THE QBA BULLETINPublished by the Queensland Bridge Association January-March 2015 Volume 41 No1www.qldbridge.com Email: manager@qldbridge.com

Keith McDonald

From the President

David Stern

GCC

2016 Gold Coast CongressFebruary 19 - 27

ContentsFrom the President .......................................................................................................... 1GCC by David Stern ....................................................................................................... 1Modern Expert Bidding by Peter Gill........................................................................... 3Novices by Mick Fawcett ................................................................................................ 6Cuppaidge's Column by George Cuppaidge .............................................................. 8Manager's Travels ............................................................................................................. 82014 Qld Senior Pairs by Richard McLauchlan .........................................................10Warwick by Jim Evans ....................................................................................................11Don't Scratch by Kamal Sangumarasa.........................................................................11Teachers' Corner by Joan Butts...................................................................................12Toowong Graded Teams by Richard Ward .............................................................13Gold Coast Swiss Teams by Richard Wallis .............................................................1425 Years Ago by Paul Lavings .......................................................................................16Canberra by Richard Wallis ..........................................................................................17Klinger's Column by Ron Klinger ................................................................................18Directors' Corner by Jan Peach ...................................................................................20

HOW does one judge the success of a bridge tournament? As an

organiser maybe the benchmark is the number of tables. Well, on that basis the 2015 GCC was extremely successful as evidenced by the following statistics.'Table Sessions Played' was 7,759 in 2014 with an increase to 7,955 in 2015 while entries in the two major events also showed an improvement with 22 more pairs and 10 more teams.But I think the best way to judge a successful tournament is the satisfaction level of the participants and the compliments received after the tournament, and on that basis 2015 would figure highly in the success stakes.

Magnus Moren and Neville Francis

Open Pairs Winners

I CONGRATULATE Therese Tully and her team on another very

successful Gold Coast Congress. I acknowledge and thank our sponsors Cosmetic Plus (Larry Norden), Tony Bemrose Insurance Brokers, Oasis, Hello Gold Coast, Paul Lavings Bridge Books and Supplies, Superior Scapes (Magnus Moren), Powers Financial Group, Two Men and a Truck, Penline, Annette Maluish, Greer Tucker, and Schweppes. The support of Restricted, Novice, and Rookie players was appreciated.The overseas contingent included 212 New Zealanders and important

teams from China, Indonesia and many other nations. The Queensland winners of the Bobby Richman Open Pairs, Magnus Moren and Neville Francis, played exceptional bridge. The Open Teams was won by Taufik Asbi, Robert Parasian, Franky Karwur, Julius George and Beni Ibradi from Indonesia. Special thanks to our co-patrons the Hon. John-Paul Langbroek, and the Hon. Steven Ciobo.Our attention now turns to the 20th Barrier Reef Congress hosted by the Cairns Bridge Club Friday June 5-8 at the Hilton Cairns. There are Restricted and Novice events. Entries can be sent to William van Bakel (please see web site). This will be a wonderful event and a most enjoyable time for participants.It is not to late to enter the fund raising for Neuroscience Research Australia and Bridge for Brains. Clubs can contact Kim Ellaway for details. The funds raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the Gold Coast were appreciated. ■

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

Here are some featured hands from the tournament some of which we would rate “Parental Guidance Recommended”.It took till the very last round of the pairs, but finally a hand came up that embodied the art of the ‘Play or Defend?’ conundrum.

At the table I was watching the eventual third-place pair in the main event defended 4HX by East on an auction where North had opened a weak-2 bid that was described as potentially a 5-card suit.The defender in South led two top clubs. Declarer ruffed, drew trumps in two rounds, then ruffed a spade in dummy and tried a diamond to the king, being more hurt than surprised when it lost.Imagine that you don’t get the distraction of a weak-2 opener, but that, like Sue Ingham, you declare 4H on two rounds of clubs. You ruff, draw just one round of trumps, and then play the ♠AK and a third spade.What happened at most tables was that South took the opportunity to ruff in - and found themselves endplayed!They could exit with the ♣Q - when declarer would ruff, ruff a spade to dummy, and cash the ♣J to pitch a diamond. Or he could lead the ♦A, when declarer would claim the rest.'Aha!' you say, being a fine double-dummy analyst, 'What if I don’t ruff in?'Not so fast, my fine friend. I ruff a club to hand, lead my last spade, and when you ruff in with the ♥J I discard my last club from dummy. And you are trussed and endplayed like the Thanksgiving turkey I knew you always were… If South doesn’t ruff in declarer scores

Dlr N ♠ QJ1082 Vul EW ♥ 72 ♦ 1065

♣ 972 ♠ 97 ♠ AK64 ♥ 965 ♥ AKQ1083 ♦ 8742 ♦ K9 ♣ J653 ♣ 10 ♠ 53 ♥ J4 ♦ AQJ3 ♣ AKQ84

NW E S

the second spade ruff and surrenders two diamond tricks but no more; making 10 tricks either way. PS: We don’t know of any table where the play went precisely this way, with South refusing to ruff, but if that was what happened to you, please let us know.PPS: Justin Howard told us the full story on this deal. Playing with Ross Harper he too opened 2S, and Ross defended 4H by leading a top club and shifting to a spade (a small heart would do as well). Try and make the game now!

Dlr E ♠ AKQJ6 Vul EW ♥ K754 ♦ 4

♣ 1095 ♠ 72 ♠ 853 ♥ AJ632 ♥ Q98 ♦ Q6 ♦ 953 ♣ J763 ♣ Q842 ♠ 1094 ♥ 10 ♦ AKJ10872 ♣ AK

NW E S

W N E S Dennison Cormack Stuart Kozakos P 1D P 1S P 3D P 3H P 3NT All pass

W N E S Haughie Sundstrom Hinge Fordham P 1C P 1S* P 2D P 2H P 3D P 3S P 4C P 4D P 4NT P 5C P 5H P 6NT P 7NT X All pass

Board 6 in the teams qualifying looked like a major swing to Fordham when they started slamming, until they fell at the final hurdle, creating the largest swing of the match in favour of their opponents.While all the nuances and inferences of the auction aren’t clear as a kibitzer it’s hard to imagine what hand partner can have where he elects to play, indeed jump to 6NT and that you can convert this to a loss of 13 IMPs by bidding 7NT. Haughie unsportingly (no doubt checking if he was on lead) doubled and collected 300 by cashing the ♥A and switching to a club. A heart continuation would have been more interesting for the bloodthirsty amongst us when declarer would have been forced to guess diamonds or possibly go down 1100 for some larger number of IMPs (16).On this board however, blood was shed!

Michael Stoneman, Val Roland, Herold Rienstra and Bert Luchjenbroers

Intermediate Teams Winners

Dlr W ♠ A63 Vul Both ♥ KQ3 ♦ K97

♣ AJ74 ♠ J9875 ♠ 4 ♥ 76 ♥ 9 ♦ AJ65 ♦ Q10832 ♣ 83 ♣ K109652 ♠ KQ102 ♥ AJ108542 ♦ 4 ♣ Q

NW E S

W N E S Hinge Thomson Haughie McGann P 1NT P 4C P 4S P 4NT P 5D P 5H P 6H P 7H All pass

2

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Cormack/Kozakos had dealt competently with intervention to reach 6H. McGann/Thompson had no such excuse other than perhaps a lack of partnership - or maybe no agreement as to what Keycard Blackwood was in use?The learned editors think maybe South was using keycard and thought he had received a 1/4 response. I’m not sure if North was doing anything other than cue bidding then answering aces. With the ♦A on lead, nothing could go wrong with the defence.On board 9, Ware and Jacob had a chance for a double-digit gain but turned it into a 5 IMP loss.

In the closed room, Nunn and Brown bid sensibly to 4S, making 10 tricks for +620. In the open room, Ware and Jacob made life difficult for Karwur and George but turned +200 (or 500) into –800.The phantom save was not a suc-cess, East-West easily arriving at four tricks for +800. Instead of gaining 13 IMPs, the Ware team lost 5.One of the most popular extra-curricular activities at the GCC are the celebrity speakers which this year featured Kim Frazer, Sartaj Hans, Phil Gue, Peter Gill and Joan Butts. Peter Gill was kind enough to provide us with the text of his seminar which many found most enlightening so we thought we would share it with you. ■

Modern Expert Bidding

IT’S extremely rare for top bridge experts to find consensus about

anything. Sadly for upcoming players, the idea that asking an expert will find the answer to a bridge question is a fallacy, because different experts give different answers. With so many unknowns, there’s no right answer. Bridge is a game of unknowns. You don’t know what partner’s cards are, and you don’t know what the opponents’ cards are, but you try to increase your limited knowledge of the hand, in order to make better decisions. With so much info not known, it’s very easy to think about the wrong thing. Then, at the end of the hand, when all these unknowns are now known, partner might dare to butt in by telling you what you should have done. If this 'post mortem' at bridge is acrimonious, it could instead be called a pre-mortem when it leads to death-like results on the next hand(s). Bridge described thus sounds so exhausting that it’s a wonder that any of us can cope with the Decision Fatigue and mental demands which are a core ingredient at bridge tournaments. Yet the endless fascination of the game lures us all in, so here we are at the Gold Coast. For info about Decision Fatigue, google 'Roy Baumeister decision fatigue' - his 2011 New York Times article is a good starting point. With teams events starting today, try to force your brain to be alert on the

