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Master Point
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November 1993 Vol. II Number 5
From the mailbag ... 3
Doppelganger by David Silver 4
Newtonian leads by Allan Falk 9
Toronto 4 Montreal 0 by Ray Lee 11
The significant-other dilemma by Roselyn Teukolsky 15
Reading the hand.... 17
Bridge anacrostic by "Griffin" 18
Percy E. "Shorty" Sheardown
Shorty Remembered by Bruce Gowdy 21
A double-edged sword by Ray Lee 22
Improving 2/1 auctions by Fred Gitelman 23
Restricted choice - fact or fiction? by Eric Sutherland 28
Suit lead by John Gowdy 30
A framework for discussion (part 9) by Mary Paul 32
For Future Experts
Competitive bidding by Joe Seigel 35
He who hesitates by Barbara Seagram 36
Software review - Positronic Bridge 38
Reading the hand - solutions 39
Canadian Master Point is published five times per year. It is available free of charge through a number of bridge clubs
and bridge supply houses in Ontario and Quebec. Copyright © 1993 Canadian Master Point. All rights reserved; reprinting
of contents without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Correspondence and articles should be sent
to the above address with SAE if return or reply required.
ED. BOARD: Ray Lee, Linda Lee, Maureen Culp, Diane Bryan, John
Gowdy
From the mailbag .....
Congratulations! Partnership Database?
M ay I explain
the process,
Mrs. Silver?"
ment, he was right. I had one last hope
-- my wife. I waited, in confident silence,
for my beloved to withhold her permis-
asked Professor sion.
Igor. "After all, "Mrs. Silver," repeated President
you can't make an Oldham. "How do you feel about giving
intelligent decision your consent to David's being the subject
unless you know of this experiment? After all, there is the
exactly what we're going to do to your possibility of early widowhood if any-
husband." She nodded assent and he thing goes wrong. But there are, of
continued. course, obvious advantages, should we
"Well, the idea is, in layman's terms, meet with the expected success. You see,
to clone your husband. Replicating him our new cloning process, invented right
physically is the easy part, existing tech- here at Mohican College, will bring fame
nology is quite sufficient for that, but and fortune to all the participants, even
giving him consciousness and memory, David."
that until now has been impossible. "Even posthumously?" she asked as
"But now, with the new Mohican I wondered what that had to do with any-
Neural-Sync transplant methodology, we thing.
can utilize your husband's lower neural "Of course," Oldham replied. "But
pathways to propagate an audioencepha- we mustn't think negatively; after all,
lographic interferotric effect which can aside from the money and fame, there
be used to transmit EEG mapping elec- would be other benefits. Think of it, two
trodes to the host. Unfortunately, as a Davids to help around the house, run er-
result of the recent government cutbacks, rands, earn salaries, and.." he leaned for-
we have limited capacity equipment and ward and lowered his voice, "Perform
we can only transmit a very limited num- other duties!"
ber of neural nodes. That's why your hus- "Twice a year instead of once? Be
band is such an ideal subject.... still my beating heart!" she replied. Far
"Thank you, Professor Igor," inter- from making any opposition to the pro-
jected President Oldham, "But I must posal, my darling seemed distressingly
make certain that Mrs. Silver is fully eager to sign the release form which
aware of all the risks. You do understand, President Oldham was placing on his
don’t you, that the process has never been desk before her. She grabbed the pen
tested? We wanted to try it out on a labo- from his hand, scrawled her signature on
ratory rat first, but we're currently under the document, rose from her seat and left
a restraining order obtained by the Rats' quickly without wishing me good luck.
Rights Action Committee. However, no I began to have misgivings as two
group or individual has raised any objec- burly graduate students strapped me on to
tion to our using your husband for this the laboratory table. Professor Igor was
experiment, and David was only too injecting green fluid into my arm and as
happy to take part..” I began to lose consciousness, I said,
Indeed, given the alternatives that "Igor, I've always wanted to know what
had been carefully explained to me, in- your last name is, but you're not on the
cluding my current pitiful pension entitle- faculty list."
November 1993
"I don’t use one; but you’ve proba- good as I was, and who understood me
bly heard of the fellow I did my graduate perfectly. "Know thyself" the philoso-
work with... Dr. Fran..." I lost the rest of pher has advised, and I certainly did.
his reply as I drifted off. The test conditions were quickly es-
I awoke to find myself staring at me. tablished, and Silver 1/4 and I found our-
Igor introduced me to “Silver 1/4”, ex- selves playing an intense IMP match
plaining that the computer had calculated against local experts Wright Cardinal and
that (Silver ÷ 2 = 1/4). Everyone seemed F.I.R. Baker. Things were going our way,
to find that extremely funny for some and after a series of slight gains, three
reason and the name stuck. Aside from vulnerable game swings and an 800 pen-
appearing much older than me, Silver 1/4 alty, I picked up the fourth hand.
was a perfect replica. I assumed they had Wright passed and my partner
given him some extra wrinkles to avoid opened with one (12-14) notrump; Baker
confusing the original with the clone. doubled and I held:
They were arguing about testing proce- ♠Axxx ❤--- ◆xxxx ♣QJ9xx
dures.
