are worked out by computer
analysis and shown on the top right
of the traveller. In this example E/W
can make 1♣,1♦, 5♥, 1NT and N/S can
make 1♠. If a likely contract makes six
tricks or less, I show the tricks instead
– thus 3t means N/S make only three
tricks in no-trumps. The students can
see how many tricks can be made in
whatever contract is reached – and
those not reached; there is no need to
play the hand. The traveller is A6 size
so four hands can be printed on an A4
page. (Small cards are usually shown
by an ‘x’ as this makes the hands easier
to make up).
The hands are self teaching and
discussion among the students is both
helpful and enjoyable. The teacher
goes round the tables to comment and
answers questions as required.
I design 20 hands on the topic of the
day. This is built around five bidding
sequences – if I’m teaching doubling
1NT, the sequences might be:
1
2
3
4
1NT– X – P – P – P.
1NT– P – P – P
1NT– X – 2 suit – X – etc.
1NT – X – 2 suit – P – P – 2/3 suit
– etc.
5 1NT – X – 2 suit – 2/3 suit – etc.
The students bid five hands
with these sequences – taking
turns to open 1NT. They then
do another batch of hands with
similar sequences; the players
remain in the same seats but
are in a different position in the
auction. If they have time to bid
all 20 hands, each player will have
experienced each sequence in all
four positions at the table:- opener,
doubler/overcaller,
responder,
and advancer (the name for the
partner of the doubler/overcaller).
They rarely have time to bid all
the hands but the exercise ensures
everyone understands the topic
and they have the option of
studying the hands at home from
the homework/printout.
If you would like a free PDF
and/or Word copy of 40 ‘bid only’
hands on the ‘weak no-trump
battleground’ with the text of
two lessons, then email ildalziel@
talktalk.net
If you are a bridge teacher and like
this teaching method, you can use
the Word version as a template for
your own hands on any aspect of
competitive bidding. ■
BRIDGE August 2016
More Tips from Bernard Magee
Do not open light with a 4-4-4-1 shape
In fact, consider passing a 4-4-4-1
(singleton club) hand with 12 points.
South 1South 2
♠ K 8 4 3
♠ K 8 4 3
♥ J 7 6 5
♥ A 7 6 5
♦ A K J 6
♦J
♣3
♣ A 7 6 5
4-4-4-1 hands are the least favourite
of most bidding systems – they do not
fit into any easy definition. In Acol, the
main problem comes when bidding your
second suit: when you bid two suits it
is always assumed that your first suit
will have at least five cards. The reason
for this is because most of the time it is
true. This means that your partner can
confidently support with three cards.
The key difficulty comes when you
have to open the bidding in a major,
which means the least favourite hand
is when you hold a singleton club. Any
other singleton means you can open in
a minor suit (so you will only be lying
about a minor), but with a singleton
club, you should be opening 1♥.
If you open 1♥ and rebid in another
suit you are ‘telling a lie’ in a major –
suggesting five cards in hearts and this is
something you should try to avoid. With
a 4-4-4-1 hand, you should not open
light, in fact when you have a singleton
club, you should actually be a little
circumspect: with a bare 12 points (no
tens) I would suggest passing. This does
not mean you will be quiet throughout
the auction because your hand might be
very suitable for a take-out double later.
Another aspect of 4-4-4-1 hands
that is important is a singleton
honour: when opening the bidding,
I cut the value of the honour in half
(excluding the ace) because the card
may well be decreased in value.
So, as the opening bidder, I would
choose to pass both of the South hands
above. South 1 has a singleton club
and no filling: I would have to open
1♥ if I chose to open, so instead I pass
and plan to enter the auction later.
BRIDGE August 2016
With South 2, I would evaluate the
hand as 11½ points and also pass:
your ♦J is not worth its full value.
Look how the auction might progress
with South 1 in the layout below:
BERNARD MAGEE’S
INTERACTIVE
TUTORIAL CD
ACOL BIDDING
Dealer South. E/W Game.
♠5
♥ K Q 9
♦ Q 9 5 2
♣ Q J 9 6 4
♠ A 9 7
♠ Q J 10 6 2
N
♥ A 6 4 3WE
♥ 10 8
♦3 S
♦ 10 8 7 4
♣ A 8 7 5 2
♣ K 10
♠ K 8 4 3
♥ J 7 5 2
♦ A K J 6
♣3
West
North
East
South
1♥
Pass
2♣Pass 2♦
Pass
3♥
All Pass
If you choose to open you will finish in
3♥ because your partner will choose
your presumed major suit fit over the
minor suit fit (note that if both suits were
minors, he might well prefer the 4-4 fit).
However, when you pass, later you are
able to enter the auction with a take-out
double: showing support for the two
unbid suits (diamonds and hearts). Now
your partner is able to choose diamonds
and you finish in the right contract.
West
North
East
South
Pass
1♣Pass1♠Dbl
2♠3♦
All Pass
In 3♥, declarer will struggle to make
eight tricks finishing with -50 or -100.
Meanwhile, 3♦ should make nine tricks.
Do not stretch to open on 4-4-4-1
hands because you can describe them
neatly later in the auction. However,
with 12 points you should usually open
unless your hand lacks fillers and you
hold a singleton club. ■
MAC or
Windows
Throughout 200 deals split
into the ten chapeters, Bernard
evaluates your bids, praising the
correct ones and discussing the
wrong ones.
l Opening Bids
and Responses
l Slams and
Strong Openings
l Support for Partner
lPre-empting
lOvercalls
lNo-trump
£66
Openings
and Responses
l Opener’s and
Responder’s Rebids
l Minors and Misfits
lDoubles
l Competitive Auctions
Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange,
Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Page 33
Improve Your Defence with Andrew Kambites
Communications
I
n my last article, we looked at
some hands where it was right to
take your ace and some where it
was necessary to allow declarer to win
the trick. I gave the following advice:
if you are in a position to win a trick
when your partner cannot win it, take
the trick unless you have a positive
reason otherwise. This usually applies
in fourth seat, but can equally well
apply in second seat if an honour is
led from dummy. In this article, I
examine how allowing declarer to
win a trick can be necessary, either to
preserve the communications between
the defenders, or to disrupt declarer’s
communications, cutting him off from
a long suit. Note that in each example
the defenders fully understand why
they are not winning the trick. They
have a positive reason.
