THE QBA BULLETINPublished by the Queensland Bridge Association October-December 2012 Volume 38 No4www.qldbridge.com Email:manager@qldbridge.com

ContentsFrom the President .............................................................................. 1Queenland Pairs by Diana McAlister ................................................ 1Wide Bay Qualifying by Audrey Bonnick .......................................... 2Teams of Three by Richard Wallis ...................................................... 4Cuppaidge's Column by George Cuppaidge.................................... 6Qld Open Teams by Richard Wallis.................................................... 8 by Bruce Bowden .................................................. 8Spring Nationals by Alan Boyce .......................................................... 9Teacher's Corner by Joan Butts ........................................................11Qld Senior Pairs by Richard Wallis ..................................................11Bridge and Balls by Kamal Sangumarasa .........................................14Manager's Travels by Kim Ellaway .....................................................15Curly Del'Monte ..................................................................................16Sunshine Coast Graded Pairs by Ken Dawson .............................16Klinger's Column by Ron Klinger.....................................................16Club News ........................................................................................17Director's Corner by Jan Peach .......................................................20

From the President

Keith McDonald

Queensland Pairs

2013 Gold Coast CongressFeb 23 - Mar 2

Diane McAlister

WHEN I saw that the All Blacks were playing the Wallabies in

Brisbane on the same weekend as the QBA Open Pairs, I knew it was a sign. Last year we played in the QBA teams, won all four matches on the first day and lost all four the second day after the All Blacks' incomprehensible Suncorp defeat which we watched on TV. (They have not lost a game since then.) This time I would get tickets to the game, sure of an All Blacks' triumph!Coming from Townsville, one must weigh up the cost of travel versus the chance to play against a stronger field and Hugh and I were keen to have a go. North Queensland gets a QBA subsidy to help towards the Open Pairs and Teams but this year, for several reasons, the Zonal Pairs trials were not held. (We are looking at re-arranging the zonal trials next year to encourage more participation.)

Open Pairs winners: Nathan van Jole and Kamal Sangumarasa

THIS is the last Bulletin for 2012 and my chance to wish all players

a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2013. The passing years do not get any easier or less busy. This past year has seen growth in membership and a very successful

congress scene. There is one regret, and it is a major regret, we have been unable to encourage new players to play in a restricted congress. There are many Novice events and we need to agree that 2013 will be the year to ensure higher numbers in these events.The QBA Council has been most supportive and our host clubs for State Titles need to be thanked. All club officials and importantly our Manager Kim Ellaway are to be congratulated on a wonderful year. A special thank you to our sponsors.I know 2013 is going to be an even better year because you are all going to assist promote the game we love. ■

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

At the end of another long day of bridge on the Sunday, Hugh and I were blown away to discover we had come 2nd. All in all it was a great weekend. Who knows where we might have come if the All Blacks had won?!

The second hand was against Neville Francis and Magnus Moren.

*Majors or diamonds or strong, I think was the explanation. (Hugh thought 3-suited or strong.)

East led a low spade and the rest, as they say, is history (making 11). We had been hugely looking forward to the 3rd Bledisloe Cup game on the Saturday night. Caxton Street was an eye-opener (much more atmosphere than outside Eden Park and readily available alcohol everywhere). Suncorp Stadium and the crowd were amazing. The AWESOME All Blacks did not live up to their press and there was a mo-ment of panic just after the final whistle when I thought we might actually lose! The game ended as an 18-18 draw.

It was a great but exhausting weekend. The pairs were held at the QCBC and it was our first chance to visit the club. The rooms were spacious and light and there was a steady supply of coffee and nibbles. As there were 44 pairs in the open section the organisers had decided to have a massive Howell movement. This was good for us as we got to meet all the other players but it did result in long sessions of 33 boards. The bridge all passed in a bit of a blur. There is an extra challenge when playing with one’s spouse and I tried to play my normal game and not bid too wildly. However, two hands which I do remember both involved me playing the optimistic contract of 3NT and receiving a helpful lead.The first was against Nathan van Jole and Sanmagaras Kamalarasa

Nathan led the ♦A followed by a small diamond. At trick 3, I elected to take the “marked” heart finesse. After that, things did not go well (down 3) and Hugh did well to bite his tongue. Had I thought to play the ♣K instead, things would have gone a lot better!

♠ 9 ♥ J64 ♦ KQ43

♣ KQ1084 ♠ J853 ♠ KQ62 ♥ Q93 ♥ 72 ♦ 109876 ♦ AJ52 ♣ J ♣ A95 ♠ A1074 ♥ AK1085 ♦ — ♣ 7632

NW E S

W N E S P 1D X 3D 3NT All pass

♠ K65 ♥ J96 ♦ Q10987

♣ A6 ♠ QJ32 ♠ A10984 ♥ AQ73 ♥ K1085 ♦ J632 ♦ K ♣ 9 ♣ 875 ♠ 7 ♥ 42 ♦ A54 ♣ KQJ10432

NW E S

W N E S 2C* P 2D 3C P 3NT! All pass

Wide Bay QualifyingIN 1993, the Wide Bay Zone was formed, and consists of four clubs, Bundaberg, Gympie, Hervey Bay and Maryborough. Prior to this we had to compete against the Sunshine Coast and as they were a stronger group we had very little chance of qualifying.We hold a one-day event which we run like a congress. It is BYO lunch, we have a raffle on the day, to help increase the subsidy paid out to our

Valma West (open) Yvonne Martin (open) Fran Myles (novice) Judy Vickers (novice) Barbara Love (novice) Ariane McLean (open) and Judy Hapeta (novice)

Front row: George Martin (open) Ann Gauld (novice) Betty Wentzel (novice) Audrey Bonnick (open) and Rosina Graham (open)

Second in the Open: Hugh and Diana McAlister

Novice winners: Eric & Debra Goodchild

2

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

Discover Vietnam with Denise Dodd

6 – 24 May 2013 (19 days) fully escorted

Visiting: Hanoi, Sapa, Hal Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat & Ho Chi Min City. Includes: Economy return airfares with Cathay Pacific and taxes; Domestic flights; 13 nights 4-star hotels, plus 2 nights cruise & 2 nights train accommodation. All transport by air-conditioned coach with national English speaking guide, social bridge program (when applicable). from $4,799 p.p. twin share – single supplement available… Te rms and cond i t i ons app l y

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TRAVMAN TOURS, PO Box 115 Collins Street W, Melbourne 8007 Freecall 1800 338 007 Email: wang@travman.com.au - non Bridge-playing friends welcome

Norfolk Island with Denise Dodd

13 – 20th August, 2013 (8 days) fully escorted

Includes: Return economy airfares from Brisbane with Air New Zealand; Seven nights’ accommodation at the Paradise Hotel & Resort; Daily breakfast; Complimentary dinners; Sunset Cliff-top Island fish-fry; Rainforest walk; Leisurely bridge program, and much more.. from $1,999 p.p twin share – single supplement available … Terms and conditions apply

View itinerary www.seriouslysocialbridge.com.au - “Bridge Holidays” or contact The Travel Centre, PO Box 172, NI 2899 - Freecall 1800 1400 66

Email: debbie@travelcentre.nlk.nf - Phone Denise +61409 591 285 or Email: denisedodd@optusnet.com.au – non Bridge-playing friends welcome

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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in the field. Peter Hainsworth’s team (Eileen Li, Chuan Qin, Charlie Lu) thus established a good lead, but we finished up with 3 good wins to draw level with them after the 6 matches, sharing the spoils for the day. A great day, and I encourage all aspiring players to enter for 2013, where it is likely that the maximum masterpoint level for the teams of three will be lowered to make a more even playing field, or the field will be split into two divisions.

On board 3 in the first match I was not sure what Alison’s 3C bid was meant to say, except that it was forcing! Of course each partnership should agree what a cue-bid means as part of their initial system discussion.I could have rebid 3H to imply a 6-card suit, which may have ended the bidding, but I thought that my club stopper was an important part of my hand so chose to bid aggressively with 3NT.Alison had intended 3C as a limit raise, and thus I believe would have passed 3H, but decided that with her help in clubs 3NT was likely to be at least as good a spot as 4H and how right she was.Game in hearts would only make if West decided to seek a diamond ruff

by leading the ♦J, or switching to the ♦J after cashing the ♣A at trick 1. Then declarer could win the ♦A, draw trumps, and pitch a spade on an established diamond. This still needs a heart break, but when hearts broke, I had 9 tricks for +400 and 10 IMPs.

