|
Fireside Chat
|
|
FIRESIDE CHAT SEPTEMBER 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Special Treats
Hand of the Month
Dealing With Dann
Bridge For the Club Player
Moogal's FireSide Log
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to the September, 2005 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@bellsouth.net.
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!
You can find current and past issues of this "FireSide Chat"
newsletter posted at our FireSide web site:
http://www.firesides.net/thechat.htm
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
MON 11:00 A.M. POOKA
MON 5:00 P.M.* BRIDGBOY
TUE 11:00 A.M. BRIDGBOY
TUE 5:30 P.M. WINTAKA
WED 11:00 A.M. FREDW3
WED 5:30 P.M. DIANEW
THU 11:00 A.M. POOKA
THU 5:30 P.M. WISHTRIK
FRI 11:00 A.M. BLUEBEE
FRI 5:30 P.M. KALTICA
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
(*starts 1/2 hour earlier on Monday night)
*******************
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 who attend. For
information about how to become a supporting member, please
contact Kaltica at kaltica@mts.net, Moogal at
moocake@bellsouth.net, 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.
We want to thank our commentators for their dedication and
caring. Please, think of them when you are thinking of taking
private lessons, paying a professional to play tourneys with you,
getting involved in a group session mentoring program... most,
if not all, of our commentators and contributors to this
newsletter are available for those services. Just think how much
easier it is to learn from someone who's already a friend!
*******************
All articles herein (c) 2005 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
In Remembrance
I'd like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the family
and friends of Patty Tappan (Patty), who passed away
August 3.
Patty was very well liked by everyone who knew her at
OKbridge and the Fireside Bidding Practice Sessions.
She was a long serving member of our Fireside Table
Managers group, and most recently worked with Bridgboy
on Monday nights.
Patty was a recipient of the OKbridge Angelfish Award.
Tuna is dedicating the Sept 11, 11am Tourney to her memory.
Please join us in remembering Patty on that day.
We will miss her very, very much.
Sara (believer)
(Please see Moogal's column for more information.)
********************
News from OKbridge and Tuna:
Starting Wednesday, September 7'th, and every Wednesday
for the rest of the month, the 2pm Mini will be followed
by the opening of a table labeled "MiniChat".
For half an hour, Tuna, Kaltica (of Fireside) or a guest
will moderate. Players of all levels are invited to
participate in a fun and informative discussion of
interesting hands.
This experimental service will replace the Novice/Mentor
Mini that used to take place on the second Thursday of the
month. Your interest will determine its continuation and
perhaps even its expansion to more sessions.
********************
LOTUS musings....
It's funny how the lessons we learn at Fireside sometimes pop up
in the strangest places.
I was watching some VERY good players not too long ago, and this
hand came up. I found myself applying one of Colin's favorite
techniques to this hand:
North
S J863
H K6
D AKT86
West C J4 East
S 4 S AQT97
H 953 H JT872
D Q95 D 73
C T87632 South C 9
S K52
H AQ4
D J42
C AKQ5
Dealer N (forgot to check vul!)
North East South West
1D 2D X 2H
Pass Pass 4NT Pass
5C Pass 6NT Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead, H3. 6NT making 6.
This was a team event, and at both tables East bid 2D, Michaels,
over the 1D opening. This table reached the small slam, the
other table stopped in a game due to a bidding misunderstanding
("Partner, I thought we played Puppet..."), which also made me
grin -- I'm not the only one who messes up conventions!
But at this table, I just found myself thinking: "Gee, if East
bids 1S, per LOTUS (Lower Of the Two Usually Stronger), it
changes a LOT of things! West will lead a Spade instead of a
Heart, Declarer won't know as much about East's hand, and maybe,
just maybe it won't be so easy to bring that slam home!"
Interesting that even though they didn't use the LOTUS philosophy
per se, West still led the lower of the two suits.
Neat stuff, thanks Colin!
********************
Some surfing fun:
Sometimes when I'm kibitzing at OKb, I'll click on various
member's stats to see what there is to see. A few weeks ago
I clicked on "Will", and saw this website address:
www.cardtabletalk.com
I enjoyed my visit to this website, and thought you might, too!
I asked Will if he minded if I included his website in my column,
and he responded:
"Hi Sara,
I would be delighted if you would include a link to
www.cardtabletalk.com in your newsletter. I was really pleased to
hear that you enjoyed browsing the site as it is a little quirky
and tongue-in-cheek in places (esp. the film reviews) so I didn't
know if it appealed to people other than friends or family! How
did you happen to hear about it?
I update it about once a month. I'd be pleased to get new
material for it (there must be some other films that mention
Bridge). Ideas for completely new pages would also be good. Maybe
when you send the link you could mention that feedback is
welcome."
I was just going to paraphrase his response, but he said it so
well that I hope he doesn't mind that I just used his words :)
********************
More browsing fun:
I often get 'lost' at our very own Fireside website, which
of course is Colin's work (and LOTS of work indeed!)
I thought this was a fun read:
http://www.firesides.net/gadgters.htm
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com or bb@wowway.com
===============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for these:
ONE LINERS!
I always wanted to be a procrastinator, never got around to it.
Somewhere, over the rainbow....that's where the airline will find
my luggage.
A police lineup is the only place where a man hates to be
introduced to his audience.
It may be possible to bypass all of America when the Federal
Interstate Highway System is completed.
Everyday is Saturday to a dog.
Microbiology Lab: Staph Only!
Editing is a rewording activity.
Help stamp out and eradicate superfluous redundancy.
It doesn't matter what temperature the room is, it's always room
temperature.
============================================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
THE ECSTASY AND THE AGONY
Bridge can be such a cruel game. Sometimes you do everything
right and still end up with egg on your face. I am reminded of a
story from many years ago. P.H. Sims refused to allow his team
to ever bid a grand slam in team competition because he felt his
team was good enough to spot any other team a swing on one hand,
to counteract when the grand slam might go down.
I was playing with a student in a knock out event and picked up
this hand:
S A1032
H 2
D Q109
C K10932.
Partner opened 1D, and over my 1S response jumped to 4H, a
splinter bid. Now it was up to me to see my partner's hand,
based on this auction. I can give her 18 points or so, with 4
card spade support, a stiff heart, and biddable diamonds. So
let us place a typical hand and see how our hand fits. If we
give her the spade KQ, diamond AK, and club Ace, that is only
16 in high cards, so this should be the minimum hand with a jack
or queen thrown in on the side somewhere. Opposite that hand,
I don't see many losers except for the heart trick.
