www .W ashington BridgeLeague.or g July/August 2005 Washington Bridge League B ♣ U ♥ L ♠ L ♦ E ♥ T ♣ I ♠ N THE BRIDGE HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR IS HERE! J J U U N N E E 2 2 8 8 - - J J U U L L Y Y 4 4 , , 2 2 0 0 0 0 5 5 at the Hilton Hotel at Mark Center 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA, (703) 845-1010, 800-445-8667 We’re Havin’ a Party! Yes, once again it is time for our annual 4 TH OF J ULY R EGIONAL . Come and play at the Alexandria Regional with all your friends and some of the best players in the country. The world famous WBL hospitality will be on display with fine food and drink available every day! Bridge games from morning to night for players of all levels of experience. Pair games and Knock Outs will be available at times convenient for all. There will be table gifts, receptions and/or hospitality every day! Plan on attending now with your favorite partner or come alone and we will pair you up with someone of your ability. V OLUNTEERS S TILL NEEDED ... For the tournament to be a success, we need the help of many volunteers, starting with you! Just contact Barbara Summers at (301) 598-5838 or [email protected] (or either tournament chair, Nadine Wood or Fred King) to help with Partnerships, Prizes, Information or Hospitality. These tasks will only need about a half hour commitment before game time. We also need people to help with hospitality, which varies from helping with food preparation ahead of time to bar tending and setup after the evening bridge sessions. ? Questions? Any Tournament Chair will be happy to help you... Tournament Chairs Nadine Wood (301) 565-9555 [email protected]Fred King (703) 536-1914 [email protected]Partnership Chair Barbara Ames (202) 439-5667 [email protected]Intermediate/Novice Chair Frances Burke (301) 384-6103 [email protected]See your April/May 2005 District 6 TableTALK for the full schedule of events Prizes * Gold & Red Points * Gifts * Food ‘n Drink * All-Star Panel Show * Celebrity Speakers * Mega KOs
Transcript
www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org
July/August 2005
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THE BRIDGE HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR IS HERE!JJJJUUUU NNNN EEEE 22228888 ---- JJJJUUUU LLLL YYYY 4444 ,,,, 2222000000005555
WWee’’rree HHaavviinn’’ aa PPaarrttyy!! Yes, once again it is time for our annual44TTHH OOFF JJUULLYY RREEGGIIOONNAALL.. Come and play at the Alexandria Regionalwith all your friends and some of the best players in the country. The world famousWBL hospitality will be on display with fine food and drink available every day!Bridge games from morning to night for players of all levels of experience. Pairgames and Knock Outs will be available at times convenient for all. There will betable gifts, receptions and/or hospitality every day! Plan on attending now with yourfavorite partner or come alone and we will pair you up with someone of your ability.
VOOLLUUNNTTEEEERRSSSTTIILLLL NNEEEEDDEEDD...
For the tournament to be asuccess, we need the help ofmany volunteers, startingwith you! Just contact BarbaraSummers at (301) 598-5838 [email protected] (or eithertournament chair, Nadine Woodor Fred King) to help withPartnerships, Prizes, Informationor Hospitality. These tasks will only needabout a half hour commitment beforegame time. We also need people to helpwith hospitality, which varies from helping with food preparation aheadof time to bar tending and setup after the evening bridge sessions.
to submit new articles to the editor for the September/October 2005 issue
Washington Bridge League BBUULLLLEETTIINN (usps #861-240)VOL. 63, #4 — SUBSCRIPTION $2 PER YEAR FOR MEMBERS OF UNIT #147 (INCLUDED IN ACBL ANNUAL DUES).NON-MEMBER SUBSCRIPTION RATE IS $21 FOR THREE YEARS. PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE WASHINGTON
BRIDGE LEAGUE AT 14517 PERRYWOOD DRIVE, BURTONSVILLE, MD 20866. SECOND-CLASS POSTAGE PAID
AT BURTONSVILLE, MD. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WASHINGTON BRIDGE LEAGUE BULLETIN,ACBL, 2990 AIRWAYS BLVD., MEMPHIS, TN 38116-3847. ALL EDITORIAL AND GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE EDITOR AT 901 CLIFTONBROOK LN., SILVER SPRING, MD 20905-3711.
Columnists — Steve Robinson, Richard Colker, Jim Allen, Barbara Shaw, Dick WegmanThe opinions expressed by our columnists do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ACBL, the WBL,or even the editors of this publication. The WBL is not responsible for the claims of its advertisers.
SOME KEY VOLUNTEERSNadine Wood — Tournament Chair (301-565-9555)
Ann Lindley — Tournament Co-Chair (301-438-1335)Frances Burke — Membership Secretary (301-384-6103)Ted Ying — Unit Game Chief Director (301-490-3154)
Michael Carroad — Unit Game Manager (301-322-4289)Charleen Brand — Unit Game Partnerships (301-946-8483)Charity Sack — Tournament Partnerships (703-963-7027)
Kitty Gottfried — Unit Game and Sectional Hospitality (301-587-3981)
WBL WEBSITE: DISTRICT 6 SITE:www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org www.districtsix.org
WWBBLL OOMBUDSMANAny player with helpful director
issues including criticism or praise of thedirecting staff may contact theOmbudsman, Ann Lindley and beassured that the source of the informationwill remain confidential. Informationshould be provided in writing and may behanded to her at any game, or mailed toher at 3100 N Leisure World Blvd, Apt.606, Silver Spring, MD 20906.
SSUGGESTION BBOXDo you have a suggestion that
might help to increase membership orotherwise improve the WashingtonBridge League? Give any and allideas to Don Berman, 301-776-3581,[email protected], 13707Engleman Dr., Laurel, MD 20708, orwww.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.
School for a great performance. We hope to seethe two of you soon at our club games and sec-tionals – and in the not too distant future weexpect that the two of you will appear on theleader boards at our tournaments.
During our sectional in early May, SStteevveeRRoobbiinnssoonn and BBiillll CCoollee once again conducted alively workshop between sessions on Saturday.About 75 eager listeners asked lots of questionsand picked up a number of useful pointers:when to open 1NT on 15-17 semi balancedhands (answer: almost always), how aggressive-ly to pre-empt (answer: very), when to competeafter the opponents open 1NT (answer: almostalways compete with 5-5, and usually with 5-4),and how to handle auctions that begin with 1H-1S (answer: watch out for pitfalls). These work-shops have proven to be one of the most popu-lar features of our sectional tournaments, andwe will definitely continue to feature these atour sectionals beginning in the fall.
Finally, I’m very pleased to announce thatPPeetteerr BBooyydd has agreed to serve as theWashington Bridge League Historian. TheBoard created this new position, recognizingthat the WBL has a long and illustrious his-tory that needs to be preserved. Peter hasalready compiled a great deal of materialcovering the past three decades, and he issoliciting help from anyone who has materialfrom an earlier period (bulletins, tournamentrecords, anecdotes, etc.). Please let Peterknow if you have anything to contribute, or ifyou have suggestions for articles with histor-ical content that we may want to run in theBulletin. The WBL is one of the best-estab-lished and longest-lived of the ACBL units,and we are extremely proud of our record andour accomplishments. We want to maintainour legacy not only for ourselves, but also forthe many players who will join theWashington Bridge League in years to come.Please help us do so, if you can.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.—Dick Wegman
We held our annual meeting and electionduring the unit game on May 12th, and I’mvery happy to welcome JJaannee SSttuurrggiiss and CCllyyddeeKKrruusskkaall as newly-elected members of theWBL Board. If you have any comments orsuggestions concerning our unit game ortournaments, please feel free to discuss themwith Jane or Clyde – or, of course, with me orany other Board member. We’re here to serveyou, and we want to make the playing envi-ronment as inviting as we possibly can.