I did give passing thought to opening 1S, since I had both majors, but considered I was too weak, and was gratified to have West open 1S in the pass-out seat.Alison has a choice of leads to 1NT, and the opening lead of the ♥3 at the other table enabled Tim to get a 6th trick in 1NT for –50, but she looked at the bidding, and concluded that I had at least 4 spades, and very probably 5.East did not support, so 2 spades at the most, and West did not rebid 2S hence likely only a 5-card suit, thus I was most likely to have a 5-card suit myself and Alison got off to the good lead of the ♠5.I won the first trick cheaply and routinely led back the ♦J, but when declarer played the ♦K this end-played Alison, and her ♦6 exit was won on the table with the ♦9 and declarer led the ♣Q, covered by the ♣K. The contract still went 2 off for a 2 IMP gain, but if I had made it easier for Alison by leading back the ♦5, it may have been 3 off.

M 1 ♠ AQ1093 Bd 5 ♥ 10982 Dlr N ♦ J5

Vul NS ♣ K2 ♠ KJ876 ♠ 42 ♥ AQ5 ♥ J6 ♦ 98 ♦ K10432 ♣ QJ8 ♣ A653 ♠ 5 ♥ K743 ♦ AQ76 ♣ 10974

NW E S

W N E S P P P 1S P 1NT All pass

M 1 ♠ A84 Bd 3 ♥ 862 Dlr S ♦ A9743

Vul EW ♣ Q7 ♠ KQ6 ♠ J1073 ♥ 53 ♥ QJ ♦ J ♦ K8652 ♣ AJ109853 ♣ 64 ♠ 962 ♥ AK10974 ♦ Q10 ♣ K2

NW E S

W N E S 1H 2C 3C! P 3NT All pass

Teams of Three

qualifiers. We have session prizes and we pay the host club a levy for each player and something towards catering. We pay for board-dealing and photocoping, we pay for a non-playing director and after all this is broken down, we then work out the subsidies. We play the Novice section separately from the Open, this year we had 15 Novice pairs and 18 Open pairs. Our Zone is very committed to QBA events like this and we are very proud to send 3 Novice pairs and 3 Open pairs to Brisbane. Financially it hits the hip pocket of our players but try stopping them; that is how committed they are.We are also very proud to have had 2 pairs from Hervey Bay who have been QBA Novice Pairs Champions.As there were only 6 Novice pairs play-ing in Brisbane this year there would not have been a title without our three pairs. Maybe some other zones could think of doing it our way. We are only too willing to help anyone if needed. We have to encourage our Novice players as they are the future of our wonderful game of Contract Bridge.

Audrey BonnickZonal Delegate Hervey Bay

THE QBA Teams of Three was contested for 2012 at QCBC on

November 10, and I was fortunate to be teamed up with Alison Dawson, Craig Francis and Tim Runting. Twelve teams in all made for a competitive 6-round Swiss, although more teams would be preferable to allow more choice of opponents for the final rounds.The format was for each captain to play two 8-board matches with each team member, and we elected to play them straight, even though we were all playing the same basic 2-over-1 system. We had a big win on our first match but this was followed up by 2 consecutive losses to drop us back

Sunshine Coast Contract Bridge ClubQBA Senior Teams

February 9-10Closing date: February 6

Richard Wallis

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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requiring a little more than a 3-2 heart break, as some 4-1 diamond breaks could be overcome.This was not the day and we lost 11 IMPs (11-19 loss) instead of gaining the same number, which would have given us an 18-12 win.

I missed an opportunity to win us the match when the spot cards eluded me. I used to remember all of the spot cards, but as I eased more comfortably into the Seniors card-play technique, I for-get them more and more, and on some occasions, even forget to look at the opponents' cards as they are played.Craig had no good bid to describe the potential of his hand, so expecting a spade lead, he tried 2NT in spite of his singleton heart. Since I expected at least 2 hearts, and had a 6-card suit, I tried for game.

4H has no chance on a diamond lead, but East led the ♠2 and I was in with a chance when the ♠Q held trick 1. The singleton ♥K on the table took my focus off the cards, and I did not notice East playing the friendly J8 of trumps, so thought I had 2 trump losers, but I was still okay if West follows to 2 clubs.When West ruffed the second club with the ♥5, I realised I could have drawn the trumps and made 10 tricks to gain 10 IMPs instead of a flat board.

It was difficult for me to evaluate as North when Craig opened with 1NT (15-17), so I decided to see if we had a fit before I decided on a course of action.If Craig had rebid 2D, denying a major, I would have bid 2S and left any further action up to him, and if Craig had rebid 2H, I would have invited with 3H.However when Craig showed our 5-4 fit by rebidding 2S, I leapt straight to game, hoping our honours were well placed.West played safe by leading the ♠3, and with the favourable location of the opponents' honour cards, 10 tricks were easy and we scored up +620. At the other table NS stayed in a part score for –170, and 10 IMPs to us.While the well placed honours helped with making 10 tricks, the known fit made the decision to bid game obvious, rather than transfer to spades and either rebid 3H or 2NT as an invitation. ■The complete article is available on the website.

M 4 ♠ K9862 Bd 7 ♥ Q865 Dlr S ♦ Q83

Vul Both ♣ J ♠ 753 ♠ J ♥ KJ1032 ♥ 94 ♦ A7 ♦ J1082 ♣ Q98 ♣ A106542 ♠ AQ104 ♥ A7 ♦ K654 ♣ K73

NW E S

W N E S 1NT P 2C! P 2S P 4S All pass

M 3 ♠ 7 Bd 19 ♥ Q97642 Dlr S ♦ J643

Vul EW ♣ A3 ♠ J10863 ♠ K542 ♥ A1053 ♥ J8 ♦ KQ10 ♦ 975 ♣ J ♣ 10852 ♠ AQ9 ♥ K ♦ A82 ♣ KQ9764

NW E S

W N E S 1C X P 1S 2NT P 4H All pass

M 2 ♠ QJ86 Bd 5 ♥ 6 Dlr S ♦ 76

Vul NS ♣ KQ9872 ♠ AK10 ♠ 53 ♥ AK74 ♥ 8532 ♦ KQ952 ♦ A83 ♣ J ♣ A1043 ♠ 9742 ♥ QJ109 ♦ J104 ♣ 65

NW E S

W N E S P 1D 2C X P 2H P 4H All pass

This board decided a tight match in our opponents' favour, but it could so very easily come down on our side. This was the crucial match against the number 2 seeds, and put us behind until the final match.I bid 2C over the opening 1D bid on minimal values to crowd the opponents bidding (a practiced Chinese pair), and East made a negative double, no doubt intending to bid notrumps if West bid spades, but he got the bid he wanted and raised to the heart game.I led the ♠Q, but since the diamonds were friendly, there was nothing in the play of 4H, and only 11 tricks were made when the trumps did not break.At the other table the stakes were higher and Craig and Tim reached 6H, which is not a bad contract, basically

Joint winners: Charlie Lu, Peter Hainsworth, Chuan Qin, Craig Francis, Richard Wallis and Tim Runting. Front row: Eileen Lee and Alison Dawson

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

5

Dlr N ♠ QJ63 ♥ 7 ♦ K63

♣ AQJ72 ♠ A84 ♠ K102 ♥ KJ432 ♥ A65 ♦ J4 ♦ 9852 ♣ 965 ♣ 1084 ♠ 975 ♥ Q1098 ♦ AQ107 ♣ K3

NW E S

W N E S 1C P 1D P 1S P 3NT* All pass

Cuppaidge’s Column

George Cuppaidge

How Good are your Carding Methods?

WITHOUT good methods you will never be a good defender. The

hand below, like so many, will put your methods, as much as your powers of observation to the test. Your side has five top winners against 3NT, but can you cash them?

* Why not? The defenders are go-ing to work hard to set up one or even two heart tricks for you. That ♣K must be a very good card on the bidding where this auction shows 5+ clubs.

