Bridge Magazine 2015-Dec

GREAT BRIDGE GIFTS FROM
MASTER POINT PRESS
THE BRIDGE PUBLISHER
The Great Bridge Scandal

Alan Truscott
In 1965, the bridge world was rocked by an accusation of cheating at the
world championships in Buenos Aires. The pair involved were Britains
Terence Reese and Boris Schapiro, two of the worlds best players. Now,
almost fifty years later, the true inside story can be told. Revised and
updated, this new edition of The Great Bridge Scandal tells the full inside
story of the Buenos Aires affair, in which Alan Truscott himself played a
central role.
25 Bridge Conventions for ACOL Players

Sandra Landy, Mark Horton and Barbara Seagram
This book describes and explains 25 basic conventions that you can
easily assimilate into your own bidding. Each one is clearly and simply
explained, and youll see how it fits in the ACOL system if you decide to
use it. Each chapter includes a helpful summary of key points and a quiz
with full explanations of all the answers.
New Pocket Guides

from Barbara Seagram and David Bird
The Pocket Guide to Even

More Bridge Conventions
The Pocket Guide to

Defensive Play at Bridge
AVAILABLE FROM CHESS & BRIDGE
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
BRIDGE
MAGAZINE
The English Bridge Explosion

In Septembers Editorial I suggested that all three
English teams would qualify for the knockout
stages of their respective events in the World
Championships in Chennai and might then go
on to achieve a place on the podium.
All of them achieved the first part of the equation by qualifying, but in the dOrsi trophy
England then lost a close match to their perennial rivals Poland.
In the Bermuda Bowl England, having secured a famous victory over
USAI in the quarters, lost a desperately close match against Poland,
and then did the same in the bronze medal playoff against USAII.
44 BAKER STREET
LONDON W1U 7RT
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email: info@bridgeshop.com
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Editor:
Mark Horton
Assistant Editor:
Christina Lund Madsen
Advertising:
Matthew Read
Photographer:
Ron Tacchi
Proofreaders:
Danny Roth
Monica Kummel
Typesetter:
Ron Tacchi
BRIDGE Magazine is published
monthly.
Online Subscriptions:
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Distributors
CHESS & BRIDGE LTD.
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Views expressed in this publication are not
necessarily those of the Editor. Editorial
contributions will be published at the
Editors discretion and may be shortened
if space is limited.
No parts of this publication may be
reproduced without the prior express
permission of the publishers. All rights
reserved. 2015
As has so often been the case, it was the Women who secured
a medal. After defeating USAI in the round of 8 and losing to
France in the round of 4 they beat the Netherlands in the third
place match.
It is worth noting that the only other country to qualify in all
three contests was the USA.
Stars on Parade
The ninth, and final, Night of the Stars, in aid of The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, The National Rheumatoid Arthritis
Society, Alzheimers Research UK and React is coming soon.
The auction to play with a star took place at Richmond Bridge
Club on the afternoon of Sunday 29th November.
The actual Night of the Stars, when the Stars play with their lucky
partners, will be taking place at The Royal Hospital for Neurodisability in Putney on Thursday 25th February.
Night of the Stars is a chance for all duplicate bridge players to
join together to raise money for charity. Everyone is welcome to
take part in this friendly event.
Bookings for the Charity/Auction Pairs are now being taken on
line. To book tickets, go to:
http://www.nightofthestars.org.uk/
The Night of the Stars 2016 will be in aid of:
The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
Alzheimers Research UK
React
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

The 2016 Stars so far:
from Norway: Boye Brogeland
from Denmark: Dennis Bilde
from Israel: Dror Padon
from Ireland: John Carroll
and a spectacular A-Z of UK Stars: Andrew Robson, Andrew Kambites, Ben Green, Bob Rowlands,
Brian Senior, Colin Simpson, David Burn, David Gold, David Price, Ed Scerri, Espen Erichsen,
Frances Hinden, Gad Chadha, Gary Jones, Graham Osborne, Gunnar Hallberg, Heather Dhondy, Ian
Pagan, Janet de Botton, Jeffrey Allerton, Kieran Dyke, Lee Rosenthal, Liz McGowan, Martin Garvey,
Martin Hoffman, Michael Byrne, Mike Bell, Nevena Senior, Nick Sandqvist, Nicola Smith, Norman
Selway, Patrick Jourdain, Peter Crouch, Peter Lee, Phil King, Rob Cliffe, Sally Brock, Simon Cope,
Stelio Dibello, Thor Erik Hoftaniska, Tommy Garvey, Tom Townsend, Tony Forrester, Victor Silverstone, Willie Coyle and Zia Mahmood.
EBU set to appeal

The EBUs Board of Directors have voted unanimously to appeal against the ruling we reported last month.
We wish them well, but are mindful of what C.E.M.Joad might have said, It all depends on what
you mean by Sport.
A Parliamentary Affair
The 41st annual match between the House of Lords and the House of Commons took place last
month, and was won by the team representing the Upper House, the Lords finishing 2940 ahead
and they now lead the series 22-19.
The event was sponsored by Lord Kalms, and organised by the two captains, Baroness Henig, and
Bob Blackman MP.
The Tony Berry Trophy for the best-played hand was judged by The Daily Telegraphs columnist,
Tom Townsend, and presented to Tony McWalter of the House of Commons team.
You can check out the deals, which were selected by Paul Bowyer, at:
http://www.ebu.co.uk/documents/miscellaneous/lords-commons/LordvCommons2015.pdf
World Women Elite

Englands Women took part in the World Women Elite Bridge Tournament for the Hua Yuan Cup in
China, which it featured seven world-class international teams, and a team from the host city of Beijing.
The organization and management of the tournament was flawless in every respect: accommodation,
catering, time-keeping, playing area and direction. The Chinese organisers not only managed to
raise sufficient funds from various sponsors (more than $700,000 according to unofficial sources)
but they also managed to maximize the impact of the tournament on bridge in modern China,
including media coverage and visits of high-ranking policy makers and sponsors, such as Ms Chen
Zhili, former vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress.
Bejing captured the trophy along with a first prize of US$30,000.
4
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

Fiona Brown and Catherine Draper led the Pairs tournament for almost all of 22 of the 23 rounds, but
the Netherlands Laura Dekkers and Doris van Delft crept past them with a massive score at the last round.
A major highlight was the visit of 70 school children and teenagers to the tournament, the majority of which were girls.
Approximately 70 schools in Beijing offer bridge as a part of their regular curriculum. A small
group from seven schools was selected to visit the tournament, sit down with the experts and
discuss bridge. The youngest were only eight, the oldest 15-16 years old.
Champions Cup
The EBUs staging of the Champions Cup in Milton Keynes ran like clockwork. The one disappointing aspect was the lack of spectators. On the day I dropped in my entrance into the BBO
VuGraph room doubled the audience!
21st Century Bridge

In this issue, we launch the 2016 Marks & Comments bidding competition.
Not only do we have a new bidding system, we also have a new Convention Card, which you can
find on Page 124 of this issue.
You will be able to find a link to the new Convention Card on our web site.
The Festive Season

In former times one would settle down by the fire after an over indulgent Christmas Day lunch,
armed a mince pie, a glass of something warming and a copy of the latest issue of Bridge Magazine.
Little has changed, except one is now armed with an iPad or similar device.
Wishing everyone a splendid Xmas, Ill leave you with these insightful observation:
Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the
heart.
Washington Irving
I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.
Bernard Manning
In This Issue
I
6 Problem Corner Ron Tacchi & Patrick Jourdain.
88 The Abbots Reads The Cards David Bird
7 The Second Best Exotic Chennai Hotel The

Editor continues his report on the 2015 World
Bridge Championships
94 Solution to Non-Prize Problem
GI 79 The Rainbow Bridge Club Alex Adamson &
Harry Smith
I
86 Test Your Defence Julian Pottage
December 2015
GI 95 This Months Video Page