Dlr N ♠ 4 Vul EW ♥ QJ876 ♦ K6

♣ A10854 ♠ AK632 ♠ Q10987 ♥ 4 ♥ K10532 ♦ A8 ♦ 95 ♣ KQJ32 ♣ 6 ♠ J5 ♥ A9 ♦ QJ107432 ♣ 97

NW E S

W N E S Kanwur Ware George Jacob 1H P 1NT 2H P 3S 4D 4H 5D P P 6S P P 7H X All pass

last 4 or 5 boards of any 14 Board match, when opponents often tire and give you chances to gain IMPs. This meandering talk is (sort of) about what the very top experts mostly like to think about, and what matters to them, when it comes to choosing which conventions or system to play. GadgetitisA few years ago Kathy Buchen was asked to fill in for two matches at the Nationals in Canberra. She told me that it was amazing - her partner before the first match said in total: 'Is it OK if we play Standard American, three Weak Twos, Stayman and Transfers over 1 NT and 2NT, and do you prefer high or low to encourage?' Then they sat down, and he seemed to be close to the best player she’d ever partnered. Her partner for the second match insisted they play almost every gadget or convention under the sun - Lebensohl, Namyats, Hamilton, Two Way Checkback et al - her head was spinning, but when they played, this expert didn’t seem to be much good. Was Kathy’s judgement out? No, I told her - I know these two guys, the second one who has Gadgetitis thinks he’s a real hot shot or Tier One (hereinafter T1) expert but is not, but the first one is a true expert.If we divide up experts into T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, the T1 experts strongly tend (almost consensus) to have a different approach from the Tiers 3, 4 and 5 who thrive on Gadgetitis.

Justine Wlodarczyk, Bronnwyn White, Caroline Marshall and Margaret Teitzel

Novice Teams Winners

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Our 2015 National TeamThe team that beat my team in the Playoff Final for the 2015 Aussie Open Team a few weeks ago comprises 3 pairs. The Queenslander Paul Wyer and his partner Michael Courtney play an absolute minimum of bidding gadgets, with very natural bidding and standard card play. One of their teammates says they were the star pair in the Playoff Finals. Their card play is world class, with Decision Fatigue not a factor. The winning team’s second pair plays Precision, adding on some gadgets. Against me, one of them forgot the system in the last segment, almost costing them the match. The third pair play Standard with transfers added all over the place. They bid very well, especially their slam bidding. If you, like them, have spent years studying the intricacies of bidding conventions before rejecting those not worth playing, then perhaps - if you are a very regular partnership - this might be the way to go. One gain from their transfers is that they can often pick to play 3NT (and other) contracts from the right side, e.g. with Qx opposite Axx or the other examples mentioned in the talk. In my opinion, this pair has occasional concentration lapses in the card play - perhaps Decision Fatigue is a factor? Thinking Style of T1 ExpertsIf there is any consensus among the T1 experts, I think the lazier approach of not overloading with gadgets is more popular, not because laziness is good, but because we don’t want to overload our brains with too many agreements and end up with Decision Fatigue at the table. One of the more interesting things about Decision Fatigue is that those suffering from it at bridge do not even notice the errors they make, such is their fatigue. This can create a never-ending cycle of repeating errors. In a nutshell, vast experience has taught them that the key is to be in your Comfort Zone, able to produce your best bridge as often as possible, and to minimize the inevitable mistakes that all of us humans inevitably make. No matter how good you get at bridge, you will never be mistake-free.

ConventionsThe most popular bridge book in Australia and overseas is 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know by Barbara Seagram. The conventions in this book are the ones that most of us here at the Gold Coast play, so I have no problems with the well-written book. The sequels, which also sell well, include quite a lot of gadgets that many of us T1 experts are happy to omit. Here’s what some T1 experts have told me about various gadgets that T3, T4 or Tears 5 experts ('Tears' because their thinking style holds them back from reaching the very top) may play.Bergen Raises. One bridge pro: 'I only play them because my clients insist I play them.' Another pro: 'shouldn’t I raise partner as high as possible as soon as possible - if I bid 3C or 3D over 1S, I unnecessarily give my LHO a chance to bid 3H or make other winning moves that a direct 3S bid prevents.' Another pro: 'In America, hardly anyone seems to play Bergen Raises anymore.'Stolen Bids (if you don’t know what they are, please don’t learn them).'If anyone says they play Stolen Bids, I instantly know that they’re not a good bridge player.'Lavings over 1NT - Paul Lavings himself refuses to play this, mainly because it encourages a 4 point 1NT range when a 3 point 1NT range is superior, for various reasons. The 4 point range is simply too wide, making decisions more difficult. More importantly, a 3 point range forces you to decide if the middle of the 3 point range is minimum or maximum, when you are invited. This encourages proper thinking, that there are good and bad 16 counts, and upgrading or downgrading point counts is better than slavish devotion to an exact point count. A key part of becoming a T1 expert is to use points only as a guide, especially in competitive bidding where 'shape rules'. Gerber.When I commentated on Bridge Base Online (BBO) Vugraph, the coordinator called it the G word that

we should refrain from ever praising. The F word was Flannery. Both these methods have some support in USA; e.g. a pair of American World Women’s Champions play Roman Keycard Gerber with good definitions of when 4C is RKCG and when it is not. I almost forgot to say - don’ t assume any of this is gospel - remember there’s no consensus among experts. I ‘m just trying to advise you of what I think the trend is among T1 experts. T1 and T2 Growth of making bids game forcingIf you don’t know what 'fourth suit forcing' is, please check on the Internet. 'Fourth Suit Forcing' has become 'Fourth Suit Forcing to Game', almost universally in T1.Many pairs have switched from 'Two-over-One Forcing' to 'Two-over-One Game-Forcing. After 1x – 1y – 1NT rebid, 'Checkback' is being replaced by Two-Way Checkback, in which the 2D rebid by responder over 1NT is artificial and Game ForcingAfter 1x – 1y – 1z rebid, a big trend in 2014 is the XYZ Convention, like Two-Way Checkback, in which the 2D rebid by responder over 1z is artificial and Game Forcing, and 2C forces 2D. In all four examples, there’s been a recent tend towards making some bids Game Forcing. Why? Is it a better way to play bridge? Perhaps it isn’t, but it’s certainly an easier way to play bridge - you know you’re going to game or higher, so there’s less strain on your brain. And when you’re vulnerable at IMPs scoring, reaching game with 12 opposite 12, or 12 opposite 11 seems to do no harm to one’s overall results - enough of these games make, to make the whole deal worthwhile. When vulnerable at IMPs, game only needs to be about a 36% chance to be worth bidding. . Matching the 1NT response to the 1NT opening bid's rangeT1 experts like to get stuff like this right, rather than adding on new conventions.

4

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

5 Bridge Travel

Trevor Strickland

The 2015 Gold Coast Congress

attracted players from 17 countries.

Playing in our premier bridge tournament in events from Rookie Pairs to Mixed Teams was for many a highlight of their visit to Australia.

One of the fringe benefits of being a bridge player is that wherever you go you can usually find other bridge players.

When you plan your next travel adventure, why not make Bridge a feature?

Globe-trotting bridge players will be warmly welcomed to club sessions and bridge tournaments in 71 countries.

See the World Bridge Federation's Zonal Organisation webpage: www.worldbridge.org/geographic-zones.aspx with links to national bridge federation webpages.

If you need help locating a bridge session or tournament, email me at: travel@qldbridge.com.

You don’t need to break the bank to combine Bridge and Travel.

You can create your own DIY Bridge Holiday by combining a country Congress (renowned for their hospitality) and traditional country pub accommodation.

Victoria Hotel – ideal accommodation for

the Goondiwindi Pairs, 27-28 June

For upcoming country congresses see: www.qldbridge/events

2015 Bridge Cruises

Sydney to Singapore

14 nights 11 - 25 June

Inside cabins: from $1478* Outside cabins: from $2008*

Balcony cabins: from $2308*

* cruise only, twin share

Day Port Date

1 Sydney 11/06/2015 2 Cruising 12/06/2015 3 Brisbane 13/06/2015 4 Cruising 14/06/2015 5 Airlie Beach 15/06/2015 6 Cairns 16/06/2015 7 Cruising 17/06/2015 8 Cruising 18/06/2015 9 Darwin 19/06/2015 10 Cruising 20/06/2015 11 Cruising 21/06/2015 12 Benoa, Bali 22/06/2015 13 Cruising 23/06/2015 14 Cruising 24/06/2015 15 Singapore 25/06/2015

Hong Kong to Brisbane

18 nights 20 Nov – 8 Dec

Inside cabins: from $2504* Outside cabins: from $2854*

Balcony cabins: from $3804*

Day Port Date

1 Hong Kong 20/11/2015 2 Cruising 21/11/2015 3 Manila 22/11/2015 4 Cruising 23/11/2015 5 Puerto Princesa 24/11/2015 6 Kota Kinabalu 25/11/2015 7 Cruising 26/11/2015 8 Cruising 27/11/2015 9 Cruising 28/11/2015 10 Benoa, Bali 29/11/2015 11 Cruising 30/11/2015 12 Cruising 01/12/2015 13 Darwin 02/12/2015 14 Cruising 03/12/2015 15 Cruising 04/12/2015 16 Cairns 05/12/2015 17 Airlie Beach 06/12/2015 18 Cruising 07/12/2015 19 Brisbane 08/12/2015

