The British

Bridge World

February 1962 •

Changing Probabilities in Practice, by Col. R. L. Telfer

Th(• Talk of Torquay, by J. Van den Borre

tight Opening Bids in the World Championship, by "Analyst"

Scotland v. England, by George Baxter

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"·Not exactl"'r ~

sunny South, is lae?'' said North

"You have to de-ice before every deal, his house is so cold," growled West, wincing.

cc You might as well expect a Vienna coup at .wery hand as expect warmth at his table,n said North numbly.

"Well, if he doesn't want to eliminate me from his table, the sooner he puts in an automatic boiler the better," ·East exclaimed.

<< Tell him to pick a Potterton boiler. I did,n declared North.

"So did I ," said West warmly.

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2

The British Bridge World SUCCESSOR TO THE CONTRACT BRIDGE JOURNAL:

MEDIUM FOR ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION NEWS

VOLUME 13

Edited by

TERENCE REESE

February 1962

Editorial Board

NUMBER 2

BERNA RD WESTALL (CHAIRMAN)

GEOFFREY L. BUTLE R K ENNETH KONSTAM

TER ENCE REESE ALBERT D ORM ER

ADVERTISING AU enquiries should 1-e addressed to the

ADVERTISING MANAGER, THOMAS DE LA RUE & CO. LTD., 92 Middlesex Street, E.l

All other correspondence, including Subscriptions, to the Publishers: Moore Batley Ltd., 35 Dover Street, London, W.l Hyde Park 3601-2

Annual Subscription 35/ ·

The British Bridge World is published on the 15th of each month

Publi<hl'd aud prillll'•f on bl'lwlf of the proprlnors Thomas De La RuP & Co. Ltd., by Moor~ Batfl'y Lttf. 35 Dovu Strl'l'l, Landon, W. l

February, 1962

Contents

Editorial

Masters Pairs Result

Changing Probabilities in Practice, by Col. R. L. Telfer

The Talk of Torquay, by J. Van den Borre

Report on Bridge Pool C ...

Repeat of January Problems

London and the South, by Alan Hiron

Scotland v. England, by George Baxter

Par Point Olympiad (2), by Terence Reese

Page

5

·6

7- 10

10-14

15

16

17- 23

24-25

25- 27

Light Opening Bids in the World Championship, by "Analyst" 28- 29

You Say . . . 30-32

One Hundred Up: February Problems

Directory of E.B.U. Clubs .. .

E.B.U. List of Secretaries .. .

One Hundred Up: Answers to January Competitio n

Result of January Competition

E.B.U. Results

E.B.U. Master Points R egister

Subscription Form

Diary of Events

4

32- 33

34

35

36-44

44

44-46

46

47

48

Editorial NO LACK OF VOLUNTEERS

As announced last month, Britain's representatives in the World Olympic Pairs will consist of the two front pairs in the Masters Pairs (see overleaf), two winners from a free-for-all on March 3 and 4, one pair from Wales and one from Scotland. We shall need a strong force to put up against, say, the French, for whom Jais-Trezel and two other first class pairs have already qualified.

Financial considerations under­lay the whole plan, and no doubt the E.B.U. had a tricky view to take. It would not have been difficult, 1 feel, to find six of our best pairs who would have been willing to pay their own expenses to play at Cannes in the spring.

PREPARATION

As this issue comes out, our team in New York will be nearing the end of the battle. Whatever the result, this team has taken much more trouble than any before to make itself familiar with the opposition systems. Who knows, if we had done that in the past we might have saved some of those close matches against the Italians.

5

REVISION

On page 15 appears tbe result of our third Bridge Pool. This pro­motion earned much publicity in America and elsewhere, but the support has not quite justified its continuance on the present scale. We have studied the lessons, and when we resume it the cost of a line will be less, there will be more prizes, and maybe the hands will be set on a different principle.

LUCKY DIP

The organisers of the inter­national pairs tournament at Vichy on June 2 and 3 have once again most generously offered free hotel accommodation for the week-end for two readers of the B.B.W. Please send in your requests shortly, and a ballot will be held in a few weeks' time.

GLAD YOU CAME ALONG

" I have a Crockford's Cup match to-night," said Mrs. Pat Albuquerque to her husband one morning at their home in Surrey.

"I've got nothing on, I'll come and kibitz," said her faithful spouse.

On arrival he found that he was a member of the opposing team, captain Collings having neglected to inform him.

STOP PRESS

Masters Pairs Re~sult After a very close fin ish between the two leading pairs, Reese and

Schapiro won by 3 poihts from Rose and Gardener. Preston and Swimer were third, Crown and Collings fourth, Dormer and Riming­ton fifth , Sharples and Sharples sixth.

Farrington and Miezis finished best of the provincial pairs and Frank Farrington (~olton) has attained to Life Master status.

Alan Hiron will report on the Masters Pairs ne)l:t month.

European Championship. It was announced during the Masters Pairs that should the British team win the world championship it would be chosen automatically to represent Britain in the European Champion­ship to be played in the Lebanon. Otherwise trials, open in the first place to National Masters, will begin in March.

JUST PUBLISHED

POKER- GAME OF SKILL By TERENCE REESE and ANTHONY WATKINS

18s

How to Play

Jackpots - Freak Pots - Miseres

Straight Poker - Stud - Choice Pots

How to Organize

A Private Game - A Club Game

Published by Faber & Faber, 24 Russell Square, W.C.l.

6

Changing Probabilities in Practice

by CO LONE L R. L . TEL FE R

A great deal has appeared in these pages on the variation of probabilities during play. There has in fact been so much of inter­est to students of theory that the mere player may have wondered where he comes in.

One of the simplest examples of changing probability occurs m

the following unusual deal.

+ Q ted

NORTH ·­<v> 642 0 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 + A

SOUTH

+ A K Q J 10 54 3 2 <v> A Q 0-+ 32

instead of the initial 40 per cent. In addition there is the small probability that a defender with a singleton diamond will be void of trumps. On the other hand, the finesse in hearts has a prob­ability of 48 per cent if West does in fact lack + K. The odds are rathe1 less than 48 to 46 in favour of finessing <v>Q. Declarer must be specially alert for any other inferences.

Suppose now that North's dia­monds in this example had been headed by AKJ instead of AKQ. What significance would the play of the Queen on the first round then have?

Depending on the quality of the opposition, one gets three different answers:

After vigorous bidding by North-South and silence from Against weak opponents the East-West, South plays in Seven play of the Queen would denote a Spades. The opening lead of + Q singleton. is won in dummy. Both oppo- Against good opponents the nents follow to ()A, South dis- play of the Queen would actually carding a club. increase the chances of a 2- 2

To continue with O K will break. This is because a player obviously win if the suit breaks with Qx would often play the 2-2, and the chance of this Queen, and Qx is a commoner division is now about 45 per cent holding than Q alone.

7

Against expert opponents the play of the Queen would give nothing away, because these players, sensing declarer's dilem­ma, would be capable of the brilliant play of the Queen from Qxx as well as from Qx.

The following deal offers a contrast to the foregoing. De­clarer now lacks one clearly significant card-that is to say, a card which it would be to the obvious disadvantage of a de­fender to play voluntarily.

North dealer East-West game

WEST

NORTH

• 10 9 3 ~62 0 A K Q 10 3 + K4 2

EASr + KQ842 ~ K 8 74

+ A J 7 6 ~ Jl09 <> J 8 7 • 7 53

<> 9 6 2 + 6

SOUTH . 5 ~ A Q53 <>54 + AQJ 1098

The bidding was: SOUTH NORTH

10 2+ 2 0 2~ 3+ 5+ 6+

West Jed + K and South ruffed the second spade. H e played + A

8

and + Q, followed by two top diamonds. When O J did not fall he reckoned that, as the chance of a 3- 3 break in diamonds was on ly 36 per c;ent, he would do better to rely on the finesse in hearts. He therefore ruffed 03, entered dummy with + K and cashed O Q and <> 10, discarding his two low hearts. He then finessed ~Q, g;oing one down.

Playing ou1t diamonds, after drawing the :last trump, has a slightly better chance, which South failed to appreciate. The proba­bilities of the diamond distribu­tion are:

per cent 1

15 4-2 with Jack doubleton 16

6-0 5- 1

4-2 with Jac:k guarded 3- 3

32 36

When oppoments have followed low to two ro1unds, the first three distributions atre eliminated. We see odds of 36 to 32 on a 3-3 division. And 36 to 32 is obvi­ously better· than 50-50. South failed to allow for the change of probability after two rounds when the Jack had not appeared.

A third line of play is to cash three top diamonds before draw­ing the last trump. This will succeed if the diamonds arc 3-3 and also if East has four and ~K.

On the other hand the contract

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9

will go down two or three if West (as is more probable) has four diamonds.

It is interesting to compare the previous deal with the example constructed by Mr. Reese for "You Say" in December, 1961.

WEST EAST

+ AKxxxx + Jxx ~ K X ~A 10 X X X

OAQJ Oxxx . Ax . XX

West plays in Six Spades. He wins the club lead, draws trumps in two rounds and plays ~K and

~A. If both opponents follow low, the possible distributions of hearts, with approximate a priori probability, are:

(a) Qxx opposite Jxx 22 per cent

(b) QJxx opposite xx 20 per cent

Consequently if neither oppo­nent would play an honour un­necessarily (not that this follows), the probability of a 3-3 division has increased! to just over 52 per cent. It would then be advisable to ruff a third heart and, if the suit failed to break, hope that South had 0 K doubleton.

The Talk of Torquay by J. VAN DEN BORRE (Bela~um)

Torquay was a delightful place, the tournament was excellently organised, and everyone there enjoyed it.

In this article I propose to describe hands from various matches that created special inter­est in the Press room.

A hand on page 33 of the Bulletin was described as the best played hand of the tournament, but in view of the excellent play in both rooms I am inclined to think that this deal from Switzerland v. Belgium is more deserving of that title.

10

South dealer Love all

NOIRTH ·--~ A 10 7 4 2 OKJ64 • K 10 6 4

WEST

+ KQJ9842 ~8

EAST + A 10 7 6 53 ~ KJ9 6 0-0 Q9

. Q 3 2 . A95 SOUTH ··-~ Q53 0 A 10 8 7 53 2 • J 8 7

The bidding in the closed room, where the Swiss were East-West:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

De Berna- Melon Ortiz Ljege No No No

sconi No 4+ No

1\? No No

After this enterprising auction the lead was the Ace of diamonds.

Ortiz ruffed in hand, crossed to dummy with a spade, and led the singleton heart from the table. North played low (best defence, for if he goes up with the Ace, then declarer can develop two heart tricks), and the King won.

Declarer now eliminated all his hearts, entering his hand with spades each time, then led O Q from table, discarding a club when North played the King of dia­monds. That left North on play: he led a club and declarer let it run to the Queen.

980 to Switzerland, and well played, Jimmy.