Preserving our
communications
♠ 8 5 3
♥ 8 5 3
♦ 7 4
♣ A 7 5 4 3
Example A
♠ A Q 2
♥ A Q 2
♦ Q J 10 5 3
♣ 9 8
N
WE
S
SouthNorth
1NT
3NT
All Pass
In Example A, West leads the ♣4 to
East’s ♣10 and declarer wins with
the ♣K. Declarer now leads the ♦2 to
dummy’s ♦Q and East wins the ♦K.
Page 34
How do you defend:
i) If East returns the ♣6 and declarer
covers with the ♣Q?
ii) If East returns the ♣2 and declarer
covers with the ♣Q?
i) The general principle is that if East
started with three clubs, he returns
his highest remaining club. If East
started with four or more clubs, he
returns the original fourth highest.
From the clubs you can see, you
can work out the ♣6 is either his
only remaining club or he started
with ♣10-6-2. If East started with
only two clubs you have no chance
of setting up the clubs and, bearing
in mind that dummy has 15 points
opposite a weak 1NT, you are most
unlikely to beat the contract whatever you do. Your best chance is to
hope that partner started with three
clubs. In that case, you must allow
the ♣Q to win the trick. Partner
subsequently gains the lead with
the ♦A and returns his ♣2, giving
you three club tricks to defeat the
contract. South had:
♠ K J 4
♥ K J 6
♦ 9 8 6 2
♣ K Q J
ii)If the ♣2 is returned it comes
either from an original four-card
holding or from an original ♣10-2.
Again, you won’t beat this contract
if partner started with only two
clubs, so assume he started with
four (♣J-10-6-2). Take ♣A and
return your ♣3 to partner’s ♣J.
You defeat the contract by two
tricks: taking four clubs and the
♦A-K. South had:
♠ K J 6 4
♥ K J 6
♦ 9 8 6 2
♣ K Q
If you allow the ♣Q to win,
declarer runs for home with seven
major suit winners.
In Example B, West leads the ♠9. How
should East defend?
Example B
♠ 8 5 4
♥ A K J
♦ A 7
♣ Q J 10 8 6
♠ 9 led
♠ K Q 10 3 2
N
♥ 6 5 2
WE
♦ 10 8 4
S
♣ A 4
West
All Pass
North
East
South
1♣1♠3NT
East should start by analysing the
♠9. It is clearly the top card from a
doubleton or a singleton. West has led
spades only because you overcalled
them. South has two spade stoppers.
You need to hope the ♠9 is a doubleton,
because looking at the strength of
dummy you won’t beat 3NT unless
you bring in the spades.
South had:
BRIDGE August 2016
♠ A J 6
♥ Q 10 9
♦ K Q J
♣ 9 5 3 2
Suppose you play the ♠Q
(third hand high) at trick 1.
Declarer allows the ♠Q to
win! You continue spades
but declarer wins as cheaply
as possible and when West
gets in with the ♣K he has
no spade left to return. With
only one outside entry you
cannot set up and use your
spades. Now, see the contrast if you follow to the ♠9
with the ♠3. Declarer has
to take his ♠J, otherwise he
never makes it. Subsequently, partner wins the ♣K and
plays back the ♠7.
Declarer has only one
spade guard left, the ♠A,
and you will gain the lead
with the ♣A and be able to
enjoy your spade winners.
Disrupting their
communications
Example C
♠ A 2
♥ Q 8 4
♦ K Q J 10 9
♣ 9 8 7
♠ J led
♠ K 8 5 3
N
♥ K 10 9 3
WE
S
♦ A 7 3
♣ Q 6
South North
1NT 3NT
All Pass
In Example C, West leads
the ♠J. Dummy plays low.
You rise with the ♠K and
you return the ♠3 to dummy’s ♠A. Dummy’s ♦K
comes next which you allow
to win. Declarer continues
playing on diamonds: the
♦Q comes next. Do you take
your ♦A:
BRIDGE August 2016
i) If partner followed with
the ♦8 on the previous
trick?
ii) If partner followed with
the ♦2 on the first round?
Whatever your preferred
signalling system, you
should play count signals
when declarer is trying to
establish a suit in an entryless dummy: high/low with
an even number and low/
high with an odd number.
i)West’s ♦8 is either a singleton (giving declarer
four diamonds, in which
case you cannot hold up
your ♦A for long enough
to cut off dummy’s suit)
or from a doubleton.
If West has two diamonds declarer has
three, so East must keep
his ♦A for the third
round of diamonds.
South had:
♠ Q 7 6 4
♥ A 7 6
♦ 6 5 4
♣ A K 5
ii)West’s ♦2 is either a singleton (again giving you
no chance) or from three.
You should assume West
has three diamonds, giving South a doubleton.
Take your ♦A on the second round and return a
spade. South had:
♠ Q 7 6 4
♥ A 7 6
♦ 6 5
♣ A K J 10
If you allow declarer to
steal a second diamond
trick he turns his attention to clubs and easily
makes 9 tricks.
Sometimes
spectacular
methods are needed to cut
declarer off from dummy.
In Example D, partner leads
the ♠Q.
Example D
♠ 6 4 2
♥ A 2
♦ K Q J 10 5 4
♣ J 6
♠ Q led
♠ A 7
N
♥ K 6 4 3
WE
S
♦ A 7 2
♣ Q 10 7 5
BERNARD MAGEE’S
INTERACTIVE
TUTORIAL CD
DECLARER
PLAY
MAC or
Windows
SouthNorth
1NT 3NT
All Pass
You take the ♠A and count
points. Dummy has 11
points and you have 13. If
declarer has 12 points, partner has at most four. The
opening lead marks him
with the ♠Q-J so he has at
most one jack elsewhere.
You are very unlikely to
beat this contract by setting
up spades, so you must hope
that declarer cannot find
nine tricks by himself.
You must concentrate on
cutting him off from dummy’s diamonds and that
means dislodging dummy’s
♥A before he can drive
out the ♦A. A low heart at
trick 2 won’t help because
declarer can win it in his
hand with the ♥Q, but spectacularly sacrificing your
♥K leaves him without resource. Switch to the ♥K at
trick 2.