"Well," said Professor Igor. "We I briefly considered toughing it out in one
could give them intelligence tests and see notrump doubled, but what's the point of
if they score identically." having an elaborate rescue system if you
"Great," said President Oldham, don't use it? So I made the systemic bid
"But if we use the chimpanzees for a con- of redouble, which would force a 2 ♣
trol group again, we'll be the laughing response from partner.
stock of academia. I have a better idea: Cardinal ignored the alert and
send them off to a bridge tournament with passed, and Silver 1/4 bid 2 ◆ . Baker
some trained observers. David is a fa- came in with 2❤ and I raised partner to
mous expert, and we can compare Silver 5◆. Baker asked for an explanation of
1/4's level of play to the original's." the bidding before slowly passing. The
As an aside here, it is worth noting ❤A hit the table with a resounding whack
that I have often surmised that consistent as I proudly put down the dummy. The
success in bridge competitions is depen- play was quick and the outcome predict-
dent upon having an established partner- able, plus 400 for us.
ship. Many bidding situations are
obscure unless there have been prior dis- Silver
cussions and/or agreements as to what ♠ Axxx
"treatments" apply in specific situations, ❤ ---
and misunderstandings frequently occur.
So impotant does this factor appear to be
◆ xxxx
that I could name some extremely suc- ♣ QJ9xx
cessful partnerships whose victories Baker Cardinal
could be credited more to their empathy ♠ Kxx ♠ J109x
than to their individual ability. ❤ AKQxxx ❤ J10xx
My own tournament record would
more accurately reflect my bridge skills ◆ xx ◆ xx
if I had only been able to find a partner ♣ AK ♣ xxxx
who understood my advanced bidding Silver 1/4
methods. But bridge players of my intel- ♠ Qxx
lectual abilities are extremely rare, and ❤ xxx
the few that I have met have been reluc-
tant to play with me, for reasons presum-
◆ AKQJx
ably relating to professional jealousy. ♣ 10x
But at last I had a partner who was just as
T he twenty-
s i x t h I n t e r-
City match bet-
Bridson established an early 35-IMP
lead over Bert and Rhoda Habert,
George Retek, Brian Fraser, Murray
ween Toronto and Goldenblatt, Mark Stein, and Joe Silver,
Montreal, an an- a lead that was never challenged. The
nual contest for final difference was 44 IMP’s.
the Maurice The second Flight A match was
“Moose” Paul much closer, and the Toronto squad
Trophy between winning teams from the (Ray and Linda Lee, Bill and Leah
Toronto IMP League and the Montreal Milgram) trailed by 5 with 14 boards
Bridge League, took place this year at left to play; they were able to squeeze
the Linton Club in Montreal, early in out a narrow 8-IMP win over Eric and
October. The result was a resounding Beverly Kokish, Sharyn Reus, Michel
victory for the visiting team. L o r b e r, N i c k K r n j e v i c a n d J o h n
There were four separate 88-board Robinson.
matches played, two between teams rep- The Flight B match was also very
resenting Flight A, and one each in close, with Toronto’s Vinay Sarin, Ian
Flights B and C, with total IMP’s to be Findlay, Nirmal Parmal, Dev Chopra,
the deciding factor. In the event, the Dave White, and Brian Ranson also
scoring system was irrelevant, as coming from behind in the last set for a
Toronto won all four matches. slim 12-IMP edge over Andre Trudelle,
In the top bracket, Andy Altay, Ian C. Lahaie, Normand Guilbault, and
McKinnon, David Lindop, and Ed Claude Rouleau.
Andy Altay accepts the trophy from “Red” MacDougall, watched by (l. to r.) Vinay
Sarin, Ian Findlay, Ed Bridson, David Lindop, and Bill Moore
♠ xxx
❤ KQxxx South North
◆ xx McKinnon Altay
♣ KJx 2◆1 2NT2
3♠3 4♣4
4◆4 6♠
♠ Kx
❤ AJ9xx 1. Flannery -- 5❤ and 4♠
◆ AK10xxx 2. Relay for more information
♣ --- 3. 4522 hand, maximum points
4. Cue-bid
West North East South A trump was led, and Ian played the ◆A
Altay McKinnon and the ◆K, intending to run the ◆J and
1◆ throw a club away if East failed to cover.
