mr bridge online - exceptional cruise o ers aboard25 mr bridge christmas and new year 27 mr bridge...

Exceptional cruise o�ers aboard MinervaMinerva Santiago de Compostela, Spain Alhambra, SpainReykjavik, Iceland

To book or request a brochure call

01483 489 961www.bridgecruises.co.uk

Torshavn Reykjavik

AkureyriIsafjordur

PortsmouthEngland

Dublin

St Kilda

Siglufjordur

LivornoItaly

PortsmouthEngland

Calvi

Mahon

CartagenaMalagaCadiz

Oporto

La Coruna

Sark

Alghero

CALL OF THE ARCTIC TERN6 DAYS DEPARTING 21 JULY 2011

CAT 12 Inside GTY £1,695pp (20% Single Supp.) CAT 8 Outside GTY £2,195pp (30% Single Supp.)

FREE complimentary pre and post cruise coach transfers from London Victoria Coach Station, Southampton Airport, Bournemouth and Poole Railway Stations. Reduced rates on pre-cruise hotel stay

and parking also available, see page 21 of the March 2011 to May 2012 Swan brochure for further details.

A SPANISH SUMMER15 DAYS DEPARTING 19 AUGUST 2011

SAVE 10% OFF LEAD IN CATEGORIES

CAT 12 Inside GTY £1,595pp (20% Single Supp.)CAT 8 Outside GTY £2,475pp (30% Single Supp.)

FREE Complimentary pre-cruise transfer from London Airport to Portsmouth (please request at the time of booking).

Godafoss Falls, Iceland

Travel in country-house style aboard Minerva with around 320 like-minded passengers and dine in the restaurant of your choice. Be assured of excellent value for money, including all tips on board and ashore as well as an inclusive tailor-made excursion programme.All passengers who have booked and registered through will be eligible to partake in the late afternoon bridge sessions, held on days when the ship is at sea. There is no bridge supplement as, like most of the excursions, it is included in the price. Mr Bridge actively encourages singles to join the party and they will always be found a partner for a game.

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10% saving)

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The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor.

BRIDGEPublisher and

Managing Editor Mr Bridge

Ryden GrangeKnaphill, Surrey

GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961

e-mail: [email protected]

website:www.mrbridge.co.uk

Associate EditorJulian Pottage

Technical ConsultantTony Gordon

Bridge ConsultantBernard Magee

Proof ReadersTony Richards

Danny RothHugh WilliamsRichard Wheen

Office ManagerCatrina Shackleton

Events & Cruises( 01483 489961

Jessica GaltRachel EverettMegan Riccio

Zoe Wright

Clubs & CharitiesMaggie Axtell

[email protected]

Address ChangesElizabeth Bryan( 01483 485342

All correspondence shouldbe addressed to Mr Bridge.Please make sure that allletters, e-mails and faxescarry full postal addressesand telephone numbers.

ADVERTISEMENTS

2 Summer 2011 on board mv Minerva

3 2012 Diary

4 Voyages to AntiquityCruise on board Aegean Odyssey

5 Just Bridge

6 Bernard Magee at Haslemere Hall

7 Mail Order Form

8 Bernard Magee’sInteractive Software

10 Tunisia

11 Bernard Magee’sBetter Hand Evaluation

12 Voyages of Discovery2011 Summer Cruises

15 Voyages of DiscoveryWinter 2012 Cruises

16 Bridge EventBooking Form

16 Bernard Magee’sTips for Better Bridge

20 Bridge Weekends with Bernard Magee

22 Bernard Magee’s Begin Bridge –Acol Version

23 Reader’s Digest

25 Mr Bridge Christmasand New Year

27 Mr Bridge TutorialBridge Breaks

36 Duplicate BridgeRules Simplified

36 Charity Bridge Events

37 Stamps

39 Mr BridgeRubber/ChicagoBridge Events

42 Global Travel Insurance

47 Voyages of Discovery2012 Summer Cruises

48 QPlus 10

FEATURES

5 Mr Bridge

7 Double Dummy Quizby Richard Wheen

9 Justin Corfield saysHold Up in Dummy’s Suit

10 Seven Daysby Sally Brock

13 Playing and Defendingagaisnt Precisionby Jeremy Dhondy

14 Wendy Wensum

17 David StevensonAnswers Your Questions

21 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

22 Bidding Quiz Answersby Bernard Magee

23 Defence Quizby Julian Pottage

24 Defence Quiz Answersby Julian Pottage

25 Declarer Play Quizby Dave Huggett

26 Declarer Play Answersby David Huggett

27 Lead Quiz by Andrew Kambites

28 Lead Quiz Answersby Andrew Kambites

29 The A to Z of Bridge C by Julian Pottage

36 Double Dummy Answer by Richard Wheen

37 Readers’ Letters

38 Little Voice Used StampContributors

40 Understanding theContested Auctionreviewed by DavidHuggett

41 Heather Dhondy saysOpen Light in ThirdSeat Only in a Suit YouWant Led

44 Julian PottageAnswers Your Questions

HONOUR POINTS‘Honours' are the top fivecards in the trump suit: ‘A-K-Q-J-10’. If anyplayer holds four of thesecards, then his side isentitled to score 100bonus points above theline and if all five areheld, that is worth 150bonus points. Playing inno-trumps, aces take therole of honours, and aplayer must hold all fourto score 150 for honours.Any player can claimhonours, includingdummy (or declarer ondummy’s behalf) andeither of the defenders.

Honours count inRubber and ChicagoBridge, but not inDuplicate (although it islegal for a sponsoringorganisation to run anevent in which they do).Honours can be claimedat any time during play,but it is wise to wait tillthe claimer has becomeclearly marked with therelevant holding, e.g. ifdeclarer has drawn allthe trumps and everyoneelse has shown out.Otherwise, honours canbe claimed at the end ofthe deal when the scoreis being agreed. The lastchance to claim honoursis at the end of therubber, as defined byLaw 78: ‘When it isacknowledged by amajority of the playersthat a scoring error wasmade in recording anagreed upon result (e.g.failure to enter honours,or incorrect computationof score), the error mustbe corrected ifdiscovered before the netresult of the rubber hasbeen agreed to.’

Reprinted from theBridge Players’ Diary.

Order your 2012 Diary now.

Explore the fascinating history of Sicily, the palaces of Malta and the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum

BOOK NOW FOR SPECIAL FARES

Cruise from Athens to Rome aboard the Aegean Odysseyand discover the architectural and artistic legacies of the classical civilisations of the Mediterranean. Discover sites in classical Greece, enjoy the natural beauty and magnificent history of Sicily and Malta – and explore the mysteries of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Mediterranean Sea

AthensNauplia

TaorminaGREECE

SICILY

MALTA

SyracuseAgrigento

Valle�a

Aegean SeaIonianSeaTrapani

PalermoStromboli

Pæ�umAgropoli

Sorrento

CivitavecchiaITALY

Mycenæ

Tyrrhenian Sea

VOYAGES TOANTIQUITY10093* Price is per person, single or double occupancy, and includes MR BRIDGE SPECIAL SAVING. The bridge programme is completely optional and Mr Bridge passengers can participate as much, or as little as they wish.This offer is subject to availability, is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. www.voyagestoantiquity.com

ABTA No.Y2206

13-DAY FLY-CRUISE FROM ATHENS TO ROMEDEPARTS OCTOBER 13, 2011

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Classical Greece; the superbly well-preserved Greek temples of Segesta and

the Valle dei Templi; the fortifications of Syracuse; theNorman Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel in Palermo and Monreale Cathedral; Paestum and Amalfi Coast;

Pompeii and Herculaneum.

CRUISES TO CLASSICAL CIVILISATIONS

THE MYSTERY OF

POMPEII& THE MAGIC OF SICILY

Cruise in comfort, relax in styleAegean Odyssey is a premium class ship that has been especiallyrefitted for cruising in the Mediterranean. Carrying just 350 passengers, the atmosphere on board is relaxed with plenty ofpassenger space, a choice of restaurants (with open-seating dining) and generously-sized accommodations, plus the comfort and attentive service of boutique-style cruising.