Just to be sure, I ask for aces and find out she has all the key
cards minus the heart loser so I gladly bid to 6 spades. Dummy
comes down with:
S KQJx H X D AKxxxx C Ax
Our analysis looks pretty accurate, and partner did not let us
down. The opening lead is the ace of hearts, and the king
continued. I ruff and lead out one high trump, confidently
expecting to be able to table my hand, only to find that trumps
split 5-0 and I must go one down.
We bid to a 95% contract which would succeed if spades had split
4-1 or 3-2. Only reason was out to lunch, and they split cruelly.
Shrugging my shoulders we go back to compare and find that we
lose 13 IMPs on this slam hand, as they get all the way to 4
spades and only make 4! At least I made 5. But they take the
IMPs and we lose the match.
Now I know how P.H. Sims felt -- great bidding leading to the
correct contract, only to be punished by evil splits. There must
be a message in there somewhere, but I cant find it.
********************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide sessions on
Monday evenings at 5:00 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 Kaltica for this giggle:
Only in America......
do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of
the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can
buy cigarettes at the front.
do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet
coke.
do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to
the counters.
do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway
and put our useless junk in the garage.
do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of
eight.
do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well:
'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning
'bloodsucking creatures'.
do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
===========================================================
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
==============================
What's In A Name?
(by guido, with some assistance from believer and ian)
Are you tired of technical articles on non-simultaneous trumps
squeezes without the count? Do you fear this will be yet another
in-depth analysis of the advantages of Transfer lebensohl
compared to (Modified) Rubensohl? Not to worry. This will be
on something infinitely more important; namely, choosing
conventions for the best reason of all. And the best reason
is...... you like the convention's name!
So, let's get started as I know your heart is all aflutter...
If your only A's in school (or only B's, but we won't go into
THAT) was in Geography, you are in luck. There are many systems
and conventions named after their point of origin. Here are a
few:
Texas Pescara Club-Diamond Copenhagen
Nottingham Monaco Livorno Diamond
Roman French Club Bangkok Club
San Diego Precision Neapolitan Polish Club
There are many others, but, by far, my favorite is: South African
Texas. The geographic implication of this boggles the mind and
chills the soul.
Just in case you care, here is a brief summary of each
convention/system: (note: canapé is bidding a short suit
before a longer one).
Texas: Jump to 4 of a red suit over a 1N or 2N opening is a
transfer to the next higher suit.
Monaco: the world's first relay system. 1D, 1H, 1S all promised
a 5+ card suit. 1N: 18-21!
Bangkok Club: A variation of the Vienna Club. (big help, eh?)
Pescara Club-Diamond: Might be the worst system ever used in
World Championship play. Enough said on that.
Livorno: Strong 1D system with canapé and multi-purpose 1C
opening. (Leghorn in English)
San Diego Precision: Strong 1C with 1D opening promising a
4-card major.
Copenhagen: A method of showing two-suits in defensive bidding.
Roman: Great system. Canapé, multi-meaning 1C opening, next
suit negative.
Neapolitan: Forerunner of Blue Team Club. Strong Club with
canapé and control responses.
Nottingham: A really bad system only Robin Hood and the Sheriff
could love.
French Club: Monaco sans relays.
Polish Club: 5-card major system with multi-meaning 1C opening.
There are some wonderful acronyms. Clearly in some cases, the
inventor first came up with the acronym and THEN decided what
words it represented. Here are a few gems:
IDAK: Instant Destroyer and Killer (two-suited overcall structure
of the opponents' forcing club).
CRASH (or CRaSh): Color, Rank, Shape (transfer overcalls of the
opponents' forcing club).
MAFIA: Majors Are FIrst Always (method of responding to partner's
opening bid).
TrASh: Transfer And Shape. Overcall structure versus strong 1C,
2C and 1NT.
TONTO: Transfers Over 3NT Overcalls.
Some names are simply so descriptive or delightful they neither
can be, nor should be, ignored.
Wonder Bids - my all-time favorite: Over the opponents' strong
1C, you bid a suit. This shows EITHER the suit bid OR the other
three suits. In other words, you bid and the other three players
all wonder what your hand is.
No Name: A Polish forcing pass system. Gotta love the modesty
of it all.
Stone Age Acol with Paki Preempts (played successfully in several
World Championships): This makes No Name seem like it's
bragging,
doesn't it? By the way, Acol, NOT ACOL, was named after a bridge
club in London located on street named Acol.
Ultimate Club: Strong 1C system with 4-card majors and lots of
relays. Makes naming a system Precision seem modest.
Official System: From the early days of contract bridge. Hubris,
indeed.
Bludgeon: the most accurately named system in the world.
Invented and beloved by my partner, Ian Wilson. All bids are
natural, there are NO forcing responses or opening bids. A
blunt weapon, indeed. Please note, gentle reader, that except
for this and the next two listings, all bids in the article
have been played in World Championships. I won't even mention
Curried Fish Rot Relay.
SPAM: OK, it's an acronym, but I wanted to get all of the
non-World Championship offerings together. Stands for Strong
Pass Accenting Majors.
EHAA: Every Hand An Adventure. Passing in 1'st or 2'nd seat
DENIES holding a 5+ card major.
Noesse: A method for overcalling the opponents' 1NT opening.
Named after the inventor's dog (a Dalmatian, in case you care).
Walpurgis Diamond. That's May Day, by the way. A truly odd
system invented by a couple of Brits on May Day (duh!)
Lots of systems were named after their inventors.
Mitchell Diamond: Actually invented by his partner Sam Stayman
(ya, THAT Stayman).
Namyats: Stayman spelled backwards. 4C is a strong 4H opening
and 4D is the same with Spades. Actually, Stayman invented the
OPPOSITE approach (4C and 4D were the weaker versions of
4-of-a-major opening.)
lebensohl: Note the minuscule "l." Nobody knows who invented it
or named it. It certainly was not anyone named Lebensohl (hence
the "l"). The "sohl" suffix has become standard for specialized
approaches after the opponents interfere. Rubensohl is the most
well known addition, but there are so many of them that one is
even named YAS for Yet Another Sohl.
becker: Over the opponents' 1NT, 2C = minors, 2D = majors.
Named after its supposed inventor, the late, great, B.J. Becker.
When he vehemently denied inventing it, and said he won't even
play it, let alone take responsibility for it, the capitalization
was removed.
Romex: Stands for its inventor, Rosenkranz (a man largely
responsible for The Pill) and his home, Mexico.