For more information see www.qbatravel.com

Email: travel@qldbridge.com

Phone: 0439 743823

Many players tell me that if partner opens 1D, a response of 1NT shows 6 to 9 points. Is this so?Long ago, 1NT showed 16-18 HCPs or 15-18 HCPs, the latter range being popularised (as was Extended Stayman which is now extinct at T1 level) by its use by Australia’s top pair from the 1950s to the early 80s - Tim Seres and Dick Cummings/Roelof Smilde. Now, 15-17 is normal in Standard, with some people playing 14-16. Why the change?Opening 1NT on 16-18 went with a 13-15 range for a 1NT rebid by opener. Nowadays we know that opening 12 counts is a winning action (and that a 4 point NT range like 12-15 is too wide), so 13-15 dropped to 12-14. Therefore,1NT 16-18 dropped to 15-17, when 12 counts are opened. In the last few years, experts are starting to think that opening many or even all 11 counts is a winning style, especially when not vulnerable (when the cost of going down is smaller). If you open on 11, then the lowest NT rebid should be 11-13, because a 3 point range is best (ref page 2). If your 1NT rebid is 11-13, then the 1NT opening bid becomes 14-16. So it’s the people that like to open on 11 points who like to play a 14-16 1NT opening. Recommended Strength of

For all the strong 1NT ranges in the above table, if responder has the maximum number of HCPs for the 1NT response, and opener is one point short of opening 1NT, then opener can pass 1NT, because the partnership has at most 24 points, one short of the 25 points needed for game. For the weak 1NT, opener should have some balanced hands that can pass a 1NT response to 1C or 1D,

so the 1NT response should be 5-8, if hands of 15 or 16 points will pass the 1NT response.Perhaps one reason why only T1’s like to think about this sort of idea is that it’s hard to explain, although the concept is simple. What T1 experts like to think aboutMost T1 experts play 5-card majors, not because 5-card majors are better than 4-card majors, but because 5-card majors are easier to play. The 4-4 major fits can still be found because responder bids the 4-card major first.Curiously, the new T1 trend toward Transfer Responses to 1C, making the opener often declare responder’s major suit, has some circular similarity to the olden days of 4-card majors, when opener played more of the major suit contracts. T1 experts like to have simple ways to defend against the weirdo bids that opponents like to play. For example, although T1’s like David Beauchamp (top qualifier in the Gold Coast Pairs), Sartaj Hans and Tony Nunn are normally seen playing Weak Twos (not Multi-2D), they all have a simple (not fatiguing) defence to Multi-2D known in advance. Double of 2D is a good hand, double of a later major suit bid is take-out, the only penalty double is the third double by your partnership. Everything else is natural, 2NT overcall being about 15-18 points, with System On. Why do so many T1 Experts prefer Weak Twos to Multi-2D? They like to give the opponents the last guess in competitive auctions by raising as high as possible as soon as possible. To do this, they need to know what opener’s suit is, straight away. The Multi-2D gives well-prepared opponents more space to bid their hands. Here’s another 'not gospel' reminder. ConclusionsT1 experts like to construct bidding systems so that everything fits together and doesn’t take the players out of their Comfort Zone. For some people, that Comfort Zone might include a lot of conventions, but the default in non-regular partnerships should be not to overload the memory bank and thus the brain.

If anyone wants to read about constructing a bidding system well, Roy Hughes’ book Building a Bidding System is a useful read.Well, there you have our summary of the 2015 GCC and it is only left to us to thank those of you who attended and look forward to see you back again next year, but perhaps more importantly to invite those who haven’t experienced the joy and delights of the GCC to join us soon.

Peter Gill

Your INT opening range

Your 1NT response range

Reason-ing

16-18 6-9 9+15=2415-17 6-10 10+14=2414-16 6-11 11+13=2412-14 5-8(9) 8+16=2415-18 6-10 10+14=24

The Gold Coast Congress

WHAT a fantastic event the Gold Coast Congress (GCC)

is, and this year was an exceptional year for rookies and novices with all their competitions attended very well indeed. Congratulations to all the winners of the rookie and novice competitions. With so many options available, the GCC provides a magnificent boost to the confidence of players and hopefully they are encouraged to play in other congresses throughout this year and eagerly return to the GCC next year. The two Rookie Pairs competitions were attended by eight players (Claudia Gibson, Lin Kendall, Tiffany Mair, Raelene Kell, Shane Knight, Robert Campbell, Barbara Moni and Wendy Casey) who are currently participating in a pilot of a Rookie and Mentor Program (RAMP) at Northern Suburbs Bridge Club, further details of which will follow in the next edition of the QBA Bulletin. Here, Shane describes his first GCC experience….My usual partner Robert Campbell and I ventured down to the Sunday Rookie Pairs. We were not alone from the club; familiar faces in the crowd included the eventual NS winners Barbara Moni and Wendy Casey - well done! After 27 boards of playing EW, we finished 14th out of 19 pairs

Novices

Michael Fawcett

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

6

on 49% resulting in 0.12 MPs. A review of the results showed that we played most of the top NS pairs and had 2 shocker boards scoring bagels (yep, zero percent), But hey, some MPs are better than none.

Robert was unable to make it down later in the week so I let the organisers know I would require a partner for Thursday’s Under 50 MPs and Friday’s Walk-in events. On Thursday, I met my partner Ming Yang from our club 5 minutes before kick-off - having a simple system card based on natural bidding makes it easy to play impromptu. Ming and I played EW finishing 13th out of 20 pairs on 47% resulting in 0.10 MPs. On Friday, I was partnered with Margaret Liversage from the Gold Coast club. We played EW finishing 5th out of 20 pairs on 54% resulting in 0.68 MPs. Truth be known, I arrived late and one of the congress volunteers had to play the first table in my absence, so Margaret and I had no introduction at all before we started playing together. I stayed with friends over the border at Banora Point on Thursday night, so I’ll use daylight saving as my excuse.All up, I am happy with the 0.90 MPs I scored from my three sessions. I appreciated the warm welcome from both organisers and opponents. My partners and opponents on Thursday and Friday were very helpful with bidding and playing tips - it’s amazing how the better players are able to squeeze an extra trick out of most contracts. I am keen to play the congress again next year. As a

once-a-week player it is likely that I will still be in the Rookie category - will they take it easy on me for a second year? Time will tell.And Tiffany has this to say….I am a rookie player who has not quite finished going through our club’s RAMP (mentoring) sessions, but it has already helped my bidding and given my confidence a bit of a boost. So much so that I said “Yes” when a fellow club rookie asked if I would like to play at the Gold Coast Congress in the Sunday Rookie Pairs competition.After 3 club playing sessions together and some guidance from my patient mentor (Andy Slater), we headed off to the Coast to do battle (otherwise known as friendly games of Bridge). My partner was coming down with a nasty cold at the time, but despite that and a couple of ridiculous bidding errors on my part (sorry, Andy), we managed to squeeze ourselves onto the bottom of the points table. That was a bit exciting for first-timers! We really enjoyed playing at the Congress, and getting some points was an added bonus. I just wish that I was not working full time as it would have been fun to play a lot more (and also share some meals and refreshing beverages with new friends from other clubs). Without the mentoring sessions, I don’t think my bridge bidding skills would have improved as quickly as they did. There were some bids during the congress that I would not previously have made, and I would not otherwise have doubled

our opponents in the last hand of the day. I think the mentoring has really made a difference, so if there is anyone out there who has the opportunity to participate in a similar programme, they should do it. It will give your bridge a kick-along, and you’ll get to meet and play with other people in your club. You’ll also be armed and dangerous at the next congress!Congratulations must go to Therese Tully and the entire GCC management team for organising a fabulous event, and numerous rookies, novices, and open players I met made observations to me, as Novice Coordinator, on how well the event is run.As I have reached the 100 MP limit for a novice player, I am unable to play in novice congresses, so Helen Blair has agreed to represent me and the Novice Co-ordination Committee at future congresses. Helen is well known and liked on the congress circuit, and she is approachable with any comments or ideas a player may have. Thank you Helen for taking on this role.A full list of coming events for players of all ranks, including novices, can be found on the QBA website at www.qldbridge.com, or on page 20 of the Bulletin.QuestionsIf any novices have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mick Fawcett at novicecoordinator@qldbridge.com or via the Novice tab on the QBA website. ■

Head office: 41 Bulcock St, Caloundra 4551Ph: 07 5437 0666 Fax: 07 5437 0966Email: admin@cosmeticsplus.com.au

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Wendy Casey and Barbara Moni

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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Manager's Travels

Two Lucky Hands

LUCK in bridge comes in an infinite array of guises. You can

only commiserate with EW on these two, the flow was all one-way. Larry Moses was East.

1 Undisclosed2 'On the bidding'

North’s 3H was about as silly as a bid can be. It showed the very opposite of what he had. Why? A splinter is an option, but not one I would exercise without an extra trump. And it carries the danger of being passed out. A simple, strong, raise to 3S is the bid. It is universally understood, here, that a raise to 4S shows no ace, no king, no singleton, no void. Expecting five or more hearts, South bid an automatic 6H. If West doubled on the bidding he was 100% correct that the bidding was awful.A club was led. As declarer I could see only one way to get home, take the heart finesse, discard two clubs on hearts and ruff a club and the fourth heart. The defence will get a diamond.

Cuppaidge’s Column

George Cuppaidge

A fly appeared in the ointment. Larry found a good false card on the second round of hearts. He played the card he was known to hold; the ♥Q.Taken in, I played just one trump before proceeding. When Larry followed to the next heart, I realised that I had been had. A diamond had to be lost and a trump back would kill me. The sooner it was lost the better, so I played one. West, whose ear for the bidding was clearly better than his eye for the defence won and played another club. Well done Larry, you deserved better.

