www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org

March/April 2011

Come on out to theWashington Bridge League’s

65th AnnualPotomac Valley Tournament

APRIL 28-MAY 1, 2011

The WBL May Sectional is packed with special events andteam game scoring along with great hospitality.

I/N players, check it out! There’s a full schedule of Interme-diate & Novice events.

Alert! New locations for the weekend. Friday games will beat Ohr Kodesh at 10am and 2:15pm. In the afternoon, the IMPPairs are back... It’s a pair game that scores like a team game!

Saturday and Sunday events are held the Newport Mill MiddleSchool. Between sessions on Saturday attend the free PanelShow. At 11:00am and 4:00pm, check out the Com-pact KOs... It’s four rounds of knockoutsthat finish in one day! Sun day,it’s Swiss Teams forall levels. Check out the

Annual Meeting, Elections andClub Championship on Thursday, May 12

See page 2

3 for all the

details...

Complimentary Desserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6:30 p.m.Meeting and Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7:00 p.m.StrataFlighted Club Championship . . . . . . .7:30 p.m.During the evening, we will recognize our 2010 Mini-McKenney and Ace of Clubs winners for their achievements.

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See page 3 for the full tournament schedule...

See page 4 for the full tournament schedule...

Then, on MAY 14-15, 2011, it’s aWashington Bridge League

Non Life Master SectionalShawn Stringer is your host for a WBL tournament just for Non LifeMasters! (...with less than 500 points.) Join in for a fun weekendwith lunch and refreshments included both days. Silver points, too!

- 1 -

contents

articLe page

President’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Don Berman 2

Opt Out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Bits and Pieces...

Welcome to the Washington Bridge League; Club News—MD JCC—

Audrey Warren retires; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

2010-2011 WBL/NVBA Player of the Year; 2010 WBL 0-300 Round

Robin; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Come Join the 2011 WBL Round Robin! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

65th Annual City of Washington Tournament — April 28 - May 1, 2011 . . 3

WBL Non Life Master Sectional — May 14-15, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

WBL Solvers’ Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Steve Robinson 7

Thursday Night Unit Game...

2011 Trophy Race Standings . . . . . . . . .by Webmaster, Don Berman 14

0-20 Game & Lesson Thursday Nights, Carpools . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Schedule, WBL Cell Phone, Map, Guaranteed Partner Program . . .15

The Unit Game—Slow Play; Spare Brains or Muscle?;

Upcoming Sectionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Committee Action #72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Rich Colker 17

The Gadget-Matist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by Barry Bragin 21

Annual Meeting, Elections and Club Championship—May 12 . . . . . . . .23

Reston, VA 4th of July Regional — June 28 - July 4, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . .26

NLMasterPointers . . .by I/N columnists, Shawn Stringer & Ron Zucker 28

Stepping Up to New Heights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Need a Partner or a Ride to the Unit Game? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

Solvers’ Club’s New Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

§¨©ª ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ §¨©ª

deadline: may 3, 2011to submit new articles to the editor for the may/June 2011 issue

Washington Bridge League BULLETIN (usps #861-240)VOL. 69, #2— SUBSCRIPTION $2 PER YEAR FOR MEMBERS OF UNIT #147 (INCLUDED IN ACBL ANNUAL DUES).NON-MEMBER SUBSCRIPTION RATE IS $21 FOR THREE YEARS. PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THE WASHINGTONBRIDGE LEAGUE AT 14517 PERRYWOOD DRIVE, BURTONSVILLE, MD 20866. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID ATBURTONSVILLE, MD. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO WASHINGTON BRIDGE LEAGUE BULLETIN,ACBL, P.O. BOX 289, HORN LAKE, MS 28637-0289. ALL EDITORIAL AND GENERAL CORRESPONDENCESHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE EDITOR AT 901 CLIFTONBROOK LN., SILVER SPRING, MD 20905-3711.

Editor — Donna Rogall (301-421-9615), drogall@verizon.netI/N Columnist — Sandy Forsythe, majslf@aol.com

Columnists — Steve Robinson, Richard Colker, Don Berman, Chris Miller, Barry BraginThe opinions expressed by our columnists do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the ACBL, the WBL,or even the editors of this publication. The WBL is not responsible for the claims of its advertisers.

Don Berman, President— (301-776-3581), don.berman@verizon.netRichard Ferrin, Vice President — (202-265-0718), rferrin@mac.comFred King, Treasurer— (703-536-1914), fredmking@gmail.com

Ellen Cherniavsky, Secretary — (301-649-1350), eachernia@yahoo.com

UNIT DIRECTORSCarole Banks — (301-622-0923), cy.banks@verizon.netJames Geist — (301-675-6070), wwwjfg@yahoo.comClyde Kruskal — (301-927-1023), cpkfam@gmail.com

Linda Marshall — (301-320-6057), ldajmarshall@msn.comHank Meyer — (301-474-6677), hankmeyer@hotmail.comRon Zucker — (202-986-2166), ron@motherzucker.com

SOME KEY VOLUNTEERSNadine Wood — Tournament Chair (301-565-9555)Ann Lindley — WBL Ombudsman (703-360-9087)

Frances Burke — Membership Secretary (301-384-6103)Chris Miller — Unit Game Chief Director & Club Manager (301-318-6083), wblmanager@gmail.com

Clyde Kruskal — Unit Game Chair (301-395-0480)Barbara Doran — Unit Game & Tournament Partnerships (301-608-0347)Kitty Gottfried — Unit Game and Sectional Hospitality (301-587-3981)

Ajit Thyagarajan — WBL School Bridge Coordinator (301-754-3932), bridge@brookmoor.netBarry Bragin — Unit Recorder (301-598-6853)

WBL WEBSITE: DISTRICT 6 SITE:www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org www.districtsix.org

WBL omBudsman

Any player with helpful director is-sues including criticism or praise of thedirecting staff may contact the Ombuds-man, Ann Lindley and be assured thatthe source of the information will remainconfidential. Information should be pro-vided in writing and may be handed toher at any game, or mailed to her at 8822Fircrest Pl., Alexandria, VA 22308.

suggestion BoxDo you have a suggestion that

might help to increase membership orotherwise improve the WashingtonBridge League? Give any and all ideasto Don Berman, 301-776-3581,don.berman@verizon.net, 13707 En-gleman Dr., Laurel, MD 20708, orwww.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.

To geT on an email lisT for Bridge neWs & Bridge proBLems, send a

noTe To sTeve robinson aT roBinsWr1941@gmaiL.com requesTing such.

- 3 -

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- 2 -

president’s Letterby WBL President, Don Berman

Congratulations to the GNT Flight A (0-5000) winners, Diane Walker, Kenton Schoen,Joseph Trapani, Janet Robertson, Richard Baum.They will represent District 6 at the North Amer-ican Bridge Champi-onships in Toronto.

Election time isupon us once again. Iurge all who would liketo contribute to makingour games a better ex-perience for all to con-sider running for theBoard of Directors. Ifyou would like more in-formation on what thisentails please speak tome or to any other member of the currentboard; Richard Ferrin (Vice President), EllenCherniavsky (Secretary), Fred King (Treasurer),Carole Banks, Jim Geist, Clyde Kruskal, LindaMarshall, Hank Meyer, and Ron Zucker.

We have finalized the purchased of theBridgeMate scoring devices and will beusing them in all future games. Please be-

come familiar with them so that we can reaptheir full benefits. This includes faster resultposting at the end of the game, allows the di-rectors to better monitor the games progress

(they can see on theirmonitor which tableshave not yet com-pleted play and canrespond sooner), andin the long run willsave us expenses asthe games can be runwith fewer directors.Enter your scores im-mediately on comple-tion of a board andespecially for the east-

west pairs check the entry for accuracy. Afuture version of the system will also allowtheir use in Swiss Team games.

Finally, a continuing reminder to be cour-teous to your fellow bridge players at all timesand to maintain the pace of play so that allmight find their experience of playing enjoy-able and look forward to returning.

opt out?If you’d like to stop receiving the

printed version of the WBL Bulletin,please send your e-mail address to DonBerman at don.berman@verizon.net.Once enough names have been col-lected to start lowering the number ofcopies we print, you will start receivingan e-mail link to the on-line version ofthe bulletin in lieu of your printed copy.

bridge clubs in the area. Information can befound at www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.

—cLuB neWs—

maryLand Jcc

Audrey Warren has retired and BarbaraSadick is now directing and managing theWednesday morning 10:30 game at Beth Amiand Monday evening 7:30 game at the Mary-land JCC. She has made a couple of changesthat everyone will enjoy: All boards are pre-made for the games (no more making boardsat the beginning or sorting into suits at the

WeLcome to theWashington Bridge League

The WBL welcomes the following newACBL members: Ms Ruth B Bloom, BethanyKadish, Ms Emma McNamara, Judith A Riggs,Dr Eugene R Smoley, Mrs Grace H Smoley, andVictoria C True.

In addition, we welcome the followingtransfers from other units: Agnes T Aranyi,Linda Cotter, Deane Hinton, Mrs Dorothy Hunt,Mr Leo Klas, Mrs Rhona P Prensky, Mr HerbertRubinstein, Mrs Marilyn S Rubinstein, andParviz Steeds.