I
96 Solution to Test Your Defence
97 Partnership Profile Mark Horton
107 Marks & Comments Alan Mould
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Ron Tacchi and
Patrick Jourdains
Solution to Prize Problem 309

Odds On
Problem
Corner
sponsored by
THE ORION PUBLISHING GROUP

Master Bridge Series
Non-Prize Problem
See Page 94
South reaches Four Spades after West has overcalled
the One Heart opening with Two Diamonds. West
leads a club. South wins and plays a diamond. West
wins the ace and switches to the jack of trumps. How
should South continue?
KQ52
Q
KJ2
K8763
8643
AJ542
8
AQJ
K 10 9 2
AQ 8 6 4 3
N
73
AK J 8
E
W
AK J 6
8752
S
6
A
Following a pleasing auction you arrive in 6. North
leads a club. If I tell you that there are no void suits
in the defenders hands, then what are your chances
of making the contract and what is your line of play?
You are 100% to make your contract.
Draw trumps, cash the ace of diamonds and cross
to dummy with a top heart. Now make the key play
of a diamond towards hand. If South follows insert
the knave, which gives you twelve tricks every time
the diamonds are 3-2 or the queen is onside. Should
South turn up with a singleton diamond win the
trick with the king of diamonds and now lead a heart
towards dummy and cover whatever card North plays.
If North plays small then the eight will allow South
to win but he is now thrown in to either give you
a ruff and discard or lead into dummys heart suit
tenace. If North had played the nine or ten then
you cover with the jack, either this wins or if South
has the queen then he again suffers the same fate of
being thrown in.
I did not disallow those entrants who cashed both
the ace and king of diamonds as they will still always
make the contract but they will lose an unnecessary
trick when South has three or more diamonds to the
queen and the heart finesse is successful.
Congratulations
Prize Problem 308.
From a small entry pool Michael Kaye had the good
fortune of having his name being on the piece of paper
Mrs T selected at random from her hat.
Look for Patrick Jourdains Problem Corner,

available from Chess & Bridge.
Email your answers to BMProb@vaupillon.com or send

on a postcard to The Editor, Bridge Magazine, 44 Baker
Street, London, W1U 7RT. Entries must be received before
31st December. The first correct solution out of the hat will
receive 15 of BRIDGE Magazine book vouchers.
6
December 2015
Prize Problem 310

Christmas Present
Q96
A K J 10 8 7
42
A K 10 9 8 4
A
K7
QJ85
A6
After the following five-card major auction North
leads a small trump as is the tradition against a Grand
Slam. How do you play?
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
2
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
2
Pass
4*
Pass
4*
Pass
4NT*
Pass
4
Pass
7
All Pass
5*
5
0 or 3 Keycards
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Editor continues his report on the World Bridge Championships in Chennai.
n the eyes of the voters, England appeared to be one of the teams to beat in the Venice Cup
and as you can see from the table below which appeared on Bridgewinners.
Denmark:
England:
France:
Italy:
Netherlands:
Poland:
Canada:
USA 1:
USA 2:
Brazil:
Venezuela:
India:
Jordan:
Pakistan:
Guadeloupe:
China:
Chinese Taipei:
Japan:
Australia:
New Zealand:
Egypt:
South Africa:
14 votes
82 votes
22 votes
3 votes
131 votes
11 votes
12 votes
66 votes
23 votes
0 votes
2 votes
1 vote
0 votes
0 votes
0 votes
52 votes
0 votes
0 votes
6 votes
3 votes
1 vote
0 votes
(3%)
(19%)
(5%)
(1%)
(31%)
(3%)
(3%)
(15%)
(5%)
(0%)
(0%)
(0%)
(0%)
(0%)
(0%)
(12%)
(0%)
(0%)
(1%)
(1%)
(0%)
(0%)
During the round-robin phase the Times of India revealed that the English team had a secret
weapon before the start of every match they dabbed themselves with a few drops of lavender oil
to help them remain focused.
We start with the best of the action from the qualifying rounds.
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
The Numbers Game
After 6 deals of their opening Venice Cup match USA I trailed Japan 13-23.
Board 7. Dealer South. All Vul.
J83
QJ865
A 10 7
2
J874
5
Q42
K73
E
W
K5
S
K J 10 9 8 6 3
K965
A Q 10 3 2
Q7
A 10 9 4
96
A42
In the Open Room Jill Meyers opened the South hand 1 and raised her partners response of
1 to 2, which concluded proceedings. After a spade lead to the ten and jack declarer recorded
ten tricks, +170.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Levin
Shimamura Wolpert
Sato
Pass
Pass
2NT*
Pass
1*
Pass
4
Pass
3
Pass
5
All Pass
4
1
Longest suit in an unbalanced hand with 11+ or Bal hand with 12-14/18-19.
1 with 3-3 minors, 1 with 4-4 minors
2NT
Game forcing
Splinter
3
4
Cue-bid
North led the queen of hearts and continued with the jack, declarer ruffing and playing a club to
the queen and ace. South returned the ace of hearts and declarer ruffed and played off her remaining trumps, North discarding in order the 6, 8, 8 and 3, South the 10 & 6.
N/S were playing that the discard of a high card in a suit was discouraging, which suggested
(barring some mendacity on the part of the defenders) that South held the king of spades.
Along with the two known aces that added up to eleven points, so declarer cashed the king of
diamonds and followed it with a diamond to the ten for a well-played +600 and 13 IMPs, handing the USA a lead they would not relinquish.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/orus29y
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Bid Up bid up and play the Game
The second round match between Australia and Poland proved to be primarily a bidding battle.
Board 17. Dealer North. None Vul.
K9873
K3
10 6
A Q J 10 7 2
K Q 10
A6
42
Q432
W
N
S
J52
864
8763
KJ5
AQ4
95
AJ95
10 9 8 7
Open Room
West
2
3
North
East
South
Ginsberg
Sarniak
Travis
2*
Pass
All Pass
4
5+ and 5+/, 4-11
Invitational with spade support
Baldysz
3*
North led the two of diamonds (second and fourth) and South won with the ace and returned
the nine. Declarer won, crossed to dummy with a club and played a heart to the queen and king.
North switched to a low spade and South won and played a diamond, Norths ruff and the king
of spades giving the defenders five tricks, +100.
After the diamond lead, declarers first problem is to decide who might be short in the suit. Would
North have led a diamond from J542? If you consider that to be unlikely then it must be long
odds (given the bidding) that the club finesse will be right. If declarer plays three rounds of the suit,
a spade can be discarded. Then the only remaining decision will be how to tackle the trump suit.
The one situation that could lead to the defeat of the contract would be for South to have started
with a doubleton diamond alongside king to three hearts, when playing the ace of hearts and a
top heart would see South win and put North in with a spade for a diamond ruff.
North would have to be 5-1-4-3, so in this scenario North would have to play the queen of
clubs on the third round of the suit in order to attempt to mislead the declarer.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Kazmuda
1
Pass
Lusk
Pass
1
2
Brewiak
Pass
2
3
South
Bourke
1
Double*
All Pass
North led the four of diamonds and South took the ace and returned the five. Declarer won with
the ace and played the ace of hearts, followed by the queen. North won and returned the nine of
9
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
spades, South winning with the ace and continuing with the jack of diamonds. Declarer ruffed
and ran her trumps. South pitched her remaining spades so when declarer played her last club
North was squeezed in the black suits and declarer had an overtrick, +170 and 7 IMPs to Poland.
Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
10 3
AKQ93
A87
K94
KQ86542
N
10 4
W
E
3
S
10 7 5
9
76
K 10 9 6 5
AJ832
AJ 7
J852
QJ42
Q6
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Ginsberg
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Sarniak
1
2NT
3
Travis
Pass
Pass
Pass
Baldysz
1NT
3
4
East led the queen of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace and played the nine of spades, East
winning with the jack and switching to the queen of diamonds. Declarer won in hand, ruffed a
spade and cashed the top hearts, soon claiming eleven tricks, +650.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Kazmuda
3
All Pass
Lusk
1
Double
Brewiak
Pass
Pass
Bourke
1NT
4
Missing game cost Australia 10 IMPs.

