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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

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


1´ 2™ 2´ 3™

?

3. Dealer East. Love All.

´ K 3

™ J 9 3

© A 8 6 2

® A J 10 2


1´ Pass

?

4. Dealer South. E/W Vul.

´ Q 8 5 4

™ 7 2

© K J 2

® A K 3 2


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

Events & Cruises( 01483 489961Jessica GaltRachel EverettMegan RiccioZoe Wright

Clubs & CharitiesMaggie Axtell

[email protected]

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

4 Second-hand Software

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





















ADVERTISEMENTS

2 Bernard Magee’sInteractiveTutorial Software

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


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.


´ 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


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´.


´ 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


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


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

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S

N

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S

N

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S

BERNARD MAGEE’S BOOKS

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Bernard Magee’s

Bidding Quiz 2


(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer East. N/S Vul.

´ K 9 8 7

™ Q J 2

© K 7 5 4

® 4 3


1© Pass

?

2. Dealer North. Game All.

´ K Q 7 6

™ 4 2

© A Q 7 6

® A 3 2


Pass 1´ Pass

?

3. Dealer North. Love All.

´ J 4 3

™ 4 2

© K Q 9 8 2

® Q 7 3


1® 1´ Pass

?


´ 8 2

™ K Q J 10 9 6 5

© 9 8 3

® 5


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.

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´ 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


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.


´ 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


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´.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


N

W E

S

N

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S

N

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S

N

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Bernard Magee’s

Bidding Quiz 3


(Answers overleaf)


´ J 7 6

™ 4

© A 9 6 4 2

® K 4 3 2


1© Pass

?


´ J 5 4 3 2

™ 7 6 5 4

© 7

® 5 4 3


Pass 2NT Pass

?

3. Dealer South. Love All.

´ K J 2

™ Q 7 6 4

© K Q 8

® A 7 6


1NT

?


´ 3

™ A Q 4 3

© A K 7 6

® A K 4 2


?

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.

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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.

DISCOUNTED

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FREE WEEKLY

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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.

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For Christmas and thecoming year, I wish you allI wish for myself. Love,peace and blessings.


´ 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


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).


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


?

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


N

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S

N

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S

N

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N

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S

Do tell our advertisers you saw it in BRIDGE

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)


´ Q 8 6 2

™ Q 7 3

© Q 8 6 2

® Q 2


1´ Pass

?


´ Q 9 7 6 5 4

™ A 7

© K 5 4

® J 2


Pass

?


´ 4

™ K 4 3 2

© K 7 6 5 4 2

® J 3


1´ Pass

?


´ 7

™ K 10 9 4

© A J 4 2

® 9 8 4 2


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

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´ 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


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!


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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www.mrbridge.co.uk

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)


´ K 7 4 2

™ Q 3

© 8 7 3 2

® 9 6 4


1™ Pass

?


´ 4

™ A 8 6

© A K 8 5 3

® A Q 8 7


3´ Pass

?

3. Dealer East. E/W Vul.

´ 4

™ 7 6 5 3 2

© 9 8 7 6 2

® 6 5


2® Pass

2© Pass 2´ Pass

?


´ Q 6 5 4

™ Q 4

© J 7 3

® Q 8 4 2


1™ Pass

1´ Pass 2© Pass

?

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´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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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)


´ Q J 8 7 6 5

™ Q J 4 3

© Q J 6

® Void


?

2. Dealer East. Game All.

´ K 6 4 3

™ Q 8 2

© 7 6

® K 9 6 2


1´ Pass

?


´ A 9 8 7 6

™ K 2

© 7 4 2

® 9 6 3


1™ Pass

1´ Pass 2® Pass

?


´ Q 6 5 4 3

™ 7 6

© 4 3 2

® Q 6 4


1´ Dbl Pass

?

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´ Q J 8 7 6 5

™ Q J 4 3 Immaterial

© Q J 6

® Void


?

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.


´ 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


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´.


´ 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


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®.


´ 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


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!