At the other table the bidding was still more competitive:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

Bardola Polak Jacobi Rubin No 1+ Dble. Re-

Dble. 30 4+ 50 6+ No No No Now it was North's lead, and

he began with the 6 of diamonds. Polak made the same play in

11

hearts as at the other table, and after he had ruffed diamonds twice he arrived at the following position :

WEST

• J 9 <:? -0-+ Q 3 2

NORTH ·­\? A OK + K 106

SOUTH ·­<:?-0 A 10 + J 8 7

EAST + A <;? J o­+ A9s

West now played the Jack of spades, and North was squeezed. Had he let go a club, declarer would have ducked the second round to the King. In practice he threw a diamond and was then thrown in with the Ace of hearts and forced to lead a club.

980 to Belgium, and well done, Ebi Polak.

According to other accounts of this hand, the declarer followed the slightly superior course of a loser­on-loser elimination. If in the diagram situation the lead is with East, the heart can be led and a club discarded.- T. R.

How to lose 35 I. M.P. on one board The maximum swing under the

new scale is 25 !.M.P. We think that the Swiss set up an all-time record by losing, in effect, 35 !.M.P. on a single deal.

As you might imagine, it was board 13 of the match, Switzer­land- Egypt.

South dealer Game all

NORTH

+ K Q J 10 7 \:} 10 9 8 6 4

WEST

+ A32

0-+ AQS

EAST

• 54 \:} K2 OAK9543 + 102

\:}AQJ5 OJ10762 • J 6

SOUTH

• 9 8 6 \:} 7 3 0 Q8 + K98743

According to the official record, this was the bidding in the open room:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

Ortiz Schmeil Berna- Gress

No No No No

sconi 20 No

In fact, there had been con­fusion of various kinds. East had bid Three Diamonds, but Ortiz had understood Two and had come in with Two Spades. West,

12

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playing in an untrained partner­ship, thought that his partner's Three Diamonds was weak and so did not compete with Five Diamonds.

After much. discussion the tournament director was called and ruled that the hand should be played in Four Spades, the bidding to be shown as understood by the scorer.

North made Four Spades by way of four spade tricks and six club tricks, for a score of 620.

At the otliler table North doubled the opening bid, spades were never m entioned, and the Swiss pair scored 600 for Five Diamonds bid and made. That was a swing of 17 l.M.P.

Before the second half of the match was played, the tournament committee ruled that the board should be replayed. This was the new board :

See next page In the closed room Zananiri,

for Egypt, opt;:ned Four Hearts. Gursel, West, made the rather strange decision to double, and all passed. West opened + A, followed with OA, and then a

South dealer Game all

NoRTH + J109 8 <:? 9 87 0 K4 2 . KQ4

WEST + AKQ 65 <:? 6 2 O A . J9 653

SOUTH + 2

EAST • 74 3 <:? Q 01 07 653 • A 10 8 7

<:? A K J 10 5 4 3 0 Q J 9 8 .2

small club, won by East's Ace. It was not easy for East to place his partner with five spades to the AKQ, so he returned a spade. Contract made, 790 to Egypt.

At the other table West over­called Four Hearts with Four Spades and made it after the lead of + J. The swing now, 18 to Egypt. Despite this loss, Switzer­land won the match 5- l.

If you " psyche", do it with good and lucky partners

The Belgian teams, both open and ladies, did not play very well this year, and they had bad luck too. The two hands that follow are twins. The first is from Belgium v. France in the ladies event.

East dealer Love all

Wfl>T

NORTH + AKQ64 <:? A 4 O Q . AQ873

EAST • J 3 2 • 10 8 5

<:;1875 08 7 652 . 95

<:? Ql09 0 AJ 9 3 • J 102

13

SOUTH • 97 <:;!KJ632 0 K 104 . K64

The bidding in the closed room, where Belgium was East-West:

SOUTH WEST NoRTH EAST De Tern- Kover Martin Des-merman warte

10 No 30 4 0 No 4<:? No 4+ No No No

The opening bid was not in­tended as a psychic, but Mme. Deswarte was in an awkward decision when after several sec­onds she found that everybody was waiting for her call. To avoid any criticism of a "slow pass", she opened One Diamond. Her partner's pre-emptive raise made it hard for North-South to reach their slam.

Belgium should have gained at

least 9 points on the board, but they lost I 1 instead, for at the other table:

SOUTH

Myrans No 3\? S+ 6. No

NORTH

Moulia 2. 4+ 6+ 7.

Not being a pupil of Mr. Priday, East was old-fashioned enough to lead her Ace of dia­monds. France gained a swing of 11 points.

The bidding by the Belgium pair would seem to have been exemplary up to Six Clubs. What Mrs. Myrans meant by Six Spades is difficult to understand : Miss Moulia took it to be an invitation to the grand slam.

The hand is very interesting and I would be very glad to hear what Acol experts would have made of Six Spades in this sequence.

(One would take South f or some­thing like J10x of spades and assume that he had taken the opportunity to show the King of clubs on the way. But surely the only grand slam try would be Six Diamonds: that, since it carried the bidding beyond Six Clubs, would indicate tolerance of Six Spades.-T.R.)

And here is the " twin", from Germany-Belgium in the Open:

South dealer Love all

N ORTH

+ 87432 <y> 10 7 6 0 76543 ·-W EST

+ KQ9 <y> AJ4 2 0 Q 10 • J 8 7 6

E AST

+ AJ <y> KQ 8 5 O AK

. + A K 10 4 3 SouTH

• 10 6 5 <y> 9 3 0 1982 + 09 52

The Belgian North opened One Spade third in hand. East over­called with 2NT and the final contract was Five Clubs, made with an overtrick.

At the other table the Belgian West opened and the bidding went:

14

WEST E AST

De Liege I+ 2\? so 7NT

M elon 1\? 4NT 5NT

The final bid is puzzling on the surface, but with 37 points it was not surprising that the grand slam was reached.

One down and 50 points to North-South.

A well ( ?) deserved swing of 10 !.M.P. to Germany.

/

Report on Bridge Pool C This was the problem:

Love all East deals

WEST EAST

I+ 10 I+ 3+ 40 4. 5\? 7+ No

West's hand: + A \?8532 0 K 10 3 + A9752

What was East's hand?

Two factors point to East's Five Hearts denoting a void rather than a singleton Ace. One is that he has bid clubs, then spades, and then leapt in dia­monds, which doesn't leave much room for hearts; the other, and more significant, is that he bid only One Spade on the second round, yet later made a grand slam try despite a non-forcing Three Clubs from his partner. Only the prospect of an except­ional fit would account for that.

The hand is based on a de~l

played in the early 1950s and used as a bidding test in the Contract Bridge Journal. The two hands on the original occa­sion were :

W EST

+ A \?8532 0 K 10 3 + A9752

E AST

+ KQJ4 \?­O A 865 + K 10 8 6 4

Since the grand slam try would be doubtful on this club holding, the clubs were strengthened by substituting the Jack for the 6, making the answer to the pro­blem:

15

+ KQJ4 \?- OA865 + KJ1084.

Several competitors had the distribution right but attributed unnecessary strength to the dia­monds. East did not force over the diamond response, nor did he try to play the hand in dia­monds.

The prize is divided, £25 each, to two competitors whose varia­tions extended only to two Jacks or a Jack and a 10.

J . Hibbert, Twickenham: +KQ73 \?- OA852 +KJ853.

A. G. Wilson, Newcastle--on­Tyne: + KQ86 \?- OAJ84 + KJ1043.

Many varied by a Queen and a Jack or a Queen and a 10. Bad luck especially for Mrs. M. J. Lambert (Worthing), Miss Cop­son (Edinburgh), and J. Morgan (Solihull).

Below we reproduce the J anuary problems

P roblem No. 1 (10 points) Problem No. 5 (10 points)

Match-point pairs, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH WEST

No ? South holds:-

NORTH EAST No No

+ 82 <yl4 OKQ5 + KJ109763. What should South bid'!

Problem No. 2 (10 points)

I .M.P. scoring, North-South vulner­able, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH WEST · NORTH

4<yl

South holds:-

10 No

EAST 3<yl No

+ AQI 098 <yl7 0 I098 + KQ73. What should South bid?

Problem No. 3 (IO points)

Match-point pairs, game all, the bidding has gone:-SoUT~ WEST

'! South holds:-

NORTH EAST 30

+ KQJ1084 <VlA OA2 + AQ53. What should South bid?

Problem No. 4 (20 points)

R ubber bridge, love all, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH WEST l<yl

? South holds :-

NORTH 2+

EAST 2<yl

+QJ62 <yl8654 OAK43 + Q. (a) What should South bid? (b) What should South bid if East had

bid T wo Spades instead of Two Hearts?

I.M.P. scoring, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SouTH WEST I + No l<yl No '! South holds:-

NORTH 10 3+

EAST No No

+ A53 <ylAJ741 OJ83 + A92. What should South bid?

Problem No. 6 (1 0 points)

Match-point pairs, love bidding has gone:-

SouTH WEST I + Dbl. 1+ No ? South holds:-

NORTH Redbl. 2NT

all, the

EAST 10 No

+ AQ843 <yl6 O Q + KQ8742. (a) D o you agn~e with South's bid of

One Spade. If nc•t, what alternative do you prefer?

(b) What should South bid now?

Problem No. 7 (lO points)

Rubber bridge, game all, the bidding

16

has gone:-SOUTH WEST' IO I + ? South holds:-

NORTH 2 +

EAST No

+ 54 <ylA97 <>Q9632 + AK4. What should S<>uth bid?

Problem No. 8 (JIO points)

I.M.P. scoring, East-West vulnerable, the bidding has g•one:-

SOUTH WES1' NoRTH

No s+

10 No 2<yl D b!. No No

No No No South holds:-

EAST 1<yl 4<yl 5<yl

+ 93 <Vl84 OK2 + 9765432. What should Soouth lead'!

London and the South by ALAN _HlRON

DROITWICH CONGRESS

Congress pairs for Foster Cups: Mr. and Mrs. P. Juan.

Hayward Cup (teams of four): 1st Mrs. Dixon-Green, Mrs. Har­till, Mrs. Lovell and Mrs. Davies (split tie).

2nd: J. Collings, R. Crown, A. Dormer and D. Rimiogton.

Littleford-Mealey Cup: Mr. and Mrs. Briscoe, Mrs. Gardener and F. C. Keates.

Flitch: Mr. and Mrs. Andrews.

Hayward Bowl (mixed teams of four): Mrs. Davies, H. Franklin, J. Spurway and G. Griffiths.

Enough southern names, I hope, to justify inclusion in this feature!

As my partner had been un­expectedly detained in London I was allowed to act as a substitute for J. Collings in the qualifiying round of the Championship Pairs when his train was delayed. Mindful of my responsibility (as Collings and Crown were the holders of the trophy) I felt particularly foolish in going down in a cold contract on our second board.