The problem lies with Souths second bid. Bidding 4NT would perhaps be the clearest way to
express the nature of the hand (with 4 being a reasonable alternative).
10
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
86
J 10 6 2
Q9742
AK J 8 6
AK 7
95
98653
W
N
S
3
Q7543
Q743
10 4 2
A K J 10 5
AK98
10 2
QJ
Open Room
West
North
Ginsberg
Sarniak
All Pass
1
Balanced, 11-14 or 17+
East
South
Travis
Baldysz
1*
North led the five of diamonds and declarer won in dummy and played a spade, South taking
the king and returning the ten of diamonds. Declarer won with the ace and played the seven of
spades, North winning with the eight and switching to the jack of hearts, declarer ruffing and
playing three rounds of clubs. South ruffed, forced declarer with the ace of hearts, ruffed the diamond return and played the king of hearts. Declarer ruffed and played a diamond and South
ruffed and had to surrender the last trick to dummys queen of hearts, -110.
Closed Room
West
Kazmuda
2
3*
5
North
Lusk
Pass
4
All Pass
East
South
Brewiak
3
Pass
Bourke
1
3
Pass
There is a case for East to double 4 partner is known to have a good hand and the 5-0 trump
break will surely be enough to embarrass declarer.
North led the eight of spades and South won with the ace and returned the two of diamonds.
Declarer won with the ace, ruffed a spade, played a club to the king, ruffed a spade, played a club
to the ace, ruffed a spade, ruffed a heart, drew trumps and claimed, +600 and 10 IMPs.
On a trump lead declarer would have to play the spots off, drawing a second round, playing
three rounds of clubs and then a spade. South wins, and tries a low heart. Declarer ruffs, ruffs a
spade, ruffs heart and plays a spade, pitching a heart from dummy. South, down to KJ A is
endplayed.
11
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 26. Dealer East. All Vul.
K 10 8 7
AQ
QJ95
J432
J754
3
K Q 10
AQ86
W
N
S
A4 3
8765
92
10 9 7 4
62
K 10 9
A863
KJ52
Open Room
West
North
Ginsberg
Sarniak
Pass
1*
Pass
3NT
Balanced, 11-14 or 17+
East
Travis
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South
Baldysz
Pass
1NT
West led the queen of spades, covered by the king and ace and declarer was subsequently able to
lead a spade towards the ten for eleven tricks, +660.
Closed Room
West
3
3
North
Kazmuda
Lusk
Pass
2NT
Pass
3*
Pass
5*
All Pass
4/5 M Puppet Stayman
1 0 2 Majors
East
South
Brewiak
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Bourke
Pass
3*
4NT*
6NT
Did South intend 4NT to be quantitative? That would be the logical interpretation, but North
elected to show her aces and the doomed slam cost Australia 13 IMPs, making the score 43-0.
Poland added a few IMPs over the closing deals, winning 59-7 IMPs, 19.34-0.66.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/oyausws
The Far Pavilions

The Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978,
which tells the story of an English officer during the British Raj. There are many parallels between
this novel and Rudyard Kiplings Kim that was published in 1900: the settings, the young English
boy raised as a native by an Indian surrogate mother, the Great Game as it was played by England
and Russia. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a
masterpiece of storytelling. It is based partly on biographical writings of the authors grandfather as
well as her childhood experiences in India. It has sold millions of copies, caused travel agents to create
12
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
tours that visited the locations in the book, and inspired a television adaptation and a musical play.
After many adventures, the hero and heroine set out in search of a paradise in the Himalayas
The Far Pavilions free of prejudice where they can live out their lives in peace.
In this match from Round 7 the teams representing Denmark & USAII were hoping to take
another significant step en route to the summit of the Venice Cup. The undefeated Danes, the
surprise team of the event, had so far carried all before them, but this would be a good test of
their credentials.
It proved to be an entertaining, albeit error-strewn encounter.
There were a number of transmission problems, so I apologise for any misremembered auctions or plays.
10 8 7 6 4
KQ743
AJ652
A K Q J 10
Q95
632
AJ 9 3 2
10 9
5
KJ643
KQ5
8
9874
A 10 8 7 2
Open Room
West
North
Deas
Bekkouche
1
All Pass
4
Spades and a minor
East
South
Palmer
2*
Rahelt
Pass
This was not a triumph for N/S.

One way to improve matters would be for South to double 2. Then North would bid diamonds over 4 how many is a matter for the individual conscience.
Another possibility would be for North to take some action over 4 bidding 4NT (perhaps
too aggressive) intending to remove partners possible 5 to 5 or simply bid 5.
North led the ace of diamonds and the defenders took the red aces and two trumps, one down, -50.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Bilde
4
Double
Sokolow RasmussenSeamon-Molson
1
2*
Double*
5
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Wests optimistic double was doubtless predicated on the hope that East would lead a club and
then have an entry to deliver a second ruff in the suit.
When East led the ace of spades declarer ruffed, cashed the ace of hearts, ruffed a heart, pitched
13
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
two clubs on the top spades and then tried to cash the ace of clubs. West ruffed and returned a
trump, but declarer could crossruff her way to eleven tricks and +550.
Declarer missed a route to an overtrick. After ruffing the opening lead, a top trump confirms
the suit is not 4-0. Trumps are drawn and then the queen of clubs leaves East with no good move.
If trumps turn out to be 4-0 declarer is still in no real danger.
With 11 IMPs under their belts (should that be Saris?) the USA gave Denmark a chance to
recover some ground on the next deal.
Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
QJ75
85
10 9
Q5432
AK83
A 10 6 4
Q5
A J 10
W
N
S
2
KJ972
AK J 8 7 4 2
10 9 6 4
Q3
63
K9876
Both teams played in diamonds.
In the Closed Room East was in 3 and could not be prevented from taking nine tricks, +110.
In the Open Room the bidding went 1-(Pass)-1-(1NT)-3-(Pass)-3-(Pass)-4-All Pass. I think
South led a low club and when North played the ten declarer ruffed and played the jack of hearts. If South
had gone in with the queen, declarer would have had no real hope, but when she played low North had
to win with the ace. When she played a trump declarer won and played the king of hearts. The appearance of the queen meant she could cash a top diamond and then give up a heart, +130 and an IMP.
Suppose declarer plays a low heart at trick two?
Now if South goes in with the queen and plays another club declarer ruffs and plays a top heart,
subsequently ruffing a heart.
If South returns a trump declarer wins in dummy either on this round or the next (depending
on Norths play) and can run the eight of hearts.
An initial trump lead should defeat 4 as long as North withholds the queen.
The Bronze Medal Winning English Team

14
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 3. Dealer South. E/W Vul.
AK93
J 10
J742
976
10 9 8 6
84
AQJ
AKQJ
W
N
S
10 8
AQ 8 5
K542
10 7 6
Q65
K432
73
9532
Both N/S pairs played in 3NT.

