September 06 / Season 2006-07
Programme
The Monday Programme for September is:
- 4th Summer Teams
- 11th Swiss Pairs 1
- 18th Swiss Teams 1
- 25th Burry/Jessop Cups
The new season starts with a ‘play with the expert’ day on Saturday 2nd September starting 2pm, in memorial of Steve Darke who died last year. You don’t need to be a GCBA or EBU member to enter. It will be a pivot teams, so you will play with all the other members of your team. Just enter 3 players (the fourth ‘expert’ will be provided on the day) and enter by signing the list in Cheltenham bridge club or phoning Judy Sanis on: 01452 790681. Entry is £10 (juniors half price) and includes wine and cheese.
If you don’t regularly play on a Monday night do give thought to dipping your toe in the water. There are two competitions which involve about one Monday per month but don’t commit you to playing for the whole season. The first Swiss Pairs is on Sept 11th The first Swiss teams is on Sept 18th The important thing is to make sure that if you are going to play then chief tournament director Paul Denning knows in advance. You can either enter via the list in Cheltenham Bridge Club, or by phoning Paul on 01684 293603. Once you have started playing in Swiss events Paul will assume you are playing unless you tell him otherwise in advance. It is very difficult to run these events smoothly unless the TD knows in advance who is coming.
Alternatively, give the 1 session Mens/Ladies pairs a try on Monday Sept 25th.
Bridge Story
South was dealt a lousy balanced 12 points. After some thought he decided to open 1NT. North raised to 2NT (natural). He then bid 6NT which, unsurprisingly, was not a success. The explanation? He thought he had decided to pass, so he believed North had opened 2NT.
National Results
Keith Stanley’s Nicko team reached the last eight but then lost to an Oxfordshire team.
Having made a poor start to the midland counties league against Warwickshire, Gloucestershire teams continued their disappointing form against Worcestershire.
1st team (Dawes) : lost 6-14 2nd team (Porter) : lost 6-14 3rd team (Markham) lost 6-14
Summer Pairs
Patrick Shields showed me this hand from the summer pairs. As you would expect the majority of the field was in 6NT on a heart lead. How would you play it?
♠ A K J♠ 5
♥ K J♥ A Q 8 7
♦ A Q 8♦ J 7 5 4 3
♣ A K J 7 6♣ T 5 3
I think most players might want to find entries to dummy to take finesses, but that isn’t easy. I think the best line is to take the line in the minor suits: ‘take your high card or lose it’.
A reasonable line is to lead ♦Q at trick 2.
If ♦Q loses to ♦K then you have 12 top tricks if diamonds break 3-2. If they don’t break then you will need to bring in the clubs without loss.
If ♦Q wins the trick then abandon diamonds and try ♣J. If it loses to ♣Q then you have 12 top tricks (provided clubs are no worse than 4-1).
How about if defenders allow ♦Q and ♣J to win. In that case you should cash ♣A, succeeding easily if clubs are 3-2. If clubs are 4-1 then congratulate defenders on a diabolically cunning defence. Imagine that: you try a double avoidance play and they twice deny you an entry to dummy!
Announcements and Alerting
The new procedures for announcing and new alerting requirements come into force on August 1st, These are changes I fully approve of and I would like to say why.
Before the changes players were asked to find out certain information about their opponents’ system before the round began. In practice they never did. This led to regular undesirable situations:
West: 1NT
North: ‘How strong is that?’
East: ‘15-17’.
North: ‘Pass’
Now South has unauthorised information that North might have bid if West’s 1NT had been 12-14.
Alternatively:
West: 1NT
North: ‘Pass’
East: 2♣ (alerted)
South: ‘What is 2♣?’
West’ Stayman’
West settles in 3NT and North leads a club. There is no intention to cheat: but it is so hard to put aside from your subconscious partner’s questions.
From now on for a limited number of bids you will not alert your partner’s bid: instead you will make an announcement without being asked!
If your partner opens 1NT you will announce: ’12-14’ (or whatever your range is). If 1NT could contain a singleton by agreement, say that as well.
Note: This only applies to 1NT opening bids: not 2NT opening bids or 1NT overcalls.
If your partner makes a red suit transfer bid opposite your 1NT opening bid (2♦ to show hearts, or 2♥ to show spades) then you announce the suit he holds.
Note: this doesn’t apply for other transfers, or if 1NT is doubled or overcalled, or over a 1NT overcall, or any 2NT bid. In that case a conventional bid should be alerted and nothing said unless a question is asked
If your partner responds with a normal Stayman 2♣ opposite your 1NT opening bid you announce Stayman.
Note: If your use of Stayman is more complicated (eg 5-card Stayman) you alert. Equally alerting applies if partner uses Stayman over your 2NT opening, or if your 1NT is an overcall or doubled.
If your partner opens a natural two-level bid you announce the strength, ‘weak’, ‘intermediate’, ‘strong but not forcing’ or ‘strong but forcing’.
Note that if the two-level bid is conventional (eg an Acol 2♣) it should be alerted, not announced.
Don’t be scared of announcements. They only apply in these few well defined situations, work well in America, and directors will be in the business of helping you to get it right, especially in the first year. You must not try to get an adjusted score if your opponent becomes muddled and gets it wrong!!
The alerting changes are a welcome move towards simplification. In particular:
1)Don’t alert any bid above 3NT. The main exception to this is if the bid is an opening bid, eg a 4♣ opening bid to show a good heart pre-empt. The EBU want (quite rightly) to avoid the regular occurance when players are reassured that partner has taken 4NT as Blackwood or 4♣ as Gerber or because of an alert.
2) An unalerted double of a natural suit bid (or a prepared club type bid) is for takeout. This brings alerting into line with Bridge for All which teaches that a sequence like 1♥ 1♠ Dbl is for takeout. An unalerted double of a conventional bid (eg an Acol 2♣ opening) is shows the suit doubled. An unalerted double of a no-trump bid is for penalties.