South matched his imaginative bidding with good carding.West led the ♥3, fourth highest, to his partner’s ace. The ♥6 was returned, declarer playing the 9 and 10 concealing the ♥8. When West cashed his ♥K, South followed smoothly with the ♥Q. At this point the West laid down his ♠A, and notwithstanding his partner’s ♠10, continued with a heart. Declarer had the rest. This is pretty shallow thinking by West. If the hearts are indeed established, they are blocked and he will need his ♠A to get in to cash the

fifth. Whatever else will East return after winning the fourth round of hearts? But West has missed the real point, the heart pips. Where are the ♥5 and the ♥8? With ♥865 remaining, East would have returned the ♥5, with ♥85 the card is the ♥8. Good defenders do not miss these things.There are so many carding methods out there, revolving, McKenny/Lavinthal, odd encouraging-even suit preference, udca. I have tried them all. I have even tried Helge Vinje’s “New Ideas in Defensive Play in Bridge,” where A from AK shows an even number and K from AK shows odd. When someone says to me “Standard carding partner?” all I can say is that I don’t know what that is. Does anyone? Encrypted signals, where only the defenders know if they are playing hi-lo or lo-hi, I have not tried. There are two serious problems with this method, it is a lot to think about, and it is banned in many places. You cannot do any better than hi-lo shows even, present count, leading, signalling or discarding. Fourth highest leads are not consistent with hi-lo even or present count. In fact, it is high from odd, the same card that you lead from an honour to three. There are times when a specialised method will work better, but for absolute simplicity and freedom from ambiguity there is nothing better.

Too Good to Double, or Redouble

THIS is one of the many “hard” bits in bridge, when are you simply too good to double, or redouble?An everyday problem is finding yourself on lead against 3NT with six running tricks in a suit. Do you double? Boring old hands, like me, would not even consider it. Some do, and get away with it, sometimes even finding the contract redoubled. Whenever you make any double, the key question is, “Is my double likely to push them to a better spot?” A secondary question is “Will my double help them with the play?” This is the danger in doubling with a trump stack, you may show declarer the way. And yet another is the possibility that your partner will read your double as being

for take-out, or remove it anyway because he has such poor defence.There are no absolutes here, except to think of all these consequences before you double.Redouble is a horse of an entirely different colour. I have heard Ralph Parker describe redouble as the worst bid in bridge. As much as I admire Ralph’s skills, I must disagree with vehemence here. Redouble is a bid. It is there for you to put to use, use it. Like double it can be misused. Both double and redouble can be like matches in the hands of a little boy. They can cause enormous damage, but is that a reason not to use them? The answer lies in learning how to use them.Here are some of the basics.Do not double a low-level contract on a trump stack alone, particularly if you feel that the opponents hold a preponderance of high card strength. Be grateful that you look like going plus. Generally speaking, you do not double for penalty unless you are sure that your side holds the balance of power; the chance that your opponents have a better spot is something you cannot ignore.Balance of power, only, doubles are the province of beginners. We all know a grand slam can be made on a combined 7 points. Why ignore it? The key word is “surprise”. You must have a nasty surprise for your opponents. Believe vulnerable opponents, be less believing when they are not.Do use redouble. In the basic situations, your opening bid or your partner ’s response is doubled, redouble means, or should mean, that the hand belongs to us. Doubles thereafter are for penalty and passes are forcing. We will play the hand or the opponents will play it doubled. Very importantly this means that all natural bids, when you could have redoubled, are limited and not forcing. The opponents have given you a chance to bid a good suit that otherwise you may not have had the strength to show. In this sense, redouble is invaluable. It is vital that your partner remembers, if you redouble, and then double a bid on your right, it is penalty. Pass is forcing, take-out.I strongly recommend using “double”

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

6

Dlr S ♠ K108542 Vul NS ♥ A5 ♦ 6

♣ K873 ♠ — ♠ AQ9763 ♥ J1098632 ♥ K4 ♦ QJ ♦ 109 ♣ J942 ♣ 1065 ♠ J ♥ Q7 ♦ AK875432 ♣ AQ

NW E S

W N E S 1D 2H1 2S2 P 3D3

P 3S X4 P5

P 4D6 X All pass

2013 Gold Coast Congress

Those on the Gold Coast Mailing Address List will automatically be sent an entry form via email

February 23 - March 2Bad enough when the trumps

are 4-1, but when the singleton gets a ruff, that's an affront.

Edgar Kaplan

in exactly the same way, the Positive double. To me, the Negative double has so many potential meanings that it is, in effect, meaningless, a waste of a useful bid. The positive double of an overcall of any opening bid, or the response, including the 1NT response but not a raise, to any opening bid, is positive, it is not penalty. After a raise it is for penalty. It, too, states that this is our hand. New suits, even at the three-level, are not forcing. This usage greatly simplifies so many competitive situations. In contested auctions, generally, new suits at any level can be played as non-forcing while double is used as the first move on game-going ones.The redouble in a h igh- level competitive auction is a two-edged sword. You may get an extra bonus, you may succeed in bluffing opponents into running. But they may have second thoughts and run from you making to a cheap save or even a make of their own. I suspect that this is what Ralph refers to, and here I agree. The old bridge term “content”, the call made when you pass to play in a doubled contract, tends to be under-used. (The term does not actually exist in current bridge parlance, but since you are in the last seat, who can object if instead of “pass” you say “content?”)Redoubles for rescue and redoubles when a cue bid is doubled must be discussed within a partnership, there is no standard treatment. Partner will always tell you that there is when you have just gone for 2800 in a redoubled, for rescue, contract. It is worth noting here, that although there is no consensus, you must play that when your partner’s take-out double has been redoubled it does not relieve you of your obligation to bid. You must have a way of showing that you hold a penalty pass, even of a major. Pass of the redouble is the only way to show it.All that can be said about the doubler on this hand is that this was his unlucky day, but he deserved it.

1 The side deserves a bad score for this bid alone. If you must bid, bid 3H, but topless suits in a weak hand are generally better left unbid.

2 The classic dilemma in a nega-tive double, forcing free-bid auc-tion. This hand is really not good enough for a forcing free-bid. With the singleton diamond, the likely consequence is getting the side too high with defence to anything.

3 Partner’s forcing free-bid at this level should commit the side to game or, at the very least, promise another bid, but does it?

4 If ever there was a case for “Con-tent.” this is it.

5 I was South. With or without the double, I intended to pass. The ♠J looks to be more than adequate support for a twice-bid suit. I have seen the hands on which they dredge up their forcing free-bids. Despite my eight-card suit, I don’t want to get into a rescue the res-cuer situation.

6 What a remarkable bid! Madman or genius?

West led his ♥J.Dummy played low and East won with the ♥K. There was nothing in the play or defence of the 4D contract when East returned a heart. Eleven tricks were there.It is interesting to contemplate the defence to 5D. It should be clear to East that South holds the ♣A, so the way to generate an extra defensive trick must be in the trump suit. East must lay down his ♠A and continue spades. It is stone cold if declarer simply rises with the ♥A and draws trump. ■

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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Bruce Bowden

A GRAND total of 32 teams played in this year’s Open Teams under

the direction of Jan Peach, and Nathan van Jole, Kamal Sanmugaras, Neville Francis and Peter Hainsworth got to the lead after the first couple of matches, and were never headed, winning all 8 matches to finish in a clear first position. Second were Janeen Solomon, Pele Rankin and David and Paula McLeish, with my team of Therese Tully, Lindy Vincent and Richard Ward a close third. The plate winners were Murray Perrin, Alison Dawson, Tony Treloar, Peter Evans and Tim Runting.8 matches of 14 boards is a good contest, where one bad board may decide a close match, but not lead to a rout. As usual Toowong did a first class job of hosting, with copious amounts of food available throughout both days, and I did not notice any trouble or problem of any significance.On this board in the first match I did not notice at the time how weak South was for the 2H response, so did not find out if NS were playing negative free bids, but I do not remember the 2H bid being alerted.

Qld Open Teams M 1 ♠ AQ9 Bd 4 ♥ AK75 Dlr W ♦ AQJ62

Vul Both ♣ 6 ♠ KJ73 ♠ 8654 ♥ Q102 ♥ — ♦ 7 ♦ 1094 ♣ Q10732 ♣ AKJ954 ♠ 102 ♥ J98643 ♦ K853 ♣ 8

NW E S

W N E S P 1D 2C 2H! 5C 6H All pass

Nobody could blame North for leaping to 6H over Therese’s jump to 5C, and the slam looked cold to me as soon as dummy hit the table.It looked cold to South too, who claimed 12 tricks at trick 2, with the proviso: as long as trumps were not 3-0!It is well against the odds to take the double trump finesse, but when South leads trumps with this holding, they should always lead the ♥J, intending to play the ♥K from dummy anyway, as sometimes West will cover.It is not relevant on this hand as there is only one entry to the South hand, and thus the trump finesse cannot be repeated.At the other table Lindy was not able to freely bid 2H, so supported diamonds, and the final contract was 5D, for 12 IMPs to us.