In the Closed Room East led the six of clubs and declarer finished with 11 tricks, +460.
At the other table, declarer received a diamond lead.
She won with the queen, took four rounds of clubs and then ran the ten of hearts. When it
held she turned her attention to the spade suit, cashing the ace, playing low to the queen and
then back to the king. Had she finessed the nine, the last spade would have been too much for
East, but now there seemed to be no chance of a twelfth trick.
This was the position when declarer played the jack of hearts:
J
97
10
9
J
AJ
N
S
AQ
K5
K432
To hold declarer to eleven tricks East must take the ace of hearts and exit with a diamond, West
collecting a spade at the end. When she played the queen, declarer could win with dummys king
and exit with a heart, forcing a diamond return that put Denmark on the board to the tune of 1
IMP.
15
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 4. Dealer West. All Vul.
AK643
10 2
762
Q92
10 8 5 2
AJ 7
A 10
K764
N
S
7
Q64
KQJ8543
A8
QJ9
K9853
9
J 10 5 3
In the Closed Room West became declarer in 3NT.

North led a spade.
It was the ace.
With the spades blocked declarer scored ten tricks,+630.
In the Open Room, the bidding went 1*-(1)-2*-(2)-Pass-(Pass)-3-(Dble)-Pass-(Pass)-5
All Pass.
As you can see, there will usually be twelve tricks as South can be squeezed in hearts and clubs.
They can only be prevented if West is declarer and North leads a heart, followed by a second heart
when in with a spade, breaking up the squeeze.
System having dictated that West start with 1, North was on lead and naturally looked no
further than the spade suit.
Declarer was on track for twelve tricks, but went wrong in the ending, +600 handing Denmark
their second IMP of the match.
A 10 3
Q 10 8 4 2
K
KQJ6
72
J
A 10 9 8 5 4 2
A 10 9
964
N
K53
W
E
73
S
75432
KQJ85
A976
QJ6
8
Open Room
West
Deas
2
Pass
16
December 2015
North
Bekkouche
Double
3
East
Palmer
Pass
All Pass
South
Rahelt
1
2
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
I am informed that 3 was non-forcing, but even so South should have done something over it. +170.
In the other room the USA sailed into 5 to pick up 10 IMPs.
10 4
K Q 10 6 2
A Q 10 6 4 3
96
872
N
A9 5
8743
E
W
87
KJ9
S
A Q 10 9 6 4
J75
AKQJ53
J
52
K832
In the Closed Room N/S stopped safely in 4 for +620.
Open Room
West
Deas
2
Pass
Pass
North
Bekkouche
2
3
6
East
Palmer
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South
Rahelt
1
2
4
N/S were playing an opening bid of 2 as constructive (10-13) so North was able to place her
partner with a decent hand and most probably solid spades. Had Souths king of clubs been a different colour, Norths decision would have been vindicated almost immediately.
West led the ace of hearts and then, incredible as it may seem, played the ace of clubs. Game
over, +1430 and a welcome gift of 13 IMPs.
Board 11. Dealer South. None Vul.
AK J 9 7 2
Q4
9
AK Q 8
10 4
96
J654
J 10 7 6 3
W
N
S
65
J 10 7 5 3 2
Q 10 7 2
5
Q83
AK8
AK83
942
Both teams reached 4.
To defeat it South needs to take three red winners and then play the eight of hearts, ensuring a
trump trick. When this did not happen in the Open Room USAII picked up 10 IMPs.
17
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 12. Dealer West. N/S Vul.
J 10 7
5
A9752
A Q 10 3
AK 9 8 5 4 2
N
AK 4
W
E
3
S
76
QJ73
KQJ86
KJ92
Q63
10 9 8 6 2
10 4
854
Open Room
West
1
1NT
North
Deas
Bekkouche
1*
1NT*
Double
All Pass
17+
Both minors
East
Palmer
Pass
South
Rahelt
5
Declarer was not hard pressed to score an overtrick, +950.

At this vulnerability South was surely bidding 5 in the hope that it would make. I think you
could offer long odds that South will have a void and it can only be in spades. Had West bid 5
N/S would have been doing very well to go on to 6.
Two pairs reached the slam in the Venice Cup, three in the Bermuda Bowl and two in the dOrsi
Trophy. Where the slam was doubled N/S racked up +1540.
I dont have the auction from the other table, but (and the reader may be ahead of me here)
the contract was identical, so no swing.
K 10 3 2
K84
A9 7 6 5
4
765
QJ972
2
A763
W
N
S
Q
A 10
KQ83
KQ9852
AJ984
653
J 10 4
J 10
18
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Open Room
West
North
East
Deas
1
2
5
Bekkouche
1
Pass
Pass
Palmer
2
4*
6
South
Rahelt
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
K 10 3 2
K84
A9 7 6 5
4
North led the five of spades and after South took the ace,
the ace of clubs was the setting trick, +50.
765
QJ972
2
A763
N
S
Q
A 10
KQ83
KQ9852
AJ984
653
J 10 4
J 10
Closed Room
West
North
East
Bilde
1
3
3NT
4*
5*
Sokolow
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
South
Rasmussen Seamon-Molson
Pass
3
Pass
3*
Double
Pass
4*
4NT*
Pass
5
All Pass
E/W were in the slam zone, but they stopped safely for 10 useful IMPs.
Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
K42
KQ653
AJ 9 7 5
10 8 7
J 10
10 4 3
A964
8
W
N
S
Q 10 8
A4
Q532
AJ 7 6
63
J92
K87
KQ952
Open Room
West
North
East
Deas
Bekkouche
Palmer
Pass
1
Pass
All Pass
Pass
4
Invitational with three-card support
South
Rahelt
3*
East led the three of diamonds for the seven, ten and ace and declarer played the eight of clubs.
When East went in with the ace of clubs declarer was back in the game.
She took the diamond continuation with dummys king and cashed the top clubs getting rid of
the losing diamonds. It looked natural now to play a spade, but declarer continued with the five
19
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
of clubs and when West ruffed with the eight of clubs,
she overruffed and played a heart. East took the ace and
tried the queen of diamonds, but declarer could overruff
Wests ten with the king, draw the outstanding trump
and lose only to the well-placed ace of spades, +420.
AJ 9 7 5
10 8 7
J 10
10 4 3
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Bilde
Pass
Pass
2
3
Sokolow Rasmussen
1
Pass
Pass
Double
3
Pass
All Pass
Molson
2
Redouble
Pass
K42
KQ653
A964
8
N
S
Q 10 8
A4
Q532
AJ 7 6
63
J92
K87
KQ952
The defenders did nothing foolish and declarer could only muster seven tricks, -200, but 6 IMPs
to Denmark.
The USA won 41-31 IMPs, 12.30-6.70 VP, becoming the first team to lower Denmarks colours.
The Raj Quartet

The Raj Quartet is a four-volume novel sequence, written by Paul Scott, about the concluding years
of the British Raj in India. The series was written during the period 196575.The Times called it
one of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction.
The story begins in 1942. World War II is at its zenith, and in South East Asia, the Allied forces
have suffered great losses. Burma has fallen, and the Japanese invasion of the Indian subcontinent
from the east appears imminent. The year 1942 is also marked by Mahatma Gandhis call for the
Quit India movement to the British rulers of India.
When I set out to watch the Venice Cup match between USA I and Egypt I was hoping to be
rewarded with at least four newsworthy deals.
K764
63
A5
AKQ83
AJ 8
Q 10 9 2
N
AK Q 9 8 7 4
10 2
W
E
KQ
J 10 9 8 7 4
S
9
2
53
J5
632
J 10 7 6 5 4
Open Room
2
20
December 2015
West
North
East
South
Levin
2*
3
Strong
Philippe
Double
Pass
Wolpert
Pass
4
Soliman
3
All Pass
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
North led the ace of clubs and switched to a trump.
Declarer won, took a second round of trumps and could
claim, conceding a diamond and a spade, +620.
As an aside, it seems clear that Norths double promised a club suit. That set me to wondering how many
pairs have a more complex defence to an opening bid of
2. Everyone does something special over 1, but my
esteemed colleague Jean-Paul Meyer suggested that less
than 10% of the field would have a specific defence to 2.
AJ 8
AK Q 9 8 7 4
KQ
9
I determined to check that after finishing this article.