Subsequently, you must
carefully watch West’s diamonds to see when you can
take the ♦A. South had:
♠ K 9 5 3
♥ Q J 7
♦ 6 3
♣ A K 4 2 Bernard develops
your declarer play
technique in the
course of ten
introductory
exercises and 120
complete deals.
l
Suit Establishment
in No-trumps
l
Suit Establishment
in Suits
lHold-ups
l
Ruffing for
Extra Tricks
l
Entries in
No-trumps
£76
lDelaying
Drawing Trumps
l
Using the Lead
l
Trump Control
l
Endplays &
Avoidance
l
Using the Bidding
Mr Bridge, Ryden
Grange, Knaphill,
Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961
■
www.mrbridge.co.uk/
mrbridge-shop
Page 35
Conventions Part 20 with Jeremy Dhondy
Responding to a
1NT Opening
(Part 2)
A
quick recap from part one,
here is the suggested scheme
of responses to a 1NT opening:
2♣
Stayman (asks p
artner to bid a 4-card major
or 2♦ without one)
2♦
Transfer to Hearts
2♥
Transfer to Spades
2♠
Transfer to Clubs
2NTTransfer to Diamonds
3♣/♦/♥/♠ Natural, 6 cards, slam try
4♦
5-5 in the Majors with (only) game values
It’s a good idea to remove some possible
misunderstandings, so discuss with
your partner as to whether you play
the same method if you overcall 1NT,
such as in the sequence (1♣)-1NT
and also what you play if it goes 1NT(Dbl). I once played a couple of boards
with the then chairman of the EBU as
my partner was late for an event. We
agreed to play ‘Standard English’ and
the first board went 1NT-(Dbl)-2♥.
Everyone passed. He played the 3-3fit quite well, but for no matchpoints
as, of course, the common contract
was 2♠ making overtricks. As he
was primarily responsible for the
introduction of Bridge for All I wasn’t
that impressed with his view of
‘Standard English’.
Transfer to a minor
If you have a six-card minor you can
show it by transferring to it, so the
Page 36
sequence 1NT-Pass-2♠ shows clubs.
You can do this on a weak, invitational
or strong hand. Partner, therefore,
must not go beyond 3♣ when he
responds. Thus, he has two choices
either 2NT or 3♣. I suggest 3♣ is the
rebid that shows you like clubs and
2NT is the call you make if you don’t
like clubs.
A good reason for telling partner
whether you like his minor is to enable
you to bid a thin 3NT. Suppose you
have:
♠ 7 6
♥ K 8 4
♦ Q 10
♣ K Q 10 8 6 3
N
WE
S
After partner opens 1NT (12-14),
you bid 2♠ to show clubs. If partner
responds 2NT to say he is not that keen
on clubs, then it is unlikely 3NT will be a
good contract, as you have a maximum
of 24 points and a club suit to set up, so
you bid 3♣ to play. On the other hand,
if he bids 3♣, you know you have six
likely tricks so can chance 3NT, even if
you have somewhat slender values. Of
course, you might have a hand such as:
in which case, all you are trying to do
is to find a safer haven.
The sequence over 1NT-2NT, showing diamonds, is the same. You would
rebid 3♣ if you did not like diamonds
and 3♦ if you did. One advantage of
bidding the minor if you like it is that
one day you will hold:
♠ 8 6
♥6
♦ K J 4 3 2
♣ Q J 10 6 5
N
WE
S
You respond 2NT (transfer to
diamonds) to partner’s opening bid of
1NT. He either bids 3♦, you are happy
to play there, or 3♣ to show he is not
that keen on diamonds, in which case
you pass knowing you are likely to
have a better club fit.
One sequence you ought to discuss
is transfer to a minor followed by a
major suit bid. An example would be:
You Partner
1NT
2♠13♣2
3♥ or 3♠3
Transfer to clubs
I like them
3
?
1
2
♠ Q 5 3
♥6
♦ 6 3
♣ Q J 9 5 4 3 2
N
WE
S
I suggest that this should show a
shortage. If you had a four-card major
and a longer minor, you could bid
BRIDGE August 2016
Stayman first, so this sequence shows
game values (or better) and a shortage
in the major. This way, partner knows
he needs to have good cards in the
major to make 3NT, otherwise he may
choose to play in 5♣ or 6♣. Suppose,
for example, he held:
♠ 9 8 5
♥ A J 5 4
♦ A J 10
♣ A 9 5
N
WE
S
You Partner
1NT
2♠3♣
3♠1?
1
Shortage in spades
Now he has an excellent hand with
a club fit, no wasted values in spades
and three aces so he is well worth a cue
bid of 4♦.
Single suited slam try
If partner opens 1NT, one hand type
you may have is a slam going hand
with a single suit. This is a slam going
example. Partner opens a 12-14 1NT
and you hold:
♠ A Q J 10 7 5
♥ A 5
♦ A 8
♣ K J 7
N
WE
N
WE
S
♠ K 6 3
♥ K Q 7
♦ 7 6 5
♣ A 9 6 5
He has an easy 4♣ cue bid. Although
minimum, he has a spade fit and all
his high cards are useful ones.
BRIDGE August 2016
♠ Q J 4
♥ Q J 10 4
♦ 8 7
♣ K Q J 6
N
WE
S
THE PRESENT
vvv
Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is a Mystery
Today is a Gift
That is why we call it
He has a minimum, no fit and very
soft values (ie queens and jacks). If his
1NT opening was:
. . . The Present
Made in the UK
from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
♠ 5 4
♥ A Q J 6
♦ K 9 4
♣ A 10 9 4
N
WE
S
He can show a little interest by bidding
3♥. This has the added advantage that
if you are weak in spades, you may
avoid 3NT and play in 5♦.
The four level
Many people play 4♣ as Gerber
(asking for aces) and there is nothing
wrong with this, as a raise to 4NT over
1NT is usually played as quantitative.
For a 4NT response you would hold
something like:
S
To show this sort of hand you jump, in
this case, to 3♠. Partner can now bid
3NT with nothing much in spades, he
can bid 4♠ with something in spades
and not a great hand or he can cue bid
with a better hand. So if he held the
following for his 1NT opening:
If you jump to 3♣ or 3♦ over 1NT,
showing a slam try in that suit, then
3NT suggests partner isn’t much
interested. Perhaps over 1NT-3♦ he
holds:
♠ K Q 9
♥ A J 7
♦ K Q J 5
♣ K 10 4
Be
reasonable
... do it
my way!
Made in the UK
from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
N
WE
S
What you want partner to do over
4NT is to pass with a minimum and
bid 6NT with a maximum. With 13,
he looks at this hand and decides. If he
has a five card suit as part of his 1NT
opening, he can jump to six in that
suit to suggest an alternative.