Please join us at our weekly Unit Gameon Thursday evenings and frequent the local

Bits and pieces

...continued on p. 5

- 5 -

NonLM Leaders Player Points 1 Phillip Tseng . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.99 2 Norman Mitchell . . . . . . . . . .20.29 3 David Montague . . . . . . . . . . .17.92 4 Gabriel Cornett . . . . . . . . . . .17.76 5 Eldon Compton . . . . . . . . . . .17.76 6 Marc Weiner . . . . . . . . . . . . .17.70 7 Richard Levin . . . . . . . . . . . .17.70 8 Michelle Zygielbaum . . . . . . .17.54 9 Ernie Schuler . . . . . . . . . . . . .17.43 10 Thomas Jennings . . . . . . . . . .17.10 11 Daniel Falk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16.75 12 Larry Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . .16.32 13 Albert Stolpe . . . . . . . . . . . . .15.94 14 Kimberly Ferguson . . . . . . . .15.82 15 Stephen Colevas . . . . . . . . . .15.68 16 Eleanor Schwartz . . . . . . . . . .15.58 17 M. David Jackson . . . . . . . . .15.53 18 Dan Emmons . . . . . . . . . . . . .15.24 19 Fred Gramlich . . . . . . . . . . . .14.80 20 J J Jayaraman . . . . . . . . . . . .13.43

2010 WBL0-300 round roBin

Congratulations to the winners and all ofthe participants in this new flight of the WBLRound Robin! Sign-ups have started for thethis year’s event... see page 27.

150.00 A 1 Norman Mitchell - Art Hart-stein - David Montague - Jerry Pruzan -Ron Starr - Terry Vann

140.00 A 2 Garry Grossman - PaulChassy - Reina Chassy - Adrienne Kohn- Sara Mazie - Mark Zweig

126.00 B 1 Carol Webster - Steven Leifer- Jacqueline Leifer - Susan Morris -William Morris - Duane Webster

126.00 A Rochelle Hilton - SuzanneDawson - Horowitz - Yasmin Jiwa - Patri-cia Mitchell - Rachelle Sladoff

48.00 B Lisa Diamond - Anne Girod- Charla Lerman - Rebecca Stadd - SusanStein - Deidre Sacks

22.00 B Lynn Choquette - HazelKeimoitz - Carol McGarry - B J Thorn-berry - Pat Blommer - Neil Crane

- 4 -

end!) and the hand records will be availableboth in hard copy at the game and posted tothe website, along with the results. The web-site remains www.jccdbc.com and game timesremain the same.

2010-2011 WBL/nVBa

pLayer of the year

To be eligible, a player: (1) Must be a mem-ber (or pending member) of either theNVBA or the WBL; (2) Must attend at leastthree WBL and three NVBA sectionals dur-ing the contest period (August, 2010through June, 2011). Points won on Tour -nament Thurs day evenings are in cluded inthe totals, but do not count towards eligibil-ity; (3) Must be a member in good standingof the ACBL and a local affiliate throughoutthe contest period and remain so throughthe award presentation.

Awards: Two trophies will be awarded.Standings: Here are the standings after five ofseven sectionals. The asterisk* indicates thatthe player has met eligibility requirements.

Open Leaders Player Points 1 Steven Schatzow . . . . . . . . .136.68 2 Mark Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94.98 3 Kenneth Davis . . . . . . . . . . . .75.97 4 Jay Kelkar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72.92 5 Helene Bauman . . . . . . . . . . .68.73 6 Robert Hopkins Jr . . . . . . . . .67.90 7 Alfred Duncker . . . . . . . . . . .66.68 8 Steve Robinson . . . . . . . . . . .66.46 9 Brad Theurer . . . . . . . . . . . . .64.83 10 John Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64.05 11 William Cole . . . . . . . . . . . . .63.10 12 Martin Graf . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62.67 13 Ann Lindley . . . . . . . . . . . . .61.39 14 Peter Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60.73 15 Eugene Kales . . . . . . . . . . . . .59.32 16 Andrew Gofreed . . . . . . . . . . .58.08 17 Linda Marshall . . . . . . . . . . .57.10 18 Diane Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . .53.24 19 Robert Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52.14 20 Stephen Drodge . . . . . . . . . . .49.48

UnitUnit147147

Non Life MasterNon Life MasterSectionalSectional

NEWPORT MILL MIDDLE SCHOOL11311 Newport Mill RoadKensington, MD 20895

Play for Silver Maryland HospitalityNLMs with fewer than Lunch and refreshments

500 MPs included both days!

Saturday, May 14NLM Stratified Pairs (0-20, 20-100, 100-500 MPs) . . . . . . . . .11:00 am

Expert analysis/discussion during lunch between sessions

NLM Stratified Pairs (0-20, 20-100, 100-500 MPs) . . . . . . . . .3:15 pm

Sunday, May 15Stratified Swiss Teams (playthrough with lunch break) . . . . . .11:00 am

-Join Us for a fUn weekend!-

TOURNAMENT CHAIRShawn Stringer301-275-6363

shstringer@aol.com

DIRECTIONS: From I-495 (Washington Beltway) take Exit 33 (ConnecticutAve/MD-185) North towards Kensington. Go 2 miles and keep Left as ConnecticutAve splits. After the split, take the third Right onto Lawrence Avenue. Take the firstLeft onto Newport Mill Road. The school is one-half mile on the Right.

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...continued on p. 5

- 7 -

Congratulations to Gareth Birdsall, MikeLawrence and Mike Gill who tied for first with ascore of 490. They win a free entry to the UnitGame, and will be invited to be on a future panel.Tied for fourth were Tom Musso, Gerald LernerandDave Smithwith a score of 480. Tied for sev-enth were Rick Uhrig, Hank Meyer, Prahalad Ra-jkumar, Ruth Miles, Craig Olson, Ron Zucker andRex Settlewith a score of 470. Tied for fourteenthwere Karsten Grove, Jay Weinstein, Chris Johnson,David Rodney, Don Berman, Lyle Poe, Hy Chansky,Neal Walters, Mike Richey, Michael Mayer, StephenDrodge and Joav Steinbach with a score of 460.Tied for twenty-sixth were Jim Wade, Jim Wake-field, Wes Goldberg, Kent Goulding, Ted Wilkinson,Terry Carpenter, Robert Stone, Leon Letwin, KevinLane, Chris Miller, Robert Henry and Owen Byerwith a score of 450. Tied for thirty-eighth wereRon Destefano, Mark Rosen, Rick McDaniel, MarkCohen and Rasim Sari with a score of 440. Tiedfor fourty-third were Bob Hampton, Al Duncker,Diane Walker, Ron Conlon, Shirley Ybarra, EllieDorsey, Ben Stauss, Carl Gutschick, Jeff Hepner, TomGrahme, Noble Shore, Bryan Macpherson, PeteHughes and Candy Carlton with a score of 430.The average score of the 244 solvers was 382.The average score of the experts was 461.

Mark Gospodnetic and Hy Chansky got a490 on my last set

Randel Holden got a 480 on my last set.Suzanne Abrams got a 470 on my last set.John Horst, Bridge Baron and Sadie Boyer

got a 460 on my last set.All readers are encouraged to send answers

and/or new problems to Steve Robinson, 2891S. Abingdon St. #A2 Arlington, VA, 22206-1329. In addition to the winner receiving a freeplay at the WBL Unit Game, Steve will playwith anyone who gets a perfect score or who ex-actly matches all five of his answers. If you senda self-addressed stamped envelope to the aboveaddress along with your answers, I will send youa copy of the new problems to ensure that youcan meet his next deadline. You can pick up acopy of the problems at the WBL Unit Game inMaryland, and can send answers or requests forproblems to robinswr@erols.com. You can alsosee and answer the problems at the WBL web

site. WBL Solvers Club uses Washington Stan-dard as published July 1996. I accept only thefirst answer from each solver unless it is clearthat the solver wants to correct his answer.

I personally score all the problems. If a ma-jority of the solvers vote for an answer, and theanswer is reasonable I will give that answer 100points. I will not give 100 points to an answerthat I consider bad no matter how many expertsvote for it. There are times when I want to makea point. I will give that answer 100 points andwill therefore give the majority answer 90points. For the other answers I consider howgood the answer is and how many experts votefor it for its score. If you submitted an answerthat got 20 points, that bid would get a badscore at the table. A good exercise would be tofigure out why I gave your answer 20 points.You might have misread the problem.

The book Washington Standard secondedition is out. If you are a serious bridgeplayer, this book is a must. You can purchasea copy from Steve for $25.00 whenever yousee him or can send him a check for $29.95that includes $4.95 for priority mail.