Here is my suggestion:
Double
2
2
2
2NT
3
3
3
3
K764
63
A5
AKQ83
N
S
Q 10 9 2
10 2
J 10 9 8 7 4
2
53
J5
632
J 10 7 6 5 4
Transfer to hearts
Transfer to spades
Two suits of the same colour
Two suits of the same rank
Two odd suits
Diamonds or both majors
Hearts or the black suits
Spades or the minors
Clubs or the red suits
Closed Room
West
North
Hamdy
1
2
3
Meyers
Double
3
4
East
South
Badawi Zur-Campanile
Pass
2
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Having started with 1 Wests subsequent bidding was somewhat conservative. Its a pity she
did not bid 4 at any point as then we would have had an opportunity to see if N/S would have
found the paying save in 5.
It was 11 IMPs to the USA.
AQ7
J3
KQJ752
J3
86
N
K76
E
A 10 9 6 4 3 W
S
85
K J 10 3 2
A9842
A74
21
December 2015
954
Q 10 5
8
K Q 10 9 6 2
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Levin
Pass
Pass
Philippe
1
4
4
Wolpert
3
Pass
All Pass
Soliman
4*
4
East led the king of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace, came to hand with the ace of
spades and played the king of diamonds, pitching a club. West won with the ace and returned a
club, East winning and switching to the four of spades. Declarer won with dummys ten, cashed
the ace of hearts and played a heart to the jack and Easts queen. Back came a spade and declarer
had to lose a heart at the end, one down, -100.
Closed Room
West
North
Hamdy
Pass
Pass
Meyers
1
2
4
East
South
Pass
1
Pass
3
All Pass
West led the eight of clubs and declarer won with the ace and played the ace of hearts and a heart.
West won with the king and played a club, East taking the trick and returning the eight of diamonds. Declarer ruffed, ruffed a heart with the queen of spades, drew trumps and claimed, +620
adding 12 IMPs to USA Is total.
874
A K 10 5 4 3
Q95
J9
KJ82
K863
7
Q72
W
N
S
J62
Q62
6543
AJ 5
A K 10 3
87
A Q 10 9
10 9 4
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Levin
Pass
Philippe
2
Wolpert
All Pass
Soliman
East led the four of diamonds and declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the top hearts, played
a spade to the ace and ran the ten of clubs to Easts jack. Declarer lost a spade, a heart and three
clubs, +110.
22
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Hamdy
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Meyers
2*
3*
Badawi
Pass
Pass
Campanile
2NT*
4
2
2NT
3
Q95
J9
KJ82
K863
5-11 six card suit in either major

Forcing inquiry
Good heart suit
874
A K 10 5 4 3
7
Q72
N
S
J62
Q62
6543
AJ 5
A K 10 3
87
A Q 10 9
10 9 4
West led the five of spades and declarer took Easts jack with the ace and played a heart to the
ten and queen. Back came the six of spades and declarer played low, West winning with the nine.
West, no doubt fearing that the singleton diamond might be discarded on a spade, switched to
the two of diamonds and declarer won with the ten and returned the nine, covered by the jack
and ruffed. She cashed all her trumps, played a spade to the king and cashed two more tricks, losing the last trick to Wests king of diamonds.
The defenders had had no opportunity to signal, so unless I have missed something its not clear
how West can work out what to do.
That gave the USA another 11 IMPs and Egypt needed to score 17 IMPs in the last two deals
to collect even a fraction of a VP.
Board 31. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
K
10 9 6 3 2
843
J832
J 10 5
4
A K Q J 10
AQ96
W
N
S
Q98632
AQ J 8 5
96
A74
K7
752
K 10 7 5 4
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Levin
Pass
4
All Pass
Majors
Philippe
1
5
Wolpert
2*
Pass
Soliman
Pass
2NT
6
Looking at J832 and the K West was not tempted to sacrifice, but there was no defence. East
led the ace of hearts, immediately surrendering a twelfth trick, but a spade would not have helped,
declarer taking the ace, drawing trumps, pitching two spades on the diamonds and then playing
a heart towards the king. +1370.
23
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Closed Room
West
North
Hamdy
Pass
4
All Pass
Meyers
1
4NT
East
South
Pass
2*
2NT
5
Double
North led her trump and declarer won with dummys ace and played a spade. South went in with
the ace and cashed the king of hearts. When North discarded the ace of diamonds South knew
what to do next, two down, +300 but 14 IMPs for Egypt.
It was not quite enough, USA 1 winning 94-20 IMPs, 20-0 VP.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/p2b6922
Indian Summers
Set in 1932, Indian Summers is a tale of two communities. The British rule India, and in their
annual tradition, they retreat into the hills with all their Indian servants to stay cool during the
Summer. While the British gossip over gin and tonics, the Indian streets are brewing with calls
for independence.
The inspiration for the show came to series creator Paul Rutman during a family vacation to
India. His wife is Indian, and while they were travelling through Darjeeling they went into a
boarding house that had been turned into a very fine hotel.
The manager showed Rutman a treasure trove of old photographs of how it was in the 30s and
40s. The images showed the British dressed up and living grand lives. In the background were
their Indian servants, who did not look directly to the camera.
At that time, a minimum of 12 servants was recommended to run a household, and anything
less than that was considered unfashionable.
Coincidentally that was precisely the number of people involved in the production of the Daily Bulletin.
By now, I expect the reader is anxious to see what happened in the match between France &
Poland, so, turning reluctantly to the bridge.....
Silver Medal Winning USA Team

24
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
9
10 9 6 3
KJ63
A
A9 6 2
J 10 9 7
KQJ84
AK6
W
AQ 7 4
854
10 5 3
Q52
10 8 5 2
KQJ72
7
843
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
Double
Pass
Sarniak
1
2
4
Zochowska
Pass
2
All Pass
Baldysz
1
3
West led the jack of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace and correctly played the king of
diamonds. West took the ace and switched to the six of spades, East winning with the ace and
returning the five of clubs. Declarer won in dummy, pitched a club on the queen of diamonds,
ruffed a club, ruffed a spade, ruffed a diamond, ruffed a spade, ruffed a diamond, ruffed a spade
and claimed, +420.
Closed Room
West
Kazmucha
Double
4
North
Willard
1
3
All Pass
East
South
Brewiak
Pass
3
Cronier
1
4
South led the seven of diamonds and declarer won with dummys ace and played the seven of
clubs. North went in with the ace and played the jack queen and king of diamonds, South pitching two clubs and a heart as declarer ruffed with the ace of spades.
After a spade to the king and a spade to the queen declarer played the queen of clubs and South
ruffed and returned the seven of hearts. Declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the jack of spades
and played a club, North winning with the king for two down, +100 but 8 IMPs to Poland.
25
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
KJ3
A6
Q 10 9 8 7
Q3
6
A 10 7 5 4
10 9 7 3 2
J62
W
N
S
62
9542
Q84
K983
A54
K J 10 8 7
AKJ5
Q
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
1
All Pass
Sarniak
Pass
1NT
Zochowska
Pass
Pass
Baldysz
1
3NT
East led the six of spades and declarer took Wests queen with the king and cashed dummys top
diamonds. When West discarded declarer ran the jack of hearts and could breathe a little easier
when it held. She played a heart to the ace, a spade to the ace and cashed the king of hearts. The
appearance of milady meant she could claim ten tricks, +630.
Had East guessed to lead a low club the defenders would have taken the first five tricks.
West must have considered the possibility of bidding 2 over 1, but if N/S had then found
a route to 6 there might have been a heavy price to pay.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Kazmucha
1
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Willard
Pass
1NT
2NT
4
4*
5*
Brewiak
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Cronier
1
2*
3
4
4NT*
6
I like Souths 2, which eventually led to the diamond slam, which had the merit of being a contract that could not be defeated on the go.
West led the ace of clubs and when East contributed an encouraging three she continued with
the ten, covered by the jack and king and ruffed. When declarer cashed the top trumps the contract was dead in the water, -100 and 12 IMPs to Poland.
If declarer withholds the jack of clubs, East would have given count. If declarer had been able
to draw an inference from that, it might, alongside the overcall, have been enough to persuade
declarer to take a a winning view in diamonds. Tough, as Im sure you will agree.
26
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 22. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
4
Q876
A9 8 5 2
2
J9
10 7 6 3 2
K842
KJ98
W
N
S
J73
A9 5 4 3
65
A5 4
K Q 10 6
K J 10
A Q 10 7 3
Q
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
Pass
Pass
Pass
Sarniak
1
3
5
Zochowska
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Baldysz
1
1
4
West led her heart and the defenders were not hard pressed to take the first five tricks, three down,
-150.
I would have been tempted to bid 3 over 3, when North would have had an easy 3NT bid.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Kazmucha
Pass
Pass
Pass
Willard
1
2
3NT
Brewiak
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Cronier
1
1
3
No prizes for guessing which auction I prefer.

