the ebu members’ magazine –february 2019 –issue 281

The EBU members’ magazine –February 2019 – Issue 281

3February 2019 English Bridgewww.ebu.co.uk

From the Chairman 5 n

ACOLytes – Sarah Bell 6 lHeffalump Traps – Bakhshi’s questions 8 n

Club Bidding Quiz – Pottage’s questions 8 n

Traps for the Unwary – Michael Byrne 10 lBridge Fiction – David Bird 12 n

Beat Today’s Experts – Bird’s questions 14 n

Bridge with a Twist – Simon Cochemé 16 n

Prize Leads Quiz – Mould’s questions 18 n

Ask Frances – Frances Hinden 20 lHeather’s Hints – Heather Dhondy 22 lAdd one thing . . . – Neil Rosen 24 lTransition – 5-card majors – Chris Chambers 26 lBridge Tips – David Gold 28 lGreat Bridge Disasters – David Burn 30 n

Calendar and Competition News 32 n

Ask Robin – Robin Barker 34 n

EBU Awards for 2018 36 n

Highs, Lows & Statistics 39 n

Beat Today’s Experts – Bird’s answers 40 n

Channel Trophy – Tony Ye 44 n

December’s Leads Quiz – Mould’s answers 46 n

Heffalump Traps – Bakhshi’s answers 48 n

Eliminating sit-outs – Cheltenham BC 50 n

EBED News & Junior Bridge 51 n

EBU’s Membership Drive 54 n

Crossword, Caption Competition 55 n

Letters to the Editor 56 n

Christmas Quiz – Andrew Robson 58 n

In Memoriam 61 n

Club Bidding Quiz – Pottage’s answers 62 n

ONLINE EXTRABridge Club Live 65 n

Funbridge 66 n

Byrne’s extra quiz 67 n

Blast from the Past – 1947 Quiz 68 n

Rosen’s extra quiz 72 n

Obituaries 72 n

© All rights reserved

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English Bridge INSIDE GUIDE

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Education:Tame Tricky Taxing Tough l l lEBU News Quiz Features Laws & Ethics Reports

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second and subsequent game then it has to be to apleasant environment. Some larger clubs can rungames for relative beginners but that isn’t alwayspossible and anyway the aim has to be eventually tore-invigorate the club and the weekly or twiceweekly game. Clubs need to be welcoming places ifrelative beginners are going to come and feel theyhave enjoyed their game.

Several counties are now running membershipcampaigns designed to get new members to theclubs. The EBU has a membership developmentofficer (Tim Anderson) and a board director (RonMillet) leading the process and a new section of thewebsite with a lot of materials to help clubs. You canfind that part of the site by looking at the top right-hand corner of the website front page. Tim haswritten about the new membership drive on p54.

EASTER TIME

The London Easter Festival is moving venue afterabout a quarter of a century. Its new home is theILEC Conference Centre. It’s close to WestBrompton Station and has an excellent playing area.It’s a bit cheaper for us to hire than the RoyalNational so if you enter before the end of thismonth there is a modest discount. Seewww.ebu.co.uk/competitions/easter-londonfor detail. There will also be a Jack High Swiss Pairson Bank Holiday Monday. The one at Christmaswas successful and well supported so those of youwho are a Jack or less on the NGS may enjoy it.

PLASTIC OH NO!

A couple of readers have contacted me to say theplastic wrapping surrounding English Bridge is notrecyclable in their area so it is not universal and itmay repay checking before you consign it to thegreen bin! The Editorial Board of the magazine willlook for a more environmentally-friendly coveringbut it has to be cost effective. r

Steering the EBU

From the Chairman by Jeremy Dhondy

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MEMBERSHIP BOOST

It’s a sad fact that Bridge players are ageing and

thus far have not been replaced by younger

players. This is true in most countries. A recent

meeting between one of our directors and the

Australian Bridge Federation revealed that they are

losing 3,500 members per year and worrying about

how to replace them. Reports from the USA suggest

the same sort of problem and a membership whose

average age is well over 70. Our decline is less

noticeable than that but still there. So how do we get

new members and keep them? Sometimes you will

hear people extolling junior bridge and the

performance of some of our junior teams is

excellent but in terms of numbers juniors represent

a little over 1% of our membership (albeit it

substantially increased in the last couple of years)

and many of them do not play much in clubs so that

will not help with that aspect of membership.

Perhaps one route to success is by teaching those

who are coming close to retirement and may have

more time to learn how to play. We now have both

a traditional course and a Fast Track Course. Many

clubs don’t have teaching programmes and one

reason for that is a lack of teachers so there has been

a reintroduction of the free place for a second

teacher for all affiliated clubs. Bookings for these

courses is going well and there will be more of them

in 2019. Detail is available at:

www.ebu.co.uk/clubs/free-teaching-places.

If we have teachers and students and they are not

only taught but want to progress then the next step

is encouraging them to play at the club. A number

of counties and the EBU itself are putting on

tournaments for newer players but it is at the club

they will play their first competitive bridge and if

they are to have the confidence to go back for a

6 English Bridge February 2019 www.ebu.co.uk

Strong Opening Bids

ACOLytes - Know the Basics by Sarah Bell

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Last time we looked at weak 2 openings:opening bids of 2t, 2™ and 2´ showing lessthan an opening bid and a six card suit. This

time we will start to look at the rather more excitingstrong opening bids, starting with the 2NT opening.Opening 2NT shows 20-22 points and a balancedor, potentially, semi-balanced hand. A 2NT openingis not forcing: partner can pass it if they have uttergarbage, or opt to play in three of a major if you areplaying transfers and they have a very weak handwith a five card heart or spade suit.

Opening 2NT is a little different to opening 1NTin the sense that there is slightly more flexibility inwhat sorts of hands you treat as balanced. You willpick up plenty of semi-balanced hands with about20 points and find that if you bid your shape outyou are never able to get your strength across andare left guessing later in the auction. It is also oftenimportant that you declare the hand rather thanyour partner because you want the opening lead tocome round into the strong hand, not go through it.I will open 2NT with a balanced hand with a fivecard major or a semi-balanced hand without one.Do bear in mind, however, that a long suit improvesa hand’s playing strength, so you may need toupgrade accordingly: you should not open 2NTwith a 22 count and a 6-card suit as this hand is toostrong.

Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3´ K J 8 ´ A J ´ K Q J 7 5 4 ™ Q J 10 7 3 ™ K Q 3 ™ A Qt A K t A K J 8 7 3 t A J 10® A Q 4 ® Q 10 ® K J

Hand 4 Hand 5´ 9 6 3 ´ K Q J 7 6 ™ A K Q J ™ K 5t K Q t A Q J 5® A Q J 5 ® A 3

Hands 1 and 4 are clear 2NT openers: they have 20-22 points and are balanced. I would also open 2NTon hand 2. There is no perfect way to bid hand 3 butmost expert Acol players would open 1´ and rebid3t. This is a slight lie as you should be 5-4 but withfour diamonds partner will often still try to play in3NT, which is fine, and they will often mention 2-card spade support over 3t if they do not have asuitable hand to bid 3NT (with 5-9 points and threespades they would have responded 2´ so bidding3´ over 3t does not promise three). With hand 5 Iwould open 1´, planning to rebid 3t to show 18+points and at least 5-4 shape. If my spades anddiamonds were the other way round, however, Iwould open 2NT because it’s less likely to be right toshow my five card diamond suit than it is my fivecard spade suit on the deal that I have given.

RESPONDING TO 2NTPeople play a lot of different methods over a 2NT

opening but I am going to keep it simple. As ever,you should start by deciding whether you are likelyto belong in part score, game or slam. There aren’tvery many bids between 2NT and game so you can’tinvite partner to game after a 2NT opening.

The content of ACOLytes may occasionally differfrom Bridge for All teaching materials produced byEBED, and the author may make some changesaccording to personal teaching style. Bridge for Allteaching and practice books can be purchased fromwww.bridge-warehouse.co.uk

Bridge for All & ACOLytes

A SEMI-BALANCED HANDYou can open 2NT with a semi-balancedhand, such as 5·4·2·2 or 6·3·2·2.

Have a look at the following hands and decide ifyou think they are suitable for a 2NT opening:


If you have at least a 5 count or a bit less with asuit that can be trumps you should be in game. It’sworth remembering that partner is unlikely to holda 22 count when they open 2NT because 22 countsare dealt less frequently than 20 counts. In fact, thechance that partner has a 20 count is slightly morethan the chance of a 21 and a 22 count combined.This means that you shouldn’t bid marginal gameson the grounds that partner may have 22 – theyprobably don’t, and hands that you were thinking ofinviting on should probably lean towards passing.

Your system over 2NT should be broadly similarto what you play over 1NT. I play Stayman andmajor suit transfers over 1NT so that is what I playover 2NT. If you do not play transfers and insteadplay 1NT-3™/´ as natural, asking partner to bid4™/´ with 3-card support and 3NT without it, thenthat is what 3™/´ should mean over 2NT as well. Ineither case a reasonable meaning for 4®/t is for itto be a natural slam try and 2NT-4NT should beinviting partner to bid 6NT with a maximum orpass with a minimum, usually showing 11ishpoints. r


5 4

David Bakhshi gives theanswers on page 48

In each of the following hands you are sittingSouth. You are playing in a teams match withIMPs scoring. You should make a plan to give

yourself the best chance of making your contract,even if that means giving up on the possibility ofmaking overtricks.

Hand 1 ´ J 6 3 ™ 10 6 2 t K 7 ® K 9 8 5 4

´ A 8 ™ K Q J 7 5 t 10 8 2 ® A Q 3

Hand 2 ´ 4 ™ A 7 3 t A K J 9 4 3 ® 9 7 2

´ Q J 7 3 ™ K 10 4 t 10 8 2 ® A K 4

Hand 3 ´ J 7 3 ™ 6 2 t Q 10 7 5 ® Q 8 5 2

´ A 10 5 ™ A 8 3 t A J 9 6 2 ® A K

Hand 4 ´ 8 5 4 ™ K Q 6 3 t 7 6 2 ® K 10 3

´ A K 7 ™ A J 9 7 5 2 t A Q ® A 4

You are in 4™. Westleads the ´10. Plan

your play.

You are in 3NT. Westleads the ™4 and Eastplays the ™J. Plan

your play.

You are in 6™. Westleads the ´Q. Plan

your play.

You are declarer in 3NT.West leads the ´5. Eastwins the ´A and returnsthe ´9. Plan your play.

NW ES

NW ES

NW ES

NW ES

ON EACH of the following problems, you areWest. What should you bid with each hand onthe given auction at pairs, Love All?

W N E S 1™ Pass 1´ Pass ?

W N E S 1® Pass 1´

2™ Dble1 3™ Pass?1 3-card spade support

W N E S 1´ Dble Pass

?

W N E S 1® Dble 1´ Pass ?

W N E S Pass

Pass Pass 1t 1´

1NT Pass 2NT Pass?

W N E S 1t Pass Pass

?

Hand 1´ 8 7 5™ A Q J 5t J 7® A K 10 3

Hand 2´ 8 7 4 2™ K Q 9 5 4t A 4 2® A

Hand 3´ 8 7 4 2™ Q J 7 4 3t Q 5® A 3

Hand 4´ 7 6™ A 10 2t A J 7® A K J 8 2

Hand 5´ Q J 10 2™ A 10t 10 9 ® J 10 7 6 2

Hand 6´ K Q J 8 6 4™ A K 10 5t J® Q J

Julian Pottage gives the answerson page 62


Hand 1 Hand 2´ Q J 8 4 ´ A 4 3 2 ™ K 4 ™ 7 6t Q J 3 t K 10 5® 9 6 5 4 ® 9 6 5 4

Hand 3 Hand 4´ A 10 8 ´ 8 ™ K 9 4 3 ™ 9 3 2t 8 7 2 t 8 7 5® Q 9 5 ® A K J 9 5 4

The last few months we have been looking atsituations where partner opens the biddingand you must consider what to do, whether

you have a weak or invitational hand. This time theopponents are going to make things much harderby throwing a spanner into the works andintervening.

Imagine a simple start where partner opens 1tand the next hand overcalls 1´ - what would youbid on each of these hands?

Coping with Interference - Part 1

Traps for the unwary by Michael Byrneby Michael Byrne

stretch to show our major suit, and a negativedouble is the right thing to do. When you make anegative double of the opponents’ spade overcallthis shows four hearts and the 4-4 fit (if one exists)will be reached. Don't worry about the spadestopper – if partner has enough to make 3NTplayable he will make a strong rebid and you canfind no trumps later.

Hand 4 is a pleasant hand but it lacks the valuesto go to the 2-level. Unfortunately every otherchoice is more flawed – a negative double showshearts (it's ok to have three sometimes when youhold a good hand) and a raise to 2t will leavepartner in the dark as to your enormous playingstrength. However thin it may be you have to bid 2®and hope to survive. If the next hand passes andpartner rebids 2NT (15-17) then you are committedand must shut your eyes and bid 3NT. On a goodday you have six tricks for partner.

The key thing is that you hold a singleton spade,and if the next hand bids spades enthusiasticallyyou want partner to know there is somewhere hecan go.

You'll notice I have made several references to thefact that 1NT has a different point range to usual –why is it not the normal 5-9?

To understand let us compare and contrast twoauctions:

Hand 1 is straight out of the text book for a 1NTbid. Holding nine card points you expect to be ableto make 1NT comfortably and you hold a doublespade stopper as well as a load of soft values (queensand jacks) which are most useful in no trumps.

Hand 2 must not bid 1NT as any cost. The spadeholding is horrible - whatever partner has in spadeswill be led through and will not bolster yourholding at all, whether it is Q10, Q9 or J8. You alsodon't have enough points with a scraggy seven andhave a perfectly good alternative in the form of 2t,supporting partner's suit. Three-card support isfine as you have a perfectly respectable hand with aruffing value.

Hand 3 has a nice spade stopper and the 8-10range you need and you might think I am about totell you that 1NT sums up the hand well – itdoesn't. Just as if the opponent had passed we must

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Auction A W N E S 1™ Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass

In Auction A, imagine the opener has 19 pointsand responder 6. With 25 points between them,they reach game.

Auction B W N E S 1™ 1´ Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass


In Auction B, once again the opener has 19 pointsand responder has 6. Responder chooses to pass(imagine he doesn’t have three hearts) and openerbids again with 1NT.

The reason why you need to respond a dustbin1NT when the next hand passes is so that your sidewill not languish in 1™when a game contract can bemade.

However when the opponents overcall thisdanger has passed – not because your side won’thave 25 points but because partner will get anotherbid irrespective of what you do, and game will bereached one way or another.

So the values needed for a ‘free’ bid of 1NT afteran overcall are 8-10. As usual there are some cheekyhands of 7 HCP that might sneak in (especially ifthey have a tasty spade holding backed up byintermediate cards).

A jump to 2NT would start at a hand too good for1NT, so a super 10 up to a poor 12, and withanything more than that you will bid 3NT, eithernow or later.

Something else crucial which might have leftreaders scratching their heads was this sequence:

there is no reason why the overcaller can’t have 14points and their partner seven, leaving theresponder (who has done nothing but passedthroughout) with nothing at all!

Instead, if you rebid 1NT when partner hasshown nothing you promise a decent hand, 17-19points. Hands with only 15-16 should just pass outthe overcall if they have length in the oppositionsuit. If they have shortage in the overcall suit thenthey can double for take-out regardless of howstrong they are. r

The Dos and Don’ts of coping withinterference

Do make sure your free bid of 1NT is 8-10points after an overcall with a sound stopperin the opponent’s suit.

Do stretch to show a good suit if you have ashapely hand with shortage in theovercaller’s suit. If your LHO raises thenpartner has somewhere to go

Don’t rebid as opener in the same way whenyour LHO overcalls and your partnerpasses as you would if partner hadresponded. When partner passes he haspromised nothing!

Don’t forget that the first priority is to find amajor suit fit. When responding, use anegative double to show length in the un-bid major suit. This should take priorityover a no trump response, showing astopper in the opponent’s suit. r

MORE PRACTICE ONLINE, P67

Auction B W N E S 1™ 1´ Pass Pass 1NT

Auction C W N E S 1™ Pass 1´ Pass ?

Auction D W N E S 1™ 1´ Pass Pass ?

Did I really say that opener might have 19 pointsfor this bid? Why not bid 2NT?

The answer of course is very simple and entirelylogical. When partner has passed he has promisedno values at all, and there is no reason to think youwill make 2NT. Compare and contrast these twosimple sequences:

In the first sequence partner has promised a fewvalues, it used to be six HCP but some hands of fiveHCP should respond as well, so a jump to 2NT on18-19 makes perfect sense.

In the second sequence partner has promisednothing at all so it is not safe to jump to 2NT. In fact


Game All. Dealer South. ´ J 5 ™ 7 6 t A 9 7 6 5 2 ® J 5 3 ´ Q 8 2 ´ 10 9 7 4 3 ™ 10 9 3 ™ J 8 5 4 t K 10 8 t 4

® Q 10 4 2 ® 9 7 6 ´ A K 6 ™ A K Q 2 t Q J 3 ® A K 8

The first round of the school duplicate saw theHeadmaster and the Reverend Benson facingHutson and Phillips, who were now half-way

through their fifth-form year.

‘Ah, Hutson,’ said Benson. ‘A very poor essay fromyou on The Impact of the Celtic Saints. I marked itbeta minus minus.’

‘But it was almost three pages, Sir,’ John Hutsonprotested.

‘Two and a half pages of some of the largest hand-writing I have ever witnessed,’ continued Benson.‘Very little meaningful content.’

Hutson extracted his cards, finding the best handthat he had seen for a while.

West North East South The Neil Reverend John Headmaster Phillips Benson Hutson 2®

Pass 2t Pass 3NT Pass 4NT Pass 6NT All Pass

The Headmaster shook his head disapprovingly.It was typical of these boys to assign an artificialmeaning to a bid, whenever possible. The valuablenotion of natural bidding was foreign to them.

Hutson won the heart lead in his hand and playedthe queen of diamonds. The Headmaster coveredwith the king and dummy’s ace won the trick. Whena second diamond was played to the jack, theReverend Benson discarded a spade.

Hutson counted his top tricks, finding that therewere only nine available. He would need to makeseveral more diamond tricks. Could it be done?

There was only one possibility. He played twomore rounds of hearts, all following, and then led athird round of diamonds. The Headmaster wonwith the t10 and had no heart to play. Howaggravating! He would now have to lead from oneof his black-suit queens, with the two matchingjacks waiting in the dummy.

Since there was more chance that declarer held®AK doubleton rather than ´AK doubleton, theHeadmaster exited with a club. Dummy’s jack wonthe trick and the remaining diamonds gave declarerhis contract.

‘Wow, that was clever,’ exclaimed Neil Phillips.‘Well played, partner!’

‘It was appallingly played,’ declared theHeadmaster. ‘The boy should have ducked thesecond round of diamonds, letting my king win.What could be simpler than that?’

‘I had thirteen tricks if your king was doubleton,’Hutson replied. ‘I couldn’t throw away that chanceat matchpoints.’

The Headmaster beckoned for the next board tobe brought into position. Some of these boys werequite foolish when it came to bridge. Did he notrealise that twelve tricks in 6NT would be anexcellent score anyway?

’East might have held a singleton t10 too,’Hutson added.

Bertie Bellis’s Interesting Deal

Bridge Fiction by David Bird

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NW ES

The Headmaster led the ™10 and down went thedummy. ‘Surely you need a diamond fit for a slam tobe worthwhile?’ he said. ‘Four diamonds would havemade more sense than 4NT.’

Neil Phillips nodded his agreement. ‘Yes, Sir, if it’savailable,’ he replied. ‘We use that as a transfer forhearts.’


Game All. Dealer East. ´ A 10 ™ 7 t 10 8 7 6 4 3 2 ® J 6 2 ´ J 9 8 5 3 2 ´ 6 4 ™ K 6 ™ A J 10 8 5 4 2 t A t Q J

® Q 10 8 4 ® 9 7 ´ K Q 7 ™ Q 9 3 t K 9 5 ® A K 5 3

West North East South The Percy Reverend Bertie Headmaster Cutforth Benson Bellis 3™ 3NT All Pass

NW ES

Halfway through the evening, the Headmasterfaced Bertie Bellis and Percy Cutforth. ‘Veryinteresting deals tonight,’ Bellis observed.

The Headmaster managed a polite nod. Thesenior mathematics master said much the samething almost every week. It was well known thatdeals became more interesting when you scoredwell on them. The players drew their cards for thisboard:

The Headmaster led king and another heart,declarer throwing a club from dummy. Benson wonwith the ace of hearts and returned the heart jack.

Bertie Bellis won with the queen of hearts andsurveyed the diamond suit. He would need West tohold the ace of diamonds, clearly, otherwise hewould suffer a torrent of hearts. He could afford tolose two diamond tricks, so all would be well if theHeadmaster held the tAQ or tAJ. Perhaps hecould find a tiny extra chance.

At trick four, the maths master crossed todummy’s ace of spades. ‘Small diamond, please,’ hesaid.

When the jack appeared from East, this was thelowest diamond out. Bellis played the t5 from hishand, knowing that West would have to overtake.The Headmaster won with the ace and returned aspade, declarer claiming the remaining tricks for+630.