There is a supplement of £30 for those wishing to participate in the duplicatebridge programme or learn to play bridge. Singles are made especially welcomeand a playing partner willalways be found.

Our voyage will be accompanied by a team of expert guest speakers and we are delighted toannounce that the renowned historian and authorJohn Julius Norwich will also be joining this sailing.

FARES INCLUDE:SIGHTSEEING EXCURSIONS AT ALL PORTS

EXPERT LECTURE PROGRAMMEWINE WITH DINNER & GRATUITIES ON BOARD

EXCLUSIVE MR BRIDGE COCKTAIL PARTIESSCHEDULED AIR & TRANSFERS

BOOK EARLY – THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS SUBJECTTO LIMITED AVAILABILITY

NO SINGLESUPPLEMENT

SAVE UP TO£2,000

PER COUPLE

MR BRIDGE FARES*Standard Inside £1,495ppSuperior Inside from £1,695ppStandard Outside from £1,995pp

Superior Outside from £2,095ppDeluxe Outside from £2,695ppDeluxe Balcony from £4,150pp

NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT ON BOARD

CALL ON 01483 489961

2 nights in Athens Add a 2-night stay in historicAthens before your cruise. Stay at the centrally located deluxeAthenaeum InterContinentalTwin/Double £245 pp, Single £375

COVER CRUISE

Come with me on a cruise,without single supplements,onboard Aegean Odyssey.All cabins and suites for thecruise are offered withoutsupplement. It’s a goodcruise with an interestingitinerary and the priceincludes gratuities onboard, local wines withdinner and all excursions.

The newly refurbishedAegean Odyssey carriesaround 325 passengers and,being a compact vessel, it isable to call at the smallerports unsuitable for thefloating hotels and holidaycamps now sailing the seas.

There is a similar itineraryat the end of August, withthe same deal for singles,but with Mary Beard as theonboard lecturer. As Isuspect the advertisedcruise will be sold outalmost as soon as thismagazine lands on yourdoorstep, you should ring ifthis Summer alternative isof interest to you.

DIARIES

Club orders for their 2012diaries are now overdue.Don’t leave it until the lastminute as you usually do.

Standard diaries come inthe same ten colour coversas last year. Luxury kidrellcovered diaries come inruby red, bottle green ornavy blue. Let’s be hearing from you.

PLEASE HELP ME

In an effort to establish theaverage age of those playingduplicate throughout theUK, I am asking clubs tohelp me. At your nextduplicate, please hand out ablank slip of paper to allparticipants. Everyoneshould write their age inyears and months on theslip. These should then becollated, the ages totalledand averaged and thesefigures, in years andmonths, sent to me with thename and address of yourclub together with thename, address and postcodeof the member with the agenearest to the average ofyour club. They will be senta copy of Bernard Magee’sQuiz Book. Entries beforethe end of June please. The resultant findings will be published in theAugust issue.

UNDERESTIMATE

My rock-bottom offer of ablack vinyl covered utilitytable and four matchingchairs for only £100 + £20carriage anywhere inmainland UK has beenextended until 31 July 2011.

Those living nearby shouldring to order and collectfrom my depot to save the£20 delivery charge.

CALMED DOWN

It is hoped that bothTunisia and Egypt will befully restored to normalityin time for next season’sbridge parties. BernardMagee will lead bothgroups, Egypt in Januaryand Tunisia in February.

MONEY SAVER

The price of posting a letterhas gone up again and onceagain I write to tell youabout Clive Goff ’s unusualservice. He buys unusedBritish stamps fromcollectors and investors and sells them below facevalue to people like you and me to stick on ourenvelopes, cards andpackages. Do give him aring on ( 0208 422 4906or send him an email on [email protected]

GOODBYE BEACH

Full planning permissionhas been granted for the re-development of TheBeach Hotel, Worthing.

There are still vacancies forweekend events withseveral Just Bridgeduplicates during the Julyand August high season.See adjacent advert.

I will be staying over thefinal weekend with MrsBridge to greet guests at the Gala Dinner on theFriday evening to celebratemany happy memories.

Bernard Magee (see page20) will be at The Beachtwice in June and there areseveral tutorial events inJune, see page 27.

Be assured that The Beachstill deserves its reputationfor comfort and service.

JUST BRIDGE

Please see bookingform on page 16.

20118-10 July £199

The Beach Hotel

8-10 July £169Latimer Mews

15-17 July £199The Beach Hotel

22-24 July £199The Beach Hotel

5-7 August £199The Beach Hotel

12-14 August £245The Beach Hotelwith Gala Dinner

30 Sep-2 Oct £169Latimer Mews

28-30 Oct £169Latimer Mews

4-6 Nov £169Latimer Mews

♦ Full board

♦ No single supplement

♦ 6 sessions of duplicate bridge

♦ No prizes or masterpoints

♦ No tuition, seminars or quizzes, just bridge

The Beach HotelWorthing BN11 3QJ

Latimer Mews Chesham HP5 1UG

HASLEMERE

This latest issue ofBRIDGE is being sent afew days early to givereaders a last chance tobook one or more of theseminars as per theadjacent advertisement.

Each seminar is beingfilmed and will be availableas six self-contained DVDsearly this Autumn.

The contents are all fresh,so even if you haveattended all Bernard’sportfolio of thirty-twoweekend seminars, most of the material will be absolutely new to you.

Reminder. Bring yourcamera. I have arranged for a photographer to beon hand all three days totake your photo withBernard. Mobile phoneshave cameras these days ifyou do not have your owndedicated digital.

As part of The HaslemereFestival, Bernard’s sisterYvie, pictured above, starsin Alan Ayckbourn’scomedy Round and Roundthe Garden in the sametheatre. If you are stayingover in Haslemere for thebridge, why not try theplay for some light relief onthe Tuesday or Wednesday.

WHAT IS

YOUR BID?

Mr A Solomons of London,SW19 asked this questionin his letter published onpage 34 of the last issue ofBRIDGE.

At Love All, your righthand opponent deals andopens the bidding with 1´– what do you say holdingthe following hand?

´ Q 5

™ K 3

♦ Q 6 5 3 2

® A K Q J

Here are the answers fromsome of my experts inalphabetical order.

Sally Brock1NT. I see this as the lesserevil of pass (second choice),double or 2♦.

Dave Huggett1NT. I just know I wouldbid this.

Andrew Kambites1NT. I dislike this actionleast.

Bernard MageeDouble. This is the easyanswer for now, but what Ibid over 2™ from partner isless easy. I might rebid 2´to show a strong hand thatwants more information.

Julian Pottage1NT. Prefer this to double:with a half stopper inspades and only two hearts,the hand is closer to havinga spade stopper than it is tohaving four hearts.

David StevensonPass. I do not expect this tobe a majority view. Secondchoice double, third choice1NT. I would not consider2®, 2♦ or 2NT.

INSURANCE

Naturally, I am thrilled bythe growing success of myclub insurance promotion.Over 400 clubs are nowcovered by a policy thatcosts less and covers morethan any other of its kindon offer in the marketplace. The significantuptake is evidence of this.Club committees shouldcontact Moore Stephens on( 0207 515 5270.

Buoyed up by this success, Iam looking into competitivecar insurance for us solid,reliable bridge-playingtypes. Watch this space.

SECOND HAND

TABLES

All my holiday venues areshortly being re-equipped.

As most clubs cover theirtables with green cotton-velvet cloths, condition isunimportant. Stability iswhat matters.

I will have over onehundred to clear in theSummer. Register yourinterest now and thenumber you require. I willadvise all applicants as tocost. They will be priced togo. Locals may collect.

MINERVA

There is a Mr Bridge hoston this ship on all cruisesuntil November 2012. Thisdoes not guarantee aduplicate which isdependent on numbers.However, teams or a rubberor two after dinner canmake all the difference to aholiday. See their advert onpage 2. Nearly all portexcursions are included inthe prices quoted.

BernardMagee

at Haslemere

HallHaslemere, Surrey

£10 per ticketFor advanced

booking, please callHaslemere Hall

Box Office

( 01428 642161

Please note that all sessions will be filmed.