On board 12 in the first match Therese showed a weak hand with at least 5-5 in the minors, and expecting to make 5 club tricks most of the time and a couple of spades, I thought the heart pips should give enough protection to make 3NT a good shot.North led the ♥4, and South won the ♥J as Therese showed out. South led back a surprising spade, and North won the ♠A and led another heart, giving Therese a finesse she cannot take herself, and 9 tricks were easy when the clubs behaved.Since the diamonds were 2-2, there were always 9 tricks by ducking a diamond, thus it was always going to be +400.At the other table EW managed to get to 5D, and the same 2-2 diamond break made this an easy contract, so there was no swing on the board. ■The complete article is available on the website.

IN our matches at the Queensland Open Teams, one of our largest

swings occurred on the following hand, where our teammates, Betty Hobdell and Ian Patterson, as EW had an unusual auction.

M 1 ♠ A8 Bd 12 ♥ Q85432 Dlr W ♦ Q8

Vul NS ♣ J104 ♠ 2 ♠ KQJ9 ♥ — ♥ K1097 ♦ A1096542 ♦ J3 ♣ Q9632 ♣ AK5 ♠ 1076543 ♥ AJ6 ♦ K7 ♣ 87

NW E S

W N E S 2NT P 3NT All pass

The winners: Neville Francis, Kamal Sanmugarasa, Nathan van Jole and Peter Hainsworth

Richard Wallis

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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At our table, we (Elsie Stubbs was my partner) defended an ill-fated 6NT contract by East, after neither opponent showed the heart suit in the auction (1C-1S-1NT-4C-4S-5C-5D-6NT). The contract inevitably went 3 off on the lead of the ♦J for a net swing of 1130.

Another interesting hand was a 4S contract by East. I was South, with 5S and 4D over declarer so I doubled the final contract. As South on lead, would you find the lead of a small spade? It is the only lead that ensures defeat of the contract. I considered it because West had preferred spades to diamonds

Best Country Team: Bruce Bowden, Betty Hobdell, Elsie Stubbs and Ian Patterson

Dlr N ♠ Q974 Vul NS ♥ J3 ♦ K963

♣ 532 ♠ AK1052 ♠ J6 ♥ K1042 ♥ AQ65 ♦ Q2 ♦ A7 ♣ AK ♣ J10976 ♠ 83 ♥ 987 ♦ J10854 ♣ Q84

NW E S

W N E S P 1C P 1S P 1NT P 2H1 P 3H P 3NT2 P 4H3 P 4NT P 5C4 P 6H All pass

1 New suit by responder forcing for 1 round

2 3-level “Roman Blackwood” slam enquiry

3 2 aces same colour or rank4 0 kings

They arrived at the optimum contract of 6H by West. A trump was led and declarer followed with two more rounds of trumps finishing in dummy. The ♠J was led and run to North's queen, but declarer could discard the losing diamond on a winning spade and a diamond ruffed in dummy for 12 tricks.

Dlr W ♠ 4 Vul NS ♥ KJ763 ♦ J65

♣ KJ74 ♠ 92 ♠ AKJ75 ♥ 10852 ♥ AQ9 ♦ 10 ♦ A8743 ♣ AQ9653 ♣ — ♠ Q10863 ♥ 4 ♦ KQ92 ♣ 1082

NW E S

W N E S P P 1S P 1NT P 3D P 3S P 4S X All pass

with two or fewer spades, but decided to lead the singleton heart instead (big mistake!) Mike Pemberton graciously accepted the heart lead (covering my partner’s king), played the ♦A then trumped a small diamond, cashed the ♣A and followed up with a club, diamond, club cross-trump sequence to complete the elimination play of my exit cards. He then led the ♠A (taking out my partner’s singleton) and played the ♥Q (which I trumped for lack of any real other option). Now all I could do was cash the ♦K and (endplayed) lead from my ♠Q108 into Mike’s ♠KJ to hand him 10 tricks despite my ability to trump his 13th diamond. Nice elimination play, Mike. Unfortunately our partners, in the same contract received the same lead, but didn’t follow the same line and went one down.The event was very ably directed by Jan Peach, and the Toowong Bridge Club is a great venue that, as usual, provided superb catering for the event. ■

Dick Cummings Pairs Follies

SPRING and a young bridge player’s mind turns to the Spring Nationals

in Sydney. My intrepid partner Andrew Woollons, and I decide to take on the “world” and head to Sydney for the Dick Cummings Pairs. We are but babes in the woods, with Andrew at that time still a Novice (technically) and me just a National Master, but that didn’t faze us. However, good things only come to those who are prepared to wait.As day 1 ended we found ourselves in the less than illustrious position of 87 out of 88; knowing full well a few other notable players would be added to the field, as a result of the outcome of the Teams semis. However, we were heartened to see we’d drawn the only pair sitting below us at this point.

Spring Nationals

Alan Boyce

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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After a hearty day 2 breakfast back we trod, vowing to show our true stuff! Round 7 didn’t “make our day” as we got a less than admirable 48.78% against the bottom placed pair. But I digress. The rest of the day brightened somewhat.Match 8 delivered us a 61.67% result, with nothing much to say; match 9 saw 62.42% banked, so off to Match 10 we went.Board 4 saw real fireworks:

*A limit raise with 4 spadesWhen the dust settled we saw a score 1700 for 6 off.But the fun and games of this round was to continue on board 7.

South decided to open 1H. Sitting West with a probable 9 playing tricks I wanted to get to game (IMP scoring) so I decided to make an out of shape unusual 2NT. My plan was, if partner shows a club preference I’d bid game, but if diamonds were shown I’d make it up as I went along! After the unsupported ♠A was led then the singleton club, Andrew was able to ditch a heart in dummy on the ♠K and scrambled the 10 tricks needed to show a nice return of 710 for a second top. One more memorable hand came in the second last match. Hand 11 produced this distributional beauty:

I was North and after 1D by East and 2C by West, I paused to ponder. With their values concentrated in the minors (apparently) I decided to take a stab at 4S. 5D by East, 5S by partner, 6D by West and all pass. (Partner had thought of sacrificing in 6S but fortunately didn’t.) East commented after the hand that over 6S she’d have bid the cold 7D. (Why didn't she anyway? Ed.) Spades makes 9 tricks, diamonds makes 13. We got 43% on this board but if partner had gone to 6S we would have got 2%! The question remains; is South's raise to 5 good or should 6S be bid immediately? It would appear so, as there were 11 who played in 6S doubled for 77 or 89% (this stops the diamond fit becoming truly apparent).But there were some strange results on this board. One North got to play in 6S undoubled (who doubles a non-making slam partner?) One poor West got to play in 6SX after a presumed mis-read grand-slam going cue bid. (Also an East who ended in 7NTX for 0%; possibly for the same reason. Ed.)When the dust finished settling at the end of the day, our average for the Saturday was 54 odd percent and we’d had a very solid 4 wins out of 6 on the Sunday to end up a satisfactory 58th. This got us runner-up mention for those pairs <200 MP.A great experience testing oneselves against some of the best players in the country, and facing seeds 4 and 5 on the Saturday was great, albeit we received a couple of shellackings. ■

Dlr W ♠ J8 Vul Both ♥ J108732 ♦ 7654

♣ 4 ♠ 109743 ♠ AKQ2 ♥ AK5 ♥ 64 ♦ A83 ♦ J92 ♣ K5 ♣ J832 ♠ 65 ♥ Q9 ♦ KQ10 ♣ AQ10976

NW E S

W N E S 1S P 3D* 5C! X 5D!! P P X All pass

Dlr E ♠ AKQJ108 Vul None ♥ 109642 ♦ 2

♣ 7 ♠ 65 ♠ — ♥ 7 ♥ AK53 ♦ QJ75 ♦ AK1098643 ♣ AQ6432 ♣ J ♠ 97432 ♥ QJ8 ♦ — ♣ K10985

NW E S

W N E S 1D P 2C 4S 5D 5S 6D All pass

Dlr S ♠ 742 Vul Both ♥ AQ ♦ 8765

♣ QJ62 ♠ Q ♠ K10963 ♥ 63 ♥ J10 ♦ AKQ9 ♦ 10432 ♣ AK9874 ♣ 105 ♠ AJ85 ♥ K987542 ♦ J ♣ 3

NW E S

W N E S 1H 2NT P 3D P 4C X P P 4D X All pass

Second in the <200 group: Andrew Woollons and Alan Boyce

Second in the Open: Jim Wallis and Bill Nash

QBA Mailing ListIf you wish to be put on the mailing list for news which is sent out about once a month, please email the manager.

manager@qldbridge.com

Did You Know?A player who discards is not required to say, “Having none” or “No spades,” and should not do so. It is for partner and declarer to ask if they wish to check that a revoke has not occurred.