Our two outgoing members are RRoonn ZZuucckkeerrand SStteevvee FFoorrssyytthhee (both chose not to run forre-election). Ron was responsible for the unitgame, and Steve coordinated volunteers for theunit game and our sectionals. Both did an out-standing job, and we’re very grateful for theircontributions on the WBL Board.
Our joint game with the WWaasshhiinnggttoonnBBrriiddggee UUnniitt ooff tthhee AAmmeerriiccaann BBrriiddggeeAAssssoocciiaattiioonn in April was a great success. Thiswas our first joint game with the ABA inmore than a dozen years. The game was host-ed by the WBU at their facility in MountRanier – a great facility, by the way, becauseit has room for social activities along withbridge. The WBU is extremely fortunate tobe able to own its own facility – perhapssome day we will be able to do the same.Attendance at the game was evenly dividedbetween ABA and ACBL players, and every-one I spoke to had a great time. Thanks toCCaassssaannddrraa SSmmiitthh and WWiinnssttoonn EEddwwaarrddss whoworked hard to make the event successful.We very much look forward to reciprocatingby hosting the next joint WBL-WBU gameduring our sectional in October.
ACBL conducted its annual continent wideinterscholastic Instant Matchpoint game inApril, and two of our local students placed sixthoverall among the North-South pairs playing inthe event (the event included players from ele-mentary and middle schools throughout NorthAmerica). Congratulations to JJaakkee SScchhnneesssslleerrand CChhrriiss HHeeyywwoooodd from St. Andrews Episcopal
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[email protected] Partnerships: Barbara Ames, 202-439-5667, [email protected] or try theeasy Online Partnership Bulletin Board: www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org
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BITS AND PIECES
CCONGRATULATIONS TO THE22000044-22000055
GGRAND NNATIONAL TTEAMDDISTRICT 66 WWINNERS
Congratulations and good luck at theAtlanta nationals to all the winners!CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
HHOT TTOPICfrom Kitty Gottfried, Hospitality ChairAt our March Sectional tournament a
player complained that the water for tea (andinstant decaf coffee) was not hot enough, soI said (jokingly), “Maybe we need a new cof-fee pot — can you donate one?” Well,thanks to Dr. Norman Cowen, we’ve got anew pot to use for our Thursday night gamsand tournaments.
—L—L IIVVEEIIVVEE SSAAFFEEAAFFEE ——Our Internet Mall offers thousands
of high quality safety products to fityour every need... with an average of a15% - 35% difference in pricing com-pared to the average retail store. Pleaseenjoy your visit to our Mall; we havetried to make your experience as enter-taining and adventurous as possible.
All of this and more for only: Interior Stateroom . . . . . . . . . .from USD 1189Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom . .from USD 1339
For information and reservations contact:Wendy Epstein, ALL WAYS TRAVEL6505 DEMOCRACY BLVDBETHESDA MD , 20817Phone: 3015710400 Fax: [email protected]
ITINERARY SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
While onboard enjoy:❖ Rock-climbing wall❖ ShipShape® Day Spa and Fitness Center❖ Sports court with basketball/volleyball court❖ Indoor/outdoor country club with golf simulator❖ Latté-tudes,SM a specialty coffee house featuring Seattle’s Best Coffee®
❖ The Colony Club, a unique British colonial-style lounge with self-leveling pool tables❖ Casino RoyaleSM ❖ Portofino Italian Restaurant❖ Chops Grill ❖ Seaview Café❖ Themed bars and lounges ❖ Casino RoyaleSM
❖ Indian Raj-themed Solarium ❖ Adventure Ocean® youth facilities
Prices include port charges, taxes,and fees. AIRFARE TO AND FROMMIAMI, AIRPORT TRANSFERS, AND TRIPCANCELLATION INSURANCE ARE ADDI-TIONAL. Prices are based on availabilityand are subject to change. Certain restric-tions apply. Ship registered in the Bahamas.
STEVE ROBINSON will direct and teach severalsessions of bridge both during the days at sea andin the evenings. You must be a part of this group
to play in these sessions.ACBL points will beawarded, but you neednot be a bridge player tojoin us on this cruise.Once again, there will belots of opportunities forbridge as well as visitingfascinating ports of call.
WASHINGTON AREA BRIDGE PLAYERSPanama Canal
Cruise Vacation10 Night Eastbound Panama Canal CruiseDeparting 02-DEC-2005From Miami, Floridaaboard Brilliance Of The Seas
Day Ports of Call Arrive Depart1 Miami, Florida 5:00 PM2 At Sea3 At Sea4 Oranjestad, Aruba 7:00 AM5 Oranjestad, Aruba 1:00 AM6 Panama Canal (Cruising) 7:00 AM 3:00 PM6 Cristobal Pier, Panama 3:00 PM 7:00 PM7 Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 7:00 AM 7:00 PM8 At Sea9 George Town, Grand Cayman 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
We are sorry to announce the passing ofCarol Wood on April 16th. Carol was mar-ried to Jim Wood, a Washington BridgeLeague Past President and Bulletin Editorwho passed away several years ago.
LLOOK FOR UUPCOMING WWBBLLAND NNVVBBAA SSECTIONALS
Please join us at our weekly UnitGame on Thursday evenings and frequentthe local bridge clubs in the area.Information can be found on our website,www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.
22000044-22000055 WWBBLL//NNVVBBAAPPLAYER OF THE YYEAR
FFINAL SSTANDINGS
EElliiggiibbiilliittyy:: Players must attend at least threeWBL and three NVBA sectionals during thecontest period (August, 2004 through May,2005). Points won on Tournament Thursdayevenings are included in the totals, but donot count towards eligibility.AAwwaarrddss:: Two trophies will be awarded.SSttaannddiinnggss:: Here are the final standings after allnine Sectionals. The asterisk* indicates thatthe player has met eligibility requirements.
Congratulations to SStteevvee BBuunnnniinngg whocame in first with a score of 490. He wins afree entry to the Unit Game and will be invit-ed to be on a future panel. Tied for secondwere NNiikkoollaa TTcchhoollaakkoovv,, GGaaiill ZZaammbboonnii,, RReexxSSeettttllee,, JJoohhnn MMoonnttggoommeerryy and KKiieerraann DDyykkeewho tied for second with a score of 480. Tiedfor seventh were JJoosshh SShheerr,, GGeerraalldd LLeerrnneerr,,RRaavvii AArruullnnaannddhhyy and IIvvaann FFeeiitt with a score of460. Tied for eleventh were Joohhnn FFeerrmmaannand RRiicckk BBiinngghhaamm with a score of 450. Tiedfor thirteenth were RRoobbeerrtt BBeenncckkeerr,, AArrnnoollddKKlliinngg,, PPeetteerr LLoo,, WWaalltteerr BBeecckkeerrmmaann,, BBooggddaannMMiittrraann,, AArrnniiee FFrraannkkeell and JJoohhnn LLaawwrreenncceewith a score of 440. Tied for twentieth wereCChhuucckk YYaappllee,, JJaassoonn RRoosseennffeelldd,, RRoobbeerrttBBoooorrmmaann,, VViiccttoorr CCoohheenn,, DDoonniiaa SStteeeellee,, LLeeeeBBaauueerr,, CCaattaalliinn DDoorraass and RRaannddyy TThhoommppssoonnwith a score of 430. Tied for twenty-eighthwere BBeenn SSttaauussss,, BBaarrbbaarraa PPoohhll,, NNoouurrggggiieeBBaauueerr and PPeetteerr WWhhiippppllee with a score of 420.Tied for thirty-second were BBaarrrryy BBrraaggiinn,, HHaallHHiinnddmmaann,, RRaamm SSaarraannggeenn,, RRiicckk UUhhrriigg,, LLeeoonnLLeettwwiinn,, JJoossee CCoorrttiinnaa and DDaavviidd CChheecchheellaasshhvviilliiwith a score of 410. The average score of the262 solvers was 294. The average score ofthe experts was 409.
