Wednesday, June 5th, 2002, saw the second installment
of our Firesides IMP League. As promised, we had a great
celebrity guest player: none other than the inimitable
OKBridge Manager Tony "Tuna" Reus! Tony played all 16
boards as South with Irmgard "Ulli3" Wagner in a desperate
effort to get that team back in the hunt (after being
beaten up 58-6 last week). Believe it or not, it worked!
In fact, Team CapHotel held onto its first place in the
standings on a tie-break by ONE IMP! Can't get much
closer than that! :)
Next week we hope to balance things out a little
with 2 celebrity guest players--one on each team.
As always, Tuna drew a crowd and did not fail to keep
us all entertained. We hope to have him back soon
and often.
This board was a pickup for Team CapHotel, as
the pair made a reasonable "stop on a dime" in 2H.
With S-A984 H-J53 D-KQ1063 C-5, what do we do
over a 1C opening bid on our right? Double? Bid 1D?
While it is close, I would REALLY want a DIAMOND lead,
so I'd go with 1D in order to make that a "haven" or
"anchor" suit. This will have the beneficial effect
of LIMITING my hand early--which a double would NOT
do. Later on, I might be able to double a Club or a
1NT rebid by the opponents, telling Partner that is
is okay to stop in 2D with, say, 2-3 Diamonds, if
Partner doesn't have a long suit of hir own.
IMPs north IMP Board 4
Dlr: West caphotel
Vul: Both S A984 west north east south
H J53 moogal caphotel Frodo riggin
D KQT63
C 5 1C 1D pass 1H
west east 1S 2H (all pass)
moogal Frodo
S KT53 S J72 Opening Lead: CA
H K2 H T964 Result: +2
D AJ7 D 985 Score: 110, IMPs: 5.00
C AQJ7 C T62
south
riggin
S Q6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011
H AQ87 W CA-CQ 7 3 K-ST A-C7 JHK-CJ
D 42 N 5 S4 Q-SA-S8 9 3 H3-DK-DTH5
C K9843 E 2 6 5 2 7 J 8 T 9 HTH6
S 4 K-D2 6 Q H7-D4 3 C8 HQ9
-------------------------------------------
Nevertheless, the double SHOULD work out okay if
Advancer (South) takes a restrained view. As South
opposite such a double, I might consider 1NT but would
go with the prosaic, limiting 2H (9-12 points). The
1C-Dble-Pass-2C cuebid confuses things somewhat; to
me, 2C followed by 2NT would sound like 11-13 rather
than 8-10 points.
IMPs north IMP Board 4
Dlr: West Ulli3
Vul: Both S A984 west north east south
H J53 DeniseB Ulli3 Queenhrt Tuna
D KQT63
C 5 1C X pass 2C
west east pass 2D pass 2H
DeniseB Queenhrt pass 2S pass 2NT
S KT53 S J72 (all pass)
H K2 H T964
D AJ7 D 985 Opening Lead: S3
C AQJ7 C T62 Result: -1
south Score: -100
Tuna IMPs: -5.00
S Q6
H AQ87 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
D 42 W S3 T K-CA-CQ 7 5 J-CJ-C7 2K-DA
C K9843 N 4 A-S8 5 H3 K-S9-D3 D6 H5 JD T Q
E J 2 7 2 6 5 CT 9 D8 H4 6 9 HT
S Q-S6 C3 4 K-D2 H7 4 9 8-HA-H8 HQ
============================================================
Of the first 10 boards, Tuna allowed his Partner to play
ONE. He played the other NINE. Two things explain this:
1. Moogal was sitting West. Other players are starting to
complain, Jan. It seems that no one wants to sit West
when you occupy that seat at the other table. :)
2. Tuna's...er...unique style. "IMPs? Okay, I bid game.
Do I actually have to look at my HAND first?" :)
Witness this one:
IMPs north IMP Board 8
Dlr: West Ulli3
Vul: None S KQT4 west north east south
H 84 Neophyte Ulli3 Queenhrt Tuna
D KQ987
C Q3 pass 1D X XX
west east pass pass 1NT X
Neophyte Queenhrt 2C pass pass 2S
S 6 S J87 pass 3S pass 4S
H Q7 H AKT2 (all pass)
D AT53 D J4
C 987652 C KJT4 Opening Lead: HQ
south Result: +4
Tuna Score: 420
S A9532 IMPs: 11.00
H J9653
D 62 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
C A W HQ-H7 2 A-D3 6 C5 C6 5 T C7 C8 9
N 4 8 3 7 K-SK-S4 Q-DQ-D8 ST-D9-CQ
E 2 K-CJ 4 J 7 8 J HT CT A C4 K
S 3 5 A-D2 6 2 A-S3 H6 S5-H9 HJ S9
Redouble shows 10+. Okay. Double of 1NT shows more
than 10. Say, 12+. Okay. Partner bids 3S on her minimum
and now, with all these "extras" Tuna bids...4S! LOL. :)
Nice one, Tony. :)
While he played one of these many hands out Tuna
reminded me that MANY players--experts included--don't
know that a 2-over-1 followed by 3 of Opener's first bid
suit is game forcing. Some think that 1S:2D:any:3S is a
limit raise with 3 Spades in SAYC! No, seriously!