I suggest you might consider a
response of 4♦ to 1NT as showing
5-5 in the majors with no ambition
beyond game. It gets your hand across
in one bid, it makes it more difficult
for the opponents to come in and you
are guaranteed a 5-3 fit at least, Life’s a GAME
but
BRIDGE
is
SERIOUS
Made in the UK
from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
Page 37
£5
unless partner has a peculiar 1NT
opening. An example hand might be:
inc p&p
♠ Q J 10 7 5
♥ K Q J 5 4
♦6
♣ J 4
N
WE
S
If you had a stronger hand than this,
you would start by transferring to
spades and then bidding hearts. The
auction:
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Q PLUS 11
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and Hint buttons
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l Comprehensive manual
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own deals
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BOILER
POT
♠ A Q 7
♥ A K Q J
♦ Q J 10 9 8 7
♣Void
♠ K J 10 8 6
♠ 9 5 4 3 2
♥ 5 4 3 2 N
♥VOID
W E
♦VOID
♦ 6 5 4 3 2
S
♣ K Q J 10
♣ 4 3 2
♠Void
♥ 10 9 8 7 6
♦ A K
♣ A 9 8 7 6 5
Contract 7♥ by South.
West leads the ♣K.
Made in the UK from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
Page 38
You
Partner
1NT
2♥2♠
3♥
shows at least 5-4 and is forcing to
game.
What else?
Does this article and the last cover all
hand types? Well, no and you must
decide how complicated you want to
get. It’s better not to play too much
and remember it, than play something
technically better and forget it, but
perhaps one last hand type. Partner
opens 1NT and you hold:
♠ K J 9 5
♥7
♦ A J 6
♣ K Q 7 4 2
N
WE
S
You know game is the place to be, 3NT,
4♠ or 5♣. You can’t bid 3♣ because
that is a single suited slam try and will
lose the spade suit. Also, partner will
think you have a six card suit. So you
bid 2♣ (Stayman). If partner bids 2♠,
then you will play in 4♠. If partner
bids 2♥, you will probably bid 3NT,
especially at pairs, and hope the hearts
are good enough. If partner bids 2♦,
you can bid 3♣ to show, usually, a
five-card suit but could be six, a major
and the values for game. Now you
can investigate whether 3NT or 5♣ is
better. Partner might have ♥K-Q-J, in
which case 3NT is the place to be or he
might have ♥J-6-4 in which case 3NT
is very unlikely to be the right contract.
♠ A 10 6
♥ J 7 4 N
WE
♦ A 9 4 S
♣ K J 9 5
♠ K J 9 5
♥6
♦ K Q 7
♣ A Q 8 7 6
West East
1NT 2♣
2♦3♣1
3♦23♠2
4♣35♣
1
A hand with five clubs, the values for game
and a four-card major suit.
2
Showing values in an attempt to determine
the right contract.
3
Very likely that you hold nothing in hearts.
On a good day you might make 6♣ if you
guess the spades, so you should bid 4♣,
forcing, to show a suitable hand in case
partner can cue bid.■
Summary
l Playing the same method after a 1NT overcall as you do after a 1NT
opening isn’t perfect but it does simplify your agreements.
l After you transfer to a minor, partner can show whether he likes your
minor or not, enabling you to bid 3NT with minimal points but a running
suit.
l After you transfer to a minor, a rebid of 3♥ or 3♠ shows a shortage to
enable you to identify the best game or perhaps a slam.
l Jumping to the three level after 1NT shows a decent six-card suit and a
hand with some slam possibilities.
l Use Stayman followed by 3♣ or 3♦ to show a game going hand with that
minor and a major. You don’t need it as a weak bid because you could
have simply transferred with that.
BRIDGE August 2016
Sally’s Slam of the Month
No
Conversation
M
ost good slam auctions are
a conversation, both players
exchanging
information
until the right contract is decided
upon.
However, sometimes you are dealt
such a good hand, in context, that
you don’t need any cooperation from
partner and can make all the decisions
yourself.
Jim Dapre sent me this deal at IMP
scoring:
Dealer West. Love All.
♠ A K Q
♠ 9 8 5 4
N
♥ K Q J 3 2 WE
♥ A 10 6 5
♦ A K 10 4 S
♦ Q 7 2
♣4
♣ A 9
West
East
1♥3♥
4NT
5♥
7♥
Playing Benjaminised Acol, the hand
did not feel suitable for any of the
strong options, so he decided to open
1♥, keeping his fingers crossed that
partner would respond.
When partner not only responded,
but gave him a jump raise, he was
off to the races. This is a pretty good
grand slam, but in the event trumps
broke 4-0, so it was not possible to ruff
a diamond in dummy.
Declarer ran all his trumps instead,
hoping for spades or diamonds to
break 3-3, or for a squeeze; in the event
spades broke and all was well.
Thoughts upon
the Bridge
(after a night of no-bids)
There was a similar theme in this deal
from the Senior Camrose Trophy.
Dealer East. N/S Vul.
♠ K 8 7 2
♥ A K 10 8
♦Q
♣ A K 7 6
♠ 10 4 3
♠5
♥2 N
♥ Q J 9 7 3
WE
♦ 10 9 8 5 2 S
♦ A K J 4 3
♣ J 10 5 4
♣ 8 3
♠ A Q J 9 6
♥ 6 5 4
♦ 7 6
♣ Q 9 2
My heart leaps down when I behold
Another balanced hand:
Four-four-three-two,
four-three-three-three –
Unutterably bland.
I much prefer a looser build.
A five or six or seven,
If interspersed with singletons,
Must be a bidder’s heaven.
It matters most when points are low –
Repeatedly, for hours.
West North
East
South
1♥1♠
Pass
4NT
Pass
5♦
Pass
5♥Pass 6♠
All Pass
At the other table they bid around the
houses and, eventually, North took a
pot at the slam. I thought my partner,
Nicola Smith, made a much better effort. Knowing that she was never going to get any cooperation from me,
she took a more direct approach.
As it was, the slam was not that great
a contract, but would have been much
better had I had three diamonds. As it
was, all I could do was win the heart
lead, draw trumps, ruff a diamond
and hope clubs were 3-3. So it was one
down for a flat board. I was not up to
the double-dummy line of running the
♣9 and so picking up the suit!
■
A long suit gives you scope to snatch
A trick beyond your powers.
In no-trumps, if your long suit holds
Your only honours medley,
Then gaining entry to that suit
May earn a tricks-run deadly.
In play with trumps, your singleton
May bite the dust de bonne heure,
Enabling humble two of trumps
To seize their topmost honneur.
Such little shocks provide the fun
(Along with neat finessing)
That add a frisson here and there
And make things less distressing.
A bit of Blackwood’s one thing;
A grand-slam gives a thrill;
But crafty play to cut your loss
Is absolutely brill.