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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Qld Senior Pairs

Weak 2-Bids

A GOOD crowd gathered in the local church at Kenmore to hear me

“preach” about pre-empts. It’s hard at first to distinguish between a hand that should be opened at a high level (pre-emptively), and one that qualifies for a 1-bid. Even experts disagree on what constitutes pre-emptive requirements. But … it’s not always so clear. On the whole, a weak 2-bid shows less than the values for an opening 1-bid, and what points there are should be concentrated in the long suit, which ideally has 2 of the top 3 honours (AKQ), or 3 of the top 5 (AKQJ10). The four vulnerability positions are: Nil Vul, both Vul, one side Vul or the other side Vul. The most daring you should be with a pre-empt is at what’s called “favourable vulnerability”, ie your side not Vul, and the opponents’ side Vul, because you’re in a win-

win situation. If you play in your suit with not many points, and fail, even doubled, the opponents probably had a game their way anyhow. Naturally you should be more cautious with the opposite (your side Vul and theirs not). Another thing that is not often mentioned is the shape of the rest of your hand, and a 6-3-2-2 shape is not as good for playing as a 6-3-3-1, or even 6-4-2-1. Many players like to open light at the 1-level these days, and the 10 and 11 point hands they open with a 1-bid may look to others like pre-empts. The key differences are really the holdings in other suits, and the vulnerability. Someone asked me once if you don’t open 1 (because you decide it’s not strong enough) should you open 2? Some hands would be better passed than opened at all. You may be able to come in later and describe your hand. Bidding is dynamic, and there are many shades of grey.

♠ AK10942 ♥ 532 ♦ 8 ♣ 1096

This is a classic weak 2-bid in any position and at any vulnerability.

♠ AK10942 ♥ QJ10 ♦ 8 ♣ 1096

Many would open this hand 1S, but if vulnerable vs not, it might qualify for 2S.

♠ Q108762 ♥ KQ4 ♦ Q8 ♣ 42

What’s this? Weak 2-bids are not

Teacher's Corner

supposed to have values outside their suit, and they have a better main suit, but is this hand a 1S bid? It probably depends on the position for opening.

♠ A9752 ♥ KQ74 ♦ 2 ♣ 1093

This is certainly not a weak-2 bid, but is it a 1-bid? Some would open it, some would pass. The Kenmore players, with Tim Runting, Therese Tully and Graham Rusher at the helm, are moving along the right path in the evolution of their club, if that workshop was anything to go by. They are a very happy bunch, keen to improve their bridge, but helping each other along the way. It’s a good feeling out there!

Renuka Mahadevan, Marion Loughnan, Joan Butts, Lyn Tracey and Leonie Elphinstone

IN danger of being cancelled due to lack of participation, the Senior Pairs

rebounded this year with 24 pairs, many of whom were realistic chances of taking out the prize. John Gough and Mike Pemberton were always prominent and had a good win, with Ian Afflick and Paul Collins in second place and Tony Jackman and myself coming from the clouds to gather in third place.Twelve tables were tantalizingly close to being able to run a Howell movement where everybody plays everybody else, but that would have involved 36 boards in the morning and 33 boards in the afternoon, obviously too many. Thus the format had to be a Swiss movement.The standard format for a 1-day Swiss event is 11 matches of 5 boards. This works fine for 24 tables or more, but have a tendency to over-Swiss an event with only 24 pairs. Computers are useful for working out match-ups in the final rounds, but we will look into adjustments to the regulations for next year and beyond to cater for small fields.I would like to see this event grow as more and more of our regular

Joan Butts

Richard Wallis

Photo courtesy of Anne Russell

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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tournament players join the ranks of the Seniors, so come along next year, let’s make it a proper Swiss, not an almost Howell.This board in the first session sent us on a path to oblivion that continued until the 4th match.

A 2NT rebid after a positive response is forcing and shows extras, but I got nervous that as a passed hand Tony might pass this, so I made sure of game as I had no slam interest opposite a passed hand.This took away his ability to show his shape below 3NT, so, playing matchpoints, he passed.Unluckily for us I was prepared for a heart lead, but the 5-5 diamond fit made this the normal lead from either hand, and our goose was cooked.Playing IMPs, it would have much more attractive for Tony’s hand to bid 4C over 3NT, and then while we would probably have missed slam, at least we would have a positive score.I compounded the problem for us

S 1 ♠ KQ743 Bd 4 ♥ 1076 Dlr W ♦ —

Vul Both ♣ QJ1076 ♠ 85 ♠ 10962 ♥ J43 ♥ Q95 ♦ QJ973 ♦ K10865 ♣ 432 ♣ A ♠ AJ ♥ AK82 ♦ A42 ♣ K985

NW E S

W N E S P P P 1C P 1S P 1NT P 2C P 3NT All pass

by setting up a spade trick for East before leading a club, and –200 was a bottom!

This was one of our few lucky ones, but it required a little help from EW and a very friendly secondary break.Tony’s 1NT was forcing for 1 round and my 2D rebid denied 6 spades and may have only 3 diamonds. Tony’s 2S rebid was either a doubleton, or a weaker hand with 3 trumps, so I rebid diamonds to try to get to the best fit.I had still only shown 11-13 points, but with his honours well placed, Tony optimistically leapt to game.Game is not good, but improved markedly when South led the ♣A and a second club. The odds dropped off again when South contributed the ♠K at trick 3, an obvious singleton.I took the spade finesse but was resigned to going off since if the spades were 5-1, the chances of a 3-3 diamond break were poor, but to my

S 1 ♠ 107652 Bd 6 ♥ AJ6 Dlr E ♦ J108

Vul EW ♣ J8 ♠ A4 ♠ QJ983 ♥ Q10953 ♥ 7 ♦ K9 ♦ AQ432 ♣ 10942 ♣ K3 ♠ K ♥ K842 ♦ 765 ♣ AQ765

NW E S

W N E S 1S P 1NT P 2D P 2S P 3D P 4S! All pass

surprise the diamonds were friendly, and I lost just a trump, a club and a heart for +420. If South had started the heart force at trick 2 I would have had no chance.On board 9 in the first session I had my best hand for a long time, and got an unexpected response from Tony.I got such a shock when Tony bid 2S over the forcing 2H that I acted instinctively and jumped to slam without any further thought.Obviously the scientific bid is 5NT from me, Grand Slam Force, and Tony would have had an easy 7S bid.I think Tony must have also been in shock at my 6S bid, because he could see that I had bid slam missing the trump KQ as he was looking at them! Surely that must make 7S seem a stand-out.If Tony had bid the grand slam and it was wrong, at least he was on very firm ground in the post mortem.

S 1 ♠ 964 Bd 9 ♥ 5 Dlr N ♦ 109873

Vul EW ♣ 10843 ♠ AJ532 ♠ KQ1087 ♥ AKQJ9 ♥ 83 ♦ AKQ ♦ J2 ♣ — ♣ J762 ♠ — ♥ 107642 ♦ 654 ♣ AKQ95

NW E S

W N E S P P P 1C P 1D P 2H! P 2S P 6S! All pass

The winners: John Gough and Mike Pemberton

18th Barrier Reef Congress

June 7, 8, 9 & 10, 2013

Venue - North Mackay Bowls Club, Mackay, Q 4740Chief Director – Laurie KelsoTournament Organiser – Janet Hansen 07 4954 6844President – Barbara Tait 07 4955 1200Website: www.qldbridge.com/brc

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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This had a happy ending for us instead of being a disaster. A void in your partner’s long suit is often not an asset, and this was the case most definitely on this board.Since I had 3 aces, but a void in Tony’s diamonds, I chose to make a game try over Tony’s minimum opening, so bid just 2NT. His diamond suit looked excellent, so he raised to 3NT.If North had led the ♠K there would have been no story, making the ♠J an entry, and the short spades had the ♦K.However, North led a normal ♠3, and I had to pick the right card from dummy or else it was 5 tricks instead of 12!It seems likely that North does not have KQT, or she would have led the ♠K, and in isolation there is twice the chance that South’s singleton is not the ♠10, but after much agonised thought I called for the ♠J from the table and was able to set up dummy’s diamonds for 11 tricks. A pseudo squeeze gave me 12 tricks for +490.