East led the seven of spades and West took dummys queen with the ace and switched to the
seven of clubs. When dummys queen took the trick declarer played the king of hearts, followed
by the jack. When West discarded the nine of spades declarer cashed the ace of diamonds and
then played the ten of hearts, East winning and exiting with a diamond. Declarer soon claimed,
+430 and 11 IMPs to France.
27
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 25. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
74
A63
K652
8752
52
AJ 6
A K Q 10 8
873
W
N
S
QJ9
J 10
J9643
K52
A 10 8 3
KQ94
7
Q 10 9 4
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
Sarniak Zochowska Baldysz
1*
Pass
1
Pass
2
Pass
2NT
All Pass
Pass
3
(10)11-21PC, 5+ or 4441 or 4441, 3rd/4th seat 4+
West led the five of spades for the four, jack and ace and declarer played off dummys three top
diamonds ditching two clubs. West ruffed and played a heart to the ten and queen and declarer
ducked a spade, East winning with the nine and returning the jack of hearts. Declarer won in
dummy, ruffed a diamond and ruffed a spade. The king of hearts represented an eighth trick, but
that was it, one down, -50.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Kazmucha
Pass
Pass
Willard
1
1NT
3NT
Brewiak
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Cronier
1
2NT
East led the queen of spades and declarer won with dummys ace and played the seven of diamonds.
The percentage play is to put in the ten (it delivers four tricks 85.9% of the time while securing
all five is 31.8%). Mindful that the defenders would be able to cash out for at least one down if
it lost declarer put up dummys king and ran the eight of clubs, hoping that the jack would be
onside and that the defenders would not be able to cash three more tricks in spades.
West won with the jack and returned the five of spades, East winning with the jack and continuing with the nine, covered by the ten and king. When West returned a diamond declarer won
with the ace, cashed the queen and then played hearts, claiming when the J10 fell, +400 and 10
IMPs to France.
The defenders were perhaps unlucky that declarer did not put in the ten of diamonds, when it
would have been much easier to defeat the contract.
28
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
10 6
Q 10 9 8 6
K83
A5 4 2
J 10 5
AK 6
K763
95
W
N
S
AJ 7 5 2
7
AQ 8
Q832
Q94
KJ3
942
J 10 7 4
Open Room
West
1NT
2
2NT
North
East
Reess
Sarniak Zochowska
1NT*
Pass
2*
Pass
2NT*
2
Pass
4
3
14-16 bal or semi-bal 5M ok, 6m ok
Transfer
Forcing
South
Baldysz
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Declarer was not hard pressed and she took 12 tricks for +480.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Kazmucha
Willard
Brewiak
Cronier
Pass
Pass
1NT*
Pass
2*
2
Pass
3
Pass
Pass
4*
Pass
3
Pass
4NT*
Pass
5*
6
All Pass
1NT
Bal 14-16 3rd vuln 4th 15-17 (may be unregular distr 5M;6m;54,singleton H)
Transfer
2
Cue-bid
4
4NT
RKCB
2 key cards
5
North led the nine of clubs and declarer won in hand, cashed the king of spades and played a
spade to the jack. South took the queen and returned a spade, leaving declarer with no real hope
of a twelfth trick, one down -50 and 11 IMPs to France.
It looks better to play a diamond to the queen at trick two. If it holds (and it would be very
hard for South to withhold the king) declarer can cash the top trumps and then play on clubs,
planning to ruff if the suit does not break.
29
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
84
A97
10 9 5 2
Q874
J6
Q J 10 2
74
KJ963
K Q 10 7 5 3
543
QJ8
5
A92
K86
AK63
A 10 2
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
Pass
All Pass
Sarniak
Pass
Zochowska
3
Baldysz
3NT
West led the six of clubs and declarer won with dummys seven and played three rounds of diamonds, East winning and switching to a heart. Declarer won with the king, cashed the ace of
clubs and played the ten, setting up the game going trick, +600.
As you have probably calculated, the club lead was the only one to give declarer nine tricks.
In the Closed Room West led the jack of spades against the same contract and declarer had no
real chance, eventually finishing three down, -150 and 14 IMPs to Poland.
However, it was France who edged the match, 40-37 IMPs, 10.91-9.09 VP.
You can replay the deals at: http://tinyurl.com/o42put7
Passing the Test

On Friday evening Dilip Gidwani announced at dinner that he had seen a well-played hand in
the Venice Cup match between England and India:
K Q 10 8 2
Q6
K
AJ 8 6 5
A974
9
J432
Q943
W
N
S
J65
K72
A 10 8 6 5
K2
3
A J 10 8 5 4 3
Q97
10 7
In the Open Room Nicola Smiths opening bid of 3 was passed out and she finished two down for -100.
30
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Open Room
West
North
Dhondy
4*
4
East
South
Sain
Senior
Pass
4
Clubs and spades
Chothia
3
All Pass
K Q 10 8 2
Q6
K
AJ 8 6 5
A974
9
J432
Q943
N
S
J65
K72
A 10 8 6 5
K2
3
A J 10 8 5 4 3
Q97
10 7
South led the seven of diamonds and declarer won with

dummys king perforce and played a top spade. North
took the ace and returned a heart, South winning with
the ace and returning a heart for North to ruff. Declarer
won the trump exit in hand, ruffed a diamond, drew the outstanding trump, cashed the remaining spade and came to hand with the king of clubs. This was the position:
AJ 8 6
J4
Q4
W
N
S
A 10
2
J 10
Q
10
When declarer played the king of hearts North had no good move.
Once North has ruffed a heart the hand almost plays itself, but there is no obviously stronger
defence. Perhaps best is for North to forget about ruffing anything and exit with a spade. Declarer
can still prevail one line being to win and play the queen of hearts, South winning and returning a heart, which declarer wins, ruffs a diamond, plays a club to the king, and then plays the ace
and ten of diamonds, endplaying North.
My curiosity aroused, I checked to see how many players had failed in 4. In the Bermuda
Bowl it was 5, in the Venice Cup 6 and in the dOrsi Trophy 3.
Gold Medal Winning Team from France

