bridge
TRANSCRIPT
l Polished
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l Full 33 inch
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l Comfortable
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( 01483 489961 email: [email protected]
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Number One Hundred and Four Winter 2010
LUXURY BRIDGE TABLE
BRIDGE.
BERNARDMAGEE’S
INTERACTIVETUTORIALS
ACOL BIDDING
l Opening Bids andResponses
l Slams and StrongOpenings
l Support for Partner
l Pre-empting
l Overcalls
l No-trumpOpenings and Responses
l Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids
l Minors and Misfits
l Doubles
l CompetitiveAuctions
MORE(ADVANCED)ACOL BIDDING
l Basics
l Advanced Basics
l Weak Twos
l Strong Hands
l Defence to Weak Twos
l Defence to 1NT
l Doubles
l Two-suited Overcalls
l Defences to Other Systems
l Misfits and Distributional Hands
DECLARER PLAY
l Suit Establishment in No-trumps
l Suit Establishmentin Suits
l Hold-ups
l Ruffing for ExtraTricks
l Entries in No-trumps
l Delaying Drawing Trumps
l Using the Lead
l Trump Control
l Endplays &Avoidance
l Using the Bidding
ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY
l Making Overtricksin No-trumps
l Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts
l Endplays
l Avoidance
l WrongContract
l Simple Squeezes
l Counting the Hand
l Trump Reductions& Coups
l Playing DoubledContracts
l Safety Plays
Make your cheque payable to and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop Fax 01483 797302System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista or 7, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
DEFENCEl Attitude Signals
l Discarding
l Defensive Plan
l Stopping Declarer
l Counting the Hand
l Lead vs No-trump Contracts
l Lead vs Suit Contracts
l Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts
l Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts
l Count Signals
£74
£64£74
£94
£79
Sharpen your defence in the course of 20 introductory exercises and 120 complete deals
Page 3
Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quiz 1
You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with aweak no-trump (12-14points) and four-cardmajors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
´ K Q 9 8 7 4 3
™ 2
© Q J 2
® 6 2
West North East South
1™
?
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A Q 7 6 4 3
™ A 6 5 4
© J 3
® 2
West North East South
1´ 2™ 2´ 3™
?
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ K 3
™ J 9 3
© A 8 6 2
® A J 10 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
4. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
´ Q 8 5 4
™ 7 2
© K J 2
® A K 3 2
West North East South
1©
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor.
BRIDGEPublisher andManaging Editor Mr BridgeRyden GrangeKnaphill, SurreyGU21 2TH
( 01483 489961
e-mail: [email protected]
website:www.mrbridge.co.uk
Associate EditorJulian Pottage
Technical ConsultantTony Gordon
Bridge ConsultantBernard Magee
Proof ReadersTony RichardsDanny RothHugh WilliamsRichard Wheen
Office ManagerCatrina Shackleton
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Address ChangesElizabeth Bryan( 01483 485342
All correspondence shouldbe addressed to Mr Bridge.Please make sure that allletters, e-mails and faxescarry full postal addressesand telephone numbers.
4 Duplicate BridgeRules Simplified
4 Bernard Magee’s Bridge Books
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6 Stamps
6 2011 BridgePlayers’ Diaries
6 Playing Cards
9 Bernard Magee’s Hand Evaluation
9 Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge
11 Credit Card
13 Summer 2011 on board mv Minerva
15 Voyages of Discovery2011 Summer Cruises
17 Bernard Magee’s BeginBridge – Acol Version
19 Voyages of DiscoveryEuropean Connoisseur
21 Tunisia
23 Voyages of DiscoveryTimeless Baltic
25 Voyages of DiscoveryOslo and the Timeless Fjords
27 Just Bridge
29 Bernard Magee at Haslemere Hall
31 Rubber/ChicagoBridge Events
33 Bridge Weekends with Bernard Magee
35 Christmas 2010
37 Yvie Magee at Haslemere Hall
39 Charity Bridge Events
412011 Bridge Breaks
43 Voyages of DiscoveryWinter 2011/12 Cruises
45 Cut-out FormMail Order Form
46 Global Travel Insurance
48 QPlus 9.1
FEATURES
3-4 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 1
5
5-6 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 2
7-8 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 3
9-10 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 4
11-12 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 5
13-14 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 6
15-16 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 7
17-18 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 8
19-20 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 9
21-22 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 10
23-24 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 11
25-26 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 12
27-28 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 13
29-30 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 14
31-32 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 15
33-34 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 16
35-36 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 17
37-38 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 18
39-40 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 19
41-42 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 20
43-44 Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 21
ADVERTISEMENTS
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Page 4
1. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
´ K Q 9 8 7 4 3 ´ J 2
™ 2 ™ J 10 8 4
© Q J 2 © K 7 6
® 6 2 ® A 9 8 5
West North East South
1™
?
3´. e perfect hand to pre-empt theopposition. Get in their way! It is notparticularly dangerous – you have agood seven-card suit and thevulnerability is favourable. A doublejump over an opponent’s bid is alwayspre-emptive. e likelihood is thatNorth will have to make a guess at hisnext bid. Say he bids 4™; your partnerpasses and you are able to passwithout a thought to sacrificing –because your partner is in charge.Take away one of your partner’shearts and he might well try 4´, but,with the trumps breaking badly, hecan see that 4™ is unlikely to make,and he would be right.
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A Q 7 6 4 3 ´ K 8 5 2
™ A 6 5 4 ™ 8
© J 3 © Q 10 9 6 2
® 2 ® 10 5 4
West North East South
1´ 2™ 2´ 3™
?
4´. To make, or as a sacrifice, thismust be the right bid. Partner has atmost one heart and so, if he holds justK-x-x-x, in spades you may well make4´. In fact, with the above hand 4´will almost always make, but so will4™!
As you can see, the idea ofsacrificing was right, but the extrabonus is that the contract actuallymakes. Let the opponents guess whatto do over 4´.
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ K 3 ´ A Q 10 7 2
™ J 9 3 ™ 8
© A 8 6 2 © K Q 9 4 3
® A J 10 2 ® K 4
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2®. Enough for game, but whichgame? Some would advocate a direct3NT, but, if in doubt, the defenderswill lead an unbid major – yourweakness. Take your time, there is nohurry. Bid naturally; your partner hasto make another bid, aer which youcan show your true colours. Bid the
lower of two four-card suits, 2®;partner will rebid a natural 2© andnow you might be able make your wayto 6©. Had you responded 3NT, yourpartner would surely have passed.
4. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
´ Q 8 5 4 ´ 7 6 3
™ 7 2 ™ A K 6 5 3
© K J 2 © 6 3
® A K 3 2 ® Q J 9
West North East South
1©
?
Pass. You have an opening hand. Infact, your mouth was about to utter1NT when South butted in with 1©.Many players are still desperate tomake a bid on hands such as these,but you have nothing to say. A 1NTovercall shows 15-17 points, and suitovercalls should show five-card (orlonger) suits.
Remember that you have a partner:if it is your contract, he should be ableto bid, if not, you might still get achance to bid yourself. Pass, and waitfor the auction to unfold. On thishand, North would pass leaving Eastto overcall 1™ and you would finish in1NT. If you choose to double, whatwould you bid over your partner’s 2™response?
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 1
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
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Page 5
Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quiz 2
You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with aweak no-trump (12-14points) and four-cardmajors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 9 8 7
™ Q J 2
© K 7 5 4
® 4 3
West North East South
1© Pass
?
2. Dealer North. Game All.
´ K Q 7 6
™ 4 2
© A Q 7 6
® A 3 2
West North East South
Pass 1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ J 4 3
™ 4 2
© K Q 9 8 2
® Q 7 3
West North East South
1® 1´ Pass
?
4. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 8 2
™ K Q J 10 9 6 5
© 9 8 3
® 5
West North East South
2® Pass
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
ANY EXCUSE
I try to send a surprise ofsome kind at this time ofyear and I’ve had to wrackmy brains more than usual,eventually asking myself,“Which column do you, the reader, enjoy most”?
I believe the answer to beBernard Magee’s BiddingQuiz, so I have gone backto the start of the series andreprinted some for yourinterest and amusement.
Do not attempt them all atone sitting. Pace yourselfand should you have issueswith the answers, write toBernard Magee c/o thismagazine or better stillcontact him directly on:[email protected]
COVER STORY
I’m so pleased with myluxury bridge table that Ihave featured it on thisissues front cover. Madefrom stained and polishedwood, be assured it is bothstylish and solid. eplaying surface is coveredwith a very hard wearingmock-baize fabric. Now instock, £142 each, sentanywhere in the UK.
BEGIN ACOL
Most of you haveabsolutely no need ofBernard Magee’s latesttutorial CD. is is why ithas remained unmade forso long. However, if youhave family or friends whocurrently don’t play, it willmake the perfect gi.
Begin Bridge, Acol Versionas you would expect, startsat the very beginning andcontinues via minibridgethrough the basics of cardplay technique, of biddingand of defence. See page 17 for a detailed list of theextensive contents.
Many of you will alreadyhave at least one of theBernard Magee CDs. Youknow just how good theyare, so you can recommendthis new product with realconfidence. is truly is theproduct that the non-bridge players of the worldhave been waiting for.
OTHER TUTORIALS
Acol Bidding is intended forthose already playing thewonderful game of bridge.
More Acol Biddingcontinues on from AcolBidding. If you have tomake a choice, do startwith Acol Bidding.
Declarer Play is to help yougrasp the concepts of cardplay technique.
Defence is all about what itsays it’s about. If you canonly afford one of these atthe moment then yourchoice should be Defence.
QPLUS PROGRAMS
Practice makes perfect.With a QPlus play programyou can practice your gameas and when you like. Ifyou diligently practiceevery day you can becertain that yourimprovement will not gounnoticed. QPlus 9.1 £84.Second-hand 8.8 only £54.
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MY LOVELY CARD (2)
ose members who havetaken up the Mr Bridgecard have all hadnotification of their 2%credit-back for the first sixmonths of this year.
As this offer is funded frommy own promotionalbudget and not by theMBNA, the card providers,my terms and conditionshave to be separately statedto comply with the FSA,please see page 11.
Page 6
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 9 8 7 ´ A Q 4 2
™ Q J 2 ™ 4
© K 7 5 4 © A Q 6 3 2
® 4 3 ® J 7 2
West North East South
1© Pass
?
1´. Although you have four-cardsupport for diamonds, they are aminor suit. You should prefer to playin a major, so bid spades first hopingpartner can help in that suit. If hecannot, then you can go back todiamonds. Here, partner would jumpto 3´ and you would raise to anexcellent 4´. Had you simplyresponded 2©, you may well havemissed your spade fit.
2. Dealer North. Game All.
´ K Q 7 6 ´ A J 5 4 3
™ 4 2 ™ A K 6 5
© A Q 7 6 © K 9 3
® A 3 2 ® 4
West North East South
Pass 1´ Pass
?
2©. You have enough points for game
and four-card support for partner. A4´ bid should be reserved for moredistributional hands with fewerpoints. On a hand as strong as this,you should prefer a delayed gameraise: bid a different suit and thenraise to game; this shows 13-15 pointsand four-card support. So bid 2© andfollow up with a raise to 4´. Over adirect 4´ partner would pass, but aera delayed game raise he will bidBlackwood and reach 6´ or even 7´.
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ J 4 3 ´ K Q 10 6 5
™ 4 2 ™ 7 6 5
© K Q 9 8 2 © 4 3
® Q 7 3 ® A K 2
West North East South
1® 1´ Pass
?
2´. Your partner has made a simpleovercall – that promises five cards.Add your three to partner’s five andthat makes an eight-card fit in amajor. ere is no need to lookfurther, so, with mediocre support,just raise to 2´.
Do not think of bidding 2©: with aweak hand, whenever you find amajor-suit fit, you should be satisfiedand raise that suit to the appropriatelevel. Here with just 8 points opposite
an overcall, a raise to 2´ fits the billand steals the contract. Had youresponded 2©, North might have beenable to bid 2™ and South might haveraised to 3™ – and so pushed you to anuncomfortably high level.
4. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 8 2 ´ A K 7 6 5 4
™ K Q J 10 9 6 5 ™ A
© 9 8 3 © A K 2
® 5 ® A 4 3
West North East South
2® Pass
?
3™. is is a rather unusual hand: notmany points, but a great suit. Youactually have six playing tricks inhearts; opposite a strong 2®, that is avery important feature – in fact, youcan be sure that the best strain foryour contract will be hearts and that iswhat you want to tell your partner. A2™ response would show a normalsuit, a 3™ response would show asolid, or semi-solid, suit. By bidding3™, you put your partner in a greatposition; he, of course, trusts you, andis therefore happy to play with heartsas trumps. Indeed, aer a little explor -ation he might be brave enough to bidto 7™. However high he bids, you aresure to be in the right denomination.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 2
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
2011 Bridge Players’ Diaries
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See Mail Order Form on page 45
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Page 7
Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quiz 3
You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with aweak no-trump (12-14points) and four-cardmajors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ J 7 6
™ 4
© A 9 6 4 2
® K 4 3 2
West North East South
1© Pass
?
2. Dealer North. Game All.
´ J 5 4 3 2
™ 7 6 5 4
© 7
® 5 4 3
West North East South
Pass 2NT Pass
?
3. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K J 2
™ Q 7 6 4
© K Q 8
® A 7 6
West North East South
1NT
?
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 3
™ A Q 4 3
© A K 7 6
® A K 4 2
West North East South
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
LAST QUIZ
Hand 1 – 1´� ´ A K 9 7 6
™ K J 4 3� © 9� ® Q J 5
Hand 2 – 4™� ´ A� ™ K Q J 9 8 6 5 3� © 9 5� ® 8 3
I will be randomly selectingthree hundred correctentries and sending each asmall prize. Many thanks toall those who took part.
FOUR CHAIRS FOR CHRISTMAS
£99My boxed pack of fourfolding chairs, especiallydesigned with bridgeplayers in mind, is on offerfor only £99 per boxed setof four. e price includesVAT and postage.
ey are dramaticallypriced to clear, while stocks last.
USED STAMPS
Please continue to collectthe stamps from yourletters and parcels. Sendthem in to support LittleVoice, a tiny charity thatdoes great work withchildren in Addis Ababa. I will be listing all thosewho have sent in stamps inthe next issue. Send to:Colin Bamberger, 179 High Road, Trimley St Mary, IP11 0TN.
MAY FESTIVAL
Bernard Magee will begiving a series of six self-contained seminars overthree days (17, 18 & 19) atHaslemere Hall, Haslemere,Surrey as part of the town’s2011 festival activity. Seepage 29 for further details.
His sister Yvie, picturedabove, will be starring inAlan Ayckbourn’s comedyRound and Round theGarden on the evenings ofboth Tuesday 17 andWednesday 18 May, so thatthose staying overnight inthe area for Bernard’stutorials, can enjoy somelight entertainment.Curtain rises, 7.30pm.
BOOKING FORM
To increase the space forbridge in this issue, I haveshrunk the adverts for theweekend events byexcluding a booking formfrom each and creating ageneric one which can befound on page 45. It can be used for allweekend events and theChristmas, Twixmas andNew Year events too.
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No issue of BRIDGE wouldbe complete without amention of Clive Goff andhis discounted Britishpostage stamps. Contacthim on ( 0208 422 [email protected]
FREE WEEKLY
is is sent to you everyweek by email. In additionto bridge quiz questionsand tips, there are lastminute holiday offers aswell as mail order bargains.Send me an email for yours.
JUST BRIDGE
ere does seem to besome demand for JustBridge events, asmentioned in this columnlast month. Leaving outlunches just isn’t on, as atraditional Sunday roast iswhat people want andexpect as part of such aweekend. Full board £165per person. No singlesupplement.
Venues to date include:Latimer Mews, Bucks.
Wychwood Park, Ches.Scalford Hall, Leics.
MAGEE ON BOARD
Quite a change for BernardMagee in 2011 as he hoststhree different cruises, allon Discovery, and sailingout of Harwich. One tomagical Norway, one to StPetersburg and another toLisbon. Ring for a brochureto make your choice.( 01483 489961.
ASSURANCE
For bookings on boardDiscovery, we are able tomatch any advertised offerin papers and periodicals or by Voyages of Discoverythemselves. Please doconsult us first.
For Christmas and thecoming year, I wish you allI wish for myself. Love,peace and blessings.
Page 8
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ J 7 6 ´ 5 4
™ 4 ™ A K 3 2
© A 9 6 4 2 © K Q 10 8 3
® K 4 3 2 ® A 7
West North East South
1© Pass
?
3©. No four-card major, so focus onsupporting the minor suit. You havefive-card support, 8 high-card pointsand a singleton (bring the total to 11points), thus you should raise to 3©(showing 8 losers).
When you do not hold a four-cardor longer major, but you do have atleast four-card support for yourpartner’s minor suit, then raise himjust as you would raise a major: with6-9 points bid 2©; with 10-12 pointsbid 3© (including points for shortage).
2. Dealer North. Game All.
´ J 5 4 3 2 ´ A 9
™ 7 6 5 4 ™ A K J 2
© 7 © A 10 6
® 5 4 3 ® K Q 10 8
West North East South
Pass 2NT Pass
?
3®. How many tricks is your handlikely to make in no-trumps? Probablynone!
Bearing this in mind, it is surelyworth trying to find a fit in a major. Ifyou find an eight-card fit, your handmight be worth two or three tricksand the entries could be very valuable.
So bid 3®, Stayman, asking yourpartner for a four-card major. If hedoes not have one, you can always bid3´ and hope he has three-cardsupport.
When your partner, as here, actuallyresponds 3™ to your Stayman enquiry,you might even risk a raise to 4™ sinceyour singleton carries its full weightnow that you have found a fit.
Note that on this deal partner willstruggle to make more than six tricksin no-trumps, whereas in hearts hehas a fair chance of making ten tricks– a four-trick difference.
This is often the case when a stronghand faces a weak one in a no-trumpcontract: the relative strengths aresuch that you cannot go from hand tohand, and cannot stop all the suits.
3. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K J 2 ´ Q 7 6 4
™ Q 7 6 4 ™ K 3
© K Q 8 © 7 6 4 2
® A 7 6 ® Q 5 4
West North East South
1NT
?
Pass. Your first thoughts areprobably to double; you have 15 HCP,more than opener’s 12-14, so whynot?
Make a double only when you havea good lead and a suit that mightgenerate tricks, or a very strong hand.Here, your heart suit is ropy and yourother suits have just three cards.Prospects are not good, so do notdouble. Moreover, with no five-cardsuit you should certainly not make anovercall – you should pass. Your side
actually has 22 points, but with carefulplay South can make 1NT with anovertrick!
This should not be a surprise, asyour anaemic holdings in each suitshould have warned you that youwould not take many tricks.
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 3 ´ J 10 8 7 6
™ A Q 4 3 ™ 10 8 2
© A K 7 6 © Q 4
® A K 4 2 ® Q J 5
West North East South
?
1®. 20 HCP, but you need a five-cardsuit to open a strong two and with asmall singleton you certainly cannotopen 2NT.
Hence you have to open at the onelevel: 1™, 1© or 1®. To work out thebest bid you have to look ahead; youare planning to make a strong rebid –a reverse bid or a jump bid. If youopen 1™ and partner responds 1´,you will need to jump to 3® or 3©.This takes up lots of space andsuggests a five-card heart suit. Youshould try not to lie about a majorsuit, so the choice is between 1® and1©. Generally, if in doubt, it is best toopen the stronger minor because youwill be suggesting you hold five cardsin that suit when you rebid in yoursecond suit. With equal strength, openthe lower, simply because it givesmore room for your partner torespond, just as you would open 1® ifyou held two four–card minors in astrong balanced hand. As long as youopen in a minor you should finish in3NT.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 3
N
W E
S
N
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S
N
W E
S
N
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S
Do tell our advertisers you saw it in BRIDGE
Page 9
Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quiz 4
You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points)and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ Q 8 6 2
™ Q 7 3
© Q 8 6 2
® Q 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2. Dealer South. Love All.
´ Q 9 7 6 5 4
™ A 7
© K 5 4
® J 2
West North East South
Pass
?
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 4
™ K 4 3 2
© K 7 6 5 4 2
® J 3
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 7
™ K 10 9 4
© A J 4 2
® 9 8 4 2
West North East South
Pass 1´ 1NT Pass
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
£14 including postage
See Mail Order Form on page 45
Better Hand
EvaluationBernard Magee
Introduction
Better Hand Evaluation isaimed at helping readers to addgreater accuracy to theirbidding. It deals with auctionsin which you and your partner,against silent opponents, candescribe your hands fully toeach other and, by evaluatingthem accurately, find the bestfinal contract. The emphasis ofall good, accurate bidding is onhand evaluation.
There are two general types ofauction: a) A fit is found and b)No fit is found.
When you do not have a fit, youare aiming to describe thestrength of your hand as soonas possible, most often usingno-trump bids. This bookbegins by discussing balancedhand bidding in Acol, as it isvery important that bothmembers of a partnership havean accurate knowledge of howto show hands of differentstrengths.
When a fit is found, there ismuch re-evaluation of the handto be done; point count, thoughstill important, needs to beevaluated together withdistribution. The best way ofreaching an accurate assess -ment is to use the Losing TrickCount; this is an importantmethod of hand evaluation andtakes up a number of chapters.
Finally, we move on to differentforms of evaluation includinggame tries and splinter bids.You can never know enoughmethods of hand evaluation;the more you learn, the betteryou get at judging your hand.
Although the Losing TrickCount is used more easily intandem with your partner, alarge proportion of the ideas inthis book can be used by anindividual. For example, evalu-ating your hand to be worth anextra point is going to help any-one you partner – as long asyou get it right.
Bidding Tips1 Always consider biddingspades if you can
2 Bid more aggressively when non-vulnerable
3 Always double when theopponents steal your deal
4 A take-out double showsshortage in the suit doubled
5 ‘Borrow’ a king to keep the auction open
6 After a penalty double, don’tlet the opponents escape
7 Halve the value of a singletonhonour when opening
8 Only add length-points for asuit that might be useful
9 Isolated honours are badexcept in partner’s suit
10 Use the jump shift sparingly11 Consider passing and letting
partner decide12 You need two top honours
for a second-seat pre-empt13 Put the brakes on if you have a
misfit14 Strong and long minors work
well in no-trumps15 One stop in the opponents’ suit
can be enough for no-trumps16 Keep your two-level
responses up to strength17 Use your normal methods in
response to a 1NT overcall18 Don’t overcall just because
you have opening points19 Overcalls can be quite weak, so
be prudent when responding20 Weak overcalls must be based
on strong suits21 6NT requires 33 points
not 4 aces and 4 kings22 Raise immediately, if weak
with four-card support23 In a competitive auction, show
support immediately24 Bid to the level of your fit
quickly with weak hands25 With strength and support,
use the opponents’ bid suit
Declarer-play Tips26 When your contract depends
on a finesse, think ‘endplay’27 Consider what a defender
might be thinking about28 Always take your time
at trick one29 Establish extra tricks before
cashing your winners30 Use your opponents’
bidding to your advantage31 Avoid the ‘baddie’
gaining the lead32 Use the Rule of Seven when
holding up in no-trumps
33 A low lead usually promiseslength and an honour
34 When declaring 1NT try to be patient
35 Duck an early round when youare short of entries
36 Lead up to your two-honour holding
37 Do not always assume a suit will break well
38 Drop a high card to put off the defence
39 Play your highest card totempt a defender to cover
40 Draw trumps first unless youhave a good reason not to
41 Do not waste your trumps42 Consider leaving a lone
defensive trump winner out
Defence Tips43 Keep four-card suits intact
whenever possible44 Give count on declarer’s leads45 Keep the right cards
rather than signal46 Take your time
when dummy is put down47 High cards are for killing other
high cards48 Do not waste
intermediate cards49 Pick two key suits to
concentrate on during the play50 If in doubt, cover an honour
with an honour51 If a lead is from two honours,
it is best not to cover52 Keep your honour to kill
dummy’s honour53 Try to show partner
your solid honour sequences54 Lead the normal card when
leading partner’s suit55 Never underlead an ace at trick
one in a suit contract56 Be wary of leading from
four cards to only one honour57 Lead a higher card from
a suit without an honour58 Lead through ‘beatable’
strength and up to weakness59 Cash your winners before
trying for a trump promotion60 Be patient when defending 1NT61 Trump leads can be safe
throughout the play
General Tips62 Do not put important cards
at either end of your hand63 Avoid being declarer when
you are dummy64 Before you lead ask for a
review of the auction65 Enjoy the Game!
Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge
65 invaluable tips in 160 pages
£14 including postage and packing from Mr Bridge,
Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH. ( 01483 489961
Page 10
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ Q 8 6 2 ´ A K J 5 4
™ Q 7 3 ™ A K 4
© Q 8 6 2 © 7 4 3
® Q 2 ® 7 5
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2´. is is easy: with four-cardsupport, just 8 points and noparticular distribution, make aminimum raise. Remember that, whenholding a weak hand with support fora major, you must raise the major –do not think of bidding a differentsuit. Users of the Losing Trick Countmay be surprised to know that thehand is worth just 9 1/2 losers – anunsupported queen [Q-x-x or Q-x-x(-x)] counts as half a loser, and Q-x willfall beneath the ace and king, thuscounting as two losers – so do notraise higher than 2´. Partner will passand eight tricks will result. Do notover-value your unsupported queens!
2. Dealer South. Love All.
´ Q 9 7 6 5 4 ´ 8 2
™ A 7 ™ K Q 5 4
© K 5 4 © A 9 6 3 2
® J 2 ® K 4
West North East South
Pass
?
Pass. Second-in-hand opening bidsshould be your best because you arejust as likely to obstruct your partner
as your opponents (one of them hasalready passed). Evaluate your hand:10 HCP + 2 points for length = 12points, but remember that for anopening bid if you include lengthpoints you need 13 total points toopen. You should open a hand valuedat 12 points only if you have a verygood suit – bear in mind that you aregoing to have to bid your spades twoor three times and it is certainly not agood enough suit to do that. Youshould pass and be ready to overcalllater if necessary. If you do pass, theauction will continue:1© – 1´ – 2© –2´, ending in a good contract. If youopen 1´ then your partner wouldrespond 2© and you would bid 2´;now 3™ from partner would force youto rebid 3´ . . . Yuck! 3NT minus threeor 4´ minus two would be the finalresult.