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Bernard Magee’s Quiz & Puzzle Book £14 inc p&p

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(Answers overleaf)


´ J 9 5 4

™ K 9 8 7

© A 2

® A J 2


1™

?

2. Dealer North. N/S Vul.

´ K Q J 9 5

™ Q J 3

© 4 2

® 6 3 2


1NT Pass Pass

?


´ 5 4

™ A 8 7

© K 9 7 5 4 2

® A 2


1™ Pass 2®

?

4. Dealer South. Game All.

´ J 9 4

™ Q J 10 9 8 7

© 2

® A 9 2


1NT

?

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S

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S

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S

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S


´ J 9 5 4

™ K 9 8 7

© A 2

® A J 2


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 5 4

™ A 8 7

© K 9 7 5 4 2

® A 2


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


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


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(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer West. E/W Vul.

´ K Q 10 4

™ 10 7 3

© K 7 6 4

® K 2


?


´ J 10 7 2

™ 8 4

© K 8 4 3 2

® 7 2


1´ Pass

?


´ A 10 4 3 2

™ K Q 4

© 3

® A 10 3 2


1´ Pass 2™ Pass

?


´ 8 7 5

™ 7 2

© Q J 8 4 3

® A 8 6


1® 1´ Pass

?

N

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S

N

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S

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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

1. Dealer West. E/W Vul.

´ K Q 10 4

™ 10 7 3 Immaterial

© K 7 6 4

® K 2


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer West. Love All

´ J 6

™ 9 8 3

© A K 4 2

® K Q 9 6


?


´ 4 2

™ A 9 4

© K Q 3 2

® A J 7 2


1´ Pass

?


´ A 9 8 7 3

™ A 6 3 2

© 7 6

® 4 2


1NT Pass

?


´ J 3

™ K Q J 2

© K 10 9 4

® 7 6 3


1´ Dbl

?

N

W E

S

N

W E

S

N

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S

N

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S

1. Dealer West. Love All

´ J 6

™ 9 8 3 Immaterial

© A K 4 2

® K Q 9 6


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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Bernard Magee’s Tips For Better Bridge £14 inc p&p



(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer West. Game All.

´ K Q 6 3

™ A Q 4 2

© 7

® Q 10 7 6


?


´ 7 6 3

™ K Q J 9 5

© K 4

® A Q 6


1™ Pass 1´ Pass

?


´ 7 6 5

™ J 4

© A Q 8 2

® Q J 7 6


1™ 1NT

?

4. Dealer West. N/S Vul.

´ A K 7 6 4

™ K J 8

© Q J 10 4

® 7


1´ Pass 2® Pass

2© Pass 2™* Pass

? * fourth suit forcing

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S

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´ 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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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


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(Answers overleaf)


´ A 2

™ K Q 4 3 2

© A Q J 6 5

® 4


1™ Pass 1´ Pass

?


´ K Q 4 3

™ 9 8 2

© 7 6

® Q J 6 2


1´ Pass

?


´ K Q 7 6

™ A 2

© J 8 2

® J 10 9 3


1NT Pass

?


´ A J 3

™ 7 6

© K Q 3 2

® Q J 6 5


2´* Dbl Pass

?

*Weak Two, 6-10 points, six-card spade suit

N

W E

S

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S


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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´.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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QPlus Bridge – the best Acol-playing software

Oslo & the Timeless Fjords with Bernard Magee

Carved by glaciers, creased with cragged-mountains and

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An exceptional voyage of 10 days departing August 11, 2011

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£999pp£1,349pp

Discovery Club members save a further 5%



(Answers overleaf)


´ 5

™ A K 7 2

© Q J 8 3

® K J 5 2


3´ Pass

?


´ A K 8 7 6 4 3

™ A K Q 4

© K 2

® Void


?


´ 7

™ 8 4

© K 8 6 3

® K Q 9 8 4 2


1™ 1´ 2©

?


´ A 2

™ K 8 6

© A Q 5 4

® K Q 6 2


3´

?

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´ 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


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.


´ 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


?

