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Bedfordshire Bridge Association
No.252 December 2016
BULLETIN
Bulletin Editor: Peter Scott
21 Salters Way, Dunstable, Beds LU6 1BT
Tel: 01582 668488 or 07956 820530
Email: [email protected]
2
In this issue:
Declarer Play Quiz .................2 Lionel Black Speaks Out.......17
Do you feel lucky partner? ......3 Two-Suited Overcalls...........18
Recent Results ......................4 Answer to Defence Quiz .......22
Picture Gallery.......................5 Answer: Do you feel lucky? ..25
Alan Oddie’s Defence Quiz ......6 Director Please! ..................26
Play this for your life! .............8 Yo! Dudes ..........................28
Trumped by Jocelyn Shaffer ....9 Freda Cranfield ...................30
Bob Hamman Part 2............. 10 Answer to Declarer Quiz.......31
The Bridge Party.................. 16 Answer to ‘Play for your life’ .31
YOUR BULLETIN REPS
Bedford................ John Hurst Milton Keynes....... Janet Marsh
Cranfield .........Erika Sharrock Wardown ............Anna Bartlett
Leighton B. ........Colin O’Hara
Bulletin Proof Readers: Alan Cooke and Peter Taylor
The Cool Winter Declarer Play Quiz
♠ ♥♦♣
K109765 872 KJ75 -
♠♥♦♣
AQJ84 A64 A82 92
West holds 8 clubs
and 1 spade and
leads ♣K
East holds
♦Q1096(xx)
South West North East
1♠ 4♣ 4♠ 5♣
X Pass 5♠ End
The Auction:
After South opens 1♠, a competitive auction follows and you are
pushed one level further than you would have liked. West leads the
♣K and it’s over to you with the clues shown above …
Answer on page 31
3
Fowl Play?
The National Bridge Team was practicing
when a large turkey came strutting into the
room and sat down at the table. “Do you
mind if I play?”
The players initially humoured the bird but pretty soon they were
awestruck as the turkey bid perfectly and pulled off amazing plays.
This caught the team captain’s attention “You're terrific! Sign up for
the team and we will play in the National League, I'll see to it that you
get a huge bonus if we win."
"Forget the bonus," the turkey said, "All I want to know is this: Does
the season go past Christmas?"
By Ron Davis
You are playing in the club duplicate. Your
partner, a reasonable card player, opens
1NT (announced by you as 12-14, or
thereabouts!) first in hand.
This is doubled by your right
hand opponent (almost
certainly the best player in
the club). You hold:
What do you do? Your methods are that redouble by you forces
partner to bid 2♣ allowing you to correct to a 5-card suit or longer,
and Pass by you forces partner to redouble allowing you to bid 4-card
suits in ascending order or to Pass if you think you have enough.
The question you have to ask yourself, dear reader, is ‘Are you feeling
lucky?’.
Turn to page 25 when you’ve made your mind up
♠♥♦♣
AJ85 104 A108765 4
4
Date and Event Winners and high achievers
9th July
Championship Pairs B Final 2nd: Eric & Wendy Audsley - 55.4%
Summer Seniors’ Congress
Eastbourne
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
31st July
Swiss Pairs 1st: Ron Davis & Bill Taylor - 173 VPs
Scarborough Congress
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
24th July 1st: Janis Maurins & David Woulds’
Glos & Here GP Swiss Teams team with 108 VPs
Ross-on-Wye
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
EBED Autumn Sim. Pairs:
6th September @ Bedford BC 12th: Liz Varga & Les Calver - 64.8%
7th September @ MKBC 9th: Janet & Derek Marsh - 64.9%
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
Beds & Northants Congress:
10th September. Pairs 1st: Ron Davis & Adrian Knight 65.1%
11th September. GP Teams 2nd: Andrew & Pam Mason; Peter &
Judi Malpass - 90 VPs
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
13th October 1st: David Woulds & Monica Lucy
BBA Mixed Pairs with 61.5%
Wilstead
♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠
15th October
Two Stars Pairs Final 5th Overall: David Woulds & Janis
EBU Autumn Congress Maurins with 53%
Peterborough
Recent Results
5
Ron Davis (on right) and
Bill Taylor (on left) being
presented with the Swiss
Pairs Trophy at the
Scarborough Congress.
Runners-up in the
Swiss Teams at
the Beds &
Northants
Congress were
(from the left)
Andrew & Pam
Mason, Trevor
Thrower (Vice-
Chair of Northants
BA), Judi & Peter
Malpass
David Woulds &
Monica Lucy (on
right) won the
BBA Mixed Pairs.
Pictured with Liz
Varga - BBA Vice
Chairman.
6
I think I’m unusual amongst bridge players. (Answers on a postcard,
please.) Most of the people I’ve come across during 50 years or so of
playing the game simply long for the time when they’re going to be
playing the next dummy. However, the part of the game I enjoy most
is defending. Although you don’t know the combined assets in the
defending hands, you do know if declarer’s suits are breaking and you
have information from the bidding, from declarer’s play, from your
partner’s signals and from how he has defended so far. Generally this
gives the defenders more to go on than declarer and I enjoy the
challenge of trying to put that information to good use.
Moreover, I have the advantage over the dummy players in that my
favourite bit comes up twice as often as theirs. So, for a change, all
my problems in this Bulletin relate to defence.
1. You are West, game all teams, dealer
South, who opens 1NT (13 – 15) and is raised
to 3NT by North. You elect to lead the ten of
spades, and this is what you see:
Declarer wins the ace in dummy, partner
playing the two. You are playing standard
count signals, so this shows an odd number.
Declarer then plays the two of clubs to the
three, ten and your jack. How do you
continue?
