1 Newsletter June 2017 Issue Best Wishes Editor Have fun with Bridge in 2017! Well, what do these have in common? ……CHANGE…. Not everyone is comfortable with Change – and if made for the wrong reasons it can be detrimental. But you can’t evolve for the better without it. So what Changes am I going to allude to here? Bridge Changes of course!! With AGM’s and Committee Changes there are plenty of Bridge Changes around but the key one to note is: The Laws of Bridge have been updated. DID YOU KNOW THAT? EBU will be applying the Changes from 1 August. NCBA will be organizing a ½ day updating course in Nottingham for all Directors and interested persons on 20 July This is NOT to be missed. See the article within to book your place.
Transcript
1
Newsletter June 2017 Issue
Best Wishes Editor Have fun with Bridge in 2017!
Well, what do these have in common?
……CHANGE….
Not everyone is comfortable with Change – and if made for the wrong reasons it can be
detrimental. But you can’t evolve for the better without it. So what Changes am I going
to allude to here? Bridge Changes of course!!
With AGM’s and Committee Changes there are plenty of Bridge Changes around but the
key one to note is: The Laws of Bridge have been updated.
DID YOU KNOW THAT? EBU will be applying the Changes from 1 August. NCBA will be organizing a ½ day
updating course in Nottingham for all Directors and interested persons on 20 July
This is NOT to be missed.
See the article within to book your place.
2
Readers Forum This is a section whereby anyone can post their thoughts on aspects of the game, including a
technical query. If you wish to supply or respond to these articles please contact the Editor. Note that
these articles are the personal views of the authors and not of NCBA/EBU.
Thanks to YCBA Dave Robinson for this mind bender –
Answer on penultimate page
QUESTION
You are playing in a County teams event and hold:
NOT VUL 72 K72 AQ103 AK72
You open 1D and over your partner's 1S you bid 1NT (15-17).
Partner bids 2S. What now?
`````````````
SNIPPETS FROM NOTTINGHAM AGM 10 MARCH 2017
It was reported at the AGM that Membership has risen to 192, which makes NBC the largest bridge club in Nottinghamshire. Having recently become a Charity on 16 December 2016, with aims, inter alia, of promoting the game of bridge for Nottingham and surrounding areas, NBC supports the learning teaching and playing of bridge, for a large number of members, whose combined age is on the decrease- a welcome sign that Bridge is vibrant in the County.
What is sad, though is that the bar surplus is apparently on the decrease!! Thankfully this doesn’t impact too drastically on the club’s healthy financial status. What the Chair Mark Goddard does want though, are ideas on how to increase the number of players entering competitions (a key income source for the club) and suggestions on how to format the bridge for the Xmas party.
Christmas you say? It’s only May1! But yes- it will come around soon enough! So send your thoughts to Mark.
There are still vacancies so new committee members can be co-opted. Contact Mark if you feel you’d like to support NBC by joining the Committee. It’s not that
3
onerous! The year’s champions were saluted at the AGM and the list of trophy winners is included below in : ‘Celebrations’. Well done all.
~~~INVITATION~~~ NCBA are arranging for a 1/2day briefing on the Changes to the Bridge Laws on 20 July at Nottingham Bridge Club. Thanks to NBC for letting us have the venue free as it is a bridge training event. There will be a modest charge to pay for the EBU trainer but as a ‘break even’ event the more attendees, the cheaper it will be! Obviously this is vital for all Directors and Clubs may wish to fund their Directors to attend this course. But it is open to all clubs to send reps whether TD’s or not. We want all clubs to be represented so the new Laws are embedded quickly. Any spaces will be filled by offering the course out to non Nottinghamshire players so you need to book your place by 1 June. It is anticipated that this will be very popular so book early: [email protected]. Please note that this is open to all unaffiliated clubs as well, who also should be following the Laws of Bridge as these apply to the game of bridge whether the club is affiliated to EBU or not. Following the 1/2day briefing all unaffiliated club reps will be invited to stay for refreshments and talk to our EBU club rep Bev Purvis.