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™).


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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You are West in the auctions below,playing 'Standard Acol’ with a weakno-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors. (Answers overleaf)


´ J 10 7 5

™ K 4 2

© K 7

® Q 8 3 2


1™ 1NT

?


´ K Q J 6

™ K 2

© 4

® A Q J 9 6 3


1® 1© 1´ 3©

?


´ 5 4 2

™ A K 7 6

© A K Q 5

® 7 6


1™ 1´ 2® Pass

?


´ J 7 6 4

™ 7 6 2

© Q 8 7 6

® 6 5


2® Pass

2© Pass 2´ Pass

?

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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

June17 - 19 Wychwood Park

July8 - 10 Latimer Mews15 - 17 Wychwood Park

August5 - 7 Scalford Hall19 - 21 Wychwood Park

September30 - 2 Oct Latimer Mews

October7 - 9 Wychwood Park21 - 23 Scalford Hall28 - 30 Latimer Mews28 - 30 Wychwood Park

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


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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(Answers overleaf)


´ Q

™ Q 7 6 3

© K 8 4 2

® A J 6 2


?


´ Q J 4 3 2

™ Void

© A 10 7 6 5

® 4 3 2


1´ Pass

?


´ K 7

™ K 10 7 4

© A 7 3

® J 10 8 2


1´ Dbl

?

4. Dealer North. E/W Vul.

´ A 3

™ 9 6 3 2

© A 7 6 4

® K Q 8


1´ 2® 2´

?

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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


Finding and bidding slams

Thursday 19 MayMorning Session: 11.00 – 12.30

Play and defence of 1NT


Doubling and defence

against doubled contracts


´ 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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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


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(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer West. E/W VuI.

´ A 9 8 7

™ K Q 4 3

© A K J 2

® A


?


´ K Q 8 7 6

™ Void

© J 8 7 3 2

® 6 4 3


1´ Pass

?


´ K 7 6 3

™ A 9 4 2

© 7 6

® K 8 2


1©

?


´ A 7

™ K Q J 4 3

© A Q 7 6

® J 5


1™ Pass 1´ Pass

?

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RUBBER / CHICAGOHosted by Diana Holland



Ardington Hotel, Worthing BN11 3DZ

Scalford Hall, Melton Mowbray LE14 4UB

11-13 March 2011 Ardington Hotel

12-14 August 2011 Scalford Hall

30 Sept-2 Oct 2011 Ardington Hotel

Please note there are no seminars or set hands at these events

£199 – Full-board

No Single Supplement

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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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All Four Bernard Magee Books only £50 inc p&p



(Answers overleaf)


´ Void

™ Q 10 8 7 6

© J 9 4 3

® K 8 7 6


1´ Pass

?


´ A 9

™ A J

© Q J 7 6

® J 5 4 3 2


?


´ A K 7 5 4

™ 9 2

© Q J 7

® K 9 4


1´ Pass 1NT Pass

?


´ K Q 8 2

™ 7 6

© A J 4

® K 9 8 2


1NT 2®*

?

*five hearts and at least four cards

in another suit

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2011 BRIDGE WEEKENDSwith Bernard Magee

18 - 20 MarchChatsworth HotelWeak Twos £245

25 - 27 MarchBlunsdon House Hotel

Sacrificing £245

8 - 10 AprilInn on the Prom

Leads and Defence £235

15 - 17 AprilThe Olde Barn Hotel

Doubles £235

3 - 5 JuneBlunsdon House HotelDeclarer Play £245

30 Sept - 2 OctThe Olde Barn HotelFinding Slams £235

7 - 9 OctoberBlunsdon House HotelStayman and Transfers

with Improver Section £245

14 - 16 OctoberChatsworth HotelDeclarer Play £245

21 - 23 OctoberDenham GroveGame Tries £245

4 - 6 NovemberInn on the Prom

Hand Evaluation £235

11 - 13 NovemberBlunsdon House HotelSuit Establishment £245

18 - 20 November Chatsworth HotelFinding Slams £245

25 - 27 November Denham GroveSqueezes £245

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St Annes-on-Sea FY8 1LU

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT



Full Board. No SingleSupplement


´ 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


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.