All readers are encouraged to sendanswers and/or new problems to SteveRobinson, 2891 S. Abingdon St. #A2Arlington, VA, 22206-1329. In addition tothe winner receiving a free play at the WBLUnit Game, Steve will play with anyone whogets a perfect score or who exactly matchesall five of his answers. If you send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the aboveaddress along with your answers, I will sendyou a copy of the new problems to ensure thatyou can meet his next deadline. You can pickup a copy of the problems at the WBL UnitGame in Maryland, and can send answers orrequests for problems to [email protected] can also see and answer the problems atthe WBL web site. WBL Solvers Club usesWashington Standard as published July 1996.
I personally score all the problems. If amajority of the solvers vote for an answer,and the answer is reasonable I will give thatanswer 100 points. I will not give 100 pointsto an answer that I consider bad no matterhow many experts vote for it. There are timeswhen I want to make a point. I will give thatanswer 100 points and will therefore give themajority answer 90 points. For the otheranswers I consider how good the answer isand how many experts vote for it for itsscore. If you submitted an answer that got 20points, that bid would get a bad score at thetable. A good exercise would be to figure outwhy I gave your answer 20 points. You mighthave misread the problem.
The book Washington Standard secondedition is out. If you are a serious bridgeplayer, this book is a must. You can pur-chase a copy from Steve for $25.00 at theUnit Game, at tournaments or can send hima check for $28.85 that includes $3.85 forpriority mail.
This could have been a two-part problem.What do you do now and what do you do whenthe opponents bid 5♦? East’s 2♥-bid showeda limit raise or better with diamond support.The opponents might not have many HCPs,
but they probably have distributional pointswhich means they are not going to let you playin four-of-a-major. You want to make a bidnow, which will make your five-level decisioneasier. Even though you have three-card heartsupport, this hand will not play well in heartsunless partner has at least six hearts. The keyto the hand is the spade suit but if you play inhearts you may not be able to get to dummyand all the spades will go down the drain. Youwant to strongly suggest that spades be trump.With spades as trump, most of your spadeswill score. You want to tell partner that spadesshould be trump unless he has extra hearts?2♠ won’t do the trick. 2♠ can be bid with aweak five-card suit. You should bid at least3♠. 3♠ or even 4♠ suggests at least sixspades and if you then support hearts, partnerwill know that you have long spades and min-imum heart support.
I like 3♠. 3♠ shows at least six spades,probably seven. 3♠ does not promise a heartfit but most hands would have one. 3♠ isbetter than 4♠ because it allows West todescribe his hand at the four-level and moreimportant, it allows partner to possibly showor deny spade support and show or denygood hearts at the four-level.
One expert agrees with me and bids 3♠.CChhiipp KKiinngg:: “3♠—-Partner has nine
points at most. Only a perfect placement ofcards would enable 4♠ to make. I want toclose out the bidding space before oppo-nents find both minors. Partner always hasthe opportunity to bid 4♠ if his hand hasthat potential, and he will push for game if atall possible.”
Three experts jump to 4♠. Over 4♠ thenext bid will probably be 5♦. They plan onbidding five over five, which is usually a los-ing action. At least partner knows that youhave lots of spades.
CCaappppeelllleettttii:: “4♠—-Planning to bid 5♥over five-of-a-minor. If partner has only fivehearts, he may take no spade tricks in myhand with hearts as trumps.”
PPaarrkkeerr:: “4♠—-Not that I expect it to goall pass, but this way I can bid 5♥ over 5♦or pass if partner doubles. These types ofhands play terrible in hearts if partner hastwo spades, but will play great in Spades.”
SScchhwwaarrttzz:: “4♠—-In most hands, spades
will play at least as well as hearts and I won’thave the room to explore anyway.”
Three experts bid 2♠.WWoooollsseeyy:: “2♠—-I think it is best to take
this hand slowly. If I do something like bid4♠ and one of the opponents bids 5♦, Iwon’t have the slightest idea what to do.With my approach I find out what the oppo-nents think they can make, and maybe I’llget some more input from partner like a raiseor a heart rebid. This information will helpme with my future decision.”
Woolsey has a good point. You’ll needhelp later in the auction, but you want tomake it easier for partner to support spades.3♠ is more likely to get partner’s help.
HHooppkkiinnss:: “2♠—-I am going to bid what Ihave followed by a Heart raise later.”
RRoommaann:: “2♠—-In my favorite methods3♠ would be fit-showing and I would bidthat, but if memory serves our moderatorwould call 3♠ a preempt.”
Actually I play that 3♠ is natural andshows a very good but non-forcing hand.
Three experts ignore their seven-cardspade suit. One expert splinters. Splintersshow four-card support and this hand willusually play badly in hearts.
AAddaammss:: “4♦—-If I thought 3♠ were fitshowing, I would bid that. With some part-ners it is, but in Washington Standard it isnatural and highly invitational but weak ifwe are opening side. Expect opponents tobid 5♦, and need to have shown support.”
WWiinnggffiieelldd:: “4♥—-Since you have a heartfit, you probably have game if partner has atleast ten HCPs. You are not vulnerable, getto game quickly.”
LLaannddeenn:: “3♥—-I don’t expect this handto play very well thus I will take the low road.Suits are breaking badly and partner may notbe able to use the spades effectively.”
When you have a seven-card suit, makea strong attempt to make that suit trump.22)) MMaattcchhppooiinnttss NNoonnee VVuullnneerraabbllee
3♣ 100 6 803♦ 70 2 104♣ 60 2 192♠ 40 0 405♣ 40 1 374♠ 30 0 273♠ 30 0 113♥ 30 0 26♣ 30 0 24♦ 20 0 4Dbl 20 0 19Pass 20 0 52NT 20 0 1You want to play in spades only if partner
has four spades. If partner does not have fourspades, you want to play in clubs. How doyou accomplish this? There are two ways.One is to cuebid. Cuebids generally meanthat you’re not sure which strain you belongin. Over 3♦, if partner has four spades hewill bid them. If he doesn’t bid spades, youcan bid clubs. However, cuebids showstrength. If West bids, partner might not bidspades with a bad hand. The second is to bid3♣ and then follow with 4♠. Since you bidclubs, a minor, first, your clubs must bemuch longer than your spades. What youcan’t do is bid spades first. If you bid spadesfirst and the opponents compete, you won’thave any idea how many spades partner has.This is one time when you can violate therule about bidding majors before minorswhen partner makes a takeout double. When3♣ is forcing, you’ll get a chance to bidspades later. I don’t mean that 3♣ is a forc-ing bid, I can’t see any layout of the cardswhere 3♣ would end the auction.
Five experts agree with me and bid 3♣.CCaappppeelllleettttii:: “3♣—-Then back in with
spades over three or four of red suit.”LLaannddeenn:: “3♣—-I must bid with this and
maybe should bid 4♣, but if, after bidding3♣ partner supports me I can now decidewhether to introduce spades over their redsuit bids.”
WWoooollsseeyy:: “3♣—-There will be more bid-ding, and I will have a chance to bid spadeson my next turn.”
HHooppkkiinnss:: “3♣—-I want to get my longsuit in and later I will try Spades probably at
the four-level.”AAddaammss:: “3♣—-I expect I will get to bid
spades next at the four or five-level. In therare chance the opponents pass, they get me.4♣ I might actually play. 5♣ will get me to5♠, and I’d rather buy this for 4♠ if possi-ble. Partner has to be really strong for slamto make, and he will get the chance to showstrength if I keep bidding low.”