Send your slam hands to [email protected]
BRIDGE August 2016
©Brian Newbould 2010
Page 39
Russian
BERNARD MAGEE’S
INTERACTIVE
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Lead vs
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Page 40
by David S
D
uplicate players love duplicate
which has taken over from
rubber bridge as the usual
way that bridge is played. One of the
main reasons for this is that a bad run
of cards does not matter: you can win
just as easily with bad cards as good,
since your scores are compared with
other people who play in your direction. What happens when there are
only four of you playing a social game? Obviously you can play
rubber bridge, or four
deal bridge or Chicago
bridge (see BRIDGE
129), but you are back
to the problem that it
may be no fun if your
side does not get the
cards. Is there a solution?
A correspondent has
brought Russian scoring to my attention. I
confess I have not tried
it, so I am merely offering it to you for you to
try.
The idea is that you
play hands in the
usual way as on a duplicate evening, using
the dealer and vulnerability on the boards.
You can borrow a set
of boards from your
club, or failing that you
should just have a score
card each, since score
cards show the dealer
and vulnerability. Of
course, you shuffle the boards (or even
use a prepared set from your club) and
then play them in the usual way. After
each board, you calculate how many
IMPs you or your opponents have
scored. That is the beauty of Russian
scoring: you can get a good board with
poor cards as at ordinary duplicate.
At the end of each hand, you have
to do a little calculation. You look at
the cards and find out which side had
more points (dealer, if the points are
20/20) and calculate the points for that
side. You also check what the best fit is
for that side, ie the suit with the most
number of cards in the two hands
(taking the higher ranking suit if there
is more than one of the same length)
and then look up par on the Table
(shown above). Now you imp against
par.
If you never play teams in your club
then you may not know what ‘to imp’
means. Usually, you subtract your
teammates’ score from your own and
look up the result on an ‘IMP table’,
BRIDGE August 2016
Scoring
Stevenson
which appears on nearly every scorecard. So, if you get 420 and your teammates lose 170, that is 250 which is 6
IMPs. Similarly, if you lose 800 and
your teammates win 600, you have lost
200 which is -5 IMPs.
The difference in Russian scoring
is that instead of teammates, you use
a par score from the Table (shown
below). It all sounds a bit complicated,
so here are a few examples which I
hope will make it clearer.
Board 1: you sit North. You play in
1NT and make it for +90. Afterwards
you find you have 22 points your way
and a nine card club fit: according to
the Table (shown above), par is +60
since you are not vulnerable, and 90BRIDGE August 2016
60 is 30, which is 1 IMP, so you have
gained 1 IMP.
Board 2: your opponents bid and
make 6♠ and score 980. They have
only 30 points and nine spades, so par
for them is 730. They have gained 980730 which is 250 and 6 IMPs, so you
are now losing by 5 IMPs.
After a few uninteresting hands
you come to board 6. The opponents
bid to a confident 3NT,
but your partner finds
a brilliant defence and
it is one off vulnerable.
They have lost 100, they
had 26 points and no
eight-card fit, so their
par was 480, so -580 is
-11 IMPs. You are now
leading since that is 11
IMPs to you.
Board 9 was interesting in a different
way: you play in 2♠,
just making for 110.
However, it turns out
you had a combined 18
points (18 count as the
modern terminology
calls it), so par is for
your opponents. They
had 22 points, an eightcard club fit, so their
par was 50, and they
have lost 50+110 which
is 160 or 4 IMPs.
At the end of 24
boards both sides feel
they have had enough,
so you add up the
IMPs. It turns out you
have won by 2 IMPs, so
you decide to play again next week.
As both sides agree, it was not
the luck of the cards that decided it,
since board 2 was the only making
slam.
If you do try it please let me know
how it goes, and whether you found it
was fun, or just too much trouble. ■
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e-mail: [email protected]
Page 41
Letters from Overseas
We Are Survivors
(For those born Before 1940 . . .)
We were born before television,
before penicillin, polio shots,
frozen foods, Xerox, contact
lenses, videos and the pill. We
were before radar, credit cards,
split atoms, laser beams and
ballpoint pens, before dishwashers, tumble driers, electric
blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry
clothes . . . and before man walked
on the moon.
We got married first and then
lived together (how quaint can
you be?). We thought ‘fast food’
was what you ate in Lent, a ‘Big
Mac’ was an oversized raincoat
and ‘crumpet’ we had for tea. We
existed before house husbands,
computer dating and sheltered
accommodation was where you
waited for a bus.
We were before day care centres,
group homes and disposable
nappies. We never heard of FM
radio, tape decks, artificial hearts,
word processors, or young men
wearing earrings. For us ‘time
sharing’ meant togetherness, a
‘chip’ was a piece of wood or fried
potato, ‘hard­ware’ meant nuts
and bolts and ‘software’ wasn’t
a word.
Going Clubbing
by John Barr
I
seldom visited night
clubs in my youth, but I
was recently invited to
visit the Medusa night club
in St Johann to enjoy a concert given by an excellent
local boogie woogie piano
player. The concert ended
around midnight, at which
point the audience (mostly
aged over 50) headed for the
exit, while a queue of people
about half their age made
their way in for a rather different style of musical entertainment.
Many of the hands that
to go clubbing again.
appear in magazines are exciting slams or doubled contracts where the success or
failure of a hand makes for
a top or bottom score. However, making an extra trick
on a part score hand can win
just as many match points,
so it is well worth concentrating even when a hand
seems uninteresting.
In order to make this
hand a few days later, I had
WestNorth East South
PassPass
1♥Dbl3♥3♠
All Pass
Dealer East. Game All.
♠ K J 10 7
♥ 9 4
♦ A 10 8 5
♣ A 5 3
♠ Q 5
♠ 8 4
♥ A K Q 7 6 5
♥ J 10 3
N
♦ 7 6 WE
♦ Q J 9 3
♣ 10 9 8 S
♣ K Q 7 6
♠ A 9 6 3 2
♥ 8 2
♦ K 4 2
♣ J 4 2
which I ruffed.
At this stage, East had
shown up with a more or
less balanced hand and only
three points for his jump
to 3♥, so it was likely that
he held both club honours.
I crossed to dummy with a
trump and led a small club.
East won with the ♣Q and
then had to either lead away
from the king or give me a
ruff and discard. He chose
to continue clubs, but it was
easy for me to insert the
jack, making nine tricks.
If East is going to win the
Before 1940 ‘Made in Japan’
meant junk, the term ‘making
out’ referred to how you did in
your exams, ‘stud’ was something
that fastened a collar to a shirt
and ‘going all the way’ meant
staying on a double-decker bus to
the terminus. In our day, cigarette
smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’
was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in the
coalhouse, a ‘joint’ was a piece of
meat you ate on Sundays and ‘pot’
was something you cooked in.