Here is an extract from EBU website to whet your appetite:
The World Bridge Federation is updating the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, and these
will come in to effect in competitions in England from the start of August 2017.
In contrast to other Mindsports like Chess and Go, Bridge is a comparatively new game and as such is continually evolving. The first Laws of Duplicate Bridge were published in 1928 and there have been successive revisions in 1933, 1935, 1943, 1949, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1997, and 2007. Through the 1930’s the Laws were promulgated by the Portland Club of London and the Whist Club of New York. From the 1940’s onwards the American Contract Bridge League Laws Commission replaced the Whist Club, while the British Bridge League and the European Bridge League supplemented the Portland Club’s work.
Now responsibility for regular revisions has been adopted by the World Bridge Federation whose Laws Committee is charged with the task of reviewing the Laws at least once every decade. This latest review is the most extensive to date. Many, many submissions were received from individuals, Tournament Directors, NBO’s and Zones and all were considered at length by the Committee.
Whilst many changes are minor or for clarifying matters, there are notable changes such as to ‘Revokes’ and ‘Unintended Calls’. The concept ‘without pause for thought’ has
Great news. With more teams coming forward, we have 2 divisions this year. This will mean each Team will play 5 matches between May and September 2017. It is great news that some new teams are coming forward to play in this friendly social event. This includes teams from unaffiliated clubs and also the new University club. Remember for 2018, you don’t need to be an EBU member nor member of a club to join in this League. Last year Palooka’s won the To4- who will be the Champions this year?!? http://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwok/bw.cgi?club=nottinghamshire&pid=display_page84&sessid=430916686940738 for more details and fixture/contact list. Keith Spencer T04 League secretary
NCBA Teams of Eight League - 2016/2017
The 2016/2017 season has now been completed and the final positions in the
three divisions are now known:-
Division 1
Congratulations to Nottingham Gambit who, after a slightly shaky start to the
season, are the clear winners of the first division having won all but one of their
matches. Retford A, despite beating Gambit early on in the season, lost three of
their matches during the campaign and trailed Gambit by 36 VPs at the end of
the season. In the final weeks of the season three teams, Nottingham
Alderclarke, Woodborough Red and West Bridgford were fighting to escape
from the relegation zone and it was Alderclarke who finally prevailed by beating
Woodborough in their final match. Commiserations to Woodborough Red and
West Bridgford A who are therefore relegated to Division 2.
Division 2
Keyworth A maintained their clear advantage in Division 2 for the entire
season and finished in the top spot. Retford B, Nottingham A and
Woodborough White all occupied second place at one time or another during
the season but the second place spot went, in the end, to Retford B. Keyworth
A and Retford B are therefore promoted to Division One. Commiserations to
Phoenix Red and Mansfield A who are relegated to Division Three.
Division 3
The third division was, as always, a very competitive division with the two
teams relegated from Division 2 last season, Keyworth B and Nottingham B,
battling for the two promotion spots for much of the current season.
Nottingham B led the division for most of the season but were beaten by
Keyworth in their final match to finish second by a single VP. Keyworth B
and Nottingham B will be promoted to Division 2 for the forthcoming season. Gambit won the Teams of 8 in Division 1. Keyworth A won Division2 getting promoted along with Retford B. Keyworth B won Division3 thereby promoted with Nottingham B. This is a great fun League with a Division for every standard. Join us in the Autumn for the new season. Chris Clarke Teams of Eight League Secretary
County Teams Update
Nottinghamshire has 3 teams of Eight in the County Leagues; one in each of the 3 Divisions competing respectively for the Dawes, Porter & Markham Trophies.
7
Additionally this year some of the neighbouring Counties have agreed to run a friendly ‘4th’team’. This fourth team will be used to identify and develop those players who aspire to be County players or who currently play occasionally in the third team. If you are interested in joining the fourth team please contact Phil Dale or Ray Furlonger.