1) Matchpoints, None VulnerableªK103©QJ3¨Q832§K75

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 2¨(weak) Pass Pass Dbl Pass ????**2NT forces 3§ so you then have to bid 3NT

Action Score Votes Solvers 2NT 100 6 49 Pass 90 6 75 3NT 80 1 48 3¨ 50 0 44 2© 50 1 19 2ª 50 0 1 3© 20 0 2 3§ 20 0 3 4¨ 20 0 3

There are two reasons that partner makes atakeout double. One reason is that he hopes youhave a stack and can get rich. Another reason isthat he wants you to help him decide where to

WBL soLVers’ cLuB

Moderated by Steve Robinsonrobinswr1941@gmail.com

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- 6 -

- 9 -

Action Score Votes Solvers Pass 100 11 153 2§ 90 1 7 2NT 80 2 34 2¨ 60 0 24 3NT 50 0 9 2ª 50 0 12 3ª 20 0 3 2© 20 0 1 3¨ 20 0 1

How much do you stretch to reach vulnera-ble games? The experts thought that trying to getto game was the main theme of this problem. Ifthe spades were A10987, there would be manyvotes for inviting. The real problem is, assumingyou don’t want to try for game, is which partscoredo you want to play in? If you assume partnerhas fewer than three spades¸ then he is 1-4-3-5,2-4-3-4, 2-2-4-5, 2-4-2-5 or 2-3-3-5. If you open1§ with 4-4 in the minors, you can’t make theassumption that Opener has five clubs, which iswhy I open 1¨with 4-4 in the minors. Since fourof five of partner’s possible distributions containfive clubs, I think its percentage to bid 2§. Ifpartner does have three spades, you could get toyour 5-3 spade fit. Playing in clubs, your dou-bleton diamond will be worth a trick. GiveOpener ªxx©AKx¨Qxx§QJ10xx. 2§ is cold.In 1NT you could lose three diamonds, two clubsand three spades.

Sontag: “Pass—What’s the problem?”Parker: “Pass—Take my plus. No club honor

and no source of tricks. I know we are vulnerablebut the doubler is on lead and should know whatto start with. Partner has at most two Spades.”

If partner has at most two spades, you def-initely want to play in clubs However, since1ª can be bid on a four-card suit, Openercould rebid 1NT if he’s 3-3-3-4.

Woolsey: “Pass—Being vulnerable doesn’tmean we are required to bid game when there isno game. Even if partner has a maximum that’sonly 24 HCP between the two hands, and East’stakeout double both reduces that chances thatpartner has a maximum and the chances of a 3-3spade split which might be needed to make 3NT.”

Landen: “Pass—Game is too big a stretchand I have no reason to think spades will playbetter than notrump.”

Pride:“Pass—I love bidding games at IMPs.I love knowing where the majority of the pointsare when I play the hand. But I have not spots. Ihave almost no shape and the suit I have lengthin is almost guaranteed to split badly. Sure part-ner could have magic: ªQJT©xxx¨xx§AKQJx

- but I don’t think he rebids 1NT with that hand.”Schwartz: “Pass—Many negatives on this

hand, likely four spades on my right, no honorin partner’s suit, the opponents likely have aneight-card diamond fit to lead. At most 24 HCP,have to get to an uncomfortable level to invite.”

Hopkins: “Pass— Only when partner hasa good five-card Club suit and a maximumwould I expect to make 3NT. I don’t want tojeopardize our likely plus score.”

Cappelletti: “Pass—But I don’t like it. Iwould have redoubled, and then pass wouldbe less likely to miss a game.”

When I started playing bridge you had to re-double since 1ªwould deny ten HCP and wouldbe non-forcing. Today, 1ª is forcing and unlim-ited. Opener treats 1ª as if the auction went 1§— pass 1ª. If you redouble and the opponentspreempt, you could lose your spade fit.

King: “Pass—I consider this close to agame try, but the double warns us that any fi-nesses into partner’s hand are likely to failand spades are more likely to break badly,even if partner has three of them. Without thedouble I would invite, but with it I think dis-cretion is the better part of valor.”

Chen: “Pass—Tough hand. Without the dou-ble I would invite since 14 HCP opposite tenHCP often plays well in 3NT. However, with thedouble warning me that the red-suit finesseswill be off and that the spades won’t split, I willtake the conservative road and pass.”

Roman: “Pass—With better spade spots Iwould invite game, but here it’s more likelythat partner will push to bid a vulnerablegame that has no play.”

Two experts try for game. If I was going totry for game I would bid 2¨ in order to see ifpartner has three spades.

Adams: “2NT—With the bad spots andtake out double, I do not want to find a 5-3spade fit. Playing with Robinson, 2NT is thelimit as he will have 11 HCP often and I haveno fitting club cards. Opposite a sound opener,I would bid 3NT. Since this panel assumes Iam playing with Robinson, I go low. We shouldprobably add transfers after one-of-a- minor— double to Washington Standard, as it givesus more information and room.”

Bragin: “2NT—Partner does not have tohave a classic weak notrump. With ªx©Axxx¨QTx§AKQxx 3NT will make with a red suitlead. Pass too conservative vulnerable at IMPs.”

At matchpoints you look for the highestscoring partscore. However, at IMPs look forthe safest partscore.

- 8 -

play. There are many of these hands where part-ner would not be happy if you passed his takeoutdouble. ªAQxx©AKxxxx¨x§xx is an example.Assuming that you decide not to pass, it is rea-sonable that you want to suggest playing in 3NT.There are two ways for advancer to get to 3NT. Adirect 3NT and 2NT followed by 3NT. Thereshould be a difference between the two routes.The takeout doubler is often short in diamonds,and therefore he can’t be expected to have a dia-mond stopper. The takeout doubler can easilyhave a void or singleton diamond. The direct 3NTsays that you really want to play 3NT. The indirect3NT shows doubt. Doubler is supposed to pull theindirect 3NT with a void or small singleton in theopponent’s suit. The other choice of the experts isto take the possible penalty. You have a good leadwhich is important when going for penalties.

One expert jumps directly to 3NT.Sontag: “3NT—I play 2NT here is natural

not Lebensohl but with your parameters that2NT is Lebensohl, I would bid 3NT.”

Five experts join me and indirectly bid 3NT.Parker: “2NT—Then 3NT which should

show some doubt with a diamond stopper. Iam not good enough for 3NT directly. A cuebid will lead to a 3-4 major fit with the tap inthe wrong hand. Passing is silly since theymight make it when we have a game.”

Woolsey: “2NT—I assume that 2NT fol-lowed by 3NT, as opposed to a direct 3NT,shows doubt about notrump, so partner canpull with appropriate hands. Passing is way toobig a position, and nothing else makes anysense. Incidentally, would I really have to fol-low with 3NT? Wouldn’t 2NT then 3¨ showsomething like this hand, giving partner roomto bid a five-card major at the three-level.”

2NT followed by 3¨ should show one ortwo four-card majors with a diamond stopper.Stayman with a stopper.

Cappelletti: “2NT— On my way to 3NT -Note that more good things might happenover 2NT. “

Adams: “2NT—One trump trick is notenough to convert at the two-level, so Pass is out.

If partner has a five-card major, I’d like tofind it. 2NT followed by 3NT should say Ihave other places I am willing to play. 3NT di-rectly should not be corrected. The treatmentis different than over a strong notrump. In thiscase, fast denies is silly as you can’t expectthe doubler to have a stopper. The only ques-tion then is doubt, and 2NT is doubt.”

Bragin: “2NT—Followed by 3NT should

show some doubt and willingness to play else-where. A direct 3NT would make slam biddingawkward if partner has a big hand. Pass too final.”

The following expert wants to practiceplaying the 3-3 fit. Partner doesn’t promisefour hearts for his takeout double.

Pride: “2©—Partner is just balancing.There’s no reason to expect him to haveenough values for game. If partner has gamevalues he will bid again.”

Six experts go for penalties. Deciding whichsuit to lead assuming you don’t have a naturallead and sometimes which card to lead and de-ciding whether or not to pass a takeout doublefor penalties without a big stack are two of therandom aspects in bridge. The random layoutof the other 39 cards will decide whether youropening lead or your pass works. At IMPs +300would be a good result even if you can make agame. At matchpoints +300 would not be agood result if you have an easy game to bid andmake. The other aspect of passing the takeoutdouble is that, yes you can get +500 against 2¨doubled but you have to underlead your AK inorder to get all your tricks.

Landen: “Pass—I like my chances de-fending. I expect to beat 2¨ and will oftennot be able to make 3NT.”

Schwartz: “Pass—Likely will go plus. Idon’ t want to hang partner for balancing bybidding 3NT and don’t want to risk getting toa 3-3 fit by bidding 2©.”

Hopkins: “Pass—I will lead the HeartQueen and hope we can take at least one trumptrick and six or more tricks on the side.”

King: “Pass—While 3NT might be making,I think pass will almost always lead to a positivescore and that is the first goal at matchpoints.”

Chen: “Pass—I would consider 2NT if itwere natural, but since we need 2NTforLebensohl, I will pass for penalty.”

Roman: “Pass—With no aces and no tricks,I’ll guess that we can’t make 3NT. Even +100will be a good score if the field is going minus.”

Of course no aces and no tricks couldmean poor defense.

When partner makes a takeout double, heexpects you to take it out. If it’s close, take it out.

2) IMPs, You’re VulnerableªA6543©QJ3¨K4§654

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 1§ Dbl 1ª Pass 1NT Pass ????