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 4 ´ A K 8 5 2
™ K 4 3 2 ™ 7 6
© K 7 6 5 4 2 © Q 8
® J 3 ® A 8 5 4
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
1NT. You have 7 HCP, so you mustmake a response. How much strengthdo you need to bid at the two level?Ten points including length and atleast 9 HCP. If you have to respond,but cannot bid at the two level, youhave Hobson’s choice and must bid1NT. It is true that you do not have abalanced hand but sometimes, whenyou are weak, you have to tell little lies
to stop the auction getting out ofcontrol. Bidding 1NT is a bit like anegative bid: when you have a weakhand (6-8 HCP) and a long suit,respond 1NT first and then you mightshow your suit later.
On this hand, if you respond 1NT,your partner will rebid 2® and youcan then bid 2©, which your partnerwill pass, expecting a six-carddiamond suit and 6-8 points. Had youresponded 2© initially, your partnerwould have had to rebid 2´ and thatwould be too high already.
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 7 ´ A Q 3
™ K 10 9 4 ™ Q J 3 2
© A J 4 2 © K 9
® 9 8 4 2 ® K J 10 3
West North East South
Pass 1´ 1NT Pass
?
2®. Your partner has made a 1NTovercall, showing 15-17 points. With8 HCP, there is a chance for game –not only that, but you might do betterplaying in a suit contract (particularlyhearts). Respond to the 1NT overcallas you would to a 1NT opening(noting the strength difference); inparticular, you should still playStayman.
Bid 2® to find out if partner hasfour hearts; if he does not, you woulddo best to bid 2NT, inviting game inno-trumps (if partner has a maximumhand: 17HCP). Here partner responds2™ to show four hearts and now, witha fit and a singleton, you can jump to4™.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 4
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www.mrbridge.co.uk
Page 11
Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quiz 5
You are West in theauctions below, playing'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points)and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 7 4 2
™ Q 3
© 8 7 3 2
® 9 6 4
West North East South
1™ Pass
?
2. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 4
™ A 8 6
© A K 8 5 3
® A Q 8 7
West North East South
3´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ 4
™ 7 6 5 3 2
© 9 8 7 6 2
® 6 5
West North East South
2® Pass
2© Pass 2´ Pass
?
4. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ Q 6 5 4
™ Q 4
© J 7 3
® Q 8 4 2
West North East South
1™ Pass
1´ Pass 2© Pass
?
N
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N
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Page 12
1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 7 4 2 ´ A 9
™ Q 3 ™ A J 4 2
© 8 7 3 2 © A K 6
® 9 6 4 ® K 8 3 2
West North East South
1™ Pass
?
Pass. ere are good reasons forrequiring at least 6 points to respond.To break this rule, you need equallygood reasons; there are no suchreasons here. With 5 points and nodistribution, you do not have enoughto respond and should pass. Thereason why you need 6 points torespond is so that your partner canmake accurate rebids. He will knowgame is on if he has 19 points andtherefore can make a jump rebid, safein the knowledge that game is withinreach. On this hand, your partnermight even jump to 3NT! What is agood reason for responding with fewerthan 6 points? A long and strong suit(biddable at the one level), or simply ahand with enough distribution to makeup for its lack of high-card points.
2. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 4 ´ Q J 10 9 8 5 2
™ A 8 6 ™ 5 3
© A K 8 5 3 © 7 2
® A Q 8 7 ® K 4
West North East South
3´ Pass
?
4´. It is always irritating if yourpartner makes a pre-empt when youhold your best hand of the night! Donot get carried away; you need a good16 or 17 points to raise to gamewithout support. With support, onecan bid up on fewer points. Be carefulto choose the right game: you do nothave much support for your partner’ssuit, but he has suggested it is seven-cards long. at is his strength andyou must let him play there, so bid 4´.
3NT would be calamitous – a heartlead, establishing the suit to go withthe ace and king of spades, woulddefeat the contract.
3. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ 4 ´ A K Q 7 2
™ 7 6 5 3 2 ™ A K 9 8
© 9 8 7 6 2 © Void
® 6 5 ® A K 7 4
West North East South
2® Pass
2© Pass 2´ Pass
?
2NT. Your partner has made thestrongest opening available and, whenhe rebids 2´, he is telling you that hewants to be in game whatever youhold in your hand. He needs you totrust him and keep on bidding.
You gave a negative response to the2® opening by bidding 2©. Now youshould give a second negativeresponse by bidding 2NT. Mostimportantly, you must bid again.
With good partnership trust, Eastand West can take their time and find
a heart fit eventually. And, believe it ornot, you can make twelve tricks inhearts! Trust your partner and youwill find strong hand bidding willbecome smoother.
4. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ Q 6 5 4 ´ A 7
™ Q 4 ™ K J 10 5 2
© J 7 3 © Q 8 4 2
® Q 8 4 2 ® K 3
West North East South
1™ Pass
1´ Pass 2© Pass
?
2™. You are weak and your partner ispretty weak, too: 2© is a simplechange of suit, suggesting 12 to 16points, five hearts and four or morediamonds.
You certainly do not have enough tobid no-trumps, nor do you haveenough spades to bid 2´, so you areleft with a choice between partner’stwo suits.
At first, it might seem that youshould pass and let partner play indiamonds, but history has proved thatweak hands tend to play better in a 5-2 fit rather than a 4-3 fit. Here, youshould certainly rebid 2™. This iscalled ‘false preference’: you givepreference to the first-bid suit, eventhough you have one more card in thesecond suit. On this hand, you can seethat 2™ will be much morecomfortable than 2©.
Another reason for choosing heartsover diamonds is that the former scoremore points.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 5
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BEGIN BRIDGE Acol VERsIoN £64Tutorial software with Bernard Magee
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Page 13
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Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 6
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ Q J 8 7 6 5
™ Q J 4 3
© Q J 6
® Void
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K 6 4 3
™ Q 8 2
© 7 6
® K 9 6 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 9 8 7 6
™ K 2
© 7 4 2
® 9 6 3
West North East South
1™ Pass
1´ Pass 2® Pass
?
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ Q 6 5 4 3
™ 7 6
© 4 3 2
® Q 6 4
West North East South
1´ Dbl Pass
?
N
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S
N
W E
S
N
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S
N
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Page 14
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ Q J 8 7 6 5
™ Q J 4 3 Immaterial
© Q J 6
® Void
West North East South
?
Pass. is is quite an easy one. Howmany points do you need to open? 12or ‘13 including length’. You cancount length when you are openingthe bidding, but if you do, you have toreach 13 points to make it worthwhile.You will have noticed that I havemade no mention of shortage. at isbecause shortage should have noeffect on your opening bid at all – youcan add points for shortage only whena fit is found. Note also the lack ofdefensive values in your hand: it isimportant that, if you open ‘light’ atthe one level, you have some defensivestrength to compensate; the absenceof aces and kings makes the handmore suitable for pre-empting.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K 6 4 3 ´ A Q 9 7 2
™ Q 8 2 ™ 7 6 5
© 7 6 © A K
® K 9 6 2 ® A 8 4
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2´. e first rule when responding topartner with a weak hand is: if youhave four-card support for his major,
then raise his suit. It is very importantto show your support straight-awaywith a weak hand, because you willmake it more difficult for youropponents to enter the bidding. Soyou are going to bid spades, but atwhat level? Using the point countsystem, with 8 points bid 2´.
If you count losers, you see 81/2, butwith no ace you should add half aloser, so with your 9 losers you come tothe same conclusion and bid 2´. Thosewho count losers should not forgetthat an unsupported queen is aweakness and counts as half a loser(here your ™Q-8-2 counts as 21/2losers). Had you responded 3´, thenNorth would have bid 4´, going oneoff, but over 2´, he will try for gamewith 3™ and then you could sign off in3´.
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 9 8 7 6 ´ 4
™ K 2 ™ A Q 6 5 4
© 7 4 2 © A 9 3
® 9 6 3 ® A 10 5 2
West North East South
1™ Pass
1´ Pass 2® Pass
?
2™. Partner opened 1™, you res -ponded 1´ and he rebid 2®. He hasshown five hearts and four clubs andprobably 12 to 16 points. Clearly, youhave no ambitions for game; in fact,your aim should be to finish theauction as soon as possible. Thus youhave to decide with which suit it is bestto do so. When you are very weak (6-7points) and have inadequate support
for both of your partner’s suits, thenconsider giving false preference to hisfirst bid suit. That is, go back topartner’s first suit with a doubletonbecause, on weak hands, 5-2 fits oftenplay much better than 4-3 fits.Moreover, when partner’s first suit is amajor, you will score better.
As you can see, on this deal 2™ willplay much better than 2®.
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ Q 6 5 4 3 ´ Void
™ 7 6 ™ K Q 9 2
© 4 3 2 © K Q 7 6 5
® Q 6 4 ® A J 7 2
West North East South
1´ Dbl Pass
?
2®. To Pass a take-out double at theone level you need exceptionally goodtrumps – something like K-Q-J-10-4or better! Yes, it is difficult to knowwhat to respond, but do as yourpartner asks. Unless you can be surethat 1´ doubled will be the bestcontract for your side, you shouldmake some kind of response.
Here, you have the worst-casescenario, when you do not even have areal suit. You might think of respond -ing 1NT, but that would promise sevenpoints at least. What you have to do isshow your better minor: clubs. It is tobe hoped that partner will not get tooexcited and you might escape with areasonable score. Imagine your part -ner’s reaction if you passed 1´ doubledon this hand. After two doubledovertricks he would be sending you tothe bar for a double Scotch!
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 6
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N
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Bernard Magee’s Quiz & Puzzle Book £14 inc p&p
Page 15
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Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 7
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer South. Love All.
´ J 9 5 4
™ K 9 8 7
© A 2
® A J 2
West North East South
1™
?
2. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
´ K Q J 9 5
™ Q J 3
© 4 2
® 6 3 2
West North East South
1NT Pass Pass
?
3. Dealer North. Game All.
´ 5 4
™ A 8 7
© K 9 7 5 4 2
® A 2
West North East South
1™ Pass 2®
?
4. Dealer South. Game All.
´ J 9 4
™ Q J 10 9 8 7
© 2
® A 9 2
West North East South
1NT
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 16
1. Dealer South. Love All.
´ J 9 5 4
™ K 9 8 7
© A 2
® A J 2
West North East South
1™
?
Pass. You need a five-card suit toovercall, so you cannot do that. Youneed 15-18 points to overcall with1NT, so you cannot do that; and youneed shortage in the opponents suit tomake a take-out double, so youcannot do that. By a process ofelimination, you should arrive at yourbest call – pass! Just because you aredealt opening values, it does not meanyou have to bid; your hand is a weakno-trump type and it is the first wordof that description that is importantto note: ‘weak’. e playing strengthof weak no-trump hands is usuallyvery low, so you should feel no greaturgency to enter the auction.
2. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
´ A 7 4 3
™ A 8 2
© K J 8
® Q 9 4
´ K Q J 9 5 ´ 10 6
™ Q J 3 ™ K 9 6 4
© 4 2 © A 9 5
® 6 3 2 ® J 10 8 5
´ 8 2
™ 10 7 5
© Q 10 7 6 3
® A K 7
West North East South
1NT Pass Pass
?
2´. Overcalling the weak no-trump isa very good habit to acquire! If you donot try your hardest to overcall thisbid, then its pre-emptive value isincreased. It is amazing how oen youcan make a two-level contract whenthe opponents can make 1NT.
Is your partner going to make theright lead? No! How can he know thatit is right to lead a spade? Your handhas good playing-strength in spades,but not in no-trumps unless there is aspade lead. Overcall, because –50 maywell turn out to be an excellent score –and that is if you go down! 2´ willlikely finish the auction and drift oneoff for –50. Meanwhile, 1NT wouldhave made 150 on the normal heartlead. Even if South manages a bid over2´, North-South will score less well, asEast will know to start off by leading aspade and the defence can keepdeclarer to eight tricks in no-trumps.
3. Dealer North. Game All.
´ 5 4
™ A 8 7
© K 9 7 5 4 2
® A 2
West North East South
1™ Pass 2®
?
Pass. Your opponents have showngood strength: 12+ HCP for North’sopening and 10+ for South’s two-over-one response. Bearing this inmind, what is the point in making a2© overcall? It takes up no space; withsuch a bad suit, it might not be aparticularly good lead; it gives awayyour strength; when vulnerable youare unlikely to find a sacrifice; and,with two aces in your hand, you arelikely to do well in defence. Last, butnot least, you are taking a huge risk:when vulnerable, with such a bad suit,
you may find North sitting with:
´ J 8
™ K Q 9 5 4
© A Q 10 3
® 7 6
With his partner holding 10+ points,it is undoubtedly their hand, butunfortunately you can make only fouror five tricks in 2© and losing 800 or1,100 points is much worse than anygame made by the opponents.
4. Dealer South. Game All.
´ J 9 4
™ Q J 10 9 8 7
© 2
® A 9 2
West North East South
1NT
?