S 1 ♠ KQ983 Bd 18 ♥ Q972 Dlr E ♦ 98

Vul NS ♣ J9 ♠ A764 ♠ J52 ♥ A8643 ♥ J ♦ — ♦ AQJ10654 ♣ A743 ♣ K2 ♠ 10 ♥ K105 ♦ K732 ♣ Q10865

NW E S

W N E S 1D P 1H 1S 2D P 2NT P 3NT All pass

Board 22 in the first session was a difficult hand when playing pairs, where every trick is important.I led the ♦6, an obvious shortage, and declarer tried to coax Tony into covering by playing the ♦J! Best is to win the lead in hand and play 2 rounds of trumps, hoping I have all the entries, or only 2 trumps.The latter line works so declarer comes to 10 tricks because every card is well placed except the ♠K.Of course Tony did not cover the ♦J and declarer wanted to be in hand to take the spade finesse for a possible 11 tricks, so at trick 2 she led another diamond and I ruffed and cashed out my 2 aces hoping Tony had a trump trick.One off was probably a normal result playing MPs, as to play 2 rounds of spades would lead to a very poor score if I had the ♠K, but the real damage was done at trick 1, which should have been won in hand to take the spade finesse at trick 2.

S 1 ♠ K95 Bd 22 ♥ 763 Dlr E ♦ Q743

Vul EW ♣ Q103 ♠ AJ43 ♠ Q1086 ♥ K10 ♥ QJ ♦ J105 ♦ AK982 ♣ K965 ♣ J4 ♠ 72 ♥ A98542 ♦ 6 ♣ A872

NW E S

W N E S 1D 1H X P 1S P 4S All pass

Brisbane Bridge Centre104 Frederick St, Annerley. Ph: 3392 7933

bbridgecentre@bigpond.com - www.bbc.bridge-club.orgPlay Sessions Tuesday 9.30 am Duplicate 7.30 pm Duplicate Wednesday 10.00 am Duplicate Saturday 1.00 pm DuplicateCoaching Sessions & Monday 9.30 amBeginners’ Classes Tuesday 7.30 pm Friday 10.00 amEnquiries for coaching & beginners’ classes: 3392 7933

It is a good idea to ask for an explanation of the opponent’s systemic bids instead of blundering about in the dark, as illustrated by board 25 in the first session.Tony opened 1D (artificial) although it may have been 1C, and when East overcalled 2NT I incorrectly assumed that it was for the minors.I was not strong enough to bid immediately, but when 3C came back to me I bid my modest 6-card suit.Luckily Tony was not bidding with the lights off and asked for an explanation of the 2NT bid and found out it showed clubs and hearts!His bid of 3S closed out the auction and East led the ♣A followed by the ♥Q.Tony did not cover in dummy and West won the bare ♥A and led the ♣K, setting up Tony’s CQ, but he could not effectively use it. He ruffed a club in dummy and led the ♥K, forcing West to ruff, and eventually made all 4 trumps in hand, 2 diamonds, and 3 club ruffs for +140. ■The complete article is available on the website.

S 1 ♠ AK97 Bd 25 ♥ 10 Dlr N ♦ AK43

Vul EW ♣ Q653 ♠ J10532 ♠ 8 ♥ A ♥ QJ762 ♦ J762 ♦ Q10 ♣ KJ7 ♣ A10942 ♠ Q64 ♥ K98543 ♦ 985 ♣ 8

NW E S

W N E S 1D! 2NT P 3C P P 3H! P 3S All pass

"I don't know what North was thinking of doing, but it's just as well he didn't."

"Now that he's at the six level, he knows no more than he did before but there's less bidding space for making errors."

Edgar Kaplan

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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top players and a friend of mine who is capable of a prank or two. But I was satisfied that everyone had their bids, except possibly me.The next one is a 'Doosra' from a recent congress in Surfers Paradise.

The 1NT overcall by me (North) is a mildly aggressive 'bouncer' with only 14hcp and a 3-4-3-3 distribution. I trust my partners (to come up with some points) so never shy away from bidding. Sure my partner came up with the goods on this hand, but posed a problem with it, when he transferred to hearts and bid 3NT. Knowing that we hold a 5-4 fit in hearts, surely it shouldn't take long to bid 4H. But I had what appeared to be a double stopper in diamonds (likely lead). Also if partner had some diamonds (likely from the three no-trump bid) then East might be short in diamonds and opponents will get some diamond ruffs going. So I decided to play in 3NT, despite the known 5-4 fit in hearts! Call me anything, but remember that bridge is a ball game and in the sub-continent we are used to bouncers and doosras in the same over.When I played on the heart winners, West had discard problems and decided to bank on his partner having the ♣J. I made two diamonds, five hearts, one club and the ♠A for nine tricks. At the other table, our team mates defended 2H. On a diamond lead they got the ace of diamond, two diamond ruffs, ace-king of clubs and the ♠K - six tricks to defeat the contract. ■

"WHY didn't you accept my slam invite partner - no balls?"

"The opponents didn't have the balls to double because it was a part score".There is so much chatter amongst bridge players about balls, Peter Hainsworth once asked whether bridge was a ball game. If it is a ball game, then after a few whiskies the ball appears to go further than normal.Here is one from a BBO game online.

1 Splinter2 Cue bid

As South I opened 1D and in response to my partner's 2D (inverted) bid, I splintered in hearts. When partner cue bid in spades, I jumped to 6D. When dummy went down I was disappointed to see the ♥K. The club lead gave me some hope. I won with the ten, drew trumps and cashed the two top clubs. I now played the singleton heart hoping that the ace will be on my left, so I can discard the losing spade on the ♥K. However, West played a low heart. Surely the defenders knew from the splinter bid that my heart is a singleton, so when

the ace didn't appear I played the ten. East won with the jack, but was in trouble as he did not have a safe exit card. West tried the ♠J; I covered with the queen and claimed the contract.One of the kibitzers remarked, 'Well played, you had the balls not to play the ♥K'. Sure, I would have gone down in this slam if West indeed had the ♥A and chose to duck it. But would West have the balls to duck it? So try it on me next time and I might make an overtrick. The next deal is from a QBA congress in June.

West bid 3NT over his partner's normal pre-emptive opening. As North I was faced with a dilemma. Holding a nice heart suit and the prospect of a diamond shortage in partner's hand, prompted me to contemplate sticking my neck out at the four level. In this vulnerability I could go for a hefty penalty and it was a huge risk. What the heck! It's a ball game after all. I wrote down 4H, anxiously waited for the next few seconds and breathed a sigh of relief when it was passed around. East started with the ♦K and switched to the club which I won with the ace. I now played the ♠J, covered by the king, and won in hand with the ace. I ruffed a diamond, returned to hand with the ♠Q and ruffed the last diamond. I returned to hand with a club ruff to play the ♥A and another to claim ten tricks (losing one diamond, and the king, queen of hearts). I had a slight suspicion about the 3NT bid, as West was one of Queensland's

Dlr S ♠ A83 Vul Both ♥ KQ106 ♦ KJ4

♣ J85 ♠ J76 ♠ K942 ♥ 2 ♥ J98 ♦ A86532 ♦ 9 ♣ AK6 ♣ 109742 ♠ Q105 ♥ A7543 ♦ Q107 ♣ Q3

NW E S

W N E S P 1D 1NT P 2D X 2H P 3NT All pass

Dlr E ♠ AQ2 Vul NS ♥ AJ10943 ♦ 1063

♣ 2 ♠ K3 ♠ 976 ♥ KQ6 ♥ 75 ♦ J75 ♦ AKQ942 ♣ KQJ87 ♣ 96 ♠ J10854 ♥ 82 ♦ 8 ♣ A10543

NW E S

W N E S 3D P 3NT 4H All pass

Dlr S ♠ A65 Vul Both ♥ K104 ♦ KQ65

♣ J63 ♠ 9872 ♠ KJ102 ♥ Q962 ♥ AJ853 ♦ 3 ♦ 108 ♣ Q974 ♣ 85 ♠ Q4 ♥ 7 ♦ AJ9742 ♣ AK102

NW E S

W N E S 1D P 2D P 3H1

P 3S2 P 6D All pass

Bridge and Balls

Kamal Sanmugarasa

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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AS mentioned in the last bulletin we went to Yeppoon and had

a wonderful time. The thing I forgot to say is that with the roadworks it took us 10 hours rather than 7 hours to get there and, due to his majesty (Ray hubbie) having to be in court at 9.00 am (jury service of course) on the Monday, we had to leave directly after the session, and that was after we had collected and packed the Bridgemates. There were no men stopping us on the roads but plenty of roadworks making us go slow or stopping, getting us into Brisbane at 2.00 am. Ray blamed me the whole time stating that if I could only fly we could avoid this. My answer was that my lead foot could get heavier if he wanted. We then had a bit of a break from bridge due to our daughter's 21st which seemed to go for weeks and then off to New Zealand to play (some people say its bridge, others argue that its just partying) with Toni Bardon and Therese Tully. We have an agreement that everyone must love us when we leave the table otherwise its their shout - neither pair had to buy a round.