2. Your opponents are vulnerable and you open
1NT (15 – 17) as dealer, East. After two passes
North bids 2♠. You pass and South bids 3♥, passed out. Partner leads the two of hearts:
Your queen is headed by the ace and declarer
runs the nine of spades to your jack. Since you
have the ace of diamonds, there is no rush to
play a second trump and you switch to the king
♠ ♥♦♣
A86432 85 Q A432
♠♥♦♣
KJ7 Q94 AJ85 KQJ
♠ ♥♦♣
AQ6 Q72 J7 K8542
♠♥♦♣
107 AJ83 AQ82 J76
7
of clubs. That goes 7,5,2 (standard count signal from partner). You
continue with the queen of clubs, and that’s ducked too (declarer
playing the seven and partner the eight). Now what?
3. You are East, love all teams, dealer
South. Your opponents are playing 5-card
majors and with your side silent they bid 1♠ (South) – 3♠ – Passed Out. Partner leads the king of diamonds and you see:
How are you going to beat this?
4. You are vulnerable playing teams. You
open 1♥ as East. South overcalls 1♠, partner bids 2♥ and North 4♠ which is
passed out. Partner dutifully puts the two
of hearts on the table.
What do you do after winning the first trick
with the ace of hearts?
Answers on page 22
♠ ♥♦♣
Q1096 J9863 87 AQ
♠♥♦♣
KJ3 Q1074 A10643 9
♠ ♥♦♣
Q1064 J KQJ98 K93
♠♥♦♣
A5 AQ10643102 AQ7
8
“Quit talking and let’s play bridge” “Can I be your partner?”
* * * BRIDGE BABIES * * *
With no opposition bidding, you reach the
not unreasonable contract of 6♣ by South. West leads the king of diamonds to your
ace and you survey the dummy. You have
a possible heart finesse for your 12th trick
or a two-way finesse in spades will also
bring home the bacon. However, this is not without
risk: if the heart finesse fails and you guess wrongly on
the spades you are down. This hand was Board 20,
played at Regis club on 23rd August at Match-Pointed
Pairs but let’s assume you are playing rubber bridge or
in a teams match and your life depends on making the
contract (the overtrick is unimportant). How will you
go about your business?
Answer on page 31
♠ ♥♦♣
AJ3 Q1042 95 9542
♠♥♦♣
K1096 AJ A AKQJ108
N
S
By Peter Scott
9
To be sung:
Nellie the Elephant took her cards
And said hello to the others
Then she sat down with a
trumpety trump
Trump, trump, trump
Nellie the Elephant played her
cards
Just like a grand master
She played like she’d never before
Trump trump trump
Then Nellie opened two diamonds
Slam might be on
It was a good start she knew in
her heart
That she would have some fun
Nellie the Elephant made the slam
And then another straight after
She played like she had never
before
Trump trump trump
And very soon she was winning
Gaining overtricks
The opps were sore as they put
up with more
They said the match was fixed
Nellie the Elephant played her
cards
And she couldn’t help grinning
She knew she was good and her
partner understood
Trump trump trump
The opps were visibly fuming
The way Nellie played
They said they’d never play again
If Nellie the Elephant stayed
So Nellie the Elephant packed her
trunk
And said goodbye to the others
Off she dashed with a trunk full of
cash
Trump trump trump
Trumped!
by Jocelyn Shaffer
Partner Wanted
Partner wanted to play duplicate bridge on any evening –
twice a week – playing location within a 10 mile radius of
Luton. System: 5-card majors (SAYC). A good Acol
player can learn SAYC in a week or so.
Contact: Samee Qayum – 07932 566119 or [email protected]
To the Optimist, Pessimist and Realist,
While you were all busy arguing about the glass of water, I drank it.
Signed: The Opportunist.
10
Bob Hamman (1938 -) Oft quoted as the greatest
player in the world, perhaps of all time, the
seemingly unremarkable, quietly intense
septuagenarian from Dallas has the unruffled
ability to play bridge like a human computer by
not sorting his hand. He is so good that Paul
Burka has said “How do I know he is? It is that every time I have
played him, he has inspired the same emotion: FEAR”.
How it all began: Bob says it all started harmlessly enough. “A friend
asked if I played bridge. I said ‘No, but I’ve seen you play hearts and
other games and I fancy I can beat you at bridge too, so what are the
rules?’ Thus I made a fool of myself and thought: Damn, there’s a lot
to this game.” So, the long journey began, sharpening his skills
including the game’s psychological side by playing money bridge for
stakes he could ill afford. Within five years he was competing with the
best in the USA.
This mind set is probably testimony to the fact that in 1986 Bob
created SCA Promotions, a unique prize-indemnity insurer which is
now one of the world's largest companies for prize insurance.
Never, ever, give up: There is
a famous sports saying, it ain’t
over till it’s over, first uttered by
American baseball legend Yogi
Berra and it is so true in bridge.
The following hand was played
by Bob, as South, over forty
years ago, against Lew Mathe
who later became Bob’s partner.
After three passes, Bob, opened
a strong 1NT and the Stayman
No.8 Bob Hamman Pt.2 Gleaned by Bob Denby
♠ ♥♦♣
Q654 J876 K84 K3
♠♥♦♣
J109 AKQ4 52 9876
♠♥♦♣
72 1093 AQ1073 1054
♠♥♦♣
AK83 52 J96 AQJ2
11
response led to the spade game. Mathe, sitting West, began with the
two top hearts, East giving count. Bob deduced from the way the
hearts were played that Mathe held the top three but not the diamond
ace, as he would have opened, and probably not the queen of
diamonds as well. Therefore the contract was doomed if West
switched to diamonds. But Bob never gives up and when, at trick
three, Mathe played the spade jack, won in dummy, Bob then ruffed a
heart, cashed the spade ace and ran four clubs throwing dummy’s
diamonds. This was the position with four tricks to play:
When Bob played a diamond to
the king, East was hamstrung. If
he won and played the queen,
that would be ruffed in dummy
and a spade to the king would
mean Bob would have the
diamond jack for his tenth trick.
