BRIDGEBRIDGE Number: 188 UK £3.95 Europe €5.00 August 2018 Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding Quiz...

BRIDGENumber: 188 UK £3.95 Europe €5.00 August 2018

Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding QuizThis month we are dealing with 2-level minor suit overcalls. You are WEST in the auctions below, playing

‘Standard Acol’ with a WEAK notrump (12-14 points) and four-card majors. It is your turn to call.

1. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q 8 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A J 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ ?

2. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ 8 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A J 10 9 6 5


3. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q J 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A K J 6 5


Answers on page 29

4. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 8 6 5 4 3 ♦ 7 6 ♣ A 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♦ Pass ?

5. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 8 6 5 ♦ K Q 6 ♣ A 8 7 5


6. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 9 6 2 ♥ K Q 5 4 2 ♦ K 9 ♣ A 6 5


Answers on page 41

7. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 4 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ A 8 4 3 2 ♣ J 8 7

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ 4♠

?

8. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 7 6 5 ♥ A ♦ Q J 9 4 3 2 ♣ 9 8 7


?

9. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 7 6 ♥ A 9 8 7 6 5 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♣ 2


?

Answers on page 45

10. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ K 6 ♥ 5 4 ♦ 9 4 3 ♣ A K 8 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass ?

11. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q 7 6 ♥ 4 ♦ A 4 3 ♣ A K 8 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ Pass 4♣ Pass ?

12. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Void ♥ 5 4 3 ♦ K Q 4 3 ♣ A Q J 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ 3NT Pass ?

Answers on page 49

NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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BRIDGE August 2018 Page 3

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Features this month include:

1 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

5 Mr Bridge

7 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

8 Readers’ Letters

10 Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall by Andrew Kambites

13 Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall Quiz by Andrew Kambites

15 Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall Quiz Answers by Andrew Kambites

16 Witchcraft in the Castle by David Bird

18 The Power of Spot Cards: Part 3 by Mike Lawrence

19 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage

20 Cinderella of Crime: Part 2 by Shireen Mohandes

24 More Tips by Bernard Magee

25 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett

26 Playing Cards in the 21st Century by Paul Bostock

28 Diaries of Wendy Wensum

29 Bidding Quiz Answers (1-3) by Bernard Magee

30 What to do if an Opponent Opens Your Longest Suit by Julian Pottage

31 Declarer Play Quiz Answers by David Huggett

32 How to Lose a Loser by John Barr

33 Catching Up with Sally Brock

34 Sally’s Slam Clinic

35 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage

36 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions


42 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions


46 Disrupting Declarer by Bernard Magee


50 Seven Days by Sally Brock

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BIOPSY

Last month I forgot to tell you that after my treatment had been completed I had the usual CT scan, to check the cancer had not spread. Happily, all seemed to be fine. I was then asked to present myself at the clinic for a ‘belt and braces’ (my description) biopsy. On arrival at the clinic, I was provided with glasses to protect my eyes from the laser’s burning beam. A photo opportunity I just could not resist.

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Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding Quiz

1. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q 8 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A J 7 6 5


2. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ 8 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A J 10 9 6 5


3. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q J 7 ♥ 4 2 ♦ K Q 2 ♣ A K J 6 5


My Answers:

1...........................................

2...........................................

3...........................................

Answers on page 29

4. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 8 6 5 4 3 ♦ 7 6 ♣ A 6 5


5. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 8 6 5 ♦ K Q 6 ♣ A 8 7 5


6. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 9 6 2 ♥ K Q 5 4 2 ♦ K 9 ♣ A 6 5


My Answers:

4...........................................

5...........................................

6...........................................

Answers on page 41

7. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 4 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ A 8 4 3 2 ♣ J 8 7


?

8. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 7 6 5 ♥ A ♦ Q J 9 4 3 2 ♣ 9 8 7


?

9. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 7 6 ♥ A 9 8 7 6 5 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♣ 2

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ 4♠ ?

My Answers:

7...........................................

8...........................................

9...........................................

Answers on page 45

10. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ K 6 ♥ 5 4 ♦ 9 4 3 ♣ A K 8 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass ?

11. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Q 7 6 ♥ 4 ♦ A 4 3 ♣ A K 8 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ Pass 4♣ Pass ?

12. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ Void ♥ 5 4 3 ♦ K Q 4 3 ♣ A Q J 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ 3NT Pass ?

My Answers:

10 .........................................

11 .........................................

12 .........................................

Answers on page 49

This month we are dealing with 2-level minor suit overcalls. You are West in the auctions below, playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a WEAK notrump (12-14 points) and four-card majors. It is your turn to call.

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

S

NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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NW E

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Page 8 BRIDGE August 2018

READERS’LETTERSFIRSTLY… I can’t play bridge, and I don’t want to, but I subscribe to the magazine for my wife, and I enjoy reading it, or at any rate the articles without too many curious symbols in them. So I feel I have to respond to your plea for more letters.

I had feared that your recent illness had robbed you of your, shall we say, direct way with correspondents – one of my favourite features of the magazine. But I was heartened to see in the June issue that you were back on form, answering a polite query about supplying information on the play of hands with the splendidly terse: ‘The program is Acol Bidding and not Acol Bidding and Play of the Hand’.

… AND SECONDLYOn another topic, I must mention how concerned I am about Sally Brock’s lifestyle. Bridge is, I think we can agree, a fairly sedentary activity, so care with exercise and diet, including plenty of salads, fruit and vegetables are clearly important for professional players. Yet in the course of one week, as recorded in the May issue, Sally ate as follows:

Tuesday: out to dinner with friends (location unspecified).

Wednesday: lunch at Carluccio’s, Friday: dinner at a local Indian. Saturday: dinner at an Ethiopian in Goldhawk Road, followed by a nightcap in a local pub.

Sunday: takeaway fish and chips, a glass of wine,

a few more glasses. Monday: Chinese

Takeaway.Don’t get me wrong; it

looks like a delicious diet. I’m not criticising; just concerned that handbag-making may not be enough to counteract the ill-effects.David Lindsay,Wimbledon.

WINNERS ALLI was with a team of seven Buddies delivering Taster Starter Bridge sessions to around 90 children between 10 and 11 in one of my local schools this morning. Buddies that are tirelessly doing so much to bring bridge to a younger generation, thus making sure the game does not die out. What was interesting was that in the three groups of 30 children from responses elicited that in the first group, seven children had never played cards before and in the second and third sessions the newcomers numbered eight children in each.

Without this initiative, all these youngsters would be missing out on learning

and developing the skills of memory, recall, logic, critical thinking and reasoning.Liz Dale by email.

INDEXATIONFor the past 3 years I have been creating my own index of the Mr Bridge articles. I keep my magazines in a pile in date order. On top of the pile I have a sheet of paper.

Each time I finish reading a magazine, I add the article I am interested in to the list on the sheet of paper with the date of the magazine. Simple but effective. It is also easy to find past articles in the archives of the Mr Bridge website. Elaine Slinn,Ness Bridge Club, Inverness.

HELPFUL INFOI have put together an Access database file, which, for social rubber bridge players, attempts to correlate the number of high card points with the contract that a partnership might be expected to make. I am contacting you in case you think it is worth sharing with other bridge players, totally free of charge. If so, I wonder whether you would be willing to do so using the resources and contacts of Mr Bridge or possibly suggest how I could do so myself. The file and supporting documentation are available on my web

site. www.kentopham.com Ken Topham by email.

POLITE REQUESTThere has never been an occasion to write you a letter of complaint and this is not one; more of a cri de coeur.

Please reinstate Mike Swanson’s Guide to The Laws when you next publish the diary. It is so useful when your Yellow Book is not at hand and people get argumentative. Blank pages for notes are really just fillers.Lesley Colligan by email.I will sort this for 2020.

HANDICAPSWould you recommend a handicap system as I am not happy with the one used by my club.By email. David Stevenson tells me that there are no official handicap systems in bridge so any organisation that uses one tends to make up their own.Could readers please help?

BUTLER SCORINGReference the article about the EBU by Jeremy Dhondy in the April issue of BRIDGE: Are bridge players too competitive? What is wrong with an afternoon or an evening without those who wish to win at all costs?

Why not give Butler scoring a try instead of Match Point scoring – my club does both. If your club uses bridgemates, then it is a simple matter to set them up for Butler scoring.

When you Butler score, the emphasis is on making the contract, not on making the most tricks. This allows you to play the hand as if you were playing teams or rubber bridge (as per David Huggett’s quiz).

I think inexperienced players would enjoy this type of scoring because


making one less trick than most of the field is not now a disaster. Experienced players also benefit because they can practice the techniques that they use in teams such as safety plays where you give up a trick to ensure the contract.David Cree by email.

RIGHT LINESI was interested to read Jeremy Dhondy’s reply, “Changing The Guard”, to a thoughtful question posed by an unnamed individual in the July issue of your excellent magazine BRIDGE. The subject was how bridge could be made more attractive and I felt that both the question, along with its suggestions, and Jeremy’s reply are along the right lines but I feel the nub of the problem has been missed, or brushed aside.

There is a vast potential market for bridge. In particular, we have a fast growing population of healthy, retired people who could be attracted to the game; but one thing puts them off: the complexity of the laws and regulations. Who has never seen an inexperienced player who calls the director for help for an opening lead out of turn? The director patiently explains the five options and the innocent declarer’s eyes glaze over and they think: “What am I doing trying to play this game?”.

Jeremy says he got the ‘Blue Book’ of regulations down from 74 to 32 pages – excellent. Now, let us get a set of Laws for novices and ordinary club players down from 86 pages to 32 (or less)! We can retain the full, inter-national set, and call them ‘Advanced’ for better players and have a much-simplified set of laws and regulations for the majority. The EBU

says: “The laws are set by the World Bridge Federation and we cannot change them” but who says the EBU cannot define a simple subset for optional use by some clubs?

Many of the very complex laws should be replaced by simplified rules and many of the regulations should also be simplified, notably the rules on alerting and an-nouncing, which also baffle many beginners. You have to tell them that sometimes you alert, sometimes you an-nounce and sometimes you do neither, even when the bid in question does not mean what it says (eg a short 1♣/♦ opener). Would it not be rather easier just to alert eve-rything which does not repre-sent ‘what it says on the can’?

Finally – and this might be a step too far for many of the Old Guard – why not simplify scoring? What is the advantage of having both vulnerability and non-vulnerability? It is just a hangover from Rubber Bridge and serves little useful purpose in Duplicate. And why give extra points for overtricks? A contract is a contract and the maximum reward should be given to making it.

In summary, we currently have Laws and regulations which suit elite players but are ill-suited to beginners and improvers, so let us cre-ate a much simpler set for the latter. Then when they are ready to progress to a higher level they can learn the more intricate, ‘Advanced’ set.Kevin Carter by email.

RETURNING TO BRIDGEI am writing in response to the letter from Brian Elsdon (BRIDGE 187, July 2018). Mr Elsdon commented on changes in procedure he noticed when returning to

duplicate bridge after a 20 year absence. Principally he noticed the use of electronic scoring giving instant results and also the use of pre-dealt hands which have been generated by computer.

Pre-dealt hands with hand records are pretty much the norm these days. It’s a real improvement as by looking at the results website afterwards you can easily review the whole session. Curtain cards are no longer needed: the director will have a print out of the hand records available to correct any 12-14 situations. Other misboarding errors should be avoided provided the players follow Laws 7A and do not take the current board off the table. The instant scoring is of course a huge benefit. You know immediately the session is over where you finished, without having to wait until the following week when the director had worked it out by hand.

Unfortunately at the club at which Mr Elsdon chose to play these advantages were offset by attitude issues with some of his opponents. He writes about not being shown the scorer by some of the incumbent players and in extreme cases some opponents creating ‘an atmosphere of intimidation’, as some players ‘deliberately or inadvertently chose to make players visiting their table as uncomfortable as possible, to seek an advantage’. Frankly this smacks of poor directing to allow this kind of thing to happen, so perhaps Mr Elsdon should try a different club. I help run Kingston Bridge Club, which is very close to Mr Elsdon. Kingston is professionally run and the normal directors, either myself or my colleague Victor Lesk, make a point of making

sure that new players feel properly welcome. We offer a host system for every game, so that single players can be assured of a game, and this works very well as we now have quite a pool of players who are happy to play with each other without pre-arrangement. This contributes to a good social atmosphere in our games. Intimidation is simply not a factor and would not in any case be tolerated by the directors. If players do for any reason fall short of expected standards we are quick to speak to them privately. We also use the BriAn scoring app, scoring on smart phones or tablets, and, even if you are not using a phone of your own, the app prompts the operator to show the result to the other pair and quickly displays the complete traveller for all to see. Having tried both, we prefer the BriAn app to dedicated bridge only scorers.

We have three games a week at Kingston: a novice duplicate on Monday afternoons; a social duplicate (normally 20 or 21 boards) on Wednesday afternoons and our weekly evening game on Thursdays with a full 24 boards. You can check all the details on our website www.bridgewebs.com/kingston. We hope Mr Elsdon will give us a try and will enjoy the experience.Ned Paul,Kingston Bridge Club. n

Write to Mr Bridge at: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, SurreyGU21 2TH. Or e-mail [email protected]

E-mail correspondents are asked to include their name, full postal address, telephone number and to send no attachments.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.


About the Contested Auction by Andrew Kambites

Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall

Supporting partner’s overcallLater on in this series, I will look in detail at how high you should bid in a competitive auction in order to outbid your opponents, when both sides have found a fit. In the meantime, I need to introduce an idea which we need now.

Suppose that you find the points are distributed roughly 20-20 between the two sides. Suppose you have a total of nine spades between your two hands. If the finesses work approximately half of the time for you, you are likely to make nine tricks: (3♠ making). Here is the interesting extension: your opponents are also likely to have a nine-card fit, maybe hearts and they can probably make nine tricks with hearts as trumps (3♥ making). At this stage I will not attempt to prove or even demonstrate this to you, that comes later. It has been demonstrated by lots of experts looking at many hands.

Does it matter if there are two finesses in the minor suits and instead of one being right for each side, they both work against you and for your opponents? In that case, you might make one fewer trick (3♠ – 1) but they make one more trick (3♥ +1 or 4♥ making). Since you cannot tell in the auction who the finesses favour, it pays to assume the first scenario (ie half your finesses working). You should also realise that if you bid 3♠ on this assumption and it goes one off, you should not worry that you ought to have been in 2♠ making because opponents can probably make 4♥, and if you had given them enough bidding space they may well have bid it. A win-win situation.

This works equally well if both sides

have lesser or greater fits. If you have an eight-card heart fit, your opponents are likely to have an eight-card fit and it is quite likely that each side can make eight tricks with their chosen trump suit. If you have a ten-card heart fit, your opponents are likely to have a ten-card fit (maybe spades) and it is quite likely that each side can make ten tricks with their chosen trump suit. This is the scenario where both sides might be able to make game. It is so disheartening to see your opponents make 4♥, open the traveller and see that you could have made 4♠, but you never got into the auction.

This lends itself to a valuable principle:

If you know you have a nine-card fit, you should be eager to bid to the three level to put maximum

pressure on opponents.

This tactic is known as Bidding to the level of the fit. It is very effective if you can do it before your opponents know how good their fit is, and if they don’t know their best fit it can prevent them from ever finding it.

Suppose you are South at game all, the auction starts:

West North East South

1♣ 1♠ Pass ?

What are your thoughts with hands A to D?

Hand A Hand B

♠ K 7 6 2 ♠ K 7 6

♥ 8 6 ♥ 8 6

♦ Q 10 9 8 ♦ Q 10 9 8 2

♣ 8 5 4 ♣ 8 5 4

Hand C Hand D

♠ K 7 6 3 2 ♠ 9 6 5 4

♥ 8 6 ♥ 8 6 2

♦ Q 10 9 8 ♦ 8 7 6

♣ 8 5 ♣ 8 5 4

Partner has promised five spades. I don’t need to think much. With Hands A and B, I do not particularly want to investigate game if partner has at most 16 points, but I do want to raise to the level of the fit.

With Hand A we have at least a nine-card spade fit so I jump to 3♠. This will make if partner is maximum. If partner has fewer values it will fail, but in that case opponents can make their contract. Note that our best case scenario is to find that opponents have a heart fit because they haven’t yet bid hearts. They may well find they should have been in 4♥, but were unable to ever mention the suit. Partner is expected to pass my 3♠ bid whether minimum or maximum.

With Hand B we have at least an eight-card spade fit so I raise to 2♠. Partner is not expected to voluntarily bid on just because he has a few extra points.

With Hand C we have at least a ten-card spade fit so I pre-empt to 4♠. Let opponents pick the bones out of that.

So far I have made few concessions to vulnerability, quite intentionally. If I raise partner’s 1♠ overcall to 3♠, opponents find it hard to make a penalty double, even if they want to, because it is correct and normal to play double of a freely raised suit as take-out.

However, I will reinforce what I said in my previous article. You cannot be a winner at bridge without some risk.


You should accept that risk with grace and calmness whether it works or not. In the long term it is winning tactics. However, even I have qualms about bidding 3♠ with Hand D, particularly if I am vulnerable and opponents are not.

To summarise:

All direct raises of an over-called suit are pre-emptive.

Of course, this leaves unanswered the question of what to do if you have support for partner’s overcalled suit and want to make a game try. You clearly cannot use a direct raise of his suit for that purpose as well. What should South do with Hands E and F after this start to the auction?


1♣ 1♠ Pass ?

Hand E Hand F

♠ K 7 6 ♠ K J 6

♥ A 9 8 2 ♥ A 9 8 2

♦ K J 10 3 ♦ K Q J 3

♣ 8 6 ♣ 8 6

North has at least five spades so the three-card support in Hand E is quite sufficient. South wants to show his support and make a game try. He should show this by bidding the opponents’ suit, clubs. This is called an unassuming cue bid (UCB).

There are various styles of continuations but I suggest you keep it simple. Overcaller bids what he thinks he can make.


1♣ 1♠ Pass 2♣

Pass 2♠

Here North recognises that 2♣ is a game try in spades but shows a minimum overcall by repeating his suit at the cheapest level. South then gives up. With Hand F, South would certainly want to insist on game opposite an opening bid, but he is mindful of the fact that North’s 1♠ overcall could be made on as few as seven points. Nevertheless, he wants

to be in game unless North is really minimum.

NW E

S

♠ A Q 10 8 4

♥ J 3

♦ 10 6 4

♣ K 9 3

♠ 5 2 ♠ 9 7 3

♥ K 10 6 4 ♥ Q 7 5

♦ A 9 ♦ 8 7 5 2

♣ A Q J 5 4 ♣ 10 7 2

♠ K J 6

♥ A 9 8 2

♦ K Q J 3

♣ 8 6


1♣ 1♠ Pass 2♣1

Pass 2♠2 Pass 3♠3

Pass 4♠4 All Pass

1An unassuming cue bid.2North declines the original game invitation.3South recognises North’s lack of interest but

has another try.4North looks again at his hand. Yes, it is

towards the lower end of a 1♠ overcall but

it could be worse. North realises that South

must have a very good hand and so goes

to game. 4♠ makes with the loss of just one

trick in each side suit.

Supporting partner when he has made an opening bid

Of course it makes sense for the opening side to bid to the level of the fit as well. Many players play Jacoby raises in response to a 1♥ or 1♠ opening.