Keith Rodgers the County Team Captain provides this summary on the Nottingham teams of Eight outcome for 20166/7:
“The Dawes team, in particular, have had their best season for many years, winning 4 and drawing 2 of their matches, being beaten (soundly!!) only by this year's champions, Warwickshire. Had we been able to scrape another point in our last match against Gloucestershire, and we were quite well ahead going into the last round Notts, we would have finished 2nd in the league instead of 3rd. Well done to those who played and particularly to those who stood in when all of the first choice players were not available. Congratulations also to the Tollemache team who finished 3rd in their league, coming within a whisker of qualifying for the final, something that we haven't done for a great many years. The Porter team had a slightly disappointing season finishing 7th but within a few points of finishing halfway up the table. One valuable point is that a number of people, aspiring to play at a higher level, had the opportunity to play in the team and it is a pretty good standard of bridge. The Markham team finished joint bottom, but not that far from mid table and because we tend to use this team to give people experience at this level I am quite happy. The team did have 2 good wins in mid season when we picked a more consistent side and perhaps with the advent of the ‘4th team’ we can be more consistent’. If you have a look on the NCBA website you can see the full results of our County Teams together with a short commentary on some of the most interesting hands of the night, by NCBA Chair, and Dawes player, John Auld. It is always instructive to follow commentary on your own or other’s hands as an aide for developing ones skills- so take a look. The first ‘friendly’ Fourth Team match held on Sunday 7 May against Derby. Derby fielded some 2nd and 3rd team players in the main whilst Nottingham chose to field players new to County Matches for experience.
Ray Furlonger, joint Team Captain says: “ The team was me and Phil Dale, Phil Meats
8
with Phil Otwell, Sue Macintosh with Phil Cooper, Ian Nicholson with Mike Nailard, Gerald Garratty with June Evans and Dave Dunford with Bernard Scanlon. Over 90 boards ( 30x3) we lost by 29 imps which would have been much closer were it not for a disastrous -37 in the first round by two pairs one of which had never played teams before! Everybody seems to have enjoyed the day very much and we were even able to offload the remaining fabulous food to a young Derbys man who was going back to play at the Uni club! So Nottingham lost but everyone had a great time and it was a good eye-opener for our new pairs. Well done for your efforts guys, next time better! Ray and Phil said there are other ‘friendlies’. The key thing to remember is that you get better by playing against good opponents so if you are serious about improving your game and would like to be considered for the next ‘friendly fourth’ let Ray & Phil, the joint captains of the fourth team, know. [email protected][email protected]
Priday Cup Winners
Look at these percentages! A great fun afternoon on 30 April with lavish cakes and tea for qualifying pairs of NGS 8 and below resulted in a fab win for the Keyworth ladies..
Café Bridge returns again to Nottingham! The highly successful Nottinghamshire Café Bridge event, now in its 5th year, was won by Steve Fordham and Toni Smith. Runners up were Carol Fisher and Rebecca Ronan. A prize also went to Steve & Dot Crawford as the pair with a score closest to 50%. This sell out event attracts out of county and some foreign players and raised £574.30 for the Newark based Charity Beaumond House Hospice, supporting people & their families with terminal cancer. The next event is scheduled for 18 October 2017 in Newark and will sell out fast. [email protected] for details and provisional bookings.
Keyworth players Barbara and Pat look rather pleased with being presented the Priday Cup by Director Keith Spencer.
And so they should with that percentage!! Well done girls!!
Some Café Bridge aficionados’ playing at All Bar One (left) and Couture (below) in Central Nottingham.
Phil Meats presenting Steve Fordham and Toni Smith a well deserved bottle of wine at Jamie’s Restaurant for their efforts at winning the café bridge event. Steve said he particularly liked sampling a beer or coffee in each venue.