‘Rock Music’ was a fond mother’s
lullaby, ‘Eldorado’ was an icecream, a ‘gay person’ was the life
and soul of the party, while ‘aids’
just meant beauty treatment or
help for someone in trouble.
We who were born before 1940
must be a hardy bunch when
you think of the way in which
the world has changed and the
adjustments we have had to make.
No wonder there is a generation
gap today . . . BUT
By the grace of God . . .
we have survived!
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Page 42
West cashed two hearts
and switched to a diamond,
which ran to the ♦9 and
my king. After cashing the
♠A-K (dropping the ♠Q), I
cashed the ♦A and exited in
diamonds – East winning
and playing a fourth round,
first round of clubs, perhaps
the king is a better card to
play as the whereabouts of
the queen is not given away,
while East would be most
unlikely to play the queen
unless he also held the king.
Another clue is that if
West had held the ♣K, he
would have had only six losers, so would probably have
pressed on to 4♥ over my 3♠
bid.
■
BRIDGE August 2016
Seven Days
by Sally Brock
Monday
After taking advantage of my brother’s
shower (we have oil central heating at
home and forgot to get it filled so have
been without hot water or heating
for several days), I’m up and out and
on the road to Stratford-upon-Avon.
I arrive without incident and meet
Allie and our young Bulgarian
teammates, Zhifko and Petar. We start
off OK (thanks to a tremendous card
from teammates), but then things start
to go wrong. This deal is instructive:
Dealer North. N/S Vul.
♠ A 8 6 3
♥ 8 3
♦ Q 10 6 2
♣ Q 5 3
♠ Q 10 5 4
♠J
♥ K Q 10 7 2 N
♥ A J 9 6 5 4
WE
♦ J 5 S
♦ K 9 4 3
♣ 6 2
♣ 10 9
♠ K 9 7 2
♥Void
♦ A 8 7
♣ A K J 8 7 4
What would you bid with that South
hand after partner passes and East
opens a weak 2♥? Either double or
3♣ might work well, but you have to
be expecting to make more than one
bid with the hand. If you start with
3♣ – probably the best choice – then
you have to be prepared to double on
the next round – if there is one. On
the actual deal, West raises to 4♥ and
that comes back to you. If you double,
partner will bid either 4♠ or 5♣, both
of which are making. Or maybe E/W
will bid on to 5♥ and you will have to
BRIDGE August 2016
settle for +300 or +500 depending on
how well you can defend.
We finish just about average.
Still, it has been an enjoyable day.
Unfortunately, I feel the beginning of
a cold coming …
Tuesday
I wake up feeling like death with this
terrible tickly cough that gets worse
every time I lie down. I slept badly
and don’t manage to doze during the
day. I do hope I haven’t given it to
my mother. I spend the day feeling
sorry for myself, working on my
main project of the moment which is
for the EBU, updating their teaching
material. And there are my usual
online teaching sessions.
and I like to give as good as I get, or
better! We have already had an early
board where I produced a rather
speculative double of three no-trumps
which they redoubled and it went one
down (would have gone more down if
I hadn’t doubled). So, in that light, I
rather enjoy this board:
Wednesday
Dealer West. E/W Vul.
♠ K 4
♥ K J 10 9 7
♦ 7 6 4 3
♣ 8 6
♠6
♠ J 3 2
♥ Q 8 5 4 N
♥ A 6 3 2
WE
♦ K Q 10 8 2 S
♦ J 9 5
♣ K 7 2
♣ Q J 4
♠ A Q 10 9 8 7 5
♥Void
♦A
♣ A 10 9 5 3
I wish I could report some improvement. Briony dosed me up with everything she could think of – including
putting Vicks on the bottom of my feet
which apparently is a surefire miracle
cure for a cough, but not for me – I still
had a terrible night, coughing myself
awake whenever I managed to doze
off. I have a Skype session with Nicola
and our coach, Peter Crouch, sorting
out some competitive sequences: how
we bid when the opponents make twosuited overcalls against us, exactly
when pass is forcing in a competitive
sequence, etc, etc.
I have an online coaching session
with Richard and Gerry after that.
Nicola plays with me for the first half,
but then has to dash off somewhere,
so a robot takes over. There is often a
bit of ‘needle’ in these sessions. They
really like to ‘get one over on me’,
I pick up that huge South hand and
am rather surprised to hear three
passes to me (usually when one hand
is so distributional, so are some of the
others). I have a tendency to open 4♠
on these hand types, as it is unlikely
that I will be able to find out what I
need for slam, but in this instance I
am just too good. West doubles 1♠,
my robot partner passes and East bids
2♥. That is enough, especially playing
with a robot, so I now bid 4♠, and after
much thought, rather to my surprise,
East doubles in the pass-out seat.
(Quite why, I can’t tell you). A quick
redouble and no trump lead allowed
me to notch up the unusual score
of +1280, more than I would have
scored for bidding and making the
slam.
Page 43
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Page 44
Thursday
Saturday
I suppose I slept a little, but
nothing special, and while I
feel a bit better, there is still
a long way to go.
Nicola rings at 9.10am to
tell me I said I’d bid practice
hands with her at 9am – the
evidence is on her side, but I
don’t remember.
We torture ourselves
for a while with some of
the hardest hands Peter
Crouch’s imagination can
come up with.
In the afternoon, I go to
the EBU headquarters in
Aylesbury for a meeting.
As I said before, I am in the
process of updating some
of their teaching material,
and I wanted to go there to
meet with Christina, the designer, and get some photos
taken to illustrate some of
the books.
I am part of the school
who believe that when you
are ill if you pretend to be
better then that makes you
feel better … I wish!
Briony is out in the evening so I get lots of work
done. I’ve really broken the
back of it now.
After a fairly lazy morning, we turn up at the YC
for our Round of 16 Gold
Cup match against Jeremy
Willans’ Kent team. Our
present teammates Martin
Jones and Neil Rosen used
to play on this team, so it is
definitely a match we want
to win.
There are three slam
hands in the second set
(one of which was a freely
bid grand slam missing the
ace of trumps, bid in both
rooms). I think our teammates do well to bid this
next one.
Friday
They bid:
I have a much better night’s
sleep. While there’s some
way to go I’m definitely on
the mend. We finally get
someone to come out to see
to the boiler. I try to wait at
home to deal with it, but in
the end they don’t come in
time, so I have to get a taxi
to the station and with a
bit of luck catch my train.
However, in the end we decide not to play bridge at the
YC, but we do pop along for
a drink afterwards.