Auction G


1♥ Pass 3♥

Auction H


1♥ Pass 2NT

In Auction G, East’s 3♥ is pre-emptive, aimed at preventing North/South finding a spade fit. In Auction H, East’s 2NT is Jacoby, showing a good heart raise.

However, suppose they have already

introduced spades.

Auction J


1♥ 1♠ 2NT

Auction K


1♥ 1♠ 2♠

Some players play 2NT in Auction J as a heart raise. This makes no sense in Acol. You need 2NT as a natural bid, showing 10-12 points and spade stoppers. There is a bid that you don’t need that also keeps the bidding below 3♥, namely bidding their suit. 2♠ in Auction K is the UCB, showing at least a high card raise to 3♥. You certainly don’t need 2♠ to ask for a spade stopper. If you have sound values but no spade stopper why not start with a negative double?

Bidding no-trumps opposite partner’s overcall.

The large majority of this article has been given over to helping your judgement when you have found a fit with your partner. You must then bid aggressively, conscious of what you might be able to make, but also of making life hard for your opponents. However, sometimes you don’t particularly like the suit of partner’s overcall. In that case you must bid much more cautiously. Your prospects of a high contract are much reduced, and so is the danger of opponents prospering at a high level.

Auction L


1♥ 1♠ Pass ?

Because the overcall shows a five-card suit, a no-trump bid logically is made on a hand with at most two spades. Note also that the 1♠ overcaller might have as few as seven points, so if South has a misfit he must be cautious.

With Hand M, South certainly wouldn’t pass a 1♠ opening bid but he has no reason to bid opposite a 1♠ overcall. North has at most 16 points and with a misfit game is highly u


unlikely. The fact that North has at least five spades means that he won’t be playing in a 4-1 fit.

With Hand N South bids 1NT, showing 9-12 points. Of course South needs at least one heart stopper after West has bid hearts.

How about Hand P? South certainly cannot pass with 14 good points and no-trumps is not an option with no stopper in the opponents’ suit. South does best to improvise by assuming he has three spades and making the 2♥ UCB.

Hand M Hand N Hand P

♠ 8 ♠ 8 ♠ K J

♥ K 8 7 2 ♥ K J 8 7 ♥ 6 5 3

♦ A J 8 7 ♦ A J 8 7 ♦ A 9 8 2

♣ 7 5 3 2 ♣ Q 10 5 2 ♣ A Q 10 2

If partner makes a one level overcall: A 1NT bid shows 9-12 points

and at least one stopper in the opponent’s suit. A 2NT bid shows 13-14 points and at least one stopper in their suit. A 3NT bid shows 15+ points and at least one stopper in their suit.

How about if the overcall is at the two level?

Auction Q


1♠ 2♣ Pass 3♣

Auction R


1♠ 2♣ Pass 2♠

3♣ in Auction Q is still pre-emptive with 2♠ in Auction R the UCB. However remember that as in the uncontested auction, while finding an eight-card major suit fit usually settles the trump suit, an eight-card or even nine-card minor fit leaves you looking for 3NT, of course provided your side has a stopper in the opponents’ suit. I am a little bit reluctant to give precise point counts because the better the fit you have with partner’s minor suit the easier you will find 3NT.

Suppose your partner overcalls 1♥ with 2♣.

Hand S Hand T

♠ K J 6 ♠ 10 5 4

♥ A 8 7 ♥ A 8 7

♦ K J 4 2 ♦ A 5 4 2

♣ 8 6 3 ♣ K J 6

With Hand S you have only one heart stopper. If you play in no-trumps it is quite likely that you will need to run nine tricks as soon as you get the lead. That means the clubs will have to run with no loser, and you have no club honour to help partner. Even if the clubs do run, you are likely to need to set up tricks in spades or diamonds and if you have to lose the lead it will be to the opening bidder, who will have the hearts set up. I would be content with an UCB of 2♥, and if partner can only rebid 3♣ I would pass.

Hand T is more promising. My clubs are good and that increases the prospect of running partner’s expected six-card suit. Six clubs and two red aces already makes eight tricks, and partner is sure to have something outside clubs. Twelve points just as with Hand S, but well worth 3NT.

Changing suit after partner’s overcall

Auction U


1♠ 2♣ Pass 2♥

Auction V


1♠ 2♣ Pass 3♥

Opinions differ as to whether 2♥ is forcing in Auction U. Traditionally, it was played as highly encouraging but not forcing, so you had to jump to 3♥ if you wanted to create a forcing auction, as in Auction V. That is for you to agree with partner. However, one thing is certain. South’s hearts should be at least as robust as North has promised in clubs: an excellent five-card suit or goodish six-card suit. Even if you play 2♥ in Auction U as not forcing, bidding 2♥ just because you dislike clubs comes under the heading of fighting partner. That is a recipe for turning a small minus into a large minus. ■

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1 With North/South vulnerable what should South bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass ?

Hand A Hand B Hand C

♠ J 8 7 ♠ J 8 7 2 ♠ Q 8 7

♥ 9 6 ♥ 6 2 ♥ 9 6

♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ A Q 7 5

♣ 7 5 4 3 ♣ 7 5 4 ♣ A 8 7 3

Hand D Hand E Hand F

♠ Q 8 7 2 ♠ K J 7 6 2 ♠ 7

♥ 6 2 ♥ 6 2 ♥ A J 10 3

♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ J 10 7 6 ♦ Q 8 7 6 5

♣ A 5 4 ♣ 7 5 ♣ 8 7 6

Hand G Hand H Hand J

♠ 7 ♠ 7 ♠ 7

♥ A J 10 3 ♥ A J 10 3 ♥ 8 4 3

♦ Q 8 7 6 5 ♦ Q 8 7 6 5 ♦ K Q J 10 8 6

♣ A J 6 ♣ A K 8 ♣ A K 8

2 (i) At love all what should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥

Pass ?

(ii) What should North bid with these hands if South had bid 3♠ rather than 2♥?


♠ K Q 7 5 2 ♠ K Q 7 5 2 ♠ K 8 6 5 3

♥ 9 4 ♥ 9 4 ♥ A Q 6

♦ A 7 6 ♦ A K 8 ♦ A 8 7

♣ 8 6 5 ♣ K 7 5 ♣ K 7

3 With East/West vulnerable what should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 1NT

Pass ?


♠ K Q J 9 7 6 ♠ K Q J 8 7 ♠ K Q J 10 9 6

♥ 6 ♥ K 4 ♥ Void

♦ K 6 5 ♦ K 6 5 ♦ A J 9 8

♣ 8 3 2 ♣ Q 3 2 ♣ K 7 2

4 At game all what should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♣

Pass ?

(i) If you play 2♣ as forcing? (ii) If you play 2♣ as encouraging but not absolutely

forcing?


♠ K Q J 9 7 6 ♠ K J 10 5 4 ♠ K J 10 5 4

♥ 9 6 2 ♥ 8 6 ♥ A Q 5

♦ Q J 8 ♦ K 8 7 ♦ 9 8 6

♣ 6 ♣ Q 9 8 ♣ 3 2

5 What should South bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown? Assume you are playing a change of suit after an overcall as forcing.


1♦ 2♣ Pass ?


♠ Q J 5 3 2 ♠ A J 6 5 ♠ A J 6 5

♥ 8 6 4 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♥ 9 8 6 2

♦ A J 7 ♦ A J 10 ♦ 8 6

♣ 5 ♣ Q 3 ♣ Q 3 2


♠ A K 8 6 5 ♠ A K Q J 7 6 ♠ K Q 7 5 3

♥ K Q 3 ♥ 9 7 6 ♥ A Q J 2

♦ 8 ♦ 8 ♦ 7 5 4

♣ Q 8 7 2 ♣ Q 8 7 ♣ K

Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall Quizby Andrew Kambites

(Answers on page 15)


1 With North/South vulnerable what should South bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass ?


♠ J 8 7 ♠ J 8 7 2 ♠ Q 8 7

♥ 9 6 ♥ 6 2 ♥ 9 6

♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ A Q 7 5

♣ 7 5 4 3 ♣ 7 5 4 ♣ A 8 7 3


♠ Q 8 7 2 ♠ K J 7 6 2 ♠ 7

♥ 6 2 ♥ 6 2 ♥ A J 10 3

♦ A Q 7 5 ♦ J 10 7 6 ♦ Q 8 7 6 5

♣ A 5 4 ♣ 7 5 ♣ 8 7 6

Hand G Hand H Hand J

♠ 7 ♠ 7 ♠ 7

♥ A J 10 3 ♥ A J 10 3 ♥ 8 4 3

♦ Q 8 7 6 5 ♦ Q 8 7 6 5 ♦ K Q J 10 8 6

♣ A J 6 ♣ A K 8 ♣ A K 8

Hand A 2♠. A gentle pre-empt.Hand B 3♠. Bid to the level of your

fit. Not a game try. Hand C 2♥. A UCB.Hand D 2♥. A UCB, just a bit

stronger than Hand C because of your fourth spade.

Hand E 4♠. Bid to the level of your fit.Hand F Pass. Not enough

points for 1NT.Hand G 1NT. 9-12 points.Hand H 2NT. 13-14 points.Hand J 2♦. Whether or not you

play it as forcing.

2 (i) At love all what should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥

Pass ?

(ii) What should North bid with these hands if South had bid 3♠ rather than 2♥?


♠ K Q 7 5 2 ♠ K Q 7 5 2 ♠ K 8 6 5 3

♥ 9 4 ♥ 9 4 ♥ A Q 6

♦ A 7 6 ♦ A K 8 ♦ A 8 7

♣ 8 6 5 ♣ K 7 5 ♣ K 7

(i) 2♥ is an UCB, inviting game in spades. (ii) 3♠ is pre-emptive.Hand A (i) 2♠. A minimum overcall. (ii) Pass.Hand B (i) 4♠. Maximum for 1♠. (ii) Pass.Hand C (i) 3NT. Why not show your

double heart stopper while accepting the game try? 4♠ is also reasonable as partner usually has at least three spades for his UCB.

(ii) Pass. 3 With East/West vulnerable what

should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 1NT

Pass ?


♠ K Q J 9 7 6 ♠ K Q J 8 7 ♠ K Q J 10 9 6

♥ 6 ♥ K 4 ♥ Void

♦ K 6 5 ♦ K 6 5 ♦ A J 9 8

♣ 8 3 2 ♣ Q 3 2 ♣ K 7 2

South has shown 9-12 points.Hand A 2♠. A sign off. Hand B 2NT. Inviting 3NT if South

is maximum for 1NT.Hand C 4♠. Likely to be best even

if South has a singleton or void spade.

4 At game all what should North bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown?


1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♣

Pass ?

(i) If you play 2♣ as forcing?

(ii) If you play 2♣ as encouraging but not absolutely forcing?


♠ K Q J 9 7 6 ♠ K J 10 5 4 ♠ K J 10 5 4

♥ 9 6 2 ♥ 8 6 ♥ A Q 5

♦ Q J 8 ♦ K 8 7 ♦ 9 8 6

♣ 6 ♣ Q 9 8 ♣ 3 2

Hand A (i) 2♠. Your spades are strong.

(ii) 2♠.Hand B (i) 3♣. (ii) Pass. Good club support

but a weak overcall. Hand C (i) 2NT. (ii) Pass. South should

have good clubs. Don’t fight your partner.

5 What should South bid with these hands when the auction starts as shown? Assume you are playing a change of suit after an overcall as forcing.


1♦ 2♣ Pass ?


♠ Q J 5 3 2 ♠ A J 6 5 ♠ A J 6 5

♥ 8 6 4 3 ♥ Q 8 6 4 ♥ 9 8 6 2

♦ A J 7 ♦ A J 10 ♦ 8 6

♣ 5 ♣ Q 3 ♣ Q 3 2


♠ A K 8 6 5 ♠ A K Q J 7 6 ♠ K Q 7 5 3

♥ K Q 3 ♥ 9 7 6 ♥ A Q J 2

♦ 8 ♦ 8 ♦ 7 5 4

♣ Q 8 7 2 ♣ Q 8 7 ♣ K

Hand A Pass. Don’t fight your partner.Hand B 3NT. Your ♣Q is priceless.Hand C 3♣. Pre-emptive.Hand D 2♠. Look for the ten

trick game.Hand E 4♠. The obvious game.Hand F 2♠. Then 3♥ if North repeats

his clubs. You certainly want to play in

game. ■

Answers to Bidding Opposite a Suit Overcall Quiz on page 13


Robin Hood's Bridge Adventures by David Bird

Witchcraft in the Castle

The Sheriff of Nottingham cast his eye around the castle bridge hall. What a motley assortment

played the game nowadays! There were the usual lords, noblemen and ladies of the court, but the rest were an ill-clad assortment of unwashed riffraff.

‘It’s your bid, my Lord,’ said Sir Guy of Gisborne. ‘Lady Madlock opened one club.’

‘If I ever become deaf, I’ll let you know,’ retorted the Sheriff. ‘Three hearts from me.’

This was the deal before them:

Dealer South. Love all.

♠ A K Q 8 6 2

♥ 10 6

♦ 10 5 4

♣ 5 3

♠ 9 7 3 ♠ J 10 5 4

♥ K Q J 9 8 5 3 ♥ 2

♦ 3 ♦ K 8 7 6 2

♣ 9 2 ♣ 8 7 4

♠ Void

♥ A 7 4

♦ A Q J 9

♣ A K Q J 10 6


The Lucy Guy of Lady

Sheriff Fellowes Gisborne Madlock

1♣

3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♦

Pass 4♠ Pass 6♣

All Pass

The Sheriff was less than pleased to have a slam bid against him. None of the castle workers would dream of bidding beyond game, however many high cards they held. It was just unlucky that the deal had arisen against two ladies of the court. Mind you, they were probably out of their

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depth. Women had yet to master any of the important aspects of life. Hunting, drinking, playing bridge, swordsmanship and war-making? What use were the weaker sex at any of those?

The elegantly attired Lady Madlock won the ♥K lead with the ace and paused to assess her prospects. There was no apparent entry to dummy’s spade honours. Trying to ruff a heart in dummy would be a hopeless venture because East would surely overruff. What else could she try? Suppose she drew trumps and played the ace and queen of diamonds. If Gisborne made the mistake of winning the trick, he would have no heart to play. On any other return she would be able to cross to dummy’s ♦10 to reach the spades.

Seeing nothing better to try, Lady Madlock played the ace and king of trumps. When the ♣9 fell from the Sheriff, it was likely that Gisborne held the missing ♣8. Declarer’s eyes lit up as another idea occurred to her.

Lady Madlock led the ♣6 and Gisborne won with the ♣8. He then had to lead a spade or a diamond. It was fairly clear after this start to proceedings that declarer was void in spades. He therefore tried his luck with the ♦8. Lady Madlock ran this successfully to dummy’s ♦10 and discarded two hearts and the ♦J on dummy’s top spades. A finesse of the ♦Q then gave her the slam.

‘You unmitigated buffoon!’ cried the Sheriff, causing heads to turn on the adjoining tables. ‘Did you have any purpose in retaining your high trumps?’

‘What can you mean, my Lord?’ stuttered Gisborne. ‘I had no high trumps.’

Lady Madlock leaned forward. ‘Play your 7 and 8 on the first two rounds

and you escape the throw-in,’ she said. ‘You can play the 4 under my 6.’

‘Even a woman can see it,’ declared the Sheriff. ‘Was the throw-in not obvious?’

The Sheriff and Gisborne gathered some top scores on the next few rounds, with various castle employees making little effort to play well against them. Their next opponents were Cecile de Jolie and her daughter, Rosalba.

‘I hope you don’t mind me bringing my daughter to the game, my Lord,’ said Cecile. ‘We play bridge at home and she was determined to test herself in the castle game. I know she looks younger but she is 10 years old.’

The Sheriff managed a polite nod. Whatever next? Did the diminutive child not have a doll’s house to play with?

He could barely believe it when the young girl had the impudence to bid a slam against him. This was the deal:

Dealer North. Game All.

♠ 5 4 2

♥ 6 5 2

♦ 8 6 4 3

♣ 10 8 6

♠ 10 7 ♠ Q 9 8 6

♥ 7 3 ♥ 9 8 4

♦ J 10 9 5 ♦ Q 7 2

♣ J 7 4 3 2 ♣ Q 9 5

♠ A K J 3

♥ A K Q J 10

♦ A K

♣ A K


The Cecile Guy of Rosalba

Sheriff de Jolie Gisborne de Jolie

Pass Pass 2♣

Pass 2♦ Pass 6♥

All Pass

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It did not escape the Sheriff’s attention that Cecile de Jolie affected a look of great pain as she sorted through her cards. It could hardly be more obvious that she held a very poor hand and was hoping that her precocious daughter would not carry the bidding too high. Mind you, she could hardly hold a worse hand than his own two-count.

Rosalba opened 2♣ and her mother eked out a reluctant 2♦. Although a 2♥ rebid would be forcing, the 10-year-old had a nasty feeling that her mother might decide to pass. Taking no risks, she surprised all present by rebidding 6♥. No-one doubled, her mother was pleased to see, and the Sheriff led the ♦J.

‘You know that my 2♦ response doesn’t promise anything?’ Cecile de Jolie enquired.

Rosalba sighed pointedly. ‘Of course, Mama,’ she replied. ‘I’m not a child.’

She won with the ♦A and paused to consider her play. All would be well if spades broke 3-3 or the ♠Q fell in two rounds. Was there any other chance? Ah yes, perhaps there was.

The Sheriff raised an eyebrow when the ♠3 appeared on the table. Playing against such a young opponent, one might normally enquire if she had intended to play the card, giving her a chance to take it back. The Sheriff had no such intention and was quick to produce the ♠7. When this card won the trick, he persisted with a second round of diamonds to declarer’s king.

Rosalba drew two rounds of trumps, everyone following, and then played the ♠A to see if the ♠Q would fall. When no such luck came her way, she continued with the ♠K. The Sheriff was out of spades but did not hold the

defenders’ last trump. Smiling happily, Rosalba next played the ♠J and ruffed with dummy’s ♥6. Gisborne had to follow suit and the young declarer returned to her hand with a club. She then drew the outstanding trump and claimed the slam.

The Sheriff could recognise a well-played hand when he saw one. Leading a low spade on the first round had been the only way to make the contract. If one or more top spades were played first, the defenders would either take a spade ruff or remove dummy’s last trump. What he could not fathom was how someone so young had managed to find the play. ‘Why did you play the ♠3, my child?’ he enquired.

Rosalba shrugged her shoulders. ‘Just seemed right,’ she replied. ‘It wouldn’t be safe to lose a spade any later.’

‘Your daughter plays well, Cecile,’ declared the Sheriff. ‘Few in this hall would find such a play.’

‘You’re right, as always, my Lord,’ Cecile de Jolie replied, writing a large 1430 on the score-sheet. ‘Only one other pair made twelve tricks.’

Not long afterwards the Sheriff and Gisborne were confronted by the money lender, Eustace Grime and his plain-looking wife, Hildred. The husband was known as a useful cardplayer and the Sheriff was relieved to see his wife take the helm on this board:

Dealer West. N/S Game.

♠ 9 6 2

♥ A 7 4

♦ A K 6 4

♣ 7 3 2

♠ 8 5 ♠ 4 3

♥ K Q 10 3 ♥ 9 8 6 2

♦ J 9 5 ♦ Q 10 7

♣ A Q J 6 ♣ 10 9 8 4

♠ A K Q J 10 7

♥ J 5

♦ 8 3 2

♣ K 5


The Eustace Guy of Hildred

Sheriff Grime Gisborne Grime

1♣ Pass Pass 2♠

Pass 4♠ All Pass

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The Sheriff led the ♥K and Hildred Grime surveyed the dummy for no more than a couple of seconds. ‘Play low, Eustace,’ she said.

