Well, our first round went virtually without a hitch.
Two crashes and some disconnects, but everyone managed to
find their tables and things got underway very smoothly.
Everyone seemed to have fun. Unfortunately, there was
only one cliffhanger to report. The scores were:
Elvee 85 (20 VPs) - Marlyse 31 (0 VPs)
Moogal 42 (18 VPs) - Fredw3 21 (2 VPs)
Merrygal 41 (13 VPs) - Toddy 36 (7 VPs)
So our standings are:
1st: Elvee 20 VPs +54 IMPs
2nd: Moogal 18 VPs +21 IMPs
3rd: Merrygal 13 VPs + 5 IMPs
4th: Toddy 7 VPs - 5 IMPs
5th: Fredw3 2 VPs -21 IMPs
6th: Marlyse 0 VPs -54 IMPs
To the winners, congratulations! To the rest, next
week you'll have a chance for revenge. Remember: every
week counts and EVERYONE will be involved in the Final.
Yes, EVERYONE, even though the top two teams will be the
only ones to qualify. Say what? The top team will get
to draft players from the 4th and 6th place finishers
while the runner-up team is supported by the 3rd and 5th
place finishers. If the runner-up team wins the Final
the 3rd place team keeps that spot while the 5th place
finisher moves up to 4th. If the top team wins the final,
their comrades in 4th move up to 3rd while 6th takes over
5th. So everyone has a stake in this thing until the
very end!
The results for Round #1 and the complete schedule
is posted to our web site:
http://www.firesides.net/teams.htm
Yes, Sara, I double-checked the URL this time! :)
Next week we will see the winning teams battle it out:
Fred's Foursome vs Helen's Horde
Moogal's Marauders vs Marlyse's Minions
Toddy's Troops vs Elvee's Elves
Good luck to everyone!
================== Some Neat Hands ==================
Here is an interesting hand from the Moogal-Fredw3
match:
IMPs north TN.IMP Board 3
Dlr: South etsand
Vul: E-W S K west north east south
H KQ84 pama etsand DeniseB moogal
D AJT
C JT854 1S
west east pass 2C pass 2S
pama DeniseB pass 3H pass 4C
S T93 S J864 pass 5C (all pass)
H T97632 H A
D KQ4 D 98532 Opening Lead: D3
C A C 963 Result: -2
south Score: -100, IMPs: -11.00
moogal Playing time: 7:14
S AQ752
H J5
D 76
C KQ72
What happened here? Well, there was a conflict of
styles between Moogal and Etsand. Traditionally, with
6-4 2-suiters, Opener will rebid the cheaper 4-card
suit (e.g. 1S:2C:2D or 2H) only if maximal. Otherwise,
Opener will rebid the 6-carder and THEN the 4-carder.
Hence, Etsand felt that he had to rebid 3H in case N-S
had a 4-4 Heart fit. In *his* mind 2S did NOT deny a
4-card Heart suit.
Moogal adopts the "Impossible Major" approach after
a 2-over-1 response. Yes, after a ONE level response
Opener will rebid the 6-carder if weakish (e.g. 1D:1S:2D
with 6-4 in the minors if in the 13-15 point range), but
NOT after a 2/1 reply. In *her* mind, 1S:2C:2S utterly
denied a 4-card Heart (or Diamond) suit. Why didn't
she raise via 1S:2C:3C? Because Moogal also adopts
the TOOBAD approach. Since 1S:2C:3C is forcing in SAYC,
some will ONLY raise to 3C directly with 16-21 (sort of
like a high level reverse, but a raise). With 13-15,
she "temporized" with 2S and THEN raised Clubs. When
she heard 1S:2C:2S:3H she thought Etsand was showing a
great hand, likely with a LOT of Clubs. "Great," she
thought, "wait until Partner gets a load of my Clubs!"
Imagine her surprise when even FIVE Clubs proved too
high! 11 IMPs away when Andre55 found a 3NT rebid
after the same start: 1S:2C:2S:3H. "Clubs? Moi?
No, I don't have Clubs, Pard." LOL. :)
==========================================================
IMPs north TN.IMP Board 3
Dlr: South HelenT
Vul: E-W S 64 west north east south
H AK976 Mbar HelenT Scarlete Nottop
D 5 (Rcoop Judydee Patricia Toddy)
C QJ862 pass
west east pass 1H 1S 2S!
