 | PMH Bridge Club Newsletter |
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President’s Prognostications Gut Feeling or Gut-Wrenching? We had nine teams go down to Forster for the Great Lakes Congress - exactly one-sixth of the field which was a great achievement. I hope they will reciprocate for our May congress. Congratulations must surely go to the Neville team members who have been playing for less than a year - a courageous effort. I hope the experience spurs them onward and upward. I was reminded of a hand Kay played in the previous Forster congress. We were playing the team ranked No.3 and had just drawn with the top team and beaten the 4th team, so our confidence was high. Kay (S) opened 1S, and we used Roman Key Card Blackwood to find that we had all the Aces, the King and Queen of spades and ended up in 6S. West led the HQ, which Kay ducked. West then switched to a trump. Plan the play.
First step is to analyse the lead. Their system card said that they overlead all but you can see the Jack. Could be from shortage but it would be unusual to lead a singleton Q, and good players tend to steer away from doubleton leads. It seems the contract can be made by a finesse. But which one clubs or hearts? Anyway, Kay drew trumps ending in dummy. Next she led the CQ and when East did not cover, called for the CA - and guess what?? The CK dropped singleton! Of course Kay didn’t know about the stiff CK with West, but she said later she had a gut feeling West also had the HK. Surely players of this calibre would signal for a heart continuation if East had the king. At the other table the doomed Club finesse meant that the contract was one off. We won the match as a result of this 1530 IMP swing. Well done, Kay! Isn’t Bridge a wonderful game? Rowan Fouled Boards – Taking Care with the Hands A recent article in the ABF Newsletter by Laurie Kelso, a very experienced tournament director from the QBA, gave rise to discussions on whether Law 7 applies to players inspecting hands while sitting out. While the Match Committee believes it is not necessary to stop sit-out pairs looking at the boards, players are urged always to be very careful to replace each hand of 13 cards in the correct slot in the board. Sit-out pairs should not remove all four hands from the board at once, so there is less risk of a mistake being made. Members are reminded of Law 7B, requiring “each player to count his cards face down to be sure he has exactly thirteen” before inspecting his cards. Also note the provisions of 7C, which states that “each player should shuffle his original thirteen cards” before restoring them to the correct slot in the board.
Dinner at Port Piazza – Sat. 4th April This promises to be a fun night – do join the group looking forward to a delicious dinner in a marquee. More information on the noticeboard near the kitchen – get your name(s) up on the list soon! Alerting Regulations “It is an essential principle of the game of bridge that you may not have secret agreements with partner, either in bidding or in card play. Your agreements must be fully available and fully disclosed to your opponents. These Regulations set principles and guidelines for the approved alerting procedures.” This is the opening paragraph of the alerting regulations used by the ABF. They are found at the following web address: http://www.abf.com.au/events/tournregs/ABFAlertRegs083.pdf. The Regulations go on: “Your principle should be to disclose, not as little as you must, but as much as you can, and as comprehensibly as you can.” To me this means that you not only have to state the strength and suits of the bid but also any negative information. For example, if you don't open 2H with a void or 4 spades, this has to part of the explanation as well. Similarly, if you know that partner may have opened 2H with as few as 3 pts, then this also must be mentioned. Here is what Carol Briscoe has to say: “When partner makes a bid and conveys to you a message which the opposition may not understand, then that bid must be alerted. “If the opposition request information then you are required to give a full explanation, not just the name of the convention. or example: 1D (Pass) 2D - ALERT “You and your partner play inverted minors. If asked you are required to explain that: a) it promises 4+ diamonds b) 9+ points and c) denies a 4-card major. “It is not sufficient to say “inverted minor”. “And another: 1H (Pass) 1S 2NT -ALERT “You and your partner play unusual no trump. If asked you are required to say: a) weak - less than 10 pts b) 5/5 in the minors “If the opposition does not ask then you MUST NOT offer any explanation.”
News from Japan on the GFC Following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in North America and the run on Northern Rock in the UK, uncertainty has now hit Japan. In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to trim some of its branches. Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived. While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is reported to have taken a hit, though they remain in the black for now. Over at Karate Bank 500 staff got the chop and analysts report there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where it is feared some staff may get a raw deal. NOT a Psych Bid! A pair at the Gold Coast Congress had an amusing note on their system card: Occasional Senior Moments! Many of us could relate to that, I’m sure. Proposed trip to Snowy Mountains Robyn Griffiths has offered to organise a club trip to Narraburra Lodge at Perisher later this year. The program would include outdoor activities as well as bridge sessions, and perhaps tutorials if enough people are interested. The lodge would be booked for a week, possibly during the first half of October though that is not definite. Accommodation is limited to 21 people, though it may be possible to increase the size of the party to 24 by booking a 3-bed apartment at a nearby lodge. Have a look at the brochure on the noticeboard – and enter your name on the nearby sheet if you are interested.