Under-leading the queen would
result in a similar outcome with
the jack winning, the trump king
then drawing West’s last trump,
leaving the final trump in dummy
as the tenth trick.
Even allowing for the defensive error, Bob had made an apparent
hopeless contract.
Bob’s defensive genius at
work: The following hand is
from Bobby Wolff’s book of his
favourite deals. South ended
up in the contract of five
diamonds doubled, having
opened a club and East/West
had bid to four spades. Wolff
on lead led the spade seven,
dummy played low and Bob
reading the card as Bobby’s
lowest, correctly inserted the
♠ ♥♦♣
65 J K -
♠♥♦♣
9 Q 52 -
♠♥♦♣
- - AQ107 -
♠♥♦♣
K - J96 -
♠ ♥♦♣
Q62 1098742 J85 7
♠♥♦♣
K1087 QJ3 43 KQ108
♠♥♦♣
AJ9543 AK5 1092 2
♠♥♦♣
- 6 AKQ76 AJ96543
12
jack which declarer trumped. Declarer then played ace and another
club, ruffed in dummy with the diamond eight. Now what would you
do in the East seat? Over-ruff and then play a heart, a spade, or even
a diamond? Bob did none of the above. He discarded a spade!
Declarer was in dummy. East still had three trumps. What can he do?
If he crosses to hand in trumps and ruffs another club, he is finished,
as ruffing another spade would result in loss of control and the
contract would be down three for -800. If Bob had over-ruffed, which
many would do, declarer would be relieved to get out for only one off.
For his memorable defence, Hamman’s team won by 7 IMPs and went
on to win this this tight US Trials match by just 5 IMPs.
One for the notebook:
After a four heart opening
by West, South arrives in
the small diamond slam. On
the lead of the heart ace,
Bob in the East seat
dropped the king. West
continued with the heart
queen which declarer ruffed
with the ace and Bob
followed suit with the nine.
After a lengthy pause,
declarer led the diamond
two and put up the king -
sadly wrong, and another contract bit the dust. So, the question is,
how many lesser players would do that? Plays like this are certainly
not everyday occurrences, but they tend to confirm that there’s
always something new to learn about this wonderful game called
bridge. But here is another for the notebook.
In the final session of the 2010 ACBL NABC Orlando: Teams - Senior
Knockout there was a big swing on one board (see the hand shown)
for Bob and Zia Mahmood, playing on the Meltzer Team. A simple
auction where South opened a club, Zia as West bid a diamond,
North, two hearts, a “mixed raise” showing club support along with an
invitational raise in hearts. Bob naturally jumped to four spades with
♠ ♥♦♣
AKJ104 5 A2 AQ1092
♠♥♦♣
52 AQJ7632 - J875
♠♥♦♣
98763 K9 10754 K4
♠♥♦♣
Q 1084 KQJ9863 63
13
his nice 8-card suit and
neutral vulnerability,
blocking out the likely
heart fit. South doubled
with 15 HCP and spade
tenaces behind Bob.
In the Closed Room East
went one off doubled in
three spades – a risky
proposition since South
opened 1NT and North
held game-going values.
South led the heart ace and North gave an ambiguous signal with the
five. As a result, South switched to ace and another diamond, figuring
partner was looking for a ruff.
Winning with the king, Bob saw an opportunity to set up the diamond
suit if they split 3-3 North-South, with the club ace as an entry. After
ruffing the third round with the spade ten, Bob then sneakily played
the spade five, sure that the finesse was pointless. Finding his
subterfuge had succeeded as inexplicably South had played the four,
Bob gratefully cashed the spade ace dropping the jack, with the king
outstanding. Bob entered dummy with the club ace to play a winning
diamond, pitching the losing heart, to make his doubled vulnerable
game, and garner a 14 IMP swing.
How about you? Would you have Bob’s flair, creative vision, and
steady nerves, to play the spade five?
Hamman's Law is one of Bob's popular contributions to bridge. The
adage says, "If you have a bidding decision to make, bid 3NT if it's a
plausible choice."
Bols Tip: His second, is “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” That
is, when you are playing bridge, concentrate on what cards you should
play or bids you should make and not waste your energy on what your
partner should or should not do.
♠ ♥♦♣
3 KQ954 652 KQ92
♠♥♦♣
2 J632 KJ1073 A85
♠♥♦♣
AQ1098765 108 94 6
♠♥♦♣
KJ4 A7 AQ8 J10743
14
Apologies or Revenge
When you’re the victim of a
lucky declarer who takes two
or three finesses to score a
game or slam, the declarer
will often apologise
afterwards. A typical response
being “no problem, just
swings and roundabouts” or
something similar. In the long
run, the cards will equal out;
if you have patience, you will
be able to exact revenge
against the declarer who gave
you a bad result. On one such
occasion in a Vanderbilt Team
match Soloway and Goldman
were up against Bob Hamman and Bobby Wolff. On a previous hand,
Hamman had to rely on a hundred-to-one shot to make a slam
contract. Then less than an hour later, Soloway took his revenge by
scoring a seemingly impossible doubled game contract. Of course,
these two pairs facing each other were all veterans and friends, since
they played for many years together as members of the famous Dallas
Aces. Now they were opponents and when friends are opponents,
they may joke a bit at the table but their will to win becomes even
greater than usual for some strange reason.
