Bridge of AngST

The other table as in 3HX=. 14 imp swing.

I wonder how many people would bid 4H over the 3NT! Maybe experts will do it, but at my level I probably won’t be seeing it too often!

No idea what their agreements are here, so no idea why 5C was doubled. Otherwise, the 4S bid seemed to have been very well judged in pushing opponents to 5 minor to win an imp since the other table was in 4H.

And finally a nice board to end the match. The other room was in 7S=, there was a lot of kibitzer comments, Larry Lande explaining why 7NT is the best contract: no risk of ruffs. Interesting it would have been a swing had the K of Spades been offside!

Yes, it’s already the second week of school. Our schedule this year is such that we are playing almost every Monday.

Our first match went swimmingly well, 33-17 at half-time and 74-4 in the 2nd half! This meant that we walked away with a 12-0 win.

Yesterday night was not that good though, and looking through the hands, I’ve probably messed up the most. Why? Delivery, as described by Sartaj Hans in the link.

Holding:
AQT8
-
K8
AKJT872

and hearing partner open 1D (playing 5 card majors, better minor) and rebidding 2NT (showing 15-17 bal) after you response 2C, how would you proceed?

There are some scientific ways, but suffice to say I messed up and did not consider this very carefully: I have 17 HCP, partner has shown at least 15, of which most are in the 3 suits other than clubs. She has a heart stop so this would be at most AQx (since she did not rebid hearts she is unlikely to have 4), more likely AJx, ATx, KQx or KJx. This would account for 4-5 more of her HCP. This also means that out of the 8 HCP that opponents have at most, 5-6 are accounted for in hearts. This would make grand in either clubs or spades (if there is a 4-4 fit) a very good prospect indeed.

However, I lost my way and after finding the spade fit I stopped in 6C! Grand was laydown with partner having KJ53, AT7, AQJ3, Q6. Every single card I needed! Nonetheless, I went relatively unpunished when teammates did very well to shut the opponents out and go 4 off doubled in 6H. So we still gained 4 on this.

The second half was dismal for us. Leading 47-19 in the first, we lost 21-44 in the second. Boards 16-18 were the biggest losers.

Board 16 was just plain switching off. Holding 9, KJ52, AK86, 8764, I somehow misread Rachel’s 5 and 2 after leading the diamond honours. Not giving her the ruff meant that opponents made 4S and 12 IMPs out.

Board 17 was a terrible mix-up after the bidding had gone 1S (2D) 3C. I think this is forcing, Rachel didn’t think so. 3NT was cold, but I could have made 3C on hindsight. That would have limited our losses to 1 imp instead of 5.

Board 18 poses an interesting bid problem. Holding 5, Q7, KT6532, AKT7, Red vs White, would you bid 3D after LHO opens 1NT, partner passes, RHO transfers to spades and it goes pass pass to you after LHO bids 2S?

Despite losing the second set, we were still 5 imps up at the end, though this still meant it was 6-6 on VPs.

Two partnerships: One brand new and one not-so-new one.

5 card majors, but probably 15-17NT for the former and 12-14 for the latter. Should I persuade the latter to convert to 15-17 or stick with 12-14? (This is for the Gold Cup!)

And then, should I play the same structure for both?

So last Saturday was Matchpoints Teams and so concludes my summer of bridge back in Singapore. 3 major tournaments – Mixed Pairs, Pesta Sukan and Matchpoint Teams – and 3 League Open House days worth of directing, a total of 9 sessions in all. Many things went right, many things did not. I still need to check the law book for some rulings which I shouldn’t be doing. So, a lot to improve on. But there are a few incidents that inspire me to write this entry.

To start off with Matchpoint Teams, there was a “request” that teams should disclose what system their other pair is playing in the other table. I agreed that this was a fair request in accordance to the principle of Full Disclosure, and so explicitly announced to all players that such disclosure was mandatory if opponents ask before starting the round. Given the movement of the tournament, which was more like a pairs movement of 14 rounds of 2 boards for both sessions, I think this is even more valid.

With regards to the question of system disclosure, this is where I personally feel that much can be done in Singapore. Convention cards are the exception rather than the norm. I used to be of the same view as most – convention cards for a pickup partnership is simply too much of a hassle. But if it is possible in the UK, then why not in Singapore?

After talking to Yukun and CC today, they both kind of agree. Yukun says he is looking into getting convention cards enforced for finals of major national tournaments, hopefully this will be a good start!