Franz' Medium Club Relay: Not a bad system, but the name is too
long. Indonesian, by the way.
Carrot Club: A two-way club system (1C is either strong and
artificial or balanced 10-12). Named after its inventor's
nickname -- a Swedish redhead. There is a forcing pass version
called Carrotti. I can't play either system since I am bald.
There are more, many more. But this will get you started. If
you want a fun evening of semi-bridge, you might consider "Call
Bridge" -- everything is the same as normal bridge, except you
get to add one word to your call (call = pass, double, redouble
or a bid). For example:
One Roman Club
Two Acol Spades
Penalty Double
My favorite (ok, this is FAR off the supposed subject - blame the
editor for not blue penciling it) is One psychic Spade. Does that
mean you really don't a one spade bid? Or are you psyching the
psych (e.g., you have a normal One Spade bid). This game is best
played with chemical assistance. I suggest something foul
(Captain Morgan Rum will do).
********************
You can email Guido at p.paulfriedman@comcast.net
============================================================
SPECIAL TREATS
==============
WIT & WISDOM FROM OKB
Bezel 6/2005
(Taken randomly, as they tickle our fancy, from OKb stats)
Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should
relax and get used to it. Robert A. Heinlein
Snotty, obnoxious, know-it-alls needed at once!
Where is the hand you had in the bidding?
This is an age in which one cannot find common sense without a
search warrant.
Life is short. Dance naked.
Please ask to sit. Beware: Jumpers will be electrocuted.
"Think" is not part of my bridge vocabulary.
Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.
Argue if you must, but remember I'm right.
Positive people PLEASE don't ruin my misery.
Overbids and underplays regularly.
I hope I am better in bed.
********************
If you have a "Special Treats" story you'd like to share with us,
we'd love to include it in one of our future issues! Just send
it to Sara at sarastobbe@aol.com or to Janice at
moocake@bellsouth.net. Don't worry about it being "perfect" --
we'll fix it! Just type it up and send it :)
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Kaltica for this giggle, too :)
EVER WONDER --
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and
dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush
hour?
Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
You know that indestructible black box that is used on
airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of
that stuff?!
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck
together?
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of
progress?
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the
terminal?
============================================================
HAND OF THE MONTH
=================
This month we are thrilled to present our 'Hand of the Month'
feature, with a big "thank you" to Gail Wix for formatting it for
us.
>From The 2005 Daily Bridge Calendar. For more information call
1-888-453-1976, or email: calendar@interlog.com.
This month our HOM is by guest contributor Tim Bourke.
"Tim Bourke of Australia has won 10 national titles. He is a
noted bridge book collector, the co-author of five books, and a
regular contributor to bridge magazines and the 'The Official
Encyclopedia of Bridge'." [Bio from the 2005 Daily Bridge
Calendar.]
********************
Vul: E/W North
Dlr: W S Q73
H KQT53
D 852
C 62
South
S KJ9
H AJ
D AQ3
C A8543
West North East South
1S P P 2NT
P 3D* P 3H
P 3NT All pass
*Transfer
Opening Lead S5
A balancing 2NT promises a flat hand of around 19 to 20 points,
not a minor two-suited hand. North transferred to hearts with
his 3D bid, promising five or more hearts, and offered a choice
of 3NT or 4H with his rebid.
The contract is quite a sound one. Can anything go wrong? Can
you make certain of your contract?
********************
S Q73
H KQT53
D 852
C 62
S AT852 S 64
H 4 H 98762
D KJT6 D 974
C K97 C QJT
S KJ9
H AJ
D AQ3
C A8543
Contract: 3NT Lead: S5
********************
If hearts are no worse than 4-2, you have nine certain tricks --
two spades, five hearts (you could overtake the HJ) and the
minor-suit aces.
However, when the hearts are as shown, problem will occur if you
choose to win the first trick cheaply with the S9. At such time
as you lead the SJ towards dummy this West will step up smartly
with the SA and return a third spade, leaving you short of the
nine tricks you need. If, on the other hand, you overtake the HJ
with the HK and cash two more hearts, the defenders will take two
club tricks and one in each of the other suits.
Winning the first trick with the SK, cashing the HA and HJ, then
leading the S9 avoids these problems. Whether West plays high or
low, dummy's SQ will provide an entry for you to enjoy dummy's
three heart winners and make nine tricks.
As West is certain to have SA this plan guarantees nine tricks.
********************
Hand and analysis by Tim Bourke, courtesy of the Daily Bridge
Calendar, published by Ashlar House Inc., Brampton, ON, Canada.
Reprinted with permission. (Special thanks to Lee Daugherty and
Dann Kramer.)
===========================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pringle for this giggle:
Although many men in our rural area have difficulty accepting
women's lib, my husband helps with the housework. One day he took
over the vacuuming while I went to the store. The doorbell rang.
It was one of his friends, a burly ranch foreman clad in a
battered cowboy hat, faded jeans and worn boots. "I was just
cleaning," my husband said somewhat abashed, turning off the
vacuum.
The rancher looked relieved. "That's all right," he said gruffly,
handing my husband a white paper bag. "I'm delivering Avon!"
============================================================
DEALING WITH DANN
=================
{Special thanks to Frodo for her efforts on my behalf
in editing this article! -- Sara}
Playing IMPs
Getting good results at the bridge table means we must consider
the form of scoring that we are playing. When we first learn
bridge, Match Points (MPs) is the most common type of play.
Oftentimes we develop some bad habits before we play IMPs. In
IMPs we NEVER risk a contract for an overtrick, whereas at MPs if
we don't risk the contract in search of an overtrick we won't do
well in the long run. In MPs a plus is what we are aiming for,
even when we have to offer a big number to opps to push them up.
Playing IMP we NEVER want to offer the opps a big number.
Putting it in baseball terms, we can think of it this way -
Playing IMPs we take a fielders choice, as 500/620/650 are all
pretty much the same result. At MPs we need the double play! We
must maximize all plus scores. If 650 is there, we refuse 500 and
bid on to the 5 level.
IMPs allows for more aggressive defence. If we can picture the
hand pard needs to beat a contract, then play partner to hold
that hand! A small minus doesn't have an earth shattering effect
on your score, as -110/-120/-130/-140 are all about the same
score in IMP play. In MPs there might be a 100% difference in
that range, top versus bottom. If we defend 2H to set it and it
works, we win 5 IMPs, but if our defence fails and we give the
opps an extra trick, -140 vs -110 may cost 1 or 0 IMPs, so odds
are 5-1 at worst to try and set the contract.