After two passes, Soloway as South bid one club and Wolff over-called
one heart. Goldman was North and jumped to three hearts, a splinter
bid in support of clubs. In this case, the splinter showed massive
trump support for partner because one club could have been made on
a three-card suit.
Bob, East, holding a terrific hand, bid the heart game. Soloway,
appreciating his good trumps and weak heart holding facing
shortness, now bid five clubs and the competitive auction ended when
Hamman doubled the final contract and everyone passed. (Note with
careful play, West can make twelve tricks in hearts, with two jack
finesses.)
Goldman
♠ ♥♦♣
J106 7 AJ5 Q65432
Wolff Hamman
♠♥♦♣
Q4 KQ1063 K964 109
♠♥♦♣
A987 A954 Q10872 -
♠♥♦♣
K532 J82 3 AKJ87
Soloway
15
The opening lead was the heart king. Bob allowed that to win because
he did not mind if partner shifted, but Wolff continued with another
heart at trick two which was ruffed in dummy. Soloway now took
stock. He could see only two distributions that would allow him to
make his contract: (1) the ace-queen of spades doubleton in the East
hand and (2) the queen doubleton in the West hand. Can you see
how he made his contract?
He proceeded to strip the hand of red cards. He cashed the diamond
ace and ruffed a diamond. Then he drew two rounds of trumps,
ending in dummy and ruffed another diamond. Next came his last
heart, ruffed in dummy. Finally he led the spade six from dummy. It
was important to lead the six and not an honour. Hamman followed
with the seven and Soloway put up the king. His only chance to make
the hand was queen-doubleton on his left, so he played for it. After
winning the king he played another spade and Wolff had to win his
queen and provide a ruff and discard. Whatever red suit Wolff exited
with, declarer could ruff in hand while discarding a spade from
dummy. (If Soloway led the jack or ten of spades instead of the six,
Wolff would play the queen under the king, unblocking the spades.)
Notice that if Hamman overtakes the heart at trick one to play a low
spade (which is quite a reasonable defence), declarer will still succeed
if he rises with the king. He can then strip the hand and exit with a
spade, end-playing West.
At the end of this hand, Soloway turned to Hamman and said, “Now
we’re even.” Hamman replied, “Wait ‘til next year!”
At the recent 2016 World Bridge Games, the Senior Teams provided
the 30th World Championship medal for Bob Hamman. He is now a full
ten medals ahead of the next two players (Bobby Wolff and Giorgio
Belladonna) on the all-time list. Well then, next year, one who bests
the boys. Warrior yes, but no Amazon.
16
It is clear from this 1932 Punch magazine cartoon that apart from the
currency, nothing much changes at the bridge table! - Ed
The luck of the draw
“Why the hell didn’t you trump trick 5.” “Heavens, man! Couldn’t you lead your knave?.”
“Why the devil did you want to finesse that heart?”
“That’s it - Make me go to bed with the ace of clubs!”
THE BRIDGE PARTY
Farewell to two-pounds-eighteen-and-six “Good-bye, and thanks awfully; such
an enjoyable afternoon!”
“How kind of you to invite me.”
17
Lionel Black is Back!
Hi folks! It’s Lionel Black from Leighton Buzzard here again. My wife
Lottie and I, and our friends Martin & Mary King from MK, Bill & Ben
from Bedford, Bertie Beckett from Bedford, Walter from Wardown and
Caroline Carter from Cranfield would all like to thank Jane Jenson
(from Jersey?) for featuring us in her article in April’s Bulletin. As
County Director Jane does an excellent job of running the county’s
tournaments, often single handedly. Speaking of which, why don’t
more of you enter county events? It is invariably the same thirty or
forty players who turn up, which from a total membership of over 300
is rather disappointing. I’m sure the editor will award a cheap bottle of
wine for the best reply. Shining exceptions are relative newcomers
Stephen & Jocelyn Binks who as well as entering local events, spent
three days in August at the Eastbourne Really Easy Congress, gaining
valuable experience and winning one of the team sessions. Well done
to them.
On a topic associated with the laws, I have noticed a peculiar
phenomenon. Whenever declarer incorrectly leads from hand instead
of from dummy and their lead out of turn is accepted by a defender,
why do they then object so vehemently? After all it must have been
the card they intended to play at the time but no, now it has been
accepted by the enemy it has somehow become the worst lead in the
world and they want to retract it and play from dummy instead. All
very strange. (Maybe when the opponents accept the lead out of turn,
they realize they must have made a mistake? Ed)
Returning to Jane’s article, one of the downsides to our new found
fame was having our mistakes exposed to public gaze with the
perception that we are poor players. Bill and Ben from Bedford are
particularly miffed as they have been dropped from the County ‘C’
Team while Caroline Carter from Cranfield has only just started
showing her face again at her local bridge club. To counter this
erroneous impression, I should tell you that Bertie Beckett from
Bedford executed a perfect squeeze and throw-in only the other day.
A Letter to the Editor
18
Normal overcalls tend to be single-suited hands of various strengths
and everyone is familiar with their own particular style and strength
requirements. We all use 3-suited overcalls; they are called take-out
doubles. Not everyone uses two-suited overcalls but when you come
across them you will find all sorts. Some players use them with weak
and intermediate strength, others either weak or strong but not
intermediate.
The latter style is recommended independently by both Andrew
Kambites and Brian Senior. It is thought that this enables the bidder
to show a wider range of hands with more success. Many players use
them whatever the strength of their hand.
Michaels Cue Bids – simple version as in advanced Standard
English Acol. Normal range for points is 8-15.