Fearing that declarer held the ♥J, after Gisborne’s signal of the ♥2, the Sheriff switched to the ♠5. Hildred Grime won with the ♠10, retaining her ♠7, and played the ♥J. When the Sheriff covered with the ♥Q, she ducked once more in the dummy.

The Sheriff stole a glance at the declarer. Did the woman know what she was doing? He continued with a second round of trumps and Hildred Grime won with the ♠J. She then crossed to the ♦A, discarded a diamond on the ♥A, cashed the ♦K and ruffed a diamond with the ♠Q. ‘That’s what I like to see!’ she exclaimed, when the diamond suit broke 3-3.

Declarer overtook her carefully preserved ♠7 with dummy’s ♠9 and discarded a club on the established ♦6. The contract was hers.

Eustace Grime shook his head as he inspected the score-sheet. ‘What a poor standard tonight,’ he exclaimed. ‘No-one else made it.’

‘Obvious avoidance play,’ muttered his wife. ‘How else would anyone play it?’

‘The Sheriff looked down at his scorecard, noting that his three worst boards of the evening had all been against female declarers. Only witchcraft could explain such a bizarre occurrence. If the evil purveyor of such spells were ever identified, she would suffer at length and very much regret the affair. Yes, indeed. ■


The Power of Spot Cards

Fireside Chats with Mike Lawrence

Part Three.This article was supposed to appear in the July issue - apologies for the error.

In this series, the importance of spot cards comes home to roost. Sometimes in the bidding you

know that spot cards will be helpful. I will show you a hand in an upcoming article.

This one shows a situation where many players will go wrong.

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Dealer South. E/W Game.

♠ 10 5 3

♥ Q J 8 3

♦ K 3

♣ 9 8 7 3

♠ A 8 7 6

♥ A K 9 7 4

♦ J 4

♣ A K


1♥

Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥

All Pass

South plays in 4♥ after a simple value auction. South has plenty to bid game and does so. West starts with the ♠9. What are your thoughts?

It looks as if you have two spade losers; you may have two diamond losers too if you are unlucky. East did not bid but it is not impossible for him to have good spades and the ace of diamonds.

One line is to win the spade and draw trumps. Give up two spades, hoping that they will divide 3-3. If they do, you will have a good spade and can discard a diamond from dummy.

Can this line work?Given that West led the nine of

spades, the odds are that East has the ♠K-Q-J. He is likely to have four of them because West would not lead the nine if he had three to the 9-4-2. If you are not sure of this, take my word for it that leading the nine or the ten from three random cards is a seriously losing habit.

There are way too many holdings where leading an unsupported nine or ten will cost you a trick. Here is one example.

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J 10

9 3 2 K Q 7 6 4

A 8 5

If West leads the nine, East plays the queen, losing to the ace. Now South can lead the five to the jack, which will set up South’s eight. It is not hard to show examples of hands where leading a nine from this kind of holding is bad and it is easier yet to show situations where leading the ten (10-5-3 for example) is worse. Aside from the dangers of blowing a trick in the suit, you also run the risk of having your partner think you have a doubleton. That is just one more part of the dark side of leading tens and nines from these holdings.

Coming back to the play in 4♥, you can pretty much count on West having one or two spades only.

It may be that you have to play a diamond at some time, hoping West has the ace.

But not if you are watching the spot cards. You are missing the ♠K-Q-J-9-4-2. If you cover the nine, East has to play the jack, and now you draw trumps and continue spades.

No matter what East does, he can take only two spades, which will set up a legitimate spade winner in your hand which you can use. The nice thing about this is that West cannot get in to lead a diamond.

On this hand, the key spot card was your eight. If you recognise that in time, you can guarantee a second spade trick by covering the nine with the ten.

Some time ago, when I was writing an article on spot cards, I ran across this layout.

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6

Q J 10 5 4 K 2

A 9 8 7 3

South is playing in a no-trump contract and needs two tricks. Let’s say he leads the six from dummy and East plays the two. South plays the three and West wins with the ten. Now, when South leads the ace the king drops, leaving South with the 9-8-7 and West the Q-J-5. South can continue the suit, setting up another trick by force.

Notice what happens if East covers the six with the king.

South wins the ace but this leaves West with the Q-J-10-5 over South’s 9-8-7-3. If West is patient, he will get four tricks. ■


DEFENCEQUIZ

by Julian Pottage (Answers on page 35)

You are East in the defensive positions below playing matchpoint pairs with only North-South vulnerable.

1. ♠ J 7 2 ♥ Q J 6 ♦ A J 2 ♣ A J 10 7 ♠ K 10 5 ♥ 10 8 7 5 ♦ K 7 6 ♣ K 5 3


1NT*

Pass 3NT All Pass

*12-14

Partner leads the ♠4 and dummy plays the ♠2. What is your plan?

2. ♠ Q J 7 2 ♥ A K Q 6 ♦ Q 7 2 ♣ K 5 ♠ 10 5 4 ♥ 5 2 ♦ A 10 6 ♣ A Q 7 6 3


1♥ Pass 1♠

Pass 3♠ All Pass

Partner leads the ♦3, dummy playing the ♦2. What is your plan?

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3. ♠ J 6 2 ♥ A 8 4 ♦ 10 9 8 7 2 ♣ K Q ♠ K 9 3 ♥ K 9 6 2 ♦ K 6 5 ♣ J 6 3


1♣

Pass 1♦ Pass 1NT*

Pass 3NT All Pass

*15-17


4. ♠ Q 9 ♥ A Q 8 ♦ A K Q J 7 2 ♣ 6 3 ♠ A 10 7 3 ♥ J 9 5 2 ♦ 10 6 ♣ Q J 4


1♦ Pass 1NT

Pass 3NT All Pass

Partner leads the ♠5, covered by the ♠9. What is your plan?

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reverted to English. Appearing as something between

Counsel for the Prosecution and Inquisitor in Chief, I wielded the telephone as my main instrument for extracting confessions.

As soon as the accused denied or evaded any of my questions, I seized the ‘phone and began to dial Scotland Yard. Fortunately, I never got through, for had I done so, I should have found it distinctly embarrassing to explain what I was doing. It never came to the point. Stunned by the sudden appearance of George, as hale and hearty a ghost as ever haunted a card-sharper, Mr. E quivered like a jelly whenever I looked at the telephone. The mere mention of the police electrified him and though I began dialling half a dozen rimes, I invariably won my point before completing the process. Each time, Mr. E came to heel before I got as far as asking to speak to a mythical inspector Jones, which was-the next stage in my somewhat nebulous plan of action.

The art of war, says a Chinese sage, lies in winning without fighting. Judged by that standard we were doing well.

Mr. E submitted to a search of his person in which I confiscated a one pound note and his alien’s identity card. It was agreed that I should hold the card until he repaid the doctor £30 by instalments, beginning on the following Monday.

Before the-appointed day, however, I had a telephone call from the owner of the club, who told me that Mr. E, having consulted his solicitor, demanded the immediate return of his identity card. If I did not comply at once, I would be charged with assault, intimidation, blackmail, conspiracy to defraud and anything else that could

In Part 1 we found out that Mr. E was caught in a sting, and thrown out of the Little Club, in London.

This second part of the chapter on cheating picks up the story a little later.

I joined the Little Club shortly after this episode had taken place and I learned the colourful details from the leading participants. A month or so later I received a telephone call from my old friend and medical adviser. Dr. Gavronsky. He wanted to consult me urgently and asked for an appointment. I assumed that it was some acute bridge complaint, which called for immediate attention, and I was with him inside an hour.

Putting on my best bedside manner, I made him comfortable behind his desk and invited him to tell me his case history.

It transpired that during the preceding few days he had been playing bridge at a small club in Kensington, where he had met a dashing mid-European, willing and eager to engage him at the highest stakes. This was all the more sporting on the part of the dashing mid-European since they played throughout with the same partners, and while Gavronsky had picked the owner of the club, a good player by any standard, the dashing mid-European was content with a fellow countryman who was, in bridge parlance, a palooka - a rabbit incapable of defending himself or of savaging others.

In spite of this considerable handicap the mid-Europeans won every time. This, of course, was due to a remarkable run of luck and could not possibly last. The doctor proposed that I should take part with him in a devastating revanche. With my skill

The Cinderella of Crime Part 2Part 1 of “Cheating, The Cinderella of Crime” from Victor Mollo’s autobiography,

Confessions of an Addict, was reprinted in issue 187 of BRIDGE. This is the concluding part of the chapter.

A Blast From the Past by Shireen Mohandes

and the luck that was due to him, we would soon be in a position to exact just but heavy tribute from the common foe.

The prospects of the cure were alluring, and yet somehow the symptoms did not agree with the patient’s diagnosis of his complaint. I believed then, as I do now, that only bad players are consistently unlucky and I wanted to know more about this lucky mid-European sportsman who was to be our opponent. ‘What did he look like? What were his distinctive traits, his mannerisms, his personal peculiarities?

As soon as I heard that he had a red rash on his wrist, reminiscent of erysipelas, something clicked. That was what I had been told about Mr. E, the champion card-holder at the Little Club and I refused to believe that two men with uncanny luck and the same red markings on their wrists should be playing bridge in London at the same time.

I prescribed shock treatment. The following night I took the patient to the club in Kensington, bringing with me my friend George, a fellow member at the Little Club, who had taken part in the unmasking of Mr. E.

We took the owner of the club into our confidence and after summoning Mr. E to an inner office, I ostentatiously locked the door and charged him with cheating. Mr. E’s first line of defence was that being an Austrian he spoke no English. ‘What exactly did I mean?

An avalanche of German descended upon him, for both the doctor and the owner of the club spoke German fluently. Mr. E, now an Alsatian, retreated hastily into French. That was a tactical error for we all spoke French better than he did. He soon realised it and for the rest of the séance we


be invoked to protect a defenceless card-sharper.

Feeling outraged, I approached Mrs. Lowry, then Secretary of the British Bridge League, and together we repaired to Scotland Yard. After an hour’s-healthy exercise, ascending and descending staircases, from one department to another, we discovered that there was virtually nothing we could do to restrain a card-sharper engaged in the peaceful pursuit of his profession.

Now if only Mr. E had slipped aces in a train, especially a train going to the races, something could be done about it. Even had he followed his calling in a ship it might have been possible to catch him. But no special privileges could be claimed in an ordinary, common or garden club on dry land and people who interfered with honest card-sharpers, as I had done, did so at their own risk and peril.

In those days any card game played for money, except bridge, was held to be illegal and the police raided clubs regularly to enforce the law. Cheating was another matter and still is, no doubt. After all, is not this a free country?

The kindly officials at Scotland Yard warned me that I could not keep Mr. E’s identity card, but took down the particulars and promised to remind the Aliens Department at Bow Street that the Coronation had been over for some years. No doubt they kept their promise, but the fact remains that Mr. E lived happily for ever after, unmolested by the police in any way. Now had he been some common motorist parking outside his own house . . .

For all that, even if he can shelter in the lee of the law, the card-sharper’s lot is not a happy one. No sooner has he dealt himself a few worthwhile slams than some busybody comes to disturb him, harrying him from pillar to post, from club to club, into the outer suburbs of London, along the south coast, and finally, into the depths of the provinces.

Just about the time I drove Mr. E out of Kensington, it fell to Maurice Harrison-Gray, the W. G. Grace of British bridge, to chase another card-sharper out of a neighbouring club

at Notting Hill Gate. Suspecting an outstanding card-holder of receiving too many favours from fortune, the management of the club sought the expert aid of Harrison-Gray.

Unobtrusively, Gray walked into the club one night, cut into the suspect’s table and played with him the entire session. There was no doubt that the man cheated, but Gray himself that night held bigger cards than had ever come his way before. When the game was over and the players were making their way home, the sharper went up to Gray in the street and held out his hand: “I’ve been watching you all night, pal,” he said, visibly moved, “and I still don’t know how you do it, but I’ve got to hand it to you. You’re the best dealer I’ve ever met.”

Ali Khan, an India nobleman - not related to the Aga Khan - was a brilliant player and a much respected figure in the bridge world before the war. As the proprietor of a fashionable club on the Côte d’Azur, he had occasion once to exercise the gifts of Sherlock Holmes in exposing a rich Frenchman, who cheated at cards as a hobby.

Mr. G was not quite a millionaire, but getting on that way. A man in his early sixties, he had retired from business and lived most of the year at Nice doing nothing in particular, but playing bridge daily and holding the most enviable cards, which, of course, aroused considerable suspicion.

His general practice was to arrive at the Miramar (I believe that was the name of Ali’s club) early in the afternoon and to while away the time, until other players came in, by playing patience with the packs set out in readiness for bridge.

Those packs were examined afterwards, card by card, with a magnifying glass, but nothing was found to be wrong with them. Mr. G was watched closely as he played, but again to no purpose. He went on winning and people went on suspecting him, though it was hard to believe that so rich and respectable a man should risk dishonour and disgrace for small sums of money.

Then, one day, Ali Khan happened to be strolling along the Promenade des Anglais, the sea front at Nice, where people of fashion congregated

Recently published (reprints) books written by Victor Mollo.


the incisions in the corners of the aces and kings had given away Mr. E, there was nothing to betray the Frenchman - until his chance meeting with Ali Khan in the bright sunlight.

What made Mr. G cheat? The stakes were not high and the money meant nothing to him. ‘What possible inducement, then, did he have to endanger his name and reputation? Why, for that matter, should rich people ever be dishonest for small amounts? The answer lies in the thrill of winning, in the sensation of coming out on top, of lording it over others, which is often a greater incentive than mere money. It is the glory that is so intoxicating.

Examples from history abound. Byzantine Emperors fixed the results of chariot races, nor for the sake of the prizes which they often presented themselves, bur to see their colours flash first past the post. They usually did.

To come to recent times, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, who was found by a jury in 1891 to have cheated at baccarat in game with Edward VII, then prince of Wales, was a man of means with an estate in Scotland and a house in London. A couple of hundred pounds could have meant nothing to him. Yet no more than that changed hands during the famous St. Leger party at Tranby Croft.

Lord de Ros, who cheated consistently at whist in the most fashionable company at the most fashionable clubs, was rich, powerful and popular.

Since man does not live by cash alone, vanity is often a stronger driving force than greed. Bridge players have been known to have their worst lapses, not when playing for money, but when glory alone was at stake, as in National and European Championships.

At rubber bridge card-sharpers are soon exposed for in the long run their cards are too good to be true. In tournament bridge it is different for every team holds the same cards.* That is the essence of duplicate.

The object of cheating is not, therefore, to hold good cards, but to exchange information about them by illicit means with partner - to describe the finer points or to indicate

a particular line of play. Players of international standing,

who signal to each other, invariably come under suspicion, but it is well-nigh impossible to prove their guilt - especially if they change their signals. What if a man plays with his pencil, strokes his chin, toys with his cigarette or clasps his cards this way or that? Each gesture may have a pre-arranged meaning. But who is to tell what it is? And who, even if he knows, can prove it?

That some internationals cheat has never been in doubt. Many more are unjustly suspected of cheating. This leads to a vicious circle for the innocent, feeling that all around them are sinners, are sorely tempted to sin themselves, if only in self-defence.

To the uninitiated, who associate dishonesty with filthy lucre, it might be revealing to tune in to the inner thoughts of the Ruritanian captain on the eve of the international championships at Shangri La. Arraigned before the spirit of some venerable ancestor, released on parole from the nether regions to tax him with cheating, he might well produce this apologia:

“Cheat?” he would ask incredulously. “And you pick on us? Do you think that we commit even a tithe of the irregularities for which other leading partnerships are famous? Do you know that the Lemurians raise and lower their cards to convey the exact strength of their holdings? Are you aware that the Itchichurians are past masters in the art of signalling with pipe and pencil, that the Atlanteans...”

At this point, the Doctor - every Ruritanian who has passed his 11-plus is known as Doctor - would unleash a shower of bridge hands, each one an example of shameless fraud, and he would say:

“As you can see, we must defend ourselves. If you call that cheating, then admit at least that we, for our part, try to cheat honestly.” He might even add: “All internationals do not cheat, but some cheat a good deal more honestly than others.”

As a tailpiece to this chapter I will go into the dock myself, though not, I hope, on too serious a charge.

For many years, Colonel G. J.

around the lunch hour. Mr. G was sitting alone outside the Hotel Negresco, reading a newspaper. There was something wrong about it, something very wrong, but for the life of him Ali Khan could not think what it was. It preyed on his mind all day and the next day and the day after. Then, suddenly, it came to him in a flash. Mr. G had been reading in the full glare of the midday sun, without his glasses. At bridge he always wore dark glasses and it did not seem to add up. Ali Khan determined to make these glasses reveal their secret and he arranged with the steward at his club to watch Mr. G discreetly until such time as he could be taken unawares. Sooner or later he would have to take off his glasses to polish them. When he did, the trap would spring.

Day after day, Ali waited patiently. At last Mr. G took off his glasses. As he began to wipe them the steward appeared with a message.

“An urgent call for you from Paris, Monsieur.”

Quickly Ali Khan seized the glasses. “’What elegant mounting. Just like a pair I had... unusual colour... curious-shaped lenses ...” On and on he prattled, seemingly unconscious of Mr. G’s efforts to recapture the glasses.

“C’est très urgent, Monsieur,” repeated the steward.

Exasperated, but without an inkling of what was afoot, Mr. G went to the ‘phone. The Paris caller had, apparently, rung off and he was back inside a minute. But it was already too late. Ali Khan had looked through the dark glasses and he could see through them on the backs of the cards yellow tinted markings which were invisible to the naked eye.

It transpired that Mr. G used to bring with him his own cards. They were of the same type and design as the club cards. The backs of the aces and kings were marked with lacquer of sodium, but this, of course, could only be seen through Mr. G’s special sodium glasses. Every afternoon, while he played patience before play began, Mr. G switched packs. All that remained was to slip the high cards, much as Mr. E had done at the Little Club in London. The Frenchman, too, was expert at ‘slipping’. But whereas


Supporting notes:The Coronation of George VI took place in May 1937.

The Little Club was at 37 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge. Ruth Ellis (the last woman to be hanged in the UK) lived in a flat above the club, and worked there for a short while. Is this the same club that Mollo refers to? Probably.

Alien Identity Cards. Immigrants arriving in Britain were known as aliens in the legal terminology of the time. Aliens were legally required to register with the police from 1914 onwards and to pay a registration fee. In return they received a certificate.

Lord de Ros (1793-1839) (pronounced “Roos” and sometimes spelt Roos). The well known scandal took place at Graham’s Club, 87, St James’s Street, London, in 1836. He features in the book “France: its King, Court, and Government. By an American. 1848”. The book lists a number of allegations about de Ros. For an account of the incident, and later development see: https://windowthroughtime.wordpress.com/tag/lord-de-ros/

Sir William Alexander Gordon Gordon-Cumming (1848-1930) was a Scottish landowner, soldier, adventurer and socialite. A notorious womaniser, he is best known as the central figure in the royal Baccarat scandal of 1891. This scandal, also known as the Tranby Croft affair (after a Grade II listed Victorian country house in Anlaby, near Hull), involved the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. Gordon-Cumming was accused of cheating, using the method known as “la pusette”, which in simple terms, is to increase your stake surreptitiously once you are known to have a winning hand.