Now that I've broached odds, let's look at bidding games at IMPs.
The usual discussion is about vulnerable games. A vulnerable game
bonus is 500, and we assume that close games make half the time.
As our declarer play improves, the odds to make are actually
better if we can squeeze opps or take advantage of poor defence.
If we score 620 once versus 170, we win 450 points, which
translates to 10 IMPs. If the field plays in game, we push the
board, versus losing 10 IMPs when we only score plus 170. Now the
pessimist asks, what if only 3 makes? Why do we have to take that
push to 4? If we get 140, and the rest of the field goes minus
100, 140 plus 100 equals 240, or 6 IMPs, making the odds 10-6 in
favor of bidding. If we are sure of our "no game" conviction,
then fine - don't bid it. But with any doubt, note the reward is
5-3 for bidders.
Now let's look at games. Very few places that discuss IMPs
scoring cover non-vulnerable, despite the fact we are NV half of
the time. Consider a situation similar to the last example,
140/170 versus -50/420, a difference of 190 or 5 IMPs for non
game bidders, and 250 or 6 imps for game bidders, assuming their
position wins. So, when non-vulnerable, the odds still favour
the bidders at 6/5, though not as strongly as the 5/3 odds for a
vulnerable game. Bidders still have the best odds.
At close slams, we find similar rewards. We risk our games
(450/650) for a slightly larger bonus, (500/750). Non-vulnerable,
the difference between 480 and 980 is 500, or 11 IMPs, and
between 450 and minus 50 is 500, also 11 IMPs. This means the
odds are EVEN for trying non-vulnerable slams. When vulnerable,
680 versus 1430 equals 750, or 13 IMPs, whereas 650 versus minus
100 is 750, or 13 IMPS again. The payoff for slams is 50%. The
lesson here is that in slam bidding, vulnerability doesn't
matter, but we want the odds of making to be better than 50% to
justify the risk.
But regardless of the odds, there is no substitute for being
right - in either form of scoring! Whether we are talking games,
part scores, or a 99% slam, if it doesn't make we don't want to
be there. Similarly, if there are 12 tricks in a hand we want
to be in slam, even if the odds are 1% and we have to listen to
the opps whine and pard complain - we want the slam bonus! So, in
the trenches, there is no substitute for being right, but if we
aren't blessed by the Card God's whispering in our ear, we should
strive to follow the odds.
Push at any sniff of a vulnerable game. Non-vulnerable, we want a
reason to bid game (any reason is okay).
When balancing, don't be too aggressive and never double without
good reason (trump tricks, or a preponderance of aces/kings and
small trumps to draw trump). We cannot risk a partial bid being
doubled into game and making.
As stated before, we are rewarded for setting partials, and not
punished if we allow overtricks in the process. So always defend
to set the contract - don't worry about the cost. The same goes
for defending to set games, with little worry about overtricks if
we cannot set the contract. Hopefully, this gives added insight
to playing IMP scoring so we can tailor our game to the scoring
method in use.
********************
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: pspeard@telusplanet.net
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pringle for this giggle, too!
My older son loves school, but his younger brother absolutely
hates it.
One weekend, he cried and fretted and tried every excuse not to
go back on Monday.
Sunday morning, on the way home from church, the crying and
whining built to a crescendo. At the end of my rope, I finally
stopped the car, and explained, "Honey, it's the law. If you
don't go to school, they'll put Mommy in jail."
He looked at me, thought a moment, then asked, "How long would
you have to stay?"
============================================================
BRIDGE FOR THE CLUB PLAYER
==========================
Some Thoughts on Opening Leads
The bidding is over. Now it is time to play and defend the hand.
The defenders go first. The defense begins with the opening
lead, and can set the entire tone of the defense. The play of the
hand may depend on the opening lead. Sometimes there is only ONE
opening lead that can set a contract, and my partner usually
expects me to divine it. Sometimes there is only ONE opening
lead that allows a contract to make, and some days it seems I
ALWAYS find that one!
The point is, the opening lead is IMPORTANT. And yet, many
(most?) of us barely study or even think much about the
science/art of opening leads. So allow me to help a bit.
Before selecting the opening lead, get into the following habits:
--Review the bidding.*
--Ask yourself how the play will likely proceed.
--Review the bidding.*
--Decide whether "active" or "passive" defense is called
for.
--Review the bidding.*
*Hey, I have an idea! How about listening to the bidding DURING
the auction!
When selecting the lead, ask yourself this: what lead is most
likely to either 1) foul up the declarer's (likely) plans, or 2)
not give anything away? Remember, NOBODY guesses right all the
time.
"Good" leads (against suits):
--AK combinations. (Attributed variously to Hardy, Kantar, and
Kaplan: "If I don't lead the suit, it means I don't HAVE both
the A and K...") Side note: usually, this is not the trump
suit.
--Other sequences such as KQ(J), QJ(T) can be good also. If it
the opponents' suit, though, that may be the WORST lead.
--Singletons. (Usually in an UNBID suit -- especially with a
bad hand, which means that partner hopefully has the necessary
entries to be useful and give you your ruff.)
--Partner's bid suit.
--The suit partner made a lead-directing double for you to lead.
--The unbid suit.
--When you (or your partner) has long trump, the best defense is
usually to try and get YOUR long suit going to force the
declarer to ruff and lose control. (I will even lead A from
AQxxx if I think this defense is indicated.)
--Trump. (Mainly when you either want to be passive, when you
feel that declarer may crossruff much of the hand, or
ESPECIALLY when you have honors to protect in declarers
"other" suit. Many consider a trump lead to be MANDATORY
(only second to AK) if the opponents' third or fourth suit
has wound up as the trump suit.
--Underleading honors (4'th best, etc.) ONLY when the defense
needs to be "ACTIVE".
--Leading from nothing when the defense needs to be "PASSIVE."
I want you to notice something really important here: Only the
first mentioned lead is not highly dependent on the bidding. A
good opening leader listens to the bidding, period. And, since
repetition of important concepts is the key to good teaching:
Only the first mentioned lead is not highly dependent on the
bidding. A good opening leader listens to the bidding, period.
I will even go so far as to say that many, if not most, players
would be better off deciding what suit to lead without looking at
their hand!!
"Bad" leads (against suits):
--Singleton trump.