Tuesday 17 May

Morning Session: 11.00 – 12.30

Ruffing for extra tricks

Afternoon Session:15.30 – 17.00

Competitive auctions

Wednesday 18 May


Making the most ofyour high cards

in play and defence

Afternoon Session:15.30 – 17.00Finding and bidding slams

Thursday 19 May


Play and defence of 1NT

Afternoon Session:15.30 – 17.00

Doubling and defence against doubled

contracts

MAIL ORDERPLAY SOFTWAREQPlus 10 £86.00 .......

QPlus 8.8 (second hand) £56.00 .......

QPlus 10 upgrade(trade-in your old QPlus version) £35.00 .......

Bridge Baron Version 21The very latest and Mac compatible £60.00 .......

TUTORIAL SOFTWAREBegin Bridge – Acol Version £66.00 .......

Acol Bidding £66.00 .......

More Acol Bidding £96.00 .......

Declarer Play £76.00 .......

Advanced Declarer Play £81.00 .......

Defence £76.00 .......

SOFTWARE BUNDLE OFFERSAny two software pieces £120.00 .......

Any three software pieces £175.00 .......

Any four software pieces £220.00 .......

BOOKSDuplicate Bridge Rules Simplified £5.95 .......

Better Hand Evaluation – Bernard Magee £14.00 .......

Bernard Magee’s Bridge Quiz Book £14.00 .......

Bernard Magee’s Quiz and Puzzle Book £14.00 .......

Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge £14.00 .......

TABLES AND CHAIRSSPECIAL OFFER. Standard black vinyl

covered bridge table and set of four matching chairs £120.00 .......

Prices are inclusive of VAT and postage. I enclose a cheque for £..........

Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................................................................

Address .........................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

Postcode ..............................................( .............................................

Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ...............(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.

www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop

( 01483 489961

NEW

CHRISTMAS

REALLY IS COMING

There are small bridgeparties this year on bothDiscovery and Minerva –full details on request.

At home, our Christmaswill be held at DenhamGrove. The Christmas breakitself, 24-27 December, willfocus on Just Bridge,although there will be lowkey bridge tutorials andsupervised play for thosewho want them. Twixmas,27-29 December, will be astandard tutorial break, butthe New Year Event, 29December – 1 January willfeature a new series of threeseminars: Developing atDuplicate Pairs, togetherwith matching sessions ofsupervised play. Followingthis, there will be a standardtutorial event: 1-3 January2012. See advert on page 25.

REPEAT MAC

I am pressed by enthusiastsof Apple Mac to provide acompatible bridge playprogram. As there is noprospect of a Mac version, Irecommend Bridge Baron.

As a service to readers, Inow stock the very latestversion of a Maccompatible, bridge playprogram, Bridge Baron 21for only £60. I also offer totake a cheque for £36 andany piece of old bridgesoftware in part exchange.Offer ends 31 July 2011.

RE-REGISTER

Another Spring, anotherspring-cleaning. If you donot tell us that you are stillalive or have moved house,sadly we cannot continue tosend you BRIDGE. If yourfriends comment that theyhave not received their copyrecently, please tell themthat they must have ignoredmy entreaties to re-register.

DOUBLE DUMMYby Richard Wheen

´ Q 8

™ 4 3

♦ Void

® 3 2

´ K J 7 5 ´ 6

™ 7 6 ™ J 9 8

♦ Void ♦ 9

® Void ® 4

´ A 9 2

™ A 10 2

♦ Void

® Void

North is on lead withspades as trumps. How canNorth/South make fivetricks, when they seem tohave two spade losers (theking and a long spade)?(Answer on page 36.)

BRAND PLUG

All packs have jolly jokersand mine are no exception.Each pack of my premiumquality playing cardscontains a red, a blue and ayellow jolly joker.

60 unboxed packs for £60.London Bridge Centre. ( 0207 4868222.

BUNDLEWARE

I have been urged to makea special offer for thosewishing to make multiplepurchases of the softwareproducts. I have been veryreluctant to do so as therewill always be somecomplaints but here goesanyhow.

The tariff is set in theadjacent order form.However, if you havepurchased in the past sixmonths or so, do draw myattention to it and claimyour bundle discount offyour next purchase. (Thisoffer closes 30 June 2011).

All good wishes.

Mr Bridge

NW E

S

BERNARDMAGEE’S

INTERACTIVETUTORIALS

ACOL BIDDING

l Opening Bids andResponses

l Slams and StrongOpenings

l Support for Partner

l Pre-empting

l Overcalls

l No-trumpOpenings and Responses

l Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids

l Minors and Misfits

l Doubles

l CompetitiveAuctions

MORE(ADVANCED)

ACOL BIDDING

l Basics

l Advanced Basics

l Weak Twos

l Strong Hands

l Defence to Weak Twos

l Defence to 1NT

l Doubles

l Two-suited Overcalls

l Defences to Other Systems

l Misfits and Distributional Hands

DECLARER PLAY

l Suit Establishment in No-trumps

l Suit Establishmentin Suits

l Hold-ups

l Ruffing for ExtraTricks

l Entries in No-trumps

l Delaying Drawing Trumps

l Using the Lead

l Trump Control

l Endplays &Avoidance

l Using the Bidding

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY

l Making Overtricksin No-trumps

l Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts

l Endplays

l Avoidance

l WrongContract

l Simple Squeezes

l Counting the Hand

l Trump Reductions& Coups

l Playing DoubledContracts

l Safety Plays

Make your cheque payable to and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop Fax 01483 797302System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista or 7, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM

DEFENCEl Attitude Signals

l Discarding

l Defensive Plan

l Stopping Declarer

l Counting the Hand

l Lead vs No-trump Contracts

l Lead vs Suit Contracts

l Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts

l Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts

l Count Signals

£76

£66£76

£96

£81

Sharpen your defence in the course of 20 introductory exercises and 120 complete deals

The fate of many a contractdepends on whether declarer canestablish a long suit in dummy.Your job, as a defender, may be toprevent this at all costs.

On some days, this is easy:

´ 9 8™ 2♦ K Q J 9 6 5 4® J 7 5

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

´ A K 6 3™ A K 5♦ 8 7 2® A 9 4

West North East South

3♦ Pass 3NTEnd

West leads the ™4, won by declarer, whoplays a diamond. East can defeat thecontract by holding up the ♦A until thethird round.

Before we move on, consider whatmight happen if West had led a club.Dummy plays low, and East must notplay the ®K – if he does, the ®Jsuddenly turns into an entry and a deaddummy springs back to life. Do not dothat. Killing dummy’s suit is not justabout the hold-up; it is a way of life thatcan begin at trick one.

When dummy has a long suit with nosemblance of an outside entry, it is easy tosee the need to hold up your stopper. Awell-trained partner should be able tosignal to you how many cards in the longsuit he started with, telling you on whichround to take your winner. When,unfortunately, dummy has outside entries,things become (much) more complicated.

´ 9 8™ 8 5♦ K Q 10 9 6 5® A 5 3

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

´ A K 6 ™ A K 3 2♦ 8 7 2® Q J 10

After the same auction, South is again in3NT. West leads a low spade. Do youwant to play or defend?

You should defend.Declarer will win the lead and play a

diamond to the ♦K. East has twodiamond tricks whether he wins this ornot. However, the difference is all abouttiming. If we take the first diamond,declarer might win the return in handand play another diamond, setting upthe suit while the ®A is still in dummy asan entry. In contrast, if we hold up on thefirst round of diamonds, declarer cannever get the suit going.

What happens if declarer chooses toplay a diamond to the ♦10 instead? Thisprevents East from ducking and so is agood play. However, declarer is not theonly one who can play well. After takingthe ♦J, there is just one defence worthtalking about – can you see it?

Right, East can switch to the ®K,giving up his club trick to knock outdummy’s entry (the Merrimac coup) –declarer has to win or East goes back tospades. I do not include this unusualplay here just to be dramatic. Rather, itshows the lengths to which a defendermust go to kill the dummy.