2™. Bid as much as possible over theweak no-trump: not only does itdisrupt your opponents’ auction, butalso, at Love All, it will oen give youa very good score, even if you godown. With the strength of your heartsuit, you have five certain tricks, so,with a little help from your partner,you can hope to make 2™, whilstagainst 1NT, you would have to hopethat the heart suit could be establishedand that you would still have an entry,to have any defence at all.
An example of the disruptioncaused by an overcall is: 1NT – 2™ –3®; what does 3® mean? Is it strongand forcing or is it just competitive? Agood partnership should know what isgoing on, but it is amazing howcommon it is for players to get thissituation wrong.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 7
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 17
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 8
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
´ K Q 10 4
™ 10 7 3
© K 7 6 4
® K 2
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ J 10 7 2
™ 8 4
© K 8 4 3 2
® 7 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 10 4 3 2
™ K Q 4
© 3
® A 10 3 2
West North East South
1´ Pass 2™ Pass
?
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ 8 7 5
™ 7 2
© Q J 8 4 3
® A 8 6
West North East South
1® 1´ Pass
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Learn to play bridge with Britain’s best-knownteacher. Through 20 interactive chapters, Bernard teaches you the basics of bridge.
l Basics of Bridge
l Basics of Card Play Technique
l Practice of Card Play Technique
l Planning the Card Play
l Basics of Bidding
l Bidding Balanced Hands
l Bidding Suits
l Responding to a Suit
l Supporting Partner
l Responding to 1NT
BEGIN BRIDGEACOL VERSION
An Interactive Tutorialwith Bernard Magee
See Mail Order form on page 45
l The StaymanConvention
l 2NT Opening and Response
l Strong Two Openings and Response
l Overcalls
l Doubles
l Pre-empting
l Basics of Defence 1
l Basics of Defence 2
l Defence against No-trump Contracts
l Defence against Suit Contracts
System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista or 7, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
£64
Page 18
1. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
´ K Q 10 4
™ 10 7 3 Immaterial
© K 7 6 4
® K 2
West North East South
?
Pass. ere is not much to this hand really:you are first to bid, you are vulnerableand you need 12 points to open thebidding. You have a balanced hand,not even one ace and just 11 High-Card Points, so you should pass. Allyou will achieve by opening thebidding is an inaccurate auction.
You will see that, in all the otheranswers, I have chosen an East handto serve as an example, but in this caseI have not, simply because the answeris based entirely on a simple rule ofAcol: you need 12 points to open abalanced hand.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ J 10 7 2 ´ K Q 8 5 4
™ 8 4 ™ A K 3 2
© K 8 4 3 2 © Q 7
® 7 2 ® A 6
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2´. You do not really have enough pointsto respond to partner’s opening bid,but when you hold good support foryour partner’s suit, it is worth givingyour hand a second look. Having a fitis so important because it greatlyincreases the number of tricks two
hands can make together. Showsupport, whenever possible and herewith 4 HCP, a five-card suit andterrific support, it has to be worthbidding 2´. It works in two ways:firstly, it keeps North out of theauction (unless partner has a verygood hand, as here, North must havea lot of points and will want to make abid; this will be easy over 1´, but over2´ it will be a lot more difficult).Secondly, because you have such goodsupport, if your partner has a goodhand you may well be able to makegame. With the East hand in thediagram, your partner, with 18 points,will raise 2´ to 4´, and this gamecontract will make comfortably.
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 10 4 3 2 ´ K 7
™ K Q 4 ™ A J 8 7 6
© 3 © J 9 8 6
® A 10 3 2 ® J 8
West North East South
1´ Pass 2™ Pass
?
4™.is is not so easy. You might think ofbidding clubs, but you are not strongenough for 3®, which would suggest16+ HCP. A simple rebid of 2´ isanother choice – aer all, you haveonly 13 HCP. What you need to takeinto account here though, is howmany hearts your partner has shown.To respond 2™, partner must have atleast five hearts; bearing this in mind,you realise that you have a fit in hearts(eight or more cards) and so you canadd on points for shortage – andsuddenly your hand is a lot stronger. 3 points for the singleton, since youhold the short trumps, gives you 16
points and plenty for game, so youshould bid 4™.
The answer is easy if you rememberthat you have two things to work out:the denomination (hearts, since youhave an eight-card fit) and the level(your 16 points plus partner’s mini -mum 10 for his two-level response isenough for game). 4™ is an excellentcontract, needing a combination ofdiamond ruffs and the establishmentof the spade suit.
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ 8 7 5 ´ A K 9 6 2
™ 7 2 ™ J 6 5
© Q J 8 4 3 © K 9 6
® A 8 6 ® 7 2
West North East South
1® 1´ Pass
?
2´. How many cards do you need for anovercall? At least five! isinformation allows you to grasp themost important aspect of this hand:you have a fit in spades, so do not needto look any further. A golden rule ofcompetitive bidding is to try to showsupport as oen as possible. You donot have much strength, but, with alittle shape, you should definitely bid2´. It has two effects: it tells partneryou have some help and, mostimportantly, it makes life difficult forthe opponents. These deals, whenboth sides can play at the two or threelevel, are very common and it isdesperately important to competeaggressively. On this particular deal,you might actually go off in 2´, butyour opponents could make 3™ – andwere unable to bid it because of youraggressive bidding.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 8
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 19
Date Port
Sep 11 HARWICH, England Embark on mv DISCOVERY
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Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 9
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Love All
´ J 6
™ 9 8 3
© A K 4 2
® K Q 9 6
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ 4 2
™ A 9 4
© K Q 3 2
® A J 7 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 9 8 7 3
™ A 6 3 2
© 7 6
® 4 2
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
4. Dealer East. Game All.
´ J 3
™ K Q J 2
© K 10 9 4
® 7 6 3
West North East South
1´ Dbl
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 20
1. Dealer West. Love All
´ J 6
™ 9 8 3 Immaterial
© A K 4 2
® K Q 9 6
West North East South
?
1NT. An easy question to start with: 13points and a balanced hand so open1NT. e weak no-trump systemrelies on you opening 1NT on all weak(12-14) balanced hands. It saysnothing about requiring a stop in eachsuit – this is very unlikely with just 12points anyway. If you open this hand1© and then rebid 2® you will beshowing an unbalanced hand with atleast five diamonds, but, perhapsmore importantly, you allow youropponents the chance to overcall in amajor. 1NT is a pre-emptive openingand this is an ideal hand for it.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ 4 2 ´ K Q 7 5 3
™ A 9 4 ™ 2
© K Q 3 2 © A J 8 5 4
® A J 7 2 ® K 3
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2®. 14 points is enough for gameand, with no support for spades and abalanced hand, it is perhaps temptingto bid 3NT, but such a large leap isbad bidding – it is like shouting ratherthan talking. e most fundamentalaspect of almost any bidding system is
that if you respond to your partner’sopening suit bid by changing the suit,he must bid again. is allows you totake your time on game-going handsand therefore allows you to have anaccurate auction. By responding inyour lower minor, you give yourpartnership the chance to find its bestcontract. Over your 2® reply, partnerwill bid his diamonds and aer alengthy sequence you might manageto reach the optimum contract of 6©.Even 5© is a better contract than 3NT,for, on a heart lead, you will be luckyto make nine tricks. Had youresponded 3NT, East would have hadlittle option but to pass.
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 9 8 7 3 ´ 5 4
™ A 6 3 2 ™ K Q 9 5
© 7 6 © A Q 5 3
® 4 2 ® J 6 5
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
2®. Generally you do need 11 pointsto use Stayman opposite a weak no-trump. However, so long as you cancope with any response (2©especially), then you can use it onsome weaker hands. Most notably,you can use it on hands where youhave a five- card as well as a four-cardmajor. You bid 2® and, if yourpartner responds 2©, then you rebidin your five-card major as a sign-off(like a weak take-out). is offers youthe extra chance of finding a fit inyour four-card major. This is exactlywhat happens with the pair of handsabove: rather than having to play in a
miserable 5-2 spade fit, by usingStayman you can locate your excellent4-4 heart fit. With just 8 points, youwould of course pass your partner’s2™ response.
4. Dealer East. Game All.
´ J 3 ´ A K 8 4 2
™ K Q J 2 ™ 7 6
© K 10 9 4 © 8 5
® 7 6 3 ® A J 10 5
West North East South
1´ Dbl
?
Redouble. e redouble in thesesituations seems to be greatly under -used. If you have support for partner’sopening suit do not redouble: instead,get in your opponents’ way and bidup. North-South are trying to get intothe auction, so do not make it easy forthem. However, when you have a lotof strength, that is when you shoulduse the redouble. Basically, the re -double shows no support for partner’ssuit (here, spades) and that yourpartnership has the majority of points(you should have 9 or more HCP). Itsets up a situation where your sidemight want to punish the opponentsfor trying to enter your auction. isis exactly the case here: what can theopponents bid? Whether they try 2®,2© or 2™, you can double them for ahandsome profit, probably between500 and 1,100. Since you have nochance for game, it will look rathergood on your score-card! In summary:when partner opens and RHOdoubles, redouble when you have 9+points, no support for partner’s suitand you are looking for a penalty.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 9
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Bernard Magee’s Tips For Better Bridge £14 inc p&p
Page 21
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 10
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ K Q 6 3
™ A Q 4 2
© 7
® Q 10 7 6
West North East South
?
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 7 6 3
™ K Q J 9 5
© K 4
® A Q 6
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 7 6 5
™ J 4
© A Q 8 2
® Q J 7 6
West North East South
1™ 1NT
?
4. Dealer West. N/S Vul.
´ A K 7 6 4
™ K J 8
© Q J 10 4
® 7
West North East South
1´ Pass 2® Pass
2© Pass 2™* Pass
? * fourth suit forcing
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
AT THE ROYAL KENZTUNISIA 2010/2011
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Page 22
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ K Q 6 3 ´ 7 2
™ A Q 4 2 ™ K J 5 3
© 7 © A Q 9 8 6
® Q 10 7 6 ® 3 2
West North East South
?
1®. With 13 high-card points, you mustopen the bidding, even though I amsure you dislike 4-4-4-1 hands! Planyour rebid: if you open 1™, what willyou rebid over the likely 2© response(2´ and 3® would be reverse bids)? A1´ opening is not much better, youcould rebid 2™ over 2©, but thispromises five spades and four hearts –in fact, you should never open 1´ ona 4-4-4-1 hand.
By far the best and most practicalopening bid is 1®, leaving room forthe 1© response; then you can rebid1™, keeping the bidding at acomfortable level and allowing yourpartnership to find any fit that youmight have.
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 7 6 3 ´ Q 9 8 4 2
™ K Q J 9 5 ™ 2
© K 4 © A 8 6 3 2
® A Q 6 ® 4 2
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
1NT. is hand is relatively straight -forward: it is a balanced type of handand therefore your rebid should showyour point count. Players seem to get
confused when holding a five-cardmajor. e only difference between ahand with a five-card minor and afive-card major is that when you areweak (12-14) and have a good five-card major, then, rather than opening1NT, most Acol players prefer to openone of the major.
However, when you are strongeryou have the best of both worlds: youcan start by showing your suit andthen rebid 1NT to show the strengthof your hand (15-17 points). If partnerhas a distributional hand, he can bidagain and, if he has three-card heartsupport, you will still find your fit.Here, the auction will be 1™ – 1´ –1NT – 2© – 2´ – End, instead of 1™ –1´ – 2™ – End.
3. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 7 6 5 ´ Q J 4 2
™ J 4 ™ Q 10 9 3 2
© A Q 8 2 © 7
® Q J 7 6 ® A K 4
West North East South
1™ 1NT
?
Double. What are your options? Well, mostplayers will not even think of doubleas being one of their options, but ofcourse it is – and a simple rule is: ifyou have the majority of the points, itis sensible to double the opponents’no-trump bids for penalties.
Here, you have 10 points; add that topartner’s minimum of 12 for openingthe bidding and you have acomfortable majority. Thus, youshould punish South for his audacityby doubling his 1NT. South probablyhas 16 points, but North is likely to beshort!
Lead the ™J and you should be ableto take 1NT at least two off: +300would be a great score.
4. Dealer West. N/S Vul.
´ A K 7 6 4 ´ Q 2
™ K J 8 ™ 10 7 6
© Q J 10 4 © K 8 2
® 7 ® A Q 9 8 6
West North East South
1´ Pass 2® Pass
2© Pass 2™* Pass
? * fourth suit forcing
3NT. You bid your hand naturally andaccurately, showing five spades andfour or more diamonds. However,your partner bids the fourth suit, 2™,which is best used as an artificial bidbecause it is rare that there will be auseful fit in the last suit. e bid canbe very helpful when you are stillunsure of the final contract at thesecond or third round of bidding.Basically it asks you to describe yourhand more fully. Is there anythingmore you can show? One of the keyissues is whether you can stop thefourth suit for the purposes of a no-trump contract. This is indeed thecase here, so you should show yourstop by rebidding in no-trumps.However, that’s not all: consider thatyour partner needed about 11 pointsto use the fourth suit – he could be alot stronger.
