FIRESIDE CHAT JULY 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Pomo's Pointers
This is Your Captain Speaking
Just Jill
Dealing With Dann
Moogal's FireSide Log
Ecofin's Forward to the Basics
Bob's Bits
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the July, 2002 issue of FireSide
Chat, our monthly newsletter written for and about
our FireSide friends and events.
We hope you enjoy all of this month's articles and
features. Please feel free to write to us with any
comments, questions, ideas, or whatever, that you may
wish to share. This newsletter is for and about you,
and we want you to feel welcome to participate. Just
email Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com or Moogal
at Moocake@aol.com.
A special thanks to all of you who have been sending
us contributions for our "giggle breaks". We appreciate
everything you send, and use as many as we can. Keep
'em coming, please! :-)
We have a new website to go sign up to play in the
upcoming IMPs league -- go check out:
http://www.firesides.net/signmeup.htm.
Please remember that the Bridgementor-L mail list
is available for discussions of bridge topics,
and, more importantly, as a forum in which you can
find immediate answers to your bridge questions.
To join, go to www.bridgementor.com and click on the
link for the discussion list.
OKbridge also offers us an email discussion opportunity,
the Discuss List. You can join that list by emailing them
at Discuss-Request@okbridge.com and put the word 'subscribe'
in the subject line. You can also participate in the
discussions via the OKbridge web site now, just go to the
members area at www.okbridge.com and you'll find the Discuss
List there at the bottom of your opening page.
You can now find our "FireSide Chat" posted at two
different web sites.
You can go to Okbridge's web site:
http://www.okbridge.com/membersclub/periodicals/fireside/
Or find it at our FireSide web site:
http://www.firesides.net/thechat.htm
FireSide also provides us with a "hand of the week"
feature. Go to our Hand of the Week site:
http://www.firesides.net/fireside.htm
to check out the fun.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to receive
these mailings, please write to Believer at
sarastobbe@aol.com to be removed from our mailing
list.
===========================================
CURRENT FIRESIDE SCHEDULE
Day Pacific Time Commentator
MONDAY 11:00 A.M. POOKA
MONDAY 5:30 P.M. BRIDGBOY
TUESDAY 11:00 A.M. BRIDGBOY
TUESDAY 8:00 P.M. CAPTAIN
WEDNESDAY 11:00 A.M. FREDW3
WEDNESDAY 5:30 P.M. DIANEW
THURSDAY 11:00 A.M. POOKA
THURSDAY 5:30 P.M. WISHTRIK
FRIDAY 11:00 A.M. BLUEBEE
FRIDAY 5:30 P.M. KALTICA
SATURDAY 11:00 A.M. WINTAKA/CAPTAIN
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
*******************
Although there is no set fee for participating in
these "open to all" sessions, please note that FireSide
Bidding Practice Sessions operate with the support of
those in attendance. For information about how to
become a supporting member, please contact Kaltica at
kaltica@mts.net, Moogal at moocake@aol.com, or
Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com
Thanks to all of you for supporting the FireSide sessions
in all the many different ways you have of doing so.
*******************
All articles herein (c) 2002 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
This and That
Hi everybody :-)
I just asked a friend what I should write about in my article
this month. He said, "squeezes." I said, "I don't write about
bridge." He said, "No, write about squeezing in time for
bridge among our other duties -- which is something you know a
lot about! You can call it 'Master Bridge Squeezes'!"
Too funny :-)
Actually, it's more about squeezing in everything else I do
between games... I have my priorities, you know.
Anyway. I have a couple things I want to mention this month.
First, I want to thank all our contributors for another great
issue. I think you're going to really enjoy this month's
newsletter.
We had a 'Special Treat' planned for this issue -- the editor of
the Ashlar House "Daily Bridge Calendar" gave us permission to
feature a hand from their calendar here each month for you. I
couldn't figure out how to scan it and format it so that I could
use it in this issue -- so I'm going to send my calendar to Laura
Brown, and she'll set it up for us. So, watch for our first hand
from the "Daily Bridge Calendar" starting next month.
For more information about the Daily Bridge Calendar, you can
call 1-888-453-1976 or email calendar@interlog.com
I also wanted to mention that I'm thrilled about the increase in
FireSide support I've seen in the past couple of months. If you
remember, I said I'd put in $1 for every time I get a check from
one of you -- so far you've cost me $30.00, plus $1 for every one
Colin gets, too. I just hope Colin didn't get a whole lot more
than I did! Just kidding, I think it's great. Thank you all
for showing your appreciation for the time and efforts our
commentators put in. I am very happy to add my support to what
you've sent in -- if we all pull together we can keep the
FireSide sessions going strong.
I want to also mention the FireSide IMPs League that is just
finishing up it's first session. We had a lot of fun playing
every week for the past few weeks -- I'm glad I signed up to
play. It's a great way to spend some time playing with and
against your FireSide friends, and we had some fun surprise guest
players too! I'm really looking forward to the next series.
For more information about that, or to sign up to play, go to:
http://www.firesides.net/signmeup.htm
Colin's been doing a lot of work at the FireSide website. When
you have some time to browse, go to www.firesides.net and enjoy!
I want to make a brief mention of the Novice/Mentor tourneys
sponsored by Fifth Chair the second Thursday of every month.
I think this is a great event for novice/intermediate players
who've never experienced an OKb tourney. If you have time to
play, grab a non-tourney member novice/intermediate friend, and
show them how much fun it can be to play a tourney. I know I
enjoy when I can play in it with a newcomer to the tourneys, and
I bet you would too! I will always remember and appreciate those
who played with me and helped me when I was new and nervous to
OKb and tourneys, and now I try to do the same for others when I
can. It's a great feeling when you play with someone new to the
experience, and they really have a fun time. For more
information, go to www.fifthchair.org
Lastly, I want to mention the Mentor Cup Team Games that Moogal
and Kaltica host every other Sunday night at 5pm OKb time. If
you haven't had a chance to play in these games yet, by all means
come on and join us some Sunday soon! We have a great time!
Just email Moogal at moocake@aol.com to sign up, or for more
information about this event.
It's time to do the mailing :) Talk to you next month, and I
hope to see you at a FireSide session soon!
*******************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Mindy for this giggle:
I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet,
so I decided to test her. I would point out something and
ask what color it was. She would tell me and always she was
correct. But it was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she
headed for the door, saying sagely, "Grandma, I think you
should try to figure out some of these yourself!"
********************
And thanks to PamA for this giggle:
Life with men is like a deck of cards......
You need a Heart to love them;
a Diamond to marry them;
a Club to beat them;
and a Spade to bury the bodies.
=============================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
Partner opens one no-trump and you have been dealt a hand
similar to one of these:
S Axx
H Kx
D KQ10xxx
C Qx
S AKJxxx
H xx
D KQxx
C x
S Kx
H QJ109xx
D AJx
C Kx
S 2
H AQx
D xxx
C AKJxxx
What do you bid now, and how do you follow up as the auction
unfolds?
For those of you who are going to proudly show us sophisticated
sequences that they believe can handle these hands, great! But,
for the rest of us, how do we handle this difficult family of
hands?
They all have one thing in common: game forcing with slam
potential, depending on fit and controls. Do you have the
ability to alert partner to your slam interest, without
jeopardizing game and ending in a bad slam or the five level
down one?
I strongly suggest rethinking the three level response to
partner's opening no-trump, and recommend that you use the
three level for just that, namely one-suited slam try hands!
In terms of frequency, those that are caught up in playing the
mini-maxi 5-5 combinations at the three level are not getting a
lot of good use out of that sequence.
Those that swear by four suit transfers with preacceptance in
the minors are giving up a lot -- allowing the opponents a
chance to double an extra bid as well as wrong siding the
contract when responder has a good hand and opener does not
accept the transfer. To give up on a natural raise of 2NT, a
very valuable tool, and to have to use Stayman to get the same
message across also has some problems and creates doubt.
No, simplicity seems best, namely using the three level
for game forcing and slam invitational one-suited hands. This
way, in one concise bid, both players are on firm footing as to
the partnership's intention. Now opener can quickly reevaluate
fit and controls and source of tricks below game, keeping the
partnership from getting overboard. Remember, all slam tries
should start below game.
No matter what methods you use in your no-trump structure, you
have to be able to do four things:
1) You must be able to sign off in every suit.
2) You must be able to invite game in every suit.
3) You must be able to force to game in every suit.
4) You should be able to invite slam, without committing to it,
in every suit.