´ 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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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Use the Mr Bridge Mail Order Form on Page 45



(Answers overleaf)


´ K 9 4

™ Q 7 6

© A J 3 2

® A J 2


1NT

?


´ 4

™ A K 4 3

© A J 7 2

® A K Q 5


?


´ A 4 2

™ K Q 8 7 6

© K 2

® A 5 4


1™ 1´ Pass 2´

?


´ A 10 9 4

™ A 2

© K J 7

® 9 8 6 3


1NT 2´

?

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Christmas & New Year

Denham GroveNear Uxbridge, UB9 5DU24-27 December £395

Derek Monk

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Please call if you would like a sample copy of the programme.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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www.mrbridge.co uk



(Answers overleaf)


´ Q J 7 6

™ K

© A 7 6 4

® Q 9 4 2


?


´ 4

™ A J 5

© Q 9 8 3 2

® 7 6 5 2


1´ 2®

?


´ 7 6

™ 4

© 8 3 2

® K Q J 7 5 4 3


3® Pass 3NT Pass

?

4, Dealer West N/S Vul.

´ A 7

™ K Q J 5 4

© Q J 8

® K Q 7


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


´ 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


?

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!


´ 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


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!


´ 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


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


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


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(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer: West. Game All.

´ 4 2

™ K J 3

© 4 3

® A 9 8 7 6 5


1NT Pass

?

2. Dealer: East. Love All.

´ A J 7 6 4

™ 4

© 3 2

® K 9 8 3 2


1 ´ Pass

?


´ 4

™ K Q 9 2

© A J 4 3

® A 9 3 2


1© 1 ´ Pass Pass

?

4. Dealer: West. N/S Vul.

´ A 10 9 8 6

™ 5

© K Q 9 5

® A 4 3


1 ´ Dbl Redbl 2©

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CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS

DECEMBER 2010

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´ 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


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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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


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(Answers overleaf)


´ K 5 3

™ 6

© A 2

® J 8 7 6 5 4 3


?


´ A 7 6 2

™ A 7 4 2

© K 7 6

® 3 2


1™ Pass

?


´ K 9

™ K 9 3

© 8 4 3 2

® J 10 6 5


3™ Dbl Pass

?


´ 10 9 4

™ J 6 4 2

© J 7

® J 8 6 3


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

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2011 TutorialBridge Breaks

Staverton ParkNr Daventry NN11 6JT

Ardington HotelWorthing BN11 3DZ

The Olde Barn HotelMarston, Lincs NG32 2HT




´ 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


?

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.


´ 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


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™.


´ 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


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).


´ 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


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.

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Premium�Quality�Playing�Cards�(unboxed)

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(Answers overleaf)

1. Dealer: West. Love All.

´ A K 3

™ A K 9 7 4 3 2

© A K 2

® Void


?


´ Q 8 7 6 2

™ Void

© A 9 7 6 3

® 5 4 3


1´ Pass

?


´ A 5

™ J 7 4

© A 7 6 5 2

® A Q 4


3® Pass

?

4. Dealer: North. Love All.

´ K Q 9 8 7

™ A 9 8

© 7 6 5 4

® 4


1NT Dbl 2®

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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


?

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.


´ 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


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.


´ 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


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


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


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CANCELLATION & CURTAILMENT up to £1,500If you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to illness, injury, redundancy, jury service, the policerequiring you to remain at or return to your home due to serious damage to your home, you arecovered against loss of travel and accommodation costs.Policy Excess £50. For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to £100. For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £150.See section headed Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical Conditions for increased excessesapplicable to claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions.

PERSONAL ACCIDENT up to £15,000A cash sum for accidental injury resulting in death, loss of sight, loss of limb or permanent totaldisablement. No Policy Excess.