Shangri-La is a fictional place (a mystical, harmonious valley) described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton (1900-1954). Sounds like the wifi might not be good here, and we can forget about mobile reception.

Ruritania is a fictional country in central Europe which forms the setting for three books by Anthony Hope (1863-1933): The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), The Heart of Princess Osra (1896), and Rupert of Hentzau (1898). Ruritania is used as the placeholder name of a hypothetical country to make points in academic discussions.

Lemuria is the name of a “lost land” located either in the Indian or the Pacific Ocean, as postulated by a now-discredited 19th century scientific theory.

Itchichurians is most likely a word invented by Victor Mollo.

Atlanteans are natives of the fictional island of Atlanta.

Colonel G. G. J. Walshe (1873-1959) was the playing captain of the England team in the 1934 Schwab Cup match, though he and his partner (Alan Frost) only played one session. He wrote under the pseudonym Yarborough for The Times, and he wrote several books.

W G Grace (1848-1915) is widely considered to be one of the greats of cricket. It is this reputation that Mollo refers to, rather than what might be described as Grace’s other reputation for gamesmanship and shamateurism. It is quite possible that Mollo was unaware of Grace’s entire life and activities. In contrast, Maurice Harrison-Gray is known to be one of the greatest, and much liked bridge players of the era.

Sun Tzu is an honorific title bestowed upon Sūn Wu (544-496 BC), the author of The Art of War. It is an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy.

“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

Walshe, bridge correspondent of the Sunday Times, used to award a ten guinea prize at Christmas for the best answers to a series of problems. Each competitor was entitled to send in one set of replies, and one only.

I had learned over the years most of Walshe’s idiosyncrasies, but I felt that to do him justice I needed at least ten postcards. To give myself the best chance I used different name and sent in the answer from different addresses. Then I forgot all about it. A fortnight later the Sunday Times announced the result.

No competitor had answered all ten problems correctly, and the ten guinea prize was to be shared between Carlotta K and Hilda M - two delightful ladies who had allowed me to use their names and addresses.

Carlotta, at least, was a bridge player. Hilda took no interest in the game at all and her success came as a great surprise to her many friends. Three of my typists at the BBC won minor prizes. My own solution, alas, received no more than an honourable mention, and I had to be satisfied with the money. Did I cheat?

You can play bridge for years without being cheated. You cannot write about it - or about anything else for that matter - without being cheated from first to last. But that brings me to another addiction and to another chapter.

* Each team consists of two pairs and each match is played in two rooms. The cards are exchanged, so that if opponents in your room hold all the aces and kings, your other pair will hold them in the other room. And vice versa. ■


I am often asked for tips on how to im-prove your bridge memory. One of the things you can do is to try to iden-

tify important cards early and then ‘do something’ to jog your mind about them. As a declarer, you might touch a couple of cards in dummy. Or as a defender, make a conscious attempt to move a card in your hand. By taking actions like this you give yourself a better chance of remembering.

Demonstrating the retention of memo-ry is not easy. However, here is a try:

♠ 7 6

♥ J 10

♦ A Q J 4 2

♣ 8 7 5 3

♠ A K Q J 9 2

♥ A 8 6 2

♦ 3

♣ A K

You are declarer in 6♠ and West leads the ♥K.

You have six trump tricks and four top tricks outside – hopefully a heart ruff in dummy and then you might have to take a diamond finesse, or…

Planning the play on any hand is not easy, but what can be helpful is to look at the various suits and see if any of your low cards might come in handy. The reason you might do this is because remembering aces, kings and queens is probably within your range, but remembering about the lower cards is something you might miss unless you jog your memory.

On this hand the card that stands out is the eight of hearts – the lead tells you about the king and queen; you can see the jack and ten exposed in dummy and your own ace. There is only one higher card missing: the nine.

NW E

S

What I suggest is simply to stare at your ♥8, or if you prefer, adjust it in your hand, or say the card in your mind – whichever form of memory works best for you. You are aiming to give the card importance and therefore be on the lookout for the ♥9.

You win the ♥A and return a heart aiming for a heart ruff in dummy. West wins and returns a trump. You win, ruff a heart, cross in clubs and draw trumps: you have the ♥8 left and a singleton diamond opposite the lovely diamonds in dummy. The good news is that, because of your memory work at the start, you were fully aware of the card East played when you ruffed a heart in dummy – he followed with the ♥9.

You do not need a diamond finesse because your ♥8 is a winner.

The full hand was:

♠ 7 6

♥ J 10

♦ A Q J 4 2

♣ 8 7 5 3

♠ 10 3 ♠ 8 5 4

♥ K Q 5 4 ♥ 9 7 3

♦ 7 6 5 ♦ K 10 9 8

♣ Q 10 4 2 ♣ J 9 6

♠ A K Q J 9 2

♥ A 8 6 2

♦ 3

♣ A K

As I mentioned, it is not easy to demonstrate retention of memory, but I am sure we have all found ourselves in the middle of a hand wondering whether one of our cards is a winner or not. One method for trying to remember the importance of lower cards is to try to imprint them on your mind, by taking some small action – taking a little time to frame them, either by sound, sight, or physical action. Doing this early in a hand might allow you to remember the important card later in the hand. ■

NW E

S

Identify important cards early and do something with them

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1. ♠ A 8 3

♥ 7 6

♦ 9 7 2

♣ K 10 9 6 3

♠ K 5 4

♥ A K 5 2

♦ A 6 5 4

♣ A J

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠Q. How do you plan the play?

2. ♠ Q 7 2

♥ A K 7 3

♦ J 9 7 2

♣ J 5

♠ K 3

♥ Q 6

♦ A K Q 10 6 3

♣ A Q 7

You are declarer in 6♦ after West opened a weak 2♠. West leads the ♦4. How do you plan the play?

NW E

S

NW E

S

3. ♠ A J 7

♥ Q 10 6 4

♦ 7 5 4 3

♣ A 7

♠ K 10 3

♥ A K J 9 5 2

♦ 8 2

♣ Q J

You are declarer in 4♥ and West, who bid diamonds, leads the top three cards of that suit with East following twice. How do you plan the play?

4. ♠ A 5

♥ K Q 7 3

♦ 9 8 2

♣ K 8 6 2

♠ 10 8 4 2

♥ A 5

♦ A Q J 10 3

♣ A 5

You are declarer in 3NT and West, who has overcalled 1♠, leads the ♠7. How do you plan the play?

NW E

S

NW E

S

DECLARER

PLAY

QUIZby David Huggett

(Answers on page 31)

You are South as declarer playing rubber bridge or teams. In each case what is your play strategy? Set 7

37 MORE SIGNALLINGI 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.

38 4-4-4-1 HANDSEverybody’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.

39 DRAWING TRUMPSThis 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.

40 FIVE-CARD MAJORSPopular 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.

41 FUNDAMENTALS OF DEFENCEDefence 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.

42 SUPPORTING MINORSMinors 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.

BERNARD MAGEE

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A History of Playing Cards: Part Twenty by Paul Bostock

Playing Cards in the Twenty First Century

Collecting playing cards is exciting. Yes, really.

At the moment the digital magazine for collectors, Card Culture, lists 55 packs that are new or in funding stages this month. The list is varied and creative. Most of these ideas will reach production. Their stories will be shared by both their creators and collectors on social media, and later shown and traded at meetings and annual conventions.

Had I been writing this even five years ago, I could not possibly have said the same thing. Until that recently, collecting playing cards had been in decline for thirty years and the remaining collectors were older folk (like me) who had been collecting for at least that long. In short, the playing card was struggling to compete with the huge choice of more interactive digital games.

What changed? The digital world that threatened the playing card also turned out to be its saviour. Digital printing allows the card maker to turn around much smaller projects because the entire process – uploading the art and printing it – requires much less labour. Current projects can run from 500 packs in a fairly limited edition to perhaps 2,000 in a popular edition.

Because smaller runs are economically possible, individual artists have been able to design playing cards and get them made. These artists also use digital design software to create their images (although many designs still begin with hand-drawn pictures) ready to send to the manufacturers. It is no exaggeration to say that a new generation of artists has been motivated to design playing cards and to become involved in their community. Some designers have seen the creation of a pack as an interesting one-off challenge, for some it is a way to show what they can do, and for some the design of cards is their work of choice.

For these new cards, crowd-sourced funding has been very helpful. Typically, these decks are set up as projects on kickstarter, where they are able to pre-sell their entire run to a set of 100 or so backers. Cardistry has helped too. Cardists perform displays of great dexterity where cards fan out (in two layers for the really talented), cascade and regroup, ping from one hand to the other and so on. Those interested will find some great examples on the worldwide web. Cardists understandably like cards with striking back designs. The Cardistry enthusiasts formed a group – United Cardists – that has been very supportive of the new designers.

‘Shadow Masters’ designed by Ellusionist Playing Cards 2012 and printed by the US Playing Card Company…. a playful and creative side to new card designs.

Apart from the colouring, this would be a standard ‘Bicycle’ deck.

Pipmen black edition, 2016, by Elephant playing cards and printed by Legends in Taiwan.


Our first contact with this new world came from Rick Davidson, a young designer based in New Zealand. Rick wanted to create new designs that captured the faces and characters of the original playing cards from England and their predecessors from France, and a few of us helped him find suitable images. His deck ‘Origins’ was very well received and was chosen as deck of the year by United Cardists in 2014.

New designs have also influenced the printing and packaging technology. At the request of designers wanting special finishes, gold and silver metallic inks have improved and special tuck boxes, wooden boxes and so on have been made.

The new designs have also revived some of the old. A recent issue ‘Knowledge’ playing cards by Legends, 2016, takes its court figures from a rare pack called ‘Verdye’, made by a London printer Peter Gurney in 1910. It is good to see such an attractive design, and the more conventional colouring of the 2016 pack seems just right. ■

The author is a Court Assistant in the Worshipful Company of

Makers of Playing Cards, see - www.makersofplayingcards.co.uk.

Many more sets of cards are illustrated on the author’s website:

www.plainbacks.com

Origins by Rick Davidson, 2014 printed by the US Playing Card Co.

King of Spades: from Peter Gurney’s ‘Verdye’ 1910 (left) and Legends ‘Knowledge’ 2016 (right).

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Millie and I were sitting at a vacant table in the bridge room at the Riverside. As

usual Millie was fortifying herself for the evening duplicate pairs session with a large brandy; to be fair I had a glass of the house claret at my elbow. We were reviewing our Multi-Landy style defence to opponents’ one no-trump openers. I can recall that Millie’s final summary was; two clubs for both majors; two no-trumps for both minors. I immediately checked our system cards to make sure they agreed. Our opponents on this board were Moaning Monica and her hen-pecked husband, James.

Dealer South. Love All.

♠ 10 2

♥ K 9

♦ J 5

♣ A Q J 7 6 5 3

♠ Q J 8 7 3 ♠ 9 4

♥ Q J 10 8 5 3 ♥ 7 4

♦ 8 ♦ A Q 10 9 7 4

♣ 4 ♣ K 8 2

♠ A K 6 5

♥ A 6 2

♦ K 6 3 2

♣ 10 9

Monica opened with one no-trump in the South seat. Millie thought for some time before producing two no-trumps, which I alerted. Jim sitting North asked its meaning and I explained confidently that Millie held both minors. Jim displayed his stop card and bid four clubs, which was alerted. I assumed Jim was showing a control by cue bidding one of Millie’s suits. With six diamonds opposite at least four, I considered bidding four diamonds, but in the end bid five diamonds, as

North-South seemed certain to have a major game available. Monica was clearly under the impression that Jim held both majors and bid five spades.


Millie James Wendy Monica

1NT (1)

2NT (2) 4♣ (3) 5♦ 5♠

End(1)12-14(2) Both minors (3)Alerted

Millie led the queen of hearts. When dummy was faced I was surprised at what I saw. Jim certainly had clubs under control. Monica was perhaps even more amazed and certainly gave vent to her feelings in no uncertain terms as far as Jim’s bidding was concerned. Clearly the contract was far from perfect.

Monica took the first three tricks with the king, the ace and then a ruff with the ten of spades. Progress deteriorated from there on. Declarer finished with seven tricks in all, but at least from declarer’s perspective the contract had not been doubled. Reasonably Monica called the director. On his arrival she complained about Millie’s two no-trump bid and my explanation, and asked for an adjusted score. From our system card the director confirmed the accuracy of my statement. Millie pointed out that Jim’s four club was alerted and so she had been misinformed about the nature of his hand. The director told us to score the board as played. He would consult with colleagues and come to a conclusion later.

As we left the table Jim was getting a real earful of from his wife. ‘Perhaps computer hands aren’t so bad after all,’ Millie noted with some satisfaction.

At the end of the session the TD announced that he was adjusting the score to five clubs by North making eleven tricks, but that Monica had appealed this decision claiming the adjustment should be to five diamonds doubled played by East for four off. A formal committee would review the evidence. We declined the invitation to attend the hearing and in the hostelry later we discussed the board with Jo and Kate. They had reached three no-trumps by the simple auction.


Kate Jo

1NT(1)

Pass 3NT End(1)12-14

West led the queen of hearts. Jo knocked out the king of clubs and with the favourable position of the diamond king made eleven tricks for 460. Millie pointed out that the unlikely lead of the eight of diamonds to the ace with the queen of diamonds return would have defeated the contract. I suggested that five clubs by North could be defeated by an ace of diamonds lead by East, followed by a diamond ruff, with the club king still to come. On that note Millie’s mobile rang and the TD announced that the appeal committee had adjusted the score back to the original five spades by South making seven tricks. It reasoned that I had not fielded Millie’s mis-bid and that our opponents had caused their own demise. I thought the decision was a bit harsh on our opponents. Millie’s conclusion was that perhaps she didn’t like computer-generated hands that much after all, as their distributions made bridge too complex. I just wished that Millie would remember our system. ■

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum

Episode 76:

Trials and Tribulations

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1. Dealer South. Love All.

♠ Q 8 7 ♠ J 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 7 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7

♣ A J 7 6 5 ♣ 4 2


1♠

?

Pass. What are the requirements for a two-level overcall in a minor?Here, you are non-vulnerable, so there is a little bit of leeway, but generally you should have a six-card suit and close to an opening hand. With a stronger hand you might overcall on a robust five-card suit.

Here, you do satisfy one requirement, for with 12 points, you have an opening hand, but your suit is certainly not strong enough.

Also note that your ♠Q is of dubious value after the opening bid. You should not overcall 2♣ and there is no other option but to pass.

Club players will often overcall on hands like these and may well get away with it because they rarely finish doubled at the two level – but sometimes the opening bidder holds 16 points and a singleton in clubs; then the auction, if you wrongly overcall, might well end up as: 1♠-2♣-Pass-Pass-Dbl-All Pass.

South reopens with a take-out double, but North sitting with long clubs can pass for penalties. 2♣ doubled would go three or four off. With a more robust suit or longer suit, this is less likely to happen.


♠ 8 7 ♠ J 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 7 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7

♣ A J 10 9 6 5 ♣ 4 2

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W ES

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1 ♠

?

2♣. You have fewer points this time, but a six-card club suit and good inner strength. This inner strength makes a lot of difference when you overcall because it protects you against bad breaks. This hand is worth a 2♣ overcall. Note that the only high card removed from the previous hand is the ♠Q, which proved useless in the play. So the playing strength of this hand is so much more. Against a bad break you might well be able to draw trumps and expect to make at least 4 trumps, 2 diamonds and the ♥A. That would be just one off, which is a safe score. Six-card suits with inner strength make for good overcalls.


♠ Q J 7 ♠ 5 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7 3

♣ A K J 6 5 ♣ 4 2


1♠

?

1NT. This time you are quite a bit stronger, with 16 HCP. 2♣ is a reasonable option because the suit is of good quality and you have more all-round strength. However, there is a better descriptive bid: you are balanced, have a spade stopper and a strong no-trump, so this makes a 1NT overcall the best choice.You would like to have a more robust spade stopper, but 1NT is certainly the best descriptive bid. Your heart holding should not be too much of a worry – 1NT does not promise a stopper in every suit, it just describes your balanced shape and your strength. ■

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♠ Q 8 7 ♠ J 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 7 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7

♣ A J 7 6 5 ♣ 4 2


1♠

?

Pass. What are the requirements for a two-level overcall in a minor?Here, you are non-vulnerable, so there is a little bit of leeway, but generally you should have a six-card suit and close to an opening hand. With a stronger hand you might overcall on a robust five-card suit.

Here, you do satisfy one requirement, for with 12 points, you have an opening hand, but your suit is certainly not strong enough.

Also note that your ♠Q is of dubious value after the opening bid. You should not overcall 2♣ and there is no other option but to pass.

Club players will often overcall on hands like these and may well get away with it because they rarely finish doubled at the two level – but sometimes the opening bidder holds 16 points and a singleton in clubs; then the auction, if you wrongly overcall, might well end up as: 1♠-2♣-Pass-Pass-Dbl-All Pass.

South reopens with a take-out double, but North sitting with long clubs can pass for penalties. 2♣ doubled would go three or four off. With a more robust suit or longer suit, this is less likely to happen.


♠ 8 7 ♠ J 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 7 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7

♣ A J 10 9 6 5 ♣ 4 2

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1 ♠

?

2♣. You have fewer points this time, but a six-card club suit and good inner strength. This inner strength makes a lot of difference when you overcall because it protects you against bad breaks. This hand is worth a 2♣ overcall. Note that the only high card removed from the previous hand is the ♠Q, which proved useless in the play. So the playing strength of this hand is so much more. Against a bad break you might well be able to draw trumps and expect to make at least 4 trumps, 2 diamonds and the ♥A. That would be just one off, which is a safe score. Six-card suits with inner strength make for good overcalls.


♠ Q J 7 ♠ 5 4 2

♥ 4 2 ♥ A J 6 5

♦ K Q 2 ♦ J 8 7 3

♣ A K J 6 5 ♣ 4 2


1♠

?

1NT. This time you are quite a bit stronger, with 16 HCP. 2♣ is a reasonable option because the suit is of good quality and you have more all-round strength. However, there is a better descriptive bid: you are balanced, have a spade stopper and a strong no-trump, so this makes a 1NT overcall the best choice.You would like to have a more robust spade stopper, but 1NT is certainly the best descriptive bid. Your heart holding should not be too much of a worry – 1NT does not promise a stopper in every suit, it just describes your balanced shape and your strength. ■

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When an opponent opens the bidding before you, the majority of the time

the opening bid will be in one of your shorter suits. What do you do if you have the values to open but your opponent has already bid your longest suit?

It is normal to play that bidding the opposing suit is artificial. In the olden days an immediate cue bid showed a very strong hand. These days more and more people play a cue bid as some sort of two suited hand, typically both majors if they have opened a minor and the unbid major plus one minor if they have opened a major. You cannot make the same overcall when you have length in the opposing suit and expect partner to work out what you have.

Making a take out double when you have length in the suit opened is rarely a good idea either. Partner will, quite correctly, take out your double and be disappointed by the lack of support. Only if your hand is exceptionally strong, 18+ or 19+ points, ie too strong for a 1NT overcall, should you double when long in the opposing suit.