Two days ago, I received an email asking for an opinion. Although the case was rather complicated, some of the issues that arose might have been avoided if stop cards were used properly. Last night, an opponent even asked me why did I use the stop card when I opened 2S after 2 passes! So far, the experience with the Stop card has been that it solves some problems with BITs.

I might add some more as and when it comes to my mind. It has indeed been a summer filled with lots of bridge and I think that is one of the main reasons why I can’t bear to board my flight in a few hours time!

A hand which both EWs didn’t distinguish themselves in the bidding:

<table style=”width:250px”><tr><td><table><tr><td>Dealer</td><td>W</td></tr><tr><td>Vul</td><td>All</td></tr><tr><td>Scoring</td><td>Imp</td></tr><tr><td>Lead</td><td> </td></tr></table></td><td><table><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&spades;</span></td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&hearts;</span></td><td>K</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&diams;</span></td><td>JT7543</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&clubs;</span></td><td>J874</td></tr></table></td><td></td></tr><tr><td><table><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&spades;</span></td><td>QJT642</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&hearts;</span></td><td>632</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&diams;</span></td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&clubs;</span></td><td>AKT</td></tr></table></td><td><img style=”width:50px;height:50px;padding:0px;margin:0px; ” src=”http://firmit.awardspace.com/v2/img.php?value=2&dealer=1&vulnerable=3&font=2″/></td><td><table><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&spades;</span></td><td>A</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&hearts;</span></td><td>AT854</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&diams;</span></td><td>AKQ9</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&clubs;</span></td><td>532</td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td></td><td><table><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&spades;</span></td><td>K987</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&hearts;</span></td><td>QJ97</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:red;”>&diams;</span></td><td>82</td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:black;”>&clubs;</span></td><td>Q96</td></tr></table></td><td></td></tr></table>

Polish EW auction:

<table><tr><td style=”color:#FF0000″>West</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>North</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>East</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>South</td></tr><tr><td><span>1</span><span style=”color:#000000″>&spades;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>2</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr><tr><td><span>4</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>4</span><span style=”color:#000000″>NT</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr><tr><td><span>5</span><span style=”color:#000000″>&clubs;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>5</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr></table>

Hungarian EW auction:

<table><tr><td style=”color:#FF0000″>West</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>North</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>East</td><td style=”color:#FF0000″>South</td></tr><tr><td><span>1</span><span style=”color:#000000″>&spades;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>2</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr><tr><td><span>4</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>4</span><span style=”color:#000000″>&spades;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr><tr><td><span>5</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&diams;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span>5</span><span style=”color:#FF0000″>&hearts;</span></td><td><span style=”color:#DD0000″>X</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td><td><span style=”color:#005500″>p</span></td></tr></table>

Where would you lay the blame? On the minimal opening by West or the 4H raise on 3 small?

The title sounds ambitious doesn’t it? No, I am not writing a research article! Far from it, I am just outlining my views and insights on university bridge from my very limited perspective.

It is quite interesting seeing the difference between bridge in universities in Singapore and in the UK. The quality and quantity of University clubs in the UK varies quite a lot and the two tend to be correlated. Cambridge, with Trinity College in particular boasts of a large membership and good playing standard. At the other end, there is Bristol (our second round opponents in Portland Bowl) with just 7 members in total! Bridge membership is also declining in Warwick, which I find particular worrying.

Back in Singapore, NUS and NTU bridge clubs are both expanding in terms of membership. Having some of the national U-21 and U-26 players around can only improve the playing standard as well. Heng Liang showed me something from the NUS bridge club yahoogroups before and I thought it would be pretty good to have a group for discussion for WUBC as well. I have set this up and invited members. Hopefully more discussion will result in more thinking and practice, thus improving playing skill and technique.

The problem is, how do we get people sufficiently interested in bridge to continue playing? NUS and NTU seem to be able to attract enough people who are determined enough to spend months learning and playing. Granted, they may not be very good, but one has to start somewhere right? On the other hand, I am currently looking at less than 20 people left in WUBC.

How then do I get people interested enough to start learning and continue to do so? Minibridge would be one way. In addition to this, maybe it would be good to have proper lessons for those interested to further teach them the basic of bridge. Once they are hooked, they will stay and continue to improve.

Will this work?

This was the last hand of Friday evening.

♠ AK84 ♥ K82 ♦ KQ4 ♣ Q86

♠ QT95 ♥ AJT ♦ J873 ♣ AK

The bidding went…let’s not talk about it for the time being. After a lead of the club 4, how do you play for 12 tricks?