‘Interesting deal,’ Bellis observed. He turnedtowards the Reverend Benson. ‘If you play the queen

of diamonds instead of the jack, I might well gowrong and put on the king. That would be right ifthe Headmaster held ace-jack doubleton.’

The Headmaster paused to absorb thisinformation. ‘I was about to make the same point,’he said. ‘The queen of diamonds. That’s what weneeded, partner.’

Bellis said no more but a further point occurredto him. If the Headmaster had discarded the ace ofdiamonds on the third round of hearts, that wouldhave defeated the contract for sure! r

Beat Today’s ExpertsThese hands are all from modern eventsand David Bird points to some useful lessonsto be learned from them. Bid them withyour partner and then see how your effortscompare with the experts’ bidding.

FEBRUARY 2019WEST HANDS

(IMP scoring on every deal)

1. E/W Game ´ A 7 5 3 Dealer South ™ A 7 6 4 t A J 8 (Klukowski) ® K Q * South bids 1´, North bids 2´

2. N/S Game ´ 5 3 Dealer West ™ K J 9 7

t A K 3 (Gawrys) ® A Q 5 3

3. N/S Game ´ A 9 7 Dealer East ™ A 9 t A K (Madala) ® A K Q J 9 4

4. Game All ´ Q 8 5 4 Dealer West ™ K 10 5 4 t 10 7 (Bilde) ® A J 6 * North opens 1t

5. Game All ´ A K 5 Dealer North ™ A 4 2 t Q 5 (Sementa) ® A K 10 5 2 * South opens 1™, and rebids 2™

6. N/S Game ´ A Q Dealer West ™ K Q 5 2 t K Q 4 (Helness) ® 9 6 3 2

Did you beat the experts? – Page 40

Beat Today’s ExpertsThese hands are all from modern eventsand David Bird points to some useful lessonsto be learned from them. Bid them withyour partner and then see how your effortscompare with the experts’ bidding.

FEBRUARY 2019EAST HANDS

(IMP scoring on every deal)

1. E/W Game ´ 10 Dealer South ™ Q J 9 8 3 t 7 (Gawrys) ® A 10 9 7 4 2 * South bids 1´, North bids 2´

2. N/S Game ´ J 9 7 6 4 Dealer West ™ A Q 6 5 3 2

t Q J (Klukowski) ® –

3. N/S Game ´ K Q 10 8 4 Dealer East ™ Q J 10 6 5 2 t Q 8 (Bianchedi) ® –

4. Game All ´ A K 10 Dealer West ™ J 8 6 2 t K 2 (Duboin) ® K Q 8 3 * North opens 1t

5. Game All ´ 9 7 4 3 Dealer North ™ 9 t K J 8 7 (Bocchi) ® 9 8 4 3 * South opens 1™, and rebids 2™

6. N/S Game ´ K 10 5 2 Dealer West ™ A 9 8 7 4 3 t J 5 (Helgemo) ® K

Did you beat the experts? – Page 40


SuperstitionsBridge with a Twist by Simon Cochemé

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Most of us are superstitious to some extent– black cats, walking under ladders,Friday 13th, and so on. Are bridge

players worse than average? What’s wrong withwearing a lucky piece of clothing, using the samepen, always sitting in the same seat, or having apreparatory ritual?

They were really superstitious in the old days. TheAmericans were trailing in the Anglo-AmericanSchwab Cup contest at the end of thefirst day’s play in London in October1934, despite Josephine Culbertsonsitting in her favourite position, South.It was reported that she arrived beforeplay began on the second day to findshe had been assigned to sit West. Sheobjected and the seating plan waschanged. It obviously worked in thelong run, because America won thematch. (I’m with Josephine on this one;I like to sit South, not for luck, norbecause I think South plays all thehands, but because I am geographicallydyslexic, and would otherwise havedifficulty reading the hand recordsheets after the game.)

An article in the Reading Eagle (Pennsylvania) in1937 lists the superstitions of some of the otherfamous players of the time. Ely Culbertson (1891-1955) always wore a carnation, but denied it was asuperstition. P. Hal Sims (1886-1949), one ofCulbertson’s great rivals, always had a head massagebefore playing. His wife, Dorothy Rice Sims (1889-1960), who became famous as the namer andpopulariser of the psyche, did not like to be wishedgood luck. William E McKinney (1891-1950), ofsuit preference signalling fame, always took thesame chair from table to table – so life for theharassed tournament directors was easier if he satNorth or South. McKinney’s wife, whose first nameseems to have been Mrs, got upset if anyonetouched her lucky scoring pencil. And lastly, Baron

Waldemar von Zedwitz wouldn’t enter the playingarena until play began.

The Italians are a superstitious nation and theytouch iron, not wood, for luck. Their unluckynumber is 17, and there is a story about when theItalians were allocated table 17 for their match againstTurkey during the European Championships inTenerife in 2001. The players arrived at the table tofind it had been redesignated 16½; the Italian non-

playing captain, Carlo Mosca, had arrived early anddone what any good NPC would have done to helphis team.

Norberto Bocchi was part of that Italian team in2001, and he was in their team again in Dublin in2012. I happened to be walking past the table wherehe was sitting alone, just before a match. Thedirector was putting out the sets of boards andBocchi declined to accept the proffered set (green, Ithink) and asked for the pink set instead. I caughthis eye and he had the grace to look a little sheepishand say ‘For luck.’ Bocchi never uses a red pen.

The English Women’s team have become famousfor sprinkling lavender oil at the table before amatch. It is said that they do it to mask the smell


caused by one of the English team’s insistence onwearing the same shirt when on a winning streak,but that isn’t true. They do it to benefit fromlavender’s famous calming properties; the fact thatit also annoys the French is merely a bonus.

The ´9 is considered an unlucky card in France,and should be jettisoned as soon as possible. Eightis a lucky number for the Chinese, and bringsfinancial reward. Four is their unlucky number. Ifyou are playing a contract against a Franco-Sinopair, you may find their defensive signalling is alittle erratic. I am told that the Chinese think thatsitting on a book brings bad luck. I don’t reallyunderstand the premise here – why would you dosomething so silly when it brings bad luck? Perhapsthe opposition sneak a book under your cushion.

Argentinians consider it unlucky to wear green atthe bridge table, or to lend a pen to an opponent. Inthe days of smoking at the table, you never lit anopponent’s cigarette They also like to be the last totake their seat. Tournaments start late in Argentina.

If tournament bridge players have thesesuperstitions, it is not surprising that rubber bridgeplayers, both serious and social, are superstitious

too. After all, chance has a much bigger role to playin rubber bridge, and choosing your seat andselecting the colour of the cards are importantaspects of courting Lady Luck. Samuel Fry Jrscorned all such superstitions and, writing in TheBridge World in 1938, offered choice of cards andseats to his opponents, in return for 50 points abovethe line.

My mother had two ways of changing her luck ifshe wasn't getting the cards in her social bridgesessions: sitting on her handkerchief (breakingcontact with the unlucky seat), or getting up andwalking round her chair. Both are fairly well-known; Sue Lawley mentioned them to me when Iinterviewed her for English Bridge in 2006. Sheconsidered hanky-sitting the superior luck-changing technique (and so much more sensiblethan sitting on a book). I was surprised to learn thatwalking round one's chair is also favoured by thesuperstitious in the Netherlands and Italy. Anotherrubber bridge superstition, popular in America, isthat the pair sitting in the same direction as the bathwill get the better cards.

If you’ve been having a bad run, I hope you findsomething here that will help you – fingers crossed. r


Fifteen bonus marks (5 for each question)are available if you also make the correct leadin the Pairs game. Each question should havetwo answers - one for Teams and one forPairs. If you don’t specify, it will be assumedyou have chosen the same lead.

An attractive twin-pack of Piatnik playing cards isthe prize on offer. For information on Piatnikcards visit www.gibsonsgames.co.uk/cards

There are TWO categories in our competi tion: upto and including Master, and those with higherranking. Please indicate the category for which youare entering with your answers. In the event of a tie,the winner from each category will be randomlyselected. The editor’s decision is final.

Entries to the Editor, Leads Quiz,Raggett House, Bowdens, Langport, Somerset,

TA10 0DDor e-mail [email protected] by 28 February 2019.

Please make sure you include your full postaladdress AND rank even if entering by e-mail!

TWO answers - Teams & PairsOpening leads are often subjective andvirtual ly any opening lead can be successfulsome of the time. However, bridge is in

many ways a game of percentages and there forecertain leads will gain more often than others. Ineach issue you will be given three hands and thebidding on each, and you are asked to choose youropening leads from those proposed by ourQuizmaster. Answers will be in the next issue. Ineach problem you are on lead as West.

Choose from: (a) ´6; (b) ™4; (c)t5; (d) ®K.

Hand 2 ´ Q 10 8 6 ™ K 8 7 4 t 5 ® K Q 9 7

South West North East Pass Pass 1NT1 Pass 2®2 Pass 2™ Pass 4™ All Pass

1 15-17, 2 Stayman

Choose from: (a) ´10 (b) ™10; (c) tA; (d) ®A

Hand 1 ´ Q 10 9 5 4 ™ 10 9 t A 5 ® A Q 5 3

South West North East 1t 1´ 5t All Pass

Choose from: (a) ´4; (b) ™Q; (c) ™3; (d) a diamond.

Hand 3 ´ 10 7 6 4 ™ Q J 4 3 t 7 6 4 ® 7 3

South West North East Pass 1® Pass 1™ Pass 1´ Pass 2t1 Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass

1 Fourth suit forcing

HHHHH

HHHHH

by Alan Mould

ANSWERS TO DECEMBER’S QUIZ: Page 46

REMEMBER – BONUS MARKS

A highly unattractive collection to lead from. Whatis the best of them?


Assessing game potential

Ask Frances by Frances Hinden

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Laurie Jackson asked, ‘Suppose my partneropens 1™ and I reply 1NT (6-9 points, no 4-card major). Partner's second bid is, say, 2t

(lower ranking ). Is there any way to discover if thisis a game-invitational hand (say 16-17 points, nowfive hearts), or a minimum hand, but shapely? If Ihave 8-9 points we may miss something if I pass.

is game on opposite a maximum 2t. A hand suchas ´J43 ™A4 tKJ42 ®10874 is typical.

Responder has another option that comes up lessfrequently. This is often called the impossible 2´.Responder denied four spades when he bid 1NT soit cannot be natural. It commonly shows a hugehand for diamonds – stronger than raising to 3t,and says nothing about spades. When 1NT islimited to 6-9 points, it will typically include 5-carddiamond support – Á32 ™4 tKQ852 ®10842.(Responder might not bid 2t initially because ofthe singleton heart).

On our sample auction, 1™-1NT-2t, responder’s2NT doesn’t really have a meaning in Acol asresponder has shown a hand too weak to inviteopposite a minimum opener (perhaps it shouldshow a more ‘no-trumpy’ diamond raise). Changethe auction slightly to 1´-1NT-2®/2t and 2NT cannow be used to show the good diamond raise (2™ isneeded to show a weak hand with long hearts).Playing an American style, where 2-over-1 is gameforcing, 2NT is needed as a natural invitational bidbut not in Acol when 1NT is strictly limited.

The last option is for responder to give what isknown as false preference back to hearts. With, say,´432 ™A4 tK842 ®10874 responder doesn’t haveenough to raise to 3t opposite what could be aminimum opening, but passing risks missing gameopposite a maximum. As a compromise, responderbids 2™. This stays at the two-level but gives openera chance to bid again with a maximum. That will getto game opposite Á6 ™KQJ765 tAQ75 ®6(opener bids 3™) without getting to a painful 3tcontract opposite ´Q76 ™KQ652 tAJ76 ®9.

Finally, if you have an understanding partner, it’sworth remembering that the goal of bidding is toget to the right contract not to follow some set ofbidding rules. You might respond 1NT to 1™ to pre-empt the spade suit with something off-centre suchas ´J4 ™3 tJ1097652 ®Q53. If partner jump shiftsinto 3® that’s technically (game) forcing, but theodds – especially at pairs - favour passing! r

It’s the nature of natural bidding systems such asAcol that, even after an opening bid and rebid,opener’s hand may not be that well defined. As you say,1™-1NT-2t can be anything from a 1-5-4-3 11-count to a 17- or 18-count – any hand not quitestrong enough to game force. For this reason,responder should only pass with both a weak handand length in diamonds. Responder has thefollowing basic options:

DPass has at least two more diamonds than heartsand a weak hand. One would be happy to stopwith ´J43 ™4 tK75 ®Q107654 which should bea playable spot.

D2™ is simple preference: opposite 5-4 in the redsuits hearts is likely to play better than diamonds.This can be virtually any strength (but limited bythe 1NT response) and is typically two or threehearts – ´543 ™A4 tK74 ®108763. A hand withthree hearts and a shortage should raise 1™ to 2™the previous round so opener should not get tooenthusiastic about hearts without at least six ofthem.

D3® is a rare bid, and shows a hand that wasn’tstrong enough to respond 2® last time round butis certain that clubs are the right trump suit. ´J43 ™4 tK2 ®QJ109652 would be ideal.Opener will usually pass, but holding a maximumand a club fit – Á ™AK652 tA543 ®K43 – canraise clubs. Here opener didn’t hold quite enoughto bid 3t over 1NT – which would also lose anypossibility of playing in clubs – but can now get tothe cold 6® contract.

D3t shows a maximum 1NT bid with diamondsupport: bid 3t in preference to passing if there


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Love All. Dealer West. ´ A K 7 4 2 ™ 9 5 t J 9 8 ® 8 7 2 ´ Q ´ J 10 5 3 ™ 10 2 ™ 8 4 3 t Q 10 4 t K 7 6 3 ® Q J 9 6 5 4 3 ® A K

´ 9 8 6 ™ A K Q J 7 6 t A 5 2 ® 10

NW ES

Love All. Dealer West ´ A K 7 4 2 ™ 9 5 t J 9 8 ® 8 7 2

´ 9 8 6 ™ A K Q J 7 6 t A 5 2 ® 10

Clever play

Heather’s Hints by Heather Dhondy

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Playing teams, West opens 3®, North passesand East raises to 4®. What call do you makewith the South cards?

West North East South 3® Pass 4® 4™

All Pass

NW ES

´ A K 7 4 ™ – t J 9 ® –

´ 9 8 ™ J t A 5 2 ® –

NW ES

ruff, discarding a diamond from dummy, and playanother spade on which West discards a diamond.Obviously the suit is not breaking for you, so whatdo you do now? This is where you have got to:

The opponents have put you under pressure andalthough you are not especially strong, you have totake a gamble on 4™. At least you have a powerfullong suit and this becomes the final contract.

West leads the ®Q, taken by East’s king and theace of clubs is returned which you ruff. You nowdraw trumps in three rounds, West discarding aclub, and the club is also discarded from dummy.How do you plan the play?

You appear to have a spade loser, a club loser andtwo diamond losers if you have to play them foryourself. However, if the spades can be establishedyou may be able to discard your diamonds. Yourentries are a problem since spades are your onlyroute to dummy. Therefore you should begin byducking a spade and hope to establish the suit whilestill retaining an entry. This is won by West with thequeen, who now continues with a club, which you

East has three more spades and will win thefourth round if you play them from the top,therefore you must duck this trick also. The defencemake an extra spade, but your reward is that thespades are now established and both diamonds canbe discarded from hand. This was the full deal:

Could the defence have done better? Only byleading the singleton spade at trick one. Now theywould have the communication in clubs to take a


spade ruff if you duck – and if you win you will nothave the communication to your long spades.

Note that after the queen of spades was ducked,the defence were unable to attack diamondswithout giving you a second trick in the suit.

HEATHER’S HINTS

D A singleton is often a good lead against a

trump contract. Although it can sometimes

pick up the suit for declarer, if partner has a

fast entry, the ensuing ruff will frequently

compensate. Avoid leading a singleton if you

know that partner cannot have an entry (must

be short in points), or if you hold good or long

trumps yourself. In this situation, forcing

declarer’s trumps may work out better.

D If the opponents pre-empt against you, you have

to be bold! The auction can be scarily high, but

remember that one of the main reasons to pre-

empt is to attempt to talk the opponents out of a

contract. One thing going in your favour is that

you will know plenty about the distribution and

high cards when you come to play the hand. r

ADVERTISEMENTSAlthough staff of English Bridge and the staff ofDanby Advertising (Advertising Agent for EnglishBridge) take reasonable precautions to protect theinterests of readers by ensuring as far aspracticable that advertisements in the pages ofEnglish Bridge are bona fide, the magazine and itspublisher, the EBU, cannot accept any undertakingin respect of claims made against advertisers,whether these advertisements are printed as partof the magazine, or are in the form of inserts.Legal remedies are available if redress is sought,and readers who have complaints should addressthem to the advertiser, should consult a localTrading Standards Office or a Citizens AdviceBureau or their own solicitors. Members shouldensure when booking holidays that they takesuitable precautions to protect their booking:check the company is part of a relevantorganisation (e.g. ABTA); take out suitable travelinsurance; pay at least £100 by credit card. Readersshould note that prices advertised may not beaccurate due to currency exchange ratefluctuations or tax changes.

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Over the next couple of articles I will take anin-depth look at the Weak No Trump. Wewill start by looking at how to defend

against it using a couple of mainstream defences.We will then look at how to manage if you open aweak no trump and the opposition has the temerityto double it for penalties! (we’ve all been there I’msure).

DEFINING THE WEAK NO TRUMP

DA balanced hand of 12-14 HCPs (some peoplechoose to open with a ‘good’ 11 HCPs –particularly if non-vulnerable)

DNo voids, no singletons, not more than onedoubleton

DThis can be expressed by stating the acceptableshapes:

4·3·3·3, 4·4·3·2, 5·3·3·2

The jury is still out on 5·3·3·2 – whether toinclude 5-card majors or not. My personalpreference is to open the major if it is respectable –it contains two reasonable honours – otherwise toopen 1NT. Some people always open 1NT with any5·3·3·2 – the main thing is to agree with yourpartner. My preference when playing the Strong NoTrump is to open 1NT with all 5·3·3·2 shapesincluding 5-card majors since the rebids afteropening 1M simply do not work well.

ADVANTAGES OF THE WEAK NO TRUMP

DVery high frequency. You gets lots of familiarityhere, so with tried and tested methods (Stayman,transfers etc) you should be able to obtain goodresults on a regular basis.

DPre-emption – you ramp the bidding upimmediately, so if the opposition want tointerfere they have to enter the auction at the 2-level rather than being able to make a simpleovercall at the 1-level.

The Weak No Trump

If you could add one thing . . . by Neil Rosen

A DESIRE TO INTERVENE

Clearly if your opponents open 1NT they oftenwill end up scoring nicely – either by playing in 1NTor finding other good contracts. One of the aims ofgood competitive players (particularly at pairs) is todislodge them from 1NT as often as possible.

You may find a nice making contract of your ownor failing that at least shift them out of the highscoring 1NT contract.

METHODS TO INTERFERE

Over the years many conventional defences havebeen devised – Landy, Multi-Landy, Astro, Aspro,Asptro, Pinpoint Astro, Ripstra, Cansino,Cappelletti.

Needless to say, there are more – some recent andsome going back many a long year. I covered MultiLandy in some depth in October 2012. This time Iwill cover one of the most-played conventionsacross the world – Landy. Next time I will look atone of my personal favourites – Asptro.

LANDY

Named after Alvin Landy, a top US bridge playerand administrator of much repute back in the 1940sand 50s. The idea of the convention (used widelyafter both a weak or strong 1NT opening) is to playall bids as natural except for 2® which is used toshow both majors.

REQUIREMENTS TO USE LANDY

Obviously the weaker you are the more shape yourequire. A rough guide would be a minimum sevenor eight points with 5·5 shape, rising to 10+ with 5·4shape – these are very rough guidelines only.Needless to say, the lower the values the more thepoints should be concentrated in the two suits. Aminimum for the bid might be something like:

´KJ73 ™KQ1062 t987 ®5

I know, I know. It’s only nine and I said 10 but5·4·3·1 is nice and all the strength is in the two suits.

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´ K J 8 7 6 ´ Q 5 3™ A J 10 5 ™ Q 8 7t Q 3 t K 7 2® 4 3 ® J 8 6 5

East Hand 1 East Hand 2´ 8 6 5 ´ A 9 6 2 ™ 6 4 2 ™ Q 2t A 9 7 6 t Q J 9 8 6 5® A 4 3 ® 8

East Hand 3 East Hand 4´ J 10 8 6 ´ A 3 ™ A 4 ™ Q 8 2t Q J 5 t Q 10 8 2

® A 8 6 3 ® K Q 10 4

West´ K Q 9 7 2™ K J 5 3t K 4® 7 5

NW ES

Also remember that unless the hand is very wildand wacky it is normally better to double with 16+rather than employing Landy.

CONTINUATIONS AFTER A LANDY OVERCALL

Most of the time you simply pick a major –bidding your best/longest. Sitting South, with:

´ 3 2™ Q 3 2t A 7 3 2® Q 9 3 2

W N E S 1NT 2®1 Pass ? 1 Landy

You should bid 2™. Please note that Landy is notsimply ‘defensive Stayman’ asking for a 4-cardmajor. It shows rather than asks about the majors.