One way you might be able to show length in the opposing suit is to pass on the first round and then come in on the second round:


1♣

Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT

2♣

This delayed overcall in the opener’s suit is a natural bid. If you wished to show some sort of two-suited hand, you would have taken some positive action on the first round.

If your hand is strong enough to make a 1NT overcall, that is a possible action. If you have only four cards in

What do you do if an opponent

opens your longest suit?the suit opened or if the opponents are not vulnerable, it is likely to pay you to get into the auction. It is rare that you are going to get the chance to defend one of their suit doubled – and you might well not want to unless you have strong trumps and the opponents are vulnerable.

Some players (Mike Lawrence who has a series of articles running at the moment is famous for it) like to overcall in a chunky four-card major when holding length in the opposing minor suit. Your length in opener’s suit increases the chance that partner is short.

Often, and this is quite a common scenario, the best thing you can do is to pass smoothly. You might get the chance to bid no-trumps later if partner enters the auction. You might get the chance to double if the opponents venture too high on a misfit.

Is it different if the opponents play a prepared opening in one or other minor as is the case for many who play a strong 1NT opening and for a 1♦ opening by strong club players? I recommend you still play a cue bid as what you normally play it (Michaels for example) and that you delay the overcall if you want to show the suit.

Let us look at some hands and see how the above works in practice.

You RHO

1♦

?

Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3

♠ K 9 4 ♠ 8 4 ♠ A 10 8

♥ 8 3 ♥ Q 9 4 ♥ K 5

♦ A Q 9 5 3 ♦ A Q 10 9 5 3 ♦ K 8 4 3 2

♣ K 7 3 ♣ A J ♣ A Q 5

With Hand 1 you pass. You do not intend to bid unless your partner comes into the auction.

With Hand 2 you still pass on the first round. The difference between this and Hand 1, is that you might overcall 2♦ at your next turn if you get the chance.

Hand 3 has 16 points, a stopper in the suit opened and indeed in all the suits. Overcall 1NT.

You RHO

1♣

?

Hand 4 Hand 5 Hand 6

♠ K 3 ♠ A K J 6 ♠ 4

♥ A K Q ♥ 3 ♥ K 7 3

♦ K 9 3 ♦ 6 5 2 ♦ 5 3

♣ A 10 5 3 2 ♣ A 7 6 4 2 ♣ K J 10 9 6 3 2

Hand 4, with 19 HCP, is too strong to overcall 1NT (or to consider passing). You must start with a double, planning to bid no-trumps later.

With Hand 5 you might risk a 1♠ overcall. You want a spade lead against an opposing heart contract and you do not want to risk losing the suit. Partner should not give a jump raise without 4-card support and you do not mind playing in a 4-3 fit at a low level when your suit is strong.

With Hand 6 you have to pass. A jump cue bid would typically be asking for a stopper in the suit opened. Partner is most unlikely to read 3♣ as a pre-emptive overcall.

Whatever your hand, the key thing is to be ready; a slow pass may give partner an ethical problem. ■

Julian Pottage answers your Frequently Asked Questions

Send your questions to [email protected]


1. ♠ A 8 3

♥ 7 6

♦ 9 7 2

♣ K 10 9 6 3

♠ Q J 10 6 ♠ 9 7 2

♥ J 9 4 ♥ Q 10 8 3

♦ K J 8 3 ♦ Q 10

♣ 8 2 ♣ Q 7 5 4

♠ K 5 4

♥ A K 5 2

♦ A 6 5 4

♣ A J

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠Q. How do you plan the play?

This shouldn’t prove too much of a problem as long as you count your tricks and understand where the shortfall will come from. You have two spades, two hearts, one diamond and two clubs immediately available and the only suit likely to provide extra winners must surely be clubs. But suppose you win the spade lead in hand and play the ace of clubs and then let the jack run. If it loses you would be happy with extra winners in dummy, but suppose it wins. Then unless clubs are 3-3 you will likely be defeated with insufficient entries to dummy to set up and enjoy the clubs. Of course you should overtake the jack with the king, prepared to lose a trick to the queen in order to ensure the contract.

2. ♠ Q 7 2

♥ A K 7 3

♦ J 9 7 2

♣ J 5

♠ A J 10 8 6 4 ♠ 9 5

♥ 5 ♥ J 10 9 8 4 2

♦ 8 4 ♦ 5

♣ K 8 6 2 ♣ 10 9 4 3

♠ K 3

♥ Q 6

♦ A K Q 10 6 3

♣ A Q 7

You are declarer in 6♦ after West opened

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a weak 2♠. West leads the ♦4. How do you plan the play?

The contract is sound enough but at first glance it looks as though you need the club finesse to be right as you have a sure spade loser. In fact the contract is much better than that and will always make as long as West has the ace of spades – surely not too much to hope for after his opening bid. Draw trumps and lead a low spade from hand. If West plays the ace you have twelve easy tricks with two spades, three hearts, six diamonds and a club. If West plays low on the spade lead then you win in dummy and play three rounds of hearts discarding your remaining spade. You will then have the luxury of taking the club finesse for a possible overtrick.

3. ♠ A J 7

♥ Q 10 6 4

♦ 7 5 4 3

♣ A 7

♠ 9 8 4 ♠ Q 6 5 2

♥ 3 ♥ 8 7

♦ A K Q J 6 ♦ 10 9

♣ 10 9 6 2 ♣ K 8 5 4 3

♠ K 10 3

♥ A K J 9 5 2

♦ 8 2

♣ Q J

You are declarer in 4♥ and West who bid diamonds leads the top three of that suit with East following twice. How do you plan the play?

As well as the two diamond losers you have a potential loser in both the black suits, although a successful finesse in either would see you home. So one plan would be to draw trumps, take a club finesse and if that fails take a finesse in spades one way or another. In actual fact the contract is cast iron with a little help from the opposition. Ruff the third round of diamonds, enter dummy with a trump and ruff the last diamond. Draw any remaining trumps and then play ace and another club, eschewing the finesse.

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Whoever wins will have to open up the spade suit for you or concede a ruff and discard.

4. ♠ A 5

♥ K Q 7 3

♦ 9 8 2

♣ K 8 6 2

♠ K J 9 7 3 ♠ Q 6

♥ 9 2 ♥ J 10 8 6 4

♦ K 4 ♦ 7 6 5

♣ Q 9 7 3 ♣ J 10 4

♠ 10 8 4 2

♥ A 5

♦ A Q J 10 3

♣ A 5

You are declarer in 3NT and West, who has overcalled 1♠, leads the ♠7. How do you plan the play?

It’s so easy to play on autopilot at times and this hand is a case in point. Clearly if the diamond finesse works there are tricks galore, but if it doesn’t then you are in danger of losing several tricks in spades. Or are you? You know from the Rule of Eleven that East has one card higher than the seven and what is more it must be an honour, for if not then West would surely have led a top spade. If you play low from dummy, East will win and clear the suit and now when West wins the king of diamonds he might have three cashing spades. So play the ace from dummy at trick one and block the suit. And if spades break 4-3 then you can afford to lose three spades and a diamond. ■

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Answers to David Huggett’s Play Quiz on page 25

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If you like both skiing and playing bridge then the only place to be in March is Kitzbühel. Despite global

warming there is usually good skiing in Kitzbühel until well into April, with some pistes still being open in May. And in March you have good pistes, lots of sun and a bridge tournament.

At the 48th International Bridge Tournament in Kitzbühel in March this year I played the following hand in the mixed pairs. After toying with the idea of a slam my partner and I subsided in game, and when dummy went down I was pleased to see that 11 tricks appeared to be the limit. But that didn’t stop me from trying to make the 12th trick. The opening lead against 4♥ was the queen of clubs.

♠ 6 5 4

♥ A 10 9

♦ A 6 3

♣ A 10 8 4

♠ A K Q

♥ K Q 8 4 3 2

♦ 9 8 2

♣ 2

With six trumps, three spades, two aces and no possibility of a ruff in dummy or realistic squeeze opportunity – the twelfth trick seemed remote. The only possibility I could see was to find an opponent with a doubleton king of diamonds, and then throw him in after drawing trumps and eliminating the side suits.

The importance of thinking about this at trick one is that you need to ruff

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three clubs, and you have only three entries to dummy, so you must ruff a club immediately before drawing trumps.

The play continued with a diamond to the ace and a second club ruff. The idea of the early diamond play was to do this before an opponent might work out your plan and ditch the diamond king under the ace. I then cashed the trump king and ace (both opponents following twice), ruffed my last club in hand and cashed the spades, reaching this position.

♠ -

♥ 10

♦ 6 3

♣ -

♠ J ♠ -

♥ - ♥ -

♦ K ♦ Q 10 7

♣ J ♣ -

♠ -

♥ Q

♦ 9 8

♣ -

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Although I still have two diamond losers, the opponents can’t get to them, and after losing to the king I was given a ruff and discard to make the last two tricks. Making twelve tricks was worth over 90% of the match points. It is often the case when considering bidding a thin slam that you will score well for making twelve tricks even if you don’t bid the slam, as most pairs don’t bid thin slams. But if you bid a thin slam and go off you will end up with very few matchpoints. ■

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We played in the National Swiss Teams Congress in early May with Frances

Hinden and Jeffrey Allerton. We were in contention all weekend, but could never catch the eventual winners: Andrew Murphy, Ben Norton, Ben Green and Ankush Khandelwal. Well done to them for winning so comprehensively.

The following weekend we went down to Kent, first to dinner and an overnight stay with Andrew Cairns and his wife Lizzie in their beautiful house and even more beautiful garden.

Then on the Sunday we played in the Kent one-day Swiss teams in Tunbridge Wells. Here it was our turn to win all our matches and also the event. After a dull first match, the boards got very exciting, with no fewer than five grand slams (team-mates bid one of their three and we bid neither of our two) and four small slams. This was one of them:

Dealer East. E/W Game.

♠ Void

♥ J 9 2

♦ A Q 10 7 6 3 2

♣ 10 6 2

♠ Q 8 5 3 ♠ A K 10 4

♥ K Q 7 6 4 ♥ A 10 8 5 3

♦ 9 ♦ 8

♣ A J 8 ♣ 9 7 3

♠ J 9 7 6 2

♥ Void

♦ K J 5 4

♣ K Q 5 4


1♥ 1♠

4♦ Dbl 4♥ 5♦

5♥ 6♦ Dbl All Pass

After the 1♥ opening and 1♠ overcall, West’s 4♦ was a splinter bid, and allowed North an easy double. East signed off and now South could

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‘sacrifice’ in 5♦. West’s 5♥ just pushed North/South one level higher.

West led the ♥K, but no other lead would have been better. Declarer can make his slam by cross-ruffing hearts and spades (drawing the outstanding trumps along the way), which sets up the long spade. Now a spade can be cashed discarding one of dummy’s clubs and then a club conceded. Twelve tricks should be made. Luckily, our declarer lost his way, thinking that the ♣A would probably be onside. So he led up to the ♣K without establishing the long spade and now had to lose a second club trick. Phew! Team-mates had been doubled in 5♦ which made with an overtrick.

I have played a lot of league matches in this period: two TGR’s league matches with Andrew McIntosh for Bertie Black’s team (the first of which went very well, the second not quite so well), a London League match with David Burn (we won the match and in doing so, won the league), and two Super League matches, one with Barry (which we won 20-0) and one with Robert (18-2). The latter left us on top of the league by over 20 VPs, making us invincible even if we lost our last match (we didn’t). Robert and I bid four slams in this match, all of which were good contracts. I did OK in the bidding, but not so well in the play of the following deal:

♠ A K 8 6

♥ K 7

♦ A J 10 8 5 2

♣ A

♠ Q 7 3 2 ♠ J 10 9 5 4

♥ Void ♥ J 10 9 8

♦ K Q 9 ♦ 6 3

♣ K Q 10 9 4 2 ♣ 7 6

♠ Void

♥ A Q 6 5 4 3 2

♦ 7 4

♣ J 8 5 3

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1♣ Dbl Pass 4♥

Pass 5♣ Pass 6♥

All Pass

I won the ♣A, cashed the ♠A-K discarding a diamond and a club, ruffed a spade, ruffed a club and cashed the ♥K. When West showed out I was down. I could ruff dummy’s last spade, cash my two top hearts and give East his trump trick, but a diamond switch now breaks up a minor-suit squeeze on West.

I should have realised that it was likely West had both diamond honours, given his opening bid, and that I need not bother unduly about being overruffed in diamonds.

What I should have done after cashing my two top spades was take the ♦A and ruff a diamond. Then I ruff a club, ruff a diamond establishing the suit and now play a heart to the king. I have only one more plain-suit loser in my hand now, so when I play a winning diamond East can ruff, but I simply discard my last club and the rest are mine. Even if both opponents followed to the ♥K, I can still play that winning diamond and pitch my last loser.

Apart from that, there’s been a fair bit of online coaching, with three new clients (anyone else interested can email me at [email protected]).

We have finally selected the U26 girls team for the upcoming (in August) world championships in China. One of the girls, Liz, is very young and I agreed to work with her on her bidding in the intervening period. So it’s an hour a day on BBO every afternoon. She is like a sponge, absorbing everything I tell her. She’s going to be brilliant in a couple of months.

On the domestic front, Toby is still looking for a job. Briony’s skin problems have cleared up, but she has decided to quit her job which u

Catching Up with Sally Brock


she wasn’t enjoying at all. The plan now is to do a history degree at the Open University, starting in September, and also to spend quite a lot of time in the next three years travelling – she can study on the move. She intends to go to places for several months and work while she is there. It sounds like an excellent plan to me. However, in the meantime, she has moved back in with me – while I love my children dearly, this is a good-sized flat for one person, but a bit crowded with three of us. At least I can escape to Barry’s from time to time.

At the end of May, Briony and I went to France for a long weekend. We started by going to Giverny and visiting Monet’s garden. It is a truly fabulous place – or would be if there weren’t so many other people packed

in it. Lots of pathways were closed off to the public, meaning that all the people there were squashed into even smaller spaces. As it was, we rather dashed round and didn’t spend as long there as we had thought we would. After lunch we took the scenic route south to Chaumont-sur-Loire, stopping for a cup of tea with friend Ron Tacchi and his wife.

In Chaumont we visited the garden festival which was excellent – beautiful chateau and grounds, not too many people, and some rather eccentric mini-gardens-cum-sculptures. After two nights in Chaumont we set off on the rather long journey home. We happened to be passing Versailles at lunchtime and stopped off there to ogle the beautiful palace while we ate our galettes. Then it was the

wonderful household goods outlet store at Arques, which we can never resist, before moving on to Calais for the night. We arrived at the fantastic Hotel Meurice (probably my favourite hotel in the world if I am paying! Very inexpensive, but oh so elegant – thoroughly recommended) at about 6.30. We were more or less collapsing with exhaustion after driving all day when Briony suddenly noticed that our favourite cheese shop was open till 7 o’clock but closed all the following day. So we somehow found a second wind and spent lots of Euros on cheese before dinner and bed. The following day we went to buy our wine, and then to Cite Europe for some general browsing followed by a visit to Carrefour and then home via the Tunnel. ■

Where did we go wrong?Carol Lee, from Handforth Bridge Club, asks about this deal where she and her partner missed a slam.

♠ Void ♠ K Q 6 5 4

♥ K Q 9 8 ♥ A 10

♦ 3 ♦ 7 6 4

♣ A Q J 9 8 7 6 2 ♣ K 10 4

This was their auction:


1♣ 1♦ 1♠ Pass

2♥ Pass 3♦ Pass

5♣ All Pass

Carol said that as she did not have a diamond stopper she bid what she hoped she could make, and thought that her partner should have appreciated that he had golden cards in clubs and hearts and bid the slam.

The point is that most people do not like to bid slams on speculation

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Sally’s Slam ClinicSally Brock Looks at Your Slam Bidding

Send your slam hands to [email protected]

– they would prefer to exchange information properly. East’s 3♦ was forcing to game, and 5♣ sounds like a shut-out bid (what would West have bid with the same values but a 1-4-1-7 distribution instead of 0-4-1-8?).

If instead West had bid 4♣, East could have continued with 4♥ (denying a diamond control) and West 4♠ (having failed to support spades before, this must be shortage – and surely a void, otherwise West would have asked for aces – this must also promise a diamond control since East has denied one). Now it would have been easy for East to bid the slam on the strength of his good club support.

Sean Haffey asks how the following slam should be bid:

♠ A Q 9 8 7 2 ♠ K 10 6

♥ 5 ♥ A K 7 4

♦ A 9 8 7 5 2 ♦ K 10 6

♣ Void ♣ K 4 3

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My suggestion is the following:

West East

1♥

1♠ 1NT

3♦ 3♠

4♣ 4♦

6♠

Freaks are often difficult but this one should not be too hard.

After the (strong) 1NT rebid, West shows natural slam interest with a jump to 3♦.

East shows the delayed spade support and West cue-bids 4♣. East cooperates with 4♦ and I think West has enough for slam.

It is just possible that it may depend on a finesse, but no more than that – partner may not have the ♥A, but surely has the pointed-suit kings. ■

Catching Up with Sally Brock. Continued from page 33


Answers to Julian Pottage’s Defence Quiz on page 19

1. ♠ J 7 2

♥ Q J 6

♦ A J 2

♣ A J 10 7

♠ Q 8 6 4 3 ♠ K 10 5

♥ 9 3 ♥ 10 8 7 5

♦ Q 9 8 4 ♦ K 7 6

♣ 8 4 ♣ K 5 3

♠ A 9

♥ A K 4 2

♦ 10 5 3

♣ Q 9 6 2


1NT*

Pass 3NT All Pass

*12-14


Should you play the ♠K, ‘third hand high’ or should you finesse the ♠10? This time the answer should be clear. If declarer holds the ♠Q, it will be a stopper whatever you do.

If, however, partner has the ♠Q and declarer the ♠A, you need to finesse the ♠10 to restrict your opponent to one spade trick.

In practice, the ♠10 holds, telling you that you have done the right thing. You continue with the ♠K, knocking out the ♠A and making sure you do not block the spades.

2. ♠ Q J 7 2

♥ A K Q 6

♦ Q 7 2

♣ K 5

♠ A 8 ♠ 10 5 4

♥ J 9 7 3 ♥ 5 2

♦ J 9 4 3 ♦ A 10 6

♣ J 8 4 ♣ A Q 7 6 3

♠ K 9 6 3

♥ 10 8 4

♦ K 8 5

♣ 10 9 2

NW E

S

NW E

S


1♥ Pass 1♠

Pass 3♠ All Pass

Partner leads the ♦3, dummy playing the ♦2. What is your plan?

You face a similar decision to the pre-vious deal. You want to finesse the ♦10 if the lead is from the jack but would prefer to put up the ♦A if the jack is on your left. While declarer would always be due a trick with Q-x-x facing J-x-x, you must (at matchpoints) consider whether your side’s second winner could go away. Here, as you hold a doubleton heart and expect partner to hold a top spade (South must have a weak responding hand to have passed 3♠), the danger of that is slight.

After you play the ♦10, partner gets in later to lead the ♦J, allowing your side to make two tricks in each minor and the ♠A.

3. ♠ J 6 2

♥ A 8 4

♦ 10 9 8 7 2

♣ K Q

♠ Q 10 7 5 ♠ K 9 3

♥ 7 5 3 ♥ K 9 6 2

♦ Q 4 ♦ K 6 5

♣ 10 7 4 2 ♣ J 6 3

♠ A 8 4

♥ Q J 10

♦ A J 3

♣ A 9 8 5


1♣

Pass 1♦ Pass 1NT*

Pass 3NT All Pass

*15-17


You begin by using the rule of eleven to determine that declarer holds two spades higher than the five.