If you make the mistake of replying2NT, he may pass expecting that to bethe limit. However, you are muchstronger than your minimum of 12:you have 14 points and a good five-card suit and should therefore jump to3NT.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 10
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 23
Timeless Baltic with Bernard Magee
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Date Port
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Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 11
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ A 2
™ K Q 4 3 2
© A Q J 6 5
® 4
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K Q 4 3
™ 9 8 2
© 7 6
® Q J 6 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ K Q 7 6
™ A 2
© J 8 2
® J 10 9 3
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ A J 3
™ 7 6
© K Q 3 2
® Q J 6 5
West North East South
2´* Dbl Pass
?
*Weak Two, 6-10 points, six-card spade suit
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 24
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ A 2 ´ Q 9 7 5 3
™ K Q 4 3 2 ™ 5
© A Q J 6 5 © K 4 3
® 4 ® Q 8 6 2
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
2©. You opened correctly with the higherof your touching five-card suits. Aerpartner’s 1´ response, you must showyour second suit, but at what level?Your hand looks very strong and, ifyou have a fit, it is indeed likely to beworth game, if not slam. However, onhands with long suits, beware ofovervaluing your holding as theremight be a misfit. Go slowly in thebidding first, so that later, if a fit islocated, you are well placed to showyour strength. A jump to 3© wouldshow a tremendously strong hand andis forcing – it should be reserved forthose hands that can see a game, evenopposite just 6 or 7 points. Your handis not quite strong enough for thisjump switch, so make a simple rebid of2©. If your partner has a good 8 or 9points, he will make another bid, but,with a hand like the above, partner canpass, leaving you in the best contract.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K Q 4 3 ´ A J 9 7 2
™ 9 8 2 ™ 7 6 5
© 7 6 © A K Q
® Q J 6 2 ® 8 4
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2´.e first rule when responding with aweak hand is: if you have four-cardsupport for partner’s major, then raisehis suit. It is very important to showyour support straight away with aweak hand because you will make itmore difficult for your opponents toenter the bidding. So you are going tobid spades, but at what level? Usingthe point-count system: 8 points = 2´.If you count losers: 8 losers, but, withno ace, you should add half a loser 81/2losers = either 2´ or 3´. When stuckbetween two levels, (a) use anotherform of evaluation and (b) if that stillleaves you in doubt, then tend to bepessimistic, because, if partner has areasonable hand, he will be able tomake a game-try over a 2´ response.From (a) above, aer the LTC wasinconclusive, you should try the point-count system and so respond 2´.
3. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ K Q 7 6 ´ A J 4 2
™ A 2 ™ 7 6 5
© J 8 2 © K Q 10 4
® J 10 9 3 ® A 6
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
2®.You have 11 HCP so you have enoughto look for game. You could bid 2NT,but since there is a possibility that you
have a spade fit, you should start witha Stayman 2®. If you do not findpartner with four spades, then you canrebid 2NT. As it is, your partner doesindeed have four spades and youshould reach 4´, which is a muchbetter contract than 3NT.
4. Dealer North. Love All.
´ A J 3 ´ 4
™ 7 6 ™ K Q J 2
© K Q 3 2 © A J 7 6
® Q J 6 5 ® K 10 7 2
West North East South
2´* Dbl Pass
?
*Weak Two, 6-10 points, six-card spade suit
3NT. North has opened with a Weak Two.e natural defence to this system is touse a take-out double in a similar wayto a double of a one-level opening suitbid. With 13 points in response to thedoubler, you should be thinking aboutgame – aer all, he has suggested anopening hand. With no support for theother major and an excellent stop inthe opponents’ suit, you shouldconsider a no-trump contract. 3NT issurely a more likely game than either5® or 5©. And there is no need to takeyour time: you should simply bid 3NT.This is a slightly risky bid, but it is themost practical one by far. Sometimesyou will be wrong and 3NT will godown heavily, but that is the power ofpre-emptive bidding: it forces you totake risks and make guesses. All youcan do is make sure your guesses areeducated.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 11
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
QPlus Bridge – the best Acol-playing software
Page 25
Oslo & the Timeless Fjords with Bernard Magee
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Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 12
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 5
™ A K 7 2
© Q J 8 3
® K J 5 2
West North East South
3´ Pass
?
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A K 8 7 6 4 3
™ A K Q 4
© K 2
® Void
West North East South
?
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ 7
™ 8 4
© K 8 6 3
® K Q 9 8 4 2
West North East South
1™ 1´ 2©
?
4. Dealer South. Love All.
´ A 2
™ K 8 6
© A Q 5 4
® K Q 6 2
West North East South
3´
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 26
1. Dealer East. Love All.
´ 5 ´ K Q J 10 7 6 4
™ A K 7 2 ™ 9 6
© Q J 8 3 © 5 4
® K J 5 2 ® 8 6
West North East South
3´ Pass
?
Pass. It is hard to accept that you need 16points to make a response to a pre-empt, but I am afraid it is the truth.With support for your partner’s suit,you can raise on much weaker hands(oen looking for a sacrifice), but withno support, you do need to be verystrong. Remember that partner hasshown only 6-9 points, so it is quitereasonable to pass with fewer than 16.
On this hand, your maximumnumber of tricks is nine and, if theclubs are wrong, you might lose a fifthtrick. Note that, in no-trumps, youwill not make one spade trick andmight make only four or five tricks intotal. Spades definitely make for abetter contract than no-trumps.
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A K 8 7 6 4 3 ´ 9 2
™ A K Q 4 ™ 9 8 3 2
© K 2 © 7 6 5
® Void ® 9 8 7 4
West North East South
?
2®.e question you need to ask yourselfon a hand like this is, “Do you want toplay in game irrespective of what yourpartner holds?” If the answer is yes,
then you should open 2®. Remember,the 2® opening bid is not just for 23+HCP hands, but also for hands thatcan make game by themselves. It isnot unreasonable to give yourself justone loser in spades, and then,hopefully, just two more betweenhearts and diamonds. When assessingyour hand in this way, you can giveyour partner 1 or 2 points and thensee if game might be on.
On this particular hand, ten trickswill be straightforward opposite theYarborough given and, on a good day,you might even make twelve! Theauction would progress 2®-2©-2´;from this point on both players areforced to bid on, until game isreached. East would, of course, bid thesecond negative, 2NT, and then Westshould simply bid 4´ ignoring hishearts (even with the heart fit 4´ is amuch better contract than 4™).
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ 7 ´ A K 9 8 4
™ 8 4 ™ A 6 3 2
© K 8 6 3 © 7 4 2
® K Q 9 8 4 2 ® 6
West North East South
1™ 1´ 2©
?
Pass. Your partner has made a simpleovercall and has therefore not showntremendous strength; youropponents, however, have shownstrength. North should have 12+ HCPand South 9+ for a two-level response.
Be very careful when contemplatingbidding in an auction when youropponents have the majority of thepoints: bid on if you have a fit, butpass if you don’t. Bidding 3® on a
hand like this is suicide: it invitesNorth to double you, and may wellresult in a two or three trick defeat. -300 or -500 would be a disaster on alittle part-score hand like this.
Enter competitive auctions only ifyou have a fit, or a very strong andlong suit.
4. Dealer South. Love All.
´ A 2 ´ 7 6
™ K 8 6 ™ A J 3 2
© A Q 5 4 © J 10 6
® K Q 6 2 ® J 10 4 3
West North East South
3´
?
3NT. Pre-empts disrupt your bidding. ebest way to deal with them is to tryand guess the most likely contract andbid it! You are allowed to give yourpartner 7 or 8 points and then bid on.With 18 balanced points, noparticular length in the unbid majorand a certain stop in the pre-emptedsuit, there is one contract that isscreaming at you: 3NT! You have tobe brave to bid it, but, if you don’t,nobody else will. Your partner is likelyto respond 4™ to a take-out double,leaving you rather stuck. Pre-emptsmake you guess and the best way tocope with them is to make sure thatyour guess is an educated one!
Your spade stop might lookprecarious, but, by ducking one roundof the suit, you hope to leave Northwith none and with North beingheavy favourite to hold the ace ofclubs, you are odds-on to make 3NT –with three clubs, three diamonds, theace and king of hearts and the ace ofspades.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 12
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 27
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 13
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors. (Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. Love All.
´ J 10 7 5
™ K 4 2
© K 7
® Q 8 3 2
West North East South
1™ 1NT
?
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ K Q J 6
™ K 2
© 4
® A Q J 9 6 3
West North East South
1® 1© 1´ 3©
?
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 5 4 2
™ A K 7 6
© A K Q 5
® 7 6
West North East South
1™ 1´ 2® Pass
?
4. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ J 7 6 4
™ 7 6 2
© Q 8 7 6
® 6 5
West North East South
2® Pass
2© Pass 2´ Pass
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
JUST BRIDGE 2011
£165full board
© No single supplement© Six sessions of duplicate bridge© No prizes or masterpoints© No tuition, seminars
or quizzes, just bridge
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
January28 - 30 Scalford Hall
February11 - 13 Wychwood Park25 - 27 Scalford Hall
March4 - 6 Latimer Mews11 - 13 Scalford Hall18 - 20 Latimer Mews18 - 20 Wychwood Park25 - 27 Scalford Hall
April15 - 17 Scalford Hall
May20 - 22 Wychwood Park
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July8 - 10 Latimer Mews15 - 17 Wychwood Park
August5 - 7 Scalford Hall19 - 21 Wychwood Park
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November4 - 6 Latimer Mews11 - 13 Scalford Hall18 - 20 Scalford Hall25 - 27 Wychwood Park
Scalford Hall, Melton Mowbray LE14 4UB
Wychwood Park, Crewe, CW2 5GP
Latimer Mews, Chesham HP5 1UG
Page 28
1. Dealer East. Love All.
´ J 10 7 5 ´ K 3
™ K 4 2 ™ Q 10 9 5 3
© K 7 © A 9 6
® Q 8 3 2 ® K J 5
West North East South
1™ 1NT
?
Double. A relatively straightforwardone. Doubles of no-trump bids tendto be for penalties; whenever you havethe majority of the points, it makessense to double. You have 9 high-cardpoints and your partner has promised12; that makes 21 and with a balancedhand and a reasonable lead (the two ofhearts), you should certainly make lifedifficult for South. On this hand,South would be le to struggle in 1NTand would probably fail by two orthree tricks for -300 or -500; apleasant gain on a part-score deal.
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ K Q J 6 ´ A 10 9 8 3
™ K 2 ™ A 5 3
© 4 © 9 6
® A Q J 9 6 3 ® K 5 2
West North East South
1® 1© 1´ 3©
?
4©. It would be easy to bid theobvious 4´ here, but consider howstrong your hand is: 16 HCP + asingleton + a good five-card suit = 20points. (The Losing Trick Count willgive you the same answer since youhave just five losers).
Your hand is certainly worth game,but it could be worth a lot more and
this is what you need to tell yourpartner. Whenever you are unsure ofthe best contract and your opponentshave been bidding, there is an extrabid available to you to show your greatstrength – the opponents’ suit.
Bid 4©, which tells your partner thatyou like spades and have ambitionsbeyond game. That will be enough toinspire East to investigate a slam andshould enable you to reach 6´. East haseight losers, so he would have passed a4´ bid, but over a slam try, holding twoaces, the king of his partner’s suit andan extra trump, he can have no doubtthat a slam is likely to be on the cards.
In a competitive auction, if you havea very strong hand, contemplate usingthe opponents’ suit to show thatstrength to your partner.
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ 5 4 2 ´ A 9 7
™ A K 7 6 ™ Q 5 2
© A K Q 5 © 7 6
® 7 6 ® A Q J 5 4
West North East South
1™ 1´ 2® Pass
?
2´. Once your partner bids 2®, youcan be sure that your side has thestrength for game. He should have atleast 9 points for a response at the twolevel and you have 16 HCP. However,what game is it to be? e most likelygame is in no-trumps, but you cannotbid it because you have no stop in theopponents’ suit. What you would liketo do is find out whether your partnerhas one. e way to do this is actuallyto bid the opponents’ suit!
This may sound odd, but it is a veryuseful tactic in competitive auctions.A bid of the oppositions’ suit, here 2´,
shows a strong hand and asks partnerto describe his hand further. On thishand your partner has a stop in spadesand, also has extra strength and thushe would jump to 3NT. You may havebeen tempted simply to bid yoursecond suit, 2©, but this is dangerous,for you are showing a two-suited handwhich should hold at least five cards inthe first bid suit. Over a 2© bid partneris likely to jump to 4™ expecting you tohold five hearts.
4. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
´ J 7 6 4 ´ A K Q 5 3 2
™ 7 6 2 ™ K Q 8
© Q 8 7 6 © A
® 6 5 ® K Q 4
West North East South
2® Pass
2© Pass 2´ Pass
?
4´. Your partner has made thestrongest opening available and, whenhe rebids 2´, he is telling you that hewants to be in game whatever yourhand. He needs you to trust him andkeep on bidding. You showed a nega -tive to the 2® opening by bidding 2©,now you must bid again. In fact, withyour support for spades, you are quiteglad to bid again. However, it isimportant to make the right responseto stop your partner from gettingexcited. When you are in a forcing-to-game auction, a jump to game in yourpartner’s suit (here 4´) is a weak bid,whilst 3´ is a strong bid, suggesting achance for a slam. Having alreadyshown a negative, a bid of 4´ nowwould deny any ace or king, and basic -ally offer very little hope for slam. Thisis what you should bid and yourpartner will not be tempted to go on.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 13
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 29
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 14
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ Q
™ Q 7 6 3
© K 8 4 2
® A J 6 2
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ Q J 4 3 2
™ Void
© A 10 7 6 5
® 4 3 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 7
™ K 10 7 4
© A 7 3
® J 10 8 2
West North East South
1´ Dbl
?
4. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
´ A 3
™ 9 6 3 2
© A 7 6 4
® K Q 8
West North East South
1´ 2® 2´
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Bernard MageeHaslemere Hall
Haslemere, Surrey
17 – 19 May 2011
£10 per session. For advanced booking, please call Haslemere Hall Box Office
( 01428 642161Please note that all sessions will be filmed.
Tuesday 17 MayMorning Session: 11.00 – 12.30
Ruffing for extra tricks
Afternoon Session: 15.30 – 17.00
Competitive auctions
Wednesday 18 MayMorning Session: 11.00 – 12.30
Making the most of your high cards
in play and defence
Afternoon Session: 15.30 – 17.00
Finding and bidding slams
Thursday 19 MayMorning Session: 11.00 – 12.30
Play and defence of 1NT
Afternoon Session: 15.30 – 17.00
Doubling and defence
against doubled contracts
Page 30
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ Q ´ A 9 8 7 6
™ Q 7 6 3 ™ K 4 2
© K 8 4 2 © 7 5
® A J 6 2 ® Q 10 4
West North East South
?
Pass. “Twelve points, so what shouldI open?” Do not be so fast: a singletonhonour is always of dubious value(even if it is the ace), because it blocksup a suit, but especially if it is a lowerhonour because it might end up aswaste paper.
Whenever you are consideringopening the bidding, you shouldcount all singleton honours (exceptthe ace) at half their value, so: J = 1/2, Q = 1, K = 11/2 and A = 4. This hand isworth just 11 points and, with no five-card suit and no tens and nines, youdo not have enough strength to openthe bidding. Had you chosen to open,then you would have had to decidewhich suit to open; with a black suitsingleton open the middle suit (with ared singleton open the suit below).Thus 1© would come a poor second.Notice how useless the queen ofspades turns out to be opposite yourpartner’s ace: you will likely crash itunder the ace in order to ruff thesecond round.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ Q J 4 3 2 ´ K 10 9 8 6
™ Void ™ Q 7 3
© A 10 7 6 5 © K 4
® 4 3 2 ® A 7 6
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
4´. e first rule when responding topartner with a weak hand is: if youhave support for his major, then raisethe suit. It is so important to showsupport straightaway with a weakhand because you will make it moredifficult for the opponents to enter thebidding. So you are going to bidspades, but at what level? Whetheryou use point count or the losing trickcount, you should get to the sameanswer: 7 HCP + 4 for a void + 2 five-card suits = 13 points – enough forgame – you should bid 4´. is is agreat bid for two reasons: it may wellmake and, if it doesn’t, then youropponents are likely to be able to makea contract of their own. On manydistributional hands, like this one,both sides can make a game. Here,North-South can probably make 4™,while you can make 4´ easily.
3. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K 7 ´ A Q 10 2
™ K 10 7 4 ™ Q 3
© A 7 3 © K Q 9 5
® J 10 8 2 ® Q 9 4
West North East South
1´ Dbl
?
Redouble. Aer your partner’sopening suit bid has been doubledand you know that your side has themajority of the points, then it is oencorrect to redouble. is puts yourside in control and can oen steeryour opponents into trouble. At first,you might think that you should havespades to redouble, but that iscertainly not the case. With supportfor spades, you would raise the suit toget in the opponents’ way and stopthem finding their best fit. South’sdouble was for take-out, so he wants
his partner to bid. How do you knowif you have the majority of points?Well, give partner 12 for his openingbid, and that means you would needat least 9 points to make a redouble.
After your redouble with this hand,North-South will do very well to avoida hefty penalty. What can they do?Whether it is 2®, 2© or 2™, each willfair badly, and with your side in aposition to double, you can make ahandsome profit: 500 or 800 points.
4. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
´ A 3 ´ 9 4
™ 9 6 3 2 ™ J 10 8
© A 7 6 4 © K 8
® K Q 8 ® A J 10 9 3 2
West North East South
1´ 2® 2´
?
3NT. Noting the vulnerability (youare vulnerable, they are not) what doyou think your partner has for his 2®overcall? He really should have a goodsix-card suit and near-opening values.You could support clubs, but you arepretty strong; can you think ofanything better?
Partner will have the club ace; this isnot a certainty, but is definitely oddson. I can count eight tricks: six clubsand two aces and, with length in youronly weak suit – hearts – surely 3NTshould be on. Bidding 3NT mightseem a trifle risky, but it is well-reasoned and even if partner turns outto have a very weak overcall (the Easthand here is almost too weak for avulnerable two-level overcall in aminor), you can still make 3NT. Youhave an obvious nine tricks off the topin no-trumps for +600, which looks alot healthier than +110 for making3®.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 14
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
Page 31
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 15
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. E/W VuI.
´ A 9 8 7
™ K Q 4 3
© A K J 2
® A
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K Q 8 7 6
™ Void
© J 8 7 3 2
® 6 4 3
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K 7 6 3
™ A 9 4 2
© 7 6
® K 8 2
West North East South
1©
?
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 7
™ K Q J 4 3
© A Q 7 6
® J 5
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
N
W E
S
RUBBER / CHICAGOHosted by Diana Holland
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
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11-13 March 2011 Ardington Hotel
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30 Sept-2 Oct 2011 Ardington Hotel
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Page 32
1. Dealer West. E/W VuI.
´ A 9 8 7 ´ J 10 3 2
™ K Q 4 3 ™ 7 6
© A K J 2 © Q 3
® A ® Q 9 8 4 3
West North East South
?
2NT. You have quite a hand: 21points. You should quickly dismissopening with a strong two in a suitbecause this promises at least a five-card suit. Does that leave a choice justbetween 1©, 1™ and 1´? ere is oneother bid that you might use and thatis 2NT. It may seem strange to suggestit because you have a singleton, but atleast it is an ace. When thinking ofopening 2NT with 20-22 high-cardpoints, you are allowed to take someliberties in order to get the strength ofyour hand across.
These include opening slightlyunbalanced hands that can’t opentwo-of-a-suit. 1© or 1™ would bepassed out, whereas 2NT getsStayman from partner and 4´ isreached easily.
2. Dealer East. Game All.
´ K Q 8 7 6 ´ A 9 5 4 2
™ Void ™ J 8 3
© J 8 7 3 2 © A Q 4
® 6 4 3 ® J 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
4´. When you have a weak hand with
support for partner’s major, youshould raise his major. at gives youa choice of three bids: 2´, 3´ and 4´.is hand is far too strong for a 2´response: the distribution is fantastic– in fact it is actually too good for a 3´response! A good rule of thumb isthat, when you have five-card supportand a void in a weak hand, then bidstraight to game; here, 4´. This worksin two ways: (i) you might actuallymake 4´, and (ii) if you don’t make4´, then your opponents are likely tomake their own game contract.
On this deal, you can make 4´ andyour opponents can make at least 4™.It just goes to show how many trickscan be made if you have a good fit inyour trump suit! It shows also howuseful it is to be the first side into thebidding.
3. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K 7 6 3 ´ Q 9 2
™ A 9 4 2 ™ 7 6 5
© 7 6 © K Q 2
® K 8 2 ® A J 9 3
West North East South
1©
?
Pass. If you want to make a bid, threechoices spring to mind: 1™, 1´ ordouble. You need five cards for anovercall, so that rules out two of theoptions. For a double, you need thevalues for an opening hand andshortage in diamonds. You have theshortage in diamonds, but you aresome way short of an opening bid.
Hence, having considered all theoptions, you should simply pass.
Always remember that you have apartner: he might be able to make abid and, even though you pass now,you might be able to say somethinglater. Pass is often said to be the mostdifficult call in bridge.
4. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 7 ´ K 8 6 5 4
™ K Q J 4 3 ™ 5 2
© A Q 7 6 © K 9 4 3
® J 5 ® 7 6
West North East South
1™ Pass 1´ Pass
?
2©. 17 HCP with a nice heart suit.You have a good, strong hand and thetemptation is to jump to 3©, but youhave a flattish hand, and cannot becertain of game.
A 3© bid would force your partnerto bid again and that may well takeyou out of your depth. Think aboutthe hand another way: how often willpartner pass if you rebid only 2©?Very rarely: only if he is weak andprefers diamonds to hearts and, onhands like those, 2© is probably thebest contract. Partner will always tryhard to make another bid over 2© if hehas a reasonable hand. You shouldmake a forcing jump rebid (like 3©)only when you are sure that game is on.
Game might have been on if youhad had a heart fit, but with a minorfit, the five level is too high, so youshould keep the bidding low.
On this hand, partner will pass your2© rebid. However, over a 3© rebidpartner must bid and it will bedifficult to avoid 5©.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 15
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All Four Bernard Magee Books only £50 inc p&p
Page 33
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 16
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer East. Game All.
´ Void
™ Q 10 8 7 6
© J 9 4 3
® K 8 7 6
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 9
™ A J
© Q J 7 6
® J 5 4 3 2
West North East South
?
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A K 7 5 4
™ 9 2
© Q J 7
® K 9 4
West North East South
1´ Pass 1NT Pass
?
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K Q 8 2
™ 7 6
© A J 4
® K 9 8 2
West North East South
1NT 2®*
?
*five hearts and at least four cards
in another suit
N
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Page 34
1. Dealer East. Game All.
´ Void ´ A 10 8 7 6 2
™ Q 10 8 7 6 ™ 4
© J 9 4 3 © Q 2
® K 8 7 6 ® A Q 9 5
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
1NT. You have 6 HCP, so you mustrespond. How much strength do youneed to bid at the two level? Tenpoints including length and at least 9HCP. You are a long way short of that,so your choices are limited. If youhave to respond, but cannot bid at thetwo level, you must bid 1NT. Yes, youdo not have a balanced hand, butsometimes when you are weak, youhave to tell little lies to stop theauction getting out of control.
On this hand, if you respond 1NTyour partner will rebid 2® and thenyou can pass, happy to have found anexcellent fit. Had you responded 2™,your partner would have had to rebid2´ (too weak to bid 3®) and now youare really in trouble.
2. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A 9 ´ K Q 7 6
™ A J ™ Q 9 4 2
© Q J 7 6 © 9 3 2
® J 5 4 3 2 ® 8 7
West North East South
?
1NT. is looks very simple: I am notbalanced, I have enough points to
open the bidding, so I open mylongest suit – 1®. But remember oneof Acol’s golden rules: plan your rebid.If partner responds one-of-a-major,what are you going to call next? Ouch!at is not so easy – a 1NT rebidwould show 15-16/17 points, andshowing a 2© rebid would be a reverseand show a strong hand; your onlychoice is to rebid 2®. Opening 1®and rebidding 2® is surely not asatisfactory way of bidding this hand:the club suit is horrible and, withhonours in every suit, this is closeenough to a balanced hand.
Open 1NT and your rebid problemsare solved: you are telling a little lieabout your shape, but 1NT describesyour hand better than to open 1® andrebid 2®. Here 1NT would be thefinal contract, much better than 2®,hopefully scoring +90 by staying onelevel lower.
3. Dealer West. Love All.
´ A K 7 5 4 ´ 3
™ 9 2 ™ Q J 4 3
© Q J 7 © K 9 8 6
® K 9 4 ® J 6 3 2
West North East South
1´ Pass 1NT Pass
?
Pass. You opened the bidding 1´,preferring to open in your five-cardmajor rather than 1NT. Partner’s 1NTreply shows 6-9 points and, inprinciple, a balanced hand. With only13 HCP there is no chance of game, soit is just a matter of finding the bestdenomination – spades or no-trumps.Partner has suggested no-trumps and
your hand is balanced, so no-trumpslooks best. Note also that partner’sresponse is relatively negative aboutspades. Last but not least, althoughpartner’s response suggests a balancedhand, sometimes he might be veryshort in spades: holding just 6 or 7points, not enough to bid at the twolevel, he may well be forced to respond1NT (as you had to do in Problem 1).All roads lead to passing 1NT.
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ K Q 8 2 ´ A J 4 3
™ 7 6 ™ J 9 4
© A J 4 © K 2
® K 9 8 2 ® Q J 10 5
West North East South
1NT 2®*
?
*five hearts and at least four cards
in another suit
2™. With your 13 points oppositepartner’s 12-14, you want to be ingame. Which denomination do youwant to play in? You have four spadesso 4´ might be right and, your lack ofa heart stop is undesirable for no-trumps. How can you ask partner:‘Have you four spades and/or can youstop the heart suit?”
This is not so easy now that theopponents have entered the auction,but there is one bid available that willforce your partner to press on. Use theopponent’s suit: 2™ cannot be natural,South has shown at least five of them.2™ asks your partner to describe hishand further. Without a heart stop, butwith four spades, East will respond 2´and now you can raise to 4´.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 16
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Use the Mr Bridge Mail Order Form on Page 45
Page 35
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 17
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K 9 4
™ Q 7 6
© A J 3 2
® A J 2
West North East South
1NT
?