Pass 1❤ 2♠ 4♣1 However, East’s ◆Q dropped doubleton,
and the result was a fairly easy thirteen
Dbl. Pass2 4♠ 4NT3 tricks for a 13-IMP gain.
Pass 5♣4 Pass 6❤5
(continued on next page)
1. Splinter
2. Showing slam interest
3. RKC Exclusion Kickback (!)
4. 1 or 4 keycards outside clubs
5. Who cares about the ❤Q?
November 1993
At both tables on the following hand This hand is an instructive declarer play
in the second Flight A match, South be- exercise. South plays 4♠ after an uncon-
came declarer in an aggressive 4♠ con- tested auction, and gets a diamond lead.
tract after West had opened with a weak Assuming best defence, how do you give
2◆. Linda Lee gave it a good play, but yourself the best chance for ten tricks?
in the end could only assemble nine tricks After you win the diamond and draw
after a club lead and spade return. At the trumps (East has four; West pitches three
other table, Bill and Leah Milgram con- clubs), you play the ♣10. West thinks for
structed a pretty defence to beat it three a while, takes his ♣ A, and plays two
and win some IMP’s. more rounds of diamonds. After ruffing
the second of these, you have come to the
♠ Jx moment of truth: the heart suit.
❤ Axxx Both declarers (Eric Kokish and
myself) took the normal-looking line of
◆ KJxxxx
ace and one heart, which wins if West has
♣ K the ❤ K or the hearts are 3-3. Bill
♠ 973 ♠ xx Milgram later pointed out the superior
❤ Jx ❤ K10xx line of leading out the ❤J. This gives
you the extra chance that RHO will have
◆ AQ10xxx ◆ --- a doubleton king and will feel obliged to
♣ xx ♣ AQJ109xx take it.
♠ AKQ10xx Of course, looking at all four hands,
❤ Qxx it would be easy to see the need to duck
◆ 9 the ❤K in this position. However, tt will
surely take an East with nerves of steel to
♣ xxx duck the doubleton ❤K smoothly, and if
he stops to think about it, you’ll have no
After the same start (club to the ace and problem on the next trick!
a spade return), declarer ruffed a club in The full hand was:
dummy, and played a heart towards the
closed hand. Bill hopped with the king, ♠ 42
and cashed a high club, on which Leah ❤ Q42
discarded the ❤J. Bill led a heart for her ◆ 72
to ruff, and now she played the ◆ A.
Alertly, Bill ruffed this, since his part- ♣ KQJ952
ner’s high-low in trumps had told him she ♠ 8 ♠ 10974
started with three, and gave her another ❤ 10975 ❤ K8
heart ruff for the third undertrick. ◆ K54 ◆ QJ10963
♠ 42 ♣ A8763 ♣ 4
❤ Q42 ♠ AKQJ63
◆ 72 ❤ AJ53
♣ KQJ952 ◆ A8
♣ 10
♠ AKQJ63
(continued on next page)
❤ AJ53
◆ A8
♣ 10
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other bridge notables.
November 1993
The significant-other dilemma
r o s e l y n t e u k o l s k y
Now go back and look at what hap- berating his partner for not ruffing the
pens if West returns a spade instead of a heart and playing for a trump coup, I took
heart. He, in effect, forces South to make a minute to let the effect of my partner's
his contract! South must ruff the spade in breathtaking play sink in. "How in the
his hand (thereby shortening his trumps world did you know to return a heart?" I
to East's length), and when he gets the asked him.
bad news about the 4-1 trump break, he “Well, the bidding and play sug-
can ruff a heart back to dummy and gested that declarer's shape was 2-6-0-5,”
trump-coup East! Here is the situation, he replied, “And I knew something that
with the lead in dummy, after South ruffs South didn't --- namely, that the trumps
a heart with dummy's last trump: weren't breaking. I was also pretty sure
that South's trumps weren't solid, because
♠ 86 if they were, there wouldn't be much to
❤ --- the play of the hand. Yet South tanked for
ages on the first trick.
◆ QJ1084
“I decided that the best hope for us
♣ --- was that you held Qxxx of trumps, in
♠ 9 ♠ QJ which case I'd better not help set up a
❤ 85 ❤ Q7 trump coup situation for South. I knew
that he was out of spades by now so a
◆ 7653 ◆ 2 spade play could only help him shorten
♣ --- ♣ Q9 his trumps. A diamond would have given
♠ --- him the extra entry to ruff a spade him-
❤ AKJ109 self. Which left a heart. Hey, look, it's an
◆ --- easy game if you just think about it!”
So I ask you: Would you play with
♣ KJ him?