1. A very strange action indeed but there is no accounting for taste. Clearly it was intended to show a maximum pass. He had broken two of my “rules.” I would open the bidding with his hand, and, having made my bed by electing to pass, I lie in it.2. There are few 'nevers' in bridge but 'never raise a second suit without four-card support' is one of them. North has no reason whatsoever to bid. Partner will happily raise hearts holding three, and rebid clubs holding five. At this stage it should be treated as a misfit.Here was another very thin contract bid by mistake. To bid 4C opposite a four-card raise is pushing, opposite a raise that might show three it simply would not happen. This time West did have his double, but was doomed to an unlucky disappointment.The play was again automatic and simple. South won and immediately

Dlr N ♠ J108 Vul Both ♥ 2 ♦ QJ987

♣ K653 ♠ 65 ♠ 743 ♥ 98765 ♥ Q104 ♦ K5 ♦ A10643 ♣ QJ82 ♣ 109 ♠ AKQ92 ♥ AKJ3 ♦ 2 ♣ A74

NW E S

W N E S P P 2C P 2D P 2S P 3H1 P 6H P 6S P P X2 All pass

Dlr W ♠ 10932 Vul EW ♥ AQ543 ♦ 9

♣ Q72 ♠ 876 ♠ KQJ54 ♥ KJ ♥ 10976 ♦ K843 ♦ Q75 ♣ KJ83 ♣ 6 ♠ A ♥ 82 ♦ AJ1062 ♣ A10954

NW E S

W N E S P P P 1D X1 1H 1S 2C 2S 3C2 P 4C P 5C P X All pass

took the heart finesse and cashed the ♥A. The ♥K may have been a false card but it really did not matter, spade ruffs back to hand until dummy had no more were again automatic.Following a spade-diamond cross-ruff ending in dummy, West had only four cards left, ♣KJ83. When a heart was led off dummy and ruffed with the ♣10 it was all over for West. ■George's article 'NT rebids after 2-over-1 in standard bidding' is available on the QBA website.

WE are a big Christmas Cel-ebration Family so we always

have a fabulous time over this period which seems to get longer every year. However, shortly after the period we are in fourth gear (some would call it fifth) getting ready for the Gold Coast Congress. The neigh-bours even asked what on earth was happening with all of the Schweppes sponsorship drinks arriving one day and then 150 kilograms of lollies the next day - 150 kilograms of lollies is nearly 20 boxes. January saw me play with Mum in the QCBC Butler Pairs and we played average hence our average score. The following weekend we went to the Northern Suburbs Teams with myself playing with Ray and Mum playing with Margaret Millar and lucky us, when the music stopped we were in first place. In fact we didn't lose a match - even the reported draw saw us with a 1IMP win so I am claiming the win and well done us. We have a big travelling year with Cairns in June, Alice Springs in September and New Zealand in October and even my daughter recognizes these dates as she (Alex to David) got engaged last weekend and we put all the bridge dates in the calendar before we decide on any dates for weddings. ■

Kim Ellaway

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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YES, we are old enough for this event. At our first try, we ran

second in 2004 but have played only occasionally since. So off to the Gold Coast Club where we were seeded 17 of 40 pairs. Not so much ‘Senior Moments’ but plenty of DVMs (Déjà Vu Moments) among some meaty boards.A solid start against Jim and Cora Taylor put us into 11th where we seemed to spend a lot of the morning. Next up, Ian Afflick-Paul Collins.

We bid this to 6NT by East (it plays better from West). The ♥7 was led and I went 1 off. 16 pairs bid to 6NT, 6S or 6D. 4 of 11 Easts made, as did 2 of 5 Wests. ‘Not a bad slam’ suggested Paul ‘about 50%, maybe?’ The rest of the round was solid for another win. We got past Rosa Lachman-Bill Hunt with a few MPs to spare, then on to a bad round against Roger Tillotson-Lou Weathered.We recovered against Barry Coe- Janet Johnson to meet Tony Jackman-Ron Clark.

2014 QBA Senior Pairs

Dlr E ♠ J82 Vul EW ♥ KJ95 ♦ 2

♣ 75432 ♠ K7 ♠ AQ1065 ♥ AQ104 ♥ 63 ♦ AQ753 ♦ J86 ♣ A10 ♣ KQJ ♠ 943 ♥ 872 ♦ K1094 ♣ 986

NW E S

As South, Tony opened 1NT (14-17) and Helen bid a Brozel 2NT (at least 5/5 in the minors). I could feel the DVM vibes from Ron and passed (3D is a lot safer). Helen made 2NT for 74% and Ron said, ‘Tony set up the defence but I stuffed it’, and we won by 2 MPs and sat 11th at lunch.Another skinny win (4 MPs) against the ‘B’ winners Dianne Raward-Heather Simpson, including another slam (board 4) with 11 in it, 1 (not us) failing. That brought us to John and Ivy Luck and the board.

I was East and had another DVM from Lockyer 2014 where I had held lots of hearts and bid 6H over their 6C, but Ivy bid 7C. I then turned our 84% score into 42% by bidding 7H. All that flashed through the grey matter after the 4H-6D-6H sequence. Three seconds thinking is bordering on hesitation for me, so I passed to save Helen if she wanted to bid on. After she bid 6S, I decided my diamonds were better than my spades and bid the grand. Not even a top. John Scrivens-Neil

Gibson managed 7DX while Tony Jackman was ‘forced’ to bid 7S over 7H. No Lightner Double, no diamond lead and it made. This was our big round, taking us from 5 EW to 1 EW against the ‘Fantuners’, Malcolm Carter- Tony Hutton.Another DVM from the previous week when I blew the defence to their skinny 4H, costing us 5 IMPs and the match. This time we were happy to kill their skinny 4S for 68%.They seem to bid games on thin point counts when at least one holds a singleton. They missed a slam on board 15 (7 in it, 4 failing) with 12 hcp (5-4-2-2) opposite 18 (3-3-3-4).

Our bad board shows that you have to get into the bidding whenever possible. Tony made a third seat light opening and Malcolm’s oily rag 1H was similar. Without that, 1H-1S-4S would have been easy for us. I did all I could to get Helen to bid but no go... yes, it’s the same Helen that overcalled 6D on board 9. 2S making 12 scored 29%. The other boards were all good and we moved to 1NS with 2 rounds to go.Plan A for defending table 1. On the first board vs Richard Touton-Larry Moses Helen called, 'Director, can you do something about the sun; it’s shining through the window and I can’t see my cards for the glare’. ‘I appreciate your confidence in my abilities’ said Alan. ‘Alas, I cannot move the sun but you may move tables’. So in a 20-table field, we moved to table 30, no pressure.

Dlr S ♠ J6 Vul NS ♥ J73 ♦ Q864

♣ 10985 ♠ AK ♠ 109742 ♥ 10 ♥ Q9862 ♦ KJ1052 ♦ 73 ♣ AJ732 ♣ K ♠ Q853 ♥ AK54 ♦ A9 ♣ Q64

NW E S

Dlr N ♠ J65 Vul EW ♥ AJ103 ♦ 65

♣ K642 ♠ AKQ103 ♠ 72 ♥ — ♥ 8 ♦ AQ109732 ♦ KJ84 ♣ A ♣ QJ9875 ♠ 984 ♥ KQ976542 ♦ — ♣ 103

NW E S

W N E S P P 4H 6D 6H P P 6S P 7D All pass

Dlr S ♠ 532 Vul None ♥ Q9 ♦ A964

♣ KJ54 ♠ 9864 ♠ AKQ10 ♥ K10 ♥ AJ853 ♦ Q873 ♦ K ♣ 976 ♣ A102 ♠ J7 ♥ 7642 ♦ J1052 ♣ Q83

NW E S

W N E S P P 1D X 1H P 1NT X 2D P P 2S All pass

The difference between genius and stupidity at the bridge table is that genius has its limits.

Richard McLauchlan

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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Jim Evans

11

We were a dozen MPs in front with one round to go, still defending table 30/1 against Robbie Clayton-Alan Smith when the last slam of the day arrived.

1 Jacoby2 First round control3 RKCB4 Kings?

I know Helen has at least an opening hand with 4 trumps, probably better after she continued cueing over my 3C. Her 1 Keycard was likely the ♦A so we were missing the ♥K (the ♥K plus the diamond void seemed unlikely). If the field is in it, I had to try, the glass-half-fuller bidding 6H.I won the club lead in dummy and quickly called for the ♥10, watching Robbie for any sign of distress (never make a decision if you don’t have to). No distress, just dismay as the bare ♥K came down. Only 7 pairs (I now know the gamblers) bid slam. Every table made 12 tricks with 1 non-slammer making 13.After the weighty woman warbled, we had won 10 of the 11 rounds. Add the necessary share of luck and we held off strong finishes from Carter-Hutton and Lachman-Hunt to be declared the grand poo-bahs of the AVOQOF (Ancient Venerable Order of Qld Old Farts). We received some cash, a tray, and pens inscribed ‘Property of QBA’ - kidding - it was ‘QBA State Title Holder’ which I hope will intimidate some opponents at our next event. ■

Dlr E ♠ 76 Vul EW ♥ 1098653 ♦ AKJ

♣ K9 ♠ 109543 ♠ KQJ8 ♥ 2 ♥ K ♦ 93 ♦ 108762 ♣ QJ1053 ♣ 642 ♠ A2 ♥ AQJ74 ♦ Q54 ♣ A87

NW E S

W N E S P 1H P 2NT1 P 3C2

P 3D2 P 3NT3

P 4D P 4NT4

P 5D P 6H All pass

A GOOD roll-up of 60 pairs making for a full house were at Warwick for

their annual congress. The event filled early with some reserve pairs being called up for action at the last minute. As usual, it was a nice friendly affair with the fabulous country-style lunch and innumerable home made cakes and goodies. The bridge was almost a distraction for lunch. The event was held again at the very impressive sandstone Town Hall. It was built over 150 years ago and there is not a block a millimetre out of place.Sheryl Gardner and Ann Klibbe did well earlier and were leading after lunch, but unfortunately fell away and then had the misfortune to sit North-South in the last round when East-West had all of the cards. Meta Goodman and Theresa Tully led most of the afternoon and had the same misfortune in the last round.