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 4
™ A K 4 3
© A J 7 2
® A K Q 5
West North East South
?
3. Dealer West. Game All.
´ A 4 2
™ K Q 8 7 6
© K 2
® A 5 4
West North East South
1™ 1´ Pass 2´
?
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 10 9 4
™ A 2
© K J 7
® 9 8 6 3
West North East South
1NT 2´
?
N
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N
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Please call if you would like a sample copy of the programme.
Page 36
1. Dealer South. Love All.
´ K 9 4 ´ A 7 5 3
™ Q 7 6 ™ K 4 2
© A J 3 2 © 8 7 6
® A J 2 ® 7 6 3
West North East South
1NT
?
Pass. Your first thought is probablyto double: you have 15 HCP, morethan the 12-14 of your opponent, sowhy not? Double only when you havea 16+ points or a good lead and a suitfrom which you might get sometricks. Here your diamonds are ropyand your other suits have just threecards. Prospects are not good, so donot double. Also, with no five-cardsuit, you should certainly not make anovercall.
After all this, you should pass. Yes,your side has 22 points, but withcareful play South can make at leastseven tricks in 1NT.
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 4 ´ Q 7 6
™ A K 4 3 ™ 9 8 7
© A J 7 2 © K 9
® A K Q 5 ® J 10 9 8 3
West North East South
?
1®. 21 points, but you need a five-card suit to open a strong two andwith a small singleton, you shouldn’topen 2NT. Also, you are at least 2points short of a 2® opening – and,with three suits to show, it is best to
start as low as you can to gain room.So you must open at the one level.
To work out the best bid, lookahead: you plan to make a strongrebid, a reverse or a jump bid. If youopen 1™ and partner responds, say,1´, you will have to jump to 3® or 3©.This takes up lots of space andsuggests a five-card heart suit – youshould not lie about a major. Thechoice is between 1® and 1©: it isgenerally best to open the strongerminor because you will be suggestingyou hold five cards in that suit whenyou rebid in your second suit.Furthermore, 1® gives more space foryour partner to respond: here it willallow you to reach 5® comfortably.
3. Dealer West. Game All.
´ A 4 2 ´ Q 8
™ K Q 8 7 6 ™ 4
© K 2 © Q J 8 5 4 3
® A 5 4 ® 10 7 6 2
West North East South
1™ 1´ Pass 2´
?
Pass. Many players would want tobid again with 16 HCP and a five-cardmajor. However, remember you havea partner. He passed at his first turn –something to be wary of – and,perhaps more importantly, he doeshave another bid.
A good partner will always try tofind a bid in the pass-out seat whenthe auction has ground to a halt at alow level. If East has 8 or 9 points, heshould probably have made a bidalready, but, if he didn’t, he will do sowhen 2´ comes back to him.
Any call you make will mis-describe
your hand: 3™ would suggest longerhearts (6+) and a double wouldsuggest length in the two unbid suits(diamonds and clubs). It is not easy topass on strong hands, but it is so oftenthe correct action because partner isvery weak. Here it is East who mightbid. When 2´ is passed to him, he willrealise that you must have morestrength because your opponents havenot bid on. So he will consider bidding3© – a weak bid since he didn’t bid 2©on the first round.
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ A 10 9 4 ´ J 5
™ A 2 ™ 6 5 4
© K J 7 © A Q 3 2
® 9 8 6 3 ® K Q 7 5
West North East South
1NT 2´
?
Double. “Should I bid 2NT or 3NT?”Stop! Before you consider how high tobid, think how well a vulnerable Southis going to fare in 2´. Two elementsare required to make a good low-levelpenalty double: good trumps and yourside must hold the majority of thepoints. Both of these are present here(note that partner must have at leasttwo trumps). What would a doublemean? When partner has made a limitbid (i.e. described his hand accurately:here 12-14, balanced), doubles are forpenalties. is is because you knowwhat partner holds and can thereforemake an accurate judgement as to thebest final contract. A double of 2´ islikely to net +500 or +800. Surely thisis better than a ropy 3NT that whicheven if it makes scores only 400!
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 17
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www.mrbridge.co uk
Page 37
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 18
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ Q J 7 6
™ K
© A 7 6 4
® Q 9 4 2
West North East South
?
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 4
™ A J 5
© Q 9 8 3 2
® 7 6 5 2
West North East South
1´ 2®
?
3. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
´ 7 6
™ 4
© 8 3 2
® K Q J 7 5 4 3
West North East South
3® Pass 3NT Pass
?
4, Dealer West N/S Vul.
´ A 7
™ K Q J 5 4
© Q J 8
® K Q 7
West North East South
1™ Pass 4™ Pass
?
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Yvie Magee
Starring in
Alan Ayckbourn’s Comedy
Round and Round
the Garden
Tuesday 17 May at 7.30pm
Wednesday 18 May at 7.30pm
Haslemere Hall, Haslemere, SurreyTickets £11, concessions £10.
For advance bookings, please call Haslemere Hall Box Office.
( 01428 642161
Page 38
1. Dealer West. Game All.
´ Q J 7 6 ´ K 4 2
™ K ™ 7 6 2
© A 7 6 4 © Q J 3 2
® Q 9 4 2 ® A K 7
West North East South
?
Pass. ‘Twelve points, so what should Iopen?” Slow down! A singletonhonour is always of dubious value,even if it is the ace, because it blocks asuit, but especially if it is a lowerhonour because it might end up aswaste paper.
Whenever you are consideringopening the bidding, you shouldcount all singleton honours (exceptthe ace) at half their value, so J=1/2.Q=1, K=11/2 and A=4. This hand isworth just 101/2 points and, with nofive-card suit and no tens, you do nothave enough strength to open thebidding.
Notice how useless the king ofhearts turns out to be: it will drop beneath the opponents’ ace,leaving your hand worth just 9 points.If you had opened, your side wouldhave bid much too high; with 13points, partner would be likely to bidgame!
2. Dealer West. Game All.
´ 4 ´ A K 9 8 2
™ A J 5 ™ K Q 10
© Q 9 8 3 2 © 7 6 5
® 7 6 5 2 ® A 4
West North East South
1´ 2®
?
Pass.Generally, if your opponents comeinto the auction, try to ignore themand stick to your usual bidding rules.Had South passed, you would haveresponded 1NT but, because of his 2®intervention, you cannot do that now.What a lot of players would do is bid2© instead.
However, this still shows the samestrength as a direct 2© response; 9+HCP and 10+ points including length.You are a long way short of therequirements for a 2© response andshould therefore pass. Remember,your partner still has the chance tobid. On this hand, he would probablyre-open with a take-out double andnow you could bid 2©, finishing theauction. Had you responded 2©,partner, placing you with 10 points,would have bid 3NT – not a goodresult!
3. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
´ 7 6 ´ A 8
™ 4 ™ A 6 3
© 8 3 2 © J 10 9 7 6
® K Q J 7 5 4 3 ® A 6 2
West North East South
3® Pass 3NT Pass
?
Pass. This really is as simple as justremembering the rule: Never bidagain after making a pre-emptive bidunless you are asked to. A simple rule,but an important one. You havedescribed your hand neatly and yourpartner is taking advantage of youraccurate description to bid the bestcontract. So pass and trust yourpartner. From your hand, 3NT mightseem hopeless, but your opening bid
showed seven clubs and little else;your partner knows what you have.With his two outside aces and greatsupport for clubs, he hopes that he canmake seven club tricks and those twoaces: nine tricks.
As you can see, you will make thesame nine tricks in no-trumps as youwould in clubs – your partner wasright.
4, Dealer West N/S Vul.
´ A 7 ´ 3 2
™ K Q J 5 4 ™ A 9 8 7 6
© Q J 8 © K 10 9 7 6
® K Q 7 ® 4
West North East South
1™ Pass 4™ Pass
?
Pass. With 18 points and a good five-cardsuit, should you go for a slam? InAcol, the direct response of 4™ is usedto show a distributional raise to game,based on shortages and length ratherthan high-card points. What wouldpartner need for a slam? ree aces, ortwo aces plus a king and a singleton.With such strength, he would havetaken his time and given you thechance to explore for slam. e raiseto 4™ is not a complete sign off – ifyou have enough aces and kingsyourself, you could try for slam, but,missing so many of the higher cards, itis highly unlikely that partner willhave enough. e down-side of tryingfor slam is that you might go off in 5™,as on this deal. Give yourself thediamond ace instead of the queen andjack and now you need a lot less frompartner and it would be realistic to tryfor slam. But, here, you shouldcertainly pass.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 18
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Page 39
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 19
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer: West. Game All.
´ 4 2
™ K J 3
© 4 3
® A 9 8 7 6 5
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
2. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ A J 7 6 4
™ 4
© 3 2
® K 9 8 3 2
West North East South
1 ´ Pass
?
3. Dealer: West. Game All.
´ 4
™ K Q 9 2
© A J 4 3
® A 9 3 2
West North East South
1© 1 ´ Pass Pass
?
4. Dealer: West. N/S Vul.
´ A 10 9 8 6
™ 5
© K Q 9 5
® A 4 3
West North East South
1 ´ Dbl Redbl 2©
?
N
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Page 40
1. Dealer: West. Game All.
´ 4 2 ´ Q J 6
™ K J 3 ™ A 8 6 5
© 4 3 © Q J 9 7
® A 9 8 7 6 5 ® K 2
West North East South
1NT Pass
?
Pass. What choices do you have? Youcould bid Stayman and follow with 3®(as a weak take-out), or you couldpass. You have a weak hand; would youprefer to play at the one or three level?Also, would you like to play for 40 and30 points per trick, or for 20 points pertrick? I hope you get the message: pass.Sometimes, you might scrape home in 3® when 1NT would go down, butthat is rare. More likely is that bothcontracts will go off, or even if youmake nine tricks in 3®, no-trumpswill make eight and score better. Bearin mind that if the clubs break well in3®, they also break well in 1NT andno-trumps are worth more.
2. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ A J 7 6 4 ´ K Q 9 8 5
™ 4 ™ A 5
© 3 2 © 9 8 7
® K 9 8 3 2 ® Q J 4
West North East South
1 ´ Pass
?
4´. e first rule when responding topartner with a weak hand is: if youhave support for his major, then raisethe suit. It is very important to showyour support straight away with aweak hand because you will make it
more difficult for your opponents toenter the bidding. So you are going tobid spades, but at what level? Whetheryou use the point count or the LosingTrick Count, you should get to thesame answer: 4´. Work it out: 8 HCP+ 3 for a singleton + 2 five-card suits =13 points; that is enough for game andso you should bid 4´. Or count yourlosers: 7 losers – enough for game. 4´is a great bid for two reasons: it maywell make and, if it doesn’t, then youropponents are likely to be able to makea contract of their own. On manydeals, like this one, both sides canmake a game: North-South can make4™, while you can make 4´ easily.
3. Dealer: West. Game All.
´ 4 ´ J 10 9 6
™ K Q 9 2 ™ J 10 5 4
© A J 4 3 © 10 7 6
® A 9 3 2 ® K 5
West North East South
1© 1 ´ Pass Pass
?
Double. Whenever you are the lastplayer to bid in an auction and thebidding is dying out at a very lowlevel, think hard before passing,especially if you are short in theopponent’s suit. With only two suitsbid, a double in this situation shouldbe used for take-out. You might feelyou are a little weak to bid again;however, when sitting in the last seat,you are allowed to “borrow a king”from your partner and use that to giveyou enough courage to re-open theauction with a double. You have 14HCP, a singleton (3 points) and aborrowed king (3 points): that’s 20points, so you should definitely call.
Your partner would, of course,
respond 2™, giving your side thechance to win the auction. Competingfor the part-score on hands like theseis very important in all forms ofbridge.
4. Dealer: West. N/S Vul.
´ A 10 9 8 6 ´ J 4
™ 5 ™ A J 10 9 4
© K Q 9 5 © J 2
® A 4 3 ® K Q 9 5
West North East South
1 ´ Dbl Redbl 2©
?
Double. What did your partner’sredouble mean? It shows 9+ pointsand should deny support for yoursuit. In fact, it tends to suggest thatyour side might be able to penalise theopponents. (Had your partner hadsupport for spades, he would, ofcourse, have raised in spades to keepthe opposition out of the auction.)Once the partnership has suggestedthey might be looking for a penalty,then all doubles become penaltydoubles and, in fact, both playersshould seek an opportunity to usesuch a double. Your side have theclear majority of the points and youhave excellent diamonds, thereforeyou should suggest that you candefeat 2© by doubling. It is not asurprise to see that your partner willbe ready to double if West triesbidding hearts or clubs.
Against accurate defence, declarermight manage only four tricks,yielding 1,100 points, so, even if youcan get home in a game, you willoutscore it comfortably. Learning todouble your opponents at the righttime in low-level contracts can be verylucrative.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 19
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Page 41
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 20
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ K 5 3
™ 6
© A 2
® J 8 7 6 5 4 3
West North East South
?
2. Dealer East. Love All.
´ A 7 6 2
™ A 7 4 2
© K 7 6
® 3 2
West North East South
1™ Pass
?