31
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Pakistan 2 Southern Hemisphere 1 Rest of the World 0
This deal from Round 13 proved to be one of the most fascinating of the event.
964
K54
A Q 10 7 5
J3
95
QJ98
K 10 8 3
K74
W
N
S
KJ3
Q982
A6 2
A6 5
82
A 10 7 6
QJ74
10 3 2
Virtually the whole field attempted 4 on the E/W cards, with varying degrees of success (only
an initial club lead is sure to let it make assuming declarer makes no mistake).
A few pairs attempted 3NT, but only three succeeded.
In the Venice Cup match between Pakistan and Australia this was the auction:
Closed Room
West
2
3
North
Dossa
Fuller
Pass
1
Pass
2*
3NT
All Pass
Checkback
4 and 3
East
Bokhari
1
1NT
3*
South
Biltoft
Pass
Pass
Pass
South led the queen of diamonds and declarer took the third round of the suit discarding a club
from dummy, cashed the king of spades, overtook the jack of spades with the queen and ran the
queen of clubs. When it held declarer played off the spades to reach this position:
7
J3
J9
K5
K
K7
W
N
S
Q98
A6
A 10
J
10 3
32
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
When declarer played the last spade North saw what would happen if she threw the king of diamonds declarer would exit with a heart and after cashing two tricks in the suit the defenders
would have to lead a club. Taking her best shot, she discarded the seven of clubs, hoping declarer
might play her to have started with the K1074, but declarer was not to be denied, and rather
than attempt an endplay she continued with the nine of clubs to land her contract.
Only two other declarers were successful remarkably in the same match, that between the
seniors representing New Zealand & Pakistan (which gives you a clue as to my choice of title).
The bidding and play followed a similar course with some variations.
At the table where Ibrahim was at the helm for Pakistan North refused to pitch a club, so
declarer exited with a heart to leave N/S choosing who would be endplayed.
When Stuckey declared for New Zealand, he pitched a low heart on the third round of diamonds. When he played the queen of clubs, North covered and after taking the ace declarer played
a club to the ten for ten tricks.
Here is how the teams finished:
1
DENMARK
2
USA2
3
USA1
4
ITALY
5
ENGLAND
6
CHINA
7
NETHERLANDS
8
FRANCE
9
POLAND
10
JAPAN
11
CANADA
12
AUSTRALIA
13
CHINESE TAIPEI
14
NEW ZEALAND
15
BRAZIL
16
EGYPT
17
VENEZUELA
18
GUADELOUPE
19
SOUTH AFRICA
20
PAKISTAN
21
JORDAN
22
INDIA
The quarter-finalists lined up like this:
Denmark v France
USA I v England
Italy v Netherlands
USA 2 v China
33
December 2015
304.11
288.03
281.05
278.87
277.73
274.12
274.09
266.55
259.58
231.86
219.79
215.65
200.28
190.64
163.79
160.70
141.71
139.02
134.88
126.27
95.47
91.31
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Having lost to the USA in the round robin, Englands first task was to eliminate their carryover deficit of 16 IMPs.
A3
KQJ
A7
A 10 6 5 3 2
K Q J 10 6 2
98754
N
73
A 10 5
E
QJ432 W
K 10 8 6
S
98642
95
KQ9874
Open Room
West
3
4
Draper
3
Double
Transfer
Cue-bid
North
Wolpert
2NT
4*
6
East
Brown
Pass
4
Double
South
Levin
3*
5
All Pass
North upgraded her hand (it rates 19.60 on the Kaplan-Rubens Evaluator) but when you do this
you run the risk of the club suit being lost.
When North jumped to 6 it seems clear she interpreted 5 as a cue-bid.
East led her club, and must have been surprised when her partner ruffed. The ace of trumps
was the setting trick, one down, -100.
Closed Room
West
1
1
5
Campanile
3
Pass
All Pass
2+
Transfer
Cue-bid
North
Brock
1*
Double
5*
East
Meyers
Pass
4
Pass
South
Smith
1*
5
6
East led a diamond, but declarer could win, discard a diamond on the ace of spades and draw the
missing trump before knocking out the heart ace, +920 and 14 IMPs to England.
34
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J9842
10 8
Q 10
6543
A4
AK Q 7 5
Q 10 6 5 2
2
W
N
S
K53
AK Q 9 7
J87
96
A76
J2
K93
J 10 8 4 3
Open Room
West
Draper
1NT
3
Transfer
North
Wolpert
Pass
Pass
East
Brown
2*
4
South
Levin
Pass
All Pass
Declarer won the club lead, drew trumps and just had to lose a spade and a diamond, +450.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
2
4
4
4
5
Campanile
1NT
2
4*
4
5*
All Pass
Transfer
Cue-bid
Last Train
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
Brock
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Meyers
2*
3NT
4*
4*
6
Smith
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Double
North led the five of diamonds and with the clubs not breaking declarer had to go one down,
-200 and 13 IMPs to England, who had more than wiped out their deficit.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/q8lytr9
All the quarter-finals were well contested. With one set to play the margin in France-Denmark
was only 5.3 but the French took the last one 64-21 to advance to a semi-final against England,
who had led throughout their match against USA I, winning by 41 IMPs.
Netherlands had beaten Italy by 71.7 IMPs, mainly because they added 51 IMPs in the fourth
set and they would face USA 2 who defeated China by 26 IMPs, having gained 42 IMPs in the
penultimate session.
Although they started with a carry-over deficit of 6 IMPs England must have been confident of
beating France in their semi-final in a training match at the end of August they had trounced
their opponents 433-245.
35
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Calendar Girls
In the country that plays host to Bollywood I had to introduce one article with a reference to a
movie made in India.
Calendar Girls is a 2015 Indian drama film released on 25 September 2015. According to director Madhur Bhandarkar, the story of Calendar Girls is 75% reality and 25% fiction.
The film focuses on five girls who hail from different regions of India, and who have been
selected to pose for the countrys most prestigious annual calendar, which is a joint effort between
business tycoon Rishabh Kukreja and his photographer friend Timmy Sen.
Who knows, maybe one day someone will produce a movie (or a calendar) featuring bridge
players.
The second session of the quarter-finals delivered a set of deals designed to give the players nightmares,
no doubt much to the delight of David (no part-scores) Bird, one of the regular BBO commentators.
In the match between France and Denmark there was no shortage of incident as spectators saw
the lead swing back and fourth.
A6
Q 10 3
K J 10 8 5 4
AK
Q7
542
N
E
A 10 9 5 4 3 W
S
K9
Q97
32
876542
KJ86
7
J9
2
A Q J 10 8 6 3
Open Room
West
North
East
Reess
Bekkouche Zochowska
2*
Pass
All Pass
Constructive 2 bid (8),10-13
South
Rahelt
4
East led her club and declarer wisely went up with the ace and played a diamond. West took the
ace and switched to the three of hearts, declarer winning with the ace, ruffing a diamond and
playing the queen of spades. The defenders could only collect two more tricks, +620.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Houlberg
2
All Pass
Cronier
1
2
Lund Madsen
Pass
5
Willard
2
5
There was no way to avoid the loss of three tricks, one down, -100 and 12 IMPs to Denmark.
36
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
K4
J76
Q 10 9 6
Q 10 8 4 3
Q
10 8 6
J86
AK943
W
N
S
A8 2
A9 5 2
10 4 2
J75
J753
K
AK9753
Q2
Open Room
West
Reess
Pass
Pass
North
East
Bekkouche Zochowska
2
Pass
3
All Pass
South
Rahelt
1
2
One of the simplest rules in bridge is that if you have an opening bid and your partner opens the
bidding it is incumbent upon you to ensure that your side reaches game. There is a lot to be said
for it even in these inflationary times, where everyone opens at the drop of a hat.
West led the ten of spades and with nothing at stake declarer put up dummys king. East took
the ace and switched to the five of hearts, and after winning with the king it did not take declarer
long to take the rest, +170.
Closed Room
West
3
4
North
Houlberg
Cronier
Pass
2
Pass
3
Pass
4
Pass
5
Spade stopper
Cue-bid
East
South
Lund Madsen
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Willard
1
2
3*
4*
As before West led the ten of spades, but naturally declarer played low and East won with the ace
and tried the two of hearts. That was +620 and 10 very soft IMPs.
37
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J75
A53
32
974
Q6
AJ 7 6 5 2
A8753
10 4
W
N
S
AK 6 4
KQ2
K J 10 9 2
K
Q 10 9 8
J 10 8 6
4
Q983
Open Room
West
Reess
1
2NT*
3NT
North
East
Bekkouche Zochowska
1
Pass
1
Pass
3
All Pass
South
Rahelt
Pass
Pass
Pass
Unwilling to respond 1NT West found an alternative. 2NT was a non-forcing transfer to clubs.
North decided to lead the jack of spades and when declarer ducked South overtook with the
queen and returned the ten. (Would you have found the double-dummy defence of switching to
a club probably not.)
Declarer won with the ace and played the king of clubs (playing on diamonds is best) followed
by a diamond to the queen and ace.
North played a third spade and declarer won and cashed her diamonds, South pitching her
clubs and a heart. When declarer exited with the king of hearts, North had only to win and return
a heart, but she ducked.
All declarer had to do now was exit with a spade, but when she played the two of hearts the
defenders had five tricks, -100.
If declarer takes the first spade and plays on diamonds the South hand will be torn to shreds
perhaps West had not read Patrick Jourdians Bols Tip on playing off your long suit?
Closed Room
West
North
East
Houlberg
1NT
Cronier
Pass
Lund Madsen
1
3NT
South
Willard
Pass
All Pass
North led the five of diamonds and declarer won with the six and played a heart to the queen.
When it held, she played a diamond to the queen, South discarding the ten of spades, and North
won with the ace and switched to the five of spades. Declarer took dummys ace, cashed two
more diamonds and overtook the king of clubs with the ace to play a heart, +600 and 12 IMPs
to Denmark.
38
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
KQ652
98
7
A6 2
6543
AK 8 7 2
972
J96
W
AJ 9
10 7 5
A K Q 10
10 4 3
10 8 4 3
KQJ43
J8
Q5
Open Room
West
Reess
1
2
3*
North
East
Bekkouche Zochowska
Pass
1
Pass
2*
Pass
3NT
South
Rahelt
1
Pass
All Pass
South led the king of hearts and continued the suit, declarer taking the second round with dummys ace, crossing to hand with a diamond and playing the four of clubs for the five, eight and
nine. When North switched to the two of spades declarer put up the ace and cashed out for a
well-played +430.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Houlberg
1
2
2NT
Cronier
Pass
Pass
Pass
Lund Madsen
1
2
3NT
South
Willard
Pass
Pass
All Pass
North led the five of spades and when declarer put in the
nine (as who would not?) South could win with the ten. She
switched to the king of hearts and when it held she went back
to spades, giving declarer no chance. Playing for a miracle, she
finished two down, -100 and 11 IMPs to France.
Bndicte Cronier
39
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 29. Dealer North. All Vul.
4
7543
96
A 10 9 7 6 4
KQ98
N
K J 10 9 6 2
W
E
J5
S
Q
A 10 7 6 5
A8
AQ74
85
J32
Q
K 10 8 3 2
KJ32
Open Room
West
Reess
2
Pass
All Pass
North
East
Bekkouche Zochowska
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
2NT*
Pass
South
Rahelt
1
Double
3
It seems clear that 2NT was intended as Lebensohl (it is shown as being alerted on the BBO
record) but it was not clear to South.
West led the queen of clubs and declarer took dummys ace, played a spade to the ace, ruffed
a spade, came to hand with a heart, ruffed a spade and exited with a heart, West winning as East
pitched a club. Back came a diamond, but West opted for the five, rather than the jack and that
cost a trick.
Declarer took Easts eight with the queen and played a spade. West won and played the jack of
diamonds but declarer ducked and West had to play a heart. One way or another declarer would
score her two remaining trumps, so she was only one down, -100.
Closed Room
West
Houlberg
2
3NT
North
East
Cronier Lund Madsen