THE 2t RESPONSE

This is an excellent way to reach the right part-score. It usually shows equal preference for themajors and invites the Landy bidder to nominatetheir longer or better major, ensuring that the bestfit will be found – it might only show 2·2, perhaps3·3 or occasionally 4·4 in the majors:

Assuming West has used 2® Landy to show bothmajors after a 1NT opening by South, East can use2t asking partner to pick the major. If responderwas simply forced to guess they would probably bid2™ (the lower ranking is the normal choice for arational bridge player), finding a 4-3 fit which willbe more awkward to play than the nice 5-3 spade fit.So by using the 2t response (artificial, so alertableof course) they can reach the 5-3 spade fit since theLandy bidder will bid 2´ after 2t asked for theirbetter major.

OTHER LANDY RESPONSES

2NT is normally used as natural and non-forcing.Typically it would show about 12-14 HCPs butwould obviously deny a 4-card major to support theLandy bidder.

3® or 3t is normally natural and invitational(constructive but non-forcing). Typically it wouldshow a good 6- or even 7-card suit, and 12+ HCPs.

3™ or 3´ is also natural and invitational, promising4-card support.

THE 2t RESPONSE REVISITED

Whilst normally this is used simply to show equal(or no) preference for the majors it can also be usedas the prelude to stronger things.

So if you bid 2t then go to 3™ or 3´ the idea isthat this shows a stronger invitation (usually basedon more HCPs or just 3-card support) much moreuseful than jumping to 3™/3´ directly which, whilestill being invitational, can be bid more on shapethan HCPs.

Let’s look at some examples. In each case Westbids 2® (Landy) over South’s opening 1NT. Whatwould you respond with East’s set of hands?

With Hand 1 respond 2t (equal preference),West bids 2´ and the best part-score is reached.

With Hand 2 you can jump to 3´ (invitationalbut less than through 2t). West has a close choicewhether to accept or not – here they are probablyjust worth it.

With Hand 3 you can bid 2t then 3´ over 2´.This shows a more solid invitational raise so Westhas an easy acceptance here. Note you would alsohave bid 3´ over a 2™ rebid by West.

With Hand 4 you can bid 2NT. West, with a full12-count, will probably raise to 3NT.

More examples online. Check out Neil’s quiz on page 72

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Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 31®-(1™)-Db-(P) 1®-(1™)-Db-(P) 1®-(1™)-Db-(P)

´ Q J 6 ´ 6 ´ K 10™ 9 7 6 4 ™ J 7 6 ™ 7 4t A t A Q J 4 t A J 4® A J 5 4 2 ® A J 5 4 2 ® A K Q 7 5 4

Opener’s rebid in competition – unbalanced hands

by Chris Chambers

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This is the last article to consider a biddingsituation – where opener is unbalanced orconsidering a suit contract. The next and

final instalment will be a pithy summary of theseries.

We have come a long way and repercussions ofchoosing five-card majors are distant. Thingsshould be more familiar and easier – and they willbe, mostly because we will be spared the problemsof having opened a four-card major and beinguncertain if our trump suit is sufficient – even if weare raised. When responder supports our five-cardsuit we can be almost certain our best fit has beenfound.

Nevertheless there are some situations wheretrump length is important and we will be moreambitious facing four-card support rather thanthree. There are also some less categorisableoccasions to look at.

Consider these situations before reading on. Ineach, the hand shown rebids having opened,opponents' actions are in parentheses.

common with weak no trump values. But for us

this hand-type is typical. Occasionally, we might

have four spades but only when the auction has

devalued our cards, say ´J763 ™Q2 tK7 ®AJ542.

Hand 2. 2®. Partner's double isn't properly take-out and doesn't say anything about diamonds; as

above it is a cipher for a 4-card spade suit.

Accordingly, with a two-level rebid available in

the suit we opened, 2t is a reverse, a new suit in a

no-fit auction and hence shows extra values. This

treatment is not universal but typical of a

significant majority, especially among those who,

like us, use 'double of one major to promise the

other'. That means that jumps in a minor are

strong in high cards while jumps in the promised

major are based on support values (as we saw in

the previous instalment). Here, with a minimum,

rebidding clubs is the best we can do.

Hand 3. 2™A. A cue bid. We have a really good hand

and must do something that shows it; 3® would

be an underbid. Note that while cue bids usually

show support when our side has a major, that

doesn't apply to opener's rebids. After a one-

minor opener, typically these are hands worth

more than a jump-rebid in the minor, a hand that

would consider making a forcing bid in a new suit

(even an invented three-carder).

Because there might be more bidding, it is always

attractive to show good suits and shaded values in

this position; so here, 3® might be the same hand

without the diamond ace. Is this cue bid forcing

to game? I don't think so; if the message of a good

minor is explicit, partner must have a way not to

play game. But we might make the same bid with

´K10 ™864 tAQJ9 ®AKQ6

when it's not clear that good things are certain to

happen.

Hand 1. 1´. With a tatty 5-card suit and honoursin short suits, this hand was always prone todeveloping badly. At least here partner has spades– but exactly four, because 1´ would show five ormore. Opener's 1´ rebid isn't support as such;with

´QJ64 ™976 tA ®AJ542

you would bid 2´, rebidding as if partner bid 1´without competition. On Hand 1 the rebid is'spare' and in a strong no trump world, rebiddingafter partner's double in a three-card suit is


Hand 4 Hand 5 Hand 61®-(1™)-1´-(P) 1´-(2t)-3t-(P) 1™-(1´)-Db-(2´)

´ K J 7 4 ´ A K 7 6 3 ´ 10 4 ™ A 6 ™ Q 10 6 2 ™ A K J 7 5t 4 t 9 2 t A Q 7® A Q J 10 8 7 ® A 9 ® K 5 4

Hand 4. 4t. A splinter. The knowledge that partnerhas five spades increases the power of this hand.The right cards (´AQ and ®K) make slam acertainty and this descriptive bid will emboldenpartner if she has them. Note that here 2t wouldbe natural and strength showing (as in Hand 2) so3t is arguably a splinter too – but only ashortage-raise to the three-level. Somethingperhaps to ask your partner when you check thereverses mentioned in the earlier example.

Hand 5. 3™. A game-try. Responder's cue bid raiseshowed support and strength for the three-level.This has fallen rather well: we have in-betweenvalues and we have space to make a try. Muchdepends on whether partner has four-card or,more likely, only three (with compensating highcards). Almost always, four card support is whatwe want most, so unless responder is bareminimum, she should accept.

But what if our hearts and clubs were reversed?With ´AK654 ™A3 t87 ®Q1087 we would haveno convenient natural try. From such situationsthe idea of 'Last Train' evolved; when there is onlyone suit in which to make a game try (or slam try)then that bid shows general values, not specificones – ambition rather than location. Here we bid3™ too because there is nothing else left – 3´would be ‘to play’ rather than invitational. But likemany good ideas, it has its dangers – make sureyou and your partner are on the same page!

Hand 6. Double. Much the same as after one-minor, ‘strong no-trump values with no stop’.This hand is better than the minimum 15/16working HCPs partner will expect and we willpush on to game. Here of course we have alreadyshown five hearts so we might easily find game inthat suit when partner has as little as

´65 ™Q3 tK542 ®A9864

and ventures a nervous 3™. Good to end on ahand that suits the system.

SUMMARYD After partner's double shows a major, rebid as if

the response had been one-major in a non-competitive auction;

D Don't undersell your good hands just becauseopponents interfere;

o Bid their suit to show a good hand with lotsof tricks – often aiming for no trumps,almost always without a stop in their suit.

o Double to show high cards with no clearaction.

D Use any available game try to give partneranother chance in close decisions.

D Make explicit support bids when you can. r

DISCIPLINARY HEARING HELD

An EBU Disciplinary Committee met toconsider the charges that, at a recent EBUTournament, Mr Leiv Bornecrantz (a) usedinappropriate language to a TournamentDirector, (b) used language and behaviour likelyto make people around him feel uncomfortableand threatened, and (c) walked out of thetournament mid-session, and that these actionsconstituted a breach of the Disciplinary Rules3.2(v) being conduct or behaviour which fallsbelow the acceptable standards required ofPlayer Members. The defendant declined toattend the hearing.

The Committee found the defendant guiltyon all three charges. The Committee took intoaccount the previous disciplinary record of MrBornecrantz, and for each charge imposed asanction of a fine of £50 and two years’suspension of membership of the EBU, theperiods of suspension to run concurrently.

AN END TO CHEQUESDue to costs imposed by our bank the EBU ismoving away from accepting cheque payments.We are setting up a new online payment facility,which will enable you to pay through the website– look out for further details soon! With this inmind please use one of our preferred paymentmethods: debit/credit card via phone; banktransfer or direct debit.


´ K J 7 4

™ K 5 4 t 10 4 ® Q 8 7 5

´ A 9 8 ™ 9 8 6 2 t A 7 2 ® A K J

NW ES

South plays 3NT. Lead t6

´ K J 7 4 ™ K 5 4 t 10 4 ® Q 8 7 5 ´ 10 6 5 ´ Q 3 2 ™ Q J 3 ™ A 10 7 t Q 9 8 6 5 t K J 3 ® 4 2 ® 10 9 6 3

´ A 9 8 ™ 9 8 6 2 t A 7 2 ® A K J

NW ES

What does a discard say?

by David Gold

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One discard can sometimes be enough toguide declarer to the winning line!

This hand came from the semi-finals of the mixedteams trials and was declared by Simon Cope. I havedecided to share it because I think it is beautifullyinstructive.

You arrive in 3NT after a simple strong no trumpand Stayman auction.

West leads the t6, playing 4th best leads. You playsmall from dummy and East plays the king whichyou naturally duck. East returns the tJ and youduck again, West following with the t5 – surely a5-card suit – and East plays a third diamond whichyou win with the ace discarding a heart fromdummy since you need to give yourself a chance ofeight tricks in the black suits.

So, let’s think about the play. We have onediamond trick and four club tricks. If we can makefour spade tricks that will be nine. We could lead upto the ™K but if the ace is onside West will have twomore diamonds to cash to defeat us, so there is nopoint in trying for that. Spades can be delayed sohow about trying the three top clubs and seeing ifanything interesting happens…

On the third club West discards a spade. Now,that is very revealing because few players would

throw a spade from the queen here so it looks likelythat card is wrong. If we take a spade finesse and itloses we are going down since we will only makefour clubs, three spades and one diamond. We willnever make a heart trick since either the ace is overthe king or it is in the hand with the long diamonds.For now, lets try the ´A and another spade. On thesecond spade play, West follows with the ten. Havethey discarded a spade from Q10xx? Maybe, butunlikely. So, is there anything else to be done?

Since finessing is hopeless for the contract if thespade is wrong, it must be right to play the king.Now cash the queen of clubs throwing a heart fromhand and exit a spade. East wins and has to leadaway from the ace of hearts giving us the long spadeand the king of hearts. one diamond, four clubs,three spades and one heart = 9 tricks!

This is exactly how Simon played the hand. Hereis the full deal:

Simon succeeded in making the contract with

both the spade finesse wrong and the heart ace

offside by using one very revealing discard to his

advantage. r


West North East South 1´ Pass 2NT1

Pass 3®2 3™3 3´4

Pass 4™5 Pass 4NT6

Pass 5t7 Pass 5NT8

Pass 6™9 Pass 7´10

All Pass

1 Game forcing - spade support2 No shortage, extra values3 Too late4 Short clubs5 Asking bid6 Heart control, one key card7 Asking bid8 Diamond control and ´Q9 Can you bid a grand slam?10 Yes

West North East South 1NT 3™ 3NT All Pass

Towards the end of a close match, you bid andmake a grand slam while your counterpartsstop in game at the other table. You wouldn’t

think that was a disaster, but when the Fates are outto get you even your noblest efforts are in vain. Thatwas the lesson of many Greek tragedies, includingthe one that happened on the island of Rhodes in1996 in the Olympiad semi-final between Denmarkand Indonesia. With two deals remaining Indonesialed by 5 IMPs, and this was the penultimate board.

A Greek tragedy

Great Bridge Disasters by David Burn

click

link

When Indonesia sat North-South they didn’t bidthe suit in which they were cold for seven – indeed,they didn’t bid any suits at all:

Game All. Dealer North. ´ A K 10 8 2™ 6 4 t A Q 5® A 9 7

´ 9 7 3 ´ J™ Q 9 ™ K J 10 8 7 5 3t J 6 3 t 8® K Q 8 5 4 ® J 10 6 2

´ Q 6 5 4™ A 2t K 10 9 7 4 2® 3

NW ES

This was one of the best auctions of thetournament, and to have conducted it underimmense pressure was a superb performance. Plus2210 gave Denmark 16 IMPs and the lead by 11going into the final board.

When South made his final call the Danishsupporters in the Vugraph theatre made an awful lotof noise. So loud was it that the players in theirtheoretically isolated room could hear, and theyknew that Denmark had done somethingspectacular. The last deal was a partscore affair onwhich the Danish South, ‘knowing’ that his teammust have won, went to sleep and allowed Indonesiato make 2NT for a gain of six IMPs, but that wasn’tenough – Denmark had won by five.

An English rather than a Greek tragedianremarked that as flies to wanton boys are we to theGods – they kill us for their sport. Denmark hadn’twon by five – they hadn’t won at all, because theVugraph scorers had earlier credited one of themwith making an overtrick in a contract that had infact failed. This made a difference of – you’veguessed it – 5 IMPs, so the two teams had finishedlevel. Back they went to play eight extra boards, inthe course of which Denmark eked out a lead of 8

A full 17-count with a strong five-card suit is

perhaps too much for a strong no trump, and South

had some options other than 3NT available to him,

but when both players took the low road they

scored an unhappy +720. Denmark did rather

better:

The winners of the Swiss Pairs at the London YearEnd Congress were Odin Svendsen & EspenErichsen. Sebastian Kristensen & Peter Taylorcame second, Dean Mortlock & Andrew Collinsand Jeremy Dhondy & Richard Hillman were injoint third place.

The Swiss Teams was tightly contested with theteam of Tom Townsend, Thor Erik Hoftaniska,

(not pircured


IMPs with one board remaining, then conductedanother excellent auction to a decent slam thatfailed. Indonesia played in game, won 11 IMPs, andreached the Olympiad final.

Had Denmark missed the grand slam on thepenultimate deal they would have won only 12IMPs and apparently led by seven while actuallyahead by two. Their supporters would still havecheered, but this would have been ambiguous to theplayers because it might have meant that Indonesiahad gained by bidding and making seven in theother room. In those circumstances the DanishSouth would still have been on his mettle for thefinal board, and Denmark rather than Indonesiawould have survived. But, as a Greek rather than anEnglish tragedian observed, from ills given by theGods there is no escape. r

Team Hinden, comprising Barry Myers, SallyBrock, Fiona Brown, Michael Byrne, FrancesHinden & Graham Osborne (pictured) won thetrials held in early December to represent Englandat the European Mixed Teams Championships inLisbon in February. Four teams qualified for thefinal from an initial 16-team trial played inSeptember. Both of Hinden team’s matches wereconceded after 48 of the scheduled 64 boards.

MIXED TEAM TRIALS

The Mossop team won the Senior Trials whichtook place in mid-December, and will berepresenting England in the Teltscher Trophy inApril. The team of David Mossop (not pictured),Brian Senior, Gunnar Hallberg, Paul Hackett andJohn Holland finished undefeated, with thePenfold team close behind.

SENIOR TELTSCHER TRIALS

LONDON YEAR END

At the Year End Congress in Blackpool betweenChristmas and New Year, Alan Mould & JohnHolland regained the Swiss Pairs title, which theynarrowly lost last year after winning for threeconsecutive years from 2014 to 2016. Theyfinished on 140 VPs from their ten matches. SueWoodcock & Nick Woodcock came second, andjust 1 VP behind was third-placed Martin Kuriger& Hongyan Cao.

The Swiss Teams was won by returningchampions Sue Woodcock, Nick Woodcock (bothfor the fourth time), Stuart Clarke & Susan Fjortoft(both for the second time). They pipped the teamof Bernard Goldenfield, Rhonda Goldenfield, KathNelson and Alan Nelson by just 2 VPs.

The Mixed Pairs competition was won by AlanNelson & Kath Nelson. John Councer & SusanSharp were a close second. In joint third place wasNick Hunter & Ruby Schnalke and DavidHarrison & Jill Rushton.

BLACKPOOL YEAR END

Janet De Botton and Artur Malinowski triumphingjust 1VP ahead of second-placed team JacekLapszys, Sandy Riach, Paul Spencer and MarcChawner.

The Open Pairs was won by Ben Green &Ankush Khandelwal, narrowly ahead of MadelaineSheldon & Jacqui Tobias. The Mixed Pairs was wonby Paula Hopkinson & Dick Davey, just ahead ofMichael Byrne & Sarah Bell.

The new Jack High Swiss Pairs was won by SteveLangridge & Jacqueline Collier. Two pairs tied forsecond place – Geoffrey Chapman & NickMcCarthy and Mustapha Rahaman & JohnGeorge.


CALENDAROF EVENTS

n FEBRUARY 20194-7 Bridge England Sim Pairs8-10 Harrogate Spring Congress15-17 Junior Camrose & Peggy Bayer, N Ireland16-17 Tollemache Cup Final, Coventry22-28 EBL Mixed Teams Championships, Lisbon23-24 Ranked Masters Pairs, Peterborough West24 Masters Pairs, various venues

nMARCH 20191-3 Camrose Trophy 2nd weekend, Coventry2-3 East Anglia GP weekend, Elmswell, Suffolk2-3 Wiltshire GP weekend, Bath2 Leicestershire GP Swiss Pairs, Spondon2 Manchester GP Swiss Pairs, Altrincham3 Bedfordshire GP Swiss Teams, Bedford3 Kent GP Swiss Pairs, Tunbridge Wells3 Merseyside & Cheshire GP Swiss Teams,

Chester10 National Pairs Regional heats, various

venues11-14 EBU Club Stratified Sims, various clubs15-17 Cumbria Congress, Bowness-on-

Windermere15-17 Norfolk Congress, Wensum Valley16-17 Hampshire Congress, Otterbourne24 Portland Pairs, various venues29-31 Devon Congress, Torquay

n APRIL 20191-4 British Spring Sim Pairs, various clubs5-7 Really Easy Spring Break, Banbury5-7 Teltscher Trophy, Edinburgh6-7 National Pairs Final, venue tba12-14 Lady Milne Trophy, Ireland13-14 Portland Bowl Finals, Portland Club,

London19-22 London Easter Festival, Fulham, London19-21 Northern Easter Festival, Ilkley26-5 Jersey Festival, St Helier27 Garden Cities Regional Finals27-28 Shropshire Congress, Telford

nMAY 20193-7 Schapiro Spring Foursomes, Stratford-

upon-Avon3-5 Cheltenham Congress, Cheltenham11-12 National Swiss Teams Congress, Solihull13-16 EBED Spring Sim Pairs18-19 Avon GP weekend, Thornbury18 Northamptonshire GP Swiss Pairs18 Sussex GP Swiss Pairs19 Kent GP Swiss Teams19 Merseyside & Cheshire GP Swiss Teams25-27 Spring Bank Holiday Congress, Stratford-

upon-Avon

The Easter Festival in London in 2019 will beheld at the ILEC Conference Centre near EarlsCourt. ILEC is not only better than our usual venueat the Royal National, but also a little cheaper, so we areable to offer a small discount. This is available to thoseentering before the end of February (as early bookingshelps us significantly with our planning).

We have also made some changes to the ChampionshipPairs, with a better schedule while still offering timings totry to help those with other commitments on Good Friday.

For full information seewww.ebu.co.uk/competitions/easter-london.

For those living in the top half of the country, the NorthernEaster Festival takes place in Ilkley, Leeds on the sameweekend.

The Spring Bank Holiday Congress will be held from the25th to 27th May at the Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon. This Crowne Plaza hotel was previously part of theHoliday Inn chain and is the same venue as has been usedin previous years. The Championship Pairs is a four-session event with a two-session qualifying round on theSaturday, leading to a pair of two-session 'all play all' finalsfor the top forty pairs on Sunday. The non-qualifyingplayers move in to the Swiss Pairs to join those who haveonly come to play in this one-day event on the Sunday.For full information seewww.ebu.co.uk/competitions/spring-bank-holiday-congress

SPRING BANK HOLIDAY CONGRESS

COMPETITION NEWS

Renovations to the Devonshire Park complex inEastbourne are going well, so we are confident that theSummer Meeting will return there in 2019. Exact details forthe congress are still being finalised, but we have arrangedfor it to take place from the 2nd to 11th August. Whenavailable, more details will be posted onwww.ebu.co.uk/competitions/summer-meeting, where youcan also link to information about the renovations.

SUMMER MEETING BACK AT EASTBOURNE

NEW VENUE FOR EASTER EARLYBIRD

DISCOUNT

www.ebu.co.uk

Enter via 01296 317203, [email protected] or at www.ebu.co.uk/members

EBU CONGRESSES AND COMPETITIONSAll events are Green Pointed unless stated

Separate competitions for:Premier Grand Masters

Grand MastersPremier Life Masters

Life MastersNational MastersRegional Masters

Ranked Masters Pairs23 – 24 February

Holiday Inn, Peterborough West(note change of venue)

Harrogate SpringCongress8 – 10 February

Cairn Hotel, Harrogate

Mixed & Open Pairs –BPImprovers Pairs –BP

Swiss PairsSwiss Teams

For 2019, for purposes ofmovements, Premier Life Mastersmerge with Life Masters, andNational Masters with RegionalMasters. All groups have separateranking lists, trophies and prizes.