- 11 -

about right on values.”Parker: “3©—Shows a good hand so part-

ner can bid on with values. If he bids again Ican pin point the diamond shortness. The keyis for him to look at his clubs. Give himªAxx©Jxxxx¨Jxx§Ax we have a great playfor slam. Change the club Ace to the diamondAce and we have no play.”

If I had your example hand, I would notmake a slam try after a 3© bid. However, Iwould make a slam try over a diamond splinter.

Cappelletti: “3©—Lots of offensive play-ing strength.”

One expert jumps to 4§. 4§ shows fourhearts and at least six clubs which is whatyou have. However, the club suit must be atworst a one-loser suit.

Chen: “4§—This hand has about the sametrick-taking power and shape as ªKx©AKQx¨A§ QT9xxx, which looks like a 4§ bid tome. This leaves room for partner to bid 4¨ lasttrain, after which I will accept the slam try.”

Play reverse jump shifts as splinters. Youcan play them in four situations. 1§ — 1©— 3¨. 1§— 1ª— 3¨. 1§— 1ª— 3©.1¨ — 1ª — 3©.

4) IMPs, Both VulnerableªJ852©AQJ76¨6§A94

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST Pass 1¨ Pass 1© Pass 3¨ Pass ????

Action Score Votes Solvers 3© 100 10 34 3ª 80 2 88 3NT 80 2 113 4NT 40 0 3 4§ 20 0 6

The only way to stop below game is to pass3¨. Any bid you make in response to 3¨ isgame-forcing. There are three reasonable bidsover 3 .̈ You could bid 3NT, which will probablyend the auction. Bidding 3NT makes sense. Youhave stoppers in all of the other suits and enoughstrength to have some play for 3NT. You couldbid 3ª, which tells partner that you have spadesstopped and are worried about clubs. HoldingAQJxx, which plays well opposite Kx, you couldbid 3©. Partner might even have three hearts.

Nine experts join me and bid 3©. In orderfor 3NT to be right, you probably need part-ner to have honors in both black suits. Whenfaced with options, usually the cheapest nat-ural bid is best. Partner should take the

cheapest natural bid with a grain of salt. Givepartner ªAKx©Kx¨KQJxxxx§x, 3NT goesdown, with 6¨ cold. You have plays for 6©.If partner is 3163, he’ll bid 3NT which willbe where you belong.

Sontag: “3©—Leaves all games open.”Parker: “3©—This is forcing and shows

at least a five-card suit. 3ª would make part-ner think I have some stuff in spades and notshow where my strength is. Over 3NT I pass.Maybe he has ªx©Kxx¨AKJxxx§KQx, orone less heart and one more diamond and weeasily make six hearts.”

Schwartz: “3©—Normally shows six butthis is the most flexible bid for slam purposes.If partner happens to raise hearts on a double-ton we should still be able to make 4© in com-fort and it might even be the right game.”

I’m not sure why 3© shows six. You can’tbid new minor over 3¨.

Hopkins: “3©—I will keep the biddinglow and see where partner goes. I can standan honor-doubleton raise.”

Adams: “3©—This is forcing. I usually havesix, but promise only five, and these five are prettygood. Partner is not going to raise to 4© on a sin-gleton or small doubleton with values in the blacksuits, but might raise with small doubleton if openin one of the blacks. Does not look like a notrumphand so let’s see what partner does.”

King: “3©—This leaves the most room forpartner to tell me more about his hand. “

Chen: “3©—Shows my values, is forcing,and keeps the bidding low so I can hear morefrom partner.”

Roman: “3©—Natural and forcing, what’snot to like?”

Bragin: “3©—Forcing. A bid after an invi-tational jump is forcing. If partner bids 3NT I’llpass but I will cue bid clubs over any other con-tinuation. Slam is reasonable opposite as littleasªx©xx¨AKQJxx§KQxx. Sometimes part-ner has the “nightmare” hand: ªAx©Kxx¨AKJxxxx§x and 7© is a favorite.”

Two experts bid 3ª. Since partner deniedfour spades, 3ª shows spade values. Theproblem is that partner will bid 3NT holdinggood clubs assuming that you have spadesstopped. Bidding 3ª doesn’t promise fivehearts and is what you would bid holdingªKQJx©QJxx¨xxx§xx.

Landen: “3ª—I’d prefer partner to declarenotrump, so make the natural bid showing fivehearts and four spades; at least a spade stopper.”

Pride: “3ª—It’s the most flexible bid. Weborder on slam values but we don’t necessarily

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3) IMPs, You’re VulnerableªK4©AKQ3¨-§Q1097643

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST 1§ Pass 1© Pass ????

Action Score Votes Solvers 3¨ 100 6 34 4¨ 90 4 76 3© 70 3 59 4© 60 0 42 4§ 40 1 13 6© 40 0 1 2© 30 0 6 3§ 20 0 5 2¨ 20 0 6 2ª 20 0 1 2§ 20 0 1

Partner surprised you by responding 1©rather than the expected 1ª. How do you showa good hand with four-card heart support and di-amond shortness? 3¨ shows diamond shortness,four-card heart support with enough strength tobid at least 3©. I actually play that 3¨ is a four-way bid. It shows shortness in either diamondsor spades with strength to bid either 3© or 4©.Partner asks with 3ª. However, most play thatjump reverses are splinters in the suit bid. Youdon’t need 3¨ as a natural jump shift since 1§- 1© - 2¨ is forcing and unlimited.

Five experts join me and bid 3¨. I don’tunderstand why everyone doesn’t bid 3¨ onall hands with four-card heart support withdiamond shortness. If partner signs off in 3©,you can raise with a game-forcing hand. 3¨is on page 192 of my book. With the oppo-nents passing, it feels like partner has a goodhand. 3¨ leaves room for slam investigation.

Sontag: “3¨—Shortness. Saves room forslam investigation.”

Landen: “3¨—Assuming that’s kosher, ifnot 3©. I don’t consider this hand goodenough to bid 4¨.”

If you bid 3¨ on all hands that contain di-amond shortness with four-card heart support,you can find a different meaning for 4¨. Youshould not play that 4¨ is just a stronger hand.

Schwartz: “3¨—Mini-splinter. Partnerlikely has values with the opponents passingand if I show a full strength splinter, he willplay me for far better clubs. I can chance bid-ding 4© if partner signs off in 3© as he isunlikely to bid on.”

I don’t like the name Mini Splinter. I’drather it just be called a splinter.

Adams:“3¨—Mini Splinter. Love my hearts.Would rather some of that be in clubs, then Iwould have a 4§ bid. Mini Splinter is right onHCP, a bit low on strength, so I will not pass 3©.4¨-splinter does not leave any room below slam,does not show a void, suggests more HCP, andwith a lot of partners, says at least a King in sidesuits. Most of these issues I can shrug off, but theno room issue is huge. Partner will usually bid4© over 4¨, because partner has no heart hon-ors. Over 3¨- mini-splinter, partner can cooper-ate without committing to five-level. A bit ofcooperation and slam is easy to envision.”

You also stay low if partner doesn’t haveclub help.

Bragin: “3¨—Why are the non-vulnera-ble opponents so quiet? Partner must have agood hand but lousy trumps. Make the mostdescriptive bid so he can evaluate for slam.”

If 3¨ is a splinter, a jump to 4¨ should showa different type of hand, for instance a void.

Four experts bid 4¨. The main problemwith 4¨ is that there is no bid in-between 4¨and 4©. Responder can’t re-invite belowgame. With bad trumps he’s going to be hes-itant about bidding above game.

Woolsey: “4¨—I’m not stopping short ofgame, so I might as well make the descriptivesplinter. My hearts are so strong that partnerwon’t be moving towards slam unless he hasplenty of help in the black suits.”

Pride: “4¨—You want to be in game. Youwant partner to have slam interest based onhis honor holdings outside of the diamondsuit. Your clubs need to be better for 4§.”

King: “4¨—Yuk. Everything seems soflawed here. 4§ should promise a much bettersuit, 4¨ takes up so much room and leaves nospace for exploration. I play the 3¨ followedby 4© if partner signs off shows a void, but astronger hand. 4© is so uninformative and cer-tainly not the balanced hand partner would ex-pect. I guess 4¨ is the least of evils.”

If you have to bid 4¨ on this hand be-cause 3¨ followed by 4© shows a void,you’re playing bad methods. I use 4¨ as a3442 or 4432 game forcing hand.

Roman: “4¨—Can’t do more, certainlycan’t do less.”

BTW, if partner happens to ask for aces,there’s an easy way to show your diamondvoid. The answer is DON’T.

Three experts jump raise hearts.Hopkins: “3©—The mini-splinter people

have the perfect bid for this one. 3© seems

- 13 -- 12 -

want to be there if it’s a misfit hand which itlooks like. If 3©were forcing, that would be mycall - I don’t really want to play a spade Moysian.But I don’t think it is, so I’m not bidding it.”

Two experts bid 3NT.Cappelletti: “3NT— 3©might get us pass

3NT which is our most likely game.”If partner raises hearts, how bad can 4©

be? With a singleton diamond why do youthink that notrump will play well. His dia-monds could be as bad as AJ10xxx. I’d jumpto 3¨ holding ªAKx©x¨AJ10xxx§KJxWouldn’t 3NT be a silly contract with a spadelead opposite ªx©Kxx¨AKxxxx§KQJ?