It is easy to bid a slam if you have overwhelming strength! The
challenge occurs when you *could* have slam if partner fits your
hand well. Being able to get that message across without
endangering game is the key, and using the three level to do just
that seems like a perfect answer to this dilemma. Try it, you
might like it indeed!
********************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m., and Tuesdays
at 11:00 a.m. OKbridge time.
Anyone interested in one-on-one lessons on any topic of
the game may contact Bob at bridgboy@charter.net
====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Tuna for this giggle:
SINGLE BLACK FEMALE
The following ad appeared in a newspaper in Personals on
Valentine's Day.
SBF Seeks Male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a
svelte good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in
the woods. Riding in your pickup truck. Hunting Camping Fishing
trips. Cozy winter nights spent lying by the fire. Candlelight
dinners will have me eating out of your hand. Rub me the right
way and watch me respond. I'll be at the front door when you get
home from work wearing only what nature gave me. Kiss me and I'm
yours. Call 555-XXXX and ask for Daisy.
(The phone number was the Humane Society and Daisy was an eight
week old black Labrador Retriever.)
=====================================================
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
===============================
Stealing from Granovetter
Matt Granovetter, editor and publisher of the fine magazine
"Bridge Today" wrote a great book entitled "Bridge Additions
'96." Since I am stealing ideas directly from him, it is only
fair to give credit.
The Bridge Today website, http://www.bridgetoday.com is worth
a look. Also, there is a freebie e-mail "OKBridge Today"
available from the OKBridge web site,
(http://www.okbridge.com/membersclub/periodicals).
Matt is comfortable playing all sorts of systems. Everything
from 1950s style natural, quantitative bidding to the relay
oriented Ultimate Club. His book covers some interesting ideas
in both bidding and defense. A few of his bidding ideas follow.
Limited Forcing Double Raise
Matt makes the very good point that after a standard 1S-3S, he
never knows whether to accept or decline the invitation. You are
SO close to game that even if full values are not there, a good
fit or a slight defensive error is often enough to make the game.
His solution is simple: The Jump Raise is forcing, showing a
range of something like 10-15 (and denying the ability to make a
splinter raise). A valuable side effect of this is that it frees
up 2N to return to its natural meaning.
The Nothing System
Matt credits this to the late, great Vic Mitchell. If your
opponents are playing some artificial system, you just ignore it.
Bid as though they were playing Standard American. Further, in
live bridge, insist that they do not alert -- obviously, always
ask for an explanation of all the bids before making the opening
lead or before playing from dummy to the first trick. Advantages?
1) You won't forget what your special defenses mean. 2) It will
drive your opponents crazy.
Best Defense Against 1NT (His title)
Double is spades and another suit
2C is clubs and hearts
2D is diamonds and hearts
2 Major is natural
If you are willing to use both 2C and 2D as artificial calls over
their 1NT (and most people are), this scheme as much to recommend
it.
Advantages include:
1) Shows (or denies) the spade suit immediately. This is HUGE in
competitive auctions and is a clear advantage over DONT.
2) 2 Major is natural -- I think this is also a huge advantage.
3) 2C and 2D declare the suits immediately
He also suggests that you can use this as your standard defense
against artificial openings. That way you have only one scheme to
learn. Whether you like his suggested defense or not, this last
piece of advice -- use the same defense over their artificial
openings as over their 1NT -- is well worth considering. This
keeps the memory strain down and greatly reduces the chance of a
serious partnership misunderstanding.
As an example, suppose your evil opponents play some strange
concoction; perhaps 1C: 11-15 unbalanced with no 5 card major or
a strong balanced hand with 1D being a strong, unbalanced opening
(this is Bobby Nail's Big Diamond system by the way). Rather than
trying to figure out how to defend it, apply your general
principles.
If using Matt's 1NT defense then over their 1C:
X = Spades and another suit
1D and 2C (cheapest bids in these suits) show the suit
bid plus hearts.
Everything else is normal
After it goes 1D-(pass)-1H-??
Note: 1H is artificial here:
X: spades and another suit
2C and 2D: suit bid and hearts.
There is some good advice here -- and much else in the book.
********************
You can email Guido at: paulfriedman@attbi.com
================================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
A big thanks to Luc for this one:
One night, an 87-year-old woman came home from Bingo to
find her husband in bed with another woman...
Angry, she became violent and ended up pushing him off the
balcony of their 20th-floor apartment, killing him instantly.
When brought before the court on the charge of murder, she
was asked if she had anything to say in her defense.
"Well, Your Honor," she began coolly. "I figured that at 92, if
he could do that, he could fly!"
===============================================================
POMO'S POINTERS
================
BIDDING PERSPECTIVE
During any auction you will usually be required to make one or
more crucial decisions regarding the value of your hand. Bidding
allows you to receive important information pertaining to
everyone's hand. What you do with that information is the key to
being an excellent bidder (and partner). Even Passes relay vital
facts regarding strength or lack of strength. The value of our
hands are in a constant state of change, as each bid is made at
the table. Even seemingly horrible hands may take on important
strength or some strong high card count hands may become far
weaker than you originally thought. The major factors involved
in making bidding decisions are:
A. Understanding partner's bids - knowing the methods
(systems/conventions) is the first step. Basic bidding knowledge
is assumed.
B. Remembering your bids - try not to tell the same story over
and over again, since partner will believe you are adding to the
previous description. He actually believes you on most hands! If
you open 2C (Artificial/strong), and jump (unnecessarily) on the
next round, you must have a highly unusual hand. If you open 1NT,
you have basically shown the whole story and partner will ask
about the unknown portions, such as Major suits (Stayman) or
whether you have maximum or minimum point count for your bidding.
C. Trust your partner - always assume that partner has the
type of distribution that you imagine from his bidding. Trust
that partner understands what you are telling him with your bids,
this includes conventions that rarely occur.
D. Visualize partner's hand (if possible) - attempt to
estimate how you would play the hand (using the imagined hand
opposite yours) and count the winners or losers between both
hands.
E. Understand the value of fitting hands - good trump fits,
useful high cards in matching side suits, and shortness (ruffing
power) where it helps most.
F. Often you will have several choices of possible bids.
Examine each option paying particular attention to what your
partner might glean from your call. If partner will not
understand one of the possible choices - forget that one and
concentrate on the others. Some partners are better than others -
some worse!
G. Don't let one poor result affect a subsequent hand. If you
are upset with yourself or anyone else at the table (guess who!),
take a deep breath and forget it. If not, the next hand may
become another disaster and the avalanche will begin. Re-read
this!
********************
You can email Pomo at: reisig@oco.net
======================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Moogal for this one:
WHEN I'M AN OLD LADY AND LIVE WITH MY KIDS
When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,
And bring so much happiness... just as they did.
I want to pay back all the joy they've provided,
Returning each deed. Oh, they'll be so excited!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
I'll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,
And bounce on the furniture wearing my shoes.
I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
When they're on the phone and just out of reach,
I'll get into things like sugar and bleach,
Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
And when that is done I'll hide under the bed!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
When they cook dinner and call me to eat,
I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat.
I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
And when they get angry I'll run... if I'm able!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click,
I'll cross both my eyes just to see if they stick.
I'll take off my socks and throw one away,
And play in the mud 'til the end of the day!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,
I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.
My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
And say with a groan, "She's so sweet ..... when she's
sleeping!"
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)
=============================================================
THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING
=============================
Two Club Openers
Do you find that when responding to a 2C opener that the last
bid before your auction starts to flounder is a 2D waiting bid?
I have the answer for you!
2 Clubs shows a hand of 22+ points, with a little less being
permissible with 9 playing tricks.
Examples of two minimum 2C openers:
S AQJTxx
H AK
D QJx
C A
S AKJTxxx
H AQ
D void
C KQxx
Here are my suggested responses (and remember to alert these
partnership agreements):
2D is forcing partnership to game level, and says "we are going
to game at least" but I do not have a 5 card or longer suit
headed by 2 of the top 3 honors -- AK, AQ or KQ.
2H says terrible, awful hand -- no aces and probably no kings
(maybe one though) and less than 5 points. But you promise to
make one more bid for partner, and to continue bidding if partner
bids new suits, however distasteful the idea of continued bidding
may appear to you with your "garbage". However, if pard bids
2NT over your 2H, this limits opener to about 22-23+, so if you
really have the worst hand you may pass at your next turn. Any
other bid over your 2H will elicit another bid from you. You will
find it much easier to continue bidding knowing you have told
pard already that you have nothing. It is on pard's shoulders
now!
2S/2NT/3C/3D each show a natural suit with 2 of the top 3 honors.