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ K 9
™ K 9 3
© 8 4 3 2
® J 10 6 5
West North East South
3™ Dbl Pass
?
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ 10 9 4
™ J 6 4 2
© J 7
® J 8 6 3
West North East South
1NT Dbl
?
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January14-16 Ardington Hotel £215
Signals & Discards Ned Paul
21-23 Ardington Hotel £215Suit EstablishmentAlex Davoud
February25-27 Ardington Hotel £215
DoublesNed Paul
March25-27 Ardington Hotel £215
Pre-emptive BiddingCrombie McNeil
April15-17 Ardington Hotel £215
Hand EvaluationAlex Davoud
May6-8 The Olde Barn £199
Splinters & Cue BidsRay Hutchinson
13-15 Ardington Hotel £215Better DefenceNed Paul
13-15 Staverton Park £199Suit EstablishmentSandy Bell
June10-12 The Olde Barn £199
Hand EvaluationRay Hutchinson
October14-16 The Olde Barn £199
SacrificingGary Conrad
28-30 Staverton Park £199Better DefenceAlex Davoud
November18-20 The Olde Barn £199
Endplay & AvoidanceCrombie McNeil
18-20 Staverton Park £199ImproversStayman & TransfersStan Powell
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Page 42
1. Dealer West. Love All.
´ K 5 3 ´ A 6 4
™ 6 ™ K Q 9 8 7
© A 2 © Q 9 8 7
® J 8 7 6 5 4 3 ® 2
West North East South
?
Pass. With a seven-card suit and 5-9points, you would be right to considera pre-emptive opening. However, withsuch a poor club suit, it cannot beright to risk it. Perhaps at favourablevulnerability (had your opponentsbeen vulnerable) you might try it, but,too oen, you will finish in the wrongcontract, giving away a minus scorefor going down. In fact, moredangerous is a bad break in clubs, for,if the clubs break 4-1, two things mighthappen: you are likely to get doubledand you will go down by an extra trick.-300 points would not be a success,nor would -50 for 3® minus one. Thestrength of your suit is a veryimportant aspect of a pre-emptinghand; with J-10-9 heading the suit, 3®is a much more reasonable call.
2. Dealer East. Love All.
´ A 7 6 2 ´ K 8 3
™ A 7 4 2 ™ K Q 8 6 3
© K 7 6 © A 8 5 3
® 3 2 ® 4
West North East South
1™ Pass
?
3™. With a weak hand (less thangame values) and four-card supportfor partner’s major suit, you shouldraise his suit. Why bother showingyour spades when you have alreadyfound a heart fit and can be prettysure that you want to play in hearts?
3™ is the perfect call, showing four-card support for hearts and 10-12points (or 8 losers). Now your partnercan make an accurate judgment as towhat will be the best final contract,and will raise to 4™. Raising straightaway also keeps the opponents quieton this hand: after 1™ – Pass – 1´,North would come in with 2® andnow East might reasonably call 2´.What do you bid now? The accuracyof the auction is lost and you willperhaps need to take a guess to jumpto 4™.
3. Dealer North. Love All.
´ K 9 ´ A Q J 3
™ K 9 3 ™ 2
© 8 4 3 2 © A 9 7 6
® J 10 6 5 ® K Q 9 4
West North East South
3™ Dbl Pass
?
4®. Your partner has made a take-out double of North’s pre-emptiveopening. You are too weak to pass(you have just one defensive trick)and on this hand, 3™ would make,giving your opponents a veryhandsome score. at leaves threechoices: 3NT, 4® or 4©. You are alsotoo weak for 3NT; yes, you have a
heart stop, but that is about it! Betteris to bid your best suit: 4®. It mightlook odd, but you are just doing asyou are told: partner’s double askedfor your best suit and 4® shows himwhat it is. 4® will probably go one off,but this will get a better score thanallowing North-South to make theircontract (doubled or not).
4. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
´ 10 9 4 ´ A K 3
™ J 6 4 2 ™ 8 7 5
© J 7 © 10 9 4 2
® J 8 6 3 ® K Q 5
West North East South
1NT Dbl
?
Pass. ere is little more to say –what else can you bid? I am notsuggesting that you are going toobtain a great score, but you will notdo any better by bidding anything. Infact, 1NT doubled down three mightturn out to be a reasonable score, -500would be better than letting youropponents make game.
Anybody trying to ‘wriggle’ free of1NT doubled would finish in a worsecontract, at a higher level, doubledtoo.
Take 2®, for example: it looksreasonable, but on the usual 4-2 break,declarer will struggle to make morethan four or five tricks. With a weakand flat hand, leave your partner in1NT: you gain plenty of good scoresfrom playing the weak no-trump, soaccept the odd bad one.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 20
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Premium�Quality�Playing�Cards�(unboxed)
12 packs (6 red / 6 blue) £19.95 including p&p. 60 packs (30 red / 30 blue) £60 including p&p.
Page 43
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No Single Supplements on selected
Bernard Magee’sBidding Quiz 21
You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
(Answers overleaf)
1. Dealer: West. Love All.
´ A K 3
™ A K 9 7 4 3 2
© A K 2
® Void
West North East South
?
2. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ Q 8 7 6 2
™ Void
© A 9 7 6 3
® 5 4 3
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
3. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ A 5
™ J 7 4
© A 7 6 5 2
® A Q 4
West North East South
3® Pass
?
4. Dealer: North. Love All.
´ K Q 9 8 7
™ A 9 8
© 7 6 5 4
® 4
West North East South
1NT Dbl 2®
?
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Page 44
1. Dealer: West. Love All.
´ A K 3 ´ 7 6 5
™ A K 9 7 4 3 2 ™ Void
© A K 2 © Q J 10 9 7 6
® Void ® 9 8 5 4
West North East South
?
2®. Just 21 high-card points but thishand is much stronger than most 23-point hands. Your strongest openingbid (2®) is used not just to show 23 ormore points but also to show anyhand which can make game by itself.e advantage of opening 2® is that,because the bid is game-forcing, youdo not have to jump-bid later. usthe auction on the hands above couldproceed: 2® – 2© – 2™ – 3© – 3™ – 4©– 7©! Had you started with a strong2™, then, over the negative 2NT, I amsure many would jump just to 4™ andthat would finish the auction.
2. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ Q 8 7 6 2 ´ A K J 9 5
™ Void ™ J 5 4
© A 9 7 6 3 © 8 4
® 5 4 3 ® A 9 2
West North East South
1´ Pass
?
4´. With a weak hand (less thangame values) and at least four-cardsupport for your partner’s major suit,you should raise his suit. But how
high should you bid in spades? Withfive-card support for partner’s suitand a void, the answer is simple: bidto game! 4´ will make some of thetime and, even when it goes down,your opponents are very likely to beable to make something themselves –but you have given them no chance toenter the auction.
On this hand, you can indeed maketen tricks in 4´ for +420, whilst youropponents can make ten trickscomfortably in 4™ (-420). It pays to beaggressive when you have a big fit andgood distribution.
3. Dealer: East. Love All.
´ A 5 ´ Q 3
™ J 7 4 ™ 8 5 2
© A 7 6 5 2 © 3
® A Q 4 ® K J 10 9 6 5 3
West North East South
3® Pass
?
3NT. With ®A-Q-4 oppositepartner’s strong and long suit you cancount seven tricks in clubs; add thoseto two aces and you have nine tricks.
Those nine tricks will make in no-trumps just as well as clubs so, since3NT is worth so much more, that isyour bid. What about hearts?
There is some risk in bidding 3NT:your opponents could take the first sixheart tricks! However, they have tolead the right suit and, with yourpartner holding just four points inclubs, there is a fair chance that hemight have an honour in hearts. Evenwhen he doesn’t, as above, it is possible
that your opponents will lead spades.And even if they do lead hearts, one ofthem would need to hold five to defeatyou. All in all, bidding 3NT is aworthwhile risk – note that 5® is likelyto make just nine tricks too!
4. Dealer: North. Love All.
´ K Q 9 8 7 ´ A 3
™ A 9 8 ™ K 7 5 2
© 7 6 5 4 © A 9 3 2
® 4 ® K Q 5
West North East South
1NT Dbl 2®
?
3´. What does partner’s double of1NT show? Usually 16 or more points.When you double your opponents andthey start running, you should aim tokeep doubling them if you can.However, you can double suitcontracts at low levels only if you havelength in the opponents’ suit and,clearly that is not the case here.Instead, you should focus on yourside’s best contract and spades are agood place to start. Before you goahead and bid 2´ though, think aboutwhat level you want to play at. With agood 9 points opposite 16, surely youwant to be heading for game and youneed to get this across to partner byjumping to 3´. e idea of this bid isto show partner that game is on andgive him the choice of two games: 4´or 3NT. Here, with a good club stopand little support for spades, he wouldchoose 3NT. With North sure to havethe ace of clubs for his opening bid,3NT is likely to make comfortably.
Answers to Bernard
Magee’s Bidding Quiz 21
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Page 45
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If you would like more information or are unsure of any details containedherein, you should ask Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd for furtheradvice.
PREMIUM�RATING�SCHEDULE
GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS1. United KingdomEngland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, including allislands comprising the British Isles (except the Channel Islands and theRepublic of Ireland). (Any British Isles or UK Cruises are rated as Area 2).2. EuropeArea 1 and Continental Europe west of the Ural mountain range, allcountries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (except, Egypt, Israel,Jordan, Lebanon, Libya & Syria), the Channel Islands and the Republicof Ireland, Iceland, Madeira, The Canaries and The Azores. (Personsresiding in the Channel Islands need to pay Area 2 rates for UK trips).3. Worldwide excluding North AmericaAreas 1 & 2 and All countries outside of the above (except the continentof North America, countries comprising Central America and theCaribbean Islands).4. Worldwide including North AmericaAreas 1,2 & 3 and The United States of America, Mexico and othercountries comprising Central America, Canada, Cuba and theCaribbean Islands.
SCHEDULE�OF�PREMIUMS
Valid for policies issued up to 31/3/2011and for travel completed by 31/12/2011.
Areas 1 & 2 - Applicable per person up to age 90 years on thedate of return to the UK. Areas 3 & 4 - Applicable per person up to age 80 years on thedate of return to the UK.
Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 41 - 3 days £13.80 £21.20 £44.40 £63.904 & 5 days £16.60 £26.60 £55.80 £80.306 -10 days £19.40 £35.90 £75.60 £108.3011-17 days £22.10 £39.30 £84.10 £121.2018-24 days £24.90 £45.20 £94.70 £136.4025-31 days £27.70 £51.40 £107.80 £155.20Each + 7 days £ 5.00 £10.10 £25.30 £36.50or part thereof (maximum period of 122 days)
All premiums include the Government Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), which is 17.5% and is subject to variation.
PREMIUM ADJUSTMENTSAll age adjustments apply to the age on the date of return to the UKThe following adjustments apply ONLY to trips in excess of 31 days
for all persons aged 65 years and over
Geographical Area Premium IncreaseArea 2 Europe Plus 50% (1.5 times)Area 3 Worldwide excl. North America etc Plus 100% (2 times)Area 4 Worldwide incl. North America etc Plus 200% (3 times)
Infants up to 2 years inclusive are FREE subject to being included with anadult paying a full premium.
Children 3 to 16 years inclusive are HALF PRICE subject to being includedwith an adult paying a full premium. Unaccompanied children pay the adult rate.
Group Discounts – Contact us for discounts available starting at 10 persons.
Single TripTravel Insurance
Suitable for individual round trips up to 122 days duration that start and finish in the UK arranged by
Global Travel InsuranceAmelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1RL
( 01903 203933 Fax 01903 211106
SINGLE�TRIP�APPLICATION�FORM
Please FULLY complete the following in BLOCK CAPITALS.Once complete, return the application panel direct to Global Travel Insurance
with a cheque or with card details entered.Insurance is not effective until a Policy has been issued.Please allow at least 5 days before you need to travel.
Details of the Applicant
Title (Mr/Mrs/Miss) Initials
Surname
Telephone No.
House Number/Name
Street Name
Town Name
Postcode
Date of leaving Home
Date of arrival Home
Introducer
Geographical Area - See Premium Panel(1,2,3 or 4)
Names of all persons to be insured Age Premium
1
2
3
4
5
6
Credit/Debit Card Details TOTAL PREMIUM
Card No
Start Date End Date Issue No
Security Code
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
✄
DECLARATION
On behalf of all persons listed in this application, I agree that this application shallbe the basis of the Contract of Insurance. I agree that Insurers may exchangeinformation with other Insurers or their agents. I have read and understood theterms and conditions of the insurance, with which all persons above are inagreement and for whom I am authorized to sign.
Signed ............................................................. Date.......................The form MUST be signed by one of the persons to be insured on behalf of all persons to be insured.
is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Global Travel Insurance
Services Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Mr Bridge
✄ 136STI10
BRIDGE
If undeliv
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unw
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Ryden G
range, Knaphill, Surrey, G
U21 2T
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SYSTEM
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Make your cheque payable to
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U21 2T
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(01483 489961
www.m
rbridge.co.uk/m
rbridge-shop
Fax 01483 797302
£84
including post and packing
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