On the run of the diamonds, whenever
East ruffs in, South can overruff, draw Roselyn Teukolsky is the author of “How
the last trump and the hearts will be good. to Play Bridge with your Spouse - and
If East refuses to ruff, South can pick up Survive”. She is a regular contributor to
East's trumps at trick 12. the ACBL Bulletin and to “Bridge
After this hand, while North was Today”.
November 1993
Reading the hand....
The following problem positions are each East’s opening bid shows 11-15 hcp, and
taken from a well-known bridge book. a three-suited hand with a singleton or
They are graded in difficulty as follows: void diamond and no 5-card major. Thus,
◆ Rookie ◆◆ Intermediate ◆◆◆ when West leads the ♣3, you can confi-
Expert. Solutions are on page 39. dently place East with 4414. How do you
play?
1. Flawless technique (◆)
3. Early concession (◆ ◆ ◆)
♠ AK6
❤ A8543 ♠ K
◆ K3 ❤ 75
♣ A83 ◆ AKJ10654
♣ 643
♠ Q85432 ♠ 864
❤ K6 ❤ 1093
◆ A ◆ Q73
♣ 10654 ♣ K1075
Place the answers to the clues on the dashes beside them. Transfer each letter to its
correspondingly numbered and lettered box in the grid. The grid will reveal a quota-
tion; the initial letters of the answers will give you the author of the quotation and its
source. Word list page 35; Quotation page 31.
T1 H2 F3 T4 A5 Q6 R7 K8 F9 H 10 L 11 B 12 O 13 Q 14 J 15 A 16
O 17 K 18 D 19 E 20 K 21 N 22 G 23 F 24 J 25 N 26 K 27 S 28 Y 29 C 30
K 31 P 32 I 33 Z 34 U 35 O 36 A 37 O 38 F 39 T 40 A 41 V 42 S 43 Q 44 I 45 K 46
I 47 J 48 N 49 F 50 S 51 T 52 A 53 T 54 Z 55 P 56 Q 57 AA 58 D 59 T 60 X 61
B 62 O 63 C 64 V 65 L 66 H 67 T 68 U 69 I 70 A 71 K 72 M 73 F 74 C 75
Y 76 S 77 Q 78 M 79 E 80 D 81 K 82 T 83 J 84 U 85 K 86 W 87 AA 88 A 89
Z 104 R 105 D 106 AA 107 P 108 R 109 E 110 T 111 BB 112 X 113 Y 114 M 115 E 116 O 117 CC 118
I 119 L 120 V 121 F 122 C 123 B 124 K 125 V 126 BB 127 G 128 L 129 BB 130 AA 131 H 132 CC 133 K 134
P 135 S 136 Q 137 AA 138 E 139 L 140 O 141 F 142 H 143 D 144 G 145 F 146 Z 147 U 148
A 149 W 150 R 151 O 152 Y 153 E 154 P 155 V 156 Z 157 A 158 X 159 W 160 Z 161 D 162 M 163
D 164 C 165 I 166 K 167 X 168 AA 169 T 170 T 171 S 172 D 173 H 174 C 175 P 176 E 177
W 178 V 179 H 180 R 181 J 182 S 183 D 184 Z 185 H 186 AA 187 O 188 U 189 F 190
B 191 BB 192 K 193 T 194 Y 195 CC 196 CC 197 M 198 AA 199 H 200 C 201 K 202 S 203 R 204 R 205
M 206 G 207 J 208 D 209 A 210 P 211 D 212 AA 213 T 214 K 215 I 216
November 1993
F. Pointless hand ___ __ __ __ ___ __ ___ ___ __ __
122 9 24 39 142 3 146 190 50 74
G. Sworn statement ___ __ ___ ___
207 23 128 145
H. Mean pitch? __ __ __ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
2 10 67 132 143 174 186 200 180
I. Convention: __ __ ___ ___ ___ __ __
4♣ or 4◆ 33 45 166 216 119 47 70
Q. Hurries __ __ __ __ ___ __
44 6 14 78 137 57
R. Board 26? ___ ___ __ ___ __ ___ ___ ___
(2 wds) 101 151 7 204 93 181 105 109
November 1993
Shorty remembered
B r u c e G o w d y
♠ Q42
❤ 983 "Shorty" Sheardown
◆ 107532
A trump shift at this point would
♣ 104 defeat the hand, but this is not easy to
♠ --- ♠ 109765 see, and Lando actually returned a club,
❤ AKQ7654 ❤ J2 which was won by the ace. The ◆J went
to the ace, and another club came back to
◆ 864 ◆ AK9 the king. Shorty now ruffed a club low
♣ Q83 ♣ J92 in dummy, and cashed the ◆10, pitching
♠ AKJ83 a club from his hand.