East dealer North·South game

17

WFST • 43

NORTH + KQ8 '\/A 7 2 O-A6 3 + A 10 9 4

EAST + A 52

<y> 8 3 OJ9872 + QS 52

<y> K Q J 10 9 5 0 Q 10 54 ·-·souTH

• J 10 9 7 6 <y> 54 OK + KJ763

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST I<y>

No No Dble. 20 3+ 40 4+ No No No

Favoured with the lead of <y>S I had only to tackle trumps and, having obtained an accurate count of the opponent's distribution, take the right club view for a peaceful eleven tricks. However, beset by the greed that blinds players in pairs events, I cashed 0 K and tried to cross to dummy's + A in order to obtain a heart discard. Unlucky! This horrible play was unjustly worth a joint top. It appeared that all the

other players in Four Spades had done just the same and one or two had been over-ambitious, playing in a very reasonable Six Clubs and for some reason going two off. After the event my temporary partner very kindly said that if his partner's train had been delayed just a bit longer they might have qualified, but in view of the above effort he could not have meant it.

During the same event I came across Albert Dormer gazing dis­consolately at a travelling score­sheet. It related to this board:-

South dealer Game all

WEST

NORTH

+ A K 10 9 5 (:} JlO 0 KQ3 + AK4

EAST

+ J (:} A6542 0 10 8 6 2 • 9 6 3

+ Q8743 (:} 9 8 0 A 54 • 10 52

SOUTH

• 62 (:}KQ73 0 J 9 7 • QJ 8 7

He and his partner had played in Three No Trumps after the bidding North-I+ , South- ! NT, North- 3NT. The opponents had unimaginatively cashed their red

18

Aces and left him with a very poor score. Elsewhere it seems that East-West had co-operated by taking the Ace of hearts early on and ducking two rounds of diamonds. Now when declarer played off his winners East be­came squeezed out of his OA or his spade guar,d.

WHITELAW WEEKEND

This event was convincingly won by the slllort-priced favour­ites, Mrs. Ma1·kus, Mrs. F. Gor­don, Mrs. Corwen, Mrs. Oldroyd, Mrs. Whitaker and Mrs. Higgin­son, who defea1ted Mrs. Fleming's team (Mrs. M~oss, Mrs. Williams, and Mrs. Alde:r) by 27 I.M.Ps. in the final round. The consolation event, the Ladies' Plate, was played this ye:ar as a nine-table multiple teams-of-four and was narrowly won by Mrs. Forbes' team (Miss Coen, Mrs. MacDon­nell, Mrs. P. Gardener).

A new feature of the weekend was that the John Hirst Trophy was offered this year to the winners of a one-session ladies' pairs event, played while the Whitelaw semii-finals were in pro­gress, and this was well won by Mrs. Poisson and Mrs. Nell Kahn

First round of Whitelaw

A preliminary round was played on the Friday afternoon to reduce

the 33 entered teams to 32 but the first round proper got under way in the evening. This saw the departure of Mrs. Craig's team (previous winners of the event) and Mrs. Dixon-Green's team (winners of the open teams-of-four at Droitwich this month) who were beaten by Mrs. Hannam's team by the narrow margin of 38-37.

A nice safety play was found by Mrs. D urran (playing in Miss Shanahan's team):-West dealer North-South game

NORTH

+ K 8 7 <:?-0 A K J 10 7 4 + Al083

W FST EAST

• Q 106 5 • -<:/ 10 9 8 6 <:/ K Q J 54 3 2 0 83 0 52 + 74 2 + KQJ6

SOUTH

+ AJ943 2 <:/ A 7 0 Q 9 6 • 9 5

T he bidding, with Mrs. Durran and Mrs. H iron sitting South and North respectively, was short and to the point:­Sou TH W EsT

N o

No No

N ORTH EAST

I 0 4<:/ 6+ N o

West liked the look of her trump holding and decided not to sacri­fice. She led <:/10, Mrs. D urran won in hand with the Ace and successfully finessed + 7. Now, as West held two diamonds, declarer was able to use her two diamond entries to ruff her losing heart before clear.ng West's trumps. A club lead would have left South with no resource but this would have been a difficult lead to find. I n the other room North-South adopted a slower approach and Mrs. Juan and Miss Shanhan sacrificed m Seven Hearts as an insurance policy, losing only 700 points for a gain of 6 I.M.Ps.

Second round

Mrs. Hannam's team provided an even bigger surp rise in this round by beating Miss Shanahan's team by 16 l. M.Ps. in a match for the " bidder-uppers." . Mrs. Forbes' experienced team also bit the dust when they were unfortu­nate enough to draw Mrs. Flem­ing. Now only Mrs. Markus and Mrs. Fleming remained of the seeded teams (or more accurately teams tha t would have been seeded had there been any seed­ing).

19

Quarter Fina ls

Mrs. Markus beat Mrs. Hannam 80-14

WEUH BRIDGE UNION LLANDUDNO CONGRESS

(Headquarters Imperial & Marine Hotels) May 3rd- May 6th, 1962

(pre-<:ongress events April 30th-May 2nd)

MASn!ll POINTS ON NATIONAL CONORESS SCALES FOR .1\LL BVBNTS

Write for brochure: Mrs. H. Newton, 21, Sandringham Road, Wrexham

Mrs. Fleming beat Mrs. Carmichael 33-19

L Mrs. Harris beat Mrs. Chope 60-28

Mrs. Symons beat Mrs. Ainger 46-31

There were no great surprises here-Mrs. Markus making no mistake about beating the giant­killers of the previous round. One hand from this match caught myeye:-West dealer Loveall

NORTH • 8 3 <y>A Q96 2 0 A K63 + K8

W FST EAST

• KQ 1076542 +-<yl5 <yl 104 0Q7 OJ9852 + A 3 + J 10 9 6 5 2

SouTH + AJ9 <y>KJ873 0 10 4 + Q74

20

West in both rooms opened with a bid of Four Spades which was doubled by North. Whereas the Markus team was satisfied with a penalty of 300 (it could have been 500) the opposing South in the other room took a different view and removed the double to Five Hearts. Now Mrs. Whitaker and Mrs. Higginson in partnership lead Ace from Ace­King, so on the lead of • K it was not too difficult for East to trump and p1Ut her partner in with + A for a second spade ruff. It is interesting to note that even if the .Jead might be from the Ace-King it would still be correct to trump as the best hope of defeating the contract would seem to be that West should hold + A and not + A.

Semi-finals

When the draw for this round kept Mrs. Markus and Mrs. Fleming apart it looked very much as though they would be

meeting in the final. Events proved this forecast to be correct as they both had comfortable wins.

The Final

A good tactical raise by Mrs. Markus seemed likely to earn points on this deal:-

South dealer East-West game

NORTH

+ KJ 5 \? Q4 0 K J 10 6 4 + 10 8 3

WEST

+ 7 \? K 10 52 0A9873 + KQ4

SOUTH

EAST

• 8 6 \?A J9874 05 + A972

+ A Q 10 9 4 3 2 \?6 0 Q2 + J 6 5

Mrs. Gordon sitting South opened Three Spades and her partner raised pre-emptively to Four. This effectively kept East from bidding and the loss of 100 points seemed very satisfactory in view of the fact that East­West could make Six Hearts. However this result was dupli­cated in the other room and after eight boards Mrs. Fleming led by 1 !.M.P. This state of

21

affairs did not last for long how­ever as Mrs. Markus and Mrs. Gordon started to put the pressure on. A thin vulnerable Three No Trumps was made, taking full advantage of a defensive slip, then came:-North dealer East-West game

WEST

NoRTH

• Q 10 9 7 \? Q 8 OJ7532 + Q3

EAST

• J6 • 53 2 \? K 6 3 0 Q84 + A 764

\? 10 7 52 0 A K 109 + 8 52

SOUTH

+ AK84 \?AJ94 06 + K J 10 9

With Mrs. Fleming and Mrs. Moss North-South the bidding went thus:-SouTH WEST

I+ 2NT No

No

No

No

NORTH

No

10 3NT No

EAST

No No Dble.

On the directed diamond lead this contract went two down doubled, where North-South had a good play for Four Spades. South's Two No Trump rebid, while not appealing to the scientific bidder, was undoubtedly

a tactical stroke aimed at inducing a favourable major suit lead and might have succeeded had it not been for East's imaginative double. The gain was not as large as it might have been for in the other room:-SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

No No I. No 10 No

·~ No JN:Y No 2NT No 3NT No No No

This Three No Trump contract was also two off but not doubled. Both players had opportunities to bid spades, but one can under­stand their reasons for not so doing.

After sixteen boards Mrs. Mar­kus led by 15 I.M.P.s. Then came this clever defence by Mrs. Gordon:- ·

See next column North opened with a bid of

One Diamond and Mrs. Fleming in the South seat bid a direct Four Hearts. Mrs. Gordon led her singleton diamond and ruffed the diamond return. Now she cashed her Ace of spades before playing . 9. Declarer now refused to try the club finesse, hoping instead that the oustanding trumps would break 2-2 when she would be able to draw trumps in two rounds ending on the table and take a marked ruffing finesse against the OQ. If West had not cashed her

22

North dealer East-West game

NORTH + KQ4 ~K6 01108632 . AQ

WEST EAST + A J 72 + 10853 ~10854 ~7 04 0 A Q95 • K9 7 3 • J 8 52

SOUTH • 96 ~ AQJ932

0 K 7 . 1064

+ A before lea.ding a club, de­clarer would have had no problem - she would have been forced to take the club finesse. Perhaps this line should lnave been adopted anyway- if West does not hold • K would not an immediate club lead have been marked instead <?f cashing + A ?

This was followed by an in­structive biddin.g exercise:-

See ncext page

Five or even Six Clubs would seem to be attractive contracts but how to get there if North opens the bidding with Two Spades*? At least Mrs. Markus

• By tbe amazin:g feat, I would say, of responding Three Clubs on the South hand.- T.R.

IN AID OF THE

POLIO RESEARCH FUND

AN INTERNATIONAL

SIMULTANEOUS PAIRS CONTEST (NOT o par contest, but o set of colourful hands contributed

by famous writers).

To be held on

THURSDAY, 5th APRIL, 1962

Details hove been sent to Club Secretaries.

All enquiries to the Hon. Orgoniser:-MRS. JILL GATII, 33 PALLISER ROAD, LONDON, W .l4

East dealer fulfillable resting spot with the sequence North- 2+ , South-2NT, North- 30, South 3y>; North-3NT. The defence attacked the unbid suit, clubs, but declarer was sufficiently covered in this depart­ment. In the other room an' unhappy part-score was reached but not made. When the dust had cleared after 24 boards Mrs. Markus had increased her lead to 35 I.M.P.s and with only eight hands remaining the destination of the trophy was decided. Mrs. Fleming's team now had their best set of boards but only suc­ceeded in recovering 8 I.M.P.s and so Mr. Markus finally won by 27 I.M.P.s.