Board 23 required a bit of planning, I was declarer in 4S and South got away to the ♣J lead, I decided to try to set up hearts and consequently led my ♥8 to the ace and a small heart for a ruff, however, after seeing

Dlr S ♠ Q6 Vul Both ♥ QJ ♦ 8653

♣ Q10653 ♠ K1032 ♠ A975 ♥ A95432 ♥ 8 ♦ 4 ♦ KJ92 ♣ 98 ♣ AK72 ♠ J84 ♥ K1076 ♦ AQ107 ♣ J4

NW E S

W N E S P P P 1D P 1H P 1S P 2S P 3S P 4S All pass

Warwick North play the ♥J and then the ♥Q I decided the hearts were splitting 4-2 and I then played the ♣K and a small club. South discarded a diamond whilst I ruffed in dummy, the ♦4 was led to my jack and South’s queen. South then wisely led a trump; low from dummy, to the queen and ace, I then played a cross-ruff for 10 tricks as I suspect did most other declarers. ■

Don't Scratch

BRIDGE can be boring at times. However if it is online bridge, then

we can afford to overcome this bore-dom by carrying out ‘experiments’ every now and then. It delights the op-position when such experiments result in disaster for the instigator. I take it as my contribution towards making peo-ple around me happy. Here’s a recent one from BBO. We were 6 IMPs down after about 20 boards.

Sitting South, my 2S bid was an ‘experiment’ that backfired. I lost one trick each in spades, hearts, diamonds and two tricks in clubs for two down: –500 and 10 IMPs away - making us 16 IMPs down. The very next board was:

Dlr W ♠ A5 Vul Both ♥ KQ1082 ♦ 85

♣ J953 ♠ K4 ♠ J63 ♥ A3 ♥ 765 ♦ KJ1093 ♦ Q762 ♣ AK87 ♣ Q104 ♠ Q109872 ♥ J94 ♦ A4 ♣ 62

NW E S

W N E S 1D 1H 2D 2S! 4D 4H P P X 4S P P X All pass

Kamal Sanmugarasa

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

The bidding was straight forward, and East said, “Good luck partner” as West got ready to declare. West, before playing his first card, obviously buoyed by the previous board and the comfortable bank balance of 16 IMPs, said, 'Don’t worry partner, I rely on Kamal’s help more than yours'. Boy, isn’t that the excitement that I was looking for! I closed off the Facebook chat windows and the sports live score pages.Partner led the ♠10, ducked in dummy, covered by my queen and declarer won with the ace. He played a diamond to the queen that I ducked. Convinced that the diamond finesse is working, declarer now played a heart to the ace and played a second diamond only to be disappointed when my partner discarded a club indicating interest in the suit. Declarer ducked the second diamond to my king. I returned a heart that severed his communication! Although declarer had sufficient winners to make 9 tricks (3 spades, 2 hearts, 4 diamonds) he was short of entries to cash out diamonds as well as spades. He decided to cash his diamonds in dummy and the ♠K, and hoped for the ninth trick to roll in the wash. That did not materialise, as my partner and I both discarded all the spades and hung onto three clubs and a heart as the last four cards. Declarer had to play a club from dummy. My partner won the club, cashed his winning heart and forced out the ♣K under my ace. What was a rock solid contract goes one down

Dlr E ♠ 10984 Vul None ♥ QJ8 ♦ 2

♣ QJ863 ♠ AJ3 ♠ K2 ♥ AK974 ♥ 65 ♦ 9765 ♦ AQJ83 ♣ 6 ♣ K942 ♠ Q765 ♥ 1032 ♦ K104 ♣ A107

NW E S

W N E S 1D P 1H P 2C P 2NT P 3NT All pass

and 9 IMPs our way. The chat box was quiet for a while so I broke the silence saying, 'I'm not sure if we did something clever to deserve 9 IMPs' to which I copped some name calling - more excitement! Getting back to bridge, the next hand in this episode was a deal that both opponents found a fit in their own suits, but I put the pressure on the opponents by jumping to game and attracted a phantom sacrifice for 12 more IMPs. This was the very next board.

Against the 3H contract by West, partner led the ace and another spade that declarer won with the king. A heart was played from dummy, I ducked and declarer played the 9 losing to my partner’s jack. Partner returned a club that was won in dummy. Declarer now played a second heart. I won with the ace and played the king to pull the third trump from declarer’s hand before cashing my ♠Q. I exited a diamond to my partner’s ace and ruffed the diamond return with my fourth heart. Maximum damage was inflicted at our table and declarer managed only 6 tricks. The rest of the field was either in two or three hearts, but all made 8 or 9 tricks. Another 7 IMPs our way.Within the space of three boards since the snide remark from our opponent, we had racked up 28 IMPs to turn the 16 IMPs deficit to a 12 IMPs win. 'Don’t scratch a tiger’s arse' - that's what came to mind. But inadvertently I typed it in the chat box as I left the table. ■

Dlr S ♠ A4 Vul Both ♥ J ♦ A108743

♣ 10862 ♠ 106 ♠ KJ7 ♥ Q109 ♥ 87532 ♦ KQJ9 ♦ 52 ♣ AQJ3 ♣ K94 ♠ Q98532 ♥ AK64 ♦ 6 ♣ 75

NW E S

W N E S P 1NT P 2D 2S 3H All pass

A Tale of Two Doubles

TEACHING doubles can be difficult…so many types, so

many possible misunderstandings. If you follow the principle that most low-level doubles are for take-out and, if partner hasn’t bid, the double asks you to speak. If the opponents have a fit, and both sides are competing, then your double, even at higher levels, says, 'tell me more partner' not, 'we’re going to beat them up'. With this in mind, you’d think you couldn’t go far wrong, but…Here’s a hand from the Ivy Dahler Swiss Pairs at the GCC. My partner, GeO Tislevoll and I, finished second in a field of 254 pairs. If I’d got this one right, the results may well have been different.

1 Multi2 Pass or correct

What should I do? They were vul, we were not. I passed the double. This was wrong - they made 4SX, and we can make 6D or 6H! I should have taken the double out, as the opponents must have a big spade

Dlr E ♠ — Vul EW ♥ AKQ854 ♦ AKJ4

♣ Q108 ♠ KQ765 ♠ AJ9843 ♥ 10 ♥ J763 ♦ Q10 ♦ — ♣ K9754 ♣ 632 ♠ 102 ♥ 92 ♦ 9876532 ♣ AJ

NW E S

W N E S 2D1 P 2H2 4H P P 4S X All pass

Teacher's Corner

Joan Butts

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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♠ — ♥ A854 ♦ AJ964 ♣ AKJ3

and with no opposition bidding, partner opens 1S, you bid 2D and partner bids 4S. What now?2. All vulnerable you hold:

♠ 9 ♥ AKQ7 ♦ AK96 ♣ AK92

and, again with no opposition bidding, partner opens 3S. What now?3. With you vulnerable and oppo-nents not, you hold:

♠ — ♥ 107 ♦ Q98 ♣ AKQJ10854

Partner opens 1H. What do you respond?ANSWERS1. Therese Tully took a rosy view, bidding 5S on her void asking, ‘How good are your spades?’ So partner holding

♠ AKQJ752 ♥ KQ ♦ 10 ♣ 1062

had no trouble raising to 6S. This was a flat board with both teams missing 7S or even 7NT.2. On a roll now with the successful void raise, this one was simple opposite a trustworthy partner. Therese simply bid 6S with her singleton. This made when partner held

♠ AK108764 ♥ 963 ♦ J ♣ 64

and trumps behaved.3.A simple 5C bid ended the auction at one table, whilst at the other table, our opponents took the scenic route but also reached 5C. But it was the play that made the 12 IMP difference.

North, who held ♦KJ9 was unlikely to find the killing lead and instead chose the ♠5, ruffed by declarer. Trumps are drawn in 4 rounds and the crucial heart play went 10 - K - A - 3. You cross back to hand with a spade ruff and lead the ♥7 - 2 - ? Where is the ♥J? Our declarer dropped it doubleton off-side, the opponents played North, Agnes Kempthorne for it. Full marks to her for giving declarer a losing option. ■

Toowong Graded Teams

THERESE Tully and I teamed up with Barry and Agnes

Kempthorne for this event. Here are a few bidding problems we encountered.1. You hold:

♠ — ♠ K6432 ♥ 107 ♥ AQ98654 ♦ Q98 ♦ 10 ♣ AKQJ10854 ♣ —

fit, (why else is Peter Gill bidding 4S when his side is vulnerable?) It’s best to play that the double over an obvious pre-empt is just showing a strong hand, and may be passed by partner with the right sort of hand (no fit, balanced etc). But with 7 diamonds, my hand did not fit this category. GeO doubled because he could not know what his hand was worth in defence, and it would be wrong to bid 5 if we had no fit. It’s so important to ask ourselves what the bidding is really telling us.