11
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL CLUB SECRETARIES
Don’t forget that this Newsletter is issued to all clubs and players in
Nottinghamshire that we are aware of so is an ideal way to advertise your
forthcoming event whether that is a training, social or competitive bridge event.
Just send details to Clare, the NCBA Secretary.
Keep up to date with what is going on by regularly checking the NCBA website calendar, which lists all the various competitions and events. Items in this Newsletter are just a snapshot. click on link below for various events. http://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoj/bw.cgi?club=nottinghamshire&pid=display_page85&sessid=52761165593049
NB: You do not need to be an affiliated club/member to have your news
item included
MASTER CLASS FOR ISSUE 6
This Issue sees Gordon Fullerton return with his thinking cap on for our benefit. Gordon is the President of the NCBA and has been playing Bridge a very long time and has piles of experience. We are grateful to Gordon for his helpful tip.
Hand Evaluation - The Losing Trick Count When bidding a suit, the traditional way of hand evaluation uses total point counts, i.e. high-card points + distribution points. In this article, we shall discuss an alternative method, which is very useful in deciding the level of the final contract when partners have found a suit fit, usually a major. (With a minor suit fit, it is tempting to try to play in a No Trump contract.) Once you have found a fit, you should count your losers in each suit.
Here’s how to do it: The number of losers in a 3, or longer, card suit, is the number of A,K,Q missing in the suit. In a doubleton, it is the number of A,K missing in the suit, and in a singleton,it is 1 unless the singleton is the A. For example, if x denotes a J or lower ranked card, these holdings xxxxx, xxxx AQxxx, Kxxx , Kxx, Qxx, K have respectively 3, 3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1 losers. (It may seem unreasonable that Kxx and Qxx have the same number of losers. There is a more sophisticated definition of losers which takes account of that, and similar, objections. But more of that another time.) The sum of the number of the losers in each suit of a hand is called its losing trick count, LTC. Next you need to estimate the LTC of partner’s hand. If he has made a minimum opening bid, it is at most 7; if he has made a minimum response, it is at most 9. (If your partner makes such a bid, you should assume he has the maximum number of losers, until you learn otherwise.) Finally the expected number of tricks made by the partnership is 24 – (the sum of the LTCs of their hands) Why 24, you ask? The answer is that the largest the LTC can be is 12, i.e. 4x3, and 12 + 12 = 24. It should be stressed that this just gives the number of tricks declarer can reasonably expect to make. It is not guaranteed. (The situation is similar to that in which partners have balanced hands with a combined HCPC of 25. The final contract should be 3NT – but it may still fail !) Time to look at a couple of examples. Example 1. Your partner opens 1H and the next hand passes. How should you respond holding 3 76542 74 AQ732 ? You have a Heart fit and your hand has an LTC of 7 (1+3+2+1). Partner’s hand has an LTC of at most 7. So partner should make at least 10 (24 – (7+7)) tricks. Hence you should bid 4H. Partner’s hand in this example is, 752 AQJ86 AK5 65, which has an LTC of 7, so partner will pass. We note that he will lose 1 trick in Spades, none in Diamonds and at most 1 trick in each of Hearts and Clubs, depending on the locations of the Kings in those suits. So he shall certainly make 4H.
13
It is instructive to consider the likely auction using the traditional total point count, TPC, method. Your hand has a TPC of 9 (6 HCPs and 3 distributional points), so you would respond 2H. Partner’s hand has a TPC of 15 (14 HCPs and 1 distributional point), so he would pass, and you would have missed a game. Example 2. North, holding A543 A2 AKQ74 86, opens 1D. East passes, and South holds KQ8762 8 42 A532. Describe a sensible auction. N S S’s first bid is obvious. 1D 1S * N has a Spade fit and has 5 (2+1+0+2) losers, so S should 4S* 4NT** make at least 10 (24 - (5+9)) tricks. 5S^ 6S^^ ** N will have assumed the LTC of S’s hand is 9. In fact, S has only 6 (1+1+2+2) losers, so the LTC predicts that S can make 13 tricks.