Now for a scary one: same auction,same contract and a spade lead fromyour long-suffering partner.

´ 9 8™ 8 5♦ A Q J 10 9 6 5® 5 3

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

´ A K 6 ™ A K 3 2♦ 8 7® A 8 6 2

When declarer wins and finesses indiamonds, East needs to duck, doing sosmoothly. If you duck with sufficientnonchalance, declarer will surely repeatthe diamond finesse… and regret it.

Here is one final example:

´ A 9 5™ 9♦ K Q J 9 8 7® 7 6 2

´ J 8 6 2™ J 3 2 ♦ A 5 3® Q 10 5

South is in 3NT, having bid heartsstrongly. West leads the ®4. Declarerwins your ®Q with the ®K and plays adiamond… ♦10 from West.

Whilst the hold-up is a sound generalstrategy, you must ask yourself what isgoing on. The usual aim of the hold-up isto stop declarer from establishingdummy’s suit. On this deal, nothing canshut out the diamonds; and it is too lateto try to dislodge the ´A entry.

What we can do is grab the ♦A andreturn the ®10. If partner’s clubs arerunning and declarer has eight toptricks, this defence will be essential. ■

Hold Up in

Dummy’s Suit

Justin Corfield Says

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

Monday

Back to earth with a bump. After taking the kids to

school, going to the gymand weighing myself (shockhorror! I must dosomething about this) Isettle down to catching upwith work and dealing withthe emails that have arrivedin my absence. Dominica isthe title that I am workingon just now. Then, in theafternoon, I have an onlinesession with Richard andGerry. Barry has a jurorwith a sick child so there isan unexpected day off forhim; his loss is our gain aswe get to play togetheragainst Richard and Gerryrather than me partneringmyself (I might do betterthat way, but it is not somuch fun).

Tuesday

In the evening, I drive intoLondon for the launch ofthe British Guild of TravelWriters’ annual yearbook.This is, as always, quitegood fun with lots to drink

and nibble on, as well as anexcellent raffle. I keep buy-ing tickets because, in thepast, I have won a weekendin Dublin – though I sup-pose lightning is unlikely tostrike twice. This year, it isheld at the LondonTransport Museum inCovent Garden, so all thatmerriment takes place inbetween (and on) Londonbuses from one era oranother (including the latestprototype that has yet to hitthe streets).

Wednesday

A day off for Barry. Finally,after more than fourmonths, his trial is over andthe jury finds all the defen-dants not guilty of murder –a great relief. We have anunhurried, relaxing morn-ing before I set off for aSelection Committee meet-ing in Bloomsbury. Aftermuch deliberation on anumber of issues, we finallybreak up at about 4.30pmand adjourn to the pub. Ileave them later to meetNicola for supper before

proceeding to the Acolwhere we are playing in thenew London League. This isnot one of our better per-formances as we end upwith only 1 VP – Nicola andI have not played for aboutfive months and we are justbeginning to start ourpreparations for the VeniceCup in October.

Thursday

I need to leave London by 7am in order to get home intime to take the kids toschool. Then the gym. Inthe evening, Briony and I goto a Careers Fair at herschool. Shortly, she has tomake a final choice of the Alevels she wants to do. She isa good all-rounder and isfinding it difficult to thinkabout what she might do asan eventual career. At thefair, she is particularlyinspired by the companiesthat take young people onimmediately after A levels,where there is an opportu-nity to go to universityalongside a real job. Shelikes the idea that what

Seven Days

by Sally Brock

February was rather quiet. Sadly, my good friend Debbie La Croix, who I have mentionedbefore in this column, lost her battle with ovarian cancer and died on the 12th March.Many of us will greatly miss her.

At the beginning of March, one of Barry’s jurors had a holiday on a Thursday and Friday,so we took the opportunity to have a short holiday: three nights in Seville. Although theweather was not brilliant, it was warm enough for us to eat outside most of the time. Werelaxed, visited many churches (a lot for a couple of atheists anyway), watched flamenco,ate and drank too much and generally had a good time.

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she would be learning wouldbe of obvious practical bene-fit (and, of course, the ideaof receiving payment to goto university appeals in thesedays of high tuition fees).

Friday

Off to my parents for theweekend. We pick the chil-dren up after school andarrive early evening in timefor a drink and a browse ofan art exhibition atCorsham Court, a lovely oldhouse that is part of BathUniversity. Then a pub sup-per and back to my parents’house for a game ofCategories. You know thesort of thing: everyonechooses a ‘category’ andthen has to think of twothings for each categorybeginning with a particularletter. I like this because Iusually win, but the real funis listening to my motherargue the case for beingallowed ‘Atlantic Ocean’under ‘Waters’ for the letter‘o’, because it is a surname!

Saturday

This is the real reason forthis specific visit. One of myparents’ friends bought abridge lesson with me foranother friend for a birth-day present. Thus Andi,Paula, Linda and I all gettogether for a lesson. It didnot seem sensible to prepareanything since I have noidea of anyone’s standard, sowe just play a few hands butcollect the cards, duplicatestyle, rather than in tricks asrubber bridge. (By the way, Iwould recommend that youall get into the habit of

doing this when playingbridge socially. If an inter-esting hand crops up andyou want to go back over theplay, it makes life so mucheasier.)

We will draw a veil overthe first deal when theyallow me to make three no-trumps after a club lead,with a club holding of twolow cards facing jack dou-bleton!

What would you bid withthis hand, at Love All?

´ 6

™ A J 9 8 4

♦ Q 9 7 3

® Q 10 6

This is the start to theauction:


Pass Pass 1´ 2♦

2´ ?

If you were not a passedhand, it would be difficult.Do you bid that decent five-card heart suit, or shouldyou raise diamonds?However, as a passed hand itis much easier. In order tobid a new suit at the threelevel, you need good valuesand a decent suit. For it tobe sensible for you to do thison a hand that was notsuitable to open the bidding,you must have a diamondfit. So, here, you can bid 3™,also showing a diamond fit.The full hand is shown atthe top of the next column.

Superficially, you mightthink that there are threelosers: one in each side suit.However, it is impossible forthe defenders to take themall. A spade lead and clubswitch sets up the queen ofclubs for a heart discard,while a heart switch wouldset up that suit for clubdiscards.

North

´ 6

™ A J 9 8 4

♦ Q 9 7 3

® Q 10 6

West East

´ J 10 3 ´ A K Q 9 8 4

™ Q 10 2 ™ K 6 5

♦ 6 ♦ 5 4

® K J 9 8 5 2 ® 7 3

South

´ 7 5 2

™ 7 3

♦ A K J 10 8 2

® A 4


Pass Pass 1´ 2♦

2´ 3™ 3´ 4♦

Pass 5♦ All Pass

After a couple of hours ofentertaining (I hope) bridge,we adjourn for a splendidlunch. There are definitelyplenty of less enjoyable waysto make money!

In the evening, we go to avillage talent show. Icertainly have my share ofmisgivings about this (and Ilet Barry off – he wasplaying in a National Pairssemi-final on the Sunday –and I put him on a trainbefore the event starts). It isactually good fun –especially as I know many ofthe people.

Star of the show isCaroline Dale, a top-classconcert cellist who lives inthe village.

Sunday

After a family lunch, I havearranged a bit of a treat forthe three of us: we go quadbiking on a local farm. Ofcourse, the children spendmost of their time lappingme – I think they do threecircuits for every two I man-age – but the weather is bril-liant and we all have fun. ■

Seven Days continued

£14 including postage

See Mail Order Form on page 7

Better Hand

EvaluationBernard Magee

Introduction

Better Hand Evaluation isaimed at helping readers to addgreater accuracy to theirbidding. It deals with auctionsin which you and your partner,against silent opponents, candescribe your hands fully toeach other and, by evaluatingthem accurately, find the bestfinal contract. The emphasis ofall good, accurate bidding is onhand evaluation.

There are two general types ofauction: a) a fit is found and b)no fit is found.