--Doubletons. Doubletons are bad leads unless you have a
legitimate expectation that you can get a ruff, which means
that you have a trump entry and/or partner is marked with
lots of high cards and is likely to get in enough times to
give you a ruff. Otherwise you are likely helping the
opponents set up THEIR suit. (Obviously, if this is the
suit you are going to lead for ANOTHER reason -- partner
bid it, it is the unbid suit, etc. -- then you would go
ahead and lead the high one.)
--Underleading Aces! (Leave this one to the experts.)
--Leading "their" non-trump suit.
--Underleading honors (K,Q, or J) when a "PASSIVE" defense is
called for.
Leads (against notrump):
These are a bit simpler. While you must still listen to the
bidding, the usual idea in notrump is to get YOUR long suit going
before they get theirs going. The tried-and-true "fourth highest
from your longest and strongest" is frequently best UNLESS it has
been bid on your left. If it has been bid on your right, make
sure you have good intermediates. If you have no entries, try to
find your partner's suit. Otherwise, go passive.
If partner likely has nothing, lead passively unless you can set
up your own suit by force. For example, KJ9x(x) is a poor lead
if there is little chance partner will show up with the Ace or
Queen.
Entire books have been written on the opening lead. I assure you
I could go into much more detail. What I am hoping is that this
short article will help jump-start a better thought process and
help to develop some good leading habits.
Happy leading!
Jack Brawner
Trojanowl@aol.com
********************
Jack welcomes students of all levels for lessons.
Contact him for information at trojanowl@aol.com
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Another giggle from Pringle :)
A little girl asked her mother for a dollar to give to an old
lady in the park. Her mother was touched by the child's kindness,
and gave her the required sum.
"There you are, my dear," said the mother. "But, tell me, isn't
the lady able to work any more?"
"Oh yes," came the reply. "She sells candy."
===========================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
=====================
OKB Tourneys
============
Well done to all our Fireside friends who excelled in
the tourneys this past month!!
Sun Jul 31 07:00 PM Combo
Rank Team Score
1 sam143/wintaka 1.79
Thu Aug 4 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 imogene/jkm 64.58
Fri Aug 5 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 frank-1/sara2543 65.97
Sat Aug 6 11:00 AM Combo
Rank Team Score
1 gordon/imogene 67.11
Sat Aug 6 11:00 AM
Rank Team Score
1 gordon/imogene 73.81
Sat Aug 6 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
2 albertb/kitkat 64.06
Fri Aug 12 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 sam143/wintaka 3.44
Sat Aug 13 08:30 PM
Rank Team Score
3 albertb/kitkat 66.22
Wed Aug 17 04:00 PM
Rank Team Score
1 etsand/moogal 3.32
Thu Aug 18 04:00 PM
Rank Team Score
1 irshsetr/joge 67.42
Fri Aug 19 12:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 frangau/tuna 3.41
Sun Aug 21 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 cod/tuna 70.00
Mon Aug 22 08:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 jgu/tuna 72.87
Sat Aug 27 04:00 PM
Rank Team Score
1 jayne/Jim 65.48
Sat Aug 27 05:30 PM
Rank Team Score
1 sam143/wintaka 2.76
Some of our Flight B and C tourney stars:
albertb analisa arrow ask1 baol Birdie desiree dslt elgringo
flee fpdoc frank-1 gmeier grahamg hawes helen477 imogene jayne
jim judydee julie kitkat lee-1 luc macavity marlyse marys
neophyte netizen pollye potts riggin sannick tanis tcbm todd
************************************************************
FIRESIDE'S TEAM GAME
Our July winners are:
08-21-2005 TEAM TARA Tara, LM1976, Fredw3 & Eds
Visit our website at www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info
and lists of all our top placing stars. To get on the
email reminder list for these games, contact us at
firesider@aol.com - all welcome!
**********************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEY is now MINICHAT!
We thank all those who supported the Novice Mentor Tourney.
OKB has decided it's time for a change...and we think this
will be a great addition to the learning opportunities that
make OKB such a wonderful site for our novice and intermediate
friends. Every Wednesday, for at least the next month, the 2PM
Pacific time tourney will be followed by an informative session
in which an experienced player (Tuna, Kaltica and others)
discuss the interesting hands from that tourney.
Are you hesitant to play in a regular tourney? Don't be! Grab
your favorite partner and PLAY! Most of the tourney players
are pleasant (and don't forget to change your flight to be
eligible for pond points at each level...A, B, and C.) Worried
that your score will be 'embarrassing'? Trust me, don't worry
about that! :)
So starting September 7, play in the Wednesday, 2PM tourney,
do your best, have fun, and join table MiniChat when the mini
is over!
**********************************************************
It breaks my heart to have to tell you about the death of our
very own PATTY Tappan. A wonderful friend to all of us, and
a dependable and talented table manager for many years, most
recently for Bridgboy on Monday nights. Even after she
decided to spend her bridge time at her local club, she still
showed her dedicated support for Fireside by continuing to be
a table manager....right up until the day she went into the
hospital for the last time.
Her club webpage is currently dedicated to her memory
http://www.bridgephoenix.com/
Jayne added the following:
"The bridge people in her club will certainly miss her. The
Director told me that he did not know of anyone who was not
fond of Patty. That she was soooo nice to everyone...played
partners with anyone and made them feel wonderful (that is a
gift). She did the club newsletter and the Unit newsletters.
She did two Unit and one club website. They had a Patty Party
when she made LM. The pictures of it are online and people from
all over the valley came. She had told me how thrilling it had
been. She touched a lot of lives..."
Patty also was very proud of her Angelfish award, and I cannot
think of a more deserving individual to have received it. Patty,
we will all miss you very much, and we are incredibly sad to have
lost you as a member of Fireside, bridge partner and, most of
all, friend to all.
**********************************************************
Our thoughts today are with our friends who live in the Gulf
Coast. We here in Miami were fortunate to escape from Katrina
with minor flooding and loss of power, and now we now realize
just how very lucky we were. We are especially eager to hear
from D'Loye, who lives in Slidell, a city near New Orleans
that the news reports are saying was very hard hit. Her last
communication on August 28 had her and her children and
grandchildren moving to higher ground....we look forward to
hearing that she is safe and sound. If any others of you are
from that area...let us know how you are doing when you are
able.....we do care deeply about every one of our bridge family,
our hearts and thoughts are with you, and we send our prayers
your way.
{BREAKING NEWS: 9:00 p.m. Wednesday 8/31, we just learned that
D'Loye and her family are safe, and she is on her way to Tulsa.