I do like the Friday evenings there. While it’s fun
to play bridge, it’s also fun
to meet everyone and catch
up.
WestNorth East South
1♠
Pass 2♣Pass2♥
Pass2NTPass 3♥
Pass 4♣Pass 4♦
Pass 6♥ All Pass
Dealer South. Love All.
♠Void
♥ K 4 3
♦ K Q 10 5 4
♣ A K Q 6 3
♠ K J 10 7
♠ A Q 6 4
N
♥ J 9 2 WE
♥ 7 5
♦ J 9 7 S
♦ 8 3 2
♣ J 10 9
♣ 8 5 4 2
♠ 9 8 5 3 2
♥ A Q 10 8 6
♦ A 6
♣7
That made comfortably
enough, and is a much better sequence than our opponents had …
WestNorth East South
1♠
Pass 2♦Pass2♥
Pass 3♣Pass3♥
Pass 3NT All Pass
On a heart lead this makes
all thirteen tricks but is still
10 IMPs to us.
The match is fairly close
throughout, but we lost
some ground on the penultimate set to leave us 7
IMPs up. However, we gain
20 IMPs in the final stanza
so win fairly comfortably in
the end.
After a quick drink at the
club, all eight of us go out
for a curry which is nice.
It’s good when everyone is
friendly.
Sunday
As has been promised for
about ten days, today the
weather changes. Even first
thing there is more promise in the air, and although
it takes a little while to get
going, in the afternoon the
weather is glorious.
We are off to Pam and
Dominic’s wedding. I can’t
remember having been to a
wedding for 60-somethings
before, and it is all lovely.
Pam and Dominic are so obviously well suited and the
whole day is a delight. There
is a strong feeling that they
are doing what they want on
the day, while I think a lot
of younger people are doing
what their parents want, or
what they think they should
be doing.
The reception is at the
RAC in a big room with
a huge terrace – fabulous
given the weather. The food
is excellent, the Jamaican
band perfect, the speeches
entertaining …
We stagger back via bus
and tube, calling in at the
YC to catch the end of the
Cope vs Green Gold Cup
match (we play the winners
in the quarter-final), only
to find it deserted. We later
discover it was happening
in Solihull. Finally, collapse
at the flat in front of the
TV after a thoroughly good
weekend. ■
BRIDGE August 2016
Julian Pottage answers your Frequently Asked Questions
Which Opener’s Rebids
Show Extra Values?
A
fter you open the bidding and
partner responds, you have
the chance to describe your
hand further, both in terms of shape
and strength. Assuming an uncontested auction, the various options for
your rebid are as follows:
ranging rebids. What are the rebids
that you can make with a minimum
opening hand but for which you might
hold extra values?
Rebids showing
extra values
1. The only rebids that encompass
minimum and stronger hands are
changes of suit rebids below two of
opener’s first suit (eg 1♣-1♥-1♠ or
1♦-1♠-2♣). Opener will not have
19+ points for these rebids (hands
of 19+ would jump).
1.A no-trump rebid at any level –
when playing a 12-14 1NT opening,
minimum balanced hands open
1NT rather than one of a suit.
2. A bid in a new suit higher than two
of opener’s original suit. Such a bid
could be a simple reverse (eg 1♦-1♠2♥) or a high reverse (eg 1♠-2♥-3♦)
or a jump (eg 1♣-1♥-2♠).
3. A jump in opener’s first suit (eg 1♦1♠-3♦).
4. A jump raise of responder’s suit (eg
1♦-1♠-3♠).
Some mistakenly believe that any
rebid above two of opener’s first suit
shows extra values while other rebids
do not. This is not in fact the case. A
1NT rebid, which is lower than two
of opener’s first suit, shows at least
15 points (typically 15-17) points. A
simple raise of responder’s suit, while
being above two of opener’s first suit,
does not show extra values – indeed
it shows a minimum opening because
you would jump with extra values.
Rebids showing
minimum values
1. A simple rebid of opener’s own suit
(eg 1♦-1♠-2♦).
2. A simple raise of responder’s suit (eg
1♣-1♥-2♥).
This leaves a final category, wide
BRIDGE August 2016
Rebids that may or may
not have extra values
Examples
You Partner
1♦1♠
?
Hand 1 Hand 2
♠5
♠5
♥ A 10 7 4
♥ A K J 7
♦ K Q 10 6 4
♦ K Q 10 6 4
♣ A 8 3
♣ A 8 3
With Hand 1, you have 13 HCP and
a misfit for partner. You must make
a rebid consistent with a minimum
opening: 2♦.
With Hand 2, you have 17 HCP, well
above minimum and enough to show
your second suit and strength with a
reverse: 2♥.
Hand 3 Hand 4
♠ 9 6 4 2
♠ K 9 4 2
♥ J 4
♥ J 4
♦ A Q J 8 4
♦ A Q J 8 4
♣ A 4
♣ A 4
With Hand 3, you have 12 HCP and
need to treat the hand as minimum.
Give a simple raise: 2♠.
Hand 4 is a king, 3 HCP, better than a
minimum opener and needs treating
accordingly. Make a jump raise: 3♠.
Hand 5 Hand 6
♠ K 4
♠ K 4
♥ J 4
♥ A 4
♦ A Q J 10 7 5 2
♦ A Q J 10 7 5 2
♣ 7 4
♣ 7 4
With Hand 5 you have a very good
7-card suit, but only 11 HCP and
so must content yourself with a
minimum rebid in your own suit: 2♦.
Although many hands with 14 HCP
would qualify as a minimum opener,
the very good seven-card suit and
prime values in the majors in Hand 6
justify a jump rebid: 3♦.
Opponents’ compete
If the opponents compete, a voluntary
rebid that you could have made
without intervention shows a suitable
shape, but does not promise more
values than it would have done without
intervention. On Hand 1, if the fourth
player overcalled 2♣, you would pass
rather than rebid 2♦ – you would want
six diamonds to bid 2♦ freely. On the
other hands, your rebid would be the
same with or without a 2♣ overcall.
Finally, if the opponents make a
jump overcall, a pass shows most
minimum opening bids, the exception
being that with primary (four-card)
support for partner it is worth bidding
one level higher than you had originally planned. ■
Page 45
Ode To
a
Bernard Magee DVDs
Pill
Little pill here in my hand
I wonder how you understand
Sacr
Just what to do or where to go
To stop the ache that hurts me so.
Within your content lies relief,
You work alone in disbelief.
You sink in regions there below
As down my throat you quickly go!
But what I wonder, little pill,
Is how you know where I am ill
And just how do you really know
Exactly where you have to go?