Masters Pairs24 February

For players below Regional MasterRegional Venues

New format for 2019 with heats organised by host clubs.Entry fees set by host clubs, so cheaper than previous years.Clubs retain part of entry fees, so you’re supporting your localclub. List of venues and entry information atwww.ebu.co.uk/masters-pairs

Mixed & Open Pairs –BPImprovers Pairs –BP

Swiss PairsSwiss Teams

Northern EasterFestival19 – 21 April

Hilton Hotel, Leeds

National PairsRegional Finals - 10 March

Final for qualifiers 6-7 AprilVenue tbc

Regional venues:Billericay, Brierfield,Bristol, Burnham,Chester, Exeter, London, Oxford,

Richmond, Sheffield, Solihull, Stamford,Tunbridge Wells, Welwyn Garden City

Portland Pairs24 March

Mixed PairsScored over the entire field.

Regional venues:Billericay, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol,

Exeter, Richmond,Solihull, Stamford

Stratified Championship PairsStratified Swiss Teams

Swiss PairsJack High Swiss Pairs –BP

Easter Festival19 – 22 April

ILEC Conference Centre, LondonFriday 2pm or 4pm start

Player ofthe Year

BP –Blue Pointed


Q1. They can only point out that the last card ispointed wrongly, and only before their side plays tothe next trick.

Q2. Yes. Dummy may attempt to prevent anirregularity. But dummy may not draw attention toan irregularity. So the time limit on preventing theirregularity is when the irregularity is committed.

If declarer leads from the wrong hand, eitherdefender may accept the lead, or may require itsretraction. If the two defenders want differentthings, then the defender following the illegal leadgets to decide.

Ask Robin Compiled by Robin Barker

click

link

Trouble at the table

Paul Jesper asked, ‘1. Can dummy or eitherdefender point out to their respectivepartner that they have one (or more) cards

from played tricks incorrectly orientated and havetherefore won more/fewer tricks than is actuallythe case?

‘2. Can dummy, if they feel/sense that declarer isabout to play from the wrong hand, say somethinglike ‘your hand partner’ or ‘you're in dummypartner’? If so, when?‘If a card is actually played/called for from the

wrong hand, can either defender accept this leadand how long have they got to say so?’

Eric Brereton continued, ‘another happeningwas 1® by North which was overcalled 1™by East, I as South doubled. West then

pulled out the stop bid then replaced it with aPASS. The director ruled this was OK and no rulewas broken.’

Eric Brereton asked, ‘We have noticed thatmany pairs are staring at declarer while theyare playing the cards. Is there a law that the

EBU has against this or is it just bad etiquette? Candummy call the TD regarding this? Is there apenalty?’

It is possible that West meant to Pass all along – but

pulled out the STOP card by mistake (a mechanical

error) and corrected it with a PASS. In this case the

director is correct to rule that there was no

infraction.

Otherwise, West was going to make a skip bid and

then changed his mind. The STOP card is not a bid

and West is in time to change his mind – there is no

requirement to make the bid good. In this case, the

director should rule that East has unauthorised

information: East must avoid using the information

that West was thinking of making a skip bid.

2. A player should carefully avoid any remark orextraneous action that might cause annoyance orembarrassment to another player or might interferewith the enjoyment of the game.

C. Violations of Procedure

The following are examples of violations of procedure:

5. looking intently at any other player during theauction and play, or …

So it is against the law and is bad etiquette. Iwould not say just bad etiquette – breaches of Law74 should be treated seriously.

Dummy should not call the director during theplay unless someone else has drawn attention to anirregularity; in this case dummy should wait untilthe end of the play and then call the director.

Breaches of Law 74 can be subject to adisciplinary penalty.

The law is LAW 74 – CONDUCT ANDETIQUETTE. In particular Law 74A1, Law 74A2,and Law 74C5.

A. Proper Attitude

1. A player should maintain a courteous attitude at alltimes.


There have been a number of recent enquiries onthis topic. The recommended timings for clubs arein the Club Management Handbook (available toaffiliated clubs). The relevant pagehttps://tinyurl.com/y8fuazoz says:

Some clubs play at a faster pace while others takethings more slowly but, normally, a board should beplayed in about 7-7½ minutes. So two-boardrounds should take 15 minutes, which means thatthe usual club duplicate of 24 boards can be playedin about three hours. For rounds of three boards 22minutes per round should suffice since less time istaken up with moving.

Alison Minns asked, ‘My bridge club has justchanged one of its evenings to level 2systems and my partner and I are putting

together our bidding card. Could you tell meplease whether we can use: Roman Key CardBlackwood, Jacoby and CRO?’

Dave Edwards asked, ‘A pass out of turn isnot accepted by LHO who passes andoffender's partner opens 1NT. Offender

wants to bid 2® Stayman but because it is limitlesslike a change of suit, I guessed that it was notallowed but I was unsure. What is the position?’

Brian Lupton asked, ‘I have heard that weshould play a board in about 7.5 minutesbut searching through the rule book and

the white book, the only reference I can find is inthe White Book [8.81.4 Slow play]. From that Ideduce that it is 7.5 minutes for a two boardround and possibly just 7 minutes (21 minutes intotal) for a three board round. What should we doon an ordinary club night?’

You can use Roman Key Card Blackwood because

all bids are permitted after the first round.

Jacoby is permitted because it is not a weak

response.

CRO is permitted because two suited overcalls are

permitted if one or both suits is specified. But note,

some partnerships play (say) 2NT over 1-of-a-

minor, as either the minors or the majors, but this is

not permitted – 2NT must show the majors.

I suspect the only comparable call (other than Pass)

is a natural 2NT response. Almost all artificial

responses to 1NT could have game-going values,

and so are not a ‘subset’ of an original Pass.

Note that if responder does make a comparable

call (for example 2NT), opener can bid freely,

including rebidding a suit when they would

normally just pass or bid 3NT. Having made a

comparable call to keep the auction open, the

offending side is allowed to try and find the best

contract.

Knowledgable TDs might expect me to mention

Law 23C at this point (non-offending side

damaged), but in practice that law will not apply.

Chris Purvis asked, ‘An opponent in a teamsmatch opened 2® (I think alerted ratherthan announced), his partner responded

2t (alerted), he rebid 2NT, and his partner bid3®, which he announced as ‘Stayman’. 2®-2t-2NT shows opener as having a balanced hand witha specific (strong) point range. Should theStayman 3® bid have been announced or alerted?’

Announcements only apply to opening bids and toresponses to NT opening bids. On your auction:

2® opening is artificial, and is alerted (only naturalbids at the 2-level are announced).

2t response is artificial, and is alerted.

2NT rebid is natural, and is neither announced noralerted.

3® Stayman is artificial, and is alerted (as are3t/3™ transfers).

Robin Barker is the EBU’s Deputy ChiefTournament Director. He is editor ofthe White Book and looks forward to

answering your questions. Please emailhim – [email protected].

The author, English Bridge and the EBU arenot responsible if the information provided isincorrect or incomplete.


HEATHER DHONDY(London)

Diamond Award

EBU Awards 2018These awards were announced at the 2018 AGM. The Diamond Award is given to players in recognition of excellence andsuccess over a sustained period for England’s international teams. The Life Membership Award is given for outstanding serviceto the English Bridge Union. The Dimmie Fleming Awards are given in recognition of hard work for bridge as volunteers inadministration at county level, typically giving 10 to 15 years or more service. The Tom Bradley Award is given to a non-servingschool teacher who has made a significant contribution to Junior bridge.

LIZ DALE(Leicestershire)Tom Bradley Award

ANDREW ROBSON(London)

Diamond Award

Andrew has been key toEngland’s (and before this GreatBritain’s) Open team for manyyears. His international careerincludes:D 12 appearances for England

and Great Britain in majorinternational events.

D winning the 1991 EuropeanChampionships

D making three appearances forGreat Britain in major juniorinternational events.

D winning the 1989 WorldYouth Team Championships

D playing five times in theEuropean Champions Cup

D twelve appearances in theCamrose Trophy

D three triumphant JuniorCamrose tournaments.

He has come first in seven GoldCups, six Premier Leagues, fiveSpring Foursomes, twoCrockfords Cup, and twice beenthe winner of the Player of theYear Championship. He receivedan OBE for his services to bridgeand charity in 2013.

Heather has been an integralpart of the England Women’steam for over 20 years. She has:

�D Made 28 appearances forEngland and Great Britain inmajor international events

�D Been 5-time EuropeanChampion

�D Twice been the WorldOlympiad champion

�D Won the World MixedTeams, the European OpenMixed Teams, and numeroussilver and bronze medals

�D Made 17 Lady Milne trophyappearances, winning on anunchallenged 13 times

�D Represented England in theCamrose Trophy.

She will be representingEngland in the forthcomingVenice Cup.

She is a member of the EBUBoard, Chair of the TournamentDirectors Development Groupand the Laws & EthicsCommittee, and has been Chairof the Selection Committee.

Liz has been the figurehead ofand inspiration for the StamfordYouth Bridge Academy since itsbeginnings in 2016. Usingmethods closely linked to theNational Curriculum for Maths,she has generated interest from18 schools. Her team of ‘Buddies’from Stamford Bridge Club havebeen carefully trained and haveintroduced bridge to over 1,700children and counting.

Other bridge clubs havefollowed Stamford’s lead usingsimilar methods to get moreyoung people playingMiniBridge and Bridge. Liz iscurrently working with EBED totrain a small team of ‘BuddyTrainers’ using her methods tohelp other bridge players teachMiniBridge in schools up anddown the country.

SYBA also has a weekly juniorbridge club for players who havealready benefited from schoolsessions. Alan Shillitoe, formerU26 squad leader has assisted.


DAVID MAN (CAMBS & HUNTS)Dimmie Fleming

David has been a stalwart of the Cambs & Hunts CountyBridge Association for many years, never hesitating tovolunteer when needed. He was County Treasurer from

2003-2016, and County Auditor for five years prior to that.Subsequently David became County Tournament Officer,coordinating the organisation for all county events.

David has been one of the most regular attendees of countymanagement meetings for over twenty years, providing valuable inputand a voice of reason. He has been involved in organising bridge atboth club and county level. He ran the flagship Newmarket SwissTeams for 15 years and has recently helped run the County Swiss Pairs.

EBU Awards 2018

Barry gave great service to theEBU as the General Managerfrom 2006 until 2017.

He gave countless hours to theorganisation. Amongst his greatsuccesses was assisting in theintroduction of UniversalMembership in 2010, whichchanged the whole basis ofmembership and secured thefuture of the union and itsmembers for many years tocome.

He was also instrumental inintroducing and moving forwardnew ideas such as the NGS andour own scoring system. He wasan enthusiastic promoter of therole of IT in moving the businessforward.

BARRY CAPALLife Membership Award

NIGEL THOMPSON (BERKS & BUCKS)Dimmie Fleming

Nigel joined the BBCBA Competitions Committee in2004. In 2007 he took over as Chairman and held thisposition for five years. He was prominent in the

introduction of Universal Membership in the county, arranging forprizes and certificates for every club, presented by a committeemember, so that each club was able to ask questions about P2P in theearly days. Other initiatives were an Objectives & Philosophystatement, enhanced support for the Tollemache team, and an annualGreen Point weekend. When he retired as Chair, he took over therunning of the Student League, introducing a Graduate League forteams not yet ready to play in the County League.

Throughout this time Nigel was also chairman of Austenwood BCand plays regularly in county events. He also runs a secondary schoolbridge club, starting with minibridge and moving on as they progress.

JOHN HONEY (CHANNEL ISLANDS)Dimmie Fleming

John continues his role as the Jersey District Treasurer and County Treasurer. He runsBeginners’ and Improvers’ Bridge Classes on a voluntary basis under the auspices of the JerseyDistrict. The revenue is shared between the Jersey District and the Jersey Hospice Care.

John also runs the local organisation of the Jersey Congress – co-ordinating with the hotel, liaising withthe EBU and taking all the bookings. During the Congress he finds local players to fill in when necessary.

John has also arranged seminars in Jersey and undertakes all the arrangements tor these two-day eventswhich have been well received. In addition, John is the honorary Auditor to the Highfield Bridge Club andhelps coordinate the annual inter-insular match with Guernsey.

MORE WELL-DESERVED AWARDS OVERLEAF


EBU Awards 2018

JACQUELINE WRIGHT (LANCASHIRE)Dimmie Fleming

Jacqueline was LCBA TournamentSecretary for 10 years from 2008 andworked tirelessly to organise all

Lancashire competitions (up to nine a year) toensure they ran smoothly and were enjoyed by all.

In 2008 she became the Shareholder for the EBUon behalf of LCBA and attended ShareholderMeetings for 10 years. She was a keen supporter ofthe Northern Bridge League playing every yearsince its inception in 2006. She has been Chairmanof Lytham Bridge Club on two separate occasions.She was a club representative on Council prior toher 2004 election to the LCBA ExecutiveCommittee.

GLYNN ELWICK (LINCOLNSHIRE)Dimmie Fleming

Glynn served on the Lincs CBAcommittee for many years as theScunthorpe club representative, then as

Secretary for two years, followed by vice-chairmanand then chairman from 2011-2014. Since then hehas been Competition Secretary. He was a foundermember of Scunthorpe BC in 1977 and has servedon the committee for most years since.

He directs at Scunthorpe BC and many Countyevents. He has represented Lincs in the Tollemacheand inter-county leagues. He is very active inpromoting the Allcomer’s Duplicate sessions in thecounty, to encourage less experienced players totake part in county events.

ANDREA GALPIN(SUSSEX)

Dimmie Fleming Andrea has made ahuge contribution to

the success of Sussex bridge overmore than 18 years. She hasserved on the Sussex CBA since2000, and as part of theTournament Committee since2002, organising many countyevents. She worked alongside herhusband, the county treasurerand a previous Dimmie FlemingAward recipient, completing allthe data entries before a decentcomputer programme becameavailable. She was also theTrophies Officer for five yearsensuring the smoothpresentation at the county’sspring and autumn congresses.Andrea is also very committed

to the management of AvenueBC, one of the county’s premierclubs, and her overallcontributions were recognised in2010 when she jointly receivedthe Gladys Hakki Award.

MONICA AITKEN(KENT)

Dimmie Fleming

Monica has beeninvolved in the organisation ofKent events for 18 years. Sheorganised the Tunbridge Wells3-day Congress from 2001-2006. She has been MinutesSecretary, Chair of the Premisessub-committee, Chair of theRefurbishment sub-committeeand catered for all Kent Countyevents.

She became the KCBACongress Secretary and the KentGreen Points CompetitionSecretary in 2007 and is still inthe roles.

She has helped with successfulinitiatives to bring bridge to theyoung through the West KentYouth Association created in2014 – with administration andteaching in two schools.

Monica is the backbone ofthe bridge world in Kent.

KATHARINE HODGSON(WILTSHIRE)Dimmie Fleming

Kathy was secretaryof the Wiltshire CBA for over 15years, and the backbone of thecommittee for many years. Sheshowed a tireless dedication tothe role, providing support tovarious chairs and the wholecommittee and the wider bridgecommunity.

Kathy’s contribution waslargely behind the scenes -collating the calendar, bookingvenues, organising teas, runningthe AGM, duplimating,maintaining membership lists,washing tablecloths - the list isendless. She also representedWilts at many levels includingthe Tollemache and the Pachabo.

Kathy handled things quietlyand without fuss. It was atestament to her dedication thatwhen she retired in 2018 sheattended the next two committeemeetings to help her successor.


HIGHS, LOWS AND STATISTICS

Technology has come into its own and whoever thought bridge didn’t need it? TheEBU’s Michael Clark has pulled together

great facts and figures showing the amazing featssome players achieved in 2018.

Let's start with high scores, and we'll look only atmatchpointed pairs. The clear winners, with theincredible score of 92.50%, are Lorraine Cameronand Anne Tierney, playing at Halifax Bridge Club on15th June. If you look at their scorecard they scoreda frankly ridiculous 12 outright tops on their 15boards. Congratulations to them:

The strongest non-EBU event of the year was theA flight of the National Inter-County League Final,which is an event for the winners of the regionalinter-county leagues. They had a 62.75 strength offield. The strongest county event was the Berks vBucks A Team match (62.39), with the YorkshireCongress Pairs Final close behind (62.15). And thestrongest club event, with a 61.03 Strength of Field,was a quiet Wednesday evening at the YoungChelsea in October – it seems only the strong pairsturned up!

We won't look at the very worst scores of the year,since they're all likely to be beginners. But the worstperformance of the year for someone who had a50+ grade was 20.00%, a heart-sinking 30% belowpar. Their grade has since recovered, you'll bepleased to know.

Best of luck to everyone for 2019, and may youenjoy your bridge no matter what scores you get.r

Lorraine and Anne were the only pair to score90% this year. Some 65 pairs scored 80% or higherwith a minimum of 10 boards played.

It can be easier to get high scores in shortersessions, so the award for the highest score in asession of 20+ boards goes to June Dixon and JennieRea, who scored 85.30% on March 7th at GranthamBridge Club. What an achievement.

These weren't the largest NGS jumps of the year,though. For that we have to go to Linton BridgeClub, where on 22nd June Graham Liddington andLian Watkin scored a whopping 33.10% above par.They were one of only three pairs with maturegrades to beat par by 30% or more in 2018.

STRONGEST BRIDGE

Where was the strongest bridge played this year?Unsurprisingly, EBU events dominate this list. Infact, the strongest event this year is the strongestevent we've ever held: the European Pairs Trials inJanuary. This is the only event that has ever had anaverage grade of an Ace of Spades. The fivestrongest events of the year (note that the SpringFours is not graded) are:

1 European Pairs Trials 67.14

2 Premier League Division 1 66.84

3 Crockfords Final 65.76

4 4 Stars A Final (Summer meeting teams) 65.36

5 European Seniors Trials 65.07

EBU BOARD OF DIRECTORSThe EBU Board remained unchanged after theAGM in late November. Five people stood for fourplaces. Ron Millet, Anthony Golding and JerryCope were re-elected and will each serve a three-year term. Graham Smith was elected for a two-year term. Bev Godfrey has stood down from herrole as an appointed member of the board. TheBoard comprises Jeremy Dhondy (Chairman), IanPayn (Vice Chairman), Jerry Cope (Treasurer),Heather Dhondy, Gillian Fawcett, AnthonyGolding, Rob Lawy, Ron Millet and GrahamSmith.

MORPETH BRIDGE CLUBWe apologise that, when reporting the 50thanniversary of Morpeth Bridge Club in the lastissue, we referred to it as the neighbouring CastleMorpeth Bridge Club.


All our deals will come from the final of the 2018

Rosenblum world championship. Lavazza, who had beaten

the heroic Allfrey team from England in the semi-finals,

faced Zimmerman.

Klukowski preferred a double to a 1NT overcall and

Gawrys made the practical response of 4™. West could

place partner with a spade shortage. He was too strong to

pass, but not strong enough to head for a slam via RKCB.

What should he do? Right, he should invite a slam with a

control bid! Over 4´, Gawrys bid RKCB from his side of the

table. On hearing of 3 keycards, he then bid the excellent

slam. It was made with an overtrick when the trumps lay

kindly.

At the other table Helness opened 1NT (10-13) on the

South cards. Sementa (West) doubled and Helgemo bid a

pre-emptive 3t, as North. Bocchi’s leap to 4™ ended the

proceedings and Zimmerman collected 13 IMPs.

Awards: 6™ (10), 6® (8), 7™ (6), 7®/games (4).

1. E/W Game. Dealer South

Beat Today’s Expertsclick

link

2. N/S Game. Dealer WestKlukowski launched his two-suiter with Stayman. When a6-4 heart fit came to light, he invited a slam with 4®.Gawrys held a good hand and showed his diamond control.Was he worth another move over East’s 4™, do you think?

The Stayman bid had been doubled, so Gawrys couldexpect two club tricks for his ®AQ. Was a second club tricklikely to be useful, though? If Klukowski had serious interestin a slam, along with a spade control, he would have bid 4´instead of 4™. Gawrys is obviously not such a cautiousfellow as I am. He lit the RKCB rocket and ended in ahopeless 6™. Bilde led the ™8 but the slam had to go onedown.

At the other table, Bocchi and Sementa were moredisciplined: 1NT – 2t, 3® – 3´, 4® – 4™, 5® – 5™. The lackof a spade control was clearly identified and the reward was11 IMPs for Lavazza.

Awards: 5™/4™/3NT (10), slams (2).