Hope we see her back at OKb really soon! -- Sara}
**********************************************************
Congratulations to Bob (BRIDGBOY) who received his 2500'th
masterpoint is now a Gold Life Master! His achievement is
listed on page 66 of the September ACBL Bridge Bulletin. We
are very proud of you Bob....a well deserved level of
recognition for your achievements as a player -- we all
already knew you were a fabulous teacher!
**********************************************************
It seems like a long time ago, but I haven't told you yet about
our adventures at the Atlanta NABC. I played on "Team Houston"
with Eric (ETSAND), John (JHM) and Jonathan (JHARRISH). Our
first foray into competition was in the Baby Spingold (Official
name: Mini Spingold 0-1500). We had a great time, even if we
didn't play great bridge, and we made it into the round of 16,
where we staged a comeback and then lost the day-long match of
56 boards by 8 IMPs.
Oh well:) On to the knockouts...where we continued to play
mediocre bridge, but we enjoyed seeing old friends. We ran
into Bridgboy and Patricia, and got to spend several meals
with my old roommates Janie (BCCPAVE) and Laurie (BAGEL27).
Janie and Laurie won the last KO of their week!
It was fun seeing Howard (CAPTHOOK) who served as our
unofficial NPC (non-playing captain), giving us advice on
tactics and checking on our progress after each round --
thanks Howard, we really appreciated your support!
We had a fun dinner with Jim (JBOT), Judy (JKH) and Jim's
family -- of course Judy amused us with her newest imitations
of Jim's body language at the table when he is unhappy about
some aspect of their play.:)
And we were delighted to see Lynn (WISHTRIK) and get to see
her on vugraph in the main hall, winning the Wagar (Women's
Team Championship). Sadly, we never ran into DianeW, but we
know she was there also.
As always, the NABC is great fun...if you get a chance to
go to one, go for it!
**********************************************************
The Legend of King Arthur by Richard Pavlicek
Gather all ye knights of the bridge table! Sharpen your swords
and lances, and joust with this bidding poll. Just choose your
call on six problems from a past tournament. Perhaps you can
even guess the venue from my clues. Try it! It's fun.
http://www.rpbridge.net/8w49.htm
Results of the August play contest "The Man Who Bid Too Much"
will be posted September 3, 2005 at 21:00 GMT. For these, and
everything related to the monthly events, go to:
http://www.rpbridge.net/rppc.htm
**********************************************************
Welcome back from all your summer activities...it was hard
reporting some very devastating things this month, but we
hope for better days ahead. Hope you are all well and
enjoying your families, your life, and your bridge.
Hugs, Janice
**********************************************************
While we list the lessons offered by the commentators who write
for The Chat, we want to note that some of our other commentators
and newsletter contributors also give lessons in most shapes and
sizes....mentoring games, tourney play, partnership coaching,
just about whatever type of lesson you could envision.
Please feel free to contact any of them for lessons:
Colin/Kaltica kaltica@mts.net
Bill/Wintaka btreble@shaw.ca
Lynn/Wishtrik lynn@lynndeas.com
Dann/Pooka pspeard@telusplanet.net
Bob/Bridgboy bridgboy@charter.net
Diane/DianeW diane@walkersweb.org
Bernard/Bluebee Bernardh@btinternet.com
Fred/FredW3 Please msg on OKB
Nightowl/Jack trojanowl@aol.com
The lessons can be more affordable than you might think,
especially mentoring games. We think our commentators give you
your money's worth when you choose private lessons, and they
really value your business. Maybe you can hint to a loved one
what you would like for your next birthday!
***********************************************************
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF) series
have been automated for your convenience. You can take any of
the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on either of these
links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
***********************************************************
Have a comment you'd like to make about the FireSide program? An
event or announcement you'd like to share with the rest of us? A
question you'd like answered? Here's a great place for us to
visit every day and keep up with each other:
http://www.firesides.net/chatline.htm
********************
Can't remember if this is a Mentor Cup week or when the next
Fireside session is? Get the complete schedule of events at:
www.firesides.net/whatsup.htm
Bookmark this page, and check back often. You don't want to miss
anything!
For those of you who use a credit card to support Fireside, it's
easy now with PAYPAL! Go to:
www.firesides.net/support.htm
*********************
FIRESIDE UTILITY SITES
http://www.firesides.net/checker.htm
http://www.firesides.net/dealhand.htm
********************
And if you haven't had a chance to check them out yet, here are
some links to some of the quizzes that Colin has developed to
enlighten us:
www.firesides.net/staymantest.htm
www.firesides.net/sayctest.htm
www.firesides.net/sarctest.htm
www.firesides.net/spectrumtest.htm
www.firesides.net/bidstest.htm
www.firesides/net/IGITSAP.htm (Note that IGITSAP must be in
CAPS.)
Give them a try! They are fun and instructive.
*****************************************************
September Events: (All times Pacific)
=====================================
FIRESIDE MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME:
==============================
Sunday, 5:00 P.M. September 10. (no game Labor Day weekend,
and I have a committment on Sept 24)
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 firesider@aol.com.
MINICHAT TABLE
==============
Wednesdays, Sept 7, 14, 21, and 28 - OKb's new MiniChat
table will be available after the 2pm Mini for all who
would like to join to discuss any interesting hands from
the tourney. All players and specs from that Mini welcome!
Just join MiniChat table!
DISCUSS LIST
============
OKbridge 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.
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:
=================================
Interested in getting a mentor to play with you periodically in
your learning of this wonderful game? Please contact
tarsh1@mindspring.com and ask for a mentor.
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, 11:00 a.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
You can also go to the Fifth Chair Foundation webpage:
www.fifthchair.org if you have any bidding questions. After
clicking on the webpage, find the Ask Anything section. Write an
email to Lucy, and she will be most happy to answer your
questions.
********************
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@bellsouth.net
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Luc for this one:
Grandmas & Grandkids
An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was
sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo.
Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted
by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.
"You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl
in the line said to the little fella.
Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head. His grandmother
knelt down next to him "I love your freckles. When I was a little
girl I always wanted freckles, she said, while tracing her finger
across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful!"
The boy looked up, "Really?"
"Of course," said the grandmother. "Why, just name me one thing
that's prettier than freckles."
The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his
grandma's face, and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."