❤ 10 The play to this point had consumed
◆ QJ at most thirty seconds, and the hand was
over in another fifteen or so. Another
♣ AK765 high diamond was led, East perforce ruff-
ing with the nine, and South over-ruffing.
With North-South vulnerable, West The last club was ruffed with the ♠Q,
opened 4❤, and after two passes, Shorty East ignominiously under-ruffing, and
ventured 4♠. After two more passes, East now the lead from the dummy completed
doubled. the trump coup for ten tricks.
The opening lead was the ❤A, and Lando turned me for sympathy: “I
Shorty ruffed the heart continuation. He really thought I had enough to double,”
laid down the ♠ A, found out the bad he remarked, ruefully.
news in trumps, and played the ◆Q, East You did, I thought, but not enough
winning the ace. to double Shorty.
November 1993
Improving 2/1 auctions
F r e d G i t e l m a n
A great many
club and
tournament play-
their hands. They as¬sume that all of the
room that they save will allow them to
"catch up later". They are wrong.
ers these days Imagine, for example, that you hold:
write "Two Over ♠AQxxxx ❤x ◆Axx ♣Qxx
One Game Force"
in the General You open 1♠ and your partner bids 2⇓,
Approach area of forcing to game. You rebid 2♠ and part-
their convention ner raises to 3♠. Do you like your hand?
cards. The main advantage of playing You should. Despite your minimum point
2/1 is that the early establishment of a count you have good trumps, good con-
game force allows for extra bidding space trols and a good fit for partner's suit.
to explore for slam or choose the right Unfortunately, partner's "suit" may not
game contract. really be a suit. Partner could have:
There are two main weaknesses in- ♠KJx ❤AKxx ◆Kx ♣Jxxx
herent in the 2/1 system:
where even the five level is not safe. On
1) You cannot play in 1NT if the other hand, if you reverse partner's
your partner opens the bidding hearts and clubs slam is laydown. If you
with one of a major. The 1NT reverse your hearts and clubs, slam is
response is forcing. also laydown. Would you like your hand
2) Responder often has a rebid as much if you had a singleton in your
problem after his forcing 1NT partner's suit? You shouldn't, but when a
when opener rebids 2 of a 2/1 can show just about any balanced
minor (possibly a 3-card suit) hand it is difficult to make sensible deci-
due to the wide high card sions.
ranges and many possible dis- There are several popular solutions
tributions of both hands. to this sort of problem, most of which
involve making some bid other than a 2/1
If you are going to play 2/1 you’d better when responder has a balanced game
get used to these particular problems force with 3-card support for opener's
since there isn't much you can do about major. Some players bid 1NT forcing
them. However, the way that most part- followed by a jump to four of opener's
nerships play 2/1 creates other problems major to show a balanced 13-15 with
that are not inherent to the system. The 3-card support; others use a 3NT response
purpose of this article is to discuss some or a variant of Swiss (4♣ or 4◆) to show
of these and to suggest some solutions. variations of this type of hand. All of
these methods have the problem that they
Problem 1: Lack of definition of the 2/1 take up too much room and make it very
suit difficult to find out how well the hands fit
without getting past a safe level.
Since a 2/1 response to a major suit open- The solution that I suggest is to use
ing is a game force, many pairs use a 2/1 a 2NT response to a major suit opening
simply to establish a force without regard just like Goren did - as a game-forcing
to the fact that they may be misdescribing balanced hand with 13-15 HCP (you can
November 1993
responder are minimum, twelve tricks - With all other hands with 3-card or more
can easily exist if the hands fit well. Here support for opener's major, raise at the
is the solution that I propose: 3-level (auctions in which you can raise
at the two level are different - perhaps I
In the above auction (1❤-2♣-3♣) and shall discuss those in another article).
in all similar 2/1 auctions in which re- Since both opener's and responder's hands
sponder can raise opener's major for the are virtually unlimited at this point, it is
first time at the three level: necessary to have a way for either partner
to show genuine slam interest. The an-
- A jump to four of opener's major, in- swer is a convention called "Serious
stead of a raise at the three level, is a pic- 3NT" (John Gowdy discussed this in the
ture jump. A picture jump shows good September 1993 Canadian Master Point).
trump support, a good suit of your own This is the definition of Serious 3NT:
(promised by the 2/1) and no first or
second round control in any unbid suit. When an 8 card or longer
Opener usually has such a good picture major suit fit is agreed at the
of responder's hand that he can place the 3-level and the bidding is
contract (sometimes after using Keycard forced to game, a bid of 3NT
Blackwood). Here is an example of a by either partner is com-
hand for a jump to 4❤ by responder in pletely artificial. It says:
the auction we have been discussing: "Partner, I have serious slam
♠Qx ❤Kxxx ◆xx ♣AQJxx interest, please cue-bid for
me."
