In our FIT Championship Team CapHotel erased their
10 IMP carryover deficit and actually strode out to a 4
IMP lead at the half. Their chances improved when N-S
at the other table over-reached to an unsuccessful slam.
But Team Ulli3 stood fast and gained the lead, rolling
on to post a 66-46 IMP win. Congratulations to Ulli3,
Believer and Frodo for their fine victory!
This coming Sunday Team Ulli3 will pick up some
players from Team CapHotel, including their captain,
Neophyte and QueenHrt (we hope) in order to face off
against Team Toddy (Toddy, MBar, Gaus271 and JudyDee).
Good luck, all!
===============================================================
IMPs north IMP Board 5
Dlr: North caphotel
Vul: N-S S 654 west north east south
H K642 Frodo caphotel believer Kaltica
D J
C AT974 pass 1NT pass
west east 2C pass 2D pass
Frodo believer 4NT (all pass)
S AJ32 S KQ9
H Q983 H AJ5 Opening Lead: D6
D A D KQ954 Result: +5
C KQJ5 C 86 Score: -460
south IMPs: -11.00
Kaltica
S T87 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
H T7 W A-H3 J K-S2 H8 H9 Q 3 A-SJ-CQ-C5
D T87632 N J 4 A-CT 4 C4 S5 2 6 H6 HK 7 9
C 32 E 4 J-C6 8 K-DK-DQ-HA-SQ-S9 H5 D5 D9
S D6 7 3 2 7 2 3 T 8 T D7 D8 DT
This hand erased the 10 IMP carryover in one fell swoop,
as Frodo-Believer found a nice stop in 4NT on this fitless
hand while E-W stumbled into 6NT at the other table. As West,
I might have forced with 3C and, over Partner's natural 3D
rebid, rebid 3NT or 4NT. The misfit is only one argument
against slam here. 4-4-4-1 is THE worst distribution for
No Trump play in general. No long suit to run. :(
4NT is quantitative over 1NT:2C:2D, but what is it over
1NT:2C:2H or 1NT:2C:2S? For all but the most sophisticated
partnerships 4NT would be Blackwood whenever Opener DOES show
a major.
Why should 4NT *not* be Blackwood after 1NT:2C:2H or
1NT:2C:2S? The answer is that a rebid of the OTHER major
by Responder (e.g. 1NT:2C:2H:2S and 1NT:2C:2S:3H) is how
we should discover or disclose a major suit fit, allowing
us to settle that suit as trump and use Roman Key Card
Blackwood (if we play that) later. Since we don't really
need 1NT:2C:2H:4NT or 1NT:2C:2S:4NT to be Blackwood we
can (and, IMHO, should) use it as quantitative. Without
discussion, though, most will take 4NT as Blackwood after
a major suit reply to Stayman.
For more on how to progress towards slam after a
Stayman response check out this lesson site:
http://www.firesides.net/stayman.htm
Once done there, take our Stayman test at:
http://www.firesides.net/staymantest.htm
===============================================================
IMPs north IMP Board 1
Dlr: North caphotel
Vul: None S 3 west north east south
H Q843 Frodo caphotel believer judydee
D Q8
C A98752 pass pass 1S
west east 2H X pass 3D
Frodo believer pass 3NT (all pass)
S KQT8 S J62
H AJ972 H 65 Opening Lead: H6
D J6 D KT742 Result: -4
C Q6 C K43 Score: -200
south IMPs: -7.00
judydee
S A9754 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
H KT W J Q-HA-H9-H7 6 S8 T 6 K-SQ-H2-DJ
D A953 N Q-C2 3 4 8-CA-C9 3 Q C5 D8 C7 C8
C JT E H6 3 5 D7 D2 4 K-S2 K-S6 J D4 T
S T J K S4 D3 T S5 A-D5 7 9 D9 A
This hand illustrates the idea of "defensive-offense"
ratios. Both West and North have great defence against
their RHO's suits (South's Spades for Frodo, West's Hearts
for CapHotel). Conservatives might pass 1S with the West
hand, hoping that it is North, not East, who has S-J62.
Once North hears 1S-2H, though, North wants to defend 2H
or declare 3C. The problem with 3C, though, is getting
there. An immediate 3C bid is forcing, so we consider a
negative double. The problem with the negative double,
though, is that we might well hear 3D--ugh! Hence, we
must pass 2H with this soft, misfitting 8-count. If this
is passed out--as it was at the other table--we might
expect a plus in defending. If South can balance with a
double we could then compete with 3C. Yes, passing such
balancing double would work wonders on this hand, but
without 5+ good Hearts it might be too perilous a choice
at IMPs.
===============================================================
IMPs north IMP Board 4
Dlr: West Ulli3
Vul: Both S AK west north east south
H A9432 queenhrt Ulli3 Neophyte Kaltica
D K3
C AQ86 pass 1H pass 2H
west east pass 3S pass 4C
queenhrt Neophyte pass 4D pass 4H
S QJ65 S T987432 pass 4NT pass 5NT!
H Q7 H K8 pass 6H (all pass)
D AQ985 D J72
C 43 C T Opening Lead: CT
south Result: -1
Kaltica Score: -100
S IMPs: -13.00
H JT65
D T64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C KJ9752 W 4 6 5 7 Q A-D9 D5
N Q-SA-SK-HA-H2 3 K-H3
E CT 3 2 8 K-D2 7 S4
S 2 D4 D6 5 6 T C5 T
This auction got away from N-S. 3S is a cuebid, as 4C
was. Over 4D, 4H was an attempt to sign off. North should
now expect AT MOST 2 goodies. Put the H-Kxx and D-Ace into
South's hand and slam would be, at best, on a Club finesse
and a favourable Heart break. The 4 Point Principle should
keep N-S out of slam here. CapHotel and JudyDee did well
to stop on a dime in 5H N-S at the other table.
===============================================================
We'll see you in the "Superbowl" this Sunday, July 7th,
at 11:00 A.M. PST!
Don't forget that our Summer IMP League starts up on
Sunday, July 14th at 11:00 A.M. PST and on Tuesday, July 16th,
at 5:00 P.M. PST. To join in the fun, register at:
http://www.firesides.net/signmeup.htm
Colin
 |
Fireside IMPs League Site
Click here to go back to the Firesides' IMPs League site for scores, lineups, schedules and other details. |
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Fireside Support Site
Click here to go to the Firesides' Support site to ensure that the Fireside Bidding Practices continue. |
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Take our SAYC Test
Click here to try our online SAYC Test. Be warned, though: this is a tough one! |
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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. |