Two experts bid 3♦. 3♦ shows strength.You don’t want partner to double the oppo-nents based upon your non-existent defen-sive strength. If you bid 3♣ and partnerdoubles the opponents, he’s doubling on hisdefensive strength.
PPaarrkkeerr:: “3♦—-This allows partner tobid a four-card spade suit if he has one. Ifnot we will play in clubs. No sense in bid-ding spades now since I can put partnerback in the picture with a cuebid.”
SScchhwwaarrttzz:: “3♦—-Partner should figure Ican’t have HCPs and it seems imperative to getpartner to play the hand if he has spades. Withpartner having some club length he should beable to handle the dummy being tapped.”
There’s no reason why you couldn’t havethe best hand at the table. Ten for opener,ten for partner, eight for RHO leaving twelvefor you.
CChhiipp KKiinngg:: “4♣—-Partner has 11 or 12points and most likely four spades. If theopponent bids 4♥, I am prepared to try 4♠.”
RRoommaann:: “4♣—-If I get the chance I willcertainly bid 4♠, but if the opponents areabout to bid 5♦, I’d better show the natureof my hand now.”
I don’t see the need to jump in clubsother than to preempt. While partner oftenhas clubs, he’s allowed to make an offshapetakeout double holding both majors.
WWiinnggffiieelldd:: “5♣—-Jump quickly to 5♣where you have an 11-card fit. Yes, youhave eight spades between you but if you bid4♠, they might bid 5♦ or 5♥ and you missyour 5♣-bid. Bidding 5♣ first, howevergives you more favorable options.”
Long suits give the opponents distribu-tional points. Therefore, you can bid a longsuit at a low level knowing that you’ll getanother chance.
Your hand increased in value ten-fold. Ifpartner holds ♠KQxx♥-♦AQxxx♣Axxx, 6♣will make more often than not. How do you tellpartner that he has struck gold? I like the bidinvented by Lou Bluhm called the Bluhmer. ABluhmer is a jump in a suit that you have bidonce and later made a bid that denies lengthin that suit. In this case, bidding 1NT deniesa good heart suit. The Bluhmer, a jump to 3♥,shows that you have nothing wasted hearts.You have four or five little hearts. Since part-ner’s bidding shows shortness in hearts, ajump in hearts can’t possibly be natural andtherefore must show club support, along withfour or five little hearts. A Bluhmer doesn’thave to be made opposite shortness.
One expert agrees with me and makes asuper Bluhmer. 3♥ is enough. Over 3♥, youcan still force to 5♣. 3♥ allows partner tobid 4♣ to show a minimum, bid 4♥ to showa heart void, bid 3♠, the Last Train, or askfor keycards by either bidding 4♦,Kickback, or 4NT RKC.
LLaannddeenn:: “4♥—-A Bluhmer. As I can’twant to play 4♥ after rebidding 1NT, this bidsays I have nothing in hearts opposite part-ner’s shortness and a huge hand in support ofclubs. Envision ♠Qxxx♥-♦AQxxx♣AKxxand slam is virtually cold. If playing withsomeone that might not understand a 4♥ bidI would settle for at least 4♣.”
One expert invents a bid. I wouldn’t figureout what 2♥ meant. Couldn’t 2♥ show Axxx?
SScchhwwaarrttzz:: “2♥—-A negative cue bid. Anexpert partner should be able to work this out,but I wouldn’t chance it in a casual partnership.”
The rest of the experts make natural clubraises, ranging from three to six.
Three experts jump to 4♣. 4♣, whileshowing strength, is non-forcing.
CCaappppeelllleettttii:: “4♣—-Partner should havebetter than minimum hand to bid over 1NTand my hand has great working values.”
AAddaammss:: “4♣—-Corollary to last months4x1. Hand definitely gets better. Still preferpassing 1NT with 4144. 3♣ is just a cour-tesy raise, 4♣ shows a super maximum andlets partner take next step to game or slam.”
RRoommaann:: “4♣—-The correct bid is actual-ly 3♥, but I wouldn’t bid it unless I was play-ing with an expert. Impossible bids like thissay “my hand just turned to gold”, and thishand certainly just did. Meanwhile, 4♣ mustshow five since partner might have three, andI’ve bid beyond 3NT so partner might intuitthat my strength likely isn’t in hearts.”
Roman mentions the Bluhmer.One expert tries slam. Can’t opener have
♠KQJx♥-♦AQxxx♣Qxxx? Try makingslam off AK of trumps.
PPaarrkkeerr:: “6♣—-I could not have betterworking cards, so why torture partner bybidding some lower number of clubs. I firstwanted to bid 4♣ then 5♣, but partner mustbe 4054. All he needs is ♠Kxxx♥-♦Axxxx♣KQxx and we have a great playfor a slam. Give him the diamond Queen andwe are laydown.”
Three experts bid game. I expect to make5♣ or at least have good play.
WWoooollsseeyy:: “5♣—-My hand just got huge. Ithink we are more likely to have a slam thango down in game, but I’m nervous about anyslow approach with all suits having been bidnaturally. Partner will know I have to havesomething like this to bid only 1NT and thenjump to 5♣, so with the right hand he mightbe able to bid slam himself.”
HHooppkkiinnss:: “5♣—-Well, for once my Heartsuit is perfect for the auction. Partner knowsmy HCP range and should guess I have twocritical cards for him. There might even beslam if partner has a good 4144 or 4054instead of a minimum. I wonder if 4♦ shouldbe Kickback in a situation such as this?”
CChhiipp KKiinngg:: “5♣—-Partner invites gameafter I showed limited values. Since I’m atthe top of my bid, and partner can have nomore than one heart, I accept his game try.”
One expert makes a wimpy bid.WWiinnggffiieelldd:: “3♣—-Partner probably has
the 4441 hand, and clubs is your only fit.Partner can pass or bid on with extra values.”
What do various spade bids mean? 3♠says that you would like to have bid 2♠ butthat ### opponent opened 3♥. That’s whypreempts work. 4♠ says that you think youcan make 4♠ opposite a hand that wouldpass a 3♠-overcall. 5♠ says that you canprobably make 4♠ but will have play for sixif partner has his share of the missingstrength. There are 16 missing minor suitHCPs and if partner club values, slam willmake. 5♠ does not ask partner to bid a slamwith second round heart control. 5♠ shows aten or eleven trick hand and asks partner tobid six of he has something. 5♠ is quantita-tive. If partner has KJxx of clubs and a fewspades, you should easily make 6♠. If hehas a fifth club, you could make seven.However, if his KQJ of a minor is in dia-monds, you might not make 4♠ but couldmake 6♠ if LHO leads his ace of diamonds.
I think bidding 6♠ is much better thenbidding a wimpy 4♠.
PPaarrkkeerr:: “6♠—-Once again why torturepartner when there is no practical way tofind out what he has. When there is no easyway to describe a hand, just bid what youthink you can make.”
Four experts jump to 4♠. Wouldn’t youjump to 4♠ if your hearts were two little? Adirect 4♠ shows good spades and guaran-tees that you will play in spades.
AAddaammss:: “4♠—-Too strong for this bid,but eliminates strain issues. Doubling thenbidding 4♠ ought to show tolerance for part-ner to correct. I’d try 5♠, but partner can’treally know which cards are good. 6♠ istempting, but random.”
CChhiipp KKiinngg:: “4♠—-Odds strongly favormaking, if partner has any values at all, andit closes out the bidding space.”