- A jump in a new suit is a splinter (a
singleton in the suit bid) but it is very If you fail to bid Serious 3NT when you
well defined. Like the picture jump it have the opportunity and cue bid instead,
shows good trumps and a good 5-card 2/1 that carries the following message:
suit. The splinter bid denies first or sec- "Partner, I do not have serious slam in-
ond round control in the unbid suit. Also, terest, but I am cue-bidding in case you
do not splinter with a singleton ace or do."
with a void. Here is an example of a What should you cue-bid? In my
splinter bid of 4◆ in the above auction: partnerships with Geoff Hampson and
♠xxx ❤Kxxx ◆x ♣AQJxx Sheri Winestock we have found the fol-
lowing approach very successful: a cue-
Once again, responder's hand is so well- bid in partner's 2/1 suit shows one of the
defined that opener will frequently be top three honours; a cue-bid of your own
able to place the contract. In the above 2/1 suit shows two of the top three hon-
example, opener will know that: ours; a cue bid in an unbid suit shows
♠xxx ❤Kxxx ◆x ♣AQJxx any first or second round control (A, K,
singleton, or void). Cue-bidding is al-
produces slam while the same hand with ways up the line: by skipping a suit, you
the ◆A instead of the ♠A belongs at the deny a control in that suit. 4NT by either
four level. Notice that in the auction that partner is always Roman Keycard
we have been discussing, responder never Blackwood.
mentions the word "hearts": the raise is Some consequences of this approach
implicit. It is certainly not obvious that to slam bidding:
the splinter should be in support of hearts
(as opposed to clubs) and you should - It is impossible to get to the five level
have an explicit partnership understand- off two quick tricks in any suit.
ing before making this kind of bid.
Example 2 Example 3
1♠ 2◆ 1♠ 2◆
3◆ 3♠ 2♠ 3♠
4❤ 4NT 4❤ 4NT
5◆ 6♠ 5◆ 6♠
Opener's 3NT shows serious slam inter- 4❤ denies serious slam interest, a club
est. Responder's 4◆ shows good dia- control, and a top honour in diamonds
monds but denies a club control. Opener's (do not cue-bid shortness in partner's
4♠ is an absolute sign-off - a statement suit). A heart control is all responder
that no club control exists. Responder, needs to know about. What would hap-
despite holding extra values, must pass. pen if you exchanged opener's honours in
hearts and clubs?
November 1993
Example 4 opener must be minimum. Responder has
bid out his hand and should pass 4❤.
♠ AJ10xx ♠ KQx
❤ Qxx ❤ xxx Example 6
◆ x ◆ AKQJxx ♠ Axx ♠ Qx
♣ KJxx ♣ A ❤ AKJxxx ❤ Qxx
◆ AJ ◆ KQxxx
1♠ 2◆ ♣ xx ♣ KQx
2♠ 3♠
4♣ 4◆
1❤ 2◆
5♠ Pass
2❤ 3❤
When responder bids 4◆, he announces 3♠ 4♣
serious slam interest. Since opener has 4NT 5♣
denied serious slam interest by not bid- 6♠
ding 3NT, responder would sign off over
4♣ if he did not have serious slam inter- Responder, despite having a terrible hand,
est of his own. Opener is now obligated must bid 4♣ because opener is still un-
to show a heart control, so when opener limited (remember, Serious 3NT by
bids 4♠ responder knows that the defence opener would deny a spade control).
can take at least the first two heart Responder can take some comfort in the
tricks. fact that his 4♣ cue-bid denies serious
slam interest. In this example, opener
Example 5 can take over once he learns that re-
sponder can stop clubs.
♠ Kxx ♠ Qx
❤ AJxxxx ❤ Kxx As you can see, the approach to cue-
bidding that I recommend is quite a bit
◆ xx ◆ AQxxxx
different from the fast arrival methods
♣ Kx ♣ AQ that most 2/1ers play. If you decide to
adopt this approach, you and your partner
should discuss it thoroughly first. Serious
1❤ 2◆ 3NT is a convention for serious players;
2❤ 3❤ It is not something that you can casually
3♠ 3NT adopt. You might ask me about a con-
4♣ 4◆ vention called Last Train to Clarksville,
4❤ Pass which fills some of the holes in the cue-
bidding style that I recommend (holes
When hearts is agreed at the 3-level, that my carefully constructed examples
opener must bid 3♠ if he has a spade con- avoid!).
trol; any other bid would deny spade If there is one lesson to be learned
control (3NT would be Serious with no from this article it is that good partner-
spade control). Responder has extra val- ship agreements are much more impor-
ues and shows this by bidding 3NT; 4♣ tant than which system you play. If you
shows a control and 4◆ shows two of the and your partner decide to play a com-
top three honours. When opener does not plex non-standard system, put in the time
take charge (by bidding Blackwood) de- to do it right. When you truly understand
spite the fact that all suits are known to your system, you will start to see the ben-
be controlled, responder knows that efits in your results.