MEDICAL AND OTHER EXPENSES up to £10,000,000Including FIRSTASSIST 24 HOUR WORLDWIDE MEDICAL EMERGENCY SERVICE

(a) The cost of hospital and other emergency medical expenses incurred abroad, includingadditional accommodation and repatriation expenses. Limit £250 for emergency dental treatmentand £5,000 burial/cremation/transfer of remains. Limit £2,500 for transfer of remains to your home ifyou die in the UK.Policy Excess £75 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean or on aCruise when increased to £150. For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to£150 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to£500. For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £300 unless travelling withinNorth or Central America or the Caribbean or on a Cruise when increased to £1,000.See section headed Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical Conditions for increased excessesapplicable to claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions.

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PERSONAL LUGGAGE, MONEY & VALUABLES up to £2,000Covers accidental loss, theft or damage to your personal luggage subject to a limit of £200 for anyone article, pair or set and an overall limit of £200 for valuables such as cameras, Jewellery, furs,

etc. Luggage and valuables limited to £1500. Delayed luggage, up to £75. Policy Excess £50.

Money, travel tickets and travellers cheques are covered up to £500 against accidental loss or theft(cash limit £250). Policy Excess £50.

No cover is provided for loss or theft of unattended property, valuables or money or for loss or theftnot reported to the Police within 24 hours of discovery.

PASSPORT EXPENSES up to £200If you lose your passport or it is stolen whilst abroad, you are covered for additional travel andaccommodation costs incurred in obtaining a replacement. No Policy Excess.

DELAYED DEPARTURE up to £1,500If your outward or return trip is delayed for more than 12 hours at the final departure point to/fromUK due to adverse weather conditions, mechanical breakdown or industrial action, you are entitledto either (a) £20 for the first 12 hours and £10 for each further 12 hours delay up to a maximum of£60, or (b) the cost of the trip (up to £1,500) if you elect to cancel after 12 hours delay on the outwardtrip from the UK. Policy Excess £50 (b) only.

MISSED DEPARTURE up to £500Additional travel and accommodation expenses incurred to enable you to reach your overseasdestination if you arrive too late at your final UK outward departure point due to failure of the vehiclein which you are travelling to deliver you to the departure point caused by adverse weather, strike,industrial action, mechanical breakdown or accident to the vehicle. No Policy Excess.

PERSONAL LIABILITY up to £2,000,000 Covers your legal liability for injury or damage to other people or their property, including legalexpenses (subject to the laws of England and Wales). Policy Excess £250.

LEGAL EXPENSES up to £25,000To enable you to pursue your rights against a third party following injury. No Policy Excess.

SCHEDULED AIRLINE FAILURE up to £1,500Covers scheduled airline tickets cancelled prior to departure and cost of replacement equivalenttickets incurred in order to return to the UK due to bankruptcy/liquidation of the airline. No PolicyExcess.

GLOBAL TRAVEL INSURANCEAmelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing West Sussex, BN11 1RL.

( 01903 203933 Fax 01903 211106 Email [email protected]

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INSURANCE�PRODUCT�SUITABILITY

This insurance is suitable for persons whose Demands and Needs are those of a traveller whose Individual round trip startsand finishes in the UK and is of no more than 122 days duration, and whose age is 90 years or less and is a permanentresident of the United Kingdom and Channel Islands.

As this description contains the Key Features of the cover provided it constitutes provision of a statement of demands and needs. This andneeds. This insurance is only available to persons who are permanently resident and domiciled in the UK.

SUMMARY�OF�COVER

The following represent the Significant and Key Features of the policy including Exclusions and Limitations that apply per person. A full copy of the policy document is available on request.

MAIN�EXCLUSIONS�AND�CONDITIONS�

The following represents only the main exclusions. The policy document sets outall of the conditions and exclusions. A copy of the full policy wording is availableon request in writing prior to application.

MAIN HEALTH EXCLUSIONS:Insurers will not pay for claims arising1. Where You (or any person upon whose health the Trip depends) are undergoing tests for the

presence of a medical condition receiving or on a waiting list for or have knowledge of the needfor treatment at a hospital or nursing home.