2S shows spades, 2NT shows *HEARTS* (since 2H is used only for
those horrible hands above), 3C shows clubs, and 3D shows
diamonds. This suit must be a least 5 cards in length. Try not to
forget that 2C:2NT is showing 5 or more hearts headed with AK, AQ
or KQ. This is probably the toughest to remember!
I can hear you asking, but what if there is interference?? We
will address that issue next month, so stay tuned!
*************************
You will find Captain (Andy Anderson) doing his FireSide
sessions on Tuesday evenings, at 8:00 P.M. OKbridge time,
and every other Saturday at 11:00 A.M.
Captain is a full time instructor on OKbridge, offering
group or individual lessons for anyone ranging from novice
to advanced players.
Email Andy for more information - andy@imagewireless.ca
====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thank you to Moogal for this one, too:
Having babies
Being a parent changes everything. But being a parent also
changes with each baby. Here are some of the ways having a
second and third child is different from having your first.
Your Clothes
1'st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your
OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2'nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as
possible.
3'rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
Preparing for the Birth
1'st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2'nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember
that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3'rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your 8th month.
The Layette
1'st baby: You pre-wash your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate
them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2'nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean
and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3'rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries
1'st baby: At the first sign of distress----a whimper, a frown-
you pick up the baby.
2'nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to
wake your firstborn.
3'rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the
mechanical swing.
Pacifier
1'st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away
until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2'nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it
off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3'rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
Diapering
1'st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether
they need it or not.
2'nd baby: You change their diaper every 2 to 3 hours, if needed.
3'rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start
to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their
knees.
Activities
1'st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,
and Baby Story Hour.
2'nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3'rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the
dry cleaner.
Going Out
1'st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter,
you call home 5 times.
2'nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to
leave a number where you can be reached.
3'rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only
if she sees blood.
At Home
1'st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at
the baby.
2'nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure
your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3'rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from
the children.
============================================================
JUST JILL
=========
Some Things Stick
=================
The more I learn, the less I know,
The more I goof, the more I grow;
And sometimes it can take a brick
To cause the simple things to stick!
I love to learn, I love to play,
I love to win, and that's OK...
While learning to defend is fun,
It's also fun to say "We won!"
To win or lose is not the point,
But many losses disappoint;
And it can be an awful bore
When every game's a minus score!
But through it all, there's much to glean,
And I am human--not machine,
And what comes nat'rally to some
Can sometimes make my brain go numb!
I've heard it once, I've heard it twice,
Sometimes verbose, sometimes concise,
But when it fin'lly dawns on me,
It might be introduction THREE!
The "double" call still puzzles me...
For "take-out" versus "penalty"...
I write things down, I try to learn,
But then I panic at my turn!
One gem I've kept (dug up from mud):
That NT doubles all mean "blood";
Another gem I can recall:
You need FIVE cards to overcall!
The more I play, the more I get,
And certainly, I'm not "there" yet,
But I feel great when something sticks
Worth adding to my "bag of 'tricks'"!
(c)Copyright 2002 by Jill Wilson
********************
You can email Jill at ilovechocolate@earthlink.net
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a
Harley, when he spotted a world-famous heart surgeon in his shop.
The heart surgeon was waiting for the service manager to come
take a look at his bike.
The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you
a question?"
The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic
working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped
his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I
also can open it up, take valves out, fix 'em, put in new parts
and when I finish, this will work just like a new one. So how
come I get a pittance and you get the really big money, when you
and I are doing basically the same work?"
The surgeon paused, smiled and leaned over, and whispered
to the mechanic... "Try doing it while it's running!
===========================================================
DEALING WITH DANN
==================
Hi all
I'd like to start out by mentioning how much fun it was to meet
Danilo (SHADE), and get to visit with several other FireSide
friends in Edmonton a couple weeks ago. It made me feel good
that Danilo went out of his way to find me there, that he wanted
to meet me and tell me "thank you" for the time I spend doing the
FireSide sessions. I have to tell you it feels really good when
someone does that -- makes me feel like it's all worthwhile.
You can appreciate Danilo's photographic skills by going to
www.fireside.net/cntcpix.htm to see some of the pictures he took
while there. I've had several people ask me what I'm so cranky
about in the one of me -- I'll just say that he caught me at a
bad moment -- my team had just gotten soundly beaten in our
match, and I was feeling a little 'down' about that. Normally
though, I am generally a much more cheerful type.
But enough of that, and on to our article for this month!
At one of my FireSide sessions in May, a hand came up with a 2NT
bid over opp's double of pard's opening bid, showing a limit
raise or better. I stated at that time that the 2NT bid was not
standard SAYC. I goofed! This bid IS in the SAYC notes, as I
found out, but it's not where you might expect to find it. It's
in the section under Competitive Bidding.
To save you the trouble of having to look it up, I've copied and
pasted that part below:
If RHO makes a takeout double:
After 1D - (X):
1H, 1S = forcing, point count not limited.
2C = non-forcing (6-10 points, usually a six-card suit).
2NT = limit raise (at least 10 points) - or better.
Redouble = 10 points or more, but it is better to make a more
descriptive bid of 1H, 1S, or 2NT with the appropriate hand.
3D = Preemptive, good trump support but fewer than 10 points.
So, with my apologies to those who were at that FireSide and got
the wrong advice, I'd like to now discuss this 2NT = limit raise
or better convention.
First, it goes by a few different names -- Jordan, Dormer, and
Truscott among the most well known.
I quote from the Encyclopedia: "Originated by Alan Truscott,
commonly named Jordan, in the mistaken belief Robert Jordan
originated it."
(Jordan was 1/2 of Arguably USA's best international pair through
the 1960's)
(Dormer was editor of the Bridge World in the early 60's and 2NT
was part of Bridge world standard - a lot of people's first
exposure to the convention.)
Now for the toy itself -- 2NT is used as an artifical response to
an opening bid, after partner's opening is doubled for takeout.
This allows the bid of 3 in our suit -- normally a limit raise --
to become preemptive (generally fewer than 9 HCP's) and our limit
bid of 2NT now shows 9-11 (with some allowance for distribution.)
Unfortunately -- or perhaps fortunately -- there is nothing on
what to do with stronger hands. For that, we need partnership
agreement. There are 2 common treatments --
1 - use 2NT, intending to carry on after pard's signoff.
2 - some use 3NT after double to show fit and 12-15 HCP's.
Once again, I'm sorry to have lead my group astray as to the
nature of SAYC.
As always, Happy Bridging, and have a great summer all!
Dann (POOKA) Kramer
*******************
You will find Pooka (Dann Kramer) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday and Thursday mornings, at 11:00 a.m.
OKbridge time.
Dann is available for one-on-one lessons, group mentoring
sessions, and/or tourney play.
For more information, write Dann at: Dann-Kramer@shaw.ca
===================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thank you to Luc for these:
Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher.
The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder
pregnant."
The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know
what pregnant means?" she asked.
"Sure," said the young boy confidently, "it means carrying a
child."
********************
A Nursery School Teacher was delivering a station wagon full of
kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the
front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog.
The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him
to keep crowds back," said one youngster. "No," said another,
"he's just for good luck."
A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the
dogs," She said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."
=========================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
======================
Fireside News
First, a scheduling note. There will be no Fireside session
the evening of Thursday, July 4.
Thanks to Pam (PAMA) for the knowledge she has given us. She
is taking a leave of absence as her job is currently taking
her 'on the road' for extended periods. We sincerely hope
this is only temporary!
Welcome to both Diane Walker (DIANEW) and Lynn Deas (WISHTRIK),
who will be handling the Wednesday and Thursday evening sessions,
respectively. (We owe Pam another big thanks for her
recruiting!)
Lynn has 4 world titles to go with her many National titles.
She's been an active player and teacher for over 20 years.
Diane has also been playing and teaching bridge for about 20
years. She's been a top finisher in many National, Regional
and Sectional tournaments, and is an accredited EasyBridge
teacher. She currently lives in Gaithersburg, MD with her
husband, 2 dogs and 4 cats and is a PC and mainframe freelance
programmer -- her specialty is designing and programming internet
websites.
They share one important thing -- a love of imparting their
wisdon to those who are eager to learn and they are looking
forward to working in the Fireside community! We feel very
fortunate to have them both in our organization! What luck for
us!
**********************************************************
OKB Tourney News
Mon Jun 10 19:00 2002
Rank Team Score Boards
1 ecofin/jccasper 65.40 12
Fri Jun 21 18:00 2002
Rank Team Score Boards
1 ecofin/jccasper 2.06 27
Dale and JC up to their old tricks, I see.:)) Well done!