NW E

S

If the lead is from A-Q-x-x, for sure you want to put up the ♠K – but a count of points tells you partner has at most five. You might also want to play the ♠K if declarer has the A-10 (so as to prevent a hold up play) – but it is twice as likely that declarer has A-8 or A-7 as A-10. So play the ♠9 at trick one.

If the ♠9 holds, continue with the ♠K and, if that holds too, a third round. As the cards lie, partner will get in with the ♦Q to score the long spade. Your ♥K will be the setting trick.

4. ♠ Q 9

♥ A Q 8

♦ A K Q J 7 2

♣ 6 3

♠ K 8 6 5 2 ♠ A 10 7 3

♥ K 7 3 ♥ J 9 5 2

♦ 5 4 ♦ 10 6

♣ 10 7 2 ♣ Q J 4

♠ J 4

♥ 10 6 4

♦ 9 8 3

♣ A K 9 8 5


1♦ Pass 1NT

Pass 3NT All Pass

Partner leads the ♠5, covered by the ♠9. What is your plan?

Holding the ♠10, it seems all too easy to cover the ♠9 with the ♠10, especially since you have been finessing against dummy on the three previous problems. Should you?

This time the rule of 11 tells you that declarer has only one spade higher than the five. If the holding on your left is K-4-2, you want to play the ♠10 – but if it is J-4 or J-2 (or possibly a singleton jack) you want to play the ♠A. With more layouts on which playing the ace gains, you should do that. You return a spade and hope for the best, defeating the contract when declarer has no stopper. ■

NW E

S


QI was scorer last night playing a nine table movement,

N/S have to switch to E/W every couple of rounds.

Pair 9 playing boards 10, 11 and 12 forgot to switch on board 10 and sat N/S instead of E/W. They remembered to switch on boards 11 and 12.

The pair came up to me at the end of the evening and asked me to switch the pair numbers around on board 10. In other words Pair 9 who played N/S would become Pair 9 E/W, and Pair 14 who played E/W would become Pair 14 N/S.

I felt this was incorrect. Players are penalised for doing everything that is stupid (revoking, playing out of turn, hesitation, the list is endless) so surely there is a penalty for not switching. If there is not a penalty then I feel there should be one.

Just to give you further information. Pair 9 got a far better score by my switching the pair numbers around than had they stayed the same.Gail Davis, Merlinsbridge BC,Haverfordwest.

AWhen a pair obtain a score by playing their cards that is the score

they get. So if a pair play the N/S cards they get the score that they obtained on the N/S cards and it is compared with

every other pair that played the N/S cards. Whether they should be sitting N/S or not does not affect this.

On board 10, pair 9 sat N/S even though they should not have and when it is scored they will get the N/S score. If you wish to penalise pairs for not arrow-switching (and both pairs are equally at fault) then you issue them with a Procedural Penalty, normally a fine of 10% of a top, but such fines are rare in clubs. Usually you only fine in clubs where another table cannot play a board or where a pair makes a habit of this type of offence.

♣♦♥♠

QCould you please give guidelines about a slow pair

who wish to play a hand at the end of the competition? They are repeat offenders who sometimes mix up cards and have 12 and 14 cards at the table. We are a tolerant club but some members think there is a rule about playing at the end of the competition. I direct occasionally and am unclear about the rules.Margaret McMahon by email.

AWhether you allow a table to play a hand at the end or

not is solely a matter for the director. You can allow it if you want to or if you do not

allow it you cancel the board. On the cancelled boards you give averages (average plus to the pair that did not cause the lateness, average minus to the pair that did). In practice most clubs have a policy whether to permit this. If you find it causes too much trouble at the end, then do not permit it.

♣♦♥♠

Q My partner opened 1NT and there was a pass on my right.

I could see that between us we had plenty of points for 3NT, but I was short in the majors (♠K-x and ♥x-x). I bid 2♣ to enquire if my partner might fill those gaps, the reply was 2♥ and I bid 3NT. When my cards went down my RHO complained that I should have had four cards in at least one major and that my bidding had caused him a disadvantage as he had based his lead on that assumption. Is RHO correct?Name and address supplied.

A Unless the opposition ask and are told the 2♣ bid promises a

major, or unless they ask what 3NT shows and are told it shows a major, then they have not been misinformed. They have made certain assumptions about the bidding but that is merely unfortunate. Too many

players assume everyone else bids like them. So, what you have done is perfectly legal and the complaint of your RHO is unjustified.

♣♦♥♠

QI have been asked, ‘Is it permissible for players to slant a

bidding card out of its correct position in the bidding box so as to remind them what contract they are in?’

Interestingly I recall seeing players take all the bidding cards out of the box up to the contract card and place them all on the board being played. I think this was in an international match.

In your Yellow Book (page 58) you state, ‘The bidding cards should remain in place until the opening lead, after which they should be returned to their boxes.‘

I don’t see any harm in this, as declarer or either defender may ask what the contract is and whether (but not by whom) it was doubled or redoubled.David Leeman by email.

A The use of bidding boxes is subject to regulation rather

than law and most clubs do not make any regulations themselves so generally follow the regulations set out by their country. National regulations do say they

David Stevenson Answers your Bridge Questions

How Do You Handle A Missed Arrowswitch?


should be returned to their box. One could even argue that slanting the bidding card is illegal because there is a law forbidding aides memoire.

However since they are subject to regulation, a club could permit or ban the practice of slanting the bid (or even mandate it, though that will cause considerable trouble). So a club could allow it.

As you remark it is difficult to see any problem with a player that does it and I very much doubt that more than a handful of people will object.

♣♦♥♠

Q I have a few questions regarding psyche bids please.

1) What is the definition of a Psyche bid?2) Do you restrict the number of psyche bids a player can make in UK?3) Can an opening bid of 1♦ be classed as a psyche bid with this holding:

♠ J 9 8 3

♥ 2

♦ Q 10 9 5

♣ J 7 6 3

Lyn Carr by email.

A A psychic bid is a bid which grossly misstates the strength

or distribution or both of the hand compared with the agreed meaning of the partnership. It is illegal to ban psychic bids so restricting the number of psychic bids is illegal. However a psychic bid must be made with the intention of getting good scores, so frivolous psyching, for example a pair psyches frequently when no longer in contention, would be illegal and subject to penalty.

The example you give is

a clear and obvious psyche unless the pair have agreed to open hands with four points. Such an agreement would be illegal in the UK.

While it is illegal to stop people psyching natural bids, it is legal to restrict the psyching of conventional bids. There are no such restrictions in the UK but several countries do not permit conventional opening bids to be psyched.

♣♦♥♠

QMy partners and I play that a take-out double (eg 1♥-Dbl

or 1♥-Pass-Pass-Dbl) always shows 16+ HCPs. To make an identical take-out bid, but with less than 16 HCPs, we make a cue bid (eg 1♥-2♥ or 1♥-Pass-Pass-2♥). This is shown on our convention cards and has not been queried over the past several years, until today, when an opponent suggested that it was an illegal use of the cue bid. Please can you resolve this for us?Tim Sharrock by email.

A Players often think unusual conventions are illegal, but

they actually say so without checking and that is what has happened here. You may play a cue bid of the opponent’s suit as a take-out with whatever strength you see fit and so your use is perfectly legal.

♣♦♥♠

Q At our local duplicate bridge club, one pair we

played against bid and played two boards so slowly, that on the third and final board we had onlyjust finished bidding when all the other players

were ready to move.The director told us not

to carry on and to fill in the traveller with “Not played”.

My partner and I did not question his ruling, but felt that we had been penalised for something over which we had no control and were in no way at fault. Could he have adjusted the score in our favour?Name and address supplied.

A This has previously been considered totally illegal. Recent

research has shown that the director has the right to stop the board, though it is considered a highly undesirable practice and the advice in most of the UK is never to do so.

However if a director does stop a board it is certainly illegal to give ‘Not played’. This gives an unfair advan-tage to slow players and provides an incentive for players who are doing well to play deliberately slowly. The law states that averages must be given and the director is required to find who is at fault so he knows whether to give average, average plus or average minus. It sounds as though you should have got average plus.

♣♦♥♠

QAt a recent club duplicate evening my partner

was declarer in 4♠. About halfway through the hand an opponent, having won the previoustrick, led the ace of clubs. Declarer ruffed it. Two trickslater declarer led the king of clubs. Neither opponent said anything. I know dummy should not say anything but I could not stop myself. Before thetrick could be picked up

I pointed out that there had been a revoke.

The other players could not believe it but I was able to demonstrate I was correct. The Tournament Director was called and he ruled that we should call himback at the end of the hand and he would make any necessary adjustment.

The contract was made but the Tournament Director transferred two tricks to our opponents making it two down.

Did I, as dummy, do the right thing? My conscience would not allow me to accept a made game under these circumstances.Alan Astell, Wheathampstead.

A Dummy has a perfect right to draw attention to irregu-

larities, but only at the end of the hand. So you should have kept quiet until then.

♣♦♥♠

Q(1) 1♥ Pass 1NT Dbl

If the double is for take-out is it alertable? (2) Suppose I am in third seat and the bidding goes:

1♥ 1♠ Pass 3♠

Pass Pass Dbl

If our agreement is that my double is for penalties, does partner have to alert it? I would have thought it was obvious that it could not be for take-out as I passed first time round. (3) Partner opens 1♥, RHO bids 1♠, I bid 3♥, LHO bids 3♠ followed by two passes. I double for penalties. My partner understands my u


bid correctly. Does partner have to alert? It seems odd to have to do so. I can’t see how anyone would possibly read it to be for take-out. Is the bottom line that regardless of whether the bidding is such that the double could not sensibly be for take-out, we still alert if it is for penalties? Mike Johnson by email.

A (1) Certainly. Any double of 1NT or 2NT or 3NT is alertable

unless it is for penalties.2) Certainly. Any double

of 1, 2 or 3 of a natural suit bid is alertable unless it is for take-out.

3) Certainly. As in (2), any double of 1, 2 or 3 of a natural suit bid is alertable, unless it is for take-out.

You seem to assume that certain doubles are clearly for take-out or for penalties, but you would be surprised how many people disagree with you. For many years the EBU used rules that in effect said that if a double did not have its normal meaning it should be alerted. The alerting was awful and the number of problems was legion. Why? Simply because people do not agree what is normal.

Consider 1NT (2♥) Dbl.Is this for penalties or take-out? When I was younger it was normally for penalties. Nowadays, most players in some clubs play it for take-out, but in other clubs for penalties.

So how do we arrange alerting? The EBU came up with a simple rule that works and people should never get wrong. Of course, there are complaints when it produces unusual results but it means there is no excuse for getting it wrong.

Any double of 1, 2 or 3 of a natural suit bid is alertable

unless it is for take-out, whatever the auction.

Any double of a short club or diamond, ie 1♣ or 1♦, that has normal opening values but may have fewer than three cards, is alertable unless it is for take-out.

Any double of 1NT, 2NT or 3NT is alertable unless it is for penalties, whatever the auction.

♣♦♥♠

QAt a recent club duplicate on the last round there

was an arrowswitch move-ment. However, the board was not switched, so it was decided to play it in the wrong direction. As a result, the pair that should have played N/S played E/W.

The contract at all other tables was 4♠ -1. The mis-seated table played in 4♠= due to poor defence. Should there be any redress?Huw Jones by email.

AWhen a pair gets a good result it gets the good score for that

result, even if seated wrongly. So the pair that made 4♠ gets a top, the pair that let 4♠ make gets a bottom.

♣♦♥♠

QOur opponents ended up in 6NT without interfer-

ence; the last bids be-ing 4NT, 5♠, 6NT.

After the auction, the meaning of 4NT was asked (in addition to earlier conventional bids). The response was “Asking for Aces”. Unwisely, neither of us asked the meaning of the 5♠ bid, as there was no mention of Key Card or Roman Key Card Blackwood.

At the end of play, having observed that South had

only 2 Aces, I questioned why he had indicated 3. The answer was that they were playing “Roman Blackwood”, which neither of us had heard of.

Now clearly, one of us should have asked the meaning of the response at the end of the auction, but is it not rather unethical to answer the question about 4NT in this way, where he may be fairly sure that no-one in the room will have heard of the convention?

Had he responded Roman Blackwood, then the ancillary question would have been obvious.Hugh Fido by email.

A It is certainly true that the answer to your question was com-

pletely inadequate. Unfortu-nately it is very common to answer inadequately and it does happen at most levels of the game. To make it worse, some people who play Roman Key Card Blackwood have been known to call it Roman Blackwood or Key Card Blackwood which are two completely different con-ventions, both comparatively rare. The correct answer to any question is to describe the agreement in full, using as few names as possible.

I would not describe it as unethical to answer casually, since it is very unlikely that the player did so intending to deceive. It is a common and unfortunate irregular-ity. If you were damaged by an incomplete or casual answer then the direc-tor will adjust the score.

♣♦♥♠

Q 1. After the auction, what questions may the

defender, whose turn it isto lead, ask either (a) before

or (b) after placing the opening lead face down? 2. Whether before or after placing the opening lead face down, is thesame defender allowed to prevent his partner from asking a question before he does? Geoffrey Cassen by email.

A After the auction and before putting a card face down, the

player on lead may ask the meaning of calls made in the auction and the meaning of alternative calls not made, but which might be relevant. For example, if the auction by a partnership went 1♥ 4♥ 4♠ 5♥ Pass then he might ask what the 4♠ bid meant: he might also ask what a bid of 4NT instead of 4♠ would have meant.

After the player on lead has put a card face down he may ask no more questions until his next turn to play.

If his partner asks or attempts to ask a question before he has led face down, this is an irregularity so he can draw attention to it, in effect stopping his partner asking when he should not be asking.

While a lot of club players follow these simple rules it is unfortunate that some do not. It would help if people pointed out to them that the opening leader asks any questions then leads face down, then his partner asks any questions and then says “no more questions”.

♣♦♥♠

Q Playing to a suit, a player pulls out two cards

accidentally (9 and 5). He nominates the 9 as the card to be played and the 5 becomes a minor penalty card. If that player regains


the lead, must he play the 5 or can he play a card in another suit?David Cree by email.

A He can play a card of another suit, or an honour (ten or

higher) in that suit. The only rule for a minor penalty card is that the player may not play another small card in that suit before playing the minor penalty card.

♣♦♥♠

QNorth is declarer in a heart contract. He leads a low

diamond from hand intend-ing to ruff on the table. East is also void in diamonds but cannot over-ruff the table, so discards. Declarer ruffs cheaply and wins the trick. A few tricks later, North leads to the king of spades.

When dummy plays that card, a diamond is discov-ered which had been hidden behind the king of spades.

It appears that dummy has revoked and there should be at least a one trick penalty. How should I rule?Richard Marlow, Sevenoaks.

AThere is no automatic trick penalty for a re-voke by dummy. How-

ever dummy is required to put the dummy down in suits with every card visible so dummy has committed an infraction.

There are two approaches, which come to the same thing. When there is a revoke, if after any trick penalty (none in this case) the non-offending side have or may have lost a trick or tricks, then the director gives an adjusted score to restore equity. This will often be a weighted score when it is not clear what would have happened without the revoke.

Since not showing all the cards is an infraction, the defence may have defended differently if they could see all of dummy, and if they have or may have lost a trick or tricks by defending wrongly, then the director gives an ad-justed score to restore equity, often weighted as previously.

♣♦♥♠

QI was called to the table after the opening lead

when dummy declared he had that card as well.

Turns out dummy was playing and bidding the previous hand.

I only had the Yellow Book to hand and this situation isn’t covered or I didn’t find it.

Bearing in mind as a playing director I had limited time for a decision, I ruled that dummy should retrieve the correct hand and play continues.A. Was this right?B. On this occasion, the non offending side were not disadvantaged, but if they were, is it rub of the green or should I adjust?

It is difficult to under-stand why dummy did not realise what was going on, but there we are.Ian Blackburn by email.

A Whatever else it is, it is an infraction not to take the correct

hand out of the board, so it is not rub of the green.

Since it was not discovered before the offender’s partner has called the board is now cancelled, so the board is scored as average minus to the offending side, average plus to their opponents. This is as page 49 of the Yellow Book which shows it must be cancelled, and page 19 of the Yellow Book, which shows how to score a

cancelled board and can be found by using the index.

Unfortunately the non offending pair were disad-vantaged. You cannot know what might have happened differently with the correct hand and they were disad-vantaged by not being given average plus, unless they got a better result than that.

♣♦♥♠

QThe auction below resulted in West going 1 down in 4♦:


1♠ Pass

1NT 2♣ 2♦ 2♥

3♦ Pass* Pass 3♥

4♦ All Pass

*Long hesitation

South holds:

♠ Q J x x

♥ Q J x x x x

♦ x

♣ x x

South was not a beginner but an experienced player.

Can South justify bidding 3♥ after the long hesitation?

Should the director, called, have disallowed the 3♥ bid and adjustedthe score to 3♦ making? Mike Baker by email.

AIt is always difficult to know how to answer the question whether

South can justify a call after unauthorised information (in this case a hesitation) from partner. Maybe he did not notice the hesitation. Maybe he thought his 3♥ call was automatic. Maybe he did not think partner’s hesitation suggested bidding 3♥. So maybe South can justify it, maybe not.

Should the director have

disallowed the 3♥ bid? Cer-tainly, Pass is a logical alter-native, ie it is a call that many people would consider and some would choose. Further-more, 3♥ is suggested over Pass by the hesitation. So the 3♥ bid should be disallowed, which means a ruling of 3♦ making. This is not a close decision: it is quite obvious.

♣♦♥♠

QAt our local club we do not use computer dealt hands, thank

goodness, as they are too difficult for most of us average players.

However, I notice that some members shuf-fle the deck assiduously before dealing, which as I understand it, will result in a deal equivalent to computer dealt hands.

This will no doubt give an unfair advantage to the stronger players, so I would like to put forward the sug-gestion that, as a local rule, any player giving the deck a thorough shuffle before dealing should be penal-ised when they play that board. In your opinion do you think that the penalty should be 1 trick or would 2 tricks be more appropriate?Bill Thomson by email.

A You are asking me how to penalise player for following

the laws of bridge, because most of your players do not. That penalty would be highly inappropriate. The advantage of your stronger players is not unfair, as you put it, but completely fair based on their ability.

Trying to make the boards unfair by not shuffling properly is not just illegal and unbalances the game, it also means your players in general are learning u


issue a huge penalty for an unintentional revoke when the opponents have not suffered at all.Name and Address supplied.

A When a player wins a trick by revoking and his side win a

subsequent trick, then two tricks are transferred to the opponents at the end of the hand. This is Law 64A1 of the 2017 Laws and is unchanged from the previous laws. The director has no discretion over these penalty tricks. Thus the director ruled correctly.

You refer to Law 64B2 which refers to a subsequent revoke in the same suit by the same player. You revoked once in spades and there was no subsequent revoke. Thus this law does not apply.

If you had revoked the second time you played a spade to hand and only played your ♠A later, Law 64B2 means it would still be only two penalty tricks not more. This law is also unchanged from the previous laws.

Revoking, in effect, means the hand is not really a bridge hand at all and is against the most basic rule of bridge, namely the requirement to follow suit. That is why there are automatic penalties for revoking while few other infractions have automatic penalties.