============================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
===================
On the Same Page
Some five or six years ago, I played in a Saturday afternoon team
game, and the opponents missed a decent 6D contract that comes
home for 12 tricks. We were gratified to learn upon the
comparisons that our teammates had bid the slam at the other
table. My partner enquired as to how the auction went, and sort
of rolled his eyes when they described the bidding for him. It
was clear that he thought the slam was reachable, but he'd have
arrived at it in a different way. I explained him to him
afterwards, "Hey, I only care that my teammates are on the same
page in the bidding. It doesn't have to be a logical page for
you and me, but if they understand each other, that's the only
thing that matters." He grumbled a tad, but wasn't charitable
enough to offer back the 13 IMPs we'd gained through our
partners' "inferior" bidding. So much of getting the optimum
results at the bridge table depends on interpretation: of your
partner's bids, of what the opponents are doing, of being able
to function in harmony when sailing in uncharted territory, and
so on. At the recent Canadian National Teams Championships,
my partner from the Saturday afternoon team game was a teammate
and on the upcoming hand, he and his partner had a bidding mixup
that was understandable but also the result of the lack of a firm
agreement.
West: S-KQxxx H-AK10x D-AK10x C-void
East: S-Jxx H-xx D-Jxx C-AQJxx
West East
1S 2S
3D 4S
4NT 5C
6S
The 2S raise by East was constructive, 8-10 HCP, and opener's 3D
was a help-suit game try (in this case a slam try). Responder
didn't have a bunch of help in the pointed suits, but was maximum
for his 2S raise and therefore jumped to game. West now assumed
a double fit and keycarded into 6S, not hopeless but a somewhat
tenuous contract, and with trumps 4-1, 10 tricks was the limit of
the hand.
Kokish game tries might have worked better on this hand. In
KGTs, a new suit by opener would be shortness and at least
game-invitational, and 2NT is a relay asking partner what the
cheapest suit is that he would accept a game try in. Using these
methods, opener could have revealed shortness with 3C, and
partner would decline with 3S, or opener could have instead bid
2NT and signed off at the game level when partner showed club
values.
Let's suppose, however, that you are using basic help-suit game
tries, with no fancy toys such as Kokish. How, then, do you
avoid the 6S result, or even the five-level. It merely depends
on accepting my contention that the only auction where 3NT is
suggestive of a final contract on a single-raise auction is:
1S 2S
3NT
If opener doesn't immediately jump to a notrump game over the
raise, any 3NT bid by either side would have a conventional
meaning. So we'd have in the above sequence:
1S 2S
3D 4S
Whereby responder should have fitting cards in opener's suits.
But we might have instead:
1S 2S
3D 3NT
And now responder is saying "I'm accepting your game try, but for
reasons other than a double fit in opener's suits." Typically,
he'd have a maximum and a good suit of his own. If this
convention were in use, East-West could have stayed out of slam
and probably rested in safety at the four-level.
In a later match, we had another hand crop up that was an
opportunity for a pickup but turned out to be a loss instead:
West: S--AK10xx H-- void D-- AK10x C-- KQJx
East: S-- QJx H-- xx D-- xx C-- Axxxx
Here are the respective auctions:
Table 1 Table 2
West North East South West North East South
1S pass 2S 3H 2C pass 2D 3H
6S pass pass pass 3S pass 4C pass
4D pass 4S pass
5H pass 5S pass
pass pass
Do I think the strong hand should be opened 2C or 1S? I'd
probably try and get by with 1S, but the hand rates to produce
game somewhere, so I wouldn't argue with 2C. At table 2, the
auction bogged down because opener wasn't sure if 4C was a suit
or a cuebid with spade support. When he bid 4D, now 4S might
have been a two-card preference rather than outright support.
West should probably have committed to a slam, but decided not to
go on.
As East, I would have jumped to 5S over 4D, to emphasize that
responder has outright support and values in the black suits.
That would have at least got the partnership to slam. How,
though, do we reach 7C, the best contract? (7S also makes, but
needs a diamond to ruff out safely). I'm not a fan of 3S by
opener, which implies the 2C opening was based on a one-suiter
rather than a hand that's playable in any of the unbid suits.
The player holding the West cards said he could have bid 4H
instead of 3S. If you're going to cuebid, I'd go one better and
try 5H. That commits to a small slam and promises TOTAL heart
control in a three-suited hand. Now East, with a fifth club and
the QJ of spades should bid 7C, as the grand should be cold
unless partner has lost his marbles.
Going back to South's 3H call, what should the partnership
agreement be for opener's actions at this juncture in the
bidding? Should double be takeout or for penalties? Is 3NT a
strong balanced hand or a source of tricks? What would pass by
West show here? The partnership at table 2 had some general
agreement on what to do if the direct seat opponent bid
immediately after the 2C opening, but not on how to proceed after
a 2C opening and waiting 2D response followed by action by RHO at
the three-level. Penalty doubles of a three-level bidder would
be few and far between unless Colin "Kaltica" Ward is the
pre-emptor :} My suggestion would be that double is for
takeout, new suit bids are one-suiters, pass is balanced with two
high cards in the enemy suit, and 3NT is either a source of
tricks or a balanced hand with only one stopper. Not many pairs
in the event reached 7C or 7S, although it seems there should be
some way of getting there.
The final hand is a defensive problem: As South with both sides
vulnerable you hold:
S-Qx H-K10x D-Qxxx C-AKQx
The auction goes:
South West North East
1NT 2D* dbl 2S
pass pass dbl pass
pass pass
LHO's 2D showed the major suits. You begin with three club
winners as this dummy appears on your left:
S-AJxxx H-Qxxx D-K C-J10x
Partner high-lows in clubs and discards the 2 of diamonds on the
third round, playing standard attitude on defense. What now?
Give partner a club ruff? Play a diamond anyway? Something
else? The clue is in RHO's 2S bid over partner's double. With
either 2-2 or 3-3 in the major suit, he would have passed, so
that the 2D bidder could have retreated to his better suit. Once
Righty bids 2S instead of passing, he must have longer spades
than hearts, probably 3-2 or 3-1 since partner must have at least
Kxx of spades for the later double. You should therefore shift
to the Queen of trumps. Even if it gives up a trump trick, that
will come back with interest because you prevent heart ruffs in
declarer's hand. The entire layout is:
North
S-K10x
H-AJ98
D-Axxx
West C-xx East
S-AJxxx S-xxx
H-Qxxx H-xx
D-K D-J10xx
C-J10x South C-9xxx
S-Qx
H-K10x
D-Qxxx
C-AKQx
If you switch to the Q of spades, declarer will be picked clean.