Rather than punting a grand slam, S makes this asking bid. (It is very unlikely that the defence can cash HA and DAK, so this enquiry is safe.)
^ This response promises 3 Aces. ^^ S now knows that there is no Ace missing. However, even if N has 2 Kings, a grand slam is uncertain, so S just bids 6S. Likely play: S will make the slam, drawing Trumps in at most 3 rounds, just losing 1 Club trick. He can ruff 1 Club loser in Dummy and ditch another on a Diamond in Dummy. (Note, if the outstanding Diamonds split 3-3, S will get 3 Club discards on Dummy’s Diamonds, and will make 13 tricks. But that’s against the odds.)
To sum up, the LTC provides a useful method of deciding the final contract when partners have found a suit fit. It is easy to apply – in my view much easier than the traditional method using total point counts, Also, with distributional hands, it is more accurate than the method using TPCs. (I hope I have convinced you!)
14
Gordon Fullerton. NCBA President
NCBA AGM SNIPPETS The NCBA AGM was held on Wednesday 10 May with free wine and nibbles
and a free game of bridge afterwards. More people attended than have done for a while- was it the free wine or was it because the agenda had an interesting item to debate: a strategy for NCBA going forward? The NCBA Chair John Auld gave a quick ‘state of the nation’ address: the
County Teams performed well this year with the first team coming and close third overall- the best result for some time and in the Tollemache the team was close to the Finals. Gambit in the Garden Cities To8 for the first time in years have qualified for the finals on June 24th. Good luck guys!!
The Priday Cup as a new competition for improving pairs, is established now and was won by Keyworth (see above) and this year we have 2 Divisions in the T04- things look promising and the finances are sound to boot! So what are the issues? : the same that applies in most Counties- falling membership in places and reducing numbers entering competitions. Bridge in a competitive game and there is fun in entering competitions but they do seem to be on the decline. For example the Midlands mixed pairs recently held had 19 pairs when a few year back it was 80! The room also noted that bridge was healthy in the County in that there were approximately 15+ unaffiliated clubs. This newsletter goes to all the unaffiliated clubs we know of as it’s about prompting BRIDGE of whatever kind. But these clubs could be missing out by not
15
affiliating. Everyone has the opportunity to come and hear EBU tell us about the benefits of joining EBU on 20 July. if you want to attend at the Nottingham Bridge Club (free car parking and cuppa) please contact the Editor for numbers. This is the same day as the ‘New Laws’ briefing so we will be covering the Changes and then hosting EBU to talk to unafilliated clubs afterwards. NOTE: If readers have any ideas on the issues of unaffiliated clubs or encouraging more to enter competitions, feel free to contact John, Clare or the Editor. We want to hear from you!! In terms of the way forward for NCBA, the strategy paper was discussed and several attendees put forward ideas. It seems Clubs want to see what NCBA can do for them and want more visible personal attention. The Strategy paper was agreed and a small working party of about 4 persons re being sought to thrash out a draft action plan covering the proposed objectives. This includes Mark Goddard (Nottingham Bridge Club) and David Adams (Keyworth Club). Could you join the group?? We need a few more interested persons. Of course any proposals need manpower (sic) to carry out there work once its been planned out- so any volunteers to support our efforts would be warmly welcomed. Why not volunteer on any topic for any length of time that you have a knowledge or liking for. Any support will really help us change the face of Bridge in Nottinghamshire- be
part of it!!
Remember- this is your County Association. We exist solely to support Bridge in Nottinghamshire. And you
don’t tell us what you need, we can’t help!! We are up for CHANGE. Please communicate with us.
These are the ambitious high-level Objectives put to the AGM and which NCBA will be taking forward- any comments to Editor please:
1. Raise the profile of Bridge via a promotion and
advertising plan to the wider Nottingham public.
(Leading to improved entry/retention rates particularly
amongst the younger age groups, benefitting all clubs.)