HHooppkkiinnss:: “4♠—-I’m heavy for thisaction, but I really would rather play in myseven-card suit as opposed to something likea 4-4 Club fit. It is very hard to correctlynavigate towards slam in the face of an
opposing preempt, so I’m not going to try andrisk misunderstandings.”
SScchhwwaarrttzz:: “4♠—-An underbid with allthose controls, but no other bid appeals. 5♠should ask for something in particular aspartner doesn’t know what cards would befitting. I might bid 4♥ with an understand-ing partner.”
WWiinnggffiieelldd:: “3♠—-Overcall 3♠, youhave 17 HCP, nice distribution. Invite part-ner to bid four with some values.”
Four experts double. The problem withdoubling and bidding spades, assuming itdoesn’t go all pass, is that partner will notplay you for seven almost solid spades. Iexpect that sequence to show five spades orsix bad spades. Change your hand to♠AKQxx♥Ax♦Axx♣Kxx and you wantpartner to run from 4♠ if he has shortspades and a long minor.
CCaappppeelllleettttii:: “Double—-Then bid spades– this hand is too good for mere jump to 4♠.”
Jumping to 5♠ shows a hand that is toogood for a mere jump to 4♠.
LLaannddeenn:: “Double—-And later bid 4♠unless partner shows strength. This hand istoo strong to simply jump to 4♠.”
WWoooollsseeyy:: “Double—-This probably won’thelp, but maybe I’ll find out something ofvalue. It can’t be worse than guessing howmany spades to bid outright. Who knows —on a good day, partner will respond 5♣.”
On a bad day partner has♠xxx♥Q10xx♦xxx♣Kxx and passes yourtakeout double.
RRoommaann:: “Double—-Jumping to 4♠shows a good hand, but it’s not enough withthis moose.”
Jumping to 5♠ shows this moose.When you hold a long solid major, make
Three choices. A natural 2NT, a natural3♦ or pass for penalties. If the opponentswere vulnerable, it would make more sense topass for penalties but if they take seven tricksthen +100 could be a bad score. If LHO hassix spades, he could easily take all of sixspades plus whatever tricks dummy has.Dummy’s club and heart honors will beonsides for declarer. I like 3♦, which iswhere I live. They might even compete to 3♠.
Four experts agree with me and bid their suit.PPaarrkkeerr:: “3♦—-My spades are not strong
enough to pass and I have a good four-cardsuit so why not bid it? Same bid I wouldmake playing Lebensohl. Maybe they’ll bidon and then I can double.”
LLaannddeenn:: “3♦—-My guess but pass maywell be the winner. It would help to knowLHO’s weak-two style.”
HHooppkkiinnss:: “3♦—-I think this is more thanenough. The Spade position is not friendlyfor suit play, I don’t have five+ trumps, andI have no singletons so I am being conserva-tive for now. If partner shows a good hand, Iwill cooperate.”
SScchhwwaarrttzz:: “3♦—-Tempting to pass but ifpartner doesn’t have a Spade honor theyshould have six spade tricks (an easy coup)so +300 might be hard to attain particularlyif partner doesn’t have a clear lead.”
Two experts bid 2NT. You have a tenuousspade stopper, and other than two diamondtricks you have no source of tricks and nohelp for partner’s clubs and or hearts. A nat-ural 2NT should show around ten points.
CCaappppeelllleettttii:: “2NT—-Shows some valuesand partner might have stiff spade honor.Passing 2♠ doubled could result in a one-trick set or even a make.”
CChhiipp KKiinngg:: “2NT—-West isn’t solid inspades, or he would be too strong for a 2♠opener. I want to compete, and 2NT sug-gests a spade stopper and opens the possi-bility of a 3NT contract.”
Four experts pass for penalties. If I held♠x♥KJxx♦QJxx♣KJxx, I would double2♠ and they might take ten tricks in 2♠doubled. Partner’s club and heart honors areonsides for declarer. There are other prob-lems with passing even assuming partnerdoes not have five diamonds. Partner has tolead and unless he leads a diamond, hecould blow a trick. If you pass with thishand, partner might be hesitant about mak-ing light takeout doubles.
AAddaammss:: “Pass—-Assume partner is1444. They have seven spades and we haveeight diamonds. 15 total trumps are notenough to bid. IMPs and I’d not risk this, butat matchpoints there is a decent chance thatthis is our only plus score. If partner is voidin spades and has five diamonds, then thiswill be unlucky. More likely, partner has twospades and three diamonds, and I’ve asmany spades as declarer.”
WWoooollsseeyy:: “Pass—-If I had any reason tothink that 3♦ would lead to the right contractI would bid that, but that might turn out badly.If partner has a stiff spade honor he is likely toscore it when declarer takes a losing finesse,and we could take a lot of tricks here.”
RRoommaann:: “Pass—-I’m not sure what passmeans when not playing Lebensohl, but I’mgoing to try it here.”
WWiinnggffiieelldd:: “Pass—-Convert partner’sdouble to penalties.”
If it’s close between doubling the oppo-nents and bidding a suit, think about theopening lead problem.
LLoovveennbbeerrgg1 103.47 Leo LaSota2 103.24 Steve Robinson3 86.59 Mark Shaw4 85.03 David Ruderman5 78.66 John Adams6 78.09 Alfred Steinberg7 50.25 James Geist8 49.91 Hailong Ao9 49.42 Peter Boyd
10 46.48 Barbara Shaw11 46.20 Benjamin Brill12 46.03 Earl Glickstein13 45.00 Weizhong Bao14 42.04 Dalia Kende15 41.86 William Hacker16 41.27 Jason Rosenfeld17 39.62 Yi Zhong18 39.61 Richard Wegman19 39.54 Leon Letwin20 36.86 Diane Walker21 36.60 Mark Rosen22 36.34 John Glynn23 35.27 Audrey Marbach24 34.87 Ellen Cherniavsky25 34.48 Michael Gill
GAME IS TO START PROMPTLY
AT 7:30PM
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL 301-649-1812
The Lovenberg Race is open to all WBL members; the Izzy CohenRace is open to all WBL members who started the calendar year withfewer than 1500 masterpoints; the Tubbs Race is open to all WBL mem-bers who started the calendar yearas a Non-Life Master; the WoolridgeRace is open to all WBL memberswho started the calendar year withfewer than 20 masterpoints.
Winners in each category willreceive four sessions of free plays.Second place gets two and thirdplace gets one.
This list is up to date throughJune 2, 2005 not including the UnitKO or the Fidelity and Trust RoundRobin. All points are subject to auditby the WBL Director.
22000055 TTROPHY RRACE SSTANDINGS
wwwwww..WWaasshhiinnggttoonnBBrriiddggeeLLeeaagguuee..oorrggUpdated by our Webmaster, Don Berman
0-220LESSON& GAME
GGUARANTEED
PPARTNERS!!
77::3300PM -1100::3300PM
JJOIN AANYTIME
The cost is $5. Thisincludes a 30 minutelesson by Dr. StevenForsythe followed byfun, enjoyable bridgefor players with 0-20masterpoints.
Lessons will coverslam bidding, weaktwos, 3 level+ pre-empts, overcalls,takeout doubles, neg-ative doubles, open-ing leads, and signal-ing. Each lesson willbe tailored to theneeds and interests ofthe players.