• A 2♣ overcall of 1♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ spades.
• A 2♦ overcall of 1♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ spades.
• A 2♥ overcall of 1♥ shows 5+ spades and an unspecified minor
(5+ clubs OR diamonds)
• A 2♠ overcall of 1♠ shows 5+ hearts and an unspecified minor
(5+ clubs OR diamonds)
Responses to 2♣/♦
2♥ is a non-forcing sign-off. May have 0 points, since the Michaels
overcall is a forcing bid. Note that with equal support for both majors
(e.g. ♠xxx ♥xxx), the cheaper suit (hearts) should be bid. 2♠ is also a non-forcing sign-off. Raise partner’s suit with good support at equal and adverse
vulnerability. Raise to the level of the fit (as per the Law of Total
Tricks) when non-vulnerable versus vulnerable.
Responses to 2♥/♠
• A 2♠ reply to 2♥ is a non-forcing sign-off. • 3♥ reply to 2♠ is a natural sign-off. Non-forcing.
An extract from Chris Watson’s new book entitled
‘Bridge from Square 1’
♥ ♠ ♣ ♦
19
• A 2NT response asks for partner’s unknown minor suit and
shows 8+ points. The hand could be game or slam going
searching for a two-suit fit.
• A bid of 3♣ asks partner to either Pass or correct to his minor
and shows a poor hand with fewer than 8 points.
Unusual No Trump – used with Michaels cue bids
• A 2NT overcall of 1♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds.
• A 2NT overcall of 1♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs.
• A 2NT overcall of 1♥ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs
• A 2NT overcall of 1♠ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs
This is easy to remember as it always shows the two lowest
unbid suits.
The full competition version of Michaels cue bids is not shown here but
is useful in defending against the now universally popular weak two-
bids in Modern Acol and Standard American. Weak twos are pre-
emptive in nature and thus cue bids must be made at the 3-level. The
meanings remain the same as shown previously.
Modified Ghestem (Michaels style)
Probably the most common two-suited overcall is Michaels. The big
disadvantage of Michaels is when partner’s bid shows only one of his
suits. Modified Ghestem does not suffer from this disadvantage.
Ghestem Cue Bids and the Unusual No Trump
• A 2♣ overcall of 1♣ shows 5+ spades and 5+ hearts.
• A 2♦ overcall of 1♦ shows 5+ spades and 5+ hearts.
• A 2♥ overcall of 1♥ shows 5+ spades and 5+ diamonds.
• A 2♠ overcall of 1♠ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds.
• A 2NT overcall of 1♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds.
• A 2NT overcall of 1♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs.
• A 2NT overcall of 1♥ or 1♠ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs.
• A 3♣ overcall of 1♣ shows 5+ spades and 5+ diamonds.
• A 3♣ overcall of 1♦ shows 5+ spades and 5+ clubs.
• A 3♣ overcall of 1♥ shows 5+ spades and 5+ clubs.
• A 3♣ overcall of 1♠ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs.
20
Let us examine an example:
North is dealer with N/S
vulnerable: The bidding using
Michaels has gone as follows:
The bidding using Modified
Ghestem goes:
The great advantage here is that the responder to the Ghestem
overcall knows both of his partner’s suits and is not put off by South’s
pre-emptive raise.
Wow! How on earth am I going to remember all of that lot! Not as
difficult as it first appears! The cue bid always shows the two most
senior unbid suits. The unusual no trump always shows the two most
junior unbid suits. The 3♣ bid always shows the extreme unbid suits
and will include clubs if it has not been bid. In previous versions of
Modified Ghestem the meanings of the cue bid and the 3♣ bid were
reversed and it was easy to get into a mess if partner forgot the
system and thought that your 3♣ bid was a pre-empt in clubs. It
happened to me once and I ended up playing in a contract of 5♣ with
a 2:1 fit in clubs. The opponents could hardly restrain themselves
during the play and especially at the end when we were 6 off and 4♠ was making 11 tricks. Also with this previous version, it gave rise to
more than one quarter of director calls at green-point competitions.
The Michaels style Ghestem version has the advantage of nearly
always being failsafe.
How strong is a Ghestem bid? As with Michaels, it is probably better to play it either weak or strong
but not intermediate. Weak hands are 0-12 and strong hands are 16
plus. Many players play it with hands of any strength as shapely
♠ ♥♦♣
985 AQ1086 KQ9 Q6
♠♥♦♣
32 4 A7542 A9754
♠♥♦♣
KQJ76 32 6 KJ1083
♠♥♦♣
A104 KJ975 J1083 2
North East South West
1♥ 2♥ 4♥ End
North East South West
1♥ 3♣ 4♥ 5♣
End
21
hands are often much stronger in play. With intermediate hands it is
preferable to overcall with the senior suit and rebid the junior suit if
the chance arises. How does partner know if you have the weak or
strong version? With the latter, the overcaller will bid again when the
opportunity arises whereas the weak overcaller will be reluctant to say
anything further. Please be aware that Ghestem is played also as
weak and intermediate; strong hands of this type make use of the
takeout double. Make sure that you and your partner are on the
same wavelength.
Other uses of Modified Ghestem Nowadays many players use weak two bids and pre-emptive three
bids. When you cue bid the opening weak two or three bid, it shows
the two highest unbid suits with at least 5:5. You cannot use either
the unusual no trump at the 2 or 3-levels or the 3♣ bid as they are used as part of your normal defence to pre-empts. Let us examine an
example:
The bidding using Ghestem has gone
as opposite:
The bidding using takeout doubles
goes as below right: Similarly if North had opened a weak
two in diamonds because of the
vulnerability, 3♦ would have been the
Ghestem bid and the heart game
would have been found.