´ A 10 8 2 ™ 10 8 t 9 8 5 4 ® 7 6 4 ´ 5 3 ´ J 9 7 6 4 ™ K J 9 7 ™ A Q 6 5 3 2 t A K 3 t Q J ® A Q 5 3 ® – ´ K Q ™ 4 t 10 7 6 2 ® K J 10 9 8 2

West North East SouthGawrys Bilde Klukowski Duboin1NT Pass 2® Dble2™ Pass 4® Pass4t Pass 4™ Pass4NT Pass 5® Pass5t Pass 5´ Pass6™ All Pass

´ 9 8 2 ™ 10 t K 9 6 5 4 2 ® J 8 6 ´ A 7 5 3 ´ 10 ™ A 7 6 4 ™ Q J 9 8 3 t A J 8 t 7 ® K Q ® A 10 9 7 4 2 ´ K Q J 6 4 ™ K 5 2 t Q 10 3 ® 5 3

West North East SouthKlukowski Madala Gawrys Bianchedi 1´Dble 2´ 4™ Pass4´ Pass 4NT Pass5t Pass 6™ All Pass

by David BirdANSWERS TO PROBLEMS ON PAGE 14

NW ES

NW ES


´ J 6 5 2 ™ 8 3 t 9 6 4 3 ® 10 5 3 ´ A 9 7 ´ K Q 10 8 4 ™ A 9 ™ Q J 10 6 5 2 t A K t Q 8 ® A K Q J 9 4 ® – ´ 3 ™ K 7 4 t J 10 7 5 2 ® 8 7 6 2

3.N/S Game. Dealer East Does that look like old-fashioned rubber bridge bidding toyou? Not at all! It shows Madala’s appreciation that suchhands should not be played in a trump suit. Whether youmake spades, hearts or clubs trumps, there is a chance thata grand slam may fail on a bad trump break (or perhaps ona ruff at trick one). With such massive playing strength,there is every chance that thirteen tricks will be available inno trumps. This may be so even when one of the long suitswould be inadequate as a trump suit. I wonder ifKlukowski will be so alert to the situation at the othertable.

West North East SouthKlukowski Bilde Gawrys Duboin 1™ Pass7NT All Pass

Yes, indeed. Well bid, lads! Two splendid auctions.

Awards: 7NT (10), 7´/7® (6), small slams (4), 7™ (2).

4.Game All. Dealer West

A world-class pair, in a world championship final, stop in2™ with 26 points between them and a 4-4 heart fit. Howcan it happen? The traditional meaning of a cue-bid inresponse to a take-out double is ‘forcing to suit agreement’.On that basis, the bidding could stop short of game if Bilderaised 2™ to 3™.

I hear some pairs now allow the cue-bidder to pass at hisnext turn. This allows you to use a cue-bid on a weakerhand, about 8-10 points, looking for a 4-4 fit at the two-level. Barely believable as it may seem, Bilde was playing onemethod and Duboin another. Ten tricks were easily made. Ifthe situation changes when the cue-bidder is a passed hand,this should have been discussed.

West North East South Multon Bianchedi Zimmermann Madala Pass 1t 1NT Pass 2® Pass 2™ Pass 4™ All Pass

Zimmermann side-stepped the potential problem byovercalling 1NT. Multon’s 2® was Stayman and East/Westwere soon writing +620 in their card. It was 10 IMPs toZimmerman.

Awards: 4™ (10), 3NT (7), part-scores (3). Cont/...

West North East SouthMadala Helness Bianchedi Helgemo 1´ Pass7NT All Pass

NW ES

´ J 6 ™ A 7 t A Q J 9 4 3 ® 9 7 4 ´ Q 8 5 4 ´ A K 10 ™ K 10 5 4 ™ J 8 6 2 t 10 7 t K 2 ® A J 6 ® K Q 8 3 ´ 9 7 3 2 ™ Q 9 3 t 8 6 5 ® 10 5 2

West North East SouthBilde Gawrys Duboin KlukowskiPass 1t Dble Pass2t Pass 2™ All Pass

NW ES


5.Game All. Dealer NorthGame in clubs was there but 3NT was no good. Even if theclubs come in, there are only eight tricks. I certainly don’tblame Bocchi for his final bid. Sementa needed to bid hisclubs at some stage. If there had been no oppositionbidding, you might expect East/West to reach 3NT. OnceSouth has opened 1™ and rebid 2™, he is likely to have agood suit and a side entry card. It was too optimistic forWest to bid so strongly towards 3NT. He went two downon a heart lead.

West North East SouthKlukowski Bilde Gawrys Duboin Pass Pass 1™Dble Pass 1´ 2™Pass Pass 3t Pass3´ All Pass

This is the recorded bidding, but it seems likely thatKlukowski made a second double. Gawrys made ninetricks for +140 and a gain of 8 IMPs.

Awards: 5® (10), 6® (7), 4´/part-scores (4), 3NT (2).

6.N/S Game. Dealer West Helness still felt obliged to show his diamond controlbelow the game level. Hoping that his ®K was a valuablecard, Helgemo then used RKCB. The 5´ response, showingtwo key-cards and the ™Q, carried them to a slam with twoaces missing. Even the mighty may fall.

No, wait a moment. Sementa has led the tA from ´J93 ™10 tA10763 ®Q854. Bocchi plays the t2 andanother diamond is led! Away goes the club loser and theslam is made.

West EastBilde Duboin 1NT 2®2™ 4™

The strong no-trumpers bid to the right spot and will bedistressed to find that they have lost 11 IMPs.

Awards: 5™/4™ (10), 6™ (2).

Bidding can be difficult at times. If you didn’t know that already, our world-class experts in a world finalmay just have convinced you. They score only 29/60. Surely we can rescue something from the wreckageby looking for some useful bidding tips.

TIPS TO REMEMBER

D Be wary of using Blackwood when there is an inadequate response that will carry you too high. Therisk is exacerbated when you have only one key-card and are missing the trump queen. A 5´ responsemay result in a slam with two aces missing.

D When partner is unlimited, you should always cue-bid an ace below the game level, even on aminimum hand. When your control is a king, you are entitled to show some discretion.

D When an opponent has bid a suit where you have only one stopper, the chances of making 3NT arereduced. The suit will be led and he will probably have a side entry. A combined point-count of 24-26points may not be enough for nine tricks. r

´ J 10 6 ™ 7 6 5 t 10 6 3 2 ® Q 7 6 ´ A K 5 ´ 9 7 4 3 ™ A 4 2 ™ 9 t Q 5 t K J 8 7 ® A K 10 5 2 ® 9 8 4 3 ´ Q 8 2 ™ K Q J 10 8 3 t A 9 4 ® J

West North East SouthSementa Helness Bocchi Helgemo Pass Pass 1™Dble Pass 1´ 2™Dble Pass 2´ Pass2NT Pass 3NT All Pass

NW ES

West East Helness Helgemo1® 1™3™ 4® 4t 4NT5´ 6™

´ A Q ´ K 10 5 2 ™ K Q 5 2 ™ A 9 8 7 4 3 t K Q 4 t J 5 ® 9 6 3 2 ® K

W E

The Norwegians play a 10-13 1NT at thisscore. The 3™ rebid was a bit of a stretch, but


This year’s Channel Trophy was held at theBridge Club of Lille, France from the 14th to16th December. Juniors from England,

France, Netherlands and Belgium competed in U26,U26 Women and U21 categories.

The U26 team consisted of Jonathan Clark &Kripa Panchagnula; Will Roper & Louise Selway;Stephen Kennedy & Tony Ye; NPC: David Bakhshi.It was the first time for Louise, myself and all threepartnerships to represent England Under 26.Despite losing to the home team, France, the squadwon all their matches against Netherlands andBelgium, eventually finishing second.

The U26 Women team consisted of EwaWieczorek & Olivia Bailey; Siyu Ren & Laura Covill;Hanna Tuus & Daisy Dillon; NPC: Alex Roberts.After a rough start against France and Netherlands,the English girls struck back, winning three out ofthe four remaining matches. Despite their strongsecond half, they had to be content with bronze.There was, unfortunately, no ascenders prize.

The U21 team consisted of Oscar Selby & HarryMadden; Theo Anoyrkatis & Andy Cope; JackRonayne & Theo Gillis; NPC: Michael Byrne. Theirjourney had been a roller coaster, reaching a peakwhen they wiped out France, the eventual winner,19-1, and diving steeply when, in the subsequentmatch, they found themselves at the other side of19-1 against Netherlands. When the dust had settledthey had finished third. Congratulations to Francefor winning all three categories.

A Lille Taste of Bridge

Channel Trophy 2019 by Tony Ye

Love All. Dealer North. ´ A K Q J 6™ –t 10 6 5® A K Q 6 2

´ 7 4 ´ 10 3 2™ K J 7 ™ 8 5 3 2t J 9 4 3 2 t Q 7 ® J 10 4 ® 9 8 5 3

´ 9 8 5™ A Q 10 9 6 4t A K 8® 7

NW ES

West North East SouthClark Panchagnula1´ Pass 2™

Pass 3®1 Pass 3´

Pass 4®2 Pass 4tPass 5™3 Pass 5NT4

Pass 6t5 Pass 7´

All Pass1 Extras2 Cuebid, serious slam interest3 Exclusion Blackwood4 One key card5 Specific suit ask

Sadly this did not create a swing as it was matchedin outcome (but not in cunning) by the Frenchauction: 2®-2NT(showing four or more controls)-3´-4®(?)-6®(!)-7´(!). Both declarers ruffed a club,drew trumps and made for a push.

Then this board came up in the match againstNetherlands. We had Will and Louise on the huntfor a diamond slam, but good bidding judgementallowed them to put the brakes on just in time:

The competition featured a large number of slamdeals. When this board came up in the first matchagainst France, Jonathan and Kripa had a beautifulauction to a grand slam.

Youth Teams competing in Channel Trophy


E/W Game. Dealer West. ´ Q 3 2™ Q 10 9 7 6 5 4 t 4® Q 6

´ 6 4 ´ A K 10 8™ J 8 3 ™ At A Q 10 9 7 t K J 8 6 ® 7 4 2 ® A J 8 3

´ J 9 7 5™ K 2t 5 3 2® K 10 9 5

NW ES

West North East SouthSelway RoperPass 3™ Dble Pass4t Pass 4™1 DblePass Pass Redble Pass5t2 All Pass1 Strong hand2 Slam try

West North East SouthYe Kennedy

Pass 3™ Dble Pass4t Pass 4™ Dble6t All Pass

After Will’s redouble, Louise could have bid aLebensohl-like 4NT to show a weaker hand or 6tdirectly to show a stronger hand. This excellentmethod allowed them to land precisely in 5t, whichmade comfortably.

This was the auction in the other room:

Without our team’s methods, the NetherlandsEast/West overbid to 6t. I led a heart. Declarer won,crossed in trumps, ruffed a heart, crossed in trumpsagain and ruffed his last heart. South had to find a‘discard’ on this trick and Stephen underruffed todefeat the contract. As the cards lie a club discardwould also work, but the underruff might have beennecessary as declarer could have started with threespades and two clubs. As the play went, South wasnot put to the test, but declarer might have tried adifferent line. Playing for a partial elimination,declarer ruffs out the hearts and spades, but onlydraws one round of trumps. Then he plays ace andanother club. If North wins the trick, the hand is

over. With only hearts left to play, North mustdeliver a ruff and discard! Dummy ruffs anddeclarer discards his losing club. This line is betterbut not guaranteed to work. For the defence tosucceed they must stop North gaining the lead.After the ®A, it is not good enough for South to risewith the king, as this promotes the ®J in dummy.The only way to avoid the endplay is for North tounblock the ®Q, thus allowing South to gain thelead with the ten. I’m glad that I wasn’t put to thetest!

The Channel Trophy was enjoyable and a learningexperience for all of us. The next events will be theJunior Camrose and Peggy Bayer Trophy, withEngland as defending champions for both.

As part of the training and preparation forinternational competitions, the U26 squad leader,David Bakhshi, has arranged an online league forthe U26 players. Over the past few months, sixteams of four battled against each other in 16 boardmatches. After each match, David would commenton the play and bidding, and this has been veryhelpful. With the first season over, a winner hasbeen crowned. Team Bailey (Olivia Bailey, EwaWieczorek, Jonathan Derrick, Oliver Powell) toppedthe leaderboard and as a reward will play a matchagainst the Canadian U26 team.

David also arranged a practice match for the U26team against the Black team (Andrew Black, GunnarHallberg, Phil King, Derek Patterson). Black won62-37, but this was also a great experience and weappreciated having the opportunity to play againstsuch a strong team. r

U26 Silver medallists: Louise Selway, Will Roper,Kripa Panchagnula, Jonathan Clark, StephenKennedy, Tony Ye, David Bakhshi (coach),


(a) ´6: 1 mark. Sometimes it is right to lead trumpswhen you have lots of them, and particularlywhen you have a load of small trumps and thebidding shows the opposition have a fit (XmasQuiz, December 2017). The situation could not bemore different here. You know you are leadinginto declarer's spade honours.

(b) ™Q: 4 marks. This is a very seductive lead, but itis wrong! There is such a thing as having toomany trumps on a hand, and this is a classicexample. Your aim should be to try and reduceyour trumps as fast as possible. At the table the™Q was led and dummy hit with

´x, ™Axxx, txxxx, ®Axxx. Declarer won the ™K, play ®A and a ruff, ™A anda ® ruff and exited with a heart which you won.You played your diamond (too late!), ruffedpartner’s diamond winner perforce and led atrump into declarer’s AQ10. Declarer exited withanother diamond which you ruffed and led intodeclarer’s trumps again for an overtrick! Which iswhy the right lead is ….

Answers to December’s Problems click

link

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS:

Master: Nick Goslett Open: Dave Simmons Hove Buntingford

Sponsored by

(c)t4: 10 marks. At the table partner had tAKQ10and played three rounds allowing you to pitchtwo clubs then a ruff meant that you now had tocome to a heart and two trumps for a breathlessone off. But note that the lead would have beenright even if partner’s diamonds had not been sogood – you just have to get some of these trumpsout of the way.

(d) ®10: 4 marks. Also seductive, and also wrongfor the reasons given. These kinds of hands arenot about forcing declarer. Declarer will bedelighted to make as many small trumps as they can.

Pairs Bonus: t4 – 5 marks. I see no reason tochange the lead in the Pairs game. 1´ doubledand making will not score well at Pairs either!

by Alan Mould

Choose from: (a) ´6; (b) ™Q; (c) t4; (d) ®10.

Hand 1 ´ K J 9 6 5 4 ™ Q J 10 t 4 ® 10 9 4

South West North East 1®

1´ Pass Pass Dble All Pass

Choose from: (a) ´3; (b) a heart; (c)t5; (d) ®3.

Hand 2 ´ Q 8 6 3 ™ 7 6 3 t 5 ® Q 6 4 3 2

South West North East 1NT1 Pass 4NT2 Pass 6NT All Pass

1 12-14, 2 Quantitative – asking partner to bid6NT with a maximum hand

We have been here before recently. This contracthas been bid on power rather than long suits andthe aim is not to give away cheap tricks, and to leadas safely as possible.

(a) ´3: 4 marks.This is not safe or even close to it.

REMEMBER THE NEW PAIRS BONUS INTRODUCED IN DECEMBER


Declarer may have a two way guess, partner mayhave the jack and you have just picked up the suit,or all manner of bad things may happen.

(b) a heart: 10 marks. Not even close in my view.This is the safest lead that you can think of fromyour hand. If it finds partner with the queen orsomething and declarer had a two way guess, wellso be it, but it is the best you can do.

(c) t5: 1 mark. In my opinion this is a terrible lead,and I would rather lead any of the other suits thanthis one. This could carve up all sorts of holdingswhen declarer needed to play on the suit for tricksand partner had holdings like J10xx, Q10xx, oreven something like K108x could get crushed.Which shows I know nothing(!) as at the table itwas the only safe lead since dummy held AKJ stiffand partner Qxxxx.

(d) ®3: 4 marks. For exactly the same reasons thata spade is a poor lead. This could (and at the tablewould) save the declarer a two way guess for yourqueen, holding AJ10 opposite Kxx.

Pairs Bonus: a heart – 5 marks. This is especiallytrue at the Pairs game where stopping theovertrick is as important as defeating thecontract.

The multi is going out of fashion in expert circlesbut is still played a lot at club and county levels, so Ihope I can be forgiven for including a handinvolving it here. There are a number of reasons it isgoing out of fashion in expert circles, but theyinclude the fact that on auctions like this, you donot know which major partner has, so are leadingblind. What can we do in this case….?

Choose from: (a) ´2; (b) ™4 (c) t10; (d) ®2.

Hand 3 ´ K 7 5 2 ™ 10 7 4 t 10 9 5 ® 10 5 2

South West North East 2t1

2NT Pass 3NT Pass2

All Pass1 Multi – partner has either a weak 2 in

either major or various strong hands. 2 Partner did not bid or double over 3NT sohas a weak 2 in either major.

(a) ´2: 10 marks. The usual rule of thumb is that youlead your shorter major when you do not knowwhich one partner has, on the grounds that theyare much more likely to have that one. But look atyour hand here. Partner has at most a 10-countand you have a 3-count. So the opponents have atleast 27 HCP between them. The only way you aregoing to beat this contract is to set up partner’s suitand then for them to get in and cash it. If partner’ssuit is hearts, either it will have to set up with onelead and partner have an entry or set up withdeclarer having two stops and partner having twoentries. That is long odds against. You need thesame thing in spades, but if partner’s suit is spadesit is much more likely to set up with one lead. Iwould never lead this at Pairs (see below), andwould probably lead a heart if I had, say, a 12 countwhere I have much more chance of beating thecontract, but here the only realistic chance is thatpartner actually has spades. This was rewarded atthe table when partner has ´Qxxxxx and anoutside entry declarer could not avoid.

(b) ™4: 7 marks. If I was not going to lead a spade,then this is the obvious alternative, but a spade isbetter for the reasons above.

(c) t10: 3 marks. Likely to give nothing away, butwhat on earth is it going to achieve? You are notbeating this contract by playing passively.

(d) ®2: 1 mark. This is the kind of lead that getscomments from partner like ‘If 2t had shownclubs or diamonds presumably you would haveled a spade…. ‘

Pairs Bonus: a heart – 5 marks. For the reasonsgiven above. You are highly unlikely to beat thiscontract, so the object is not to give away cheaptricks, which a spade lead will do unless partnerhappens to have spades, which is simply less likelythan them having hearts. r

Why not take advantage of Alan’sexpertise and send in hands where thelead has foxed you? Email the editor,[email protected] and if suitable, Alanwould be delighted to use them.

SEND IN YOUR LEADCONUNDRUMS


Hand 2 ´ 4™ A 7 3t A K J 9 4 3® 9 7 2

´ K 10 8 5 2 ´ A 9 6™ J 6 2 ™ Q 9 8 5t 6 t Q 7 5® J 8 5 3 ® Q 10 6

´ Q J 7 3™ K 10 4t 10 8 2® A K 4

Hand 1 ´ J 6 3™ 10 6 2t K 7® K 9 8 5 4

´ K 10 9 4 2 ´ Q 7 5™ 8 4 ™ A 9 3t J 6 5 3 t A Q 9 4® J 6 ® 10 7 2

´ A 8™ K Q J 7 5t 10 8 2® A Q 3

NW ES

The contract cannot be made if West is able toswitch to diamonds with East holding the tA, sodeclarer should seek to avoid losing a trick to West,and instead hope to throw two diamonds ondummy’s clubs. If South wins the first trick with theÁ, then plays a trump, the contract will be indanger if East can win the ™A and cross to West’shand with a spade to receive a diamond switchthrough dummy’s tK. However, this can beavoided by playing the ´J from the dummy at trickone. East will cover with the ´Q and South shouldduck this trick. East can return a spade, but Southcan now win the Á and play a trump.

With East holding the ™A, he will be unable tocross to West’s hand, and South will be able to winany return, draw trumps and cash five clubs,throwing two diamonds from hand. This line is notrisk-free, as the defenders may get a club ruff if theydivide 4-1, but that may not be obvious to thethem, and allows declarer to succeed wheneverclubs are 3-2, and East has the ™A.

When East returns the ´9, it looks natural tocover with the ´J (or ´Q), but West can duck his´K. If East holds the guarded tQ, he will now beable to win the tQ and return a spade which willlead to defeat if West started with five spades.

However, there is a counter play. South has acertain stopper in spades, but can choose when toplay an honour. If you play the ´7 on the secondround, East wins the ´9, and can then play the ´6 toyour ´J and West’s ´K. West might try switchingsuits, but say he plays a fourth spade, you win this inhand with the ´Q and lead the t10. West plays low,and you can guarantee success by playing low fromdummy. East wins the tQ, but with no spadesremaining, has to allow you to regain the lead atwhich point you can cash nine tricks.

This line would only fail if East started with fivespades, and West had found a spade lead from´K10x and East false-carded by returning the ´9.

Heffalump Traps by David Bakhshi

3NT. West leads the ´5. East wins the Á andreturns the ´9.

3NT appears to be a normal contract. You havesix top tricks, and will win an extra two or threefrom diamonds. However, there is a danger that youwill lose at least four spade tricks and a trick to thetQ before you can win nine tricks.

4™. West leads the ´10.

You have arrived in a marginal game contract, sowinning ten tricks could lead to a healthy swing foryour team. You have four top tricks, and can expectto win four heart tricks, plus a further two tricksfrom clubs if they divide favourably. However, thereare four potential losers (one spade, one heart andtwo diamonds). How should you play to minimisethe chances of losing four tricks?

Answers frompage 8

click

link

NW ES


Hand 4 ´ 8 5 4™ K Q 6 3t 7 6 2® K 10 3

´ Q J 9 6 2 ´ 10 3™ 8 ™ 10 4t K 10 8 3 t J 9 5 4® J 7 2 ® Q 9 8 6 5

´ A K 7™ A J 9 7 5 2t A Q® A 4

Hand 3 ´ J 7 3™ 6 2t Q 10 7 5® Q 8 5 2

´ Q 8 2 ´ K 9 6 4™ K 10 7 4 ™ Q J 9 5t K 4 3 t 8® J 7 3 ® 10 9 6 4

´ A 10 5™ A 8 3t A J 9 6 2® A K

NW ES

NW ES

3NT. West leads the ™4 and East plays the™J.