North-South game

NORTH + AK J 83 y>8 0 A K J 5 + K54

WEST EAST

• Q42 y>Q 9 73 0 10 9 4 2 + QJ

• 10 9 7 6 y>K642 0 Q 8 6 3 + A

SouTH . 5 y>A J. l05 07 + 10 9 8 7 6 3 2

and Mrs. Gordon reached a

23

Scotland -v Engla11id by GEORGE BAXTER

The Scots have pressed England hard in some recent years, but in the Camrose match at Glasgow last month England fielded two pairs from the world champion­ship teain and won the three matches by 7, 42, and 46 new !.M.P., representing 4-2, 6-0 and 6-0 victory points. The English team was Truscott and Priday, Konstam and Rodrigue, P. and C. Morley, the Scottish team Forbes and MacLaren, Landa and Gerber, Fraser and Stevenson.

·The English captain, Geoffrey Fell, qegan with the well tested gambit of blooding the provincial pair, who were replacing Mathie­son and Leader-Williams, absent through indisposition. Gambit it proved to be, for after 8 boards Scotland led by 22. The Lon­doners fought back for the rest of the match to win by 7. Scot­land had a chance on the last board when Konstam went down in a game contract that he might have made had he tal<en the best view of the trumps, but their own declarer went down in the same contract doubled.

As the match progressed the Morleys found their best form and put on a large number of

points when they played in the final contest. Truscott brought in points by superior manipula-

. tion of this slam contract:

West dealer Loveall

WEST

NORTH

+ QJfxx \?A8xx Ox + Axxx

EAST

• K 10 X X

.\? Q • XXX

\? 9 7 X

<> J X X

24

<> K 10 X X

+ QJ9x SOUTH(

+ Ax

• K 10 X X

\? K J 10 X X

OAQxxx + x

Playing in Six Hearts against a club lead, Truscott won with the Ace and took the spade finesse at once. This finesse had to be taken sooner or later and by taking it sooner he coUJld form a better idea how to manage the rest of the hand. Wes1t won and returned a club, South ruffing. Truscott now laid down \?K, intending to play for trumps to be 2-2 and to take the diamond finesse for his

contract. When ~Q fell he was able to abandon that plan in favour of a cross-ruff, ruffing two diamonds low, one high, and throwing one on + J. At the other table the declarer in the same contract began ruffing dia­monds early on and eventually went two down.

The form of England's big four was a good augury for the world championship match, the slam

bidding by Konstam and Rod­rigue being particularly good.

As always in Scotland, the hospitality and spectator interest were of the highest order. One· feels that if the Scots were to charter the E.B.U.'s bridgerama apparatus they would play to packed houses. The first Cam­rose experiment with bridgerama will be at Blackpool on February 17- 18.

Par Point Olympiad (2) Report by TERENCE R EESE

Hand 9A of the Par Olympiad was an exercise in rectifying the count for a squeeze.

North dealer East-West vulnerable

NORTH

+ K54 ~ 6 52 0 K53 + AK 73

W EST EAST

• 7 6 3 2 ~ 4

.9 ~ KQJ 1087 0 J 10 8 6 0 9 7

+ Q96542 + J 10 SOUTH + AQJ 108 ~ A93 0 AQ42 + 8

25

North-South scored their par for finishing in Six Spades or 6NT after East had overcalled in hearts. The directed contract was Six Spades and South had to make this contract against the lead of ~4.

Declarer has to win the fi rst trick because of the fear of a ruff and he plays two rounds of spades, East throwing a heart.

South can count eleven top tricks and he sees the chance of a squeeze if the diamonds do not break. The problem is to duck a trick without destroying the menaces. Obviously he can't give up a diamond or a heart, so he plays + K, + A and a third club. When East discards another heart,

South throws a heart and later brings off a squeeze against East in the red suits.

Had East followed to the third club, then either the diamonds would have been 3- 3 or West would have four diamonds and declarer would have been able to ruff the fourth round. Thus the Jine of play was certain to suc­ceed. This was an -excellent par hand.

East-West had a rather more difficult squeeze to play on hand llA. This deal has appeared in the press but no doubt there are readers who have not seen it.

South dealer Love all

WEST

+ AJ 9 <ylA

NORTH ·-<V Q J 10 9 7 4 2 0 Q J 10 9 6 3 ·- EAST

OAK542 + KJ42

+ KQ 10 <ylK653 0 8 7 + AQ53

SOUTH

+ 8765432 <yl8

0-+ 109876

North - South contract or for reaching Six Clubs. The directed contract, however, was 6NT by West against the lead of <ylQ.

West wins 1the first trick and as soon as he: plays a club the hand becomes double-dummy but still not easy. Declarer wants to squeeze North in the red suits

·but if he ducks a diamond to rectify the count, North will return a diamcmd and destroy the entries for a Sq[ueeze.

West must p lay for the follow-ing end position:

NoRTH ·-<V J no 9 7

WEST

+ AJ9 <V-

0 QJ 10 ·-0 A 54 2 ·-SOUTH

EAST

+ KQ 10 \/ K 6 5 08 ·-

Immaterial. West leads + A, North. dis­

cards a heart, and +Q must be played from dummy. Then comes the 9 of spades, and according to North's discard the King or 10 of spades is played from dummy. This type of overtaking squeeze is well knownt in a suit contract but a most unfamiliar object at

South was directed to open no trumps. Three Spades and East - West Hand 13A defeated some good scored their par for doubling any players:

26

North dealer Game all

W EST

• 10 8 6 <\I J 9 0 94 3

NORTH

+ A <\78642 0 K 7 5 + QJ653

. + Al0987 SOUTH

EAST

+ KQJ92 y> Q 10 7 3 010862 + -

• 7 54 3 <\/ AK5 0 A QJ + K42

North-South scored their full points for finishing in Five Clubs. The bidding award left some scars, for after lNT- Two Clubs -Two Spades (if South makes that call) it is difficult to avoid 3NT.

Five Clubs is doubled by West

and East leads the King of spades. Early on declarer must play a club from dummy, winning with the Jack. Then he plays for this ending:

NORTH ·­y> 8 6 0-+ Q6

WEST EAST ·-<\! - Immaterial 0 -• A 10 9 8

SOUTH

+ 7 <\15 o­+ K4

The spade is led from dummy. North wins with +Q and exits with a heart, putting West on play- a rare sort of trump coup.

The result of the World Bridge Federation 1961 Par Point Olympiad has been announced as follows:

1st J. T. Reese and C. Rodrigue (Gt. Britain) 172 2nd L. Rosier and R. Stern (U.S.A.) 172 3rd P. Ghestem and C Deruy (France) 162 4th J. Krakowski and P. Lukacs (Israel) 159 5th P. Bernasconi and J. Ortiz-Patino (Switzerland) 158 6th B. Romanet and C. Roudinesco (France) 158

Ties were split in favaur of the pair scoring more points for play.

27

Light Opening Bids in the World Champion.ship

,. by " ANA LYST"

The last world championship match, played at Buenos Aires last April, has been somewhat overshadowed by lat~r events. As in previous years, I have analysed the results obtained through light opening bids, and it is interesting to note that, in contrast to former matches, shaded openings showed a small net loss.

Discounting psychic and pre­emptive bids, 38 hands were opened in one room but not in the other. Often, of course, the result was determined by factors other than the light opening. Here, however, is the analysis.:

Distribution 4- 3- 3-3. Only one such hand, of 12 points; net loss for the light opener, 3 (new) I.M.P.

Distribution 4-4-3-2. Eleven such hands, two with 13 points, the remainder with I2 or 11. Net loss, 11 I.M.P.

Distribution 4-4-4-1. One such hand, with I I points, resulted in a rather lucky gain of I I points: See next column

The Italian West, in the match between U.S.A. and Italy, opened

third in hand with One Heart and was raised to .Four. The defence began with three rounds of trumps, but declarer had enough

East dea ler Game all

W FST

NORTH

• Q 10 \? AK6 0 Q J 4 3 + 9 7 64

EAST

• J 7 6 2 <:? J 10 9 8 06 + AKQ2

+ A 5 \? Q542 0 A 10 9 8 5 + J8

SOUTH

+ K984 3 <:? 7:.: 0 K 72 + 10 53

entries to dummy to set up a long diamond for his tenth trick.

At the other 1table North 0pened fourth in hand. East eventually played in INT, making an over­trick.

Distribution 5-4-3- 1. Seven­teen hands with this. distribution,

28

ranging from 8 to 12 points. Net gain, 8 I.M.P., thanks largely to the following hand which brought in 13 I.M.P . for the light opener:

North dealer North-South vulnerable

NORTH + AJ852 '\?-0 9 5 + 865432

EAST WEST • 9 7 + K Q 10 4 3 '\? J 10 2 0 Q 10 8 7 6 2 + Q7

'\? K8765 0 4 • 109

SOUTH + 6 '\? AQ943 0 AKJ3 + AKJ

In the match between U.S.A. and the Argentine, the American North - South, Schenken and Leventritt playing an artificial One Club, bid as follows:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST No No

I+ No 10 I + 2+ No 3. No 3'\? No 4+ No 5. No No No

This was good bidding, and South made an overtrick.

At the other table a rather strange choice of opening threw the Argentines right off balance:

29

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for O ne Year • £1 6 0 Two Years • • £3 IS 0

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SouTH WEST NORTH EAST No 1'\?

Dble. No 2+ No 4NT No 50 No 5NT No 6+ No 6NT No No No

After a heart lead this contract was one down. · Obviously it would have been much worse had a spade been led.

Distribution 6-4-2-J. On eight hands with this distribution there was a loss of 23 I .M.P. for the light opener.

On all 38 hands where there was a light opening in one room, not in the other, the opening bids showed a net loss of 18 I. M.P. So one can say there was not much in it.

You Say . . . Readers are invited to send letters on all subjects to the Editor, B.B.W., 35 Dover Street, London, W.l . ..

May I put in a word of defence for a bid now apparently con­demned on all sides?

1 refer to the situation where, in competitive bidding, one's first suit is supported and one holds a powerful second suit.

Mr. McLeod in " Bridge is an Easy Game" sums up what seems to be the general attitude.

South holds: . AQIOxxx <ylx O A J IOxx

+ x and the bidding goes: SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

, . 2<yl 2. 3<yl "On no account," says Mr.

McLeod, "make the fatuous and revealing bid of Four Diamonds. Bid T hree Spades only, and if it 's passed out take your part-score."

Surely this shuffle-up-in short­stages stratagem is now too well­known to be really effective. I n any case, against those players, surely the majority, who think more about their own cards than their opponents' bidding and are often content to pass you out

short of game, it is rarely a great success.

" Revealing" the Four Diamond bid certainly is, to partner, as much as to the opponents. It should in fact, particularly when commanding 1the senior suit, put him in a very comfortable posi­tion on the next round. For example,. after SOUTH WEST NORTH E AST

I . 2<yl 2. 3<yl 40 4<yl 4. 5<yl No No ?

he will bid Five Spades on • K J XX

<yl xxx

but on

0 K Qxx + xx • K J X X

<yl xxx 0 X){

+ K Qxx he will double.

Without th'e Four Diamond bid only guesswork is available.

Furthermore: the bid may indi­cate a killing lead, if the opponents .do secure thte contract. For example, if Netrth holds :

30

• J 9 X X

~ Axx 0 Qx + J X XX

against Five Hearts doubled he is unlikely to hit on the lead of the OQ without partner's indication.