Things in New Zealand did not start off well with a rather bad sciatica attack the week before crippling me. However, I got on that plane and due to the sciatica I sat in the very back row and it was not so bad except the pilot did not come and talk to me to tell me everything is OK. Our team lost 13 IMPs on this board and I am still not sure whether I would get it right.

Firstly, at Therese and Toni's table the opposition was in 4H and as you can see even blind Freddie can make this contract without any finesses so more can possibly be found with a spade finesse etc however I was in 4S. The bidding went 1C from North (upgrading his hand to 16 points and why not) I responded 2S showing 4 - 7 points with 6 spades. Ray asked my shape and of course always being a half-glass full kinda girl, I responded with a maximum and there we were in 4S. I could see many ways of making it or going down. I got the diamond

lead and a club return knocking out my entry so my choice of play was to play the ♠A and then led to my ♠Q not-ing the 3-1 break. West won with the king and then he returned a diamond which took out my other entry, so I had no choice but to play four rounds of hearts chucking my diamonds. However I had now lost 2 spades, 1 diamond and 1 club and lots of IMPs. How would you have played it? We had a great time and I strongly recommend this congress to anyone who wants lots of bridge with two days of 70 boards. I then had the pleasure of the ABF Management Committee conducting a meeting in Queensland and of course with our Queensland hospitality I needed to ensure they were kept happy and they were. Ray and I travelled to Toowoomba to play in the Butler Pairs and even though it was the middle of November, it was freezing. We then travelled to Caloundra to play in the one-day teams with Claire Green and Cheryl Stone and we were very lucky with the cards and happened to win, which was an additional bonus. Of course I convened the Open and Novice Pairs, assisted with the Senior Pairs and played in the Mixed Teams. As co-convenor of the GNOT I organise all the stationery and furniture from Brisbane and with the Gold Coast Congress coming up it is all go at our place. Alex, my daughter, has taken a p e r m a n e n t a p p o i n t m e n t i n Moura which is 90 minutes from Rockhampton so we naturally will be seeing a bit more of the Capricorn Zone. Alex said we would have to see the interest in starting a bridge club in Moura so they could stage a congress and we could visit there as well, and you never know what could happen. I would like to take this opportunity in wishing al l c lubs and their administrative crew a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and hope all clubs have a successful year.Next year my big adventures will be my trip to Mackay for the Barrier Reef event of course it will be via Moura and perhaps a visit to Alice Springs - I'm not sure as yet. ■

Manager's Travels

Dlr N ♠ A92 ♥ AQJ10543 ♦ 3

♣ A8 ♠ K108 ♠ 5 ♥ 872 ♥ 96 ♦ KJ98 ♦ AQ42 ♣ K52 ♣ QJ10963 ♠ QJ7643 ♥ K ♦ 10765 ♣ 74

NW E S

Toni Bardon, Kim Ellaway, Therese Tully and Ray Ellaway

Kim Ellaway

T h e Q B A B u l l e t i n O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 2

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New Player Problems

South opens 1H. How should the East-West bidding go? There is no further North-South bidding.Solution.

When you have a very weak hand in response to a takeout double and the only 4+ suit is the opposition suit, recommended practice is to bid your

THE Curly Del'Monte Sports-manship Award is presented to

the player who demonstrates the greatest sportsmanship during the New Zealand Championships.This year it was won by Jim Wallis for displaying it as declarer on this hand.

South opened 1D, which North raised to 2D. East doubled and South closed matters with 3D.A club was led to East’s 10 and he switched to a spade. Declarer played small and West ruffed.“No,” said declarer, “You can’t ruff, follow suit.”“I can’t," said West, “I’m void.”“No, you’re not,” said declarer.“Yes, I am,” said West.Knowing South very well, East showed him his hand, knowing he wouldn’t take advantage.“Told you, follow suit,” said declarer and a somewhat embarrassed West finally produced the ♠K.

Ron Klinger

Sunshine Coast Graded Pairs

Dlr S ♠ J1052 ♥ 5 ♦ A862

♣ K862 ♠ K ♠ A763 ♥ J107632 ♥ AK84 ♦ 107 ♦ J4 ♣ J753 ♣ AQ10 ♠ Q984 ♥ Q9 ♦ KQ953 ♣ 94

NW E S

Curly Del'Monte

Jim Wallis

“Now play another club,” commanded declarer. West obliged and declarer was three off.Declarer’s ability to demand that West followed suit was predicated on his certainty that East would not have underled the ♠AK and, therefore West had to have one of these cards.Anyone who has ever played against him knows that this declarer invariably plays the game in the way which American sportswriter Grantland Rice had in mind when he wrote, "For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes - not that you won or lost - but how you played the game."Stand up please, Jimmy Wallis. ■Courtesy of the New Zealand Congress Bulletin.

THE absence of a competing Brisbane event meant the largest

and strongest field for many years was assembled for this 1-day matchpoint pairs event. Top seeds, Ralph Parker and Nathan van Jole fought their way to the top of the field where 58.4% was enough to see them home. Locals Jill Boyd and Heather Hodges won the B Section.

In this field, 6S may not be enough to score well at matchpoints. Adrian Mayers - Steve Brookes and Cheryl Stone - Claire Green correctly diagnosed that 6NT will likely play just as well with a 6-3-2-2 shape opposite a huge balanced hand. Check with your partner that you will get to slam regardless of whether you play Weak-twos or Multis.

Dlr S ♠ AK4 Vul None ♥ AK102 ♦ A52

♣ AJ3 ♠ 9 ♠ 1062 ♥ 743 ♥ QJ85 ♦ K1093 ♦ J876 ♣ Q9742 ♣ 106 ♠ QJ8753 ♥ 96 ♦ Q4 ♣ K85

NW E S

Looking at the NS hands only, can you spot the correct way to play the minor suits?Your first play should be a small diamond towards the queen. If East has the king, it will take no top card with it and you can discard a club on the ♦A so that you can avoid taking the club finesse. On the given hand, your careful play is wasted and you will have to rely on the club finesse. Still, the two bites of the cherry make this a 75% slam which you will be relieved to make.

Ken Dawson

The winners: Nathan van Jole and Ralph Parker

Klinger’s Column

W N E S 1H X P 1S P 2S P ?

♠ KQJ6 ♠ 1082 ♥ 7 ♥ 65432 ♦ AK98 ♦ 73 ♣ QJ94 ♣ K75

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West dealer : East-West vulnerable

What would you lead as West from:

Solution.When the opponents have bid three suits and you do not have a strong sequence holding in any of their suits it is usually best to lead the unbid suit. Lead the ♣7 (bottom from three to an honour).

Courtesy of ronklingerbridge.com

Cairns This was the place to be on November 14 but don't blink as the eclipse would have been missed.

BBCreported the death of long-standing secretary Tracy Newnham. The funeral was attended by 100s of bridge players from all over Brisbane.

Moreton Bribiehas been successful in obtaining a Gambling Community Grant

Yeppoonhas been successful in obtaining a Gambling Community Grant.

W N E S P P P 1D P 1S P 2H P 3D All pass

Sessions: Mon 10.30 am 7.30 pm Tue 10.00 am 7.30 pm Wed 10.30 am 7.30 pm Thur 10.30 am Fri 10.00 am 7.30 pm Sat 1.00 pmSupervised: Mon 7.30 pm Fri 9.30 am

67 Ipswich Rd WoolloongabbaPh: 3391 3241 Email: qcbc1@optusnet.com.au

www.qcbc.org.au

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Club Newscheapest 3-card suit. That explains East’s 1S. Do not bid 1NT with only 3 points (1NT = 6-9/10 points) and do not pass the double for penalties with a weak holding in the opposition suit.West has 16 points plus a singleton and invites game with 2S. West has 5 losers (1 in spades, 1 in hearts 1 in diamonds and 2 in clubs). That is not enough for a jump to 3S (which would show a 4-loser hand). With a minimum double, West should pass 1S. The raise to 2S shows better than a minimum double.