The reference to equity in revoking applies only where the non-offending side have suffered even after any penalty tricks have been transferred to them. This is Law 64C, also unchanged from the previous laws. ■

again for the next trick and led another spade, I then put my ace on it. Jean spotted the revoke and announced it.

Now, I don’t know how familiar the director was with the rule changes last year. Under ‘No Automatic Trick Adjustment‘, you will see that there is no automatic trick adjustment under rule 64B (2) where “it is a subsequent revoke in the same suit by the same player, the first revoke having been established.” But of course the director is also required, under Law 64B, to consider under Law 64C whether any damage has occurred to the opponents as a result of the revoke. If so they should issue an adjusted score.

These changes seem to give the director much more discretion over the awarding of penalties than the previous system of fixed penalties, which they seem to have applied in this case? That has been my understanding anyway from incidents at my bridge club.

The fact of the matter is that I would have won both the initial revoke trick and the subsequent trick, if I had played my cards in the correct order. So there was no damage at all to the opponents. That does not excuse my having made a revoke of course (a senior moment perhaps?).

But it is why I suggested only a one trick penalty rather than two, whereas in fact, in equity, it is arguable that there should have been no penalty at all.

I do think the rule changes are an improvement here. It is clearly crackers to

to play in the wrong way. What happens when they move to another part of the country or go to another club where the rules are followed and they find normal hands instead of the flat hands they are used to?

Before play, boards are required to be adequately shuffled. Six or seven riffle shuffles are recommended, or at least six minutes of the traditional overhand shuffle.

P.S. Is there any chance of reprinting David’s excellent article about random deals.

While I do not know to which article you refer, Mr Bridge’s magazines, back to issue 84, are available online so you can look through them for any previous articles.

♣♦♥♠

Q The Director was called by my wife (as dummy – which

she is not supposed to do anyway) over a revoke by me as declarer. The Director ruled a loss of two tricks – for winning the revoke trick and a subsequent trick. At the time, I protested that this was wrong and that the maximum should be 1 trick.

Without print-outs of the hands I can’t reproduce the detail, but the gist of it was that I was declarer in, I think, hearts. I had 4 spades in dummy and a singleton ace of spades in hand. My plan was to enter dummy by ruffing diamonds and then ruff spades in hand.

Unfortunately, I ruffed the first spade and forgot to take the trick with my ace. When I crossed to dummy

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suit fit, the suit game is very high and generally needs extra values, so you should aim to explore for a no-trump game first. With your diamond holding it is not unreasonable to hope for six running diamond tricks, which would be wonderful in a no-trump contract. What you need for a no-trump contract is a stopper in the opponents’ suit. You can show your strength as well as support and ask about your partner’s hand, by bidding the opponents’ suit: 2♠. This shows a strong hand and asks the overcaller to describe his hand – it should be alerted by your partner, as it shows nothing about spades.

East should reply 2NT to your 2♠ bid, showing a stopper in spades and then you can raise to 3NT. Had East held nothing in spades you would have settled for a diamond contract.

6. Dealer North. Love All.

♠ 9 6 2 ♠ 8 7

♥ K Q 5 4 2 ♥ A J 3

♦ K 9 ♦ A J 10 4 3 2

♣ A 6 5 ♣ 9 4


1♠ 2♦ Pass

?

2♥.Once again you have an opening hand, which opposite a two-level overcall offers the potential for game. Here, you do best to start by bidding your own suit: 2♥.

This change of suit is not strictly forcing, but it should show a reasonable hand – it is generally labelled ‘constructive’. With good support for hearts, East should raise you to 3♥ and you then push to 4♥, which is an excellent game.

Note, that your ♦K in partner’s suit is an important card – it allows you to develop your partner’s suit in 4♥ and should bring the game home. ■

NW E

S


♠ 3 2 ♠ J 8 7

♥ A 8 6 5 4 3 ♥ 2

♦ 7 6 ♦ A J 10 4 3 2

♣ A 6 5 ♣ K Q 2


1♠ 2♦ Pass

?

Pass.When replying to a two-level overcall you should only change the suit if you have a constructive hand – that is a hand that feels there is some potential to go higher, not simply a hand that wants to change to its own suit. Remember that a two-level overcall generally includes a pretty good suit – six cards and fairly robust. With two-card support you probably have a fit and should settle for that. Bidding 2♥ on a very bare suit is asking for trouble.

Sometimes you will hit gold dust and find a magic fit, but more often than not you will either misfit, or push the auction higher.

Furthermore, when you do fit, your partner will expect you to have a better hand and may well raise you.


♠ 3 2 ♠ Q J 4

♥ A 8 6 5 ♥ 2

♦ K Q 6 ♦ A J 10 4 3 2

♣ A 8 7 5 ♣ K 6 2


1♠ 2♦ Pass

?

2♠. You have an opening hand and should expect close to an opening hand from your partner, which means game may well be in range. However, with a minor

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BERNARD MAGEE’S


DEFENCE

Bernard develops your defence in the course of ten introductory exercises and 120 complete deals.

l Lead vs No-trump Contracts

l Lead vs Suit Contracts

l Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts

l Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts

l Count Signals

l Attitude Signals

l Discarding

l Defensive Plan

l Stopping Declarer

l Counting the Hand

£76

MAC or Windows

Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH( 01483 489961



Julian Pottage Answers your Bridge Questions

What Should I Do With A Hand Too Weak For A Free Bid?

Q West faced a prob-lem on the attached hand when East

opened 1♥ and South bid 2♦.

♠ J 10 8 5 4 3 ♠ A 7 6

♥ J 4 ♥ A K 7 5 3

♦ 3 ♦ A J 10

♣ A J 3 2 ♣ 7 5

What should she bid, and why? Sean Haffey,Hook, Hampshire.

A Bidding 2♠, which is above two of partner’s suit, ought

to show at least game invitational values, which you do not have. Since you are short in the overcaller’s suit and thus have no assurance that partner will be able to reopen, you must do something yourself. The only option remaining is a negative double. If you double and then bid spades, it shows a hand too weak for an immediate 2♠ bid.


1♥ 2♦ Dbl Pass 2NT Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠

♣♦♥♠

QI attended the recent bridge weekend on slam

bidding at Denham Grove. My query is on cue bidding. I had learned that you started cue bidding for first round

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controls and then moved on to second round controls, however the course leader seemed to be suggesting that a cue bid could show either first or second round control. Or have I misunderstood?Allan Kelsall, Whitstable.

A The traditional approach was to cue bid first round

controls before second round controls. If you learnt the game a long time ago, that is what you would have learnt.

Nowadays the generally accepted principle is that you show either a first or second round control so long as the bidding is below 4NT. A subsequent 4NT enquiry then addresses how many aces might be missing.

When the idea of treating first and second round controls the same way first came in, people called it Italian style cue bidding or Multi cue bidding.

♣♦♥♠

QI am sure I am not imagining that you wrote an article

explaining why 1♠-2♥ guarantees 5 hearts. I can even see the banner headline with my mind’s eye. I have had a great deal of trouble convincing two experienced partners of the reason why but eventually they have ‘got it’ – with a 4333 hand and 4 hearts just bid a minor as a waiting bid – a heart fit will not be missed.

Acol references usually just make the bald statement without explanation. It would have been a lot easier if I could have shown them your article but I have scoured all digital back issues of BRIDGE back to 87 without success.

Can you remember which issue your article appeared in? Mike Johnson by email.

A I have probably cov-ered the matter in an answer to a reader’s

letter rather than as a distinct article, which might explain why it is difficult to find it in the online BRIDGE library.

The brief answer is that playing 1♠-2♥ as showing at least five hearts facilitates finding both 4-4 and 5-3 heart fits. You find the 4-4 fits because after responder makes a bid, the opener can rebid 4♥. You find the 5-3 heart fits straight away if responder has five hearts and opener is looking at three. If the response did not promise five, opener would be guessing what to do when holding three-card support.

♣♦♥♠

QMy partner and I use the Jacoby 2NT convention and

find it useful. My partner thinks that we should use it not only in response to an opening bid of a major, but also in response to a second bid by opener, or in response

to an initial bid by responder of a major. Everything I have read on the subject so far only refers to opening bids.

I have been able to find no advice on the situations mentioned above and would value your opinion as to whether the convention should be used in these ways and if not, why not.

A second question is on splinter bids. I think that a singleton king (or ace) should not be used as a splinter bid. My partner disagrees. Which of us is right and why? Judith Wells by email.

A With a balanced hand and no fit for opener, responder

will often wish to rebid 2NT. The reason why playing an immediate 2NT response as showing support for opener’s major works, is that responder can show a hand that wishes to invite with 2NT by bidding a suit first. If both a 2NT response and a 2NT rebid showed support, responder could be stuck on some hands.

A few people do play a 2NT rebid by opener as showing support – but you need a special system to do that. The people playing a 2NT opener’s rebid as showing support combine it with a strong no-trump and a prepared opening in one or both minors. It would not work with Acol. If you want to have a way to show a strong balanced raise in a natural system, you can


How strong you play 2♦-2♥-2NT depends somewhat on how strong you play a 2NT opening and the sequence 2♣-2♦-2NT.

In the original version of Benjamin, a 2NT opening showed 19-20,2♣-2♦-2NT showed 21-22, 2♦-2♥-2NT showed 23-24, 2♣-2♦-3NT showed 25-26 and 2♦-2♥-3NT showed 27-28. If this is what you play, 2♣ would be the opening rather than 2♦.

Nowadays most people have 20 as the lower limit for a 2NT opening/rebid, in which case the lowest two ranges are 20-21 and 22-23, meaning that a 24-25 point hand would open 2♦ and rebid 2NT. A hand with 26-27 points thus opens 2♣ and rebids 3NT.

♣♦♥♠

QCan you please help with the correct bid-ding on this hand?

♠ 8

♥ A K Q 8 6

♦ A K 7 2

♣ 10 7 3


1♥

Pass Pass Dbl 2♣

2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass

2NT Pass 3♠ All Pass

I would have liked to show more strength but did not like to jump with only four diamonds. We should have been in 4♠.Dr Robertson,Lundin Links, Fife.

A Firstly, I would have doubled 2♣, planning to lead a

trump. Partner will normally have something in all the unbid suits for a take-out

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double. If you do not double 2♣, 2♥ is next best. A bid of the opener’s first suit is forcing and shows strength (albeit not necessarily as much as you have).

On the next round I would have shown the diamonds rather than bid 2NT. You have four good diamonds and no club stopper.

Your partner’s 3♠ is an in-teresting bid because it shows five spades and therefore implies that the hand was too good for a 1♠ overcall. While I can understand your reluctance to bid no-trumps a second time with no club stopper, you have to find an-other bid. Not having shown the diamonds previously, you really need to do so over 3♠.

♣♦♥♠

QMy partner and I held these hands in a duplicate session:

♠ A K 10 8 3

♥ K 8 6 4

♦ A 10

♣ J 9

♠ 9 7

♥ Q 3

♦ 7 2

♣ A K Q 8 7 3 2

North South

1♠ 2♣

3♥ 4♣1

4♦ 4♠

End1Unwilling to bid 3NT with a small doubleton in the unbid suit.

With the North cards I would have rebid 2♥ rather than 3♥. What should a jump to 3♥ show?Roger Hoole,Bamford, Derbyshire.

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A I strongly recommend playing a change-of-suit rebid by

opener after a two-over-one response as forcing. Opener can therefore rebid 2♥ rather than 3♥, giving the partnership more space in which to explore for the best contract. You could then bid 1♠-2♣-2♥-3♣-3NT.

With all my regular partners I play that a jump to 3♥ is a splinter, agreeing clubs and showing a shortage in hearts. If you prefer to play 3♥ as natural, it should have a special meaning, perhaps showing two good five-card suits.

♣♦♥♠

QAfter East opens, I find that if I play in 3NT and make 9

tricks the rest of the room are making a major suit contract. Conversely, when I play and make a major suit contract the rest of the room are in 3NT making an overtrick.

How might you evaluate hands to decide whether 3NT or a major suit contract is best?Oliver Winters,Stratford upon Avon.

A If your side has a 4-4 fit and a ruffing value, you will

generally make an extra trick playing in a suit, which you will want to do if the suit is a major. If you have a 4-3-3-3 shape or if your doubleton includes the queen, it is less likely that a ruffing value is present (for example Q-x facing K-J-x or A-K-x does not yield a ruff), although of course your partner might have one – remember a ruff in either hand could generate an extra trick when you have a 4-4 fit.

If your side has a 5-3 fit, the ruffing value will need u

play that the cheapest jump reverse (eg 1♣-1♥-3♦) shows a balanced raise, giving up on the mini splinter option.

Whether a splinter is ac-ceptable if the singleton is an honour is debatable. One factor is that if part of the strength of your hand is in your singleton then values partner is expecting elsewhere may be missing. Another is that holdings that are useless facing a small singleton, may be of value facing a singleton honour. If in doubt, you should find an-other bid, treating a singleton king as if it were a K-x hold-ing. In general, I would not splinter with a singleton king, but I might with a singleton ace if otherwise it seemed a particularly good description.

♣♦♥♠

QMy partner opened with a bid of 3NT. He had a balanced

hand and 26 HCP. He made 7NT. In the post-mortem I suggested he should have opened 2♦ which we had agreed at the start of the session would show 23 HCP. I had 9 HCP. I passed his bid as I wasn’t sure what his point count was. Would you like to comment on this?Wilma Duncan, Whanganui East, New Zealand.

A Apart from BBO robots, just about all the players I

know use a 3NT opening to show a solid minor rather than a balanced hand. If you play a Gambling 3NT, opening 3NT with a balanced hand is incorrect whatever the strength.

If you play a 2♦ opening as your system strong bid (quite a common convention known as Benjamin) then yes it would be reasonable to open 2♦ on the hand.


to be in the short trump hand to be of any use. Again if you are looking at a 4-3-3-3shape or your doubleton in-cludes the queen, you might well not make any extra tricks playing in a suit.

If your side has a 6-2 fit, it is less likely that the short trump hand will have a ruffing value, although nevertheless it can still gain to play with the long suit as trumps because the ability to ruff opposing winners gives you more time to set up winners of your own. Another way that playing in the long suit could gain is by ruffing out dummy’s suit.

If you make it a rule always to play in an 8-card major-suit fit, unless you are looking at a 4-3-3-3 shape or a doubleton queen, you will not go far wrong.

♣♦♥♠

QWe got a “top” on the following deal played

in 2♥ after the minimal auction 1NT-2♥-P-P-P.

Dealer West. Love All. ♠ A K J 7

♥ Q J 8 6 3

♦ 6 5

♣ Q 5

♠ Q 9 5 ♠ 10 4 3 2

♥ K 9 5 ♥ 10

♦ K 9 8 ♦ A J 10

♣ A 10 7 3 ♣ K J 9 8 2

♠ 8 6

♥ A 7 4 2

♦ Q 7 4 3 2

♣ 6 4

East led the ♣8 (4th highest) and was castigated by her partner (who did not put up the ♣A) for not leading the

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♣2 as he thought that the ♣8 was “2nd highest from rubbish” but she protested that she was supposed to be playing standard leads and the “rule of 11” would work. He said you do not bother with 4th highest against a trump contract – which is the first I’d ever heard about such an idea and the preprinted convention cards still have 4th highest as a standard lead against a trump contract.

Whilst we might be happy to take the “top” all the way to the bank I’d like to know who is right here. It is a bit of a dilemma I suppose.John Collins, Welwyn Garden City.

A For a pair playing fourth highest leads, the eight

is the normal card to lead from K-J-9-8-2.

If East led the two, West would expect declarer to have started with three clubs and might play a third round at some point in the play. That could be expensive here, allowing declarer to ruff in dummy while discarding a diamond from hand.

East might have led the four of spades instead, although that would have done little to help the defensive cause either.

Although you happen to score a top declaring 2♥ from the North seat, I do not think it is the best option with the North hand. Bernard, myself and others in the Mr Bridge team recommend playing a 2♣ overcall of 1NT as Landy, both majors. It is better to show both suits, especially when they are the majors, rather than to tell partner about only one. ■

E-mail your questions to: [email protected]

Set 843 TEAMS OF FOURThis form of the game is the most common at international level and is great fun to play at club level and even in the home. I will discuss the basic format and then look at the tactics you might use in the bidding and play.

44 GAME TRIESWhen your partner raises your suit to the two-level, you have a variety of options available to you, in order to find out whether game is a sensible option. I will talk about major suit game tries to find better games and minor suit game tries, when you consider the option of a no-trump contract.

45 DISRUPTING DECLARERA defender needs to try and predict what declarer might want to do. Your job is then to disrupt declarer’s plan. Stop him ruffing, stop him establishing suits and generally try to put him off, by using only your cards, of course.

46 DEFENDING SLAMSMaking the right plays against slams can make a huge difference. Knowing when to attack and when to lie low: should you lead an ace or not? We will not just consider slam contracts, but also other high level contracts in competitive auctions.

47 OVERCALLINGDuplicate bridge is so much more competitive now and it is important you are part of this. Knowing the reasons for overcalling and understanding them will allow you to compete more and at the right time.

48 PRESSING THE DEFENCEAs declarer there are ways you can make life more awkward for the defenders, particularly by disguising holdings in your hand for a little longer. I will be exploring a number of tactics that will help you to exploit the defenders, including the dreaded squeeze.

BERNARD MAGEE

TUTORIAL DVDs

Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/shop

£25 per DVD or £105 for the set of six


5♣.

This time you are weak and may well feel outgunned, but your hand has great shape and listening to the auction might give you confidence to bid on. With just one defensive trick, you expect that 4♠ is likely to make, particularly as you have a club fit.

You expect the opposition to have a big spade fit, so you can reasonably hope that partner will be short in their suit (holding three spades yourself). With just one spade loser and no hearts to lose, you hope your partner’s strength is in clubs and go for 5♣ – not expecting to make 11 tricks, but reasonably hoping to make at least 9 tricks.

You expect to get doubled, but 9 tricks would only cost 300 points, a healthy profit. As it is, you just go one down for -100. 4♠ makes so you do get a good result.


♠ 7 6 ♠ 5

♥ A 9 8 7 6 5 ♥ 4 2

♦ K Q 3 2 ♦ A J 8 7

♣ 2 ♣ K Q J 6 5 4


1♠ 2♣ 4♠

?

Pass.This time you do not have a fit and with just nine points, there is no reason to think that with a big trump fit your opponents might not make 4♠.

They may go off or they might make, but you only double if you can be pretty sure they are going down. You certainly cannot bid on yourself without a fit. Pass and defend as well as you can.

4♠ might go off if you can make two diamonds, a club and a heart, but if one opponent has a singleton diamond they will probably make 4♠.

You were right not to double because you do not know. ■

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♠ 4 ♠ 3 2

♥ A K 3 2 ♥ 8 5

♦ A 8 4 3 2 ♦ K 7 5

♣ J 8 7 ♣ A K 5 4 3 2


1♠ 2♣ 4♠

?

Double.With an opening hand opposite a 2-level minor suit overcall you should be thinking that the hand belongs to you, but that becomes difficult when the opponents jump to 4♠.

However, you have to fight for your rights. You must take some action and doubling for penalties looks reasonable. 5♣ might be making but it is difficult to judge and often ‘taking the money’ is the safer option – that is – settling for a penalty rather than risking going for the game bonus.