This is a great pro-gram for beginners aswell as experiencedsocial bridge players!Partners will be pro-vided if needed. Formore information callor email Steve orSandy Forsythe at(301) 592-9177 (email:[email protected])
∼ ♣♦♥♠ ∼ -- 1155 --
IIzzzzyy CCoohheenn1 50.25 James Geist2 49.91 Hailong Ao3 41.86 William Hacker4 41.27 Jason Rosenfeld5 36.60 Mark Rosen6 36.34 John Glynn7 34.48 Michael Gill8 34.40 Eugene Fisher9 33.92 Robert Ellis
10 30.30 Barry Bragin11 28.00 Kitty Gottfried12 25.85 Lloyd Rawley13 25.78 Dan Moore14 24.96 Bill Gainer15 24.59 Richard Ferrin
TTuubbbbss1 41.27 Jason Rosenfeld2 21.48 Mirsad Mujezinovic3 21.32 Neal Rosenthal4 19.96 Jian-Jian Wang5 18.57 Ellen Rosenthal6 18.42 Prem Garg7 18.42 Shyam Giridharadas8 16.99 Steven Schatzow9 16.27 Hadi Abushakra
10 16.11 Silas Wasserstrom
WWoooollrriiddggee1 13.66 Noble Shore2 6.26 Joav Steinbach3 4.08 Brian Julius4 3.53 Don Probst5 3.24 William Goldman6 3.24 Stanley Fineman7 2.98 Ronnie Sweed8 2.53 Christopher Miller9 2.49 Melba Battle
10 2.49 Ruby Brooks
-- 1144 --
UUNIT GGAME CCARPOOL AAVAILABLE
To arrange a carpool, contact Don Berman, Carpool Coordinator, at301-776-3581 or [email protected]. ....Or log on to the WBL’snew OOnnlliinnee CCaarrppooooll NNoottiicceess at: www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.
UUNIT GGAME PPARTNERS GGUARANTEED
To find a partner 1 day or more before the game, call Char-leen Brand (301-946-8483) or log on to the OOnnlliinnee PPaarrttnneerr--sshhiipp BBuulllleettiinn BBooaarrdd at: www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.
MMAP TO CCHRIST THE KKING CCHURCH
♣ UNIT GAME ♦ WBL ♥ UNIT GAME ♠ THURSDAY NIGHT ♣ UNIT GAME ♦ WBL ♥ UNIT GAME ♠ THURSDAY NIGHT
DDO YOU HAVE ANY
MUSCLE OR BRAINS
TO SPARE??
The Washington BridgeLeague could use a little ofeither! In order to keep eventsexciting and entry fees low, theWBL relies on the goodness ofour members to volunteer forsmall jobs at the Unit Gameand Sectional Tournaments.Some jobs require brains whileothers require muscle. We’ll behappy to employ either.
From setting up andbreaking down tables, to pub-licity and events develop-ment, a little effort from youwill make our bridge commu-nity even better. Busy sched-ule? No worries. Most volun-teer assignments take only 15minutes to 1 hour a month.HHeerree’’ss hhooww ttoo hheellpp::
1. Reply by email, phoneor in person if you are willingto help in any way.
2. Please indicate if you canoffer any special skills (such asmarketing or a strong back).
3. Someone will contact youshortly with a choice of assign-ments you can pick from.
BBOONNUUSS – You will be invit-ed to the summer VolunteerGathering and BBQ Party.
Thank you in advance forany assistance you can provide.
06/30/2005 ......CCLLOOSSEEDD for AAlleexxaannddrriiaa RReeggiioonnaall07/07/2005 ......Stratified North American Pairs07/14/2005 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship07/21/2005 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship07/28/2005 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship08/04/2005 ......Stratified North American Pairs08/11/2005 ......StrataFlighted Club Championship08/18/2005 ......Stratified North American Pairs08/25/2005 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship09/01/2005 ......49er NAP/StrataFlighted Unit Championship09/08/2005 ......NVBA Sectional09/15/2005 ......StrataFlighted Upgraded Club Championship09/22/2005 ......STaC Stratified Pairs09/29/2005 ......WBL Sectional10/06/2005 ......Club Appreciation Teams
It’s May 22, 2005, and you’re in Houstonhandling appeals at the U.S. BridgeChampionships. It’s mid-morning and you’reenjoying a quiet fifth session kibitzing at onetable of the USBC final. But when the Directorpokes his head in the room, grabs your atten-tion, points his finger at you with his palmturned up and begins curling it in that “comehither” motion you know it can’t be good news.
The USBCs are played entirely behindscreens, which often eliminates useful infor-mation about who on the other side of thescreen was responsible for a break in tempo(BIT). In this case, however, the screen wasirrelevant since everyone knew from the bid-ding situation who was doing the thinking.Here’s what happened. (By the way, thescreen always extends from the N-W to the S-E corner of the table, making North and Eastscreenmates as well as South and West.)
Bd: 67Dlr: South; Vul: E/W
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North led the ♣10 and 6♥ made six,+1430. The Director was called as the playerswere about to pull their hands out of the nextboard. North said East took about 4 minutes tobid 2♦, which suggested a good hand (morethan just game values) and made West’s 4♣cue-bid easier to find. The other players didnot think East 2♦ bid took as long as 4 min-utes, but the general consensus was that hetook at least 2 minutes, perhaps longer. E/Wtold the Director that they required four-cardtrump support to pre-accept a transfer, andthat it was their style to cue-bid with a three-card fit, maximum values, and good controlsover 3NT in auction like this one. (They hadno system notes to confirm this.) West said hishand was massive with its three-card support,maximum values, three aces, and ruffing valueand that the cue-bid was automatic. TheDirector ruled that although the BIT did tendto suggest extra values (at least it ruled out hisholding a routine 5-3-3-2 10-count), passing3NT was not a logical alternative at this formof scoring. Once West decided to bid over3NT, the cue-bid seemed mandatory. TheDirector allowed the table result to stand.
N/S appealed the Director’s ruling. Theappeal was heard after the next (sixth) seg-ment of the match and was done by phone (aconference call). N/S said that without systemnotes to confirm E/W’s claim that their stylewas to cue-bid with the West hand in auctionsof this sort, they questioned whether West’shand justified a cue-bid. North offered thathis own style was to cue-bid with a hand thatcontained a source of tricks (e.g., a hand witha side suit such as AKJxx) and not just onewith a maximum and controls. East said thatthis auction was not by definition a slam try,but his hand was good enough that if Westcould cue-bid over 3NT (automatic in theirpartnership with a fit, a max, and good con-trols; he insisted that a source of tricks wasnot required) he would cooperate. West alsodisagreed with North’s claim that one shouldhave a source of tricks to cue-bid in this auc-tion. (In fact he believed that was a dangeroushand type to cue-bid with). He said his handcouldn’t be better for a cue-bid with its maxi-
-- 1199 ---- 1188 --
Unit Game Chief Director TTeedd YYiinngg calledthe 2005 WBL Annual Meeting to order andintroduced WBL President DDiicckk WWeeggmmaann.
Dick recognized the efforts of all whohelped prepare the wonderful buffet dinner:CCaarroollee GGeeaagglleeyy,, KKiittttyy GGoottttffrriieedd,, EEiilleeeennHHoouugghhttoonn,, AAuuddrreeyy MMaarrbbaacchh,, BBaarrbbaarraa SShhaaww,,GGlloorriiaa SScchhuullssttaadd,, and NNaaddiinnee WWoooodd.
Dick introduced JJiimm AAlllleenn, Chairman ofthe Election Committee, who presented theslate of officers running for uncontested re-election: President (DDiicckk WWeeggmmaann), VicePresident (FFrreedd KKiinngg), Secretary (RRiicchhaarrddFFeerrrriinn), and Treasurer (SStteevvee RRoobbiinnssoonn).
Jim then presented four candidates run-ning for election for the three non-officerBoard positions up for election this year: DonBerman, Arnie Frankel, Clyde Kruskal, andJane Sturgis. After ballots were counted, thenew members of the Board were announced:DDoonn BBeerrmmaann,, CCllyyddee KKrruusskkaall,, and JJaannee SSttuurrggiiss..