When you do not have a fit, youare aiming to describe thestrength of your hand as soonas possible, most often usingno-trump bids. This bookbegins by discussing balancedhand bidding in Acol, as it isvery important that bothmembers of a partnership havean accurate knowledge of howto show hands of differentstrengths.

When a fit is found, there ismuch re-evaluation of the handto be done; point count, thoughstill important, needs to beevaluated together withdistribution. The best way ofreaching an accurate assess -ment is to use the Losing TrickCount; this is an importantmethod of hand evaluation andtakes up a number of chapters.

Finally, we move on to differentforms of evaluation includinggame tries and splinter bids.You can never know enoughmethods of hand evaluation;the more you learn, the betteryou get at judging your hand.

Although the Losing TrickCount is used more easily intandem with your partner, alarge proportion of the ideas inthis book can be used by anindividual. For example, evalu-ating your hand to be worth anextra point is going to help any-one you partner – as long asyou get it right.

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If you play only in your local club,you may come across very few dif-ferent systems; if instead you visitother clubs, tournaments or countriesor even venture online, you may comeacross something more exotic. Theaim of this article is to help you whenyou come across strong club systemssuch as Precision Club. There arestrong club systems other thanPrecision, but they are quite rare andfor the most part the same principlesapply whichever one you meet.

A Chinese Engineer, C C Wei, iscredited with the invention ofPrecision Club and, when it first sur-faced in the late 1960s, it came toprominence because previouslyunknown (in bridge terms at least)Taiwan suddenly started doing excep-tionally well at international level. Theplayers were good, of course, but thesystem was credited widely with mak-ing a difference.

The main elements of the system are:

1. Most opening bids are limited to 15points maximum.

2. Virtually all strong hands start with1®. 1♦ is the negative response. Anormal 2NT opening is the excep-tion to this.

3. Major openings show five cards.4. 1NT is typically 13-15. 5 . 2® is the opening for hands with

good clubs and opening strength. 6. 1♦ is the dustbin bid into which all

other opening hands go. 7. Weak Twos in the majors.

If you meet a strong club, it is firstworth deciding what to do if they donot open a strong club! This is as therewill be more opening bids that areunder 16 points than over. It may beobvious, but a failure to open a strongclub limits opener’s strength – thisgives responder some licence; it will bemore common for sequences to go:


1™ Pass Pass ?

East may have more points to passthan you might expect in a traditionalsystem.

´ J 5 4

™ J 2

♦ K J 3 2

® 10 7 5 3

This hand would be a routine pass of a1™ opening so, when you consider pro-tecting, you should be aware of this.

The other side of the coin is thatopener can jump around with ratherweaker hands in terms of point countthan you might expect. This isbecause, given opener’s failure to open1®, responder will never expect somehand with 18 or 19 points. A typicalexample might be:

´ K Q J 9 5

™ A Q J 10 5

♦ 7

® J 5

A Precision player, after opening 1´,will rebid 3™ over a 1NT response,whereas a traditional Acol playerwould regard it as lacking in high-cardstrength to do this.

When the opponents open 1♦, theymay have diamonds but they may alsohave hands unsuitable for anythingelse. It is usually better to defend bybidding as if it is a normal 1♦ opening.This does not always work but it savesa lot of heartache and discussion.

When strong club players have goodhands, they open 1® and here you cantake advantage. If you sit back andadmire their sequence (and, of course,

they know their methods) then youropponents can have a lengthy and pret-ty sequence and alight often in an excel-lent contract. They have started lower,by opening 1®, than those who playtraditional systems and have moreroom to explore. They can also makebids called ‘asking bids’ to determinethings like how good their trump suit isor how many controls they have. Theycannot do this so easily if you intervene,so what you can do is disrupt them bybeing keen to enter the auction. Thestandard way to defend against a strongclub is to bid immediately with a suit-able weak hand and wait for the nextround with a good hand. Suppose youhold a hand such as this:

´ K J 10 7 5

™ 4 3

♦ Q 10 6 5

® 5 4

You would overcall 1´, even thoughyou are a bit weak to do this normally.If your partner can raise, your oppo-nents will have a tough time sortingout what to do in the auction. You willbe able to imagine how unpleasant adecision they can have:

´ Q 5

™ K Q 8 5

♦ A J 5 3

® A K 6

With this hand, your opponent hasopened 1® to show a strong hand; youhave bid 1´. When responder doublesto show some values, they know theyare close to game; your partner thenbids 3´. This gives the opening side anasty decision. They may double to saythat they do not know what to do

Playing and Defending

Against Precision with Jeremy Dhondy

and will find it difficult to getto 3NT when it is right; theymay languish at the fourlevel in an uncertain cause ifthey cannot bid no-trumps.

Some players bid natural-ly against a strong club butothers have a conventionaldefence worked out. A sim-ple one is that a double of1® shows the majors and abid of 1NT (not needed toshow a strong hand) showsthe minors.

As Precision players open1® to show a good hand,they need something to dowith opening hands thathave at least five clubs anddo not qualify for a strongclub opening. On thesehands, they often open 2®.A typical example might be:

´ 7 6

™ K J 9 5

♦ K 7

® A Q 10 7 4

If an opponent does this,then it is right to defend theway you would against anatural 1® opening, i.e. youdouble for take-out. Usually,they respond 2♦ if theywant to investigate the pos-sibility of game. 2♦ is a relayasking the opener todescribe his hand tellingresponder whether he has afour-card major andwhether he is minimum ormaximum. You can doublethe 2♦ response to showdiamonds and enough val-ues that you do not mind ifpartner competes.

If you want to know more,there are endless referenceson the worldwide web.w w w. u s a b r i d g e . c o m /assets/applets/Precision_Club_Article_One.pdf is anexample. ■

Precision continued

Millie and I havesettled in com-fortably as mem-bers at the Riverside, so Ifelt confident enough toinvite my friends, Gail andChloë, to the club as visi-tors. Both are beginnersand attend local bridgeclasses. As they arrived atour table, Millie welcomedthem by raising her half-empty brandy glass. Thefirst two hands were rela-tively uneventful, but thenext board produced anunexpected twist.

I knew that somethinghad gone wrong with thebidding. For a start, Milliewas dummy. She was look-ing distinctly nervous inthe role. In my view, that’sbecause she doesn’t getenough practice at it. Thetrump suit was also ratherdicey.

Gail was West and ledthe ´A. With the king indummy, prospects for theclub slam seemed to haveimproved significantly.Even so, the chances ofsuccess were still slim.

Millie

´ K J 8 3

™ K 9 5 4

♦ 10 6

® 9 6 5

Wendy

´ Void

™ A J 2

♦ A K Q J 5 3

® K Q 7 4

From the beginning, I knewit was going to be my fault.It was I, who after muchdebate, finally agreed toplay these fancy Benjamintwo bids. Needless to say, itwas Millie who had sug-gested adopting them.With a good diamond suitand a 20 count, I opened2®. Millie responded witha 2♦ relay. It seemed to begoing so well. At this point,I naturally assumed that, asusual, I would be dummy.That hog instinct withinher is difficult to counter.On this occasion though, Iwas quite wrong. A veilwill be drawn over the pre-cise details of the auction.It is sufficient to say thatMillie had forgotten thenew meaning of the 2® bidand assumed it was artifi-cial and forcing to game.To be fair to Millie, we hadagreed the system changein the hostelry after the lastbridge night and so a hazeengulfs the exact arrange-ments. In addition, someconfusion also arose overthe meaning of a 4® bid,which Millie insisted wasalways Gerber asking foraces. I certainly don’tremember that from ourclasses, but I digress.

After the lead of the ´A,I contemplated the possi-bility of making my 6®contract; it still seemedremote. For a start, I didnot hold the ace, jack or tenof trumps. I ruffed theopening lead in hand, andled a small heart to theking. At this point, I con-sidered ditching my ™J on

the ´K, but a spade contin-uation from defenders laterwould cause even morehavoc. At this moment ofcrisis, Millie disappearedfrom the bridge room tohave her brandy tankardrefilled. From dummy, I leda small club to the king; itheld the trick. Now I playeda small diamond to the tenon the table followed bylow club; East played low; Iplayed the queen, and Westthe ten. Lo and behold,now another trump fromhand crashed the ace andthe jack. A heart returnfrom West ensured thecontract. For the record,Gail, West held ®A-10-2,and Chloë the ®J-8-3.