Here, 5♣ will probably go one off: los-ing one spade, one diamond and one trump. In fact, if clubs break 2-2, you might find yourself taking 4♠ doubled three down anyway, so you will get more than your money back: 500 is more than game is worth.

Do not let your opponents steal your contracts without paying their dues. You can see how important it is to overcall at the two-level with reasonable hands, so that the partnership can make these kinds of decisions with confidence.


♠ 7 6 5 ♠ 2

♥ A ♥ 8 5 3

♦ Q J 9 4 3 2 ♦ K 7 5

♣ 9 8 7 ♣ A K 5 4 3 2


1♠ 2♣ 4♠

?

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BERNARD MAGEE’S


DECLARER PLAY

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

l Hold-ups

l Ruffing for Extra Tricks

l Entries in No-trumps

l Delaying Drawing Trumps

l Using the Lead

l Trump Control

l Endplays & Avoidance

l Using the Bidding

MAC or Windows

Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH( 01483 489961


£76


SET 1 1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks

2 Competitive Auctions

3 Making the Most of High Cards

4 Identifying & Bidding Slams

5 Play & Defence of 1NT Contracts

6 Doubling & Defence against Doubled Contracts

SET 2 7 Leads

8 Losing Trick Count

9 Making a Plan as Declarer

10 Responding to 1NT

11 Signals & Discards

12 Endplay

SET 3 13 Hand Evaluation

14 Pre-Emptive Bidding

15 Splinter & Cue Bids

16 Avoidance Play

17 Play & Defence at Pairs

18 Thinking Defence

BERNARD MAGEE

TUTORIAL DVDs

Mr Bridge Mail Order ( 01483 489961

www.mrbridge.co.uk/shop

£25 per DVD

£105 set of 6

T his DVD is on defensive play and is aimed at trying to predict declarer’s plan and then come

up with your own plan to disrupt him. The first part of the subject revolves around trumps and aiming to stop ruffs in dummy.

Looking at dummy is so important – that is what will give you an indication about declarer’s plan. Whenever declarer makes a ruff in his short trump hand, he gains a trick, so he will often be aiming to do this. Therefore, from a defender’s perspective, if you see short trumps in dummy alongside a shortage, then you would like to attack the opposing trumps by leading the suit:

♠ J 9 2

♥ 7 6

♦ K J 8 4

♣ Q 9 8 3

♠ 7 6

♥ A K 8 2

♦ 7 6 3

♣ K 7 6 2


1♠

Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠

All Pass

As West you lead the ♥A and dummy comes down. North’s 2♠ was an interesting choice – it seems reasonable – showing 6-9 points and suggesting spades as trumps. certainly, some would have responded 1NT: both responses have merit – it tends to depend on your style.

However, the defence is the important aspect of the hand – when you see dummy, you can see short trumps (just three) and a shortage in hearts.

Your partner follows with the ♥Q (showing you he holds the jack). If declarer can ruff a heart in dummy he will gain a trick, so you decide to

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Bernard Magee DVDs – Number Forty-Five

Disrupting Declarerswitch to trumps to try to stop this.

♠ J 9 2

♥ 7 6

♦ K J 8 4

♣ Q 9 8 3

♠ 7 6 ♠ A 8 3

♥ A K 8 2 ♥ Q J 10 4

♦ 7 6 3 ♦ 5 2

♣ K 7 6 2 ♣ J 10 5 4

♠ K Q 10 5 4

♥ 9 5 3

♦ A Q 10 9

♣ A

Your partner is able to win the ♠A and return a trump. East can win the second round of hearts when they are led and play a third round of trumps; this draws the last trump in dummy and means declarer has to lose a third heart and is defeated by one trick.

The DVD continues to explore the ideas of viewing dummy and assessing what declarer’s plan might be. Another common plan can be to establish a long suit and the defender’s weapon in this case is to aim to knock out entries:

♠ 9 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A K 8 4 3

♣ A J 8

♠ 7 6

♥ A K J 5 2

♦ Q 6 5

♣ 7 6 2


3♠

Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♥A and when dummy comes down you note that North has been aggressive – he does not really have the strength to go for game. However, you will need to be on your toes to make sure they are defeated.

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There is no shortage in dummy, so trumps are not your worry, but the long diamond suit should certainly be your focus. Declarer might well be able to establish the diamonds in dummy, but he will need an entry to be able to enjoy them. Your job is to try to knock out that entry, so you switch to the ♣7 (high to deny an honour).

♠ 9 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A K 8 4 3

♣ A J 8

♠ 7 6 ♠ A 8

♥ A K J 5 2 ♥ Q 10 8 4

♦ Q 6 5 ♦ J 10 7

♣ 7 6 2 ♣ K Q 10 5

♠ K Q J 10 5 4 3

♥ 3

♦ 9 2

♣ 9 4 3

Your partner wins your club switch with the ten and then leads the ♣K back to knock out the ace and leave declarer destined for one down.

If you play a second heart instead, declarer ruffs, plays ♦AK and ruffs a diamond high, then he plays trumps. East tries his best by winning the ♠A and switching to the ♣K, but when declarer ducks this, he has to give in – another club gives declarer an extra trick in the suit, but anything else allows declarer to draw trumps and reach dummy’s diamonds. This time it was the long suit in dummy that alerted you to declarer’s plan.

The second half of the DVD focuses on finesses and the idea of ducking to lead declarer astray. Generally, when a finesse works, declarer will be happy and will plan to take it again. As long as you duck smoothly, you can sometimes severely disrupt his plans.

♠ 9 3 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A Q J 4 3

♣ A K

♠ 8 7 5

♥ 10 8 4

♦ K 10 8

♣ Q J 8 4

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SET 4 19 Defensive Plan

20 Further into the Auction

21 Weak Twos

22 Trump Control

23 Sacrificing

24 Improving Bridge Memory

SET 5 25 Defence as Partner

of the Leader

26 Aggressive Bidding at Duplicate Pairs

27 Strong Opening Bids

28 Take-Out Doubles

29 Suit Establishment in Suit Contracts

30 Landy / Defending Against a 1NT Opening

SET 6 31 Counting Defence

32 Extra Tricks in No-Trumps

33 Supporting Partner

34 Finessing

35 Bidding Distributional Hands

36 Coping with Pre-Empts

BERNARD MAGEE

TUTORIAL DVDs

£25 per DVD

£105 set of 6

Mr Bridge Mail Order ( 01483 489961

www.mrbridge.co.uk/shop

There is no shortage in dummy, so trumps are not your worry, but the long diamond suit should certainly be your focus. Declarer might well be able to establish the diamonds in dummy, but he will need an entry to be able to enjoy them. Your job is to try to knock out that entry, so you switch to the ♣7 (high to deny an honour).

♠ 9 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A K 8 4 3

♣ A J 8

♠ 7 6 ♠ A 8

♥ A K J 5 2 ♥ Q 10 8 4

♦ Q 6 5 ♦ J 10 7

♣ 7 6 2 ♣ K Q 10 5

♠ K Q J 10 5 4 3

♥ 3

♦ 9 2

♣ 9 4 3

Your partner wins your club switch with the ten and then leads the ♣K back to knock out the ace and leave declarer destined for one down.

If you play a second heart instead, declarer ruffs, plays ♦AK and ruffs a diamond high, then he plays trumps. East tries his best by winning the ♠A and switching to the ♣K, but when declarer ducks this, he has to give in – another club gives declarer an extra trick in the suit, but anything else allows declarer to draw trumps and reach dummy’s diamonds. This time it was the long suit in dummy that alerted you to declarer’s plan.

The second half of the DVD focuses on finesses and the idea of ducking to lead declarer astray. Generally, when a finesse works, declarer will be happy and will plan to take it again. As long as you duck smoothly, you can sometimes severely disrupt his plans.

♠ 9 3 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A Q J 4 3

♣ A K

♠ 8 7 5

♥ 10 8 4

♦ K 10 8

♣ Q J 8 4

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1NT

Pass 3NT All Pass

You are East, your partner leads the ♠Q and you make your plan. It is important to plan now, rather than later. You expect declarer to be taking a diamond finesse, so you should plan to duck the first round smoothly and hope that encourages declarer to use an entry back to his hand to repeat the finesse. Being ready for the diamond play is so important. If you wait to think about it when a diamond is led, then declarer will guess that you have the king. Declarer ducks the spade lead, but wins the second round and you are not surprised to see a diamond led to the jack, which you allow to win:

♠ 9 3 2

♥ 9 7 6

♦ A Q J 4 3

♣ A K

♠ Q J 10 6 ♠ 8 7 5

♥ A J 5 2 ♥ 10 8 4

♦ 7 6 ♦ K 10 8

♣ 7 6 5 ♣ Q J 8 4

♠ A K 4

♥ K Q 3

♦ 9 5 2

♣ 10 9 3 2

Declarer now, not unreasonably, decides to get greedy – he hopes to make five diamonds, ♠AK, ♣AK and a heart trick for ten tricks. So declarer plays a heart to the king: this time your partner joins the party, by ducking his ♥A – again giving declarer a sense that the hearts lie well for him too. With no sense of worry declarer repeats the diamond finesse, but you can win the ♦K and play a heart back and the defence take three heart tricks to defeat 3NT.

Playing Duplicate Pairs, declarer has to aim for as many tricks as possible – had West held the ♦K then declarer would have made ten tricks by repeating the finesse. Scoring only nine tricks would then have been a very poor score. As it was, by ducking smoothly, the defence combined together to bring about a surprise defeat to declarer. ■

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♠ K 6 ♠ 9 5 2

♥ 5 4 ♥ A K 3

♦ 9 4 3 ♦ A 7 5 2

♣ A K 8 7 6 5 ♣ Q J 2


1♠

2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass

?

2NT.You make a decent 2♣ overcall with a strong 6-card suit and close to an opening hand, then your partner bids 2♠ – a bid of the opponents’ suit. You should alert this and describe it as a strong bid asking you to describe your hand further. The 2♠ bid also implies at least a partial fit for your minor suit.

One of the main reasons to bid the opponents’ suit when you are bidding the minors is to see whether there is a chance to play in no-trumps, so if you have a spade stopper you should bid no-trumps.

A doubleton king might not seem much, but as long as you bid no-trumps it will be protected because North will be on lead.

Over your 2NT rebid, partner raises to 3NT and you have 9 top tricks, which will become ten if they lead a spade.

You do have a minimum overcall so might contemplate simply rebidding 3♣, but I feel the quality of your club suit and your holding in spades should push you towards 2NT – bidding what your partner is likely to want to hear.

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W ES


♠ Q 7 6 ♠ 9 5 2

♥ 4 ♥ Q J 6 3 2

♦ A 4 3 ♦ 2

♣ A K 8 7 6 5 ♣ Q 9 4 2


1♠

2♣ Pass 4♣ Pass

?

Pass.You have a very nice 2♣ overcall – a strong six-card suit and 13 HCP – so you may well be tempted to bid on to game.

However, your partner’s raise should not be based on high cards, but more on distribution and club length.

With a better hand your partner will make a bid in the opponents’ suit.

Here, he is bidding obstructively to try to stop the opponents finding their best contract.

You should pass 4♣ and it will probably go one off, ♠AK, a spade ruff and a heart to lose.

At the same time your opponents can make 10 or 11 tricks in diamonds but they never got to bid the suit.

North probably held 6 or 7 points and five diamonds, but with short-ish hearts he did not want to double, then with the auction at the four-level neither of the opponents felt able to bid. Well bid partner.

Note that, expecting six clubs from you, East bid to the level of the fit:

4 + 6 = 10 so East bid to make ten tricks: 4♣.

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♠ Void ♠ A Q 5 2

♥ 5 4 3 ♥ J 9 8 2

♦ K Q 4 3 ♦ A 2

♣ A Q J 7 6 5 ♣ K 9 2


1♠

2♣ 2♠ 3NT Pass

?

Pass.Another lovely 2♣ overcall, but despite both opponents bidding spades your partner has leapt to 3NT. Do you trust him or not?

Of course, you do.It is the quality of your club

suit that is important here – as long as you have what you have promised, then your partner should be OK.

There will be times that 5♣ will score OK, but with your partner suggesting high cards in spades (he should have a good stopper), these would be wasted in 5♣.

As you can see, 3NT is comfortable with 10 top tricks or 11 on a spade lead, whilst 5♣ may go one off if they find an initial heart lead.

There can be times where taking your partner out of 3NT with a void will be right, but when both opponents have bid the suit, he will be expecting the lead and therefore should be prepared for it. ■

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Sunday Today I am playing with Margaret in the One-Day Swiss Pairs at Richmond Bridge Club. This is a final practice for the European Women’s Pairs that start in Ostend on Wednesday. Richmond is a lovely club to play at, especially on a sunny day.

Barry is playing with Martin and all goes pretty well until we meet them in the penultimate round. Things are OK at the start but suddenly we misdefend 3NT (which is very costly as they have a 5-5 heart fit and most of the room are in 4♥), then we have another defensive mix-up and finally Margaret takes one of my bids a little too seriously and we end up sacrificing in 5♣ going for 1100. In the last round we win heavily though, so finish sixth. Barry and Martin only draw their last match and their nearest rivals have a big win. The director needs to look up how to split ties, and eventually, because they lost only one match, compared with their rivals’ two, they are announced the winners. Afterwards we go to a rather nice fish restaurant for dinner.

Monday This is my last day before travelling to Ostend, so it is full of finishing off bits and pieces of work, along with getting things ready to go. I get so tied up with what I’m doing that I forget about the blood test I need, and I am a bit late. Briony offers to drive me to Charing Cross Hospital. It takes ages to be seen and she has to leave because there is somewhere else she needs to be. Having had the test, I want to get home as quickly as possible for my online session with Liz and Yvonne. I foolishly think that using the direct line to phone for a minicab is the answer; they tell me a cab will be there

in ten minutes but it takes over an hour – why didn’t I ring for an Uber? So I am too late for the bidding session and now in a rush to finish off my work and get supper ready. Ben, my eldest, is coming for the evening. We decide to cook hot ham and peaches – a family favourite Boxing Day meal which none of us have had since my mother died. There are five of us – with Barry, Toby and Briony – and we have a lovely evening with lots of lively conversation. Ben goes home with Barry for the night as my spare rooms are full of other children at the moment.

Tuesday I’m up early to pack – having not had any time for it yesterday. Briony offers to drive me to St Pancras International for the Eurostar to Brussels. I should have learned by now that driving in London is a mistake. It would have been just 45 minutes on public transport, and although we leave at nine o’clock for our eleven o’clock train, I am perilously late, arriving only a few minutes before they close the gate. I meet up with Margaret and we board the train. This is a really silly journey in my opinion – it is two and a half hours to Brussels, then an hour and a half back the same way we came to get to Ostend. I feel there should be a better way. Once in Ostend we get a taxi to the apartment Margaret has found for us. It is fabulous – on the 19th floor of the tallest building in town, with a huge picture-window view of the sea. We also have a bar with 25 or so bottles of various types of liquor – we’ll have to have a party. We go to the Kursaal (the bridge venue) and meet up with friends Laura and Gilly from Wales. We have a coffee with them before meeting with other friends for

Seven Daysby Sally Brock

dinner. Moules and frites overlooking the sea – what could be nicer.

Wednesday The first 16-board set of the day goes well enough – we are on about 56%. After a lunch break we go back for more and everything starts to go wrong. In the usual way, as we play badly, the luck turns against us too. We slowly slip down the field and at the end of the day we are just outside a qualifying position. After the bridge we go to buy food for breakfast, have a beer and then out to dinner – there are eight of us altogether and we have a great evening.

Thursday The bridge goes from bad to worse, and we show no signs of ever having an above-average session. I’m a bit short of material that shows us in a good light, but this was a high spot:

Dealer West. Game All.

♠ 5

♥ K Q J

♦ K 10 9 7 6 5 4

♣ K 2

♠ K J 10 9 4 2 ♠ 8 7 6

♥ 9 5 3 ♥ A 10 7 6

♦ J 8 ♦ A 2

♣ 8 3 ♣ A Q 9 4

♠ A Q 3

♥ 8 4 2

♦ Q 3

♣ J 10 7 6 5


2♦ 3♦ 3♠ 3NT

All Pass

The 2♦ opening is a Multi, showing

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a bad weak two in a major (two of a major shows about 9-12). When North overcalls 3♦ I bid 3♠, prepared to play there facing spades, but happy to try 4♥ if partner has hearts. South’s 3NT closes the auction. Now Margaret knows I have heart values it is relatively simple for her to lead a heart. I win with the ace and switch to a spade. Declarer goes up with the ace and plays a diamond, ducked, and another diamond. I win and continue spades. After we cash those, partner plays a club and we take two of those as well. 3NT minus five.

Socially everything is good, with dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant.

Friday Today is another day. I was reluctant to play in the subsidiary event – which involves all those who did not qualify for either the women’s or seniors’ pairs finals – as everything had gone so horribly yesterday, but I was persuaded and everything gets a lot better.

Generally, when you play in overseas pairs events you have no idea how strong the opponents are, but in this event you know that everyone is pretty hopeless as they have not reached their respective finals. Quite a confidence boost, and if you bid confidently it is amazing what you can get away with.

Dealer East. Love All.

♠ K 10 9 7 3 2

♥ 6

♦ 4

♣ A 10 9 7 3

♠ A Q 4 ♠ J 8

♥ A 8 4 ♥ 10 9 7 3 2

♦ A J 5 3 2 ♦ K Q 10 9 8 6

♣ 8 5 ♣ Void

♠ 6 5

♥ K Q J 5

♦ 7

♣ K Q J 6 4 2


Pass 1♣

1♦ 1♠ 5♣ Pass

6♦ 7♣ Pass Pass

Dbl All Pass

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Margaret perhaps suffers from a surfeit of enthusiasm here but comes out smelling of roses. After my 1♦ overcall she feels she has to do something exciting and so leaps to 5♣ to show her void. I don’t see how I could have a lot more for my 1♦ overcall so happily bid the slam. North decides to press on to 7♣ and I do think that she might have doubled this to stop me bidding on – when we have (more or less) freely bid a small slam and the opponents ‘save’, then we can’t defend undoubled, so by passing she invites me to bid a grand slam. I think about it for a while, but eventually decide to defend with such a balanced hand. We get 500 for pretty close to a top.

I feel I need a rest from the social dinners, so go out quietly with a couple of the girls and stay alcohol-free for the day. My new dietary regime is to have four alcohol-free days a week, usually Monday to Thursday, but I can ‘bank’ one every now and then. After dinner I go back to the flat and have a much-needed long talk on the phone, first with Briony and then Barry. I even get a bit of work done. However, it doesn’t last as the others come back for some more partying.

Saturday It is a later start and only 21 boards to go. I start the day by packing up and moving to the Hotel Andromeda where I will be staying for the rest of the tournament. Then I do a bit of shopping – I cannot resist markets. The last session goes OK for a while and I think we are still leading with two rounds to go, but then people play a couple of hands competently against us and we take a couple of bad views. We tumble to fourth, although it is very close at the top. Disappointing, but we will get over it. It is always nice to be in contention. We have a cup of tea and then I go back to my room for a bit of system reading. Our team has all arrived by now, and we have a short team meeting downstairs, then I go out to dinner with the group I have been with all week. Tomorrow I must focus on my partnership with Fiona and the rest of the team. You will have to wait till next month to hear how it goes. ■

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