Thu Jun 13 16:00 2002
Rank Team Score Boards
1 Lyann/mikeh 2.60 26
Congrats to Lyann and her partner Mikeh! Lyann is a student
of Andy (CAPTAIN). Our commentators are a good choice
if you are looking for a private teacher!
Sun Jun 16 16:00 2002
Rank Team Score Boards
1 LBrown/mvaight 2.49 20
A big Yay to Laura and her favorite partner Max. We miss
you at Fireside, Laura! :)
**********************************************************
Novice Mentor Tourney
Congrats to Lali and Lee82, winners of the Novice-Mentor
Tourney this month!
The other top finishers:
Rank Team Score
1 lali/lee82 67.17
2 BadBoy/janwa 64.43
3 greta123/spednic 60.89
4 dianew/MQ26 57.70
5 gandalf/jundith 56.47
6 GenieW/Patricia 55.65
7 andre55/janete 55.57
8 kn/rickms 53.74
9 banba/jhemmer 53.30
10 glyder22/Jlesser 52.70
11 hester/pascha 52.50
12 ejfree/tarsh 51.79
13 marlyse/Neophyte 50.52
14 AndyEdw/Sue1 50.51
15 BEijl1/mehdi 50.44
Mentors and novices, join us this month on the 11'th!
Email Sandra (SANDREE) at sandree@attbi.com if you would
like to find a partner ahead of time. She'll do her best
to match you up!
I promise you a fun evening. :)
**********************************************************
Mentor Cup Team Game:
June 2: Team SAM143: Sam143, Cwall, De, and Hec1
June 16: Team SHADE: Shade, Mayb, Joebacon, and Chanel
June 30: Team SHADE: Shade, Mayb, Joebacon, and Chanel
(AGAIN!)
Well done to all of you and to our other top
finishers -- see who they are on our webpage at:
www.firesides.net/mtc.htm
Mentor Cup Team Games in July will be held on the
Sundays of July 14 and 28 at 8:00 P.M. PST.
Email me at Moocake@aol.com to get on the reminder
list for these games. All welcome!
***************************************************************
Fireside IMP League
The IMP League finished 'regular season' play this past week.
The Tuesday division saw Team TODDY retain its lead, and
Team ELVEE come from behind to clinch 2'nd place for the
playoffs! Team Moogal is waiting for next season :)))
In the Wednesday group, Team Ulli3 won a close match to claim
first place, and will face off with Team Caphotel in the
playoffs. After those matches, the winners will head to the
final between the two leagues!
If you would like to join in the fun (and fun it was!) for the
next series, sign up at:
http://www.firesides.net/signmeup.htm
The new season, beginning July 14, will see a Tuesday evening
group (5PM OKB time) and a NEW Sunday afternoon group (11AM OKB
time). We hope this will allow more to take part! Don't worry if
you will be vacationing during this time, either you or we can
find a sub. The small fee supports our Fireside teaching
schedule, lets you play with and against your friends, and
provides interesting hand analysis after each game. What a deal!
:)
***************************************************************
Happy birthday to yooooo, Imogene!! Imo (LOL6013) celebrated her
80th birthday this month in fine fashion, receiving warm wishes
from all her friends, and capped off with a tourney with Tuna!
Many many more, Imo!
***************************************************************
Our travel editor was grounded this month! Gail (GAIL37) spent
some time in the hospital, having knee surgery. We are so glad
to see her back on-line!
She sends us all this note:
I want to thank everyone for their good wishes during my recent
knee surgery. Your phone calls, cards, flowers and emails
wishing me a speedy recovery and telling me I was missed were
certainly a morale booster.
The surgery went extremely well, I have had minimal pain,
probably less than what I had before the replacement. Now
it's just a question of regaining full function of the knee.
I'm sitting with cold packs on it, doing my physical therapy
exercises, and lying in bed with the CPM (Continual Passive
Motion) machine running. It makes my knee bend without my
having to do it myself. As I write, June 15, I'm up to 100
degree bend on the machine.
Again, thanks to everyone. I know your good thoughts and
prayers contributed to my speedy recovery.
Hugs to all the Firesiders,
Gail
***************************************************************
Angelfish alert! This is getting to be a habit, and one we love!
The Angelfish for July is our regular contributor, Bob MCPHEE!
Here is Tuna's write-up from the Spectator:
Kathy Deacon met Bob "Mcphee" when they were matched-up in a
Novice-Mentor Tourney and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She
has since taken any opportunity to play at his NC tables, where
he welcomes players of all levels and respectfully offers helpful
suggestions. Bob is known as a bridge teacher. I know him also
as a fellow Canadian and friend. He is always pleasant company
and a good sport too!
Congrats to Bob.:))
***************************************************************
You know one of my favorite things to report is our on-line
friends getting together. Chuck (GUNNE) sent us this note about
his recent live tourney with D'loye (DLOYE).
I played in my 3'rd competitive event in the Keokuk sectional
and I had a wonderful time! The town is retro 50's and I was
knocked over by the warmth and friendliness. It's very small,
*very small*, but I felt like I was coming home to my youth.
It is a river town on the Mississississippi and I thought
that life style had disappeared for good, but it is alive and
well in Keokuk, Iowa.... amazing!
At the same time as the sectional, they had the Mormon temple
opening there. It was impressive and I found out about it after
we arrived. It was a biiiig deal....now I understand why it was
almost impossible to get a hotel room for the tourney! The
Mormons have spent years and many many tens of millions
rebuilding their temple in Nauvoo, Illinois, across the river
from Keokuk, and it is spectacular.
Sure, sure....You wanna hear about the bridge. I know, but in
a sec.:) First, a tip of the hat to D'loye Swift, my bridge
partner on this bridge adventure. She lives in Louisiana and I
live in Iowa so I asked her to come up and be my partner in this
sectional. And she did! Driving up for 2 days to get here and
then play 3 days of bridge and drive back for 2 days. HOORAY for
D'loye!!! What a gal!
She arrived on Thursday, and Friday morning we were on the road
180 miles south to Keokuk. We checked into the hotel and on to
play 1'st session. A funny thing happened there (aside...I
have worked the evening shift almost all my life and always take
a nap before work) Well, you guessed it but I had to confirm it
for myself -- the hard way! My body was there playing, but my
brain was napping during afternoon play....ooops. So both
afternoon sessions were disasters...buuuut, smile, the evening
and morning sessions went very well when my mind was present
for the event. Big smile!
D'loye and I placed 2nd in the morning and evening sessions, and
when D'loye wimped out on me (food or toooo much bridge or sleep
or something -- what is more important than bridge?) I played
another session and got another 2nd. So much for sleep or
tourism.:))
So there you have it, my bridge vacation with the best bridge
pard I could possibly have....what a sweetie, THANK YOU D'LOYE!!
Chuck
***************************************************************
The Canadian National Team Championships were held this past
month in Edmonton. While our friends failed to bring home any
prizes in the team competition, Bill (WINTAKA) did the amazing,
winning the Canadian Open Pairs Competition for the SECOND
straight year, with his partner Dave McLellan. Yay, Billy! You
can see the winning pair (Bill is on the right) at:
www.cbf.ca/BWeek/
A nice surprise for the Fireside contingent...Danilo (SHADE) was
in town on business, and he stopped by the playing site to meet
Colin, Bill and Dann. Colin tells me that he is just as friendly
and nice in person as he is at Fireside! Danilo enjoyed kibitzing
the teams and acted as official Fireside photographer! You can
see his pics at:
www.fireside.net/cntcpix.htm
********************
We always love to read Colin's reviews of these events :)
Colin's Report on Bridge Week 2002 in Edmonton
The Canadian National Team Championships (CNTCs), the
Canadian Women's Team Championships (CWTCs) and the
Canadian Open Pairs Championships (COPCs) make up the
three aspects of "Bridge Week" here in Canada. Event
chair Kiz Fung did an excellent job with fund
raising, hospitality and co-ordinating. Of the
many events that I have attended, this one was by
far the best organized and prepared.
I was drafted to play on Andrew "PRECISON"
Petrick's B-side team. Andrew and I were the swing
pair. Our second pair played very steady bridge, but
our third couple seemed to be intent on justifying
the drug-tests that took place in Maastricht.
After a particularly bad set the following
conversation took place:
Colin: "My double should be taken out..."
Andrew: "And shot!" :)
At this juncture our team mates arrived
and announced:
Team Mates: "If you two bid at random, lost your
minds and revoked on every hand we
should STILL win this match by 100."