| A Tale of One City D’Artagnan and his three trusted musketeers set forth in January to do battle in the tournament held at the palace of Cardinal Richelieu, where royalty was only exposed during the cut and thrust of the cards. The journey was arduous, but improvements to the King’s highways allowed most peasant villages to be by-passed with ease and our fine carriage proceeded most swiftly. A stop for light refreshments at a jolly little inn, quaintly signposted with a single yellow letter, allowed us to observe the populace which remained in ignorance of our forthcoming battle. Friendly verbal banter on the merits of the various forms of attack and defence to be used during the battle were actively discussed during the journey by certain musketeers. This prompted D’Artagnan to wonder how they had managed to do so well in the past. In any event it allowed the time to pass most pleasantly, D’Artagnan to snooze and the sad countryside, which looked as if the Sun King had arrived early, to be momentarily forgotten. Upon arrival, the hostelry turned out to be quite adequate and spacious for the four nights, with enough rooms and soft straw bedding to ensure a good sleep. The hostelry also had a thing called air-conditioning which was borrowed from the future and clearly showed us some of the disadvantages of living in the 17th Century. A palace coach was at our disposal for the to-ings and fro-ings, and vistas of this mighty capital during the short journey put us in good spirits for the forthcoming day. The palace turned out to be the Canberra Entertainment Centre, a vast edifice that could probably have housed the King’s army, but if I say 3 Jumbos you will get the picture. Again the wonders of air-conditioning held at bay the high Canberra temperatures, to the extent that some contestants wished they had brought their capes. Plentiful quantities of iced water, provided courtesy of the Cardinal’s private ice supply, allowed thirsts to be quenched while maintaining a clear head. This year our event in the tournament was split into various sections based on historical data, which meant that each battle was closely contested, no quarter given and with few easy pickings. The intervals gave time for much thought and repair of weapons. To restore spirits after a day of gruelling contests, the local villages of Kingston and Manuka provided a wonderful choice of eateries, even some from the exotic East whose wonders and tastes must be sampled to be believed. The day would end with some dairy fare, the odd bottle of winery produce and more friendly banter. This did allow D’Artagnan to occasionally escape to seek out the King’s group of wandering players, who were conveniently performing in the next room. A well-run tournament and a thoroughly enjoyable three days left us feeling that some more engagements would be quite nice, so maybe a tournament of longer duration next time, though looking at the numerical strength of the victors’ teams this would spoil a good story, as it would need to be D’Artagnan and the five musketeers.
Psyche (or psychic) Bids Our Match Committee, after discussing the subject of psychic bids, has decided to reintroduce the folder used some 12 or more years ago to record such bids. The MC believe the procedure for dealing with psyche bids should be: 1 The Director is called to the table to get details 2 The bidding slip and printout of the hands are attached to the Psychic Bids sheet. 3 Sheet is handed to the MC for review and recording. Directors are alerted to be on the watch for psyche bids and to report them whenever possible. To avoid confusion, a psychic bid is “a deliberate and gross misstatement of honour strength and/or suit length”. Psychic calls must not be based on any undisclosed partnership understanding or agreement, whether explicit or implicit. The psyche bidder’s partner should be completely unaware that the bid may be a radical departure from their system. Pairs using psyche bids must indicate this on their system card, eg. “occasional psychic bids”. See Law 40 – Partnership Understandings for more. Return of the Rule of 20 – now the Rule of 22 In Lesson 7 of your Beginners lessons you would have been introduced to the Rule of 20. When you are considering whether your hand is strong enough to open 1C, 1D, 1H or 1S in first or second position, ADD the length of your 2 longest suits to your HCP. When the total is 20 or more you should open the bidding at the 1-level. The Rule of 22 has the same requirements as above, but it is necessary to have 2 quick tricks as well. Q: What is a Quick Trick? A: A trick taken on the 1st or 2nd round of the suit. For example: AK 2 Quick Tricks Kx 1/2 QT KQ 1 QT KQJ 2 QT AQ 1.1/2 QT To sum up the Rule of 22: ADD: Length of 2 longest suits + HCP + QT If the total is 22, open the bidding. As always, there are some refinements – adjustments according to what is in your hand: * Subtract 1 point for each of the following: Singleton K, Q or J Doubleton KQ, KJ, QJ * Add 1 point 2 Tens, especially in 3-card or longer suits with a higher honour * If most of your points are in Aces and Kings, upgrade your hand * If most of your points are in Queens and Jacks, downgrade your hand Examples are: S-K H-QJ D-Q5432 C-Q5432 10 HCP – 2 (singleton K, doubleton QJ) + 10 (5D + 5C) + 0 (no QT) = 18 – Pass S-AQT98 H-AT98 D-T98 C-T 10 HCP + 2 (2 Tens with higher honours) + 9 (5S + 4H) + 2 QT = 23 – Open 1 Spade. S-AT85 H-A72 ¨D-QT954 C-4 10 HCP + 2 (2 Tens with higher honours) + 9 (4S + 5D) + 2 QT = 23 – Open 1 Diamond. S-QJ H-K6543 D-KJ6 C-Q87 10 HCP – 1 (doubleton QJ) + 8 (5H + 3D) + 1QT (2 Ks) = 18 – Pass! S-Q432 H-QJ65 D-QJ7 C-A4 12 HCP – 1 (too many Qs and Js) + 8 (4S + 4H) + 1 QT = 20 = Pass. If you find the refinements of the additions and subtractions too complicated and are happy playing the simple version of the RULE OF 20, make sure your values are working, eg. HCP in 2 long suits and no stray Qs and Js in short suits. However, the RULE OF 22 is a great method of hand evaluation when opening the bidding, so give it a go!! Good bridging – Yvonne C. FOR SALE – Printer Cartridges Canon 24 Twin-Pack Black – Ref. BCI-24 If you have a printer that can use these cartridges, they are a good buy. Brand new, unused. Cost $80 – sell for $20. See Daphne or Robert. Newsletter by Email Rowan is hopeful that he will be able to distribute this issue by email, thus saving a whole forest of trees, not to mention photocopying costs. If it works, it will operate on an “opt out” basis. If you don’t want to receive future issues by email, please let Margaret Walker know. Rowan will also try to put the Newsletter on the club’s website. That’s why he’s designed a new masthead for our newsletter, so it’s website-friendly. If you like it, please tell him so – must have taken him hours. Then he loaded it onto his USB stick, attached it to his car keys and went swimming with his keys in his pocket!! More hours at the keyboard to reinvent the wheel. |