He'll win and exit the K of diamonds from table. Partner takes
the Ace and puts you in with the King of hearts to push another
spade through dummy. North takes the K10 of spades, removing
declarer's trumps and exits a diamond. Now East is held to three
trumps winners and nothing else, for -1400. North's discouraging
signal in diamonds forces South to one of the black suits for his
next play, and if he considers the inference from East's 2S bid,
that should lead him in the right direction.
That's it for now, see you again next issue.
********************
You will find Bill doing his FireSide sessions on Tuesdays
at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Bill is available for private/group lessons and/or supervised
play sessions. Email Bill at (btreble@shaw.ca) for more
information.
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Luc for this giggle too :)
A second grader came home from school and said to her mother,
"Mom, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.
The mother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool.
"That's interesting," she said "How do you make babies?
"It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change "y" to "i" and
add "es."
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Pass and Pull
Consider this auction:
You LHO Pard RHO
1H Pass 2NT 5C
2NT was Jacoby, showing an opening hand and Heart support. If you
only wish to compete to 5H you should do so now in this forcing
auction. Should you hold a stronger hand and wish to suggest 6H
you can pass and, if and when Partner doubles, pull to 5H. At
this level, at least, passing and then pulling your partner's
double shows extras.
Now let's consider this hand at IMPs with none vulnerable:
S- AJ92 H- void D- K9753 C- K964
The auction proceeds:
You LHO Pard RHO
1D 2D Dble 2H
2D was Michaels, showing the majors, and double implies an
interest in defending. While not a game force the double creates
a forcing situation; the opponents cannot be allowed to play in
2H (or anything else) undoubled.
Let us say that due to our minimum and our void in trumps (we'd
love to lead one!) we decide that we are not going to defend 2H
even if Partner doubles it. The question becomes:
"Should we pull NOW or LATER?"
That is, should we pass, hear Partner double 2H, and then bid
(either 2S or 3C) or should we bid immediately? Either way we
deny Partner the opportunity to penalize 2H.
At first, the answer may seem obvious. If we are going to pull,
doing so now should imply the minimum while passing first and
then pulling would suggest a distributional hand with extras.
However, when expert opinion was polled I was surprised to see
disagreement on this issue. Some keep the standard
pass-then-pull-showing-extras structure intact regardless of
level. That is, as long as the auction is a forcing one the same
pass-then-pull-shows-extras formula applies.
To my surprise, though, some experts play that the promise of
extras for a pass-then-pull applies only at the higher levels.
At lower levels the broader "free calls show extras" dictum
applies. What constitutes a "higher level"? This would be for
the pair to decide. Clearly, then, this becomes something to
discuss with your partners.
For this commentator, simplex signum veritae. Having to apply
one set of rules at one level and another at higher levels will
involve memory work and a crystallized definition of where the
two conflicting rules apply. Surely it is far easier to agree
that the same set of rules apply regardless of bidding level.
Thus, I would urge players of all skill levels to coalesce around
the notion that a forcing auction is a forcing auction and that
the pass-then-pull-shows-extras structure should apply in all of
them.
Why complicate a simple game like bridge? :)
**********************
You'll find Kaltica (Colin Ward) doing his FireSide sessions on
Friday evenings at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Colin is available for private/group lessons and/or supervised
play sessions. Email him at (kaltica@mts.net) for more
information.
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF) series
have been automated for your convenience. You can take any of
the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on either of these
links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pooka for these:
Daffynitions
Bath Coup - getting to use the tub before your roommate.
Doubleton - 4,000 pounds.
Dummy - (see below).
Partner - (see above).
Free Bid - all of them, once you pay your entry fee.
Gerber Convention - annual meeting of baby-food manufacturers.
Jack Denies - headlines about Marilyn Monroe's relationship with
J.F.K.
Key-Card Blackwood - an ingenious convention that allows you to
get to a grand slam off the ace of trumps.
Law of Total Tricks - recent Las Vegas ordinance to reduce
prostitution.
Quick Tricks - last-minute scurry by hookers to beat the
ordinance.
Negative Double - the one that gets wrapped around your neck.
Reverse Bid - an opening like "Club One."
Roman Discards - Caesar's trash.
Short Club - a private organization for midgets.
Splinter Bid - the only known way to become declarer with a
singleton trump in each hand.
Texas Transfer - relocation to a branch office in Dallas.
Trump Coup - triumph of Ivana's attorneys in securing a huge
alimony.
Trump Echo - a brand new casino in Atlantic City.
Vienna Coup - the mating sound of Austrian doves.
Wolff Sign-off - the ending of Little Red Riding Hood.
********************
Bridge Songs?
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Travel-with-Goren cruise that stops
in Havana, Tripoli and Basra.
It's Not Unusual - partner's scream after you misinterpret his 2
NT bid.
Monday, Monday - what you wish for after single-handedly blowing
the Swiss Teams on Sunday.
The Second Time Around - the usual occasion when your aces get
trumped.
Somethin' Stupid - whichever line of play you decide to take.
'Til the End of Time - normal duration before admitting your
bridge mistakes.
********************
Bridge Movies?
Bridge On the River Kwai - one of the first Goren cruises. a real
blowout!
Double Indemnity - removing all the redouble cards from your
opponents' bidding boxes.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - the source of the ACBL's new
motto, "Let's not be number 20,001."
West Side Story - what the appeals committee would not buy as
they ruled for North-South.
=============================================================
Fireside Chat Issues
|
F
|
I
|
R
|
E
|
S
|
I
|
D
|
E
|
S
|
Ocbober, 2001
|
November, 2001
|
December, 2001
|
|
January, 2002
|
February, 2002
|
March, 2002
|
April, 2002
|
May, 2002
|
June, 2002
|
July, 2002
|
August, 2002
|
September, 2002
|
October, 2002
|
November, 2002
|
December, 2002
|
January, 2003
|
February, 2003
|
March, 2003
|
April, 2003
|
May, 2003
|
June, 2003
|
July, 2003
|
August, 2003
|
September, 2003
|
October, 2003
|
November, 2003
|
December, 2003
|
|
January, 2004
|
February, 2004
|
March, 2004
|
April, 2004
|
May, 2004
|
June, 2004
|
July, 2004
|
August, 2004
|
September, 2004
|
October, 2004
|
November, 2004
|
December, 2004
|
|
January, 2005
|
February, 2005
|
March, 2005
|
April, 2005
|
May, 2005
|
June, 2005
|
July, 2005
|
August, 2005
|
September, 2005
|
October, 2005
|
November, 2005
|
December, 2005
|