Woolsey: “3NT—This certainly figures tomake. The singleton diamond and maximumof around 30 combined HCP indicate thatthere probably is no slam, and I don’t see adecent way to investigate anyway.”

Partner is going to pass 3NT withªx©Kx¨AKQJxxx§QJx and if they lead aspade you might not like your result.

5) IMPs, Both Vulnerableª873©73¨Q1094§10962

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST Pass 2§ Pass 2¨ 3§ 3© Pass ????

Action Score Votes Solvers 3NT 100 7 29 4© 90 6 114 4§ 70 1 5 4¨ 20 0 4 5© 20 0 1 3ª 20 0 4 Pass 20 0 87

When you open 2§, there are only two se-quences where you can stop short of game. Re-sponder can pass if opener’s rebids 2NT. If it goes2§ — 2¨ — two-of-a-major — 3§(which isthe second negative), Responder can pass ifopener then rebids three-of-his-original-major.All other sequences are game-forcing. Since 3©is forcing, anyone who passes a forcing bid getsthe score they deserve. Partner is allowed to bid3© with ªAK©AKQxx¨AKJxx§A expectingto bid diamonds if hearts are not supported. +260would not be a good result to bring back to yourteammates. Since pass is out of the question, howdo you describe this mountain of a hand? Six ex-perts join me and bid 3NT, hoping that partnerhas a club honor. Even if partner doesn’t have aclub honor, the suit might block or it might notget led. 3NT will slow the auction down and allowpartner to bid another suit. You can still play 4©if you bid 3NT. You can’t play in 3NT if you bid4©. Here’s another instance where you make the

soLVers’ scores

John Adams 2NT 2NT 3¨ 3© 3NT 480Barry Bragin 2NT 2NT 3¨ 3© 4© 470Mike Cappelletti 2NT Pass 3© 3NT 4© 440Mark Chen Pass Pass 4§ 3© 3NT 430Robbie Hopkins Pass Pass 3© 3© 3NT 470Fred King Pass Pass 4¨ 3© 4© 470Steve Landen Pass Pass 3¨ 3ª 3NT 470Steve Parker 2NT Pass 3© 3© 4© 460Sven Pride 2© Pass 4¨ 3ª 4© 410Jeff Roman Pass Pass 4¨ 3© 3NT 480Steve Robinson 2NT 2§ 3¨ 3© 3NT 490Alan Schwartz Pass Pass 3¨ 3© 4© 480Alan Sontag 3NT Pass 3¨ 3© 4§ 470Kit Woolsey 2NT Pass 4¨ 3NT 3NT 470

cheapest natural call when nothing is clear cut.Adams: “3NT—If partner has ten tricks

with hearts as trump, he will not leave me in3NT, which was bid under pressure. If he hassix good hearts and his tricks need to be es-tablished, he will bid 4©. He is not going toplay me for a lot of cards, and his stiff clubhonor will make 3NT playable. They mighteven lead the King into his stiff Ace if playedfrom my side, giving us two stoppers, or morehumorous, lead the Q from AQJ preservingan “entry”. 4©, when wrong can be expen-sive as bad heart splits can lead to doubling.At matchpoints, I’d probably raise to 4© toavoid second and third round club losers.”

I don’t see this as an IMP vs matchpointproblem.

Chen: “3NT—I don’t want to encourage part-ner but I can’t pass, so I need to bid something. Ipresume cheapest minor for second negative doesnot apply here due to the interference, so I willrespond with 3NT. Between partner’s club holdingand/or the likelihood that the clubs are blocked,my T9xx of clubs is plenty for a club stopper.”

Roman: “3NT—Yuck! The pesky 3§ bidhas placed us in a tricky and unfamiliar sit-uation. 3© is forcing, so pass is out. The onlyalternative is 4©, but that rules out playingin either notrump or diamonds.”

Hopkins: “3NT—I hope partner has a senseof humor or at least a club honor if I get lefthere. Raising hearts should show three-cardsupport and I don’t want to encourage partner.”

Woolsey: “3NT—I probably have a clubstopper, and partner isn’t required to pass.Bidding 4© risks simply not having tentricks, or partner going too high thinking he

is getting some support.”Landen: “3NT—Kit Woolsey might pass,

but I wouldn’t. 3NT doesn’t show any morevalues than 4©. Better bring me a bucket.”

Five experts raise partner. 4© could encour-age partner which is the last thing you want to do.

Parker: “4©—Shows a minimum. I can’tthink of another sensible bid.”

Pride: “4©—While I do have two 109combinations, I’m not overly excited aboutmy hand. My club stopper seems tenuous atbest. So I believe a gentle bump to game vul-nerable at IMPs is the right call.”

Schwartz: “4©—3© should be forcingand I see no purpose to invent a bid here.”

Cappelletti: “4©—What else? Partner bid2§. I could certainly be worse.”

King: “4©—It is tempting to pass with thispiece of junk, but I will bid 4©. Will Kit do sobased on his recent Bridge World interview?”

Woolsey doesn’t pass forcing bids whenhe hasn’t promised anything.

Bragin: “4©—This must be a trick ques-tion. I can’t think of a reasonable alternative.Partner would pass or double with balancedhands and he shouldn’t have to do anythingelse to force to game. Is this one of thoseproblems where 98% vote one way and Ste-vie’s “winning” bid gets a 90?”

Actually, I broke the 6-6 tie and bid 3NT.One expert bids 4§. I’m not 100% sure

that 4§ is the second negative. I hate makingbids when I’m not 100% sure what they mean.

Sontag: “4§—3© is forcing. I wouldmake a double negative with a 4§ bid.”

When faced with two reasonable equalchoices, choose the lowest.

Paid A

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map to ohr Kodesh congregation

WBL guaranteed

partner program

You never need to miss theunit game because you don’thave a partner at the last minute!The WBL has a guaranteed part-ner (GP) program for players whooccasionally need a partner forthe unit game. Here’s how itworks: we provide a standbypartner; if an odd number of peo-ple in need of a partner arrive,we match the players as best wecan, and the GP plays with theone who is left. (If there is aneven number of players looking,the GP goes home). You can al-ways get a game.

Players in search of partnersshould try to arrive between 7:00and 7:15 (or call ahead). Thepartnership desk closes at 7:25.You can call the WBL cellphone (301) 395-2760 at the lastminute if are on your way andknow you’ll be at bit late.

To find a partner at least aday in advance, contact BarbaraDoran by email at UnitGamePartner@DistrictSix.org orbarbd@starpower.net, or callher at (301) 608-0347 be tween9am and 10pm.

You might want to volunteerfor the GP program yourself. It’sa great way to meet people. Ifyou play on the night you’re theGP, you play free. If you volun-teer, you receive a free play forany future unit game whether ornot you play that night.

Partnerships Close AT 7:25pmTO START THE GAME PROMPTLY

AT 7:30PM. CALL IF YOU’RE LATE,OR YOU MAY NOT BE ACCOMMODATED.

~ § ¨ scheduLe © ª ~

Most games held at Ohr Kodesh

04/21/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship04/28/2011 ......WBL Sectional05/05/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship05/12/2011 ......Annual Meeting StrataFlighted Club Champ.05/19/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship05/26/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship06/02/2011 ......StrataFlighted North American Pairs06/09/2011* ....StrataFlighted BAM Teams; NLM Pairs*Ohr Kodesh closed for services — Play will be a few

blocks away at Christ the King Church: 2301 Colston Dr.06/16/2011 ......District 6 STaC Stratified Pairs06/23/2011 ......StrataFlighted North American Pairs06/30/2011 ......CLOSED — Reston Regional07/07/2011 ......StrataFlighted North American Pairs07/14/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship07/21/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship07/28/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship08/04/2011 ......StrataFlighted North American Pairs08/11/2011 ......WBL Sectional08/18/2011 ......StrataFlighted Unit Championship08/25/2011 ......StrataFlighted North American Pairs

For a Last-Minute Partner, to say you’ll be late, to hearannouncements (closings posted by 4pm), or to contact theUnit Game for any reason, call the WBL Cell Phone:

(301) 395-2760

ALERT! The Unit Game is now played at Ohr Kodesh.NO OUTSIDE FOOD IS ALLOWED. Snacks and drinkswill be provided.

Lovenberg 1 47.46 Brad Theurer 2 42.78 Steven Schatzow 3 37.86 John Adams 4 34.45 David Ruderman 5 34.01 Andrew Gofreed 6 33.41 William Cole 7 27.73 Lloyd Rawley 8 25.77 H John Edmonds 9 25.77 Larry Kahn 10 23.68 Michael Gill 11 23.46 Clyde Kruskal 12 22.31 Richard Ferrin 13 22.23 Daniel Koch 14 21.53 Hadi Abushakra 15 20.97 James Geist 16 20.52 Noble Shore 17 19.62 Steve Robinson 18 19.55 Earl Glickstein 19 19.21 Merril Hirsh 20 19.11 Barry Falgout 21 18.91 Michael Richey 22 17.10 Barbara Ames 23 16.72 Donna Rogall 24 16.58 Eugene Kales 25 16.24 Peter Boyd

The Lovenberg Race is open to all WBL members; the Izzy Cohen Raceis open to all WBL members who started the calendar year with less than1500 masterpoints; the Tubbs Race is open to all WBL members whostarted the calendar year as a Non-Life Master with less than 500 mas-terpoints; the Woolridge Race isopen to all WBL members whostarted the calendar year with lessthan 20 masterpoints.