Mbar Scarlete 3S 4H 4S (all pass)
S QT93 S AKJ875
H T2 H 543 Opening Lead: HQ
D QT83 D A76 Result: -1
C A75 C T Score: 100, IMPs: 0.00
south Playing time: 4:38
Nottop
S 2 1 2 3 4 5 6
H QJ8 W 2 T 3 T A-S3
D KJ942 N 9 A-D5 S4-CQ 6
C K943 E 3 4 6 7 T A
S HQ-HJ K-D2 4 2
The two North's, HelenT and JudyDee, did well to HIDE
their Club suits here. Both North's wisely overtook the
second Heart and shot through a Diamond. Had either
North player shown their Clubs en route to 4H East would
have no trouble deciding to rise with her Ace upon seeing
the Diamond switch. Without this information, both Easts
made the fatal duck in Diamonds, incurring a ruff for down
one. Nice defence!
But should East have guessed to rise with the D-Ace,
draw trumps and make 4S by leading towards the remaining
D-Q108 (SMALL towards BIG) later? Consider this:
a) With either of South's minor holdings North would
NOT overtake the 2nd Heart. Rather, they'd leave
South on lead and wait for a minor suit switch.
b) South showed about 10-12 HCPs here. That gives
North about the same. So 4H must be based on
DISTRIBUTIONAL strength. That, along with our
own 7-card Diamond holding and the overtake & switch,
suggests a very likely shortness in Diamonds.
c) Would a Diamond lead from the King, sacrificing a
trick, look attractive to us if we were North?
Given all of these considerations, rising with the
D-Ace, drawing trumps and then guessing the Diamonds
after eliminating the rounded suits would be the expert
play. If North HAS switched from the D-King to create
the illusion of a singleton...well...we tip our hats
to them. :)
=========================================================
IMPs north TN.IMP Board 9
Dlr: North Elvee
Vul: E-W S T98532 west north east south
H 98 Marlyse Elvee Neophyte Tara
D KJ54
C 3 pass 1C pass
west east 1H pass 1NT pass
Marlyse Neophyte 4NT pass 5H pass
S AQ S J7 6NT (all pass)
H KJ52 H AT6
D Q83 D A76 Opening Lead: H3
C A742 C KJ965 Result: -1
south Score: 100, IMPs: 13.00
Tara Playing time: 12:00
S K64
H Q743
D T92
C QT8
This turned out to be the pivotal hand in the
Elvee-Marlyse match. The question arises: How
important are POINTS (HCPs and Distributional Points)
to slams? This depends largely on our general shape.
The flatter our hands, the more important it is to
have the 33 Points required. The LOCATION of our
High Cards, which is paramount with shapelier hands,
becomes a secondary concern with flat ones.
1NT showed a balanced holding of 13-14 points
as a rebid. Looking at 16 HCPs and no Long Suit
Points West should just stop in 3NT. 16 + 14 < 33.
4NT is quantitative here, but should show (33 - 14)
19 points. With 14 points Opener is CORRECT to
accept the invitation to 6NT. But isn't 5H wrong
here? After all, 4NT wasn't Blackwood. Shouldn't
we just bid 6NT if we are accepting the invite?
ANSWER: Not necessarily. Yes, with a minimum
we pass. But *if accepting the invite* we CAN
show our Aces EN ROUTE...in case we are missing
two Aces. If we ARE missing 2 Aces, Responder can
rebid 5S to allow us to stop in 5NT. Neat, eh? :)
 |
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OKBridge Web Site
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Pictures from the 1999 Boston Fall
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Fall Nationals in Boston. |
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The Fifth Chair Mentoring
Program This fine organization, run by Marcia "tarsh" West, arranges mentors for
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Colin Ward's Bridge Page This
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Reports From Vancouver
Colin's reports from the 1999 Spring Nationals in
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Links to Other
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Baron Barclay's Bridge Supplies
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Sid and Abby's Bridge
Site Click HERE to
go to the Sid
and Abby's Site to see their "Hand of the Week" in "bridge movie"
format. |
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Space Cadets' Home
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SAYC Simplified by Waynef and
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