I have a headache, that is true,
My broken ribs need attention too!
So how can anything so small
End my aches in no time at all?
Do you work alone or hire a crew
To do the good things that you do?
I’m counting on you mighty strong
To get to there, where you belong.
Don’t let me down, please do not shirk
To do your undercover work.
So down my throat, be on your way
And end my aches for another day.
Don’t take a wrong turn is my plea . . .
I can’t take another till after three.
Made in the UK
from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
There are Three
Kinds of
Accountant . . .
Those who
T
his DVD has a slightly daunting
title, but leads to some exciting
bidding. I introduce the subject
by asking the audience for their take
on the topic. You deliberately overbid
in an attempt to go down in a contract,
but in so doing give away fewer points
than your opponents would have made
for their game contract. Duplicate
bridge can take a lot of getting used
to! Going down will so often get you
a good score. -50 and -100 can score
well because your opponents can
make a partscore: these are what you
might call mini-sacrifices. However,
the focus of this DVD is on the higher
level sacrifices. I show a traveller
that has seven scores for making a
vulnerable game: -650, but there are
two other scores. One is -500 for three
off doubled and non-vulnerable and
the other is -800 for four off doubled.
-500 scores you a top: you have given
away less than all the other pairs: you
get 16 out of 16 matchpoints. -800,
of course, is not so good, scoring the
worst and getting 0 matchpoints.
Table 1 – Penalties for
doubled undertricks
Tricks down
Vul
can add up and
1
200
100
those who can’t.
2
500
300
3
800
500
4
1100
800
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from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
Page 46
Non-Vul
This is the difference between a good
sacrifice and a bad sacrifice.
What is necessary when it comes
to sacrificing is to pay attention to
the vulnerability and try to grasp the
scoring system. Tables 1 and 2 show
the penalties for going down doubled
and how many tricks you can go down
for a profitable sacrifice.
The two situations in the centre of
Table 2 are highlighted in the DVD:
when they are vulnerable and you are
not is called favourable vulnerability
– a green light to bidding – you can
afford to go three off.
The opposite: when you are
vulnerable and they are not is called
unfavourable vulnerability – a red
light to bidding – you can only afford
to go one off.
Pre-emptive bidding gives a great
opportunity for sacrificing as do
aggressive raises of overcalls. Here
is an example of an overcall being
supported to the full:
Dealer South. Love All.
♠10
♥ Q 10 9
♦ Q 9 3 2
♣ K Q 10 6 2
♠ A K 9 4 3
♠ Q 8 7 6 5
N
♥ 8 7 6 4
♥5
WE
♦ 7 5 S
♦ J 10 8 6
♣ A 8
♣ J 4 3
♠ J 2
♥ A K J 3 2
♦ A K 4
♣ 9 7 5
BRIDGE August 2016
s – Number Nineteen
Ten Commandments
for Bridge Players
1. Thou shalt not play any
game other than bridge
whilst at the table.
rificing
2. Thou shalt not call a
misdeal just because
thou hast been dealt no
picture cards.
3. Thou shalt never take the
rules of bridge in vain.
West
North
East
South
1♥
1♠2♣4♠Dbl
All Pass
The first three bids had each player
biding their longest suit, but then it
was East’s turn: with five-card support
for his partner’s overcall, he uses the
tactic of bidding to the level of your
fit: 5 + 5 = 10, so bid to the level for
ten tricks. His jump to 4♠ puts the
pressure on South, who decided to
Remember to pay attention to the
vulnerability.
The second part of the DVD asks
how to deal with such disruptive
bidding.
The answer I give is, ‘with difficulty.’
If they do jump aggressively in the
auction, they take your bidding space
away: all you can do is try to bid
naturally and if you are very strong
make use of a bid of their suit to show
your strength. Bidding at the five-level
is very precarious, but getting good
TABLE 2 – Profitable sacrifices against a game – you are E/W
Vulnerability
Their Game (4♥)
How many
you can go down doubled
Love All
420
TWO
(-300)
N/S game
620
THREE
(-500)
E/W game
420
ONE
(-200)
Game All
620
TWO
(-500)
double to show his strength.
East-West have just 15 HCP between
them but with the big trump fit, they
can easily accumulate nine tricks. 4♠
doubled one off loses just 100 points,
which is much better than letting
North-South make eleven tricks in
hearts (-450).
Bidding on weak distributional
hands can get you great scores, but it
also enhances the entertainment of
the game. Being able to bid, even on
your weak hands, means that you will
be involved in a lot more auctions.
BRIDGE August 2016
at making the right decisions at high
levels will make a huge difference to
your scores.
Double fits are precious – when you
have eight or more cards in two suits
– generally bidding on tends to work.
Summing up, I emphasise that when
you try this kind of bidding, you will
have accidents. For every couple of
good sacrifices you may well end up
with one big penalty: -1100 or -1400.
As long as you work as a partnership,
you should be able to laugh off the bad
scores and celebrate the good ones. ■
4. After losing three games,
thou shalt not cry, nor
stamp thy feet, nor set
fire to thy bridge table.
5. Thou shalt honour thy
tournament director’s
decision, even though
thou might find it
unfavourable.
6. When thy partner makes
a mistake, thou shalt not
kill.
7. Thou shalt not resort to
hand signals, meaningful
looks, or kicks under
the table to instruct thy
partner.
8. If thou breakest
Commandment 7, thou
must not get caught.
9. Thou shalt keep table
talk to a minimum, unless
thou hast some juicy
gossip that will not wait.
10. Thou shalt not covet
thy opponents’ aces,
nor their kings, nor their
success at making seven
no trumps doubled and
redoubled.
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from 100% pure cotton © Mr Bridge
Page 47
NEW BRIDGE CRUISE ON BOARD AEGEAN ODYSSEY
IBERIA,
FRANCE &
ENGLAND
England
London
Dartmouth
Honfleur
Falmouth
Caen Deauville
Atlantic
Ocean
France
Bordeaux
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Compostela
Vigo
Portugal
Oporto
SPAIN
Lisbon
Seville
OPORTO
DEPARTS UK JUNE 16, 2017
14-day fly-cruise from £2,150 per person
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opportunity to taste wine in Bordeaux, evoke memories of D-Day
in Normandy and visit England’s beautiful West Country.
JUN 16
Fly to SEVILLE Spain
Transfer to hotel
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Transfer to Aegean Odyssey
River cruising along the Guadalquivir River
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JUN 29
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Disembark Aegean Odyssey in Tilbury
overnight hotel*
overnight
AEG170617BR
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