It looks likely that 3NT will be the contract at bothtables. You have six top tricks, and expect to winthree or four extra tricks in diamonds.

However, there is no immediate entry to thedummy, and the club suit is blocked making it non-trivial to win three club tricks. To make mattersworse, West has attacked your weakest suit. Howshould you handle the various issues at hand?

The first question is when should you win the™A? West’s ™4 is consistent with a four card holding(you can see the ™2 and ™3 in the dummy and inyour hand). There is therefore no advantage toducking the first trick. Upon winning the ™A, thenext issue revolves around untangling three clubtricks without establishing a fifth winner for thedefenders in the process. If you unblock the ®AK,then play the tA followed by the t2, and thedefender with the tK (West in this case) is able toduck the second round then you will have aproblem. Cashing the ®Q will establish a clubwinner for the defence and playing a third diamondallows the defenders to cash their hearts then lead aspade. You will now be unable to cash your winners.

However, South should be prepared to lose a trickto the tK and after unblocking the ®AK can justlead the t9. If West wins the tK, then South hasgood communications between the two hands. IfWest ducks the t9, then South leads the t2. Westhas to win this trick and can cash three hearts beforeswitching to spades, but South is in control. You canwin the Á, cross to the t10, cash the ®Q thenovertake the tQ to make her contract.

6™. West leads the ´Q.

You have reached a reasonable slam contract, butthere is no guarantee that this will be duplicated atthe other table, so a lot hinges on winning 12 tricks.

You have 11 top tricks, and the best hope for anextra trick is to win a trick with the tQ. You haveplenty of trumps, so you can win the Á, and drawtrumps ending in the dummy, then lead the t2towards the tQ to give yourself a 50% chance ofmaking an extra trick. However, if the finesse fails,you will be left with an almost certain spade loser.Can you improve your chances?

If you lead diamonds from the dummy then youhave a 50% chance of winning a trick with the tQ,but if West can be made to lead a diamond thenyour chances rise to 100%! How can this beachieved?

It will be necessary to throw West on lead (inspades), and then hope that he leads a diamond.You could therefore win the Á, draw trumps, thenplay the ´K followed by the ´7, hoping that Westwins this trick. However, on this layout, when henow wins the ´9, he can simply exit with a club,leaving you to finesse diamonds for yourself.

To make West lead a diamond for you, all othersafe options need to be eliminated. You should thuswin the first trick with the Á, draw trumps, thenplay the ®A, lead to the ®K and trump the ®10.You can now try the effect of cashing the ´K, thenplaying the ´7. West can win the ´9, but will have toplay a fourth spade (conceding a ruff-and-discard),or lead a diamond to your advantage.

If East is able to win the third round of spades,then he will also have to lead a diamond, but nowyou will need the finesse to succeed, and yourchances will be back to 50%. r


CHELTENHAM TAKES STEPS TO ELIMINATE SIT-OUTS

Some of Cheltenham’s keener players spotted aFacebook post in March 2018 that outlinedhow a few creative clubs in the USA were

experimenting adding a BBO table to the normalclub movement, so that rather than face a sit-out,the half-table would be completed playing againsttwo robots. This seemed to offer many advantagesto Cheltenham so we quickly checked out how thiscould be made to work in the UK, and agreed toexperiment at the club to use robots to save pairsmissing boards when there was ahalf-table. If we could get this towork easily then avoiding long sit-outs at the club’s swiss pairs orpairs league would be invaluable. Anine board sit out is no fun foranyone! Our intention was thatthe ‘sit-out’ pair would play thesame hands using tablets and beintegrated into the movement withthe robots as opponents. Help andguidance would clearly need to beavailable to the human players ifthe robots were to integrateseamlessly into a standard clubevent.

Cheltenham Bridge Club’s Bridgeathon, takingplace over seven sessions in three days in mid-October, provided the ideal opportunity for athorough trial and we went ahead with the use ofthree borrowed iPads (one for each of the humanplayers and the host at the ‘BBO’ table). One of theattractions of the Bridgeathon was that playerscould drop in and drop out to play as many or asfew boards as desired. The robots provided thedirector with the necessary flexibility toaccommodate an odd number of pairs; they weredeployed in four of the weekend’s seven bridgesessions. As the Bridgeathon was run in a swiss pairsformat it was very easy to add or take away theRobot table and we quickly gained experience ofdoing this seamlessly.

We put three iPads on the ‘BBO’ table, loaded thehands for each session into BBO, and had thehuman pair at that table play the appropriate handsagainst the robots with the host keeping score on aBridgemate.This approach worked remarkably well.

Many players were already tuned in to online bridgeor touchscreen technology; those players unfamiliarwith online bridge accepted the challenge withgrace and determination and different biddingsystems didn’t seem a problem for either the robotsor the Cheltenham players although a numbercommented that the different context needed a bitof getting used to.

The robots won the Bridgeathon Saturdayevening event – 1st out of 12 pairs. Cheltenham is

now looking to enrol the robots as EBU membersso they can collect masterpoints, but do we chargethem table money for their UMS fees?

When two of Cheltenham Bridge Club’s moresenior members, Margaret Hyde (turned 100 lastDecember!) and Anne Haussherr (both picturedwith Roger Williams) managed to win their matchagainst the robots, everyone in the club wasdelighted. Beating the robots then became the goalduring the weekend and surprisingly no oneobjected to playing them, rather it was anotherchallenge to overcome.

We believe that this is the first time that thisapproach has been implemented outside the UnitedStates. Our trials were extremely encouraging andwere well received by club members. There aresome technical matters to work your way throughalthough it was quite straightforward. We are sopleased with the trial that out next step is topurchase three iPads for the club to use regularly.

If you would like more information pleasecontact [email protected]. r


JUNIORS GET A CHANCE TO SKI AND PLAY AT JBC2019

The South East Counties Junior Bridge Camp is moving to Bowles Activity Centre near TunbridgeWells in 2019. There will be the usual two days packed with bridge hands, teaching, competitions,and prizes. But the new site will offer so much more. The organisers have arranged to have exclusive

use of the new venue with home-cooked food and both en-suite and dormitory accommodation. If bridgeis not enough, at no extra cost juniors can also pre-book an activity such as dry-skiing, rock climbing anda choice of two adventure courses with Bowles’ own instructors. It sounds like FUN!

If you know any budding bridge and mini-bridge players aged from 8 to 21, or complete beginners whomight enjoy cards, take a look at the Bowles website, https://bowles.rocks, and put the weekend of 6-7th Julyin your diaries now! Parents and grandparents are welcome to join too.

The event is being organised by the Sussex, Surrey and Kent County Bridge Associations, together withEBED. All enquires should be directed to [email protected] or William Bourne at 07876 350650.

New venueat BowlesActivityCentre

SE Counties also ran its first junior event at theend of November. Wimbledon BC generouslyhosted the occasion, free of charge, and everyone –teachers, TDs, helpers – gave their time for free, sothe event cost just £10 per head for refreshments.The morning was spent teaching and competitionswere held in the afternoon. Some 33 youngsterstook part and the club was buzzing (picturedopposite).

The participants were very lucky to have a top-class teaching line-up which included U21 and U16national squad leaders Michael Byrne and GeorgioProvenza. EBED’s David Emerson directed separatebridge and minibridge competitions and achievedthe incredible feat of keeping both to time! JuneMiddleton did a superb job helping tirelessly on theday, making the food ‘happen’, and organising theWimbledon end of the event.


EBED NEWS AND JUNIOR BRIDGE

EBED Eventsn FEBRUARY 20198 Club TD training, Day 1, Oxshott11 How to run a club duplicate, Kesgrave12-13 Club Teacher Training Course, Stretford17 How to run a club duplicate, Durham17 Club Teacher Training Course, Faversham19 How to run a club duplicate, Solihull22 Club TD training, Day 2, Oxshott23 Club TD training, Day 2, Pembury, Kent24 Club TD training, Day 1, Stamford BC25 Club TD training, Day 1, Ipswich

nMARCH 20199-10 Club Teacher Training Course, Wetherby10 How to run a club duplicate, Manchester11 Club TD training, Day 2, Ipswich13-14 Club Teacher Training Course, Aylesbury16 Young Bridge Challenge, Loughborough19 Club TD training, Day 1, Solihull24 Club TD training, Day 1, Stretford25 Club TD training, Day 2, Ipswich25 Club TD Assessment, Ipswich31 Club TD training, Day 2, Stamford BC31 Club TD training, Day 2, Stretford31 Club TD training, Day 1, Durham

n APRIL 201911-12 Club Teacher Training Course, Horsham13 How to run a club duplicate, Norfolk13 Club TD training, Day 1, Patcham14 Club TD Assessment, Stretford16 Club TD training, Day 2, Solihull27 Club TD training, Day 1, Wymondham

nMAY 20198 Club TD Assessment, Oxshott9 Club TD Assessment, Pembury, Kent11 Advanced TD Training Day, Aylesbury11 Club TD training, Day 2, Patcham13-16 Spring Sims Pairs, various venues14 Club TD Assessment, Solihull15-16 Club Teacher Training Course, Preston18 Club TD training, Day 2, Wymondham19 How to run a club duplicate, Oxford19 Club TD training, Day 2, Durham22-23 Club Teacher Training Course, Spondon

n JUNE 20191-2 Club Teacher Training Course, Chalfont8 Club TD Assessment, Patcham9 Club TD Assessment, Durham14-16 EBTA Teachers Conference, Milton Keynes16 Club TD training, Day 1, Oxford22 Club TD training, Day 1, Wymondham29-30 Club Teacher Training Course, Solihull

NATIONAL STUDENT SIMULTANEOUS PAIRS

The 2019 EBED Student and Schools Simultaneous Pairs areabout to start, with separate events for Minibridge and Bridge.Both events are open to anyone attending bridge classes – atschools, bridge clubs or privately – and are free to enter. Theyare a fantastic way to give your students a chance to put theirlearning into practice and compare their results with similarstudents up and down the country. A written commentary onthe hands is provided to all participants. You can play the handsat any time to suit you and your group up to the end of March.

EBTA TEACHERS’ CONFERENCE

Don’t forget to book your place on this year’s Teachers’Conference. It’s a great opportunity to network with fellowteachers and hear our speakers who will focus primarily onRecruitment and Advertising. The event takes place from 14-16June at the Mercure Milton Keynes. You can book through ourpartners, Bridge Overseas, on 01656 747700 or through thewebsite www.bridgeoverseas.com/ebed-milton-keynes.

YOUNG BRIDGE CHALLENGE

EBED’s main event for schools is nearly here. It’s not too late toenter and it’s absolutely free! The Young Bridge Challenge willtake place at Loughborough Grammar School on SaturdayMarch 16th, with the main prize being the Schools Cup, whichwas won by Haberdashers’ Aske School last year.

The event is for teams of four, but schools who would like toenter an individual player or partnership are encouraged tocontact us and we will try to put you together with other schoolsto form mixed teams. Please contact David Emerson [email protected] for more information or to enter.

CLUB DIRECTOR & CLUB TEACHER TRAINING

Dates for various courses around thecountry are on the calendar (left). If you areinterested in taking one of our internationally-recognised courses, or finding someone from yourclub to do so, please contact Richard Banbury [email protected].

If you would like to discuss your own teaching and trainingdevelopment please contact Claire Wheeler, EBED TrainingManager to help you on your new adventure by calling 01296317221 or email [email protected].

Dates for new courses are being added to the calendar all thetime. Check for more information, details and the latest dateswww.ebedcio.org.uk/td-training www.ebedcio.org.uk/club-teacher-training.

EBUMEMBER

DISCOUNTS


EBED NEWS AND JUNIOR BRIDGE

A HAND WITH PLENTY TO TALK ABOUT

This is a short example of the kind of materialincluded in our teachers’ magazine, Accolade, andshows the range of topics that can be discussed withbridge students of differing levels of experiencewith just one hand.

Dealer North ´ K 9 8 3 2™ –t A K 7 5® 10 9 8 2

´ – ´ J 10 7 4™ A K Q 2 ™ J 10 8 7 6 5 t 10 8 4 3 2 t 9® Q J 6 3 ® 7 4

´ A Q 6 5 ™ 9 4 3t Q J 6® A K 5

NW ES

North and East both pass and South opens 1´,looking to rebid no trumps.

At this point, you can bring up or revise takeoutdoubles with West, or with everyone if you showWest’s cards.

Assuming the double comes from West, you cannow discuss with North what level they want to bidto in spades. They may well say 3´, but they need tobe encouraged to allow for their shape. With playersworking with Beginning Bridge this is probably bestexplained with fit points, ensuring that they addthese only when they’ve found a fit, as in this case.

With more advanced students, they mightconsider a splinter bid of 4™, or you could use thishand to introduce the concept of using Losing TrickCount to evaluate a hand – it shows both thestrength of North’s 10 point hand and the weaknessof South’s 16 point hand. Both of these topics arecovered in the last chapter of Continuing Bridge soare probably not so appropriate for students untilthey are towards the end of their second year oflearning.

If North bids 4™, what do you do as East? Ofcourse, the vulnerability has been deliberately leftoff, so now you can discuss the implications of that

with your students, and how that effects thedecision to sacrifice or not.

The magazine is one of the many benefits ofmembership of our Teachers Association, EBTA.For more information on membership of EBTA andhow to join, go to www.ebedcio.org.uk/ebta. Thehand itself is taken from the EBED book PracticeBeginning Bridge, a companion to our student bookBeginning Bridge, both of which are available bycalling Lisa Miller on 01296 317217. There is adiscount on all of our books for members of EBTA.

KEEP BRIDGE ALIVE

AND

THE SOCIOLOGY OF BRIDGE

The University of Stirling is launching the KeepBridge Alive CrowdFund campaign to establishthe Sociology of Bridge. The Sociology of Bridgeis about understanding how the bridge worldworks: what motivates players, opportunities forskill development and the dynamics of the game.

The research will provide an evidence basewhich will help persuade governments toconsider investing in the provision of bridge ineducation and communities. We are keen forpeople to join us in the campaign so we canpublicise and promote bridge more widely insociety. We would also be delighted to hear fromyou if you have research ideas, expertise or eventime to support the campaign.

With the money raised, we will illustrate theways in which bridge combines different facets ofwell-being and social connection, whichcontribute to healthy ageing processes across thelifecourse. The key goals are to shift the image ofbridge as a game for older people, to increaseparticipation, enhance the sustainability of themind sport and to communicate messages aboutthe benefits of bridge beyond the bridge world.


GETTING NEW MEMBERS – THE JOY AND THE CHALLENGE

Does your club need new members? A simplequestion, but one which opens up bigquestions about the future.

‘Bridge is possibly the best game devised bymankind,’ according to noted player AndrewRobson, writing in the Times, but over the last fewdecades we have done a poor job of communicatingthis to young people. In a world of video games andcompulsive social media, bridge has struggled tofind its place, and the result is an ageingdemographic in our clubs. The EBU has done somehomework, the quick summary being that a clubwhich is not recruiting new members will shrink atan increasing pace year by year.

GET A TEACHING COURSE INTO PLACE

Bringing new players into a club is thereforeessential. Some clubs are already doing this withenergy and great results, but for others it is not sosimple. There is a lot that needs to happen: findinga bridge teacher, sorting out premises, marketinglessons in your area, running courses, and thenproviding novices with gentle, supervised bridge sothey can progress in a suitable environment beforefully integrating with the main club lessons.

The results though are hugely worthwhile. Theevidence is that a carefully-planned teaching andmarketing campaign will successfully bring newmembers into a club at a modest financial cost. Ofcourse the real cost is the human effort involved;but this too brings rewards as clubs become moreenergised and outgoing.

YORKSHIRE TRIUMPHS

Ripon Bridge Club in North Yorkshire had amembership which 10 years ago had fallen to thelow 40s. It introduced a teaching programme andmembership recovered, but this was in jeopardybecause of a low number of recruits. A campaign oftaster sessions, leaflets and digital marketing turnedthis around, and the club started three new courses,for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners.Core membership is now over 70 and rising.

Membership campaigns are not just for smallclubs. Olicana Bridge Club in Ilkley, West Yorkshire,has its own premises and in 2010 had around 250members. The club had a major strategic review,

improved its premises, embraced technology, andstrongly promoted bridge teaching. Numbers grewand today it has over 300 members.

Why two Yorkshire clubs? The answer is thatYorkshire Bridge Association has focused onincreasing membership and in 2017 ran a region-wide campaign with support from the EBU. Thesuccess of this campaign encouraged us to supportmembership campaigns elsewhere.

MAKE THE MOST OF OUR RESOURCES ANDEXPERIENCE

I was appointed Membership DevelopmentOfficer in September 2018. We have created aresource site, https://ebumemberdevelop.org.uk,with background information, tips, images andtemplates for running membership campaigns.There is also funding available for clubs in countieswhich commit to supporting the scheme. FromManchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, to Norfolk,Somerset and Surrey, we are seeing newmembership campaigns get under way and expectmuch more in 2019.

This growth is welcome but there are challenges.Those who come into the game tend to be in theirfifties or older; nothing wrong with that, but it hasimplications in that they tend more towards socialthan highly competitive bridge. The demographicsalso mean that clubs need to continue activelyrecruiting just to maintain numbers.

A LITTLE BIT OF RADIO COVERAGE . . .The good news is that bridge is a fantastic asset to

our community. When Margaret Hyde atCheltenham Bridge Club turned 100 years old, theclub got her a spot on local radio where she said, ‘Istarted bridge 60 years ago at the golf club … I enjoyit enormously, it’s a very interesting game.’ So manylocally now want to learn bridge that the club canhardly keep up.

Tim AndersonEBU Membership Development Officer

If you want to know more aboutincreasing club membership,

please contact me: [email protected]

CAPTION COMPETITION

CROSSWORD NO 18

ACROSS1 Failures to disclose heart singletons may be forgiven (4)4 ‘Good morning’ — first one of the reasons for the

partnership, maybe (6)9 Not up to being angry when writing in thank you letter (5)11 Three players starting bridge with total freedom — that’s a

practical minimum requirement for duplicate (9, two words)12 Distinctive theory, even in winsome surroundings (3)13 Ask earnestly about opponents’ Blackwood (5)14 Something to help keep shape-shifter eating a wee bit of

porridge (10)16 County that was pro having his and hers (10)😀19 Brought king into play? O, that’s capital (5)20 Reported South went off to help (3)21 Having nowhere to sleep gets 7d upset — that shows a

willingness to follow orders (9)23 Prepared to research the unknown (5)24 Claims to have got rid of right reserves (6)25 Maybe lose out with an objective for foragers (4)

DOWN1 They are long-suffering, poisonous, heartless and in two

spades (6)2 Course that three players want to promote (9)3 Porter’s solicitor got spade lead (5)4 The reason for the fixture is to provide a measure of

success (10, two words)5 Areas to blast to produce various rocks for sculptors (10)6 Bath objection is bounced back (3)7 Relative of one of the players it’s good to accommodate (5)8 Blimey, go with the majors (4)10 In something of a serious mood; e.g. a call I made after

East opened (9)15 Embarrassed look — the result of a cheap flash? (6)17 Bank entertaining nothing but tramps (5)18 Almost completely straightforward sharpeners (5)19 Strong man’s occasional wear? (4)22 What’s owed by pair who are a bit short (3)

Brrr! What’s up with these two? Congratulations to Dave Robinson for my

favourite shown under December’s cartoonbelow. Other close contenders were DaveBryan’s You were caught up the chimney with thediamonds in one hand and a club in the other.How do you lead? William Parker’s My partnersaid overtake so I did, and crashed into three kingsand Michael Wilke’s In my defence, Your Honour,I’m often asked for playing cards as Christmaspresents but I always say, ‘Best to go to the EBU’!Send your new entries for the cartoon above [email protected] by 28th February, or post toEditor, Raggett House, Bowdens, Langport,TA10 0DD.Prestat donates a box of its very superior

chocolates as a prize. The brightly colouredboxes, and the scrumptious contents, are theepitome of good taste – in all the best ways!

Compiled by MERMAN Answers online, p67

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I didn’t revoke. The card was simply mis-sleighed.

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AN EIGHT HIGH HANDI am a member of Halifax Bridgeclub and was dealt a hand wherethe highest card was an 8. Wehave all heard of the Yarborough,but it there a name for an 8-highhand, and just how rare is this?

David Waithman

An eight-high hand is, as far asI know, the only term for it –prosaic but descriptive, and worksfor even smaller numbers!According to my calculations thechances of one being dealt is about16,960 to 1. Since the chances of aYarborough are about 1,827 to 1,this makes it nearly ten times lesslikely. Incidentally, so that you areprepared for when you get an evenworse hand, a seven-high hand isabout 254,398 to 1, a six-highhand about 8,191,610 to 1 and afive-high hand is 1,133,952,785 to1. Of course a four-high hand isimpossible!

Gordon Rainsford, EBU CEO

HELP FOR THE UNSIGHTEDSome while ago I asked the EBUwhat, if anything, they weredoing to make it possible forunsighted people to play bridge.I was told that they were workingon it and wondered if there wasan update. Peter Finbow

There are a number of thingsthat can be done, depending onthe nature of the player’s visualimpairment. Most commonly inour EBU events, we ensure thatthe player has a stationaryposition in a well-lit area. Thiscan be sufficient for those withimpairments that are not too

severe, such as many peopleexperience when older.