Winners in each category re ceivefour sessions of free plays. Secondplace gets two and third place gets one.

This list is up to date throughMarch10. All points are subject toaudit by the WBL Director.

2011 trophy race standings

www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.orgUpdated by our Webmaster, Don Berman

Izzy Cohen 1 22.24 Daniel Koch 2 21.54 Hadi Abushakra 3 18.92 Michael Richey 4 15.71 David Genne 5 14.08 Martin Reed 6 14.08 Howard Tash 7 13.89 Loic Braune 8 11.12 Guillaume de Decker 9 9.35 William Goldman 10 9.16 Gabriel Cornett 11 9.16 Eldon Compton 12 9.03 Shyam Giridharadas 13 8.44 Melanie Manfield 14 8.10 Daniel Falk 15 8.10 Larry Wallace

Tubbs 1 13.89 Loic Braune 2 11.12 Guillaume de Decker 3 9.16 Eldon Compton 4 9.16 Gabriel Cornett 5 8.10 Daniel Falk 6 8.10 Larry Wallace 7 8.05 Edmund Gehan 8 8.00 Namik Haveric 9 8.00 Mirsad Mujezinovic 10 7.86 Dale Sanders

Woolridge 1 13.89 Loic Braune 2 3.75 Peter Isard 3 3.75 Margaret Cooke 4 3.49 David Cissel 5 2.64 Suzanne Dawson 6 2.35 Thomas Grahame 7 1.84 Roslyn Eisner 8 1.84 William Eisner 9 1.58 Bennie Martin 10 1.52 Elizabeth Hester

- 14 -

unit game carpooL aVaiLaBLe

To arrange a carpool, contact Don Berman, Carpool Coordinator, at301-776-3581 or don.berman@verizon.net. ....Or log on to the WBL’sOnline Carpool Notices at: www.WashingtonBridgeLeague.org.

§ unit game ¨ WBL © unit game ª thursday night § unit game ¨ WBL © unit game ª thursday night

0-20Lesson& game

guaranteedpartners!

7:00pmLesson

7:30 -10ishgame

Join anytime

The cost is $5. Thisincludes a 30 minutelesson followed by fun,enjoyable bridge forplayers with 0-20 mas-terpoints.

Lessons will coverslam bidding, weaktwos, 3 level+ pre-empts, overcalls,take out doubles, neg-ative doubles, open-ing leads, andsignaling. Each les-son will be tailored tothe needs and inter-ests of the players.

This is a great pro-gram for beginners aswell as experienced so-cial bridge players!Partners will be pro-vided if needed. Formore information, con-tact Bryan or Lois Geerat 301-236-0014 or byemail at geerbridge@verizon.net.

~ §¨©ª ~

- 17 -- 16 -

Please contact Chris Miller, Club Manager and ChiefDirector, at unitgamedirector@districtsix.org if you haveany questions about how the WBL Unit Game is run. Thiscolumn answers some frequently asked questions.

sLoW pLayPersistent slow play is one of the most annoying as-

pects of the game to many players. If you are 2 minuteslate each round, that is over 20 minutes of thinking timethat you have stolen from the pair following you, as wellas 2 minutes from each pair waiting for you – and slowpairs usually take up more than half the allotted time oneach round, stealing time from their opponents. To do thisround after round, week after week, is just plain rude.

Contrary to popular belief, the directors are not vi-cious sadists who just love to mete out Draconian penal-ties for the slightest infraction. However, we have anobligation to keep the game moving, and to ensure thateveryone is treated fairly – including those who also standand wait! So we will penalize persistent or extreme slowplay, and while there will normally be a warning, it is notguaranteed in extreme cases or for those who offend gameafter game. And if you see a director looming over you (orlurking, for those directors ill-equipped to loom) at theend of a round or two, consider yourself warned.

And remember (to paraphrase Victor Mollo): Playfast; you would not wish your mistakes to be thought theproduct of serious thought.

upcoming sectionaLs

¨ April 28-May 1, 2011, Silver Spring, MD

¨ May 14-15, 2011, Silver Spring, MD, NLM

©August 11-14, 2011, Kensington, MD

ªSept. 29-Oct. 2, 2011, Fairfax, VA

§ October 13-16, 2011, Kensington, MD

¨October 20-23, 2011, Fairfax, VA

©January 5-8, 2012, Silver Spring, MD

ª February 16-19, 2012, Fairfax, VA

§ April 26-29, 2012, Fairfax, VA

~ §¨©ª ~

do you haVe any

muscLe or Brains

to spare?

The Washington Bridge

League could use a little of ei-

ther! In order to keep events ex-

citing and entry fees low, the

WBL relies on the goodness of

our members to volunteer for

small jobs at the Unit Game

and Sectional Tournaments.

Some jobs require brains while

others require muscle. We’ll be

happy to employ either.

From setting up and break-

ing down tables, to publicity

and events development, a lit-

tle effort from you will make

our bridge community even

better. Busy schedule? No wor-

ries. Most volunteer assign-

ments take only 15 minutes to

1 hour a month.

Here’s how to help:1. Reply by email, phone or

in person if you are willing to

help in any way.

2. Please indicate if you can

offer any special skills (such as

marketing or a strong back).

3. Someone will contact you

shortly with a choice of assign-

ments you can pick from.

Thank you in advance for

any assistance you can provide.

Barbara Summers, Volun -teer Coordinator, 301-598-

5838, jimbarb1184@aol.com,

the unit gamecommittee action #72

by Rich Colker, rcolker@gmail.com

The following case occurred during thesecond final session of the 2010 RockwellMixed Pairs. (What is there about mixedpairs that attracts problems as readily asflowers attract bees?)

Bd: 23; Dlr: SouthVul: Both

North ª 10872 © K7543 ¨ — § K763

West East ª J65 ª AK9 © AQ10 © — ¨ A953 ¨ KQ87642 § QJ10 § A92

South ª Q43 © J9862 ¨ J10 § 854

West North East South Pass 1¨ Pass 5�(1) Pass 5�(2) Pass 6¨ Pass 6NT Pass 7¨ Pass 7NT All Pass(1) Exclusion Blackwood, no Alert(2) Agreed BIT of more than 40 seconds

A low club was led and 7NT made seven,+2220 for E/W. The Director was called at theend of the auction and again at the end ofplay. West took more than 40 seconds (N/Ssaid one minute) to bid 5ªand South thoughtEast made some extraneous gestures whilebidding 6¨. East disputed this. West said herdelay before bidding 5ªwas due to the rarityof the bid, and her trying to remember the re-sponses. The Director judged that the BIT did

not demonstrably suggest the 7¨ bid and al-lowed the table result to stand for both pairs(Law 16B1(a)).

N/S appealed the Director’s ruling. Southbriefly restated the facts determined at thetable and noted that the main area of disputeinvolved the hesitation before the 5ªbid, fol-lowed by a shrug from East before he bid 6¨.South said she heard mumbling but could nottell what was said. North confirmed that henoticed a 6-10-second hesitation by East andsaid he definitely heard muttering, followedby a shrug prior to the 6¨ bid.

West said the blame was all hers for tak-ing so long to bid. She explained that whileshe had been playing exclusion Blackwoodfor five years it had never come up before andshe needed time to remember whether theyhad agreed to use 1430 responses. In addi-tion, she did not know that the 5©bid re-quired an Alert. East said he was quiteconcerned that his partner had forgotten thebid and was afraid she would pass. He firstsaid he gave a slight shrug and then exhaledwhen West bid, later saying it was actually aninternal shrug and his not breathing that theothers might have noticed. He vehementlydenied taking any time to bid 6¨. West thenadded that with the �AQ she believed shecould make 6NT as easily as 6¨. When Eastthen bid 7¨ she thought 7NT was clear.When asked when the table Director wascalled East said after the play of the hand,then changed his mind and said after theopening club lead, then finally said he didn’tremember. N/S were both adamant that theDirector was called while the bidding cardswere still on the table, which West confirmed.

Considering both breaks in tempo—thefirst by West prior to her 5ªbid (undisputed)and the second by East prior to his 6¨ bid,coupled with a shrug and an exhaling of air

- 19 -- 18 -

(disputed)—the Committee decided that theyonly needed to address the second. (The Di-rector was correct that West’s BIT did notdemonstrably suggest East’s subsequentbids.) In deciding whether a discernibleshrug and exhaling of air accompanied East’s6¨ bid the Committee noted that East saidhe had been in doubt about West’s biddingcorrectly, which made an alleged 6-10-sec-ond BIT by him likely. Additionally, theynoted that East had made inconsistent state-ments, thereby making a noticeable shrugand exhaling of air probable. Referring toLaw 16 B1(a), which reads:

“After a player makes available to his part-ner extraneous information that may suggest acall or play, as for example by a remark, aquestion, an unexpected alert or failure toalert, or by an unmistakable hesitation, un-wonted speed, special emphasis, tone, gesture,movement or mannerism, the partner may notchoose from among logical alternatives onethat could demonstrably have been suggestedover another by the extraneous information.”

