Other Events for Your Calender

Programme

The Monday Programme for March is

• 5th League 7
• 12th Swiss Pairs 7
• 19th Swiss Teams 7
• 26th League 8

Other events for your calender

On Sunday 25th March the National Newcomers’ Pairs will take place at Cheltenham Bridge club starting at 2-1. It will be held in two sections: players below the rank of district master (1000 local points) and players below the rank of master (5000 local points). Green points will be awarded to the top positions in the National ranking. Details from Paul Denning (Chief Tournament Director) on 01684 293603 or enter your names on the list in Cheltenham Bridge Club.

On Wednesday 21st March the Rank Xerox inter-club teams-of-eight will take place. No team may contain more that one player with the rank of national master or above. Details from Paul Denning

Norman Roberts

Norman Roberts passed away on January 19th aged 89. He was a supremely fit and active man but finally succumbed to cancer. Norman was the guiding spirit behind Stroud Bridge club for many years and in his younger days was a regular on a Monday night at Cheltenham. When I joined Marling school staff in 1972 I learned the rudiments of bridge in the lunchtime staffroom game. Norman was clearly a knowledgeable player and I was the one who drove everybody to distraction by picking his brains after every hand. I and many others, owe a great deal to Norman.

Bridge Story

A player had just gone three off in a contract which had been made at another table. He approached an expert and explained his line of play. He finished by asking the expert: 'How should I have played the hand?' The expert thought for a moment and said: 'Under an assumed name.'

National Results After the first Camrose weekend Wales (with Patrick Shields and Paul Denning as team members) are lying 4th out of 6 teams

County Pairs

The County Pairs Final was won by Patrick Shields and Graham Sadie. Also qualifying for the Corwen are Paul Ford and Guy Van Der Gught (2nd) and Nigel and Fred Pitel (3rd). A particular well done to 15 year old Fred who is a member of the England Under 20 squad.

In the following hand good declarer play pays dividends.

South West North East

1♣

Dbl P 4♥ P

P P

East (Nigel Pitel) cashed the ♦A and ♣A K. That set up declarer’s ♣Q, but there isn’t much declarer can do with the ♣Q. East continued with the ♦K and declarer ruffed The contract appears to depend on the spade finesse. Would you be able to divine the doubleton ♠Q offside?

In fact look what happens now. Declarer draws trumps, ruffing a diamond on the way, cashes ♣Q and runs the rest of his trumps. Just before the last trump this is the position:

♠ A 6 3

♥ Q

♦ -

♠ Q 4♠ T 9 7

♥ T♥ –

♦ 9 ♦ Q

♠ K J 8

♥ –

♦ J

On the ♥Q East must discard a spade in order to keep the ♦Q. At this point declarer has no further use for the ♦J and discards it. Now declarer knows that East still has the ♦Q so East cannot have more than two spades. He plays the ♠A K and is suitably rewarded when the ♠Q falls. This is called a show up squeeze.

The vital overtrick

In the following hand West opens 1NT which is passed out. North leads ♣3. dummy’s ♣T wins and you play back a club to your ♣Q, South discarding a heart and North taking the trick with the ♣A. North perseveres with a club to dummy’s ♣9. It is pairs so you want maximum overtricks. How do you tackle the diamonds?

♠ 9 6 4 ♠ A 5 3 2

♥ A K 6♥ 4 3

♦ A J 3 2♦ K 10 5

♣ Q 5 4♣ K 10 9 6

At the table without much thought I took the view that if North had 5 clubs to South’s singleton then the ♦Q was likely to be with South. I led ♦K and then ♦5 to my ♦J, lost to the doubleton ♦Q and had to settle for 9 tricks. It was some time after that I started to question my play. Can you see why?

Of course South was more likely to have 4 diamonds and hence the ♦Q than North. However if diamonds were 4-2 then the only way that I could make 4 diamond tricks was to hope that the ♦Q was in the hand with the doubleton, hence playing North for ♦Q. If the diamonds were 3-3 then ♦ Q x x with North or South would cancel each other out.

Odd that, isn’t it? You play the hand likely to have the shorter diamonds for the missing queen. Of course improve your diamonds from ♦ A J 3 2 to ♦ A J 9 2 and it would be correct to play South for the ♦Q.

Misuse of Conventions

I am not noted for being reticent in expressing my views. For a long time I have believed that most bridge players would play far better if they used no conventions at all. This doesn’t reflect any lack of merit in good conventions: it is the way they are used. Consider your action with the North hand below.

♠ A J T 9 ♥ A J T 9 8 4 ♦- ♣ A J T

South West North East

2NT

P 3♦ Dbl P

4♠ P ?

2NT showed a weak minor two-suiter.

3♦ showed preference for diamonds over clubs

I prefer 3♥ to Double, but I can live with double. North bid 4NT (Ordinary Blackwood). On hearing that South had no ace she signed off in 5♠. 6♠ was laydown.

I asked her how on earth it could help her to know whether partner had the ♦A when she had a diamond void?

‘Of course’, she said, ‘I should have cue-bid’.

I asked what on earth she hoped to achieve by cue bidding when she had all the first round controls.

At this stage she looked nonplussed. ‘What should I do? She asked.

I asked her this: ‘What would you do over 4♠ if you had no cue bids or Blackwood available?’

She said: ‘I would bid 6♠.’

Quite! If she hadn’t faced the distractions of conventions she would have used her judgement and done the right thing. Can you see what is happening? Blackwood is being used like a security blanket. Because it is there people feel they cannot bid a slam without it.

Let me finish by summarising the correct view of Blackwood.

Firstly you decide on the denomination.

Then you use judgement to decide whether the values are there for a slam.

Finally, if there is a danger that your opponents have two aces (or key cards) to cash you check with Blackwood that two are not missing. Blackwood is a final checkback.