At the other end of thespectrum, those who read Braille(usually those who have beenblind for most of their lives) canplay with Braille cards. In order toplay in a duplicate with pre-dealtboards, I wrote an Excel programa couple of years ago for someonewho is blind who wanted to playin our sims pairs. The way itworks (as requested by him) isthat it converts a dlm file into atext file that reads off the Northhands in the manner specified byhim. He then uses software to readit to him and he makes up theNorth hands himself, using Braillecards, in advance of the event.

There's no reason why thisshouldn't work for ordinary clubgames as long as they make uphands well in advance, or at leastcreate the files, and as long as theplayer or club has enough packs ofcards. If this would be of interest,I’d be happy to send it to you.

In between these two cases, theone with which I am mostfamiliar involves a former partnerof mine, John Probst, who was leftwith very limited sight after astroke. Nevertheless, playingbridge became his main interestand a huge motivational factor inhis partial recovery. He could ‘see’the cards if he looked at them oneat a time very close up. He thenhad the considerable challenge ofremembering them in order to‘see’ the hand as a whole.

What we needed to do to helphim was to announce all our calls

as we made them at the table, andto announce our cards as weplayed them, with dummy callingout dummy’s cards when theopening lead had been made. It’s agood idea for this to take place abit away from the other tables ifpossible, to limit the amount ofinformation passed by thisprocess. The other thing that isnecessary is for the other players tobe willing to ignore anyinfractions that seem to be due tosight problems rather than anyother cause. We have EBUregulations about accommodatingdisabled players, and I think theycan be used to justify anyallowances of this nature.


THREE TYPES OF PLAYERI refer to the letter from DickHeasman in the Decembermagazine. Does he not realisethat there are at least threedistinct categories of bridgeplayer: first the social playerswho are quite happy playingChicago, and the lucky one wins;next the experts, or those withambitions, who think that teamsor cross-imps play is the onlygame worth playing; last themuch derided club player (themajority I would suggest) whoenjoys playing match point pairs.The crucial difference is that theobjective is to make the bestscore you can on every board.Rather than only games andslams being important everycontract, no matter how lowly –even 1® – if played and defendedaccurately, has an equalcontribution to the final score.Overtricks are crucial – as is theoptimum contract.

Send your letters to the editor, Lou HobhouseRaggett House, Bowdens, TA10 0DD, or e-mail [email protected]

The editor reserves the right to condense letters. Publication does not mean theEBU agrees with the views expressed or that the comments are factually correct.

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR


Another version is rubberbridge for significant stakeswhich is a challenging gamewhere accurate bidding such as a3™ bid rather than a 2™ bid isvital as the rubber proceeds.Can we not all see that the

wonderful game of bridge can beenjoyed at many different levels.The skills are different but theteam or cross-imp game is notsuperior – merely different – andwe need all forms of the game tobe encouraged and not fiddlewith the rules to the advantage ofone form. Crombie McNeil

EBU SCORE PAIRSI recently agreed to direct anevent for a bridge holidaycompany which required me touse the EBU Score Pairs app.This turned out to be afrustrating and time consumingfirst time experience. How theEBU can justify charging for thisapp stuns me. Just one of themany problems encountered wastrying to upload the results. I waseventually helped by a fellowtournament director who has feltit necessary to write his ownnotes running to over 2½ pagesof A4. Good software is bothintuitive and consistent.EBUScore Pairs is neither. Letscall a spade a spade and make lifeeasier for the users!

Chris Catchpole

We don’t charge affiliated clubsfor it, but a number of non-affiliated clubs find it worthpaying for. We do have a usefuluser guide available, though I seethat it doesn’t have a lot of detailabout the upload process, so I haveasked for this to be improved. Ihave also asked that some of theterminology is simplified.

I must say, though, that usingany bridge scoring software for the

first time is likely to be a bitfrustrating and may well requiresome outside assistance.


TABLE MONEY COLLECTIONI am interested in hearing fromany bridge clubs that haveimplemented alternative systemsto replace the physical collectionof table money at each and everyclub session. Gail TillenAny responses should be

directed to [email protected] whocan use them in the EBUpublication, Club ManagementFocus. Ed

TEACHING CHILDRENI would like my grandchildren tolearn bridge. One is 16 years old,and her brother is 14. I am notsure that our county has lessonsfor youngsters. Jane BurnhamA great place to start is the

residential Junior Bridge Campsfor youngsters aged 8 to 21. Thereare two coming up – one inCheltenham in early April (wheremy daughter learnt with a friend),see ad on page 21, and one in earlyJuly in East Sussex – see p51. Lotsof children go to both, and makefriends who they see year afteryear. Keep an eye on your countywebsite too (and neighbouringcounties) as many are startingnew initiatives to teach children inthe area. Ed

SINGLES CLUBIn response to the member whosuggested an EBU ‘friendshipagency’ we had just two replies.One thought ‘bring it on’, whilethe other suggested joining a localU3A bridge group. I’m afraid theinterest does not justify any moreaction. Ed

SIMS PRIZE DRAWCash prizes!

Club winners of EBU Simsevents are entered into a prizedraw. Congratulations toRoger Poulter & Mark Dennyfrom Eastbourne BC who wonthe £1,000 first prize.

Sue Cretch & Phil Cretch fromAlton BC won £500. SandraNicholson & Krys Kazierczakfrom Summertown BC won£200.

Maidstone BC won the£1,000 first prize

for host clubs. British Airways BC won£500 and Bletchingley BC

won £200.

Make sure your club entersthe 2019 Sims to be eligible forthe Winners’ Draw and the

Club Draw

Entries for the 2019 events areopen. Proceeds from eachevent help to support bridgein England.

™ The British Sim Pairs(January, April, July andOctober) and ClubStratified Sim Pairs (inMarch) help to support thework of the EBU inproviding services to you,the members, and to yourclubs and counties.

´ The Bridge England SimPairs (February) helps tosupport the internationalsquads, especially the juniorteams

tThe EBED Sim Pairs (Mayand September) help withthe work of the charityEnglish Bridge Educationand Development.

For more information go towww.ebu.co.uk/sim-pairs.


Christmas Quiz AnswersChristmas Quiz Answers by Andrew Robson

´ A K 3™ A 7t A 7 3 2® A 8 7 6

Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1™ Dble 3™ Pass Pass ?

You are South in each problem. Which of thethree selected bids would you find at the keymoment and why?

Q1 Choose from: (a) Pass; (b) Double; (c) 3NT.

´ 7 3 2™ Q 10 2t K J 8 3® Q 7 4

Love All. Teams. W N E S 1™ Pass 2™

Pass 3®1 Pass ? 1 Naturalish, asking for help (trial bid)

Q2 Choose from: (a) 3t; (b) 3™; (c) 4™.

´ K 8 2™ A 3t Q J 9 8® K 9 7 2

Love All. Teams. W N E S 1NT1

Pass 4NT Pass ? 1 12-14

Q3 Choose from: (a) Pass; (b) 5NT; (c) 6NT.

´ K 3™ 9 8 2t K J 10 8 4 3 2® 2

N/S Game. Teams. W N E S 3t Pass 3NT 4® ?

Q4 Choose from: (a) Pass; (b) 4t; (c) 4NT.

It’s annoying – you’d like to make a penalty double.However, double would be for take-out and all-toolikely, partner (with a likely bust) would bid somegrotty four-card spade suit and have to battle awayin a tricky 4-3 fit, probably drifting down a trick ortwo. That’s why I like Pass, the practical call, aimingfor a plus score, quite possibly the magic +200. Mylast choice would be 3NT – a gamble that partnerhas KQxxx in a minor and we can run nine tricks –surely over-optimistic.

Answers: (a) 10; (b) 7; (c) 3.

Partner has made a quantitative no trump slaminvite and we are middle of the range – what to do?I think we are just worth a go at slam, with yourgood minor-suit intermediates (filler-in cards) andcrisp major suits. However, rather than pot 6NT, thecorrect call is 5NT – best played as ‘pick a slam’ (nota further invite). That way, you can play a 4-4minor-suit fit. Give partner, say,

´Axx ™Kxx tAKxx ®AQx

and 6t makes easily while 6NT requires a fourthclub trick.

Answers: (a) 3; (b) 10; (c) 7.

Partner has made a game-try and you have a fairhand; not a great hand – aceless with a poor shape.But to sign off holding queens in both partner’ssuits would be too negative. Best is a return game-try of 3t – effectively passing the buck and(perhaps) implying some values in diamonds. So3t gets 10 marks; between 3™ and 4™, I narrowlyprefer 4™ – with those queens.

Answers: (a) 10; (b) 5; (c) 6.

Although you have shown your hand, yoursingleton club suggests it is right to bid on. Youcouldn’t crime pass, but I think 4t is more helpfulto partner. At one table in the Rosenblum semi-final, the buccaneering South player chose 4NT,hoping partner held a club stopper and diamondswould run. North expected a club stopper opposite(eg with the black suits reversed) and passed 4NT.The defence could have taken the first 11 tricks –but they did take the first eight.

Answers: (a) 8; (b) 10; (c) 3.


Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1t 1™ 1NT

Which of the following three South handswould bid according to the sequencegiven? What should the other two do

differently? Assume you are playing Duplicate Pairs.In each case there is equal vulnerability. Eachquestion is worth six marks for the correct answer,and a further two marks for giving the correctalternative bidding for the other hands - inAndrew’s opinion.

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ Q 3 ´ J 8 3 ´ J 2™ K J 9 4 2 ™ 7 3 2 ™ K J 8 2t 7 4 t K J 5 t 9 6® J 7 4 2 ® K 8 7 2 ® A 8 4 3 2

Q5

Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1NT1 Pass Pass 1 12-14

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ Q 8 3 2 ´ J 4 3 ´ J 10 4 3 2™ J 7 3 ™ 9 8 3 2 ™ 7 6t Q 9 7 t Q 9 6 5 2 t Q J 6 3® A Q 7 ® 8 ® J 3

Q6

Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1™ 2NT1 4™ 5®

1 Unusual, showing 5-5 in minors

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ 10 8 5 3 2 ´ K Q J 9 ´ J 7 5 3 2™ 5 2 ™ Q J 10 ™ 6 4 3t K Q 8 2 t 6 3 t 9 6 4 3 2® Q J ® A 7 4 2 ® –

Q7

Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1™

Dble 3™ 3´ 4t

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ 7 ´ 3 ´ Q J™ A K J 6 2 ™ A Q 9 8 3 ™ K Q J 4 3t A 2 t K J 9 5 2 t A J 3® Q J 6 3 2 ® K 8 ® J 3 2

Q8

Your 1NT bid must contain a heart stopper in lightof East’s overcall. That rules out Hand (b), which isbest raising to 2t. With Hand (a), a lucrativepenalty may be available and you should pass 1™,planning to pass partner’s reopening double. Thecorrect answer is (c) – and note the 1NT bid is moreconstructive after the overcall, so a fair nine pointsis about par. Don’t worry that your hand is (slightly)unbalanced.

It is losing bridge, especially at Pairs, to invite gamewith a poor 11-count such as the barren Hand (a) –4·3·3·3 with no tens and very soft values. Hand (a)is the right answer. With Hand (b), you should bidWeak Stayman, preparing to pass partner’s reply.Even a 4-3 spade fit rates to be better than tablingyour dummy to 1NT. Hand (c) is a standard transfer(or weakness take-out) into spades (bidding 2™ andpassing 2´).

This is a bit of fun. I award the correct answer toHand (c) – yes really. Bidding 5® has two big thingsgoing for it. You may get doubled – in which caseyou can run to 5t which may also get doubled andshould play very nicely thank you very much.Alternatively, the opponents may bid on, in whichcase you’d love a club lead – you can ruff (topartner’s surprise), return a diamond to partner’sputative ace, then ruff a second club. Hand (a) isvery offensive – with all your values in partner’sminors – and should bid a simple 5t. Hand (b),though, has fabulous defensive prospects – you havea heart trick and probably two spade tricks (partneris short, remember). I’d chance a double of 4™, eventhough partner has not announced any defence.

The best meaning of 4t in this auction is helping

partner to judge what to do over the opposing 4´

bid that may come. To that end, 4t should be a

natural second suit, not an ace-showing cue bid.

Hand (b) is the correct answer – if partner has

diamonds, rendering the deal a double-fit, we’ll

probably want to bid on to 5™. In the same vein,

Hand (a) should bid 4®. Hand (c) has really gone

down in value – ´QJ are probably wastepaper. You

should simply pass 3´. Cont/ . . .


Game All. Pairs. W N E S 1™ 1´ 2™ ?

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ 9 4 2 ´ K J 3 ´ 2™ Q 10 8 2 ™ 5 3 2 ™ A K 2t K 6 2 t 9 6 4 3 2 t Q 10 6 3 2® Q 3 2 ® 7 3 ® K J 3 2

Q9

Love All. Pairs. W N E S 1™

1´ 2™ 4´ ?

Hand A Hand B Hand C´ 6 ´ 8 7 3 2 ´ Q 7™ A J 5 3 2 ™ K Q 9 6 3 2 ™ A Q 7 4 3 2t A K 3 2 t – t Q 5® K Q 10 ® K Q 9 ® K J 3

Q10On the final two questions (playing Pairs)you are again South. You face an all-toofamiliar Pass, Double or Bid dilemma.

In the auction given, one of the three hands shouldPass, one should Double and one should bid on. Tenmarks for identifying all three. Three marks forgetting one correct and two wrong (two correct andone wrong is, of course, impossible). Again, all inthe judgement of Andrew.

Answers: (a) Pass; (b) 2´; (c) Double.

Bidding 2´ with (a) is pointless. Neither do youwant to encourage partner to compete higher inspades when you have a hand far better suited todefence than offense; nor do you want a spade leadagainst an opposing heart contract.

Bidding 2´ on (b), only four points, has one veryimportant thing going for it – attracting a spadelead (which partner may otherwise be reluctant todo – from his broken holding). And if partnerwishes to bid on as a sacrifice, you don’t mind asyou have little defence to a heart contract.

Hand (c) is a classic competitive (ie take-out)double, showing both minors. It is not for penalties(so your ™A-K are not relevant).

Answers: (a) Double; (b) 5™; (c) Pass.

Hand (a) should double. The opponents are stealingfrom you a likely game contract and you haveexcellent defence. Doubling (rather than bidding5™) gives you two ways to win: they may be goingthree down (more than the value of your game), oryou may not be making 5™.

Hand (b) should bid 5™. Your hand is far bettersuited to declaring than defending and your spadelength is a curiosity. Partner must be singleton oreven void which means you are playing with a 30-point pack (the opposing ten points in spades willtake at most one trick). Imagine partner with apaltry ´x, ™J10x, t10xxxx, ®AJxx and 5™ hasexcellent chances.

Hand (c) should Pass. In spite of your six hearts,you have a bit of a nothing hand. Your ´Q is wastedand there’s no reason to think the opponents will godown, or that you’re being stolen from. Bidding onto 5™ would be misguided – and could easily go fora big number – your lack of a singleton is a bigminus. r

Congratulations to our twojoint winners who bothscored an incredible 98%.

Andy Elliott, Isle of ManIan Pagan, London

£50 EBU vouchers


Peter Swinnerton-Dyer1927 – 2018

Peter Swinnerton-Dyer was aninternational bridge player,representing Britain twice inthe European Open teamschampionship – including, in

1953, with Dimmie Fleming (the only time awoman played on the British Open team) whenthey came second. He also competed in theCamrose five times. He won Crockfords in both1953 and 1954, the Gold Cup in 1963 and theTollemache Trophy in 1963, playing for Middlesex.

The following (possibly apocryphal) story isattributed to him, ‘At a tournament, Peter calledover the referee and told him formally that he wasdeliberately bidding 8®. He had calculated that hewould lose less going down than letting hisopponents make their grand slam. At that time thereferee was forced to accept the impossible bid’. Therules were subsequently changed.

He was a very distinguished mathematician andsuccessful in academia, becoming vice-chancellorof Cambridge University from 1979 to 1981. Hewas elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1967 andmade a KBE in 1987.

Maurice Esterson1929 – 2018

Maurice Esterson was anEngland international playerin the 1960s and 70s, and

continued playing high-stakesrubber bridge throughout his

life. He won the Gold Cup twice, in 1972 and 1974,the Crockfords Cup in 1971 and 1977, theEastbourne Bowl in 1979, the National Pairs in1968 and competed for England in the Camrosethree times in 1968, 1970 and 1974.

Occasional partner Tom Townsend writes withgreat affection, ‘Maurice liked chicken soup,chopped liver, Matzso crackers and variable no-trump, which he was prone to forget at notinconsiderable expense to our partnership. Whenhe gave me a sub-standard dummy he'd say ‘It's notall chopped liver’. He liked Goulash bridge andwould twist my arm to play it. He was such a nicechap I could never refuse.’

The National Interclub Knockout has been

retained by Tunbridge Wells A. Jeremy Willans,

Andrew Cairns, Norman Selway, Espen Erichsen

and Helen Erichsen (pictured) defeated Young

Chelsea 1 by 105 IMPs to 72 in the final.

TUNBRIDGE ‘A’ RETAINS NICKO

The NICKO Plate – for teams losing in the early

rounds of the National Inter Club Knock Out –

has been won by Welwyn Garden City E. The team

comprised Jonathan Osgood, Sally Bennett,

Simon Mostyn and Piers Fuller (pictured) who

beat British Rail A in a tight final. Anthony

Golding and Francis Morton played for Welwyn

Garden City E in earlier rounds of the

competition.

WELWYN GARDEN CITY WINS PLATE

The Online Knockout Plate for 2018 has been won

by the team of John Atthey, Claire Robinson, Tony

Hill and Alan Wearmouth. They beat the team of

Ambrose Holmes-Mackie, Stefano Tommasini,

Shahzaad Natt, Kiril Delev, Ankush Khandelwal

and Alexandra Birchall by 18 IMPs in the final at

the end of November.

ONLINE KNOCK-OUT PLATE


W N E S 1™ Pass 1´ Pass ?

1NT. This shows the shape and strength of yourhand. Do not worry about the lack of full cover indiamonds. Partner might well have some strengthin the suit and you may end in 4´ anyway if partnerhas more than four spades. A raise to 2´ or a 2®rebid would be more of a distortion.

W N E S 1® Pass 1´

2™ Dble1 3™ Pass

?1 3-card spade support

Pass. Your partner's raise is a relatively weak move,merely competing the part-score. With a soundraise, partner could have cue bid 2´. If theopponents lead trumps early, you are likely to havedifficulty ruffing all your losers in dummy.

W N E S 1´ Dble Pass

?

3™. You would have had to take some action evenwith a Yarborough. Holding a five-card suit andnine points your hand is much better than it mightbe. You show this with the invitational jump to 3™.

Hand 1´ 8 7 5™ A Q J 5t J 7® A K 10 3

Hand 3´ 8 7 4 2™ Q J 7 4 3t Q 5® A 3

W N E S1® Dble 1´ Pass ?

2NT. Even if you play that the jump to 2NT shows18-19 in the modern style, you need to adjust theraw point count of 17 to take into account yourdecent 5-card suit. There is a good chance that youwill be able to run the clubs.

W N E SPass

Pass Pass 1t 1´

1NT Pass 2NT Pass?

3NT. If the original range for your free response of1NT was 7-10, you might consider yourself in thelower half of the range with 8 points. This time thesuper intermediate cards – all four tens – fullyjustify treating the hand as maximum.

W N E S 1t Pass Pass

?

Double. In second seat it would be marginalwhether your hand was too strong for a 1´ overcall.In fourth seat, when you mentally add 3 points towhat you actually hold, a simple 1´ overcall wouldbe a serious underbid. You plan to bid spades on thenext round unless partner bids hearts. r

Answers to Questions on Page 8

Club Bidding Quiz by Julian Pottage

click

link

Hand 2´ 8 7 4 2™ K Q 9 5 4t A 4 2® A

Hand 4´ 7 6™ A 10 2t A J 7® A K J 8 2

Hand 5´ Q J 10 2™ A 10t 10 9 ® J 10 7 6 2

Hand 6´ K Q J 8 6 4™ A K 10 5t J® Q J


At time of writing, the Timber Trophy is wellunderway in Bridge Club Live. This is theworld’s only Double Elimination Knockout

Pairs and is run almost exactly as per the EBUSpring Foursomes, with pairs not eliminated untilthey have lost two matches. Our No 1 seeds,Buckinghamshire’s Ed Scerri and London’s GillyCardiff, who have won this event for the last twoyears, have beaten myself and Leicestershire’s LindaMacFarlane in the final of the Undefeated Pool andnow have a bye before choosing their nextopponents from the last three once-defeated pairs. Ihad watched Ed declare this board from his earliersemi-final match against Yorkshire’s Geoff Kenyon(East) who was partnering a lady in theNetherlands:

Top Seeds in Charge!

Bridge Club Live by Barrie Partridge

click

link

Game All. Dealer West. ´ –™ A Q 5 4 2 t Q 8 3 2® J 6 5 2

´ K Q J 6 4 3 2 ´ A 10 5™ 9 8 7 ™ Kt J 9 t A 10 7 6 5 4 ® 10 ® K Q 4

´ 9 8 7™ J 10 6 3t K® A 9 8 7 3

NW ES

´ –™ A Q 5 4t 8® –

´ Q 6 ´ –™ 9 8 7 ™ Kt – t 10 7 5 4 ® – ® –

´ –™ J 10 6 3t –® 8

NW ES

West led ´K, ruffed in dummy. The t2 was ledfrom table, East rising with the tA dropping thetK and t9 from West. East led t6, declarerdiscarded a spade and took the tJ with the tQ indummy.