The Committee concluded that UI wasavailable to West that demonstrably sug-gested bidding over 6¨, and that pass was aLA. Since the criteria of Law 16B1(a) hadbeen met, they adjusted the score to 6¨mak-ing seven, +1390 for E/W for both sides.

Decide what you would have done hadyou been on this Committee, then read on.

The Director and Committee were bothcorrect about West’s BIT before bidding5ªnot demonstrably suggesting any particu-lar direction for East’s later actions. Indeed,the delay probably made East’s course of ac-tion more uncertain. Had West forgotten that5©was exclusion? If so, what did 5ªmean (avoid in spades)? If she remembered what5©was, did she remember their responses?Did 5ª(the first step) show zero or one key-card? If zero, then 6¨ was the limit of thehand and they might even be overboard. (IfWest has a minimum like �Jxx �KQx ¨AJxx�Qxx there could easily be two losers.) On theother hand, if West had one keycard they

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could be cold for a grand (even if West had asub- minimum like �xx �Qxxx ¨Axxx �KQx).

Next, what about East’s huff, puff andshrug? West had just taken a bridge quasi-eternity to respond to East’s unprecedented(at least in this partnership) exclusion 5�.Clearly West had gone off on a mental walk-about and just as clearly I’d expect East to beperplexed about where West had been. Hadshe interpreted 5©correctly? Had she re-membered their responses? (Did he remem-ber their responses?) To my mind, whileEast’s extraneous behavior was entirely im-proper, the implications it sent were that hehad no idea whether he and West were on thesame wavelength—about anything. I thinkEast’s demonstration was simply an expres-sion of relief that West had bid again.

West could not be certain East had cor-rectly interpreted her 5ªbid as showing onekeycard, or that 6NT—or seven of any-thing—would make. If East held somethinglike �x �— ¨KQJ10xx �AKxxxx N/S couldcash the first five (or more) spade tricks in

6NT. And in 7¨ even one cashing spadewould be one too many. Was there somethingabout East’s mumbles or body language thattold West that 6NT (or 7NT) would be safe?Of course 6¨ confirmed that 5©had beenexclusion for diamonds, but East’s bids areauthorized information for West, just not hisextraneous actions. West’s 6NT and 7NTbids seem completely off the wall to me.Given the unusual nature of the auction,wasn’t the fact that they seemed to havebeen playing the “right” convention (when99 percent of the field wouldn’t) and seemedto have reached a good slam (6¨, maybeeven 7¨) enough? Was West’s shooting for13 matchpoints on a 12 top with hernotrump bids?

Sorry, but I think E/W lucked out andreached a poor grand slam that just happenedto make (switch the �K to the South hand). I’dallow the table result to stand, forward a copyof the case writeup to the Recorder, andstrongly admonish East against exhibitingany similar actions at the table in the future.

- 21 -- 20 -

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“Hey, Grandpa G., we’ve been thinkingabout adding Puppet Stayman over our 2NTopeners. There is an article in the February2011 issue of The Bridge World by Ercan Cementitled Knothole Stayman. The author claimsit is the best variant of Puppet Stayman he hascome across. Should we adopt it?”

“Well, I’m all for some type of Puppet Stay-man over 2NT since it is often the best openingbid when you have a 5-card major, but Mr.Cem may not have evaluated the variation de-veloped by Bobby Gookin and tweaked byyours truly. Naturally, I think it’s the best.”

puppet stayman oVer 2nt

Before discussing the sequences over the3§ response, let’s introduce the gadget thatmakes these methods superior to most: themultiple uses of 3ª. The immediate responseof 3ª to 2NT (or 2§-2x-2NT) is a relay to3NT. Usually, responder will pass. This re-places the standard 2NT-3NT auction. How-ever, responder can now bid beyond 3NT toget to game or make a slam try with one or bothminors. To make a slam try he bids 4§ withboth minors - equal length or longer clubs –4¨ with both minors and longer diamonds,4© with a one-suited club hand, and 4ª witha one-suited diamond hand. With game-onlyvalues, over the 3NT relay he bids 4NT toshow a weak 5/5 in the minors or jumps to fiveof a minor. All of these hand types are difficultto bid without this gadget so you are getting agood return on your investment. You’re proba-bly thinking what does a direct 3NT responsemean? I’ll explain that shortly but let’s look atthe rest of the system first.

3¨ and 3© are regular transfer bids, 4§is Gerber, and 4¨ and 4© are Texas. Use thesequence 2NT-3¨-3©-3ª to show 5 heartsand 4 spades. 3§ asks opener if he had a 5-card major. His responses are different thanin standard puppet:

• 3¨ - no 5-card major; does not guaranteeor deny a 4-card major

• 3© - 5-card heart suit

• 3ª - 5-card spade suit

• 3N – 5/4 in the majors, either way. Thisallows you to find a major fit after opening2NT on AQJx/Jxxxx/AQ/AQ. Respondernow bids 4§ to ask for the 5-card majoror transfers opener into one of his suits.

Over the 3¨ response to 3§, responder

• bids 3© to deny 4 hearts (he may have 4spades or he may have just been checking fora 5/3 fit); opener now bids 3ª if he has four

• bids 3ª to deny 4 spades and promise 4hearts

• bids 3NT (or 4NT or 5NT depending onstrength) with 4 cards in both majors.

The only distribution that responder cannotdescribe with this scheme is 5 spades and 4hearts. So that is what we use the direct 2NT-3NT sequence to show. I know what you’rethinking: what if one of us forgets that this sim-ple-sounding bidding sequence has such aspecial meaning? Well, if opener forgets, you’llplay 3NT. If responder forgets, opener willlikely bid four of a major. Now, 4NT by respon-der (he just woke up), conventionally means“oops, I forgot.” Declarer will just have to playit one trick better. Since the 3NT bid is notforcing, opener will pass with 2 spades and 3hearts. Therefore, responder cannot use the di-rect 3NT with a slam-going hand and 5/4 inthe majors. With that hand type he has to useanother “impossible” sequence: 2NT-3§ (5-card major?) - 3¨ (no) - 3© (I don’t have 4hearts, do you have 4 spades?) – 3NT (no) –4©/5©/6© (surprise! I was 5/4 in the majorsall along but too strong to bid an immediate3NT). In this and other Stayman sequences,four of a minor at this point would show a fourcard major and a longer minor and invite slam.

Discuss these methods and further follow-ups with your partner before adding it to yourarsenal of gadgets. And, as always, feel freeto ask me questions or offer suggestions atgadgetmatist@gmail.com

the gadget-matist

by Barry Bragin, gadgetmatist@gmail.com

- 23 -- 22 -

The ACBL Bulletin and the Or-lando Daily Bulletin duly notedthe passing of Trudy Machlin,longtime ACBL tournament direc-tor and winner of the 1967 MixedPairs with Kit Woolsey.

But to those of us in the Wash-ington area, that obituary did scantjustice to the Trudy we remember.

Trudy was a giant among localclub directors. Her smiling wel-come, her competent directing, andher congeniality were the hallmark of thegames she ran for several decades at theRockville JCC and the Indian SpringCountry Club.

At MABC regionals Trudy was un-stinting in her support for Head Directorand husband Jerry Machlin by pitchingin whenever her services were useful.But she was also gracious in understand-

rememBering trudyfrom Nadine Wood and Doug Grove

a bridge player (sort of, he says) for over 40years. He says, “My objective as presidentwill be to involve the general membershipmore in the decision making process affect-ing our game.”

Candidate for Vice-President

Richard Ferrin has beena WBL member since1993. He has partici-pated regularly in theUnit Game and otherWBL events for the past11 years, and is a silverlife master. Prior to hiselection as Vice Presi-

dentin 2009, he served for five years as WBLSecretary. He also serves as Chairman of theRound Robin Committee and the Conduct &Ethics Committee. If elected, he would focuson supporting efforts to continue growth inthe WBL Unit Game, sectionals, and the unitround robin and unit knockouts, by strivingto provide a playing environment that is com-petitive but friendly, and appeals to playersof all calibers.

Candidate for Secretary

Ellen Cherniavsky, whoholds a Ph.D. in Opera-tions Research, retiredin 2005 from the MITRECorporation, where sheworked for over 20years. She learnedbridge from her parents,played duplicate in col-

lege, then quit to pursue graduate studiesand have a family. Sixteen years ago she re-turned to the duplicate scene. For the past

This year’s Annual Meeting and Elec-tions will be held on Thursday, May 12, atOhr Kodesh, the site of our Unit Game, priorto play. There will be complimentarydesserts at 6:30 p.m. The meeting and elec-tions will take place at approximately 7:00p.m. All WBL members whose dues are paidas of April 1 are eligible to vote. The congre-gation will be open early for ballot casting tothose players who will be unable to attendthe elections. Copies of the WBL Policiesand Treasurer’s Report will also be available.A Club Championship game will begin whenthe meeting concludes.