16
2. Undertake an Engagement & Communications review as
a follow up to the 2015 survey. (Improving networking,
sharing skills/resources, ensuring we address the needs of our
players via effective communications)
3. Conduct and Internal review to ensure efficiency and
accountability of action. (Ensuring we are cost efficient and
our policies and constitution are fit for our professional aims)
4. Support training and development for players,
organisers and directors. (Leading to improved enjoyment
& standards for all, as well as investment in the youth and
potential stars of the future.)
5. Review our annual events and County Teams processes.
(Increasing competition entries and developing capability and
At this time of year many competitions draw to a close.
17
Various Clubs hold competitions and are duly covered on club websites but these are the Champions that I have been directly informed of. (Editor: calling all clubs- why not advertise
your star players and forward details of competitions and winners so they can be included in the Newsletter?
You may also get more ‘out of club’ attendees if you advertise!!) . Steve Raine: NCBA Winter Pairs Champion Steve Raine & Ankush Khandelwal: NCBA Farr Cup Similar pair Irene & John Auld: NCBA Black Cup Mixed Pairs. Barbara Pilbin and Pat Bevis: NCBA Priday Cup Sandy Fulton and Bernard : NCBA Corwen Trophy (top 3 pairs to represent Nottingham at the Pairs Finals in Birmingham. Irene and John Auld, Bill Whalley and Pravin Tailor: The winning 'County Teams of 4' representing Nottingham in the Pachabo.
Bill Whalley and Pravin Tailor: NBC Broadhead Bowl (second year running) Bill Whalley Pravin Tailor: NBC Max Radford Trophy Liz Richardson & Joan Hardwick tie with Di Abbott and Sylvia Goodlud: NBC Poyser Cup Steve Raine & Mark Goddard: NBC City Cup (Butler Imps) Lynne Cumberpatch: NBC Jack Hammond Trophy (see below photo) Toni Smith: NBC Lucy Shillito Cup (for services to Nottinghamshire Bridge) Mary & Richard Buller: NBC Cullen Cup Fay Staton & Ian Iger: NBC Eric Nunn Trophy Jim & Georgina Lyons: NBC Harry Lodge Memorial Cup
Ravenshead Bridge Club explore teams games.
You may have seen in the last issue a ‘spotlight on Ravenshead’ Club. Well, Raveneshead is becoming quite progressive as this article by Woodborough club member Phil Meats notes…
Lynne Cumberpatch being presented with the Jack Hammond Trophy at the Nottingham Bridge Club (NBC) AGM on 19 March.
18
Clive Aveyard of Ravenshead Bridge Club approached Woodborough Bridge Club to see if we could give them a ‘taster’ of teams format. They play rubber or pairs duplicate on a Monday or Thursday evening, and wanted to explore’ how to do it’. Phil Meats arranged to do this with a pair of sessions, one Away and the second at Home. Ravenshead came to Woodborough in November, and we ran a team-of-eight alongside a normal duplicate evening. After welcoming Ravenshead, we had a brief discussion about the difference in style between pairs and teams, being more like rubber where game bonuses are way more significant than overtricks. The game was all very friendly and relaxed, and both sides enjoyed the evening. The return was in April, when Woodborough went to St John’s Centre. Clive was keen to adopt the team-scoring paperwork, which we ran in parallel with BriAn electronic scoring. The first hour was accompanied by music from the exercise class in the next room. The fast tempo seemed to help with speed of play. The second board offered 13 tricks in Clubs or No Trumps. Congratulations to Ravenshead pair Ireen and Maria on bidding and making 7 Clubs. There was lots of friendly conversation, and everyone really enjoyed the game. The buzz left Ravenshead players talking of playing more teams events. And Clive has now entered Ravenshead in the County teams-of-four summer league. Well done Clive! Phil Meats Results on Woodborough website http://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwok/bw.cgi?pid=display_rank&msec=1&sessid=256572730665502&event=20170424_1&wd=1&club=woodborough
Spotlight on: Wollaton Bridge Club Nottingham’s largest
unaffiliated bridge club