Moreover the bid can hardly cost. After all, we are not so naive as to hope for a diamond lead, and it will not take the defence long to count your two­suiter in the play.

All in all, it seems to me that far from being "fatuous" this "indicating" bid can be of very real value in those tricky com­petitive situations where a wrong decision can lose an awful lot of points.

In conclusion may I add my congratulations to all those who have doubtless already received on the production of your latest book, a magnificent opus that fill s a hitherto gaping hole.

1. G. SMITH (Capt.), Twyford, Hants.

Thank you for the kind com­ment at the finish.

For the rest, I think you make a good case, the more so as if you do bid Four Diamonds in this sequence your opponents will not place you with a two-suiter necessarily. It may well be a good plan in such a sequence to bid any strong combination of honours - like

KQIOx-when you feel that this may help partner to decide what action to take after further com­petition.

31

* * * I have a few questions on the

subject of banned bidding systems and would appreciate some in­formation.

My partner and I at our local bridge club are embarrassed by complaints at our persistence with the Neapolitan System.

Firstly, am I right that the banning of this system means that it may not be played at any level of bridge?

Secondly, what systems, besides the Neapolitan, are banned in this country ?

Thirdly, what considerations are made before a system is banned?

RAYMOND N. J ENKINSON,

Pinner, Middlesex.

The Neapolitun System has an "A" licence, I believe, which means that it can be played in certain f orms of tournament. The E.B.U. Secretary tells me that information concerning the permissibility of various systems is shortly to be published.

The English Bridge Union has a Rules and Ethics Committee, which studies applications from those who want to play unfamiliar

systems and conventions. The juris­diction of this committee does not extend beyond E.B. U. events, though its recommendations may be accepted by the B.B.L.

Clubs can make their own rules and many of them do. Thus at the Hamilton the Stayman convention and all its relatives are banned, and at Crockford's the Weak Two was disallowed some years ago. The test for a club is "Does this con­vention constitute a nuisance in that most players are unfamiliar with it and have not devised counter-measures?"

The hand on page l l of the January issue where Alan Biron doubted declarer's ability to make Four Spades dloubled after a club lead: if after the spade finesse he can duck a diamond to West, planning to ta.ke a diamond ruff, will that not succeed however West plays?

J. EDGAR GORDON,

Wirral, Cheshire

Yes, I am glad you have dis­covered this be·cause 1 thought it a putrid double and was annoyed that it ever succeeded.

One Hundred 1Up Conducted by ALAN TRUSCOTT

February Competition

A panel of experts will answer the questions andl the marking of the competiton will be determined by, though not IJtecessarily in strict proportion to, the votes of the panel.

The following prizes are offered for the best sets of answers:-

FIRST PRIZE Two Guineas.

SECOND AND THIRD PRIZES One Guinea.

Please read these rules carefully . No competitor may send in more than one entry. Only annual subscribers to the B.B.W. are eligible for prizes.

Answers should be sent to One Hundred Up, British Bridge World, 35 Dover Street, London, W.l, to arrive not later than first post ow March 1. Some latitude will be given to overseas competitors.

32

Problem No. 1 (10 points)

Match-point pairs, game bidding has gone:-

SouTH WEST

J + No

? South holds:-

NORTH

J~

all, the

EAST

No

+ K7 ~AKS <)Q93 + AK1042. What should South bid?

Problem No. 2 (10 points)

Match-point pairs, love bidding has gone:-

SOUTH WEST

J ~ No 3 <) No ? South holds:-

NORTH

3+ 4 <)

all, the

EAST

No No

+ 76 ~AKJ98 <)KQJ73 + 4. What should South bid playing the

Culbertson 4-S No Trump convention ? (i.e. a bid of 4NT is excluded).

Problem No. 3 (20 points) J.M.P. scoring, North-South vulner-

able, the biddihg has gone:-SOUTH WEST NORTH

J + No 2+ 2~ No 2NT ? South holds:-

EAST 2 <) 3<)

+ AK763 ~KQI084 <)Q6 + S. (a) What should South bid? (b) What should South bid if East

had passed instead of bidding Three Diamonds?

Problem No. 4 (10 points)

Rubber bridge, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH WEST

I + I~ ? South holds:-

N ORTH

I + E AST

No

+ AQ ~542 <)AK7 + 97532. What should South bid?

Problem No. 5 (10 points) J.M.P. scoring, East-West vulnerable,

the bidding has gone:-SouTH WEST N ORTH EAST

J + J ~ 2<) No 3+ No 3+ No ? South holds:-+ AQ8 ~A3 <)53 + KI08432. What should South bid?

Problem No. 6 (10 points) Rubber bridge, North-South vulner­

able, the bidding has gone:-SoUTH WEST NORTH EAsT

I + No I <) Dbl. ? South holds:-+ 96 ~A2 <)AQ85 + AKJ43. What should South bid?

Problem No. 7 (10 points)

l.M.P. scoring, love all, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH W EST

1+ ?

No

South holds:-

N ORTH

No

+ AQJ075 ~973 <)8 + AQJ2. What should South bid?

33

Problem No. 8 (20 points)

Rubber bridge, love all, the bidding has gonc:-

SouTH WEST

1+ 3NT Db!.

I + No

No South holds:-

NORTii

JNT No No

EAST

No 3~ 4~ No

+ 04 ~A6 <)A72 + AQJ964. (a) Do you agree with South's

double? If not, what alternative do you prefer?

(b) What should South lead?

Directory of E.B.U! ..A~ffiliated Clubs

BERKSHIRE READING BRIDOE CLve. 35 Jesse Terrace,

Readina. Tel. Readinll 52136. Hon. Sec. C. T. HoUoway. Stakes 3d. Partnership first Saturday Evenina each month, 1st and 3(d Tuesday afternoon each month, and every Thursday evening. Duplicate every Monday evening. HANTS

BoVR.NEMOUTB, GROVE ROAD BRIDOB CUI&­East Cliff Cottage, 57 Grove Road. Bourn.,. mouth 24311. Hon. Sec., l'v(rs. Moss. Stakes 3d. Partnership, Thurs. and Sat. aft., Sun. evening. Duplicate, 1st Wed., 3rd Frl.

SoUTHAMPTON, SUTHERLAND BRIDO! CLVB, 2 Rocks tone Place. Tel.: 25291 or 73656. Hon. Sec., Mrs. Cahalan. Stakes 2d. Partner<rup: Tues. eve. and Wed. aft. Cut·in: Mon. and Fri. aft., Thurs. and Sat. eve. Duplicate: 3rd Mon. eve. (Sept. to May).

W£SSSX Cws-Lindsay Manor, Lindsay Road, Boumemouth. Westbourne 640341. Hon. Sec .• The Secretary. Stakes 6d. and 2d. Partne.rsrup, 6d. Mon. aft. and Wed. evening 2d. Partnership Tues. aft. and Friday aft. Duplicate 1st, 2nd and 4th Friday evening in each month. HERTS

HODDESDON BIUDOE CLVB-Higb Street, Hoddesdon. Hoddesdon 3813. Hon. Sec., W. Lamport. Stakes 3d. Partnership, alternate Wed. afternoons. Duplicate, Tues. evening. ISLE OF WIGHT

SRANJC.LtN, CRAtoMORB BIUDOE CLvs-Howard Road, Shanklin, I.W. Shanklin 2940. Ron. Sec~ J. S. Danby. Stakes 2d. Duplicate Mon. (Oct .. to May). Partnership, Tues. and Fri. KENT

Wrsr Kl!NT CLVB-12 Boyne Park, Tunbridge Wells Kent. Tunbrid11c WeUs 21513. Hon. Sec., R. H. Corbett. Stakes 3d. and 6d. Partner­sb:p, Mon. and Wed. 6d., Wed. and Fri. 3d. Duplicate, 1st and 3rd Sat. (2.15).

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LNERPOOt.-Liverpool Bridae Oub, 22 Upper Duke Street, Liverpool. Tel.: Royal 8180. Hon. See., Mrs. H. T. Holewood. Partnerships Tue., Fri. afternoon. Duplicate Mon. evening.

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Partnership Evenings, Mondays &: Thursdays. Visitors welcome. Bounty Pairs (£25) Weekly Tuesdays. Bounty Individual (£20) 2nd Sunday afternoons. TUITICIN.

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MIDDLESEX HtGHOATB BRIDOE CLuB-80 Higbaate West

Hill, N.6. MOU 3423. R on. Sec. , Mrs. Osborn. Stakes 2d. Partnershi.p Wed. afternoon, Friday and Saturday evenlngs.

SURREY HEATIJ BIUOOB Ct.VB.-The Heath, Wey­

bridge. WeybridJe36:~o. Hon. sec. C. G. Ainaer. Always open. Vtsitors welcome. Stakes 3d. Sat. eve. 3d. and 1/-. Pantnership Tues. aft. and eve., Fri. aft. Duplicate Mon. and Thurs. eve. Tuition by Alan Truscott avamable.

SUSSEX BooNOR Cl.u&-2 Sudley Road, Bognor

Regis. Bognor Regis 200. Hon. Sec., G. A. Harries. Bridge every anernoon except Sun. Partnership Wed. l)uplicate 1st Tues. in the month. Bridge Fri. e•<e.

HORSHAM BIUOOE CLua-22A Eout Street, Horsham, Sussex. Horsham 4921 or 2078. Hon. Sec., Mrs. M. B. Binney, 7A Bishopric, Horsham. Stakes 3d. Partnership, Sun., Thurs. eve., Wed. Fri. aft. Duplicate Tues. eve. Cut-in Mon., Thurs., Sat. aft.

WRI'T£liALL Rssm•EN11A.L BRIDGE CLVB-11/12 Howard SquiUie, Eastbourne, Eastbourne >4544. Sec. Miss J. Fidler. Stakes 2d. and 3d. Partnership, Tues. and Fri. aft., Wed. and Sat. evening. Duplicate Sunday.

WARWICKSHIRE HEAnmRCROFf BRtDOB CLU&-2 Pebble MDI

Road, Birminabam 5. SELiy Oak 04<48. Stakes 3d. to 1/-. Cut-in or Partnership every an. and eve. Duplicate Sun. eve., Mon. aft., and u desired by Members. Vlsitors welcome. YORKS

LEEDS BRJDOE CLvn Lro.-Moortown Corner Rouse, Leeds 17. l-eeds 681571. Hon. Sec., Mr. R. Dorsey. Duplicate, Tues. and Thurs. Visitors Welcome. Open each day until midnight except Fr:day. Rubber Bridae every ni&bt,

Would you like particulars of your club (addre:ss, telephone, hon. sec., stakes, partnership days, duplicate: days) to be listed in this Directory every month? lf so, please write to our Advertisement Manager (see address on page 3) for very

L_reasonable terms. 34

E.B.U. List of Secretaries Chairman Vice-Chairman .. . Secretary

R. F. CoRWEN, 535 Otley Road, Adel, Leeds, 16. H. LAWSON, 1 Benett Drive, Hove 4. MRs. A. L. FLEMING, 12 Frant Road, Tunbridge

Wells, Kent. Hon. Treasurer H; CoLUNS, 54, Cannon Street, London, E.C.4 Hon. Tournament Secretary .. . MAJOR GEOFFREY FELL, Craven Lead Works,

Skipton, Yorkshire. (Phone: Skipton 3032). Master Points Secretary F. BINGHAM, 48 Lordship Park, London, N.l6. Hon. Registrars Messrs. LEAVER CoLE & Co.