I made the poor choice of driving out the diamond Ace, playing spades, and finessing West for the heart Queen after finding West short in both hearts and diamonds. East took the Queen of hearts and cashed the Jack of Diamonds. 10 tricks. The full hand was:

	♠ AK84 ♥ K82 ♦ KQ4 ♣ Q86
♠ J6 ♥ 9764 ♦ T2 ♣ T7543		♠ 732 ♥ Q53 ♦ A965 ♣ J92
	♠ QT95 ♥ AJT ♦ J873 ♣ AK

The bidding at my table was 1NT-4NT-AP. Everyone else was in 6NT making except for a pair who were in 4NT+2! So I had lost just half a matchpoint. But this was the least of my concerns, one of which was partner underbidding. Okay, that was half in jest. How did I manage to misdeclare this hand?

Kelvin had seen the play as he had a sitout in the last round and this was what he offered me: Play only 2 rounds of diamonds, cash out the black suits. Now the play would be consistent with West having 5 clubs, spades and 4 hearts. It is now possible to throw East in with a heart and endplay him in diamonds.

Looks like I have much work to do for the next 3 months before school restarts.

Long while since I last updated! Many things have happened since then: getting dumped out of the Portland Bowl by Cambridge B, late entry into Coventry Pairs League with Cat Evans, getting top in that day, getting knocked out by Clee and Co. in the Inter-varsity BBO cup, and a long one-month hiatus from bridge.

Exams are approaching, but nonetheless, I couldn’t possibly pass up on the Spring Fours could I?

Partnering Darren again, BUT with the agreement this time round that 1S-4H is a splinter and not to play. Though my lack of play started to show very, very quickly.

First, I forgot what feature ask we were playing, so Darren and I had this auction: 2S-2NT(What’s that? Me: Feature ask)-3H(meant as I’ve got a heart void)-4S-AP and Darren tables AQJT953 in hearts!

Next, I opened 1NT(12-14), gets doubled, Darren bids 2H and I think…and alert it. (2H is supposed to be natural) Despite opponents having the correct meaning of the bid eventually (and legally), they went 3 off in 3NT.

Try this one:

♠ A87 ♥ 2 ♦ AK952 ♣ KQJ8

The bidding goes:

Since Darren and I play high card feature showing, our auction was:

Not bad, since I know it’s going to be on the spade finesse!

The full hand was:

Dealer E Vul E/W Scoring Imp Lead ♥A	♠ A87 ♥ 2 ♦ AK952 ♣ KQJ8
♠ ♥ AQJT75 ♦ 876 ♣ T542		♠ K532 ♥ K9643 ♦ J3 ♣ 63
	♠ QJT964 ♥ 8 ♦ QT4 ♣ A97

1 down was 13 imps out when other table did not bid slam.

I found myself in this 3NT contract:

Dealer N Vul N/S Scoring Imp Lead ♣6	♠ AQT7 ♥ AK42 ♦ AJ6 ♣ T9
♠ J842 ♥ QT83 ♦ 742 ♣ 73		♠ 95 ♥ 65 ♦ K853 ♣ AJ862
	♠ K63 ♥ J97 ♦ QT9 ♣ KQ54

The club lead makes things tricky, does E have the club J? The main spotlight on this board though, was the fact that I made an undeserved overtrick when East ducked twice on the finesse of diamonds! And I knew East had it as she tanked on both occasions and started getting very fidgety/irritated/frustrated.

More hands to come.

1. COUNT
2. Pay attention and focus
3. Defend better against 4M.
4. Make bids that partner won’t misunderstand/Don’t make bids that get into trouble.

Realised that Poon Hua/CC Loo seem to be featuring in this on BBO pretty frequently nowadays. This was from today’s match, board 15:

Dealer S Vul N/S Scoring Imp Lead ♠6	♠ AT83 ♥ 9862 ♦ KJ65 ♣ 2
♠ QJ92 ♥ A4 ♦ 9873 ♣ KJ4		♠ 764 ♥ J73 ♦ AQT2 ♣ T75
	♠ K5 ♥ KQT5 ♦ 4 ♣ AQ9863

Bidding was fairly standard, 1C-1H-3H-4H.

At the table which I kibitzed, North took the lead with K in dummy, low diamond to the jack, trump return to the A, and ruffed the diamond return. Now a spade back to hand to take the club finesse. After a diamond return, declarer was down 2 unhappily.

At the other table, smispi played differently. the 4 was led instead of the 6, the spade was taken in hand, club to the A, club ruff, heart to Q and A. After a round of diamonds and winning the spade return, another club ruff and a successful finesse of the heart ten meant 11 tricks.

Excellent play for 13 imps.