Teaching defence can have its moments too. In signaling, attitude should be the primary method, but some hands call for count or suit preference. Which should be used when? It’s not always clear cut. This hand was from the same event .Against 5HX, I was on lead as South. Let’s think about the bidding. East West obviously have a double fit, hearts and clubs. Why would my partner jump to 4S and then double 5H? It couldn’t be that he was expecting his spade honours to take tricks, because he knew one or both opponents would be short. His double must be for another reason I thought…He must be trying to tell me he has a void (Lightner doubles are used against slams). It had to be in clubs. I decided, for better or worse, to lead a club. Having decided which suit, the next step was to decide which card.

The normal lead would be the ♣4. But I wanted GeO to know that he could (possibly) get back to my hand with a spade. So my card had to be unusual, either the ♣9 or the ♣Q! This was a Suit Preference signal. It said, 'When you have trumped, please return a spade, and I will play another club for you to ruff'. And so it happened…GeO trumped the first club, and then made a play that no partner would forget. He showed great trust by underleading his ♠A and ♠K. I won the ♠10 and was able to now play the ♣Q which he ruffed again. He then cashed his ♥A and we defeated the contract by two tricks, for a top score (+300) in the field of 254 pairs. Most players led the ♠Q, and the contract often made, but should be defeated by one trick. GeO did comment later with a smile that he had to consider underleading the spade, because if declarer held the singleton ♠Q, the doubled contract would have made!Oh well, defence is truly exciting when two players are working together, and it would not matter how much a person was taught to lead low from three to an honour, times like this make all those rules dispensable!Suit preference signals are the most elegant of all. GeO says that we should never let our defensive methods do the defending for us. We should try to use our own logic rather than let complicated signalling methods overwhelm us! ■

Dlr E ♠ AKJ97432 ♥ A107 ♦ J5

♣ — ♠ 85 ♠ 6 ♥ Q95 ♥ KJ862 ♦ AQ7 ♦ K8 ♣ A10853 ♣ KJ762 ♠ Q10 ♥ 43 ♦ 1096432 ♣ Q94

NW E S

W N E S 1H P 2C 4S 5C P 5H X All pass

Stripped and squeezed in the majors: it does not get more painful than that.

Richard Ward

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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Gold Coast Swiss Teams

A TOTAL of 36 teams fronted up at the Gold Coast Bridge Club

on January 4 to play in the Swiss Teams, 26 in the Open and 10 in the Restricted. In the Open, Fred Whitaker, Joan Butts, Therese Tully and Bill Haughie got away to a flying start, and continued in the winning way for the first six matches, so that they were locked into first before the last match started. This last match was their only loss, and then by only 1 IMP, so they finished a full match ahead of the field.I played with David McLeish, in preparation for the Seniors Teams in Canberra in the middle of January, and our team included Paula McLeish and Jan Cormack (over from NZ). It was a good practice session, and we were always in the mix for second, but just failed to get there and had to settle for third, albeit by a very small margin over fourth and fifth.It was a great way to start off the new year, and the Gold Coast Bridge Club were very hospitable hosts as usual, providing a fine sandwich and fruit lunch and copious amounts of snacks throughout the day. I look forward to going again in 2016. Paul Brake, playing with his daughter Jessica, and Trevor Fletcher and Barrie Coe won the Restricted (<300MPs). On board 8 (next column) in the first match David (West) upgraded his hand to 15 due to his 5-card suit, and opened 1NT (15-17).I could have bid 3C to ask for a 5-card major, but instead chose to show my 6-card diamond suit by transferring with 2NT. When David showed a super-accept, 3NT was obvious.The fate of the hand could well depend on the opening lead, and some would have been worried about the threat of 6 diamond tricks posed by the super-accept, and

attacked with the lead of the ♥2, but our North played safe by leading the ♠7.In fact no lead prevents 9 tricks, and after the ♥2, declarer has no choice but to play the ♥K, and could now make all 13 tricks when the ♠Q falls in two and the diamonds behave.Even after misguessing the spade at trick one David still made 10 tricks for +430. At the other table EW stopped in 3S and also made 10 tricks for –170, so we gained 6 IMPs.

On this board David made a normal opening bid of 1S in third seat, but when I passed again he passed the balancing bid of 2C, due to his lowly pips.North now came to life with 2NT, but there the auction rested, and I chose the opening lead of the ♦4, my strongest unbid suit.

M 1 ♠ 1076 Bd 8 ♥ A972 Dlr W ♦ Q2

Vul None ♣ Q865 ♠ AK543 ♠ J82 ♥ 54 ♥ K6 ♦ K98 ♦ AJ7654 ♣ A103 ♣ J9 ♠ Q9 ♥ QJ1083 ♦ 103 ♣ K742

NW E S

W N E S 1NT! P 2NT P 3D! P 3NT All pass

Declarer took the ♦A on the third round, cashed the ♣K, and led to the ♠10 in dummy, ducked by David.Declarer now cashed the top clubs discarding hearts, and got the bad news so she reverted to the ♠Q, which unfortunately David, having been squeezed by the clubs could do no better than cash his aces and exit the ♥Q, but declarer had the rest for –150. If David ducks the ♠Q, Declarer overtakes and can set up the ♠5 for the 8th trick.At the other table, after a similar start, West rebid their poor spades and was lucky not to get doubled by North, but +200 was still worth 2 IMPs to us.

I had a potential rebid problem with my unbalanced hand, but I decided that the singleton ♠K was as good as xx if David responded 1S, I would rebid 1NT, and if he responded 1H, I would rebid 2H.If I had a small singleton spade, rather than rebid my modest 5-card club suit over a 1S response, I would have opened 1D, to allow a 2C rebid.David’s 2C rebid was artificial, forcing a 2D rebid by me, and then his 2NT was a game-try in NT, which I was happy to accept with my near-maximum and 5-card suit.South led the ♠J, and after winning the ♠K at trick 1, I felt a whole lot safer when South covered the ♣Q at trick 2, thus ensuring 9 tricks, wherever the ♥A was located. NS could not be end-played, so 9 tricks were the limit, for +400.At the other table EW stayed out of

M 3 ♠ Q76 Bd 21 ♥ Q1073 Dlr N ♦ QJ10

Vul NS ♣ 543 ♠ A984 ♠ K ♥ 982 ♥ K85 ♦ K3 ♦ A942 ♣ A1086 ♣ QJ972 ♠ J10532 ♥ AJ4 ♦ 8765 ♣ K

NW E S

W N E S P 1C P 1S P 1NT P 2C! P 2D P 2NT P 3NT All pass

M 2 ♠ KJ954 Bd 10 ♥ K985 Dlr E ♦ A65

Vul Both ♣ K ♠ A87632 ♠ — ♥ AQ6 ♥ J732 ♦ KQ2 ♦ J1074 ♣ 7 ♣ J109 ♠ Q10 ♥ 104 ♦ 983 ♣ AQ8432

NW E S

W N E S P P 1S P P 2C P 2NT All pass

Richard Wallis

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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game, so we picked up a modest 6 IMPs, enough to force a losing draw.

I didn't have a very interesting hand when I first looked, but next thing I knew I was declarer in 3NT.South’s 2H opening was a weak two-suiter, but since David had the other suits covered, he elected for 3NT if I had a heart stop, hence the double followed by the cue-bid.South’s opening lead of the ♣K showed the second suit by inference, and 3NT looked to be a good contract if the diamonds behaved.On a heart lead around to my hand, it would have been routine to lead a small diamond toward dummy, setting up the suit, but on a club lead it was natural to play to the ♦10, and then my 9th trick vanished.North discarded a spade on the 3rd club, and then South’s distribution was known, but where was the ♥A? Two top spades, South discarding a club, confirmed South did not have the ♥A, and after the ♦5 was ducked by North, North was later end-played with the ♠8 to give dummy another diamond trick for +600 and 11 IMPs. ■

M 4 ♠ J10976 Bd 26 ♥ A8 Dlr E ♦ K952

Vul Both ♣ 32 ♠ AKQ ♠ 8532 ♥ Q4 ♥ K1072 ♦ J8753 ♦ Q106 ♣ AJ10 ♣ 76 ♠ 4 ♥ J9853 ♦ A ♣ KQ9854

NW E S

W N E S P 2H X P 2S P 3H P 3NT All pass

In support of Alzheimer’s disease research

During the first week of May, host a bridge session and donate the proceeds to Alzheimer’s research at NeuRA.

We are asking that all bridge clubs throughout Australia raise funds and make a donation.

Alzheimer’s is a vicious disease that takes away your memory and independence. Every dollar raised will go towards preventing or slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease

To register call 1300 888 019 or visit www.neura.edu.au/bridge/register and participate in

the Bridge for Brains Challenge.

NeuRA is dedicated to reducing the burden that disorders of the brain and nervous system place on our community. With this focus, we aim to advance health and wellbeing for our families and our community. We believe that for those affected by devastating diseases, medical research offers the only hope.

MAY 1-7 2015

Brisbane Bridge Centre104 Frederick St, Annerley. Ph: 3392 7933

bbridgecentre@bigpond.com - www.bbc.bridgeaustralia.orgPlay Sessions Tuesday 9.30 am Duplicate 7.30 pm Duplicate Wednesday 10.00 am Duplicate Saturday 1.00 pm DuplicateCoaching Sessions & Monday 9.30 amBeginners’ Classes Tuesday 7.30 pm Friday 10.00 amEnquiries for coaching & beginners’ classes: 3392 7933

State News

Winners of the Senior Teams - David Harris, Timothy Ridley, Rosemary Green and Diana Stagg.Congratulations to Ron Lorraway, Ken Cupples, Malcolm Saunders, Adrian Lohmann who won best country team at the GNOT.