Over recent months, we became involved The reason why Restricted Choice
in a correspondence between two of our works is this: if LHO had the doubleton
readers regarding the Principle of queen, jack to begin with, then he had a
Restricted Choice. Briefly, we can state choice of cards to play on the first round,
the “con” argument as “the cards have because the queen and the jack are equals.
no memory”; in other words, if the a If he had the singleton queen or jack, then
priori odds favour playing for a 2-2 split, his choice of what to play is “restricted”
then the fact that East has dropped one of to that queen or jack.
the missing honours doesn’t change any- Let’s look at some percentages.
thing. The mathematics of all this can get First, assume that with QJ doubleton,
pretty complex, so we appealed to the LHO will play each card 50% of the time
Faculty of Mathematics at the University at random. Since the probability of his
of Waterloo for some help. After further holding QJ doubleton is 6.78% (2-2 break
correspondence, we received the follow- is 40.7%, with 6 combinations), LHO
ing submission from Eric Sutherland, a will play an honour from QJ doubleton
UW undergraduate as well as a member about 3.39% of the time. The probability
of the Canadian Junior bridge team. that LHO has a singleton honour is about
6.22% (3-1 break is 49.74% with 8 com-
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Read and comment on regular articles from Master Point Press authors and
other bridge notables.
I n today's active
game, we need
methods that allow
1. The transfers in this group take
place under the following conditions:
November 1993
We also play this structure with Bergen bidder.
Raises so that after:
Example:
1♠ dbl ? 1◆ 1♠ Dbl. 1NT1
4❤
2NT = 3-card limit raise
3♣ = 4-card limit raise 1. Transfer to 2♣
3◆ = 4-card constructive
raise and you hold:
3❤ = whatever you agree - ♠AQJxx ❤x ◆xxx ♣Kxxx
fit, invitational or You would like to bid either 4♠ or 5♣
preemptive depending on partner's hand, so you
3♠ = preemptive should play double as an inquiry - saying
that partner must bid either 4♠ or 5♣
When we overcall (e.g. 1◆ - 1♠ - dbl) depending on which of the hand types he
the same structure applies. The only dif- held. Therefore, when you bid 4♠ you
ference would be that 2♣ would be a are on your own and don't care.
transfer cuebid. It allows the overcaller This is a complicated structure and
to show a dead minimum by bidding 2♠ if you are planning to play it you should
and to show some interest in game by understand that it requires full and com-
simply accepting the transfer (2◆). plete discussion on your understanding of
The one final problem occurs when all possible sequences by you and your
the opponents bid a lot in front of the opposition. The rewards are easily worth
overcaller, or more rarely the opening the effort.
General
November 1993
1♣ - ? 2♣ Is this weak? Y N
Is it inverted? Y N
If so, what is min. hcp?
What is min. suit length?
2 suit Strong jump shift? Y N
Hcp promised?
Suit texture promised?
Can it be a 2-suiter? Y N
Does it promise a club fit? Y N
Weak jump shift? Y N
Maximum hcp if so?
2 NT Point range?
Does it deny a 4-card major? Y N
3♣ Weak? Y N
Maximum hcp if so?
3 suit Weak with a long suit? Y N
Splinter for clubs? Y N
3 NT Point range?
Distribution expected?
4♣ or 4◆ Weak hand? Y N
4❤ or 4S Is this to play? Y N
4 NT Ace-asking? Y N
November 1993
f o r f u t u r e e x p e r t s
Competitive bidding
J o e S e i g e l
A common situa-
tion at match-
points in a
game or slam.
When the points are about even, or
on very distributional hands, we must be
competitive auction very careful about doubling. The more
is one in which a de- distributional our hands are, the more we
cision has to be should be inclined to bid on, as high cards
made whether or not in our long suits will not take many tricks
to bid on, to double on defence. However, if we have already
the opponents, or to pushed them up a level, be content to
pass. Although any- leave them there -- it’s probably not nec-
thing can be right on one specific hand, essary to double, and we may be turning
you must take into account the long-term a plus into a minus by bidding on.
probabilities. If you consistently take the Factors that will help you make the
correct action, then in the long run your decision when you are considering dou-
decisions will pay dividends. Basically, bling are vulnerability, and whether your
the more confident we were of making side or the opponents or both have found
our contract, the more we must protect a good fit. Queens and jacks in their suits
our score by doubling the opponents are not likely to be useful offensively, but
should they bid on. It follows that the will only be good defensively if you have
more high cards we have, the more likely some length: Qx or Jxx are “death hold-
we are to defeat them. ings” that tell you the hand is going to
Of course, vulnerability is also a play well for them.
major factor. We are more likely to con- You have to be aggressive to win at
sider doubling if they are vulnerable, matchpoints, but don’t confuse this with
while at unfavourable vulnerability, the lunacy. There are times to be aggressive,
penalty may not be enough to offset our and times just to sit there.