At this point, declarer made the first key play ofthe ®J from dummy to cater for the actual preciseclub distribution in addition to any 2-2 break. Eastcovered and declarer overtook, pinning West’s ®10.

Declarer ruffed his last spade in dummy and leddummy’s final trump, taken by East with the ®K.East returned the ´A, ruffed by declarer, who nowtook out East’s last trump. We were here:

West North East South 3´ Pass 4´ Pass Pass 4NT Pass 5®

Pass Pass Dble All Pass

Bridge Club Live, the only UK based online bridge club

Fast, friendly & fun!

The auction at most tables saw North passing out4´, which usually made. North’s re-opening hadalready won the board as 5®-2, achieved at twotables, would bring in 77% for NS, but could Ed doeven better?

As declarer led the ™J, I predicted that he wouldrise with the ™A and drop the singleton king offside,but that didn’t stop the gasps from some of theother spectators when Ed actually did so. The playso far had shown West to have a 7·3·2·1 shapetogether with 7 HCP. If she had also held the ™K,she would very likely have felt too strong to open3´. The doubled contract made for an outright top.Congratulations Ed!


´ Q J 10 7™ K Q 4t K 5 3® A K Q

´ A K 8 6 5™ 5 2t A 4 2® J 7 5

NW ES

The bridge game GOTO Bridge was created in1994 by bridge enthusiasts who are nowbehind the Funbridge app. From the outset,

they benefited from the wise advice and expertise of2017 World Vice-Champion and professionalbridge player Jérôme Rombaut who suggestedinnovations to meet bridge players’ expectations.

The latest version –GOTO Bridge 19 – includes allthe features which made the previous products sosuccessful and popular. There are unlimited dealsand multiple practice game modes among otherthings. As before, no internet connection is requiredto play so you can take your bridge game with youeverywhere you go!

The lead is the tQ. As one should always do in asuit contract, South counts his losers and ends up attwo – the ™A and a diamond. As the heart loser isunavoidable, declarer needs to get rid of thediamond loser. The only option is to hope that Westhas the ace of hearts. You must lead the suit twicefrom hand towards dummy’s KQx to force West totake his ace without capturing an honour fromdummy. The honour that wasn’t captured will beused to discard the diamond loser.

There is a potential complication that may arise.Can you spot it? I’ll give you a hint, trumps are 4-0.

You need to plan your entries carefully. If you playfour rounds of trumps before playing a hearttowards dummy, then when the ™Q wins (Westducks the first round), you will be stuck in dummywith no good play. If you then play a heart you willnot establish your king, while if you play a diamondto your hand, the suit will be open and West will beable to cash a diamond after taking the ™A, allbefore you can establish the ™K.

You must therefore play hearts immediately afterrealising that trumps break 4-0 in order to keepcommunication to your hand in spades.

Here is the full deal:

Discover GOTO Bridge 19 from Funbridge

Funbridge Competitions by Christophe Grosset

West North East South 1´ Pass 2® Pass 2´ Pass 3´ Pass 4´ Pass 4NT Pass 5® Pass 6´ All Pass

Here is a hand from the lesson part of Gotobridge19 on the magic of finesses:

Playing 2/1, the bidding is quite straightforward.After South opened 1´, North showed slam interestwith 3´ and then used 4NT to ask for keycards.When South bid 5® with 3 keys cards (two aces andthe trump king), North could settle in 6´.

Game All. Dealer South. ´ Q J 10 7™ K Q 4t K 5 3® A K Q

´ – ´ 9 4 3 2™ A J 7 6 3 ™ 10 9 8t Q J 10 9 t 8 7 6 ® 10 8 6 3 ® 9 4 2

´ A K 8 6 5 ™ 5 2t A 4 2® J 7 5

NW ES

r


Michael’s Interference Quiz, from p10

Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3´ Q J 9 4 3 ´ 9 7 ´ Q J 8 7™ 5 ™ Q 10 8 3 ™ A 10 2t 9 8 6 5 t 10 7 6 5 t 6 5 4® Q 10 2 ® A J 9 ® 7 5 4

Hand 4 Hand 5´ J 9 ´ K 7 ™ Q 10 8 7 3 ™ 10 8 3 2t 6 5 4 t K 6 4® K 4 3 ® 9 5 3 2

Partner opens 1® and the next hand overcalls1™ - what now? ANSWERS

Hand 1) 1´ – whilst it is true that you have onlyfive points, the singleton in hearts tips youtowards bidding. You must show your spadesbefore a voracious heart raise is made. Bidding 1´shows five cards in traditional methods (anegative double shows four) so if they do raisehearts partner can raise if they hold three cards.

Hand 2) 1NT – showing 8-10 points. Ok, Iappreciate you only hold seven in high cards butthat ™10 is worth a huge amount, normally it willbe a full trick. You also have a chunky clubholding and your diamond holding will slow theopponents down if they attack in that suit.Bidding 1NT might also prevent the opponentsfinding a spade fit if one exists.

Hand 3) Double – this shows four cards in spadesin traditional methods and is your first priority,the heart stopper can wait.

Hand 4) Pass! – this isn't so much because youwant 1™ to be doubled as it is that you are pleasedthe opponents are playing in your longest suit.Partner won't be upset you didn't support hisclubs as you rack up the defensive tricks against1™.

Hand 5) 2® – simply support partner. Oneadvantage of playing four card majors is thatopening 1® shows a real suit and we can supportpartner when we need to. Don't be tempted witha clever 1NT, your point count is shabby and yourheart stopper is rather questionable. r

DEG

1 8

109

18

22

23

25

20

24

21

19

15

1716

13

14

11

12

2 3 4 5 6 7S I N S M A T I N G

T H E T A L U E I O

O T W O T A B L E S

I S M U C B E E C H

C O A T H A N G E R

S H R O P S H I R E

T O K Y O T O A I D

O B E D I E N C E E

O T U N R A Y

A S S E T S S L O E

Answers to crossword on page 55


Hand 1 Hand 2´ A J 7 2 ´ A J 7 2 ™ K 7 6 5 ™ K Q 10 6t 2 t 2® 8 7 6 5 ® K J 9 8

Hand 3 Hand 4´ A J 7 2 ´ A J 10 2 ™ A K 10 6 ™ Q 10 8 6 5t 2 t 2® 8 7 6 5 ® 10 6 4

BLAST FROM THE PAST – April 1947 by J H C Marx in 1947 & Richard Fleet in 2019

As usual, the quiz was set by Jack Marx andwas predicated on rubber bridge.

For those readers unfamiliar with this form of thegame, part-scores are carried forward until one sidemakes a game. For example, if one side makes 1NTon the first hand, they score 40 points towards game(overtrick points are recorded separately and do notcount towards game). So they only need a further 60points to make game while their opponents stillneed 100 points.

A rubber consists of up to three games: if a pairwin the first two games, they record a bonus of 700points; if each pair wins a game, the bonus to thepair winning the third game is 500 points.

The existence of a part-score can make a bigdifference and it was commonplace advice in thetextbooks of the time that it was important to keepa careful eye on the score. For example, if partneropens a weak 1NT and your side has a 60 part-score,it would be foolish to raise to 3NT with 13 pointssince making 1NT is enough for game. It is normalto pass with a hand of this strength – 3NT is a slamtry!

Love All. North deals and bids 1t. Whatshould South bid on the following hands:

Answers from1947 and fromtoday’s expert Richard Fleet

responding with 1™, South gives North theopportunity of showing a four card spade length,if he has one, at the level of 1´. A first response of1´, on the other hand, prevents North fromshowing a four card heart length except at the 2-level which, being a reverse bid, he may not bestrong enough to do. A response of 1´ maytherefore result in the best spot for the handsnever being found.

I think that most players nowadays would respond1™ to 1t on all of these hands.

Hand 2. 1™, 4 points. 1´, 1 point. If North shouldrebid 2t, South is strong enough to bid 3NT atonce, thus avoiding further information beinggiven to the opponents. South should thereforeadopt the same method as in Hand 1 for findinga fitting major suit, if it exists. As he intends to bidagain in any case, a first response by South of 1´is less disadvantageous than in Hand 1.

So far as Hand 2 is concerned, if the partnership isplaying a 2® response as forcing to game, atreatment which for some unaccountable reasonis popular in some places, there is something tobe said for bidding 2® rather than 1™.

Hand 3. 1´, 4 points. If North should rebid 2t,South is strong enough to show both his suits.There is little to be gained, therefore, frombidding them otherwise than in the normal order.

I cannot agree with Marx regarding Hand 3.Bidding 1´ and then 2™ is asking for partner tosupport spades with an inadequate holding and Iwould therefore respond 1™ (and rebid 2NT over2t).

Hand 4. 1™, 4 points. The same considerationsapply as in Hand 1.

Cont/

Hand 1.1™, 4 points. If North should make a neutralrebid such as 2t, South’s hand is not strongenough to bid again, and he must pass. By first


Cont/ . . .

North´ A J 8 7™ A K 10 9 7 4t –® 10 6 5

North´ 2™ K 8 7t K J 7 6 5 3® Q 10 2

North deals. The bidding is shown below.What should North bid next at N/S Game,and at E/W Game?

South deals and bids 1™. West passes. Whatshould North bid with the following hand atLove All, and at Love All, N-S 60 part-score?

2t at Love All, 6 points. The hand is too strong fora simple raise to 2™.

2™ at Love All, 60 on, 6 points. 2t, 2 points.Considerations of tactics apply here. Theopponents may well enter the bidding in view ofthe score, and if North bids diamonds andsubsequently has to support hearts at a higherlevel, the result may be unsatisfactory if South’shearts are not particularly good. If he gives tepidsupport to hearts in the first place and bidsdiamonds later if necessary, the inference as to thenature of this hand will become clear to South.

This question illustrates the significance of having apart-score. I regard a 2t response to 1™ asnormal in the first scenario since it is the mostconstructive way of developing the auction with aview to bidding game. In the second scenario,however, the aim is to clinch the game and 2™ isthe better tactical action, with a later diamond bidin reserve: with the 60 part-score, a 2t responsemight be interpreted as implying a hand with apositive dislike for hearts.

A small heart, 12 points. It should occur at once toEast that South, with very little in the three othersuits, probably holds ace, king and knave ofhearts. If a spade is returned, and West, holdingthe ace, ducks, as he should, South will be drivento taking the finesse in hearts and will run home

2´ - 6 points in each case. To leave in a double witha void in the trump suit is rarely good policywhen the contract is a low one, expecially in a case

Dealer North. W N E S 1™ 2t Dble Pass ?

W N E S 1t Pass 1™

Pass 2t Pass 2NT Pass 3NT

Dealer North. ´ K 9 5 ™ 2 t A K J 10 8 ® K 10 8 4 ´ Q 10 3 ™ Q 8 7 t 9 6 5 2 ® A Q 3

NW ES

The bidding is shown below. West leads the´6, North plays the ´5, East plays the ´Qand South plays the ´2. What should East

play at the second trick, and why?

such as this, when South may well have made a‘light’ double. The real problem is not whether topass, but what to bid. 2™ does not do justice to thepower of the hand. 3™ may well result in a spadegame being missed. North is best advised to bid2´ with a view to rebidding the hearts later, ifnecessary.

The double of 2t in this question is penalty but didnot guarantee an enormous trump holding. As‘Skid’ Simon commented in Why You Lose atBridge, ‘Arrange with as many of your partners asyou can to treat all business doubles at the one ortwo level as purely tentative.’ He suggested that,holding:

´x ™Kxxx tJ9x ®AQxxxa penalty double of a 2t overcall of partner’s 1´opening was ‘the only possible bid’. In the light ofthis, it is fairly clear to remove partner’s penaltydouble of 2t and 2´ is the best choice.Nowadays, if partner passed over the overcall,opener would reopen with a double: although avoid in trumps is not ideal, the hand has plenty ofdefensive tricks should partner wish to pass thedouble.


The hands of West and East and the biddingare shown below. State how East should planthe play of 4´, with special reference to his

management of each of the four suits.

You are given the full deal, and the bidding.Some of the bids are marked with numbers.In each case competitors are asked to classify

by merit, or demerit, all the foregoing bids whichare shown in blue. The terms to be used are ASound; B Doubtful; C Ill-judged; and D Shocking.In explanation, the term ‘doubtful’ should beapplied where an alternative better bid exists,though the decision is close; the term ‘ill-judged’where such alternative is markedly anddemonstrably better.

N/S have Game and 90. E/W Love.

´ Q 10 6 ´ A K 9 8 7™ 6 5 2 ™ K 7 4t 9 5 t A 8® K Q 7 5 4 ® A 10 6

NW ES

Dealer East. W N E S 1´ 2t 2´ Pass 4´ All Pass

Dealer East. West North East South 1®(1) Pass Pass Dble(2) Redble(3) 1t(4) Pass Pass(5) 1™(6) 1´(7) 2™(8) 2NT(9) Dble(10) 3t(11) Pass Pass(12) 3™(13) Pass Pass 3NT(14) Dble(15) Pass(16) All Pass

With South probably in possession of the ™A,declarer must take precautions against theopponents being able to take one trick indiamonds and three in hearts. The danger willnot arise unless one of the black suits breaksbadly and, if both break badly, the contract willprobably be impossible. If South’s opening lead isa diamond, which is not overtaken by North, Eastshould duck. In tackling spades, East should firstplay the ace, throwing the 10 in dummy, and thena small one to the queen. If both opponentsfollow, he should then lead a club from dummyand finesse the 10. This play can lose only ifNorth holds a small singleton club and theoutstanding trump. Declarer should not, ofcourse, touch hearts himself except as a lasthope – 16 points.

Dealer North

´ A J 7 ™ A J 10 7 t A ® Q 10 7 6 5 ´ K 4 2 ´ Q 10 6 5 3 ™ K Q 9 5 ™ 2 t K J 4 t Q 10 8 6 2 ® A K 8 ® 4 3

´ 9 8 ™ 8 6 4 3 t 9 7 5 3 ® J 9 2

NW ES

This hand cropped up in a rubber at a London

club not long ago (very, very long by now!) North

actually led the ™J and the doubled contract was

made with an overtrick. On a club lead it goes two

down and no lead can defeat 4´, though the hand

was twice passed out short of game by West. For an

with one trick in spades, three in hearts and five indiamonds. A heart lead at trick two, however,confronts him with an unpleasantly early criticalmoment, and, though he may ponder on East’smotives, he may lack the courage to stakeeverything on the heart finesse while the clubposition is still unexplored and the spades not yetcleared.

I’m not convinced by Marx’s analysis here (andNorth’s 2t bid was a poor choice – either 2® or1NT according to taste being better). Is it notpossible that declarer has ducked trick one,holding something like:

´A2 ™KJ1064 tQ3 ®J952?Playing a heart knocks out partner’s entry to hisspades and ruins the defence’s chances whereascontinuing a spade leaves East-West still in thegame.

The analysis here is fine and I suspect that manyplayers would miss the play of finessing ®10. Itshould be noted that, although the best play, it’snot guaranteed to work: if South has four spadesto the jack, ducking trick one – and giving Southa chance to switch to hearts – might be the onlyway to go down.


onlooker, the post-mortem was not the leastfascinating part of the performance, no quarterbeing given.

(1) Sound, 2 points. Whatever the score, there is nopoint in bidding this hand other than normally.

(2) Sound, 2 points.

(3) Ill-judged, 2 points. Doubtful, 1 point. This isnot so much technically wrong as tacticallyunwise. At the score, South’s pass may meananything or nothing, and North’s best hope ofeventually buying the contract is to show both hissuits and keep one move ahead of the opponents.

(4) Doubtful, 2 points. Sound, 1 point. East cannotbe sure how far his partner’s double has beenprovoked by the score. If it is very speculative, hehas some reason to fear that the bidding will risetoo high if he bids spades first and follows withdiamonds over his partner’s expected heart bid.On the other hand, he holds two quite good fivecard suits and a contract at the 3-level in one orthe other should not end in utter disaster.

(5) Shocking, 2 points. Ill-judged, 1 point. Westappears to have lost his nerve and been moreinfluenced by North’s confident redouble thanthe evidence of his own eyes. He might at leasthave ventured 1NT.



(8) Shocking, 2 points. However much North mayhave tried to impress the table with the power ofthis hand, South’s cards are unfit for anyvoluntary bid.

(9) Sound, 2 points. Doubtful, 1 point. In view ofEast’s second and voluntary bid, West could notbe criticised for bidding 2NT.

(10) Ill-judged, 2 points. North is not entitled toplace South with more than some distributionalsupport for hearts with only very meagre honourstrength. The lead against no trumps is awkwardand embarrassing discards may have to be foundearly in the hand. If North thinks he is justified inbidding again at this stage he should bid 3™.

(11) Sound, 2 points. East cannot possibly imaginethat West’s hand is as strong as it is, and, as Westhad previously passed 1t, a 3t contract shouldbe reasonably safe.

(12) Sound, 2 points. With no reason to supposethat East has five spades it would be foolhardy to

take further action. And North may be tempted to

bid 3™!

(13) Doubtful, 2 points. Having already made no

fewer than four strong bids, North might well

take the view that he has done enough.

Nevertheless, the opponents might be baited into

bidding further with profitable results.

(14) Shocking, 2 points. If West has steadfastly

refused to bid game hitherto, there is certainly no

reason for doing so now when North has bid

himself into a seemingly impossible contract.

(15) Sound, 2 points. It would certainly be

inconsistent for North not to double.

(16) Sound, 2 points. So what! If West is as crazy as

he sounds, it is of little use for East to apply his

reasoning faculties to the problem.

Marx was fond of questions which involved

commenting on the actions taken at the table. It is

difficult to comment constructively on this

particular auction since it involves so many

dubious (to say the least) actions. However, I’ll

try:

North was obviously one of those players who

cannot keep silent when holding more than his

share of the high cards and his successive

contributions to the auction brings to mind the

Mastermind television programme – 16 points

and no passes!

East totally distorted his distribution, his sequence

of diamonds … spades … diamonds being more

consistent with four spades and six diamonds

than 5-5 in the two suits.

I think that South was relatively blameless: he had

four-card support for his partner’s second suit

plus a useful jack. Facing a hand such as

´AQ3 ™AK52 t 4 ®KQ1074

4™ would be a fine contract. Conversely, it can be

argued that the only sensible action when

partnering North was a vow of silence.

West veered from underbids to overbids, and I

would have preferred to reopen with 2NT on the

first round rather than double, but at least he

came up smelling of roses: perhaps he knew his

customer in the North seat!


Rosen’s quiz on Landy from page 24

How would the bidding progress after the West hands bids 2®, Landy, after a 1NT opening by South. Nofurther opposition bidding.

ANSWERS

IN MEMORIAM

QUESTIONS

1 Bid 2t, which will be answered with 2™ this time.

2 Bid 3´, possibly raised to 4´ by West, though Ithink that’s ‘probably’ rather than ‘definitely’!

3 Bid 2t, followed by 3´ to show a stronglyinvitational hand. This will certainly be raised to4´.

4 Bid 2t asking for partner’s preference. Westselects hearts as they are stronger than spades.

5 Here we have enough to blast straight to 4´. Whynot?

6 Pass. This is a side bonus of Landy. We can pass,leaving partner shocked until they see our lovelyclubs – this will often prove a decent contract.

West´ Q J 10 5™ A K 9 7 6t 4 3® Q 5

East Hand 1 East Hand 2 East Hand 3

´ 6 3 2 ´ K 8 7 6 ´ K 7 6 3 ™ 8 5 4 ™ 4 3 ™ Q 8t A 8 7 6 t A 9 8 7 6 t A K 6 5® K 7 4 ® K 4 ® J 6 2


West´ K J 10 5 3™ K Q 10 7 2t 4 3® 5

East Hand 4 East Hand 5 East Hand 6

´ 8 7 6 ´ A 9 8 4 2 ´ 7 6 ™ 8 4 3 ™ 3 ™ 8 3t A 8 7 6 t A Q 8 7 6 t 8 7 6® K 8 7 ® 8 7 ® K Q J 10 7 2


Richard Millard, Surrey. Richard was an outstanding card player. He and his wife Sue were regularattendees at EBU congresses. While competitive at bridge, Richard was an extraordinarily kind and caringperson away from the table and would do anything he could to help if needed. He played a major role inthe creation of Richmond Bridge Club and was its first Chairman.

Jimmy Deacon, Northamptonshire. Jimmy Deacon was a member of Kettering BC and other clubs inNorthamptonshire where he had numerous friends. Jimmy was one of the finest players in the county inrecent decades and represented the county association as both a key member of the 'A' Team and asSecretary on the Northants Committee.

Gerald Haase, Scotland. Gerald Haase was a Scottish International and twice winner of the Gold Cup.He played for Scotland in his first Camrose in 1973, aged 23, and despite moving to England he remainedsteadfastly Scottish, recently competing in the Teltscher Trophy – the Senior Camrose – which Scotlandwon convincingly in 2018 when Gerald was on the team. Gerald was a medical doctor whose specialitywas blood transfusions. More information from the Scottish Bridge Union: https://tinyurl.com/ya6cjy3e

the ebu members’ magazine –february 2019 –issue 281

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