‘Why didn’t you take the®K or ®Q with your aceearlier?’ I enquired of Gail.‘Well,’ said Gail, ‘as youknow, I am going to bridgeclasses now just like youused to do and last week wewere learning about hold-up plays, so I thought Iwould try it out.’ ‘You havelearned it very well, dear,’said Chloë. She soundedkindly enough, but Ithought I heard a touch ofirony in her voice. ‘Whodid you say your tutorwas?’ inquired Millie, whohad just returned withanother brandy, but thedirector had called themove and Gail and herpartner were already ontheir way to the next table.

Millie turned to me.‘Why didn’t you use my´K?’ she asked sternly.‘Should we have bid theGrand?’

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum

Episode 3:

Hold Up? – Daylight Robbery!

NW E

S

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^syysad31~2102,4lirripADNALYLLY

syysadda71~2102,91hcrrcaMAIBARA

syysad02~2102,1hcrrcaMMaY

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pp£1,599

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pp£1,999

pp£2,525

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Further combinations and grand voy

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pp£1,609

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BRIDGE BREAKS

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected]: www.holidaybridge.com

*on tutorial weekends. **6 sessions on rubber & Just Bridge events.

♦ Full-board

♦ All rooms withen-suite facilities

♦ No single supplement

♦ Two seminars*

♦ Two supervised play sessions*

♦ Four duplicate sessions**

Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ...............(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)

Bidding Tips1 Always consider biddingspades if you can

2 Bid more aggressively when non-vulnerable

3 Always double when theopponents steal your deal

4 A take-out double showsshortage in the suit doubled

5 ‘Borrow’ a king to keep the auction open

6 After a penalty double, don’tlet the opponents escape

7 Halve the value of a singletonhonour when opening

8 Only add length-points for asuit that might be useful

9 Isolated honours are badexcept in partner’s suit

10 Use the jump shift sparingly11 Consider passing and letting

partner decide12 You need two top honours

for a second-seat pre-empt13 Put the brakes on if you have a

misfit14 Strong and long minors work

well in no-trumps15 One stop in the opponents’ suit

can be enough for no-trumps16 Keep your two-level

responses up to strength17 Use your normal methods in

response to a 1NT overcall18 Don’t overcall just because

you have opening points19 Overcalls can be quite weak, so

be prudent when responding20 Weak overcalls must be based

on strong suits21 6NT requires 33 points

not 4 aces and 4 kings22 Raise immediately, if weak

with four-card support23 In a competitive auction, show

support immediately24 Bid to the level of your fit

quickly with weak hands25 With strength and support,

use the opponents’ bid suit

Declarer-play Tips26 When your contract depends

on a finesse, think ‘endplay’27 Consider what a defender

might be thinking about28 Always take your time

at trick one29 Establish extra tricks before

cashing your winners30 Use your opponents’

bidding to your advantage31 Avoid the ‘baddie’

gaining the lead32 Use the Rule of Seven when

holding up in no-trumps

33 A low lead usually promiseslength and an honour

34 When declaring 1NT try to be patient

35 Duck an early round when youare short of entries

36 Lead up to your two-honour holding

37 Do not always assume a suit will break well

38 Drop a high card to put off the defence

39 Play your highest card totempt a defender to cover

40 Draw trumps first unless youhave a good reason not to

41 Do not waste your trumps42 Consider leaving a lone

defensive trump winner out

Defence Tips43 Keep four-card suits intact

whenever possible44 Give count on declarer’s leads45 Keep the right cards

rather than signal46 Take your time

when dummy is put down47 High cards are for killing other

high cards48 Do not waste

intermediate cards49 Pick two key suits to

concentrate on during the play50 If in doubt, cover an honour

with an honour51 If a lead is from two honours,

it is best not to cover52 Keep your honour to kill

dummy’s honour53 Try to show partner

your solid honour sequences54 Lead the normal card when

leading partner’s suit55 Never underlead an ace at trick

one in a suit contract56 Be wary of leading from

four cards to only one honour57 Lead a higher card from

a suit without an honour58 Lead through ‘beatable’

strength and up to weakness59 Cash your winners before

trying for a trump promotion60 Be patient when defending 1NT61 Trump leads can be safe

throughout the play

General Tips62 Do not put important cards

at either end of your hand63 Avoid being declarer when

you are dummy64 Before you lead ask for a

review of the auction65 Enjoy the Game!

Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge

65 invaluable tips in 160 pages

£14 including postage and packing from Mr Bridge,

Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH. ( 01483 489961

QMy partner and Iplay that a 2♦response to 1NT

is usually a transfer tohearts, but could be aweak take out indiamonds as follows:

1NT 2♦*

2™ 3♦

End *transfer

This has causedcontroversy; some weresaying that the sequenceis illegal.Simon Smart, Grimsby

(same from Dave Bryan).

AIt is legal to play any

system of responses

to 1NT, and you

would be surprised how

many people do not think

any means any! So, of course,

your method is permissible.

Although your 2♦ response

is legal, you must alert it, not

announce it and must never

describe it as a transfer. If

people ask what 2♦ is, you

say something like, ‘hearts, or

weak with diamonds, expect-

ing partner to rebid 2™.’

®♦™´

QIn a leaguematch, thecontract was 3♦.

I had made six tricks and

three tricks remained. Iwon trick eleven with the´A and claimed the lasttwo tricks with my ♦A-9.There was only onediamond still out (the♦K), so I knew it woulddrop. My LHO scooped upher cards and agreed.My partner and I bothpicked up ours andbegan to shuffle them.

RHO had started to putaway her cards, soalthough they were stillin order, one could notsee which she thoughtwere winners and losers.She said, ‘No, it was oneoff.’ My partner, my LHOand I all disagreed; Iexplained that I won boththe last two tricks.

RHO then began to rantand kept asking ‘So whattricks did you win then?’aggressively. While I wastrying to remember, herpartner said, ‘I have allmy cards in order; we cancheck it that way.’ RHOrefused to do that andkept on, ‘So what cardsetc...’ while giving me notime to reply. Dummysaid, ‘Well he made thefirst trick with …’ only formy RHO to say rudelythat dummy has no rightsand should be quiet.Eventually, my LHO per-

suaded her partner to goon to the next deal.Name and address supplied.

AIt is always difficult

when no director is

present. Many

leagues provide phone num-

bers for directors. The EBU

has a list of directors on its

website and in its diary and

the WBU has a list of direc-

tors in its Journal. Best when

there is a disagreement is to

phone a director.

Of course, your RHO is out

of line. She has no right to

harangue you. Dummy has a

perfect right to speak once

there is a claim because the

hand is finished.

If a director had been

present, he would probably

have penalised RHO for her

behaviour. He would certainly

have shut her up, listened to

the other three players,

looked at the cards of any-

one who had not shuffled

their cards and, based on the

information you have provid-

ed, no doubt ruled in your

favour.

®♦™´

QI had 15 HCP ina 4333distribution.

Downgrading because ofthe poor shape, I opened

1NT, which my partnerannounced as 12-14. Wasmy action reasonable ina club duplicate?Steve Bailey by email

(similar from Harry Crisp,

Poulton le Fylde).

AIt is legal to evaluate

your hand using

more than just points.

So, if you upgrade an eleven

count, perhaps because of a

good five-card suit or lots of

tens, or if you decide to

downgrade a fifteen count,

because it is 4333 (as you

did) that is perfectly legal.

You are, in both cases, say-

ing that, in your view, it is a

balanced hand that is worth

twelve to fourteen points.

This applies in anything

from a novice club to interna-

tional matches.

Note, however, that if you

have an agreement to open

1NT whenever you have 15

points and a 4333 shape,

then you should announce

’12 to a poor 15’.

Can I Use a TransferBid with Length inthe Suit I Bid?

David Stevenson answers all

queries based on the facts

supplied by the letter writer.