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T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

But, in the Open room, Otvosi was in 4SX, made a complete mess of it, and was –800. Eleven IMPs to HUNT.But then a Burgess brilliancy clinched an OTVOSI win.

South was declarer in 4H at both tables after East had shown values in clubs. HUNT lost two hearts and two diamonds. Stephen Burgess has a reputation as a hard worker when playing the hand. He won the ♣A and played a heart to the jack and ace, ruffed the club continuation, and played a heart to the queen. Burgess now led a diamond to the king, exited a diamond, ruffed the club return, cashed three spades and ruffed a spade. The ♥K was his tenth trick for 10 IMPs to OTVOSI.The final result was 112-59 with Browne-Richman first in both the Pairs and Teams, At the Victory dinner the management of the Holiday Inn, All Nippon Airlines, extended the first Pairs prize from a return trip to Japan to a return trip to the World Championship in Geneva, certainly a magnanimous gesture.The Saturday morning ANA shield was taken out by the Townsville connection, Lindy Ward and Matt Mullamphy. So ended a memorable week. See you next year! ■

The Gold Coast Congress

A record 112 tables in the Pairs and 100 tables in the teams

played in the 29th Gold Coast Congress. The venue, the ANA Holiday Inn, in the heart of Surfers Paradise, provided auxiliary playing areas, extra lighting, and extra staff to cope with the increased numbers.The Saturday night walk-in game at-tracted over fifty tables, many partner-ships taking the chance for a warm-up. The Pairs qualifying was held over two sessions on Sunday, with the three-session finals on Monday and Tuesday. In the top section, Seamus Browne and Bob Richman built up a strong lead, and easily held Jim Borin-Carol Rothfield and the fast-finishing Cathy Chua-Michael Courtney at bay. In the Plate Ervin Otvosi-Stephen Burgess won comfortably from Joyce Nicholson-Paul Lavings.On Tuesday evening the 10-round Swiss teams began. The HUNT team (J Hunt-J Wightwick, I Thomson-R van Riel) began brilliantly and soon cemented a place in the final OTVOSI (E Otvosi-S Burgess, S Browne-R Richman) eventually emerged successful in the scramble for second place.On Friday afternoon HUNT and OTVOSI played thirty boards of the 50-board final while the remainder of the field fought out two more rounds of Swiss. Third place honours fell to the Australian Youth Team (R Fruewirth-B Thompson, P Newman-J Spooner, M Mullamphy- J Wallis) with two good wins.

Brisbane's Jim Wallis, who still has a year left in the under-25s, showed great imagination to bring home this club slam. Jim Dummy

The ♠K was led, and Jim figured the opening leader did not hold the ace of hearts. He backed his judgment by ruffing a spade back to dummy and pulling a low heart away from the king! The next player gave the situation some thought, and eventually rose with the ♥A allowing Jim to make his "impossible" slam. With players like this, the future of bridge in Qld looks bright.An audience of around 300 attended the Friday night Vugraph presentation to see the last 20 boards of the final, and to be amused and delighted by Don Evans' commentary. OTVOSI started the session with an imposing 44 IMP lead, and after ten of the twenty boards had increased this to 50 IMPs, On board 23 HUNT struck back.

The Gold Coast has a high reputa-tion and plays host to many interna-tional players. Julian Wightwick is a Cambridge-based Englishman on assignment in Tokyo. It is no surprise that he took a week's leave to play at Surfers! On the deal above he was South, and opened a game-forcing 2C after two passes. North gave two negatives, but then gave strong pref-erence to clubs. Wightwick decided to attack, and leapt to 7C. If West tries to cash the wrong ace, the slam can make. Alas, it was never a chance and ended three down for –300.

♠ A9732 ♠ 8 ♥ J4 ♥ K9873 ♦ AJ ♦ K6 ♣ AK64 ♣ J9873

Dlr N ♠ 9 Vul Both ♥ KQ108 ♦ 9542

♣ 8654 ♠ 5 ♠ QJ732 ♥ A9532 ♥ J764 ♦ AKJ10 ♦ Q73 ♣ 1097 ♣ J ♠ AK10864 ♥ — ♦ 86 ♣ AKQ32

NW E S

♠ AQ54 ♥ Q7 ♦ J96

♣ A743 ♠ J962 ♠ 1073 ♥ A954 ♥ 10 ♦ Q8 ♦ A742 ♣ 1095 ♣ KQJ82 ♠ K8 ♥ KJ8632 ♦ K1053 ♣ 6

NW E S

25 Years Ago

Paul Lavings

Lockyer successful in recent funding – grant for dealing machineHelensvale and Southport bridge club now renamed Helensvale Bridge Club.Eacham Bridge Club now renamed Malanda Bridge Club.

Club News

QBA Mailing ListIf you wish to be put on the mailing list for news which is sent out about once a month, please email the manager.

manager@qldbridge.com

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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Canberra

ANZAC DAY SWISS TEAMSSaturday April 25$120 per teamStart: 9.30am

Director: Jan Peach

JUNE SWISS TEAMS

Open & Restricted <150 MPs as at

28/2/15Monday June 8$120 per teamStart: 9.30am

Director: Alan Gibson

BRISBANE ZONE GNOT

Gold Point Knockout Teams

Wednesday 10.30am, May 13, 20 & 27$120 per team (no

table fees)

QLD GRADED TEAMS

Sunday June 28$120 per teamStart: 9.30am

Director: Jan PeachGrade 1: OpenGrade 2: Below

Bronze LifeGrade 3: <150 MPs

All enquires and entries to QCBC: 3391 3241 - qcbc1@optusnet.com.au Details on the website: www.qcbc.org.au

National Seniors Teams

CONTINUING on from last year, David McLeish and I again teamed

up with Tony Hutton and Malcolm Carter for the National Seniors Teams in Canberra at the beginning of the Summer Teams. We started well, easily winning our first match, but then it got harder and we struggled for a while, losing 4 out of the next 5, before closing out with 3 wins to pull up to around our seed number.The event was won by BROWN (Terry Brown, Avi Kanetkar, Ron Klinger, Peter Buchen, Henry Christie and Queensland’s Bill Haughie). On board 3 in the first match we missed our best fit, but loose defence enabled David to get 4H home.

After 2D by David, I thought that my hand was too weak, and my suit too short, to rebid my spades, so I gave David preference to hearts, and he raised to game.A spade lead beats 4H out of hand, and a club will also give declarer little hope, but West gave David some leeway by leading a trump, and when East won the third round he switched to a diamond, and

now David was home, just losing 2 spades and a heart.Instead of bidding 4H, David could have investigated further by bidding 2S over 2H to show the club short-age, and I could have raised to 3S, since I did not have primary heart support.4S is an easier contract, but still re-quires careful play, as club forces make life difficult. At the other ta-ble South also got to 4H, and better defence restricted this contract to 9 tricks for a 10 IMP gain.

On this board David (played upside down) must have wondered what was going on when EW bid to 3NT after his 1S opening with a near-sol-id 6-card suit, and he undoubtedly placed me with a Yarborough!Obviously EW got their wires crossed, and David found this out when he cashed the top spades and found he could cash 6 tricks.West could have made 6 tricks by careful discarding and a club guess, but he was a bit rattled, and miss-guessed the clubs and finished up with only 5 tricks for 4 off and +400 to us.Interestingly, with clubs well placed for us, we are cold for 4S on the same club guess, so they had ac-tually sacrificed! David had thought about doubling, but if the bidding is to be believed, 3NT is cold.At the other table NS also missed their spade game, but neither Tony nor Malcolm thought they had a spade stop, so they stopped in 3D, making 9 tricks for +100 and 11 IMPs.

M 1 ♠ KJ862 Bd 3 ♥ K9 Dlr S ♦ 9764

Vul EW ♣ 9862 ♠ 43 ♠ AQ9 ♥ J84 ♥ Q107 ♦ 953 ♦ 862 ♣ AQ752 ♣ KJ98 ♠ 1075 ♥ A6532 ♦ AKQ74 ♣ —

NW E S

W N E S 1H P 1S P 2D P 2H P 4H All pass

M 1 ♠ AKQ1062 Bd 13 ♥ 82 Dlr N ♦ 7

Vul Both ♣ Q653 ♠ J54 ♠ 73 ♥ J3 ♥ AQ976 ♦ KJ982 ♦ AQ43 ♣ J102 ♣ K7 ♠ 98 ♥ K1054 ♦ 1065 ♣ A984

NW E S

W N E S 1S 2H P 2NT P 3NT All pass

Richard Wallis

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

17

SolutionHow do you play doubles at game-level or higher? Purely for penalties? Showing convertible values (suitable for defence or offence)? ‘Partner, do the right thing’ doubles? Clear understandings are desirable, but sometimes you want to use a double for one purpose and at other times for a different purpose. That makes it very tough for partner to judge what to do. Today’s deal arose in a National Open Teams:

The defence took the minor suit aces, but declarer had the rest for +650. The outcome was the same at the other table. Datum: N-S 370.East meant the double to show a very strong hand and ask West to ‘do what’s right’. West thought that East was showing enough strength to defeat 5H. If West bids 6D, this is –200 if doubled, while the defence can collect 500 against 6C doubled.