The Council of the English Bridge Union is made up of Delegates from County and Area Associations, whose Secretaries are as follows:-BERKS. & BUCKS.... Mrs. E. Matthews, 10 Sutton Avenue, Slough. DERBYSHIRE E. White, Flat 2, 193 Station St., Burton-on-Trent DEVON & CORNWALL J. Hammond, 6 St. Michael's Road, Torquay. ESSEX Miss M. Eve, 40 Forest Way, Woodford Wells GLOUCESTERSHIRE W. N. Morgan-Brown, 5 Douro Road, Chelten-

HERTFORDSHIRE ... KENT ...

LEICESTERSHIRE .. .

LINCOLNSHIRE LONDON

MIDDLESEX

NORFOLK

NORTH EASTERN ...

NORTH WESTERN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

OXFORDSHIRE SOMERSET ...

SOUTHERN COUNTIES

STAFFORDSHIRE

SURREY

SUSSEX WARWICKSHIRE WORCESTERSHIRE YORKSHIRE

ham R. Martins, 26 Nortbaw Road East, Cutiiey, Herts. Mrs. R. H. Corbett, West Kent Club, Boyne Park,

Tunbridge Wells L. G. Cayless, Farm Edge, Leicester Road,

Thurcaston S. Vincent, 46 The Park, Grimsby F. Pitt-Reynolds, 32 Highbury Place, London,

N.5 Mrs. J. Johnston, Flat 2, Redington Grange,

42 Redington Road, London, N.W.3 The Hon. Pamela Walpole, Tunstead Old House,

Tunstead, Norwich, Norfolk, liZ. A. A. Deane, 34 Westlands, High Heaton,

Newcastle-on-Tyne 7 Mrs. H. T. Halewood, 7 Mendip Rd., Liverpool, 17 Mrs. D. M. Hopewell, Crantock, 480 Mansfield

Road, Nottingham. Mrs. R. G. Beck, 1 Blenheim Drive, Oxford Mrs. R. E. Philipps, 30 Henleaze Park Drive,

Henleaze, Bristol Mrs. W. Davy, Lindsay Manor, Lindsay Road,'

Bournemouth Mrs. D. M. Evans, 187 Tettenhall Road, Wolver­

hampton. R. F. R. Phillips, 110 Banstead Road South,

Sutton Mrs. F. North, 18 Westboume Villas, Hove H. K. Cooke, 46 Vauxhall Street, Birmingham, 4 R. D. Allen, 17 Riverview Close, Worcester Mrs. A. Cartwright, 146 Soothill Lane, Batley, Yks.

35

One Hundred IUp by ALAN TRUSCOTT

January solutions: If you did not enter for the January competition, try your hand at the problems on page 16 before reading how the experts voted.

The panel for the January problems consisted of the following thirteen experts: E. Crowhurst, .G. C. H. Fox, Mrs. R. Markus, F. North, J . Nunes, J. T. Reese, D. Rimington, C. Rod­r igue, R. Sharples, and N. S. L. Smart, a ll of London and the Horne Counties; P. Swinnerton-Dyer of Cambridge; C. E. Phillips of Cheshire; and J . Hochwald of Yorkshire.

Problem No. 1 (10 points)

Match-point pairs, game all, the bidding has gooe:-

SouTH WEST

No

South holds:-

NORTH

3~

EAST

No No

+ 82 ~4 O KQ5 + KH09763. What should South bid?

CROWHURST: "Three No Trumps. An easy one for the new boy. Three Spades in this position cannot possibly be a suit and would merely show a suit for no trump purposes. It therefore follows that a bid of 3NT must show a diamond guard and a good three club bid. Partner will not be misled as to the quality of our spade suit, for we cannot possibly have spade stops, diamond stops, and a club suit good enough for a vulnerable pre-empt."

I expected the new panelist to get this right, because the question, a neat one, is borrowed with thanks from his own panel feature in the Kent Bulletin.

The same arg:uments in favour of 3NT were put forward by Phillips, Sharples and Swinnerton-Dyer. This is one of several positions in which a bid is strength-showing without pro­mising a suit or a first-round control.

Answer: 3NT, 10; Four Clubs or They nearly always occur when the Five Clubs, 5. choice of games seems to lie between

The panel's vote: 6 for 3NT; 4 for 3NT and five of a minor. One example Four Clubs (Mrs. Markus, Rimington, would be One Spade-Two Clubs-Three Rodrigue and Smart) ; 3 for Five Clubs Clubs- Three D.iarnonds, and another (Fox, Hochwald and North). would be Two Diamonds- Two No

I was recently sent a copy of the Trumps- ThreeDiiamonds-Three Hearts. Kent Association's bulletin which turned Once it is recognised that Three out to contain not only Kent news, but Spades over Three Hearts would be also a series of features and articles of strength-showing in this way, it follows high quality, almost all from the pen of quite logically that 3NT must show its editor. The editor is one of the most some diamond strength. I suspect that active and thoughtful of the younger nearly all the players who simply rebid school of players, and I lost no time in their clubs did not consider the sig· conscripting him for the 100 UP panel: nificance of 3NT.

36

The three panelists who jumped to Five Clubs thought they had a good Three Club bid, and at least two of them were thinking of a slam.

Fox: "Five Clubs. 1 regard Three Hearts as a cue-bid agreeing clubs. Had I the spade Ace I would bid Three Spades. Four Clubs would indicate a minimum three bid, so Five Clubs should show a good one."

The idea that Three Hearts should be a cue-bid agreeing clubs seems to me quite unplayable, as it assumes pre­maturely that clubs is the right de­nomination.

The Four Club bidders were not very forthcoming. Rodrigue was discouraged by the singleton holding in partner's suit, and Rimington made an unsup­ported complaint about the opening bid.

Problem No. 2 (10 points) l.M.P. scoring, North-South vulner­

able, the bidding has gone:-SoUTH WFST NORTH EAST

3+ ? South holds:-

10 3<::> No No

+ AQ1098 <::>7 01098 + KQ73. What should South bid? Answer: Five Diamonds, 10; 4NT, 9;

Four Spades or Five Clubs, 5; Double, 4.

The panel's vote: 6 for Five Dia­monds; 3 for 4NT (North, Reese, Swinncrton-Dyer); 1 for Four Spades (Rodrigue); 1 for Five Clubs (Mrs. Markus); 2 for Double (Crowhurst and Hochwald).

Several panelists pointed out the significance of North's failure to attempt Four Spades: he must have a spade shortage.

SHARPLES: "Five Diamonds. Partner

is clearly marked with shortage in both majors. The diamond pips turn the scales in trying for a maximum score."

PHILLIPS: " Five Diamonds. Short in spades and shortish in hearts, partner must surely have five or more in his own suit. Game in diamonds is not certain, of course, but it would be cowardly not to attempt it."

This is all very true, but here again several panelists seem to have over­looked a bid completely. With a free hand 1 would have given the top score to 4NT, which was supported by clear and convincing arguments.

REESE: "Four No Trumps. Signifying ability to contest in either minor suit. The general strength is Limited by the previous Three Spades."

NoRTH: "Four No Trumps. This is a situation (it applies at the four level only) where l like to play that 4NT asks partner to choose between the three possible suits-in this instance, spades, diamonds and clubs. Obviously the bid guarantees no more than three cards in partner's suit yet must have four cards in the unbid suit (clubs). Of course one has to give up 4NT in its natural sense, but I do not sec that as a great hardship. On this particular hand North's likely shape is 2- 2- 5-4, or something similar, and it may be vital to play in clubs so that the heart ruff(s) can be taken by South, at the same time leaving sufficient diamonds to finesse through West."

37

SWINNERTON - D YER: "Four No Trumps. There ought to be a game somewhere, particularly since partner has not doubled Four Hearts. While it might be wise to stop in Four Spades, that can only be done by taking a unilateral decision which is too likely to be wrong. The obvious bid is Five Diamonds; but this is a slight underbid and the hand may play better in clubs.

4NT asks partner to pick a suit to play in at the five or even the six level: 1 have no fear that it will be read either as natural or as conventional."

Quite right. Your partner at 100 UP is practically telepathic, and will identify your Unusual Unusual No Trump without"batting an eyelid.

We must now accord a brief hearing to the unilateralists.

RODRIGUE: "Four Spades. There may be a game in any of the three suits, and yet there may nbt. (A stateme/11 worthy of the Delphic Oracle.-A.T.) In any case the penalty is unlikely worthwhile. Partner is unlikely to have many hearts so I should be able to avoid being forced by loser-on-loser play. As he is unlikely to have an extreme two­suiter, I shall onJy be seriously wrong when he has six diamonds, and even then 1 may get another chance if doubled."

There seems no particular reason why the opener should not have a 1- 2- 5-5- hand, and be would not then disturb Four Spades. The generous co­operation of the opponents may not be forthcoming.

MRS. MARKUS: "Five Clubs. Partner is likely to have a misfit in spades, and may have clubs as well as diamonds but not be strong enough to bid them. Over Five Clubs partner can still bid Five Diamonds."

It is true he can, but he is most unlikely to because South may have no diamond fit at all.

Hochwald advocated a double on the grounds that partner still has the option

as guaranteein,g a powerful spade suit, and yet he has declined to take further action. I am therefore prepared to believe h.im that there is no game for our side. I am not deliriously happy about my double, but 1 think it will be easier to explain to my team-mates why we lost 590 tham it would be to explain why we failed 110 collect 300."

l f your Thr~: Spade bid bas promised such considerable strength and a dia­mond fit, • you will surely be crowded out of the auction with somewhat inferior holdings. As fa.r as your team-mates go, as a new panelist you can be forgiven for not knowirng that in 100 UP the moment of tru tb with the rest of your team never arrives.

Problem No. 3 (10 points)

Match-point pairs, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SOUTH WE:sT

? South holds:--

NORTH EAST

30

+ KQJ1084 ~A O A2 + AQ53. What should South bid?

Answer: Four Diamonds, 10; Four Spades, 9; Four Clubs, 5; 4NT, 4.

The panel's vote: 6 for Four Dia­monds; 5 for Four Spades (Crowhurst, Nunes, Reese, Smart and Swinncrton­Dyer); 1 for F·our Clubs (Hochwald); and 1 for 4NT (Mrs. Markus).

PHrr.trPS: "Four Diamonds. Jt is convenient to regard the immediate cue-bid in this situation as showing a

of removing it. The double was sup- • 1 think that ili pressed he might amend ported for different reasons by: his remark about dia mond tolerance to

CROWHlJRST: " Double. Partner has 'ability to cope with a d.iamond rebid' . heard me come in with Three Spades at Obviously (I wou~d say) South could come adverse vulnerability, a bid which in on spades alone, so long as they were implies tolerance for diamonds as well strong enough.--T.R.