At one time or
another, every-
one finds themselves
West has no right to bid 5❤ on a bare
minimum hand when partner has only
made a limit raise. If East had not hesi-
in a situation where tated, then West could bid whatever he
a little extra time is wished, however undisciplined, taking
needed during a bid- his chances on the result. If a player
ding sequence. wishes to commit suicide, there is no law
There is nothing against this. But the hesitation bars him
wrong with this -- from making such a dubious call, since it
you are always is suggestive of extra values in partner’s
within your rights to take whatever time hand.
you need. However, whenever this oc-
curs, it is the partner of the player who North's hand:
has hesitated whose actions are now
going to be placed under scrutiny. In ♠5432 ❤KJ1065 ◆K6 ♣93
other words, any action taken by the part-
ner of the "hesitater" must be based solely
on his own cards. Any bid which is now West North East South
made that is even slightly dubious and
not 100% clear-cut may be overturned by 1◆ 1❤ 2◆ Pass*
the director and the score may be ad- Pass 2❤ Pass* Pass
justed.
There is a widespread mistaken be- * After long hesitation
lief that partner's hesitation bars you from
any further bidding on the hand. This is North has the simple overcall at the one
not so. If you have a clear-cut bid, you level which he made at his first turn.
must still make it, not drawing any infer- However, he does not have a 2♥ rebid.
ence from partner's hesitation. Again, if partner had not hesi¬tated, his
bid would be allowed to stand; there is no
West's hand: law against stupidity. Given the hesita-
tion, however, the score or contract may
♠xx ❤AQ10xx ◆Axx ♣Qxx be adjusted.
November 1993
North's hand: In Summary
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Read and comment on regular articles from Master Point Press authors and
other bridge notables.
November 1993
Reading the hand....
(from page 17)
1. Flawless technique concede a spade for the contract. A rare
form of Morton’s Fork
♠ AK6
❤ A8543 ♠ 73
◆ K3 ❤ A103
♣ A83 ◆ A82
♠ J97 ♠ 10 ♣ AJ1092
❤ 102 ❤ QJ97 ♠ 42 ♠ K1085
◆ Q97654 ◆ J1082 ❤ J97542 ❤ KQ86
♣ Q2 ♣ KJ97 ◆ 10963 ◆ 4
♠ Q85432 ♣ 3 ♣ K864
❤ K6 ♠ AQJ96
◆ A ❤ ---
♣ 10654 ◆ KQJ75
West has to establish the fifth heart for a ♣ Q75
club discard. If hearts are 5-1 there is no Hand Reading in Bridge (Danny Roth)
play; the danger is that hearts are 4-2 and
that West can overruff the third round. 3. Early concession
The winning line is to win the ♠Q, cash
the ◆A and the ❤K, and cross to the ♠A. ♠ K
Now South pitches a heart on the ◆K, ❤ 75
ruffs a heart, draws the last trump with ◆ AKJ10654
the ♠K, and cashes the ❤A. If necessary
he can ruff one more heart and return to ♣ 643
the ♣A for the long heart. ♠ J9752 ♠ 864
Improve Your Dummy Play (Eric Milnes ❤ AJ84 ❤ 1093
and Paul Lukacs) ◆ 2 ◆ Q73
2. Enter with care ♣ A82 ♣ K1075
♠ AQ103
Obviously both black finesses work, but ❤ KQ62
there could be entry problems. You have ◆ 98
to win the ♣A to avoid a ruff; if you now
hook a spade and draw trumps, East will ♣ QJ9
let your ♣Q hold, and you are an entry It is fairly clear what is happening. South
short. If you play a low club towards has ample guards in all the suits, and feels
dummy, East will win and return one, he can give up a diamond for safety while
blocking the suit. the other suits are under control. The
To avert this, unblock the ♣ Q at best defence on such occasions is to cut
trick one, take two rounds of trumps end- declarer adrift by returning the long suit.
ing in dummy, and finesse a spade. Draw The discards from the South hand will
trumps, and play a club to the nine. If become increasingly embarrassing.
East wins, you are home; if he ducks, you Posie Defence (Terence Reese and Julian
pitch a club on the ❤A and eventually Pottage)