James O’Sullivan WinnersOverall Neville Francis, QCBCSilver Grand and above Neville Francis, QCBCGrand Malcolm Carter, QCBCGold Life Nikolas Moore, Toowong Bridge ClubSilver Life Diana McAlister, Townsville Bridge ClubBronze Life Tim Ridley, Noosa Bridge ClubLife Byron Longford, Toowoomba Bridge Club**National Terrence Sheedy,

Sessions: Mon 10.30 am 7.30 pm Tue 10.00 am 7.30 pm Wed 10.30 am 7.30 pm Thur 10.30 am Fri 10.00 am 7.30 pm Sat 1.00 pmSupervised: Mon 7.30 pm Fri 9.30 am

67 Ipswich Rd WoolloongabbaPh: 3391 3241 Email: qcbc1@optusnet.com.au

www.qcbc.org.au

QCBC

In spite of the adverse vulnerabil-ity, David bid 4H over the opening bid of 1S by West (Paul Lavings), but the vulnerability was favoura-ble for East, and he bid 4S without a flicker.I was tempted to go on to 5H, as it must be cheap but the Vulnerability was a bit daunting, and I had some defence, so I decided to hope we had enough between us to beat 4S and passed.When David led the ♥A and dummy tracked, with declarer ruffing, it was clear that 4S was cold, and 5H had 3 losers at most, but it was too late.Declarer did some investigating by running the clubs, which gave him an inferential count on David’s hand, so he played diamonds for 1 loser and scored up 11 tricks for –450 to us.At the other table the bidding contin-ued on to 5S, and declarer did not get the diamonds right, so that was –50 and 11 IMPs away. ■The full article, and others on the GCC, are available on the website.

M 2 ♠ 2 Bd 2 ♥ AQ976432 Dlr E ♦ 43

Vul NS ♣ J10 ♠ KJ954 ♠ Q10863 ♥ — ♥ K ♦ K976 ♦ Q105 ♣ AQ87 ♣ K943 ♠ A7 ♥ J1085 ♦ AJ82 ♣ 652

NW E S

W N E S P P 1S 4H 4S All pass

Bungle In The JungleSouth dealer : East-West vulnerable

What would you do as West with:♠ 875 ♥ 4 ♦ QJ10943 ♣ 975

W N E S 3H P 4H 5C P P 5H X P ?

Klinger’s Column

Dlr S ♠ AJ10643 Vul EW ♥ KQJ76 ♦ 5

♣ 3 ♠ 875 ♠ KQ2 ♥ 4 ♥ — ♦ QJ10943 ♦ A762 ♣ 975 ♣ AKQJ42 ♠ 9 ♥ A1098532 ♦ K8 ♣ 1086

NW E S

W N E S 3H P 4H 5C P P 5H X All pass

Mackay Bridge Club*National Eileen Li, QCBCNational Annette Hyland, Redcliffe Bridge Club*State Joan Jenkins, QCBCState Charlie Lu, Sunnybank Bridge Club*Regional Laraine Dolan, Cards Bridge CentreRegional Chris Stead, Mackay Bridge Club** Local William van Bakel, Cairns Bridge Club*Local Bill Bishop, Townsville Bridge ClubLocal Ellen Duggan, Yepooon Bridge ClubClub Donald Robertson, Noosa Bridge ClubGraduate Sam Bishop, Townsville Bridge ClubNil Master Brett Middelberg, Coolum Bridge Club

Ron Klinger

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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New Player Problem

What would you do as West with:1.

2.

Solution:1. Bid 1NT. Your choices are 1NT, 2C or 2D. Of these, 2D would be the worst choice. Generally prefer to bid no-trumps if your hand reasonably fits the bid. Your hand is not bal-anced, but partner has shown the hearts and so you need not worry about a stopper in hearts. Prefer a no-trump bid to a minor suit bid if the hand fits both.

2. Bid 2C. You lack a spade stopper for 1NT. Bidding 2C is much better than bidding 2D. ■

Courtesy of ronklingerbridge.com

20th Barrier Reef Congress Hilton Hotel, Cairns

June 5 – 8, 2015 Chief Director: Sean Mullamphy

An ABF Gold Point Event

Swiss Teams (Open and Restricted) Butler Swiss Pairs (Open, Restricted and Novice)

Tournament Organiser: William van Bakel 0414 430 145 E-Mail: brc@cairnsbridgeclub.org.au Web: www.qldbridge.com/brc

We had a great time at this event. We were so lucky to have Jim as a mentor, and he even helped the opposition! I am so glad I came and learnt a lot from it as well as

James Evans, Jennifer Finigan, Mary Simon and Robert Day

W N E S 1D 1S X P ?

QBA Teams-of-Three

having a fantastic day. Thanks for organizing this and I will be back with a team from Beenleigh next year.

Mary Simon

I am writing to thank the bridge community for its overwhelming generosity and support. We at Zephyr are staggered and delighted by the response. Individual acts of kindness, generosity and shar-ing of your own stories are too numer-ous to mention, but I want you to know, each of you is greatly appreciated.

Carmel Martin

Zephyr FoundationSupporting Domestic

Violence Shelters

♠ A7 ♥ 32 ♦ AJ643 ♣ KJ75

♠ 97 ♥ 73 ♦ AQ964 ♣ AK82

Womens/Senior Selection Trials April 11/12 and 18/19 entry form on website.

If you have the slightest touch of masochism, you'll love this game.

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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L I N E

Directors' Corner

Coming EventsMar 28-29 QBA Open Selection TrialsMar 29 Toowoomba Imp PairsApr 3-6 Townsville Pairs and TeamsApr 5-6 BBC Easter Pairs and Graded TeamsApr 11 Townsville PairsApr 11-12 QBA Selection Trials - Womens / SeniorsApr 11-12 Caloundra TeamsApr 12 Redland Novice TeamsApr 18-19 Gympie Pairs and TeamsApr 18-19 QBA Selection Trials - Womens / SeniorsApr 18-19 QBA Novice Pairs - YeppoonApr 24-26 Cleveland Bay Diggers CongressApr 25 Anzac Teams - QCBCApr 30-May 4 ABF Autumn NationalsMay 1-7 ABF Bridge for Brain ResearchMay 1-3 Mackay Pairs and TeamsMay 2-3 Hervey Bay Imp Pairs and TeamsMay 3 Northern Suburbs Imp PairsMay 3 Toowoomba Novice PairsMay 9 Surfers Paradise TeamsMay 16-17 QBA Mixed Pairs - ToowongMay 16 Townsville Novice PairsMay 17 Novice Imp Pairs - ToowongMay 17 Stanthorpe PairsMay 23 QBA ANC Participants DayMay 24 Sunshine Coast Graded TeamsMay 24 BBC Graded Imp PairsMay 30-31 Arana Imp Pairs and TeamsMay 31 Darling Downs Novice PairsJun 4-8 ABF VCC (Melbourne) Jun 5-8 2015 Barrier Reef Congress Cairns Jun 8 QCBC Teams with Restricted Section (<200mps)Jun 11 Noosa Imp Pairs (Thursday)Jun 13-14 Sunshine Coast Imp Pairs and TeamsJun 14 Toowong Swiss Imp Pairs with Rest Sec < 150 MPsJun 20 Gold Coast Graded Pairs Jun 20 Townsville TeamsJun 21 BBC Novice PairsJun 21 Gold Coast Graded Teams Jun 27 QBA Club Directors ExamJun 27-28 Goondiwindi PairsJun 28 Cleveland Bay Graded PairsJun 28 QBA Graded Teams - QCBC

JUNE 8 (noon)Contributions to:

33 Royal Pde Ashgrove 4060

Ph: 07 3366 1292Email: psquire@

lindabackceramics.com

D E A D

L I N E

Q B AEmail: manager@qldbridge.comPhone: 07 3351 8602Mobile: 0412 064 903Fax: 07 3103 4799 Website: www. qldbridge.com

AGREEMENTS to open semi- balanced hands with 1NT are

now possible as part of a Green Sys-tem. Semi-balanced hands have at most two doubletons but no single-tons or voids.Natural jump raises (pre-emptive or otherwise) in contested auctions no longer require an alert eg 1H (1S) 3H and 1H (X) 3H. This is regardless of strength and the key words are “natural” and “contested”. Bergen raises, fit showing jumps which are jumps showing the bid suit and confirming a fit for partner’s suit, inverted minors and the like still require an alert.It was obvious at the recent Gold Coast Congress that many presumed declaring sides are not calling the director before bringing their mistaken explanations and failures to alert to the attention of the opponents - see Law 75B. Calling the director is very important. Sometimes auctions may be re-opened and non-faced opening leads retracted thereby limiting the damage. When it is too late to change calls and plays based on misinformation (Law 21B3), and damage occurs, adjusted scores are the only remedy.Speaking of damage, Law 16B3 says that when a player has substantial reason to believe that his side has been damaged by an opponent’s use of unauthorised information, the time to call the director is at the end of play on the board. A footnote adds that it is not an infraction to call the Director earlier or later however it serves no purpose to call sooner because (a) it may be obvious when play ends that no damage has resulted and (b) damage cannot be measured until there is a result.The time the director ought to be called straight away is, for example, when a break in tempo is disputed.Rarely will both pairs at a table have the same systemic agreements. Sometimes there is a tendency for players to think that their own understandings are normal and anything different should be alerted

and even pre-alerted as unexpected. The strength of the basic non-forcing 1NT response has drawn some attention lately. While 6-9/10 is quite common, bridge knowledge suggests that other ranges are perfectly reasonable, particularly

after a weak NT opening, and should not be unexpected. A 1NT response that is forcing is alerted as are 1NT responses that do not show a stopper when RHO has overcalled the opening bid.

Jan Peach

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n J a n u a r y - M a r c h 2 0 1 5

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