2010 masterpoint racesDuring the evening, we will recognize our

2010 Mini-McKenney and Ace of Clubs win-ners for their achievements.

eLectionsThe election portion of the meeting will

begin with our Elections Chairperson, JimAllen, introducing the candidates beforethey each speak briefly to the membership.Nominations will be accepted from the floor.The four officer positions are one-year terms.The three Unit Director positions are two-year terms.

Candidate for President

Don Berman is the in-cumbent President andhas been a member ofthe WBL Board of Di-rectors for 14 years andthanks the membershipfor its support. He asksfor your support towardcontinuing in the office

of President. He is the Webmaster for theWBL, the MBA and District 6. He has been

......may 12, 2011......annuaL meeting......eLections......

......and cLuB championship......

ing that being theboss’s wife didn’tguarantee her em-ployment. WhenJerry and theMABC needed anadvertising coordi-nator and editorfor its bulletin in-sert, it was Trudywho stepped up tothe plate.

Despite all the demands of bridgegame and bridge travel, Trudy never for-got her duties to her family. She andJerry raised four sons, Jack, Ken,

Richard, and Steven, whommany WBLer’s may rememberas caddies. But it was Trudy’sstrong guidance that likely ledthem all to successful non-bridge careers.

Two of Trudy’s last publicbridge appearances were in2006 when the WBL createdand first awarded its MachlinSportsmanship Award, and atthe Washington NABC in2009 when Jerry was inducted

posthumously into the Bridge Hall ofFame. For many of us in the Washingtonbridge community, we could well imag-ine Trudy herself being the recipient ofsuch awards.

Gertrude “Trudy” Machlin1918 - 2010

Trudy surrounded by family

- 24 -

Did You Know?The Rockville Duplicate Bridge Club

has a game almost every day!

Join us often and spread the word!

DAY TIME LOCATION

Monday 11:15 AM St James

Tuesday 7:30 PM RockvilleSenior Center

Thursday 11:15 AM St James

Friday (am) 11:15 AM St James

Friday (pm) 7:30 PM St James

Saturday 1:00 PM St James

www.rockvilledbc.com

Need a Partner? Call Mark Lavine: 301-503-3348

Locations:

St James Episcopal Church Rockville Senior Center11815 Seven Locks Road 1150 Carnation DrPotomac, MD Rockville, MD

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I have gained a new family of close friendsand strong supporters.” Carole strongly sup-ports efforts that reach out to potential newmembers of all ages, while strengthening thesupport of existing members.

Candidate for the Board

Hank Meyer, one of theformer owners of theWashington BridgeCenter and past boardmember, is a ForeignService Officer. He andhis wife Lesley (who isalso in the ForeignService) returned from

12 years of overseas assignments, havingserved in France (twice), Romania, Venezuelaand Colombia. Now posted in DC, Hank hasreturned to the bridge table and also directsthe Unit game on a regular basis. He is inter-ested in keeping our unit games runningsmoothly and on time, and would like to fur-ther improve the WBL’s mentoring program.Besides playing bridge, Hank is an avid run-ner, practices yoga, enjoys German boardgames, watercolor painting and hiking. Heand Lesley have two very spoiled cats, Vladand Tosca (from Romania).

Candidate for the Board

Clyde Kruskal is an As-sociate Professor inComputer Science atthe University of MD.He doesn’t rememberlearning how to playbridge, but it was some-time as a child. He hasone step child, Eric

Foskett, who used to play and direct. Histhree younger children (triplets), Justin, Re-becca and Alexander, often caddy. Once in awhile, he can even drag them out to a game.Clyde is happy to be an insane voice on asane board.

eight years she has served on the Conduct &Ethics Committee. As a Board member shehas served as Secretary for the past twoyears, and has chaired the Club RelationsCommittee for several years. If re-electedSecretary, she would be honored to hold thatposition as well as continue serving in theother capacities.

Candidate for Treasurer

Fred King has been amember of the WBLsince moving to Wash-ington, D.C. in 1973.He worked for theWorld Bank until his re-tirement in 2001. Hehas been on the Boardthe past ten years, in-

cluding serving as vice-president for threeyears and as president for three years. In ad-dition, he served as caddy master for over 16years. He was elected treasurer in 2009 andis running again. He says, “I would like tocontinue to serve the WBL and I feel that Ihave shown the qualifications to serve astreasurer. The WBL is in a strong financialposition and I would insure that we continueto be so.”

Candidate for the Board

Carole Banks, CPA, isDirector of Finance atWashington Gas LightCompany. She has beena member of the WBLsince 2000. Carole’s en-thusiasm for bridgestems from her motherwho is a long-time du-

plicate bridge player and member of theAmerican Bridge Association (ABA). Carolebegan her bridge life in 2000 at an “EasyBridge” course taught by Charlie Williamsand Leslie Shafer, and has been “hooked”ever since. She says, “Since playing bridge,

- 27 -- 26 -

2011 WBL round roBin entry formEnclose check (made out to the WBL) for $50 for $50 for Flight A/X, $40 for FlightsB/C/D or the 0-300 Flight which will all be stratified or bracketed depending on thenumber of entries and number of teams that fall into different brackets. The Individualsor pairs playing in Flight A/X or Flight B/C/D should contact Steve Robinson who willhelp you form a team. Those looking for teammates in the 0-300 Flight should contactthe 0-300 Coordinator, Bryan Geer at bgeer@verizon.net.

All Flights: Return entry and entry fee by May 5 toSteve Robinson, 2891 Abingdon St. #A2, Arlington, Virginia 22206-1329

“ Open (A/X) Flight “ Flight B/C/D

Name ACBL # E-Mail Address

________________________, captain ____________ ________________

________________________________ ____________ ________________

________________________________ ____________ ________________

________________________________ ____________ ________________

________________________________ ____________ ________________

________________________________ ____________ ________________

come Join the2011 WBL

round roBin!sign up By may 5

It’s time to get a roundrobin team together. RoundRobin Coordinator, SteveRobinson, will gladly helpyou to form or join a team offour to six players to play inthe A/X or B/C/D Flights.The 0-300 Flight Coordina-tor, Bryan Geer will do like-wise. League play runs fromMay 12th through the sum-mer to determine qualifiersfor the knockout portion ofthe event. This fun event canbe played in a relaxed homesetting or at a club. Sign upwith Steve Robinson byphone: (703) 379-4371, byemail: robinswr@erols.com, or use the entry form to sign up by mail or in person. First placein each flight will wins their entry fee back!

Come celebrate our Nation’s birthdayfor a Revolutionary good time!

• TERRIFIC $99 room rate!• GOLD POINTS GALORE with new team events starting daily!• Plenty ofFREE parking!

• LOTS of restaurantswithin walking distance!For hotel reservations call

1-800-233-1234 and mentionBridge and MABC Bridge for thespecial rate (plus tax) — rate isgood till June 1, 2011.

the JuLy 4thregionaL features:

• FAMOUS Mid-Atlantichospitality!

* Hotel or in-suite hospitalityevery night!

* Two special between-session receptions for10:30/3 players Wed & Fri

• SPECTACULAR Intermediate/Novice Program!

* Speakers at 12:45 and 6:15 Wedthru Sun

* 0-5s play FREE on Wed * 99ers and below: Play Thurs and/or Fri and

get $5 off entry Sun and/or Mon * Special I/N receptions Thurs and Sat at 4:30

VoLunteers...If you would like to help, please email Margot

at margot10bridge@cox.net

Fliers available at the WBL and NVBA Unit Games and at local sec-tionals. Schedules are also in the April/May and June/July District 6TableTALK publication and on the web at www.mabcbridge.org.

JULY 4TH MABC REGIONAL

the Bridge highLightof the year is here!

JUNE 28TH – JULY 4TH, 2011Games start Tuesday afternoon!

Host Hotel: The Hyatt Regency at Reston Town Center1800 Presidents Street, Reston, VA 20190 • 1-800-233-1234

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Questions?

Tournament ChairMargot Hennings703-560-0245margot10bridge

@cox.net

I/N Co- ChairsRon & Mary Kral703-437-0342DCINProgram@gmail.com

PartnershipsAvril and David Rodney

703-865-6378restonpartnerships

@gmail.com

InformationBob Boyd

703-751-4774Bobboyd72@aol.com

?

Bits & Pieces, cont. from p. 5... saturday 0-nLm game

& mini-Lesson

Every Saturday, the Rockville Duplicate Bridge Club holdsa 0 - Non Life Master game with a mini-lesson.

Mini-Lesson: Saturdays, 12:30 pm 0-NLM Game: 1:00 pm Cost: $6.00 Location: St. James Episcopal Church 11815 Seven Locks Road Directions: Take Rt 270 to Exit 4B (from eitherdirection) Montrose Road. This will take you to Seven LocksRoad. Left on Seven Locks Rd 3 blocks. St James Church ison the left (going south), between Post Oak and GainsboroRd. There are two buildings, the game and mini-lesson arein the building on the left facing the church. There is plentyof parking in the rear, and a rear entrance to the building (1flight of stairs if you enter from the rear of the building).

For additional information, contact Mark Lavine, 301-503-3348 or mlavi