Andrew: "In that case, this should be close." :)
The match was dead tie. :)
The hand of the week for us was the following:
You hold:
S Q104
H AQ4
D KJ75
C AK9
Your partner opens 4C. Partner is Colin,
though, so this just shows 13 cards, some of which
are likely to be Clubs. RHO bids 4H. They are
vulnerable. Your call?
If you double, it becomes a defensive problem.
Dummy hits with:
Dummy:
S AK7654
H 8
D 1064
C 1072
Your C-Ace lead is ruffed by Declarer, who
know plays the H-King. You win and, let us say,
continue with C-King. This, too, is ruffed by
Declarer, who know forces out your H-Queen. Your
play here?
If you fail to lead a spade now or at your
previous opportunity, chalk up -790. The full
hand was:
S Q104
H AQ4
D KJ75
C AK9
S 98 S AK7654
H KJ107653 H 8
D AQ82 D 1064
C void C 1072
S J3
H 92
D 93
C QJ86543
After trumps are drawn Declarer will duck
a Spade, win any return, and toss his Diamond
losers on the good Spades.
Andrew didn't double 4H, though. Instead,
he bid 5C! West led S-9, East won S-AK and
played a third Spade! I tossed my D-3. Now,
East has 3 Clubs, dummy has 3. And did I
mention that 4C suggested that I might have
some Clubs? Sure enough, West couldn't ruff!
I won the Spade on dummy, played SEVEN rounds
of Clubs and West was squeezed. A Heart
finesse allowed me to make THREE Heart tricks
as West had bared down to D-Ace and H-KJ.
At the other table, our side made 3NT.
Ah, well, another dull push. :)
I asked Andrew if he would have found
the Spade switch on defence against 4H doubled.
He shook his head and remarked:
"Even if 5C had gone down one it would
have been a good sacrifice against our own
misdefence!" :)
Gotta love this game.
**********************************************************
While some of our commentators were in Edmonton, Bernard
(Bluebee) was also traveling -- to France! Here is his report
on a very exciting tourney:
Each year there is a bridge match held between the Royal
Automobile Club (RAC) of Britain and the Automobile Club De
France (unsurprisingly of France). The venue alternates each year
between London and Paris. This year the venue was Paris and for
the first time I was invited to play for the RAC.
The RAC and Automobile Club De France each have 8 players for the
match (two teams). The format is teams with 4 matches, so each
pair get to play a match against each pair of the other side. The
scoring naturally is IMPs, with the total IMPs for each side
being accumulated for each team and match.
Now, with Channel Tunnel rail link linking Britain and France I
set off last Thursday morning (20 June) on the Eurostar train
heading for Paris. A slightly eventful journey in that the powers
that be decided to play 'musical trains', a 'game' based on that
old favourite 'musical chairs'!! At Lille (in France) the train
stopped and we were all ordered off the train. On the other
platform there was another Eurostar train which all the
passengers disembarked. We got on the train on the other platform
and the passengers that got off that train, proceeded to get on
our train!! Both trains then left, leaving us puzzled as to the
purpose of everyone switching trains!
Thursday afternoon I had at leisure so I took a look around
Paris. In the evening the French hosted an informal dinner at the
Automobile Club De France (informal to them maybe, but the rest
of us would regard it as formal!) and I have to say the dinner
was superb. The view of Paris from their Club is amazing....I
wish I had brought my camera. On the one side is the Eiffel
Tower, while straight ahead you have Place de la Concorde and the
French parliamentary buildings...truly one of the best views of
Paris from inside a building.
Friday morning I continued to look around Paris, and then we all
had a light lunch with the French. After lunch the bridge match
began in the Automobile Club De France. The first couple of
matches I played a good solid game, making the odd 'unmakeable
contract' (right defence was tough to find) and defeating the
opponents contracts where possible. We made around 30 IMPs in
each of those matches.
In the third match we ambitiously bid to 5 diamonds on one hand,
which was a good contract. Unfortunately I fell victim to some
false-carding by the French and managed to go down in what was a
perfectly makeable contract! Ooops. I was far more upset with
myself than any of the team were with me! Fortunately at the
other table the ambitious 5 diamonds wasn't bid, so it wasn't as
costly as it might have been. That round was pretty even for my
team, but the other team of four brought in some IMPs for us, so
adding that to the IMPs we already had in the first two rounds
meant that we were 85 IMPs ahead going into the last round.
The last round was a disaster for my team of four. We made a few
mistakes, had a costly bidding misunderstanding where we bid 6NT
(which was doubled) missing AK spades amongst other high cards!
We also played a 4 spade contract which was unmakeable, but the
French made it (and it was cold for them) as they played it from
the South hand due to their bidding system, while our system
meant North played the hand. Oh well that's life as they say. We
lost a massive 43 IMPs in that match, but fortunately our other
team of 4 made I think 34 IMPs, so the overall loss was less than
10 IMPs....no tragedy on the last match when we were 85 IMPs
ahead. So overall we won the match by a good margin and got to
bring home the huge silver cup.
After the bridge the French hosted the final formal dinner, and
it was wonderful, they were great hosts. This match has been
played for over 20 years and in that time the French have won
more often than us, so this year we have gone a little way in
evening that up! All that remains left is to admire the view of
Paris once more from the Automobile Club De France and pack my
bags to return home on the Eurostar on Saturday.
Overall it was great fun and lovely few days in Paris. I'm
looking forward to next year when the French come to London.
***********************************************************
We don't get to see Dineen (DINEENT) very often these days. She
is the Director of the Central Asia region of a world-wide aid
organization, and she has been in Afghanistan and Pakistan
recently. While there it costs her $7/minute just to connect
via satellite phone, so logging on to OKB is obviously out of
the question. She tries to stay in touch with her friends via
email when she can, and we send her our wishes to stay safe --
and our admiration for her dedication to the welfare of the
people she helps!
************************************************************
A Gem-Rich Zoo in Zambia by Richard Pavlicek
All bridge players are invited to participate in this July
bidding poll, which consists of six problems from a past
tournament. All you have to do is click a checkbox next
to the call you prefer. As a side challenge, you may wish
to guess when and where the tournament was held, or even
search for precious gems. But be careful! There's some
dangerous animals around. The Zoo opens July 1:
http://www.rpbridge.net/7w89.htm
Results of my June play contest "The Clubhouse Collection"
will be posted July 3.
Quiz: http://www.rpbridge.net/7v81.htm
Scores: http://www.rpbridge.net/7v87.htm
Analyses: http://www.rpbridge.net/7v88.htm
This item from Richard's site is close to my heart:)
Yarborough Streak
A “Yarborough” is defined as a bridge hand with no card
above a nine. What are the odds against being dealt five
consecutive Yarboroughs?
(A) 625 million to 1
(B) 228 billion to 1
(C) Who cares
Answer
(C) If you actually tried to calculate this, you have
absolutely no sense of priorities. The answer would be
in the quadrillions. A little bird told me it is
20,411,783,673,914,367 to 1. [Ed. note: Unless, of
course, you are Moogal, in which case it is business as
usual:)]
**********************************************************
Colin has been busy this month learning how to program
websites with interactive forms. We've unleashed a
monster. :))
So, here are a couple of new URL's to bookmark.
If you would like to request the Rainbow, Kaleidoscope
or Spectrum lessons go to:
www.firesides.net/lessons.htm
Enjoy quizzes? Try your hand at these:
www.firesides.net/sayctest.htm
www.firesides.net/sarctest.htm
www.firesides.net/spectrumtest.htm
www.firesides.net/bidstest.htm
And don't forget to check out the "neat hands"
site frequently; we are continually adding
new instructive hands from the Fireside bidding
sessions and live OKB play.
Here are two recent additions from tourney play with
the URL that will take you directly to the hand:
www.firesides.net/neathand.htm#EastCoastWestCoast
www.firesides.net/neathand.htm#DoublingSacrifices
Note: the last part of the URL (i.e. after #) *is* case
sensitive.
**********************************************************
Well, friends, I think that is it for this month. I'd like
to mention that I am leaving town on July 27th, so that is
the deadline for my column for next month...please send any
items as soon as possible. And I'll make sure my family plans
vacations better next time!
If you are going to Washington Nationals, please please
send me a note on your experiences, and take pictures! If
my early departure precludes me from including them next
month, we will save them for the following issue. So send
them, even if past the 27th!