Jim thanked FFrraanncceess BBuurrkkee,, AAuuddrreeyyMMaarrbbaacchh,, and GGlloorriiaa SScchhuullssttaadd for all theirwork balloting.
Dick thanked KKiittttyyGGoottttffrriieedd for her goodwork for hospitality for theWBL, and presented herwith a plaque. DickthankedRRoonn SSttaarrrrfor his
good work regarding theBridge at Schools program,and presented him with aplaque. Finally, Dickthanked SStteevvee aanndd SSaannddyy
FFoorrssyytthhee for running theThursday night lesson andnovice game concurrentlywith the Unit Game. TheForsythes’ lesson andnovice game has attracted32 to 35 players per night.They also run the enor-
mously succesful Instant Bridge Player pro-gram. Last March, the program attracted 74players! In addition to all that, Sandy hasjust taken on the responsibility of writing the
NLMaster Pointers column in this issue ofthe WBL Bulletin.
Last, but not least, Dick introduced theunit winners of the 2004 Mini-McKenneyand Ace of Clubs races.
22000044 MMINI-MMCKKINNEY
WWBBLL UUNIT 114477 WWINNERS
back, left to right: John Lowe, III, James Andre,Jason Rosenfeld, and Mark Shaw; front, left toright: Shlomit Rind and Rama Kapur
ROOKIE OF THE YEARRRaagghhaavveennddrraa RRaajjkkuummaarr
JUNIOR MASTER OF THE YEARRRoommaa CChhaannddrraa
CLUB MASTER OF THE YEARSShhlloommiitt RRiinndd
SECTIONAL MASTER OF THE YEARJJaammeess AAnnddrree
REGIONAL MASTER OF THE YEARRRaammaa KKaappuurr
NABC MASTER OF THE YEARJJaassoonn RRoosseennffeelldd
LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARRReeeessee HHoouussee
BRONZE LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARJJoohhnn LLoowwee IIIIII
SILVER LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARTTiimm CCrraannkk
GOLD LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARPPeeggggyy AAlllleenn
DIAMOND LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARMMaarrkk SShhaaww
GRAND LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARSStteevvee RRoobbiinnssoonn
22000044 AACE OF CCLUBS
WWBBLL UUNIT 114477 WWINNERS
l to r: Neal Rosenthal, John Lowe, III, RossiLindstrom, Leo LaSota
ROOKIE OF THE YEARSStteevveenn NNeesssseelleerr
JUNIOR MASTER OF THE YEAREErriicc BBeeaarrdd
CLUB MASTER OF THE YEARTTssuunngg LLeeee
SECTIONAL MASTER OF THE YEARNNeeaall RRoosseenntthhaall
REGIONAL MASTER OF THE YEARSStteevveenn SScchhaattzzooww
NABC MASTER OF THE YEARAArrtthhuurr PPooddoollsskkyy
LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARMMaarrsshhaallll KKrraammeerr
BRONZE LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARJJoohhnn LLoowwee IIIIII
SILVER LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARAAlllleenn LLoorrdd
GOLD LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARLLeeoo LLaaSSoottaa
DIAMOND LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARRRoossssii LLiinnddssttrroomm
GRAND LIFE MASTER OF THE YEARSStteevvee RRoobbiinnssoonn
mum values, good trumps, excellent controlsand ruffing value. In fact, he said he wouldstill have cue-bid if any one of the jacks wasremoved or if the ♠A was replaced with theking. He agreed with his partner that a cue-bid was automatic with his hand in their styleand said that this type of cue-bid had comeup at least 15-20 times in their partnership.
Well, there you have the facts. Consider howyou would decide this case and then read on.
First, the Committee believed that while thereis sometimes no good time to break tempo duringan auction, doing so early on to plan your actionsis far less likely to cause a problem. Here, East’spause to think before making his first bid couldindicate a number of different concerns, includ-ing: what to do with a weak five-card major (trans-fer and bid 3NT, bid Stayman to play in the majoronly if partner shows four of them, ignore themajor and just bid 3NT); whether to put partnerin four of his major with a six-card suit or offer achoice of games (as in the actual auction);whether to just blast 3NT with extra high cardvalues. As should be clear, many of the issuesEast could have been thinking about do notinvolve his holding extra values and thus do notclearly suggest cue-bidding with the West hand.(Note that an important concern is that by cue-bidding West gives potentially useful informationto the opponents on defense. This can backfire,especially when bidding a slam in an auction thatbegins like this is relatively rare.) Thus, theCommittee believed that the BIT did not demon-strably suggest making a cue-bid, even thoughextra values was one possible reason for the tray’sslow return. In addition, the Committee noted thatcue-bidding with the West hand was stronglyindicated, even for those who place a premium onconcealing information from the opponents.East’s obvious game-going values and West’ssuper hand make it unlikely that game will beplaced in seriously jeopardy even if the cue-bidhelps the opponents to get off to a good lead, andit could easily get E/W to a good slam that couldnot otherwise be reached. Finally, while theCommittee agreed with West’s cue-bid on hisactual hand, they did not necessarily agree withall the hands West claimed he would have cue-bid with. (For example, replace the ♠A with the♠K and the slam is a very poor one.) TheCommittee allowed the table result to stand.
Well, how did you do? How many of theissues the Committee addressed did you con-sider in making your decision? If you consid-ered at least some of them, maybe you’d makea good future Appeal Committee member.