Neither Mr Bridge nor

David Stevenson has any

way of knowing whether

those facts are correct or

complete.

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

QNorth, declarer,led a spade. Eastfollowed.

Declarer instructed Southto throw away asingleton diamond. Shejust sat there and didnothing until he said, ‘Ah,trump please.’ I (West)would have won the trickbut for the ruff. Mrs Eileen Fox by email

(similar from F Davis,

Merseyside).

ADummy should not

participate in the

play, especially not to

make suggestions to

declarer. What dummy did on

this occasion is illegal and

very naughty indeed.

If I had been the director

and you had called me, I

would have made sure that

dummy played the singleton,

not the trump. I would also

have warned dummy that any

repeat of making suggestions

about the hand to declarer

would result in a procedural

penalty.

®♦™´

QAs declarer, Iconceded a trickto the queen of

diamonds and claimedthe rest. Had I played on,the queen of diamondswould have fallen undermy ace, making my tenof diamonds good.Should my concessionhave stood?Chris Pryce, Cowes,

Isle of Wight.

AThe Law says a con-

cession is void if

there is no normal

play to lose a trick. It certainly

does not mean ‘it is impossi-

ble to lose a trick’; otherwise,

it would say so.

Whether it counts as nor-

mal to lose to the queen of

diamonds when it would

have dropped under the ace

depends on the full deal, the

play to date and so on. This

is a judgement decision for

the director.

®♦™´

QAfter dummygoes down, whoshould touch

dummy’s cards – declareror dummy?Mrs R A Hockenhull, Hertford.

AYou do not say

whether your social

bridge group plays

rubber bridge or duplicate

bridge – and it makes a big

difference.

If it is rubber bridge, it is

normal for declarer to play

dummy’s cards herself by

reaching across. However, it

is legal for her to name the

card and dummy actually to

move it.

If it is duplicate bridge,

then the correct way to play

is for declarer to name the

card, dummy to move it and

declarer never to touch

dummy’s cards. There are

obvious exceptions, such as if

dummy has gone off to make

a cup of tea, or if dummy

has a medical problem that

makes it difficult.

®♦™´

QI was defending4´ doubled,having bid

diamonds.My partner led a dia-

mond. I won and led asecond diamond, ruffedlow by declarer. Declarerdrew one round oftrumps and played aclub, which I won. Iplayed a third diamond,declarer ruffed and my

partner overruffed. Playcontinued and my part-ner later discarded adiamond on a club;nobody noticed therevoke except me.

Do I have to disclosethe revoke if the oppo-nents do not notice?William Parkinson by email.

AThere is no require-

ment for any player

to point out an estab-

lished revoke by himself or

his partner. Neither the Laws

nor the general ethics of the

game require it.

Having said that, many

players would think this

wrong. There is what I call

personal ethics, similar to

what some call active ethics,

which are a player's own view

of what to do over and above

what the Laws require. Thus,

many players will always

point out revokes by them-

selves or their partners, even

though it is not required.

Note that other people's

level of personal ethics may

differ from yours and you

cannot require them to follow

yours. Therefore, even if you

point out your own revokes,

you have no recourse

because another player

does not.

®♦™´

QAfter East/Westlose a trick, Eastputs his card

down in the wrongdirection, indicating thatEast/West won the trick.West notices this beforeanyone leads to the nexttrick. Can West point theerror out to East?Ian De’Ath by email.

AA player may tell his

partner he has a trick

the wrong way but

only until the next trick

starts. After that, declarer

may tell someone else but

nobody else may. This is a

change in the last law book:

previously players could not

tell their partners.

®♦™´

QPlaying a weakno-trump (12-14)and needing 40

points for rubber, myRHO opened 1NT in thirdseat and played there.On the first four tricks,my RHO produced theace and king in the twomajors. I assumed mypartner had the rest ofthe high cards anddefended accordingly.RHO made nine tricks,holding 20 points. Washis opening justified?Roger Gorvin,

Macclesfield, Cheshire.

ACertainly – you tell

partner your points so

that you can bid effi-

ciently to game or slam.

When a slam is unlikely and

game is only 40 points, you

want to open 1NT as much

as possible.

®♦™´

QAre there anyrules regardingthe way that you

should deal the cards?Gerry Horton,

Birkdale, Southport.

AAt duplicate, you deal

boards before the

start. Any form of

dealing is permissible as long

as consecutive cards dealt do

not go into the same

hand. The traditional method

of dealing clockwise is recom-

mended but not mandatory.

At rubber bridge, the tradi-

tional method of dealing

clockwise starting with the

player to dealer's left is

mandatory.

Ask David continued

QI opened 1´, theperson on myleft passed and

my partner doubled. Isthis legal?Jan Hollingdale, Edinburgh

(similar from David Rose,

Brighton).

AYou can double only

your opponents’ bids,

never a bid by your

partner.

®♦™´

QIf a table issmall, may onemove the board

to one side if the majorityof the players agree?W D Cleland, Heswall, Wirral.

AThe Laws say the

board must remain in

the centre of the

table. In real life, people

have always been somewhat

lax in following this and mov-

ing it to a side of the table,

or even under a bidding box.

It does not matter so long as

you neither remove it from

the table nor rotate it.

However, any player who

insists that it remains in the

centre has that right.

®♦™´

QIn rubber bridge,if you arealready 40

below, bid 2´ and makean overtrick, is itacceptable to put 90below the line instead of60 below the line and 30above?Valerie Fryer by email.

AYes, it is perfectly nor-

mal to do so and

gets you to the cor-

rect result.

QIn third seat, Iopened 1® with8 points, ®A-K-J-

x-x in a 1-3-4-5 shape. Imade the bid thinkingthat I would want a clublead against West’spossible spade contract.

My opponents main-tained that my bid was a‘psyche’ subject to clubrules, whilst I maintainthat if I have my suit it isa light opener and not apsyche.Ken Davies, Purley.

ASince psyches are

legal, it is not entirely

clear what difference

it makes. I do not know what

‘club rules’ means, but a club

cannot ban psyches.

If your system is to allow

this opening then it is a light

opening, but you must dis-

close this. For example, it is

legal to write on your System

Card (Convention Card)

‘third-in-hand openers may

be light’ and then it is part of

your system and always legal.

If, however, it is not part of

your agreed system, it is

either a Deviation or a

Psyche, dependent on

whether the misstatement of

honour strength is ‘gross’.

Generally, 1345 hands need

11 points to open: three

points short is gross, just

about, so yes, I would call it

a psyche.

®♦™´

QCan I respond2® to 1NT andsay ‘not

Stayman’?Mrs C I Price,

Godstone, Surrey.

AWhen you make a

bid, you do not say

anything because it

passes information illegally to

partner.

If your partner bids 2® in

Ask David continued response to 1NT you say‘Stayman’ if it is Stayman,

you alert if it is any other

convention and you do nei-

ther if it is natural.

®♦™´

QPlease point meto somedocuments that

give guidance on:shuffling cards beforeputting them back in theboard; discouragingpeople from saying ‘Runa suit’; alerting callsabove 3NT.Adam Macleod, Gosport.

AIt is a matter of law

that players must shuf-

fle their cards before

putting them back in the

board. This you can see in the

Law book, Law 7C, download-

able from the EBU website.

Discouragement for saying

‘Run the clubs’ you can see in

the EBU White book, para-

graph #46.2, downloadable

from the EBU website. This

cites the WBFLC minute,

downloadable from the WBF

website.

The details of alerting you

can see in the EBU Orange

book, chapter 5, download-

able from the EBU website.

®♦™´

QThe bidding wentas follows:


Pass 2NT Pass 3®*

I asked what type ofStayman 3® was. Northsaid it was five-cardPuppet Stayman. As soonas I passed, South said

that if I was not going tobid, I should not haveasked for info at thatpoint. Was this correct?Michael Kaye,

Kintbury, Berks.

AIt is legal for you to

ask questions. It is

not legal for an

opponent to give rulings at

the table, which is what he is

doing, in effect.

In general, the authorities

do not recommended you to

ask questions, unless you are

interested in bidding in the

auction. At the end of the

auction, when it is your turn

to lead, you can ask as many

questions as you like.