Hugs...Janice
************************************************************
MENTORING SESSIONS
==================
Some of our commentators are offering group mentoring
sessions. This is an easy, fun, and very affordable
way to get both bidding and play instruction with your
partner, friends, or as a single participant. Email
the commentator if you want information on joining
one of the established groups with spots available,
or to discuss a session at your convenience.
Kibitzers are welcome at most sessions.
Watch this spot for future sessions from our other
commentators also!
********************
KALTICA
Colin is currently holding sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Email him for more information.
You can contact Colin at kaltica@mts.net.
********************
POOKA
Was anybody's favorite dwarf Bashful? If so...Pooka offers
a "private" group mentoring session, in a hidden table
format, for those who would prefer a closed setting for
their mentoring sessions. Contact Dann at:
dann-kramer@shaw.ca for more information.
*********************************************************
July Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, July 11, 6:00 P.M. A low-key introduction
to the tourney experience, sponsored by Fifth Chair...
see www.fifthchair.org for more info on this and
their other services, including getting a mentor.
MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME:
Sunday, 5:00 P.M. July 14, and July 28.
See www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and lists
of past winners. To get on the mailing list for
this game, email me at moocake@aol.com.
OKSCRIPT SEMINAR:
OKScript seminars are held as demand warrants.
Email Kaltica to schedule a session, usually available
on the same Sunday as the Mentor Cup Game, at 2:30 p.m.
OKScript is an add-on program that saves you many
keystrokes while playing on OKB by sending
prepared text to the table, opps, or lobby at the
push of a button. Try to download the program BEFORE
the seminar by going to www.firesides.net/okscript.htm.
For more information, email Colin at kaltica@mts.net.
FIFTH CHAIR INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:
=================================
SAYC Novice Team Game:
Saturdays, at 8:00 a.m. PACIFIC. Newcomers very
welcome! In addition to the team game, there will be
an open table for those waiting to join the team game.
This table will also have a commentator.
2/1 Team Game for intermediate players:
Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Pacific. Novices are welcome in
spectator mode.
Look for the words FIFTH CHAIR beside the server's name,
in the table notes, to attend either of these sessions
********************
Moogal (Janice Kofman) stays busy collecting all sorts
of news about our FireSide family members to share with us.
Please help her out by emailing her any news or stories you
are willing to share with the group.
Janice's email address is moocake@aol.com
====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pooka for this one:
Sometimes it does take a rocket scientist (true story)
Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch dead
chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and
the space shuttle, all travelling at maximum velocity.
The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of
collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the
windshields.
Foreign engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it
on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements
were made, and a gun was sent to the engineers.
Then the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the
chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof
shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control
console, snapped the engineer's backrest in two and embedded
itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a
bow.
The horrified engineers sent NASA the disastrous results of the
experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged
the US scientists for suggestions.
NASA responded with a one-line memo: "Defrost the chicken."
========================================================
ECOFIN'S FORWARD TO THE BASICS
The Bridge Ethos
The purpose of this editorial is to discuss a subject that
is every bit as important and fascinating as the bidding
and play: the ethos of bridge. In North American football
the teams huddle in secret before each play and then spring
their plan on an unsuspecting opposition. Bridge, on the
other hand, requires full disclosure. As such, at first
blush, the two games seem antipodal opposite. Yes, both
have a printed record describing these strategies, but the
bridge convention card is presented to the opponents while
the football play book is guarded from prying eyes better
than Fort Knox!
In actual fact, the games are not so different. In
bridge, we are told what the bid means but not where the
opponents are going with it. Similarly, the defenders in
football do see the layout before the ball is snapped but
don't know where those players are headed. The reason
that bridge went with full disclosure, then, is much the
same reason that sports teams are required to wear uniforms.
Intelligent defence in both cases needs to have the
particulars accurately spelled out to them. Bridge, then,
is more a game of dealing with information as provided
rather than scouting the opposition for patterns in order
to gleam this data.
Imagine if all the football players wore identical
uniforms and didn't have to line up on their own side
of the line of scrimmage. Pandemonium! THAT is what
bridge would be like without accurate and full disclosure.
Hence, it is of paramount importance that we reveal our
agreements in bidding and carding to our opponents--and
vice versa.
Playing in a tourney several weeks ago, I encountered:
LHO Pard RHO Me
1H 2S 4D Pass
4H Pass Pass Pass
No alert or explanation on the 4D bid. When I suggested
that the 4D bid might have been alerted as a splinter
bid, the response that I got from this expert was: "What
else could it be?"
It is very difficult for Tourney Directors to have to
deal with each and every failure to alert and explain
our calls. Players have to learn what is alertable
and remember to make those alerts and explications
WITHOUT being asked or prompted. Pre-alerting our
system and general tendencies is equally important.
A number of partnerships exhibit a proclivity to open
marginal hands with no previous notice that this
occurs. Again, playing in a different tourney, and
against an established partnership, the opening bidder
had 9 HCP and his partner had a fit and 14 HCP. They
managed to struggle all the way up to 3 of a major
which, of course, was right. Obviously, 14 HCP
Responder knew that Opener might be this light and
MUST reveal this information to the opponents.
I use these examples to suggest that the most exemplary
partnership that I can think of in terms of disclosure
ethics are Kaltica and Moogal. While I have, on a rare
occasion, suggested that Colin likes to bid his 13 cards,
their pre-alerts and explanations are beyond reproach.
They give you complete information on the light overcalls,
feather light preempts, four card overcalls, etc. That
is, they explain their partnership and system agreements.
My suggestion to all of us Firesiders is that we use them
as the model for the appropriate set of ethics when
playing this game.
One of my first bridge mentors suggested that you
should always go out of your way to explain your
agreements and that the higher your level, the more you
should bend over backwards. I suggest that all of us
Firesiders adopt this motto. It will help the game of
bridge flourish.
********************
You can email Dale at: ecofin2@aol.com
===========================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Wheels for these:
How about a few Brain Teasers:
1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose
between three rooms. The first is full of raging
fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded
guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't
eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him
under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs
him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and
enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?
3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How
could you put all of this water into a barrel, without
using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which
water came from which jug?
4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use
it, and gray when you throw it away?
5. Can you name three consecutive days without using
the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?
6. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how
quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it.
It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong
with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is
unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you
still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it
a bit, you might find out.
Sorry, I don't have the answers to these...
Just kidding. :-)
1. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years
are dead.
2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture
of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.
3. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and
put the ice in the barrel. You will be able to tell
which water came from which jug.
4. The answer is Charcoal.
5. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!
6. The letter "e", which is the most common letter in
the English language, does not appear once in the long
paragraph.
========================================================
BOB'S BITS
==========
Woe is me!
I’ll set the stage a bit first. Teams, in a regional with a
partner who is not really very aggressive. (my early excuse).
S AK94
H AK
D 84
H QJ976
I do not favor opening what I feel is off shape NT’s, and this
hand, while good, just does not measure up to a strong NT for
me, so 1C it was in second seat. This is how things went.
P 1C P 1H
2D ?
So now I figured, even though I am a tad shy, was time to
mention the spades. We were vulnerable and with lefty passing
I felt I could up-grade this a wee bit, so 2S it was. Well, by
golly, my LHO slipped the BIG red card on the table with
little hesitation. Everyone passed.
To review the bdding:
P 1C P 1H
2D 2S DBL all pass
Opening lead was the Q of
trumps, and when this dummy appeared I began to think of excuses.
This contract was surely not a claiming situation.
S 102
H 10863
D J97532
C A
When I played low and my RHO showed out, I must admit Things
were looking a bit bleak. "No spades?" to which lefty replied
quickly, "Not a one"
Well, after the initial shock subsided I began to think it was
not really so horrible. I won the first trick, and cashed the AK
of H, before leading a C to the ace. Now ruffed a H to hand and
played another C, the K popping up on my left. I began to see
hope. Gee obviously no diamonds, and just the 7 trumps, and
what looks like 2 clubs and 4 hearts. This puppy is going to
come in, as I can trump another H and still have the trump to
take. And so it was, 2S doubled, making just 2, +670.
LHO was looking at
S QJ87653
H Q974
D void
C K6
Two spades was also the contract at the other table, but by our
teammates sitting in the opposite direction! When the
bidding started 1C, they jumped in with 2S and all passed.
The opening lead was the A of C. Next came a H to the K,
cashed the A and a C ruffing, out the K. Now a H for yet
another ruff and a master C, declarer trumping with the 8,
and a surprised defender scoring the 10 to return the last H.
2S making 3, for +150.
So this strange result gained us 13 imps.
Who said 13 was an unlucky number?