♠ ♥♦♣
85 J42 AQ108653 2
♠♥♦♣
3 A96 J42 KQ10874
♠♥♦♣
KQJ76 KQ1083 96 A
♠♥♦♣
A10942 75 K J9653
North East South West
3♦ 4♦ Pass 4♥
End
North East South West
3♦ X Pass 4♣
End
22
Answers to Alan Oddie’s Defence Quiz on Page 6
1. Declarer’s play in the club suit only makes any sense if he is
missing the queen, and since declarer has at least 13 of the missing
points, your partner can have at most the jack of spades in other
picture cards. A switch to either red suit does not look immediately
attractive so should you play a second spade to stay passive? Well,
that’s unlikely to be good enough. For example, even if declarer has
only three hearts he will be able to win the spade switch in hand and
play a heart to the queen to set up a trick in that suit. When the
queen holds, he will run his clubs and can succeed in a number of
ways depending upon your discards.
To beat this contract you need tricks from the diamond suit and you
must hope partner has four (or five) to the ten. The only way to cater
for that holding is by switching to the ace and queen of diamonds.
When I defended this hand it
was actually pairs, not teams.
Then, a switch to diamonds is
not so attractive in case declarer
has K10x(x), and I did play a
second spade after winning the
second trick with the jack of
clubs. Declarer won in hand and
ran the nine of hearts! (It’s much
better to play a heart to the
queen.) Had the nine lost to the
jack, a switch to diamonds would
have beaten the contract no
matter who held the ace and
queen. But his luck was in, and who am I to argue with success?
Note that a low card from either red suit at trick one presents declarer
with his contract. In these days of super-powerful computers,
simulations have shown that leading from broken four-card suits is
generally a losing tactic in the long run.
2. Declarer’s play in the spade suit marks him with a doubleton and
since he was threatening simply to draw trumps and ruff out the
♠ ♥♦♣
AQ6 Q72 J7 K8542
♠♥♦♣
107 AJ83 AQ82 J76
♠♥♦♣
J9532 64 10653 Q3
♠♥♦♣
K84 K1095 K94 A109
23
spades, you switched to clubs to knock out his entry to dummy.
Declarer is now marked with a 2-6-2-3 distribution (he would not have
introduced a 5-card heart suit at the 3-level at this vulnerability after
you’ve opened a strong 1NT) so playing a third club won’t help.
Declarer will just win in dummy, draw trumps and cross to the ace of
spades to cash his long club. Playing a spade won’t work either.
Declarer will have seen your signals and will know clubs are breaking
3-3, so he just draws trumps and cashes the clubs. Obviously playing
a trump is no use, so that only leaves diamonds. Partner is marked
with the king (no 2♥ overcall from South), so two rounds of diamonds
will force dummy to ruff. Then declarer can only get back to his hand
by ruffing a black card and if your partner has the ten of hearts, you
will have promoted a trump trick for your side.
Note partner’s lead of the two of
trumps rather than the ten. This
hand is a good illustration of
why, if you choose to lead from
a doubleton trump, you should
lead the small one. Equally, if
you and your partner have
agreed to signal length as part of
your defensive methods, you
should play ‘reverse’ signals in
the trump suit so that you play
small from a doubleton:
dropping the jack or ten from a
doubleton (or even the nine or
eight in some circumstances) can ruin the chance of a trump
promotion.
3. Declarer will probably only have five spades. (With six he might
well have bid game.) In that case you will only make one trump trick
because declarer’s correct play in the suit is to run the queen (or the
ten) from dummy. So, you have one trump trick, probably two
diamonds and no clubs. Two more tricks might come from hearts if,
for example, declarer has Kx. However, if you have two heart tricks
they can never run away and if declarer has instead Ax you’ll need
another trick from somewhere else. A club ruff is your best hope, and
since that might not be obvious to your partner you should overtake
♠ ♥♦♣
A86432 85 Q A432
♠♥♦♣
Q5 102 K97642 985
♠♥♦♣
KJ7 Q94 AJ85 KQJ
♠♥♦♣
109 AKJ763103 1076
24
the king of diamonds and switch to a club yourself. When you win
your trump trick you’ll be able to put partner in with the queen of
diamonds to score your ruff. Then you can just exit in hearts and wait
for the setting trick.
Declarer wins the club switch
in dummy and plays the six of
trumps. You must play the
jack, expecting partner to be
fully understanding (as
partners always are) if
declarer has six trumps and
was about to play the ace. But
that’s very unlikely – it means
partner would have failed to
find an overcall at love-all
from something like void Ax
KQxxx Jxxxxx.
4. It looks as if declarer is going to make five diamond tricks, four
trumps and a heart ruff in dummy to make his total up to 10. If only
partner had led a club!
Fortunately, you have trump control and you can beat this contract if
you come to two club tricks before declarer runs his diamonds. Since
partner cannot possibly have
an entry, you will need
declarer to have at least three
clubs and you must attack the
suit now, no matter how
unappealing that looks. If
partner has the jack, any club
from your hand will do, but if
his suit is headed by the ten,
you should switch to your low
club to give declarer an
awkward guess as to whether
it’s from AQx or A10x.
♠ ♥♦♣
Q1096 J9863 87 AQ
♠♥♦♣
4 K2 KQ92 1087532
♠♥♦♣
KJ3 Q1074 A10643 9
♠♥♦♣
A8752 A5 J5 KJ64
♠ ♥♦♣
Q864 J KQJ98 K93
The Full Deal
♠♥♦♣
72 K952 753 10642
♠♥♦♣
A5 AQ10643 102 AQ7
♠♥♦♣
KJ1083 87 A64 J85
25
Answer to “Do you Feel Lucky Partner?” on page 3
By Ron Davis
Should you elect to takeout, you probably achieve +150. If you bite
the bullet and let partner play 1NTXX the minimum you score is
+1560 (two overtricks) as long as he gets the diamonds right. At the
table, East led the three of
hearts and defended correctly
(I told you he was good!) by
discarding the ace of clubs to
hold your partner to 12 tricks
and the exotic score of +2760.