Wollaton Park Bridge Club was formed in April 1993 playing at the Bramcote memorial Hall/Room for the first few years then moving to the Wollaton Park Community Association Hall Harrow road Wollaton because the fortnightly club at 8-11 tables, was getting too large. In interview Andrew said the club was started by himself and Tony Neale, initially as a nursery drive for his two beginners classes along with some of Tony’s Group. ‘A lot of the beginners were finding it difficult to find a friendly and relaxed game without the normal pressures of going to a formal bridge club, so it was a sort of preparation for them to move on when they were ready, but the club just kept growing.’ Last year the club averaged 17.75 tables, though the best turnout was 23 Tables Nov 2015! The winners win prizes and there is always a booby prize to raise a smile each week. The club prides itself on being very friendly and sociable and there is a small break for a chat over Tea/coffee and biscuits. Tony sadly died in 2004 and the Anniversary Bowl competition changed its name to The Tony Neale Bowl, which is run once a year with over £300 pounds in cash prizes going to the Winners charities of their choice each year. Andrew noted that the ‘beginners’ rationale of the start up has progressed as some of the club members now few play for the County and in the Teams of 8 League in Division One. However those early beginnings are still honoured with Andrew having run two beginners classes each year, at the Nottingham Bridge Club for the last 10 years. Andrew states that in fact he has run at least one beginners class each year since 1986.………(Ed: yes he is older than you think!) Andrew is also been a member of the Nottingham Bridge Club since 1978 and has served on the committee for many years. Andrew’s interest in developing players
20
and teaching bridge is clear – he organises the Friendly Fridays at the Nottingham BC and also a beginners duplicate group on Wednesdays where both groups can use crib sheets and ask questions during play. Andrew concluded by saying: ‘ I feel that it is important to encourage beginners to play and make the transition to club bridge. If we don’t, we can lose them’. Wollaton welcomes drop in visitors and has a large car park. If you’re without a partner simply contact Andrew ([email protected]). Andrew’s classes are aimed at the complete beginner, so pass his details on to that wavering beginner you know!!!! .
Phoenix AGM 31 May Extract from Secretary's Report
The committee has met four times this year in order to ensure the continued smooth running of the club. Issues have included Director training, start/end of sessions, key holders, social events, teams, the dealing machine, accommodation, weekly prizes and the state of our finances. We have also begun to address the future and we have looked at sessions for learners/improvers. We have also welcomed four new members this year. Hurrah and welcome! The committee has also taken upon itself responsibility for the start and end of sessions and we are grateful for the continued help of all members in clearing away after sessions. We extend our warmest thanks to all who have made Phoenix such a successful, up to date, and thriving club.
INVITATION
DO YOU WISH TO LEARN ABOUT EBUScore? We are currently discussing with EBU for them to come and deliver a presentation in Nottinghamshire on the EBUScore system. EBU have said that EBUScore may have to be used to score the To8 in the future. Some clubs may wish to consider whether to adopt this new free system rather than Scorebridge/other currently being used.
If your club, or you as an individual, are interested please log your name with Clare the Secretary. If there is enough take up we will arrange for this session at a mutually convenient time and place. Currently we have about half a dozen interested persons but this is not enough to hold an event. Since this will be needed for this Autumn, think ahead and join in. contact NCBA Secretary Clare if you are interested.
If you recall from the December Issue, we focused on saying thank you to those who help out in making Bridge successful in Nottinghamshire. Did
you play your part and thank those in your club? A few warm words goes a long way in rewarding folk and keeping volunteers on board.
In particular the Editor was contacted to say a special thanks to
Jane Hall
for all the work she does for Woodborough Bridge Club. Whilst many people help out at the club, the variety of activities she undertakes as well
as being club secretary for many years is astounding.