************************
Bob Mcphee and his partner Allan Graves will be presenting a
series of classes on Defense starting September 9. For more
information, or to sign up for this class, contact Bob at:
bobmcphee@hotmail.com
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks (?) to Gail37 for this groaner:
These friars were behind on their belfry payments,
so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds.
Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of
God, a rival florist across town thought the
competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to
close down, but they would not. He went back and begged
the friars to close. They ignored him.
So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the
roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade"
them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed
their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close
up shop.
Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and
only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.
==================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
====================
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
Part 3
It had already been a very successful week at the Moose Jaw
regional, with two event wins under our belts, but it was only
halfway through and a lot of slogging to do. In the meantime,
some top Winnipeg players had arrived, including frequent
teammates Dave Brough and Doug Fisher along with Bob Todd and
Neil Kimelman. They joked that the "free ride" was over for
Dave McLellan and myself, and they had arrived just in time to
restore harmony to the universe.
During the entire regional, we played strictly in team events,
with one exception, the Flighted Pairs on Friday afternoon and
evening. Dave and I managed a 57% game in the afternoon, but
never got the ball rolling in the evening session, and finished
with a desultory 50%. Despite the lack of success, the day was
far from a total loss, as there were several instructive hands.
On the first one, I picked up a fairly respectable hand of:
S KJ10
H 7
D AQ108
C KQJ96
I opened 1D, so as to allow myself an easy rebid in clubs, and
LHO made a takeout double. Partner passed and RHO bid 1NT.
The question now is whether opener should follow through and
bid 2C as he had originally intended. The answer lies in the
fact that the auction thus far has provided a fairly accurate
count on partner's distribution. The opponents don't seem to
have a spade or heart fit, so that earmarks pard for 3 spades
and 5+ hearts. So he can have AT BEST five cards in your minor
suits, and therefore re-entering the fray here is giving the
opponents your head on a platter. Did our hero recognize the
warning signs and hold his tongue with a sober pass? Of
course not, as I sailed in with 2C, blithely unaware of the
danger, and went -500 when partner laid out
S xxx
H xxxxx
D Jxx
C xx
as the dummy, pretty much what I deserved.
However, we were on the positive side of a couple of doubled
contracts in the afternoon session, one result being the
triumph for McGuinty, our system of competing against the
opponent's notrump opening. Both sides were vulnerable for
this hand:
North
S Q93
H 972
D J10542
West C J4 East
S AJ106 S 54
H KQ5 H AJ3
D Q D 98763
C K9853 South C 762
S K872
H 10864
D AK
C AQ10
North East South West
pass pass 1NT dbl*
pass 2C pass pass
2D pass pass dbl
pass pass pass
West's double of 1NT was for takeout, as was his double of 2D
when responder chose to compete over our 2C contract. Dave
was charmed to sit for penalties, and led his doubleton spade.
I put in the 10 when declarer played low from dummy. Now he
ran the Jack of clubs, and I won to return a heart. Another
spade came back and I took the Jack and Ace and now returned a
fourth spade to uppercut declarer. When the carnage was over,
we'd scored up two spades, three hearts, a club, and two
diamonds for a three-trick set and all the marbles for our
+800.
Shortly after that, against a new set of opponents, we were able
to go to the whip yet again:
North
S Q5
H A1042
D K102
West C QJ62 East
S AK10632 S J9
H J7 H K95
D 976 D AJ43
C A8 South C K1093
S 874
H Q863
D Q85
C 754
South West North East
pass ` 1S dbl rdbl
2H pass pass dbl
pass pass pass
Since Dave's redouble created a forcing auction, I passed RHO's
2H bid, and when partner doubled, I had no qualms about leaving
it in, with three likely defensive tricks and the opponents
vulnerable. I began with a high spade, then played Ace of Clubs,
a club to partner's King, got my ruff, then played two more
spades with dummy ruffing and partner overruffing. Now a fourth
club was returned, and we got eight tricks in all, two spades,
two clubs, a diamond and three hearts for +800 again. While
bridge is USUALLY a game for the bold rather than the timid,
competing for the partscore was nothing short of disastrous in
THIS session. Fortunately, we were on the right side of two of
the huge penalties at least.
On Thursday, we completed the second knockout teams and made it
to the final again were two hands were of particular note. The
first kept in the same theme of sizeable penalties that we had
in the pairs session:
North
S KQ97
H A962
D J9743
West C void East
S J10642 S 53
H QJ H 10854
D 2 D KQ65
C KQ1087 South C 532
S A8
H K73
D A108
C AJ964
South West North East
1NT 2C 3C* pass
3NT pass
Although we DO play a double of a 1NT opening as a two or
three-suited takeout, we require 11 or more points for this
action (13+ if vul) so as to allow partner to leave it in
with an appropriate hand. Therefore, I bid 2C, the stronger
of my suits, keeping the spades in reserve should the
opponents double my overcall. LHO bid 3C, Stayman without
a stopper, and NS eventually settled in 3NT, scoring up 10
easy tricks for plus 430 after a high club lead and a heart
switch. Push board, right? Well, not exactly, because this
was how it went at the other table:
South West North East
1NT 2S* dbl 2NT*
pass 3C pass pass
dbl pass pass pass
EW at the other table were playing Cappelletti, and West
decided to bid 2S, showing that suit and a minor, with a
borderline hand and poorish anchor suit. He suffered the
consequences, as North had an easy penalty double and was
then able to make a forcing pass after East asked for the
minor and overcaller showed clubs. South briskly doubled
3C and the defense held West to three tricks for plus 1700.
I won't indulge in my usual rant about how useless a tool
Cappellletti is, since the result on this hand speaks only
too eloquently about its many shortcomings.
Another swing came our way on this hand:
North:
S Ax
H Ax
D Qxx
C AKxxxx
South:
S KQJxx
H Q
D AKxx
C Qxx
13 tricks are easy in either black suit or 7NT, but the
opponents never came close after:
North South
1NT 2H*
2S 3D
3NT 6NT
After opener failed to support either of responder's suits,
South gave up on trying for the grand slam and settled in
6NT. I find North's 1NT opening on a good six-card club
suit to be totally repulsive, and venture to say that after
1C:1S:3C, South can keycard immediately with all outside suits
controlled and the opponents would have no trouble reaching the
optimum contract of 7NT.
The final match in the second knockout teams was hotly contested,
but we pulled out an 8 IMP victory. That was a blowout, however,
compared to the third knockouts, when we also reached the final
against our Winnipeg buddies and came out victorious by exactly
ONE IMP! This was one of my favourite hands from that clash:
West:
S Kx
H Kx
D xxx
C 108xxxx
East:
S Axx
H AQxx
D KQxx
C AKQ
West East
2C 2D
2NT 3S*
3NT 4C*
4D* 4S*
6C pass
At the other table, the opponents started off in a similar vein
but East decided not to make a slam try since the clubs are
poorish. At our table, we had exactly the right tools, as I
bid 3S, forcing partner to bid 3NT. Now 4C by me was a slam
try with six POORISH clubs Dave had perfect values to go for
slam and keycarded in clubs with 4D. The slam was now easily
reached, for a gain of 13 badly needed IMPs on our side of the
ledger.
Anyway, that's it for the hands of Moose Jaw, and I hope you
found them as interesting as I did. Next month I'll have a
report on Bridge Week in Edmonton, with hands from the Canadian
National Teams and the Canadian Open Pairs.
********************
You can write to Wintaka (Bill Treble) at: btreble@escape.ca
You will find Bill doing his FireSide sessions on Tuesdays
at 11:00 A.M. OKbridge time, and on alternating Saturdays at
11:00 A.M. OKbridge time.
Wintaka and Kaltica present classes on: SAYC (Rainbow
Series) 2/1 (Spectrum series) Precision (Prism Series), and
other selected bridge topics (Kaleidoscope series).
They also offer private/group lessons and/or supervised play
sessions. Email Bill (btreble@escape.ca) or Colin
(kaltica@mts.net) for more information.
==============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Mindy for this one:
A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband was not
in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him.
She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee
in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring
at the wall. She watches as he wiped a tear from his eye and
takes a sip of his coffee.
"What's the matter, dear?", she whispers as she steps into the
room, "Why are you down here at this time of night?"
The husband looks up from his coffee, "Do you remember 20 years
ago when we were dating, and you were only 16?" he asks solemnly.
"Yes I do" she replies.
The husband paused. The words were not coming easily. "Do you
remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car
making love?"
"Yes, I remember" said the wife, lowering herself into a chair
beside him.