West leads the 3, low from dummy, and East plays the 9. Which card do you choose to win the trick as declarer?1. Dummy 5 4 You A Q J 7 2. Dummy 5 4 You A K J 10 3. Dummy 5 4 You A K 7 Solution.1. It is usually best as declarer to win with the highest of equal cards and so South should win with the queen. If West has led from K863, West cannot tell whether East holds the 9, the 10-9 or the J-10-9. Maybe West will lead the suit again and give you three tricks. If you win with the jack, West knows you began with A-Q-J and will not lead the suit again.2. As above, prefer to win with the jack rather than with the 10. This leaves it open to West that East might have started with 10-9.3. In a trump contract, win with the ace rather than give away that you have the ace and king. A continuation of the suit cannot hurt you, but a switch might hurt.In no-trumps, if you win with the ace, the defenders might deduce that you have the king as well. Otherwise why did you not hold up? If you win with the king, left-hand opponent knows you have ace and king, but right-hand opponent does not. If you fear

a switch to another suit, win with the king and try to lose the lead to right-hand opponent rather than to your left-hand opponent.

♠ A96 ♥ J832 ♦ Q103 ♣ Q97

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Plate winners: Sisters Dawn Cullen and Joan Jenkins

SurfersMichael and Joan Kent were awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Surfers Paradise Bridge Club at our AGM on Saturday, November 10. Joan was unable to attend the AGM but Michael was presented with their Honorary Life Membership badges by our President, Pat Hobson, for their outstanding service to our club.Michael and Joan have made an enormous contribution to our club over the past twenty years. They have been involved in all aspects of the club’s progress including teaching, directing and the introduction of computer scoring. They watched the club grow from 250 to over 700 Members. For 17 years, Joan conducted beginners’ classes and supervised play sessions. Michael conducted many classes for the more experienced players introducing them to new techniques in bidding and play. Michael was elected President in 1994 and continued in that role for three years. He served on the Management Committee for many years after that. He played a prominent role in the extensions to our clubrooms in 1997.

Darling DownsOn Oct 22nd we held a charity day for Paradise Kids. This was our nominated day to help families of sick children in our area and had been organised by one of our members Sue Crooke. Sue donated some wonderful prizes for a raffle, and provided some delicious cup cakes for afternoon tea.The day was very well attended with 84 people. We had a Bring and Buy as well as the Raffle and we will be able to send $2000 to Paradise Kids.All in all it was a most enjoyable and successful day.

Gympie The new President is Bill Thorne. The local paper writes an article on the partnership of Heather Mott and Ellie Nimmo - 52 years strong.

Sanctuary Covehas been successful in obtaining a Gambling Community Grant.

Sanctuary Cove is the newest club in Queensland starting under the tuition of Joan Butts a few years ago and we have just completed our inaugural Red Point event. We were able to get 8 teams together from their 40 something membership and run a Round Robin over two weeks. For many it was their first experience in teams strategy but they adapted like ducks to water and thoroughly enjoyed the different tactics involved. As it was a Red Point event they were shown how to fill out system cards and I am sure they will look forward to many more events in years to come.Congratulat ions to Fiona Law and Suzie Ledger - without their perseverance the event would not have taken place.

QCBC Marie and John Simpson received a letter from the Queen congratulating them on 60 years of wedded bliss. Member Aileen Franklin aged 66 learnt how to ride a bike in 2008 and in October rode 100 kilometres to the Gold Coast on a fundraising journey, and next week travels to Victoria to travel around that state by bike.

Caloundra Teams

The winners: Ray Ellaway, Cheryl Stone, Kim Ellaway and Claire Green

Winners: Nathan van Jole and Andy Hung

QCBC Festival Pairs

President Pat Hobson and Michael Kent

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KenmoreAbout 50 people turned out in their finery and interesting head gear for Kenmore Bridge Club's first Melbourne Cup day red point event. Graham Rusher provided supervised bridge for a group of dedicated learners.Everyone brought a plate of finger food which was enjoyed before watching THE RACE.

Ray Eaton, Yvonne Bouwman, Marge Eaton and Bill Bouwman (with his back to the camera).

Mackay's Melbourne Cup day

Noosa Butler Pairs

The winners: Janeen Solomon and Vasantha Kumara

Merrelyn Daly who was responsible for the floral arrangements at the Noosa Bridge Club.

Photo courtesy of Anne Russell

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MAR 4 (noon)Contributions to:

33 Royal Pde Ashgrove 4060

Ph: 07 3366 1292Email:

psquire@acenet.net.au

D E A D

L I N E

Q B AEmail: manager@qldbridge.comPhone: 07 3351 8602Mobile: 0412 064 903Fax: 07 3103 4799 Web site: www.qldbridge.com

Directors' Corner

A SPATE of recent enquiries leads me to talk about Law 21B1(a).

Until the end of the auction period and provided that his partner has not subsequently called, a player may change a call without other rectification for his side when the Director judges that the decision to make the call could well have been influenced by misinformation given to the player by an opponent (see Law 17E). Failure to alert promptly where an alert is required by the Regulating Authority is deemed misinformation.There is a very small window of opportunity to change a call - until partner subsequently calls. The auction is not restarted from the point at which the misinformation occurred, unless that was very recently - and partner had not subsequently called.Suppose the auction has ended and misinformation comes to light prior to the opening lead being faced. The last non-offender to pass is the only one who may be able to change a call which the director judges could have been affected by the misinformation. If damage has been caused further

back in the auction, nothing can be done once partner has subsequently called. Once a result has been obtained, and damage is identified, the director will consider adjusting the score.Failure to apply Law 21B1(a) when applicable is a director error.Leading on from this, it is very important for the director to be called as per Law 75B when misinformation is discovered during the auction or during the Clarification Period (when a member of the presumed declaring side believes his side has erred).

Declarer may ask a defender who has failed to follow suit whether he has a card of the suit led. Dummy may ask declarer providing dummy has not violated his limitations under Law 43A however dummy may not ask a defender. Defenders may ask declarer and may ask one another (at the risk of creating unauthorised information).When a player discards, it is not a requirement of the laws for that player to say, “Having none.” This is in fact a no-no. Such comments by defenders are unauthorised information to partner. Even though not the intention, they could be seen

Coming EventsJan 6 Gold Coast Teams Jan 13 QCBC Swiss Butler Pairs and Novice Pairs Jan 14-27 ABF Summer Festival of Bridge - Canberra Jan 20 Northern Suburbs Teams Jan 25-28 Townsville Australia Day Pairs and Teams Jan 27-28 Kenmore Graded Pairs and Teams Feb 3 Toowong Swiss Butler Pairs Feb 9-10 QBA Senior Teams - Sunshine Coast Feb 10 Warwick Swiss Pairs Feb 13-17 ABF Seniors Play Off Feb 17 Arana Teams Feb 17 Cleveland Bay Teams Feb 23-Mar 2 QBA Gold Coast Congress Mar 10 Toowong Novice Swiss Butler Pairs Mar 16 Dalby Swiss Pairs Mar 16-17 QBA Last Train for Open Selection Trials Mar 16 Surfers Paradise Novice Pairs Mar 16 Mackay Novice Teams Mar 21 QBA Council Meeting - AGM Mar 23-24 QBA Selection Trials Open Mar 23-24 Rockhampton Butler Pairs and Spring Teams Mar 24 Coolum Teams Mar 24 Toowoomba Novice Pairs Mar 29-Apr 1 Cairns Easter Congress Mar 31-Apr 1 BBC Easter Pairs and Graded Teams

as making sure partner had noticed that ruffing is a possibility.

Jan PeachQBA Accreditation

NOVICE PAIRSSunday January 13

For players with fewer than 100 MPs as at 30/9/12ENTRIES CLOSE: Wed, Jan 9DIRECTOR: Alan GibsonENTRY FEE: $30 per playerSYSTEMS: Blue and Green

BUTLER SWISS PAIRS

Sunday January 13ENTRIES CLOSE: Wed, Jan 9DIRECTOR: Alan GibsonENTRY FEE: $30 per playerSYSTEMS: Blue, Green, Red and Brown Sticker Conventions and TreatmentsAll enquires and entries to QCBC: 3391 3241 - qcbc1@optusnet.com.au Details on the website: www.qcbc.org.au

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