A straw poll amongst the best
half dozen players in the BBA
(not at the table) was evenly
split. If there is anyone out
there who reached 6♠, I really would like a game with you!
Dealer N
N/S Vul
♠ ♥♦♣
Q1073 AQ8 KJ 9632
The Full Deal
You sit South
♠♥♦♣
942 9652 92 KQ108
♠♥♦♣
K6 KJ73 Q43 AJ75
♠♥♦♣
AJ85 104 A108765 4
Declarer got this hand wrong at the table, playing low on the club
switch. In theory, switching to ace and another club rather than a low
one gives declarer the same guess, but somehow he is more likely to
consider putting in the jack if you cash the ace first.
Note that partner should have led the king of hearts at trick 1. It is
often right to lead an unsupported king or queen from three or more
cards in partner’s suit when you have a weak hand. You hope that it
will hold the trick and that you can work out the best switch when you
see dummy. On this hand, a club switch at trick 2 will be obvious,
particularly after partner plays the three of hearts to the first trick.
Thank You
David Gilling has retired as Bulletin Rep. for Leighton Buzzard and
Milton Keynes clubs after several years of conscientiously handing out
the magazines to members. Thank you David for your commitment.
This task has now been taken over by Colin O’Hara at Leighton
Buzzard and by Janet Marsh at Milton Keynes. Ed
26
Would the following rectifications for insufficient bids be permitted?
How would they affect West’s subsequent actions?
a) West North East
1♣ 1♠ 1♥ East missed the 1♠ and thought he was replying to 1♣. 1♣ Pass 1♥ shows 4+ hearts and 6+ points.
Can East change his call to
i) 2♥? ii) Double - which would show hearts and diamonds?
b) West North East
2NT Pass 2♣ East thought he was replying to 1NT. 3♣ to 2NT and 2♣ to 1NT are both Stayman in their system. Can East change his call to 3♣?
c) West North East
4NT 5♦ 5♣
In an uncontested auction West bids 4NT asking for aces. East doesn’t
see the 5♦ and replies 5♣ showing 0 or 4 aces. East/West play DOPI
over interference so Double shows no aces and Pass shows one ace.
Can East replace his 5♣ with Double?
d) West North East
2NT Pass 2♠ Once again East thought he was replying to 1NT
2♠ over 1NT promises five spades and an unknown 4-card minor. 3♠ over 2NT just promises a 5-card spade suit.
Can East replace his 2♠ with 3♠?
Answers:
Law 27A In each case the insufficient bid (IB) can be accepted. If
accepted the auction proceeds and there is nothing else for the
director to do. The remaining answers all assume that the next player
has not accepted the insufficient bid (IB).
Compiled by the Editor
27
Law 27B if the IB is not accepted it must be corrected by the
substitution of a sufficient bid or a Pass. If both the IB and the lowest
sufficient replacement are incontrovertibly not artificial, the auction
proceeds.
This is the case in a) (i). 1♥ and 2♥ are both natural so the change can be made.
A change in the 2007 laws allows the person who made the IB to
make a rectification call that is a call which has the same meaning as
or a more precise meaning than the IB. If he makes such a call the
auction proceeds and partner can bid.
a) (ii) A Double showing hearts and diamonds is more precise than
just showing hearts so this change would be ALLOWED without
further rectification. Law 27B 1(b)
b) Whilst there are some much weaker hands where you might bid
3♣ Stayman to 2NT than you would bid 2♣ Stayman to 1NT, the
World Bridge Federation has recommended that regulating
authorities (i.e. clubs) interpret this law liberally, so if both 2♣ and 3♣ are just considered asking bids, the change is ALLOWED
without further rectification. Law 27B 1(b)
c) The change to Double is ALLOWED without further rectification.
Law 27B 1(b)
d) The 3♠ bid is less precise because it only promises spades, so
this change is ALLOWED. But whatever East says, West will have
to Pass throughout. Law 27B 3.
28
My elder son told me when someone says “We must do this
again sometime” it means, in new urban-speak: “I have had
a boring time with you and you will never hear from me
again”. New urban-speak is a mystery to me; he gave me other
examples that in the interests of good taste and decorum I will gloss
over. Whither Henry Watson Fowler?
SO now I am worried because “we must do this again sometime” is
exactly what I said just a week or so ago. The occasion was dinner at
their home with friends I have known since the days we used to sit
around debating the relative merits of Sgt. Pepper versus Aftermath1.
After dinner, out came the cards for kitchen table rubber and a
pleasant time was had by all. I hope they know I meant what I said
sincerely.
In similar vein as I write this, wife Lesley and I are about to leave for
an autumn trip to Cornwall. We have done it for a few years now.
We fly ourselves to Newquay and stay at the lovely Tresanton Hotel in
St Mawes. It is a bridge trip I have made passing reference to before
in this Bulletin. Most folk there are from London, some regulars at
The Carlton, Roehampton or the misnomered2 Young Chelsea, but
some from much further afield including overseas. Lesley and I
generally arrive for lunch on Monday and smile smugly as others turn
up complaining about the traffic, although many travel by train from
Paddington. The hotel reserves a first-class carriage, provides a
champagne hamper lunch and bridge paraphernalia. By the time the
London lot stumble off the train at St Austell they are well refreshed
and have already clocked up a few hours of Chicago.