Jane is also a member of the NCBA committee and will be taking the load off by splitting her heavy secretarial duties at Woodborough Club at the
July AGM. Jane has played in the Notts County Teams and a regular at To8 and To4. Her special attention to newcomers and visitors to the club is a factor in increasing membership numbers and making the club known as
a friendly supportive place to play bridge. Thanks Jane.
Keep those votes of thanks coming!!
~~~~~~
23
Enter our quiz and find out! prize money for the best entry!!
(A draw will be made if there are 2 or more equally good answers. Gordon’s decision is
final!!
In the event of there being 2, or more, equally good entries, a draw will be made. Answers and the name of the winner will appear on the NCBA web-site shortly after the close of entries.
In each of the following questions, assume you and your partner are playing standard Acol.
Question 1. (4 marks) N is the dealer and the auction begins 1H P P a) Sitting W, what should you bid with
KJ104 73 AQ2 A863?
b) If partner’s first bid is 1S, what would you rebid?
c) What would the final contract be if partner’s hand is Q9652 A4 K3 10752?
d) If S leads JH, how should partner play to make as many tricks in Spades as possible?
24
Question 2. (4 marks) N is the dealer and the auction begins 1S P P a) Sitting W, what should you bid holding AJ93 KQ5 KJ8 1074? b) If N passes and partner bids 2NT, what would you rebid? c) If N leads S4 and partner’s hand is 532 A73 Q962 AQ8, how would you plan to make your contract? Question 3. (1 mark) Your partner is dealer and opens 1H, and the next hand passes. a) What should you respond holding 53 K632 A7532 64? Question 4. (3 marks) Partner is dealer and opens 1S with AKQJ3 642 A6 A54. You respond 2S. a) What should partner rebid? (We shall discuss this sort of situation in a subsequent article. At the
moment, I’m interested to discover what you think is an appropriate rebid.)
b) In a Spade contract, how many tricks will partner make if you hold the following hands
(a) 10952 KQ 753 K863 or
(b) 10952 753 KQ K863?
(assuming you would respond 2S holding either of these hands.)
25
Dave Robinson Hints – Answer
There are actually 3 tips here.
1) Partner can have as few as 6 points. So game is not likely to be a great proposition unless partner has about 8/9 points.
2) Pushing for non-vulnerable games is not to be encouraged unless game is over 45% probability. This is because if it does make you gain 6 Imps and when it doesn't you lose 5. But more than that by even looking for game you risk losing 5-6 imps when game was a hopeless proposition and the 2NT bid was already too high.
3) One can avoid getting into a pickle by using checkback (2 clubs by responder being the most common way of asking opener what sort of hand he has). If one uses checkback it means that retreat to 2 of responder's major after the 1NT bid is 100% the end of the auction
Responder's hand was KQJ108 65 542 964 2NT went 2 down and 2S would have scored 140.
2017 NCBA Committee members and Officers (and their home club)
NO CHANGE TO LAST YEAR. WE STILL HAVE VACANCIES AND ARE WILLOING TO CO OPT PEOPLE ON. COME AND JOIN US!!
President Gordon Fullerton (Keyworth) Chair John Auld (Nottingham) Secretary Clare Batten (Nottingham) Treasurer Ian Dovey (West Bridgford) County TD Tim Anderson (W Bridgford) (retiring shortly so this post will be vacant) To4 convenor Keith Spencer (Woodborough) To8 convenor Chris Clarke (East Bridgford) County Captain Keith Rodger (Nottingham) Communications & Promotions Toni Smith (Woodborough & Nottingham) Website Keith Spencer (Woodborough) Events Manager Graham Brindley (Nottingham) Other committee members: Anthony Pettengell (Phoenix & Nottingham & Woodborough) Jane Hall (Woodborough)
Any comments on this newsletter or related issues are welcome. Please contact Editor Toni or Secretary Clare or any NCBA Committee member.
Any articles or bridge information for inclusion in future Issues happily received. Editor: [email protected],uk