For those who do labour under this misimpression,
we have to bear in mind that the current fascination for
distinguishing 8-card from 9+card fits had not struck the
bridge world in 1985 when SAYC was formulated. Even
2/1-GF players had yet to insist that 1S:3S showed 4+
Spades. MANY still played the Classical method, where
1S:3S was an UNBALANCED raise while 1S:1NT (forcing) and
THEN 3S showed a flatter hand. Hence, to this day, a
"limit raise" in SAYC is made on ALL hands with 3+ Spades
and 10-12 points. To quote the SAYC notes:
"...(responder should make a limit raise directly
over the opening with 10-12 points and at least
three-card support)..."
In case this isn't explicit enough, consider what
would happen if we DID respond 1S:2D with 10-12 points
and 3 Spades (so that 1S:3S will promise 4+ Spades, as
it does in 2/1-GF with its forcing 1NT option). Now
suppose that Opener rebids an "intervening suit", such
as 1S:2D:2H in this case. What can Responder rebid?
a) 2S, you say? Nope. We run into this quote:
"1S -- 2C
2H -- 2S = Preference, not forcing. Responder has
11-12 points and a doubleton spade."
b) 3S, you say? Nope. We encounter this quote:
"If responder initially bids a new suit at the two
level, the same rules apply EXCEPT that a subsequent
jump raise of opener's first suit to the THREE LEVEL
is game forcing"
This latter point is supported by an example:
"1S -- 2C
2H -- 3S = Game force."
c) 4S? LOL. Heckuva way to INVITE 4S, right? :)
This explains why 1S:3S shows 3+, not 4+, Spades
in SAYC and why a 2-over-1 response followed by 3 of
Opener's FIRST bid suit is ALWAYS game forcing in SAYC.
For those who play that a Jacoby 2NT promises 4+ Spades
(and 13+ points), we NEED the 2-over-1-then-3S approach
in SAYC for 13+ pointers with THREE card support. This
should put this matter to rest for any doubters--one
of whom owes me a drink when next we meet. :)
Our hero, Tuna, got away undoubled in more than
one sacrifice. The question arises: How do we KNOW
the bid is a sacrifice? That is, how do we know that
we are FORCED to either double or bid on? Well, "is
this a forcing auction" is a complex question in any
OTHER circumstance, but here we have a simple rule:
"If TUNA or KALTICA bids over YOUR game, DOUBLE!" :)
I'd like to thank all of the players--especially
our delightful Celebrity Guest Star, Tuna--for playing
this week. I hope to see you all next week! Same
time, same place!
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Fireside IMPs League Site
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Take our SAYC Test
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The Fireside Chat
CLICK HERE to check out some of the back issues of the Fireside Chat newsletter. |
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The Brains Behind Kaltica's Firesides
CLICK HERE to go to discover the sordid
truth behind Kaltica's Firesides. |
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OKBridge Web Site
CLICK HERE to go to the OKBridge
Web site for information on downloading and using OKBridge. |
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Pictures from the 1999 Boston Fall
Nationals Click HERE to see Moogal's pictures of some of the
Firesiders at the 1999
Fall Nationals in Boston. |
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The Fifth Chair Mentoring
Program This fine organization, run by Marcia "tarsh" West, arranges mentors for
those who can't afford professional tutoring. |
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Colin Ward's Bridge Page This
bridge web page's technical and humour articles will appeal to the
intermediate and experienced player. |
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Reports From Vancouver
Colin's reports from the 1999 Spring Nationals in
Vancouver. |
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Links to Other
Bridge PagesThe Canadian Bridge Federation has
one of the internet's most interesting and comprehensive lists of bridge
links. |
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Baron Barclay's Bridge Supplies
CLICK
HERE if you'd like to order bridge books or supplies from Baron Barclay's, the largest
source on the internet. |
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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
PageHere you can spend weeks reading the
hand records and instructive comments intended for the bridge neophyte.
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SAYC Simplified by Waynef and
AnaThis site by Anna "Ana" Marsh and Wayne "waynef" Flourney is a good source
for learning SAYC. |
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Colin's Personal
(Non-Bridge) Web PageIf tired of bridge
(heresy, yes, but it happens) you may wish to switch to Acquire,
poetry, gardening, music or literature. |