Stratum C, 17 Pairs1 Alan Dockterman - Richard Cassell .64.162 Raymond Hays - Ruth Freedman . . .59.313 Satinder Gupta - Janet Coffin . . . . . .58.294 Carol Netchvolodoff - Linda Logan . .52.045 Kevin Barnes - Silas Wasserstrom . . .51.19
Stratum D, 12 Pairs1 Alan Dockterman - Richard Cassell .64.162 Raymond Hays - Ruth Freedman . . .59.313 Kevin Barnes - Silas Wasserstrom . . .51.194 John Terauds - Edvin Tums . . . . . . . .51.11
FFRRII AAFFTT NNLLMM PPAAIIRRSSStratum A, 12 Pairs
1 Patricia Minami - Juanita Beeson . . .60.422 Florence Drake - Robert Drake . . . . .57.503 Nicole Vangenhassend - Betty Palmer 55.004/5 Joseph Winterling Jr - Steven Dunn .52.504/5 Cynthia Santelli - William Gurley . . .52.50
Stratum B, 7 Pairs1 Florence Drake - Robert Drake . . . . .57.502/3 Joseph Winterling Jr - Steven Dunn .52.502/3 Cynthia Santelli - William Gurley . . .52.50
FFRRII EEVVEE FFLLIIGGHHTT AA//XX PPAAIIRRSSStratum A, 26 Pairs
1 Weizhong Bao - Hailong Ao . . . . . . . .69.442 Leo LaSota - Barbara Shaw . . . . . . . .66.153 John Adams - Steve Robinson . . . . . .61.814 Lyle Poe Jr - Mark Shaw . . . . . . . . . .58.855 Donna Rogall - Clyde Kruskal . . . . . .56.606 William Cole - Jason Rosenfeld . . . . .55.90
Stratum X, 14 Pairs1 Weizhong Bao - Hailong Ao . . . . . . . .69.44
2 Benjamin Stauss - Bill Gainer . . . . . .52.433 Hope Watts - Jane Sturgis . . . . . . . . .50.524 Tom Cogan - Joseph Trapani . . . . . . .48.615/6 James Geist - Charity Sack . . . . . . . .47.925/6 Robert Gunnell Jr - Carole Banks . . .47.92
1 Carol Netchvolodoff - Linda Logan . .60.542 Jean Morgan - John Laurim . . . . . . . .60.233 Rhona Prensky - Nelu Schwartz . . . .59.634 Mary Jane Von Moss - Robert Von Moss59.505 Helen Solomon - Rae Newman . . . . .57.256 Margaret Hurley - Louise Borden . . .57.18
Stratum C, 25 Pairs1 Carol Netchvolodoff - Linda Logan . .60.542 Jean Morgan - John Laurim . . . . . . . .60.233 Rhona Prensky - Nelu Schwartz . . . .59.634 Helen Solomon - Rae Newman . . . . .57.255 Margaret Hurley - Louise Borden . . .57.186 Arthur Podolsky - Lea Rochkind . . . .57.01
Stratum D, 12 Pairs1 Helen Solomon - Rae Newman . . . . .57.252 Bor Hsu - Tsung Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . .56.773 James Beller - Lawrence Heinen . . . .54.554 Sally Hollman - Lawrence Hollman . .53.36
FFRRII MMOORRNN NNLLMM PPAAIIRRSSStratum A, 8 Pairs
SSAATT MMOORRNN 4499EERR PPAAIIRRSSStratum A, 10 Pairs
1 David Fitzwilliam - Lorraine Tyler . . .62.502 Charles Morton - Sherri Fillinghan . .56.883 Ellie Clark - Chuck Kasten . . . . . . . .52.504 H Phillip Davis - Veronica Flynn . . .50.63
SSAATT AAFFTT FFLLIIGGHHTT AA//XX PPAAIIRRSSStratum A, 42 Pairs
1 Barbara Shaw - Ron Sukoneck . . . . .62.282 Alfred Duncker - Ann Lindley . . . . . .62.263 Vonnie Lavender - Marcia Stein . . . .60.574 Kevin Barnes - Christopher Miller . . .59.675 Charleen Brand - Eileen Theimer . . .59.166 Ronald Zucker - Richard Ferrin . . . .58.87
Stratum X, 24 Pairs1 Alfred Duncker - Ann Lindley . . . . . .62.262 Kevin Barnes - Christopher Miller . . .59.673 Ronald Zucker - Richard Ferrin . . . .58.874 Diane Walker - Rae Dethlefsen . . . . .53.655 William Hacker - Benjamin Brill . . . .53.396 Daniel Feldman - Kitty Gottfried . . . .53.26
Murat Berk - Winnie Yonkers . . . .73.003 1 Eric Nash - Joan Fitzpatrick - Gail
Morgenweck - Wilma Middleton . .71.00
TTHHUURRSS EEVVEE 330000//110000//550028 Pairs
A B C1 David Brown - Norman Cowen MD 66.292 1 1 Deborah Branch - William Gurley .57.58
3/4 2 John Graham - Susan Graham . . . .55.683/4 Helene Ramo - Barry Smith . . . . . .55.685/6 William Dillon - Paul Sullivan . . . .55.495/6 3 2 Ken Rosenthal - Susan Rosenthal .55.49
4 3 Michael Berard - Marie Berard . . .53.605 Jeanne Kuebler - Frank Kuebler . .51.52
4 Jose Porres - Michael Watts . . . . . .50.57
FFRRII MMOORRNN NNLLMM PPAAIIRRSS18 Pairs
A B C1 1 1 Jon Weintraub - Arnold Kling . . . .58.732 David Brown - Norman Cowen MD 55.833 2 2 Beth Schultheis - Dana Russell . . .55.754 3 Jose Cortina - Adam Winsler . . . . .55.565 Joan Anania - Edward Anania . . . .55.49
With this article, we are happy to intro-duce you to Sandy Forsythe and her take onthe world of non life master bridge.
BBRIDGE IS LLIKE AN OONION
Have you seen the movie “Shrek”? Youprobably remember the scene where Shrektells Donkey that ogres are like onions,because they have layers. I think bridge islike that, too.
I’m Sandy Forsythe, your new I/NColumnist. My husband, Steve, and I run theThursday night 0-20 game (or as we like tocall it, “newbie bridge”). We love introduc-ing new players to the fascinating game ofduplicate bridge. New players are one of myfavorite bridge layers!
Just as the players have layers, frombeginner to expert, so, too, does the game.Maybe you’re just starting out, and your playdoesn’t have many layers yet. You may notknow much about signaling, or endplays, orfancy bidding conventions. Or any conven-tions! That’s okay; you can still play thegame. Add a new layer whenever you’reready, and don’t be intimidated by playerswho are more experienced. They were begin-ners once!
Don’t let anyone tell you you have to playlimit raises, or Michaels, or the Vulcan Club...There are a few things you and your partnerdo need to agree on, such as how many pointsyour 1NT opening promises, and whetheropening one of a major promises four or five.(Popular bidding systems like StandardAmerican and Two-Over-One can help youmake these decisions…but don’t feel that youneed to embrace the entire system at once.)We encourage our students to play Stayman,Jacoby transfers and strong 2♣ openings, butyou don’t have to play them, as long as youand your partner are speaking the same lan-guage! Don’t make a bid that’s going to con-
fuse your partner, even if it’s the “right” bid orthe best bid. Sometimes bridge players haveto tell white lies!
NNoottee ffoorr iinntteerrmmeeddiiaattee ppllaayyeerrss:: the WBLhad a workshop in March on “How to Findand Keep Good Partners.” A handout fromthis workshop, about discussions to have withyour partner, will help you figure out if you’respeaking the same language. It’s availableonline at http://www.districtsix.org/WBL/Novice/Victory%20Workshop/Victory.html.
By the way, if your opponent makes a bidyou don’t understand, or alerts a bid, youcan ALWAYS ask the partner of the personwho made the bid what it means. Ask any-time it’s your turn to bid, or when the auctionis over and it’s your turn to play a card. Theyhave to explain their agreement if you ask,and in terms you can understand. But if theyhave no agreement about the bid, he’ll say“We haven’t discussed that.” He may have aguess, but he doesn’t have to guess for you.
Bridge is like an onion: peel a layer, finda novice. Peel a few more layers, and nowthat novice is an intermediate. Peel a layer,find someone who’s just trying to rememberwhich suit is trump. Peel a few more layers,and now that same player is watching part-ner’s signals and making a defensive plan.The deeper you go, the more interesting thisgame gets!
In the movie, Donkey says that onionsaren’t the only things that have layers: par-faits have layers, too. Bridge is like an onion,but also like a sweet, tasty parfait. Dig in!
♣♦♥♠Chcck out the friendly 0-20 game at the
Unit Game. Come any Thursday, no partnerrequired. See p. 14 or email Sandy for addi-tional info. Advanced beginners may also beinterested in the Suit Yourself Bridge Clubthat Sandy runs with her husband, Steve.
SSTEPPING UUP TO NNEW HHEIGHTSAs of June 1, 2005
JJuunniioorr MMaasstteerrss ((55 MMaasstteerrppooiinnttss))Ronald Bush Claude Caldwell
Louis Coccodrilli Lawrence Hollman
Margot Howar Adam Jessell
Leslie Jessell Ronnie Loeser
Richard Majewski Robert Moss
John Oosterhout Hanita Schreiber
Gerald Stone Shawn Stringer
Zack Turley Michael Watts
CClluubb MMaasstteerrss ((2200 MMaasstteerrppooiinnttss))Marie Berard Michael Berard
NNaattiioonnaall MMaasstteerrss ((220000 MMaasstteerrppooiinnttss))Lily Andre Anne Derbes
Mary Lafferty Ellen Rosenthal
Neal Rosenthal Robert Schwab
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