®♦™´

QIt seems oddthat I announceordinary

transfers (e.g. 1NT-pass-2♦) but I do nothing ifpartner makes a Texastransfer (e.g. 1NT-pass-4♦). Why is this so?Jim Greer, Streatham.

AWhen the EBU intro-

duced announce-

ments, it felt that

keeping the number of them

small and then perhaps

increasing them if they

proved popular, was much

safer than making them

apply in many positions and

then perhaps trying to reduce

the number.

As for not alerting them at

the four level, I think there is

a feeling that the EBU made

a mistake and that alerts

should apply above 3NT on

the first round only. However,

people do not want regula-

tions amended between

major reviews. n

E-mail your questions on bridge laws to:[email protected]

2011 BRIDGEWEEKENDS

with Bernard Magee

JUNE

3 - 5 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Declarer Play

10 - 12 The Beach Hotel £245Further into the Auction

24 - 26 The Beach Hotel £245Better Defence

SEPTEMBER

30 - 2 Oct The Olde Barn Hotel £235Finding Slams

OCTOBER

7 - 9 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Stayman and Transferswith Improver Section

14 - 16 Chatsworth Hotel £245laying Suit Combinations

21 - 23 Denham Grove £245Game Tries

NOVEMBER

4 - 6 Inn on the Prom £235Hand Evaluation

11 - 13 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Suit Establishment

18 - 20 Chatsworth Hotel £245Finding Slams

25 - 27 Denham Grove £245Squeezes

Full BoardNo Single Supplement

See booking form on page 16

PROGRAMMEThis is the format for all Bernard Magee

hosted events.

FRIDAY1500

Welcome Desk openAfternoon Tea

1745 to 1830Welcome drinksreception

1830 to 2000DINNER

2015 BRIDGE 1DUPLICATE PAIRS

SATURDAY0800 to 0930

BREAKFAST

1000 to 1230SEMINAR & SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS(tea & coffee at 1100)

1230 to 1330COLD BUFFETLUNCH

1400 to 1645BRIDGE 2TEAMS of FOURor FURTHER SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS

1815 to 2000DINNER

2015 BRIDGE 3DUPLICATE PAIRS

SUNDAY0800 to 0930

BREAKFAST

1000 to 1230SEMINAR & SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS(tea & coffee at 1100)

1230 to 1400CARVERY LUNCH

1400 to 1645BRIDGE 4FURTHER SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS orDUPLICATE PAIRS


The Olde Barn HotelMarston, Lincs NG32 2HT

Blunsdon House HotelSwindon SN26 7AS

Chatsworth HotelWorthing BN11 3DU

Inn on the Prom St Annes-on-Sea FY8 1LU

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

Bernard Magee’s

Bidding Quiz

You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with aweak no-trump (12-14points) and four-cardmajors.

(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer East. Love All.´ A 7 6

™ K 9 4

♦ A 8 7 5

® A 5 2


1♦ Pass?

2. Dealer East. Game All.´ K 7 6 5 4

™ A 4 2

♦ 8 5 2

® 8 7


1™ Pass1´ Pass 1NT Pass?

3. Dealer East. Love All.´ A K J 5

™ 2

♦ A 9 8 7 6

® K Q 2


3™ Pass?

4. Dealer West. Love All.´ A K 8 4 2

™ A 7 6

♦ 6 5

® Q 3 2


1´ 1NT 2♦ Pass

?

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

2012 BRIDGEWEEKENDS

with Bernard Magee

JANUARY

6 - 8 Chatsworth Hotel £245Leads and Defence

MARCH

23 - 25 Chatsworth Hotel £245Squeezes

30 - 1 Apr Blunsdon House Hotel £245Finding Slams

APRIL

20 - 22 The Olde Barn Hotel £245Squeezes

27 - 29 Inn on the Prom £245Losing Trick Count

JUNE

8 - 10 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Playing Suit Combinations

15 - 17 Chatsworth Hotel £245Doubles

OCTOBER

5 - 7 Denham Grove £245Splinters & Cue-bids

12 - 14 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Landy Defence to 1NT & Responses

19 - 21 Chatsworth Hotel £245Signals and Discards

NOVEMBER

2 - 4 Blunsdon House Hotel £245Squeezes

16 - 18 Chatsworth Hotel £245Finding Slams

23 - 25 Denham Grove £245Playing Suit Combinations

30 - 2 Dec Chatsworth Hotel £245Endplay & Avoidance

See booking form on page 16

Denham GroveNear Uxbridge UB9 5DU


Blunsdon House HotelSwindon SN26 7AS

Denham GroveNear Uxbridge UB9 5DU

The Olde Barn HotelMarston, Lincs NG32 2HT

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

NEW

SEMINAR

1. Dealer East. Love All.

´ A 7 6 ´ K 2

™ K 9 4 ™ A Q 6

♦ A 8 7 5 ♦ K Q 9 6 4 3 2

® A 5 2 ® 3


1♦ Pass

?

2®. Hands with support for a minor arenot always easy to bid because you will

often want to play in no-trumps rather

than the minor. With no four-card suit

other than diamonds, you are a little stuck

– a raise to 3♦ would not be forcing – nor

should you leap in no-trumps for that will

not help your side have a good

conversation. Sometimes, the best tactic is

to make up a bid so that you can hear

your partner’s second bid. Whenever you

contemplate telling a lie, make sure it is a

minor lie – bid clubs rather than one of

the majors because your partner is less

likely to get excited about your bid.

Over 2®, your partner jumps to 3♦ and

now you can think about a slam: you start

by agreeing the suit with 4♦ and then

East might use Blackwood. While finding

7NT might not be easy, at least you will

find a slam.

2. Dealer East. Game All.

´ K 7 6 5 4 ´ A 2

™ A 4 2 ™ K Q J 6

♦ 8 5 2 ♦ J 7 6 3

® 8 7 ® A 10 5


1™ Pass

1´ Pass 1NT Pass

?

2™. You have two decisions to make: thelevel and the denomination.

With 7 HCP, you should stay in a

partscore – your five-card suit is poor and

there are no tens and nines, so you

should certainly not push too high.

The denomination is not such an easy

decision: with such a weak hand, you

would prefer to play in hearts or spades

and this is what you should put across to

your partner.

Any bid at the two-level is weak and

non-forcing. 2™ is the right bid: it shows

only three hearts because you did not

support right away and it gives East the

choice between hearts and spades. On

this occasion, East will pass 2™.

Although your side has only a 7-card

fit, it is not a surprise to find that partner

can make an extra trick in hearts rather

than no-trumps because he can ruff a

club in your hand. 1NT makes seven

tricks, whilst 2™ makes eight.

3. Dealer East. Love All.

´ A K J 5 ´ 4 3

™ 2 ™ A K 9 8 7 5 3

♦ A 9 8 7 6 ♦ 4

® K Q 2 ® 6 5 3


3™ Pass

?

4™. Your partner’s 3™ shows a weakhand with a seven-card heart suit. As a

rule, when you respond to a pre-empt

without good support, you need 16+

HCP to go for game. You have the

required strength for game, so you

should go for it.

However, make sure you choose the

right game: most of your partner’s hearts

are likely to be useless in 3NT; you will

not be able to reach them. Instead, you

should raise to 4™: after all, you do have

an eight-card fit!

4. Dealer West. Love All.

´ A K 8 4 2 ´ 7

™ A 7 6 ™ 9 8 2

♦ 6 5 ♦ Q J 10 9 8 4

® Q 3 2 ® K 6 5


1´ 1NT 2♦ Pass

?

Pass. You need to start by working outwhat your partner’s bid means. No-

trump bids by either side change the

nature of an auction: if East has 9+

points, he should make a penalty double

of North’s 1NT. This means that East must

have a weak hand with long diamonds:

probably 6-8 points and six diamonds.

He is bidding it to compete for the

partscore – rather than letting North play

in 1NT, he thinks he might make 2♦ – you

must pass. 2♦ makes for +90, whilst

North may well make 8 tric

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