2. From any terminal illness suffered by You (or any person upon whose health the Trip depends). 3. From any medical condition for which You (or any person upon whose health the Trip depends)

have within 12 months prior to the date of issue of this insurance been diagnosed with a medicalcondition or have been admitted or undergone a procedure/ intervention in a hospital.

4. If You are traveling against the advice of a Medical Practitioner.

OTHER GENERAL EXCLUSIONSClaims arising from1. Winter sports, any hazardous pursuits, any work of a non sedentary nature.2. Self inflicted injury or illness, suicide, alcoholism or drug abuse, sexual disease.3. War, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities or warlike operations, civil war, rebellion,

Terrorism, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power but thisexclusion shall not apply to losses under Section 3 - Medical Expenses unless such lossesare caused by nuclear, chemical or biological attack, or the disturbances were already takingplace at the beginning of any Trip.

4. Failure or fear of failure or inability of any equipment or any computer program.5. Consequential loss of any kind.6. Bankruptcy/liquidation of any tour operator, travel agent, airline, transportation company or

accommodation supplier.7. Travelling to countries or regions where the FCO or WHO has advised against travel.8. Your failure to contact the Medical Screening Line where required.

POLICY EXCESSES:The amount of each claim for which insurers will not pay and for which you are responsible. Theexcess as noted in the policy summary applies to each and every claim per insured person undereach section where an excess applies.

Medical ScreeningUnless you are traveling to North or Central America or the Caribbean or on a Cruise,there is no need to advise us of your pre existing medical conditions. The term ‘Cruise’does not include River or other Inland cruises or boat trips.

If You have a history of any medical condition and are traveling to North or CentralAmerica or the Caribbean or on a Cruise, you must first contact the Medical ScreeningLine to establish whether we can provide cover for your trip. If you are accepted, thefollowing levels of excess will apply. You will receive written confirmation that you arecovered for the trip. The number to call is:

0844 8921698

Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical ConditionsProvision for the acceptance of pre existing medical conditions has been made by theapplication of increased excesses in the event of claims arising.

For claims arising from any medical condition, other than those that are specifically excluded,the excess is further increased as follows:

Under the Cancellation & Curtailment section – double the normal excess.

Under the Medical & Other Expenses section –For persons aged 60 years or less the excess is increased to £500 unless travelling withinNorth or Central America or the Caribbean or on a Cruise when increased to £1,000.For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to £1,000 unless travelling withinNorth or Central America or the Caribbean or on a Cruise when increased to £2,000.For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £1,500 unless travelling withinNorth or Central America or the Caribbean or on a Cruise when increased to £3,000.

GLOBAL TRAVEL

INSURANCEServices Limited

GLOBAL TRAVEL

INSURANCEServices Limited

Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd are authorised and regulated bythe Financial Services Authority and our status can be checked on theFSA Register by visiting www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting theFSA on 0845 606 1234.

This insurance is administered by FirstAssist Insurance Services Limitedon behalf of the insurer Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) PLC registered inEngland No. 2189462. Registered address: Plantation Place, 30Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3AJ, and is authorised and regulated bythe Financial Services Authority other than Scheduled Airline Failurewhich is underwritten by IGI Insurance Company Ltd. Registered address:Market Square House, St James’s Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG.

If you have a complaint about the sale of this insurance, you must firstwrite to the Managing Director of Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd.Subsequently, complaints may be referred to the Financial OmbudsmanService. If we are unable to meet our liabilities you may be entitled tocompensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

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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Ryden G

range, Knaphill, Surrey, G

U21 2T

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SYSTEM

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lC

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s Scoring

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l2,500 pre-played hands for team

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l2,000 pre-played hands for m

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hands

lC

heck your pairs percentage and ranking

lSystem

s include: several versions of Acol, including B

ernardM

agee’s system,Standard A

merican or create your ow

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and send to: Ryden G

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U21 2T

H

(01483 489961

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rbridge-shop

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