The husband continued.. "Do you remember when he shoved the
shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter, or
I'll send you to jail for 20 years?"
"I remember that too" she replied softly.
He wiped another tear from his cheek and said, "I would have
gotten out today."
=================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
The Good Stuff
As mentioned before here, one of the best aspects of
bridge is that we can plunk our membership fee down and
end up playing against the best in the world. For our
$198.00 U.S. ($99.00 basic membership & $99.00 for a
tourney upgrade) we can end up playing in an OKBridge
tourney against the Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Bonds of bridge.
But it gets even better! At age 40 most athletes have
retired. In bridge, they'd be just hitting their prime!
So we may get the opportunity to play against the Bobby
Orr or Jim Brown of bridge, too! What could be better?
When a special guest comes to visit us in our home
we break out the good stuff: exotic foods, single malt
Glenfiddich scotch, John Stewart on the stereo, best
china and that table cloth we haven't seen since our
wedding. When a celebrity player arrives at our table
it's the same story: we bring out our very best and most
creative moves. Surely nothing less will do, right? :)
Such confrontations are always a thrill. As we
surmise our hand we are flush with excitement, knowing
that if we do well we will have a story to tell our
friends for a L-O-N-G time to come. There are two
slight impediments in our way, though: the great player
is likely to outbid and outplay us. Are we going to let
that scare us? Heck, no! We have a plan! :)
"And what, exactly, is that plan?" you might ask.
Well, given that these sharpies can play the spots off
the cards, our best shot comes in the BIDDING. There,
we have to create "action". We have to "step out".
In essence, we have to do something REASONABLE but not
OBVIOUS. If we see two different contracts we might
choose the close SECOND best one, hoping that the field
goes with the OTHER one and runs into bad breaks. Or we
might endeavour to get to the same contract as the field
but via a unique and/or deceptive route.
Braced with this strategy we run into no one less
than the full Paul Soloway in the second last round.
It's been a tough afternoon for us, so we want to have
SOMETHING to show for our efforts and this is our chance!
Matchpoints, neither side vulnerable. Partner opens
2H. This is good news, since you play a funny Acol-style
2H opening: 8 tricks, good long Hearts and often--but
not always--a single-suiter. Not forcing. You hold:
S AQ108
H void
D QJ3
C QJ9752
Before you peek, try to guess what Kaltica bid here.
Let's make it easy: you get five guesses.
********************
1. 3C? A fine choice. This allows us to show our Clubs
and then our Spades. If we catch a fit we can think
about slam. All very clear and sensible. Hence, we
reject this idea out of hand. :)
2. 2S? Not a bad choice, since it pinpoints our strength
and allows us to find a spade fit cheaply, leaving room
for slam investigation. The problem is that we might
well end up in a Spade moysian (4-3) fit and our minor
suit values are rather soft.
3. 2NT? Assuming that this is forcing, asking for a
feature, this will tell us about Partner's STRENGTHS
when we really need to know her LENGTH (support).
4. 3NT? Not a bad TERTEN ("Treat 'Em Rough, Tell 'Em
Nothing") choice but if Partner's Clubs are as bad
as your [non-existent] Hearts this will be perilous.
5. 4NT, Blackwood? Unthinkable. No fit yet.
Give up?
Alright. Time to do some rough calculating here.
If we figure that 2H is a one suiter with 6+ great
Hearts about 60% of the time what is likely to happen?
We will bid your Clubs, Pard will bid her Hearts.
We will bid your Spades, Pard will bid...her Hearts!
Isn't that what YOUR partner always does when you have
a void in hir suit? :)
Tossing caution (and sanity) to the wind, we save
2 whole rounds of revealing bids by leaping to 4H! Yes,
4H! Even if 4H is the wrong contract, our "preemptive"
4H call might just find one of the opponents short in
Hearts and we'll hear a VERY expensive sacrifice from
them. If trumps break we have to hope that 5H is the
limit of the hand. And, of course, there is always the
chance that an opponent will have length in Hearts and,
if this were Face-To-Face bridge, we'd figure out in a
hurry what those purple (i.e. REDOUBLE) bidding cards
are for. :)
Sure enough, the latter was the case. With H-J9652
and a side Ace behind the 2H opener, RHO doubles. You
mark that double "return to sender". The S-4 is led and
you get to see Partner's hand:
Opener:
S KJ92
H AKQ1083
D K2
C A
...opposite your:
Responder:
S AQ108
H void
D QJ3
C QJ9752
Oops. It turns out you had a 4-4 Spade fit after
all. Worse yet, 6S looks rock solid. In 4H redoubled
Partner surmises your dummy and says:
"Trumps on the LEFT, Pard!" :)
Nevertheless, 4H redoubled makes +880 but that
won't keep up with Jones' in 6S, making 980. Oh, well... :(
But wait! It ain't over yet! If that Spade four
is a singleton, might 6S actually FAIL?
Match Points West Pairs Board 24
Dlr: West Moogal
Vul: None S KJ92 South West North East
H AKQT83 Soloway Moogal SolsPard Kaltica
D K2
C A 2H! pass 4H
South North pass pass X XX
Soloway SolsPard (all pass)
S 7653 S 4
H 74 H J9652 Opening Lead: S4
D 9864 D AT75 Result: +4
C K64 C T83 Score: 880
East Match Points: 78.79%
Kaltica
S AQT8
H
D QJ3
C QJ9752
On a Club lead 6S is not so easy! If you ruff
in both hands, trying to set up Hearts, Declarer goes
down when a trump led leaves you one trick short of
a cross ruff for 12 tricks! Sure enough, 7 of 26
pairs that got to slam went DOWN there!
Another triumph for bad bidding! I had a
vision of the ever-gracious Paul Soloway shaking
his head afterwards and wondering: "Which one of
those two characters actually TEACHES bridge?
Surely not the 4H bidder!" LOL! :)
The beauty of all of this is that, while we
focus on this exciting result, we completely forget
the companion board (a part score, down 2, on which
we took a grand total of 4.55% of the Matchpoints).
Odd, how selective our memories are. :)
**********************
You'll find Kaltica (Colin Ward) doing his FireSide
sessions on Friday evenings at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Kaltica and Wintaka present classes on:
SAYC (Rainbow Series)
2/1 (Spectrum series)
Precision (Prism Series),
and other selected bridge topics (Kaleidoscope series).
They also offer private/group lessons and/or supervised
play sessions. Email Colin (kaltica@mts.net) or
Bill (btreble@escape.ca) for more information.
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
IN THE YEAR 1900
Now that we are in the Twenty First Century, it might be fun to
look back at the beginning of the last Century and see what it
was like.
1. The average life expectancy in the United States was 47.
2. Only 14% of the homes in the United States had a bathtub.
3. Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A three minute
call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
4. There were only 8,000 cars in the US and 144 miles of paved
roads.
5. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
6. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee were each more
heavily populated than California.
7. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the
twenty-first most populous State in the Union.
8. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
9. The average wage in the US was twenty-two cents an hour.
10. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
11. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
Dentist $2500 per year, A veterinarian between $1500
and $4000 per year and a mechanical engineer about $5000
per year.
12. More than 95% of all births in the United States took place
at home.
13. Ninety percent of all US physicians had no college
education. Instead, they attended medical schools,
many of which were condemned in the press and by the
government as "substandard."
14. Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a
dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.
15. Most women only washed their hair once a month and used
borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
16. Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering
the Country for any reason, either as travelers or
immigrants.
17. The five leading causes of death in the US were:
A. Pneumonia and influenza.
B. Tuberculosis
C. Diarrhea.
D. Heart Disease.
E. Stroke.
18. The American Flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the
Union yet.
19. Drive-by-shootings in which teenage boys galloped down the
street on horses and started randomly shooting at houses,
carriages or anything else that caught their fancy were an
ongoing problem in Dallas.
20. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was thirty. The remote
desert community was inhabited by only handful of ranchers
and their families.
21. Plutonium, insulin and antibiotics hadn't been discovered
yet.
22. Scotch tape, crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea
hadn't been invented.
23. There was no Mother's day or Father's day.
24. One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all
Americans had graduated from High School.
25. Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the
counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist,
"Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
regulates the stomach and is, in fact, a perfect guardian
of health."
26. Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine.
27. Punch card data processing had recently been developed, and
early predecessors of the modern computer were used for the
first time by the government to help compile the census.
28. Eighteen percent of households in the United States had at
least one full-time servant or domestic.
Can we possibly imagine what life will be like in another hundred
years?
========================================================