For the next three days, bridge professional Paul Mendelson teaches
and opines in the morning and in the afternoon there is a duplicate
tournament. Lesley is not keen on the bridge part but the food is to
die for, and if the weather is good the local area delightful. If it is
bad, our Christmas cards get written and after dinner even Lesley may
be tempted to the bridge table with a post-prandial gin and tonic (or
two) and the company of people we now think of as friends. And
By Michael Collins - BBA Chairman
29
every year we each say “Let’s not wait until next year, we must do
this again sometime.” It never happens – but definitely this year …
On such occasions, one is often playing in a scratch partnership.
Imagine a problem like this: You are defending 3NT, partner leads
the 2 of clubs, dummy has A10 and you hold K8764. Layout the suit
and see what it looks like. Dummy goes up with the ace. What do
you play? Now, the experts reading this are saying “It’s obvious. You
must unblock the king. When partner is in again he will play the
queen of clubs, then his next highest (J or 9), then his remaining low
card to my 8 and 7. Bad luck declarer, one down.” Of course the
experts know partner started with an outside entry plus a club holding
of QJxx or Qxxx at a push, since they would never lead fourth highest
from jack high or QJ92. So, declarer must hold 9x or Jx. Really? Are
you sure your scratch partner would demur from leading the 2 from
Jxx2? Even if you are, what if partner thinks your king is a singleton
or Kx and does not continue the suit when in with his outside entry?
Well dear reader, I was faced with that dilemma and fear I did not
drop the king under dummy’s ace. We made partner’s outside ace but
he did not continue with the queen of clubs and it was Goodnight
Vienna for the defence. If only I could use the ‘scratch partnership’
excuse, but on that occasion it was not. I did discover my partner
knew some colourful urban-speak of his own though.
By the time you read this, we will be back from St Mawes and it will
be Christmas time. Sorry, winter festival. So have a merry
Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, Kwazy Kwanzaa, a tip-top Tet, and a
solemn & dignified Ramadan. Whatever. We will be spending the
time with the grandkids when I plan to make a determined effort to
improve my urban-speak. If you are going on the Madeira trip in
January, do not be surprised dude if I try it out on you. But if at the
end of the trip I forget and say “we must do this again sometime”
then be assured I will really mean it.
1SO which side were you on; Beatles or Stones? 2MS Word tried to autocorrect ‘misnomered’ but I checked my Fowler
and it is OK. Goodness knows though what HWF would have made of
me starting a paragraph with a conjunction as I did above. I dread to
think. Still in urban speak everyone answers a question beginning
“SO, …” Even on the BBC Grrr…
30
Freda Cranfield 17th December 1917 - 25th July 2016
By David Harris
Freda Cranfield died on Sunday 25th July 2016 at
the age of 98. She was born into a well-to-do
farming family. Together with her sister Evelyn she
was taught by a governess. Freda was always keen
on sporting activities and was an avid rower and
tennis player.
Her working life was initially in London before
moving to Dunstable in the 1950s. Her
organisational skills were considerable and in the late 1960s she
became the personal assistant to John Egan (subsequently Sir John
Egan of Jaguar cars and BAA fame) the then CEO of AC Delco.
Freda’s great passion was always bridge and she often played during
lunch times and in the evenings. She regularly played in organised
bridge matches in and around Luton in the 1950s ahead of the
formation of the Bedfordshire Bridge Association in 1964. George
Goddard recalls how Freda would regularly contact him seeking to
arrange bridge contests between local companies and other
organisations.
Freda moved to Bedford and became a regular player at the Bedford
Club. She played for some years with Mike Sutcliffe from around
1986 and was a member of a league team and played in a couple of
KO Cup Finals. In recent years Freda also played with Maris Sheppard
who arranged a surprise 90th birthday party for her; Freda was not
amused as she feared people might stop playing with her if they knew
how old she was.
Freda was also a keen follower of rugby and was a habitual and loyal
supporter of Bedford Blues. Aged 94 she went to Twickenham to see
her team competing in the play-off finals.
Freda maintained regular contact with her nephew and niece and
fulfilled her duties as godmother to Susan Morris. They all remark on
31
Answer to Declarer Play Quiz on page 2
At first glance, this contract might appear to depend on the diamond
finesse. However, things are not always what they might first appear
- especially at bridge! Ruff the king of clubs in dummy and lead a low
spade to your ace to remove the opponents’ two trumps. Now ruff
your second (and last) club in dummy, lead a low heart and duck it in
hand. If East wins, he will exit with a heart (best defence) and if
West wins, he will switch to a diamond which you duck in dummy and
take East’s ten with your ace. If opposition hearts split either 6-1 or
5-2 (East must have the length), you can end-play East with your
third heart. Should West have started with three hearts (with a 1-3-
1-8 distribution) you will need to remove his safe diamond exit card
with your ace before playing your third heart. Then if he wins the
trick, he can only play a club, giving you a ruff and discard for your
contract.
how it was never a chore to visit Freda as she was always welcoming
and fun to be with.
All those who knew Freda will remember her for her politeness, her
friendly nature and the importance she placed on being well turned
out.
Answer to ‘Play This One for your Life!’ on page 8
To take any finesses is a dangerous, possibly unhealthy ploy. The
solution is simple and has a 100% chance of success. First remove
the three enemy trumps, then cash the ace of hearts, followed by the
jack, giving up the king and possibly a winning trick if East held it.
You can now throw two spades from hand (and possible loser) on the
established queen and ten of hearts without having to worry about
where the queen of spades or king of hearts lie. Contract made!
Quote:
“It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that
survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
Charles Darwin
32