38

two-suited hand, in contrast with a conventional Four Clubs (or what you will) which suggests a willingness to play in any of three suits. Partner will doubtless say Four Hearts, but after Four Spades from us will be able to give suitable weight to a good holding in clubs."

This theory is only tenable if the take­out bid, of Four Clubs or 3NT accord­ing to choice, is completely forcing and unlimited. Most players, 1 feel, would regard the take-out bid as limited, and permit themselves to pass if circum­stances seemed to require it.

The point made about returning to Four Spades over Four Hearts from North was also made by Fox and Rimington. J suppose it would be just unfortunate if partner sallied forth slamwards over Four Diamonds in the expectation of finding a heart fit.

Some of the panelists had actually read the earlier pan of the January issue in which this band was reported from the Masters Individual. Rodrigue allowed this to discourage him from bidding 4NT, and remarked that one "would have to be terribly pessimistic to bid only Four Spades."

There were five terrible pessimists. REESE: "Four Spades. You need

special cards for a slam, and if you start operations with a conventional take-out you may get involved with a partner bidding away for the wrong reasons."

CROWHURST: "Four Spades. I am prepared to stay fixed. The only other possibility is Four Diamonds, but it is difficult to see what partner is expected to do and we shall probably have to guess at an uncomfortably high level. In actual fact, of course, this hand is not quite as good as it seems at first sight, for unless partner can contribute

39

the Ace of spades and one or two other goodies, the marked diamond lead threatens to overthrow anything too ambitious."

SwJNNERTON-DYER: "Four Spades. The danger of Four Diamonds is that when we remove partner's silly heart bid to Four Spades he may venture forth in clubs. Moreover 1 have the wrong doubleton to urge partner to­wards a slam."

ln recommending Four Diamonds, Rimington remarked that the hand is too strong for any other action. He did not reckon with our lady panelist, who stuck bravely to her Individual guns:

MRS. MARKUS: "Four No Trumps. lf partner holds an Ace 1 would give Six Spades a good chance. Over pre­emptive bids it is very important not to be pushed too high (Aha! A.T.) on the other hand it does not sound as if a contract of five could possibly be too high."

Problem No. 4 (20 points)

Rubber bridge, love all, the bidding has gone:-

SouTH WEST

1<7 ? South holds :-

NORTH 2+

EAST

2<7

+ QJ62 <78654 OAK43 + Q. (a) What should South bid ? (b) What should South bid if East had

bid Two Spades instead of Two Hearts? Answer to (a): Three Clubs, 10;

Three Hearts or D ouble, 4. The panel's vote: 9 for Three Clubs;

2 for Three Hearts (Mrs. Markus and North); 2 for Double (Hochwald and Sharples).

This question is a generous donation to solvers who listen to Network Three. It struck me as a good problem on which many solvers would go wrong.

One panelist admitted to a new Answer to (b): No Bid, 10; Double, 3. experience: The panel's rote: J 2 for No Bid; J for

RooRJGUE: "Three Clubs. Two Double (Hochwald). Spades is a close alternative. As I've never voluntarily supported an un-rebid suit on a singleton before, 1 shall opt for this call. It's never too late."

REESE: "Three Clubs. I think our radio reply was right. You have ample values for the raise, for a singleton Queen is usually as good as a small trebleton, and will be well-placed after this to double Three Hearts. The chance of Four Spades your way is too small to be considered."

Several panelists pointed out that a 4-3 spade fit would not play well in this situation, and a 4-4 fit may still be reached after Three Clubs.

It is true that Three Clubs may be somewhat misleading to the other players.

CROWHURST: "Three Clubs. I really do not think there can be a game, so 1 am content to push the opponents overboard. My partner will surely agree that our bands belong to clubs. The danger is that partner may battle on in clubs, but I am used to playing three opponents at rubber bridge."

On the other hand: PHILLIPS: "Three Clubs. Partner

cannot have many points, so his clubs should be good. There is the chance, too, that opponents, with three little clubs apiece, may misjudge their strength, each expecting the other to be short."

The almost universal opinion here favoured a quiet pass, waiting for the opponents to dig their own grave.

RIMJNGTON: '·'No Bid. Opponents may be heading for disaster, so I'll lie doggo and emerge later from under a flat stone with a meat axe should the auction proceed favourably."

PHtLLJPS: "No Bid. The inference that partner's clubs are good is now even stronger. As against that the spade bid has improved our hand defensively, and! with West virtually certain to bid again if we pass, our best hope is now definitely for a penalty."

Swinnerton-Dyer added the good point that a bid of Three Clubs now would be liable to induce a phantom sacrifice by North.

Hochwald simply said that he would Double with "even more confidence". I can visualise three situations in which his direct action could prove profitable. Firstly, if West is the sort of player who gets a kick out of opening with nothing, his pass at this srtage may subject North to some strain-- an ethical strain if South's pass was: on the slow side.

Secondly, if West has opened on a thin hand which includes the King of clubs he might view the prospect with some dismay and make an unsystematic pass. North might now be puzzled to decide whether West is psychic or view­taking. The third possibility, that your opponents play a change of suit over an overcall as non-Jorcing, can practically be neglected unless playing against Italians.

Both Mrs. Markus and North were prepared to suggest a game with Three Hearts, but subside if necessary in Four Clubs. Hochwald's Double ("I cannot see the opponents taking eight tricks") was supported by Sharples "without conviction". lf he Doubles

As two of thes•e somewhat improbable situations would be discoverable against live opponents of known habits, the

like that he will soon have some con· general vote in favour of a "bidding victions for dangerous bidding. pause" must be c!ndorsed.

40

Problem No. 5 (10 points)

J.M.P. scoring, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SouTu WEST I+ No 1 ~ No ? South holds:-

NORTH I ()

3+

EAST

No No

• A53 ~AJ74 ()J83 + A92. What should South bid?

Answer: Three Diamonds, 10; T hree Spades, 6; No Bid, 5; 3NT, 4.

The panel's vote: 7 for Three Dia· monds; 3 for Three Spades (Fox, Mrs. Markus and Rodrigue) ; 2 for No Bid (North and Reese); I for 3NT (Hoch­wald).

The conditions of this one received a few brickbats from panelists who wanted to open a weak No Trump or to rebid One No Trump, but I suspect this was largely because they disliked having to answer the question.

A few players play this sequence as forcing, and although only Hochwald actually said this a few implied it.

RODRIGUE: "Three Spades. No rea­son why 3NT should be played from my side of the table. Nothing for a pass!"

This was supported by Mrs. Markus, and by Fox, who pointed out that as North cannot have a 4-eard spade suit, South would not bid spades with a view to olaying in that denomination.

Getting nothing from Rodrigue: Rl:ESE: "No Bid. Very awkward, and

it would perhaps have been wiser to rebid I NT. There may be a game now if you can find the right spot, but once you progress beyond Three Clubs you may go into an uncontrollable skid, with no real suit anywhere. I feel that partner would have rebid in No Trumps had he held a spade stop."

If T hree Clubs has its normal non­forcing interpretation, the interesting

41

question arises: why did North not bid Three Clubs on the first round?

SwtNNERTON - DYER: "Three Dia­monds. Neatly sidestepping the ques­tion of whether this sequence is forcing. If it is not, partner had a reason for bidding One Diamond on the first round, and so diamonds will be the bcuer suit to play in. if partner has nothing in spades we shall have to run both minor suits for 3NT, which is not a good bet."

In other words, North tid One Diamond either because his diamonds arc tremendous or because his clubs arc inadequate- perhaps only three-card support.

PHILLIPS: ''Three D iamonds. Partner is certainly not asking us for a spade stop- he could have done that, much more economically, by a fourth-suit bid. He is likely to have an unbalanced, perhaps 6-4, holding in the minors, and three Aces will prove extremely wel­come. Indeed. l am tempted to try a master bid of Four Diamonds."

Problem No. 6 (20 points) Match-point pairs, love

bidding has gone:-SouTH WEST I+ Dbl. I• No ? South holds:-

NORTH Redbl. 2NT

all, the

EAST

1() No

• AQ843 ~6 OQ + KQ8742. (a) Do you agree with South's bid of

One Spade. If not, what alternative do you prefer?

(b) What should South bid now?

Answer to (a): agree with One Spade, 10; prefer Two Spades, 7; prefer No Bid, 4.

The panel's vote: 8 for agree with One Spade; 3 for prefer Two Spades (Nunes, Sharples and Swinnerton-Dyer); and

2 for prefer No Bid (Crowhurst and Smart).

The great majority were content with the obvious bid. "Any other action would surely be dotty." (North).

The trouble about One Sl?ade, to my mind, is that it normally infplies a sub­minimum opening in this situation. Those who voted for other actions had this point in mind.

SHARPLES: "Prefer Two Spades. I cannot really disagree with One Spade, for this must be a question of style. Personally I reserve One Spade for a slightly weaker 5- 5 type which partner can readily pass. There are others who might prefer to pass at this stage. Two Spades shows about 11 working points maximum with few immediate losers (usually 6-5). This bid can also be passed if partner has the wrong cards."

SWINNERTON - DYER: "Prefer Two Spades, which indicates a good hand; even an exotic bid of Three Spades has a lot to be said for it. Besides the opponents may have a red suit fit and these delicate low-level methods will give them every chance to find it."

This pinpoints the weakness in the following answer, which is better in theory than practice:

CROWHURST: " Prefer No Bid. In th is sort of situation, weak hands are shown by an immediate minimum bid in the second suit; strong hands (i.e. with powerful suits, although not necessari ly strong in honour tricks) are shown by an immediate jump bid in the second suit, and intermediate hands, like this one, are shown by passing and intro­ducing the second suit later. "

Ansiver to (b): 3NT, 10; Three Spades, 8; Three Diamonds, 7; Four Clubs or Four Spades, 3.

The panel's vote: 5 for 3NT; 5 for Three Spades (Fox, Mrs. Markus

42

North, Phillips and Reese); J for Three Diamonds (Rodrigue); 1 for Four Clubs (Mrs. Markus); and 1 for F our Spades (Rlmlngton).

NORTH: "Three Spades. My picture is now almost complete. Maybe some­one will frame iit."

Not an artis:t 1 would hang in my gallery, for th•e style is photographic rather than imaginative. I prefer the craftsmen:

SMART: "Three No Trumps. Panner has made a bi:g bid opposite what he imagines to be a feeble two-suiter. He cannot be expe•cting any goodies in the red suits and will be overjoyed to see the Queen of diamonds."

CROWHURST: "Three No Trumps. Partner has made a determined effort to reach game despite being misled by my pathet ic rebiid on the previous round, so I am happy to reward his persever­ance. There is: no point in trying to avoid no trumps: partner already knows 1 am at. least 5-5 in the black suits and after· all, I do have a red Queen which might be of valuable assistance."

SwJNNERTON - DYER: Three No Trumps. Partner must have a double stop in each roed suit, which suggests that his spades: are limited. 3NT we can surely make~ by means of the clubs; but even if Four Spades is a 5-3 fit it is unlikely to go well."

To go beyond 3NT with Four Spades or Four Clubs s:eems to me. to assume a partner who iis unconscious of the significance of the earlier bidding. But Rodrigue's ing<~n ious Three Diamond bid does no harm, a lthough it may not do much good.

P roblem No. 7 (10 points)

Rubber bridg:e, game all, the bidding has gone:-

SouTH I <> ? South holds:-

NORTH 2+

EAST No

+ 54 r:vA97 <>Q9632 + AK4. What should South bid?

Answer: T hree Clubs, 10; Three Diamonds, 3.

The panel's vote: I J for Three Clubs; 2 for Three Diamonds (Fox and Hoch­wald).

Three D iamonds was based on the assumption that diamonds are now the agreed suit. Even if this is so there are strong arguments in favour of Three Clubs. F irstly, T hree Diamonds will give a misleading impression of the strength of the diamonds, and may inhibit slam action later by South. Secondly, as Sharples and Swinnerton­Oycr pointed out, it saves a round of bidding. Three Clubs permits North to bid Three Diamonds, after which South can bid Three Hearts economically. South has then shown neatly .where his strength lies for slam purposes.

P roblem No. 8 (10 points)

I.M.P. scoring, East-West vulnerable, the bidding has gone:-

SoUTH WEST NORTH

No 5+

J <> No 2r:v Obi. No No

No No No South holds:-

EAST I r:v 4 r:v sr:v

+ 93 r:vs4 <> K2 + 9765432. What should South lead? Answer: Nine of Spades, 10; King of

Diamonds, 8. Answer: nine of spades, 10; King of

diamonds, 8. The panel's I'Ote: J J for nine of

spades; 2 for King of diamonds (Phillips and Swinnerton-Dyer).

No problem for most of the panel.

43

La Revue Beige du

Bridge Un programme complet pour

amateurs et experts

Di rection techn ique :

Abonnement annuel ( 12 numeros) 220 frs. belges

A. Flnklestel n

64, Avenue Louise, Bruxellea.

R EESE: "Nine of spades. Where else will you take any tricks? I do not sec how even SwinJ?erton-Oycr can find another answer."

Bingo: SWTNNERTON-DYER: "King of dia­

monds. 1 am a little confused by this auction. However it seems to me that West may have some good clubs oppo­site a void. If they can bid Five Heans and the diamond King is useless, then they wi ll make it; so it cannot cost much to lead it. On the other hand East may have losing diamonds that will go away - the most likely explanation of North 's manoeuvres is that he is 4-1-4-4 with good diamonds."

As a matter of interest, when the hand was played North had 4-1-4-4 with good diamonds, so the masterly Cambridge deduction from North's delayed act ion double would have reaped a big reward.

Also on the right track: PHILLIPS: "King of diamonds, Pro­

spects must be poor for most of partner's strength must consist of a string of useless club honours. Almost the only hope is to find him with: + xxxx <vx 0 Axx + KQJ !Ox." ,..

Only pretending to be on the right track:

Rodrigue : "Of course it is quite clear that partner having passed over One

Diamond and doubled on the second round has O Axxx, and dummy has only four of the suit. So clear that I lead the nine of spades- but my son s ti ll believes in Sa nta Claus."

Master P. Rodrigue may st ill believe in Father Christmas at the age of 22 months. Master P. T ruscott, a few hours older, would have led the King of diamonds- it is. a preuicr card in every ~cnse.

RESULT OF JANUARY COMPE,TITION A very large number of solvers selected two bids which ,got no support from the

panel and therefore no credit. On problem I Four Diamonds was popular and was perhaps unlucky not to score, as the idea of showing some strength in diamonds was embodied in the top-scoring, and more economical 3NT bid. On the other hand the even greater number of supporters of Two Spades on hand 4(a) deserved their fate. T o introduce a 4-card suit in this way in a competitive a uction is almost <t lways wrong.

Max. 100 Winner :

M. S. BUCKLEY, 145 Danson Road, Bexley, Kent. 92 Second

DR. D. SPENCER WILSON, 232 Lower Addiscombe Rd. , Croydon, Surrey 88

Third equal J. GRIFFITHS, 22 Palace Street, Canterbury, Kent. 87 I. G. SMITH, Hill Croft, Twyford, Hants. 87

Other leading scores: J. HIBBERT, J. K. KROES and C. R . B. MuRRAY, 86; L. G. Wooo, 85; CoR. D. L. GORDON, 83; R. SwiNGLtR, 82; N. F. CHOULARTON, 81; J. T. NAYLOR, 79; A. A. P£SCOTT-DAY, 78; and B. MARIENHOF, 77.

E.B.U. Results CROCKFORDS CUP

Round 11

Dr. S. Lee (London) S. W. Thomas (Somerset) A. T. M. Jon~ (Somerset) Mrs. M. WhHaker (London) M. Harrison Gray (M iddlesex) E. Scnk (London)

beat Dr. R. Taylor (Kent) Dr. J. Henneman (Sc.)

44

Dr. R. H. Durnmett (Devon) M. Saunders (!London) F. North (Sussex) D. S. Perkins ( Berks. & Bucks.)

IMP 20 33 15 6

10 10

R. Preston (London) M. Williams (Kent) L. Tarlo (London) H . Lee (London) .J . Amsbury (London) J . Brown (Lines.)

E. Burston (Derby) P. A. Broke (Norfolk) Mrs. R. B. Campfield (Yorks.) I. Manning (Yorks.) P. F. L. Tottcnham (Staffs.) M.A. Porter (Warwks.) G. C. Wakefield (Yorks.) M. Blank (N.W.C.B.A.) Mrs. R. Corwen (Yorks.) J. D. R. Collings (London)

Dr. S. Lee (London)

J. E. Gordon (N.W.C.B.A.)

L. Tarlo (London) N. Gardener (London) M. Harrison Gray (London) J. E. Taylor (Herts.) E. C. Milnes (Yorks.) M. Allen (Lines.) F. C. Keyte (Devon) F. Farrington (N.W.C.B.A.) Dr. J. C. Macfarlane (Derby.) V. J. Garrod (Warwks.) E. H. Pudscy (Yorks.)

C. G . Aingcr (Surrey) R. E. Wardman (Berks. & Bucks.) M. Weissberger (London)

55 5

13 3 4

, R . A. Priday (London) J. Field (London) Mrs. J. Hadfield (Yorks.)

D. A. Ray (N.E.B.A.) M. Allen (Lines.) Mrs. L. Myers (Yorks.) W. E. Lee (Notts.) F. Farrington (N.W.C.B.A.)

340 pts. after a tie.

30 18 4

II II

wo

G. G . Endicott (N.W.C.B.A.) 43 Mrs. T . Richardson (N.W.C.B.A.) 32 E. Foster (Warwks.) Scr.

beat G. P. Littler (N.W.C.B.A.) Scr. L. Summers (Sussex)

Round Ill beat Mrs. P. M. Williams (London)

GOLD CUP Round I beat J. H. Taylor (Yorks.)

Round II heat D. R. Freshwater (Surrey)

J. 0. Parkinson (Middlesex)

16

26

II

81 24

G. B. Burrows (Essex) 13 C. G. Ainger (Surrey) 48 Mrs. T. Richardson (N.W.C.B.A.) 50 W. Grimble (Lines.) 19

WO E. Foster (Warwks.) Scr. beat Dr. B. J . Switalski (Yorks.)

R. D. F. Bland (Notts.) J. Newton (Yorks.) R. Myers (N.W.C.B.A.)

23 II I

47 Welsh section winncr :- Mrs. M. Bcynow

HUBERT PHILLIPS BOWL

J . Brown (Lines.) Dr. A. 0. L. Atkins (N.E.B.A.) D. A. Ray (N.E.B.A.) Hon. Pamela Walpole (Norfolk) P. A. Broke (Norfolk) P. F . L. Tottenham (Staffs.)

beat Mrs. R. Corwen (Yorks.) H. Brooke (Yorks.)

45

Dr. J. B. Fulton (Yorks.) P. Myhill (Norfolk) S. Meggitt (Lines.) E. C. Milnes (Yorks.)

Points 1010 570 870

1510 80

1590

E. H. Pudsey (Yorks.) E. F. Briscoe (Warwks.) Mrs. D. Grunert (N.W.C.B.A.) G. C. H. Fox (London) Miss D. Shanahan (London) D. Smerdon (Middlesex) Mrs. G. Griffiths (Somerset)

J. C. Oxland (Somerset) Mrs. B. Tarlo (London) Mrs. A. L. Fleming (London) D. R. Freshwater (Surrey) Mrs. A. L. Della Porta (London) A. H. Da lton (Surrey) Mrs. R. Markus (London) Mrs. J. Galli (London)

Mrs. D. Hall (Warwks.) 4880 Mrs. T. Ricbardlson (N.W.C.B.A.) 900 R. Hardy (Wan~ks.) 2590 M. Williams (Kent) . 990 Mrs. Albuquerque (London) .1470 J. Joy(London) 5160 E. W. Crowhurst (Berks. & Bucks.)

F. C. Keyte (Devon) C. G. Ainger (Surrey) Mrs. M. Edwards (Surrey) R. B. Morris (London) J. 0. Parkinson (Middlesex) M. J . F lint (London) J. Amsbury (London) Mrs. J. Durran (London)

1020 3140 2460 2480 1200 1250 240

4750 410

E.B.U. Master Points Register Master Points Secretary:

F. 0. 'Bingham, 48 Lordship Park, London, N.l6

PROMOTIONS

To National Master : E. L. Silverstone (Middlesex). To " One Star" Master: D. Deery (Northern Ireland); D. R. Freshwater (Surrey). To Master: Mrs. M. Cole (Leieestershire); Miss N. Eames (North-Western);

Mrs. A. L. Monk (Devon); H. G. Nicholson (North-Eastern); Mrs. D. Rushton (North-Western); Dr. W. Whitehead (North-Eastern); Mrs. I. M. Whitten (Northern Ireland).

LEADING SCORES

The major changes in the ranking list of Life Masters stem from the ladies week­end at Eastbourne, for the Whitelaw Cup. Mrs. Fritzi Gordon advances to third place with a total of 532 Master Points ; Mrs. Rixi Markus to ninth (389) and Mrs. A. L. F leming to sixteenth (343). Irvine Manning eollec:ted six Master Points for his share in Yorkshire's triple tie in the Tollemache Final and moves up one place, to twentieth.

National Masters were well represented in both of the above events. Mrs. M. Oldroyd moves to third place, with a score of 293 and can be expected soon to join Mr. Finlay "marking time" at the head of the list while they earn the National points necessary for Life Master rank. Mrs. G. E. Higginson and Mrs. M. Whitaker move a few places up the ladder and the remaining member of the successful sextette in the "Whitelaw," Mrs. Rene Corwen, becomes firm favou:rite as the next lady to become National Master.

46

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