Pass
Pass
Pass
2NT
All Pass
South
Willard
1
Pass
South led the six of spades and declarer won with dummys eight and played the queen of clubs.
If North had won this and played a diamond South would win and continue spades, the defenders eventually taking six tricks, but North ducked and declarer continued with the king of hearts.
South won and made the dramatic (and disastrous) switch to the queen of diamonds. Declarer
won with the king and played a spade and there was no way to prevent nine tricks, +600 and 11
IMPs to Denmark.
40
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 30. Dealer East. None Vul.
954
AQJ94
KJ76
75
KJ42
872
76
10 9 4
W
N
S
AQ 8 3 2
10 8 3
95
AJ 6
10
K62
A Q 10 8 3
KQ53
Open Room
West
2NT
North
East
Reess
Bekkouche Zochowska
1
2NT*
3
3
All Pass
Spade support
South
Rahelt
2
4
West led the seven of spades and East took the ace and switched to the nine of diamonds. Declarer
put up the ace and returned the three of diamonds, West winning with the jack and playing a
second spade. Declarer ruffed, played a heart to the queen, ruffed a spade and ruffed a diamond
with the nine of hearts. East overruffed and cashed the ace of clubs, +50.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Houlberg
Cronier Lund Madsen
2*
4
All Pass
3*
5, 11-14 hcp bal., 5332 (5422)
South
Willard
Double
As you will have observed from the auction at the other table using 2NT in competition to show
support for partner seems to have become de rigueur. Here it would have been game forcing, so
3 showed a weaker hand with support.
East led the five of diamonds (low from a doubleton) and when declarer put in the queen
West won and switched to the jack of spades, East overtaking it with the queen and returning her
remaining diamond. Declarer won with dummys ace, crossed to the queen of hearts and played
the ten of clubs. East took the ace and returned the six, but declarer won with dummys king, drew
trumps ending in dummy and played the ten of diamonds, claiming, +420 and 10 IMPs for France.
Doubtless you will have spotted Easts mistake.
She must duck the ten of clubs. She can win the second club and play a third one when declarer
cannot set up a diamond trick.
41
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
2
92
AQ 9 5
J 10 6 5
943
K3
A K 10 8 7 6 5 2
J4
74
N
AQ 8 3
W
E
QJ
S
10 8 7 6 5
K J 10 8 6 3
K74
AQ92
Open Room
West
3NT
North
East
South
Reess
Bekkouche Zochowska
Rahelt
Pass
3NT*
Pass
Pass
Double
Double
Pass
4
All Pass
Good pre-empt in a minor, 1st & 2nd positions
Norths opening gave South something to think about, but with possible undertricks paying only
50 per time she was happy to keep quiet.
With both majors, West took a very courageous view when she doubled. You can debate the
merits of a pass by East. Were N/S to stay put, leading the ace of hearts would ensure the defeat
of the contract (and two down is clearly a possibility) while if North retreats to 4 there would
be no compelling reason for East to bid.
If East is unwilling to pass then the alternative to bidding 4 is 4.
When 4 was doubled East decided to stand her ground (rather than try 4) but it was a veritable quagmire.
South led the ten of spades and declarer put in dummys queen and ran the jack of hearts. South took
the king and played the king of spades, covered by the ace of spades and ruffed by North, who played
three rounds of diamonds, South pitching two hearts then overruffing declarers five of clubs with the nine.
North ruffed the three of spades return with the jack of clubs and played a heart for South to
ruff. There was still the ace of clubs to come, 5 down, -1400.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Houlberg
Pass
Cronier
5
Lund Madsen
All Pass
Willard
East led the four of spades and West took dummys jack with the queen and switched to the five of
hearts, East taking the ace and playing a second spade. Declarer put up dummys king and when
West withheld the ace she pitched a club, cashed the king of hearts, ruffed a heart and played the
top diamonds, +400.
Suppose East leads the ace of hearts against 5?
Put yourself in Wests shoes.
Assuming in this situation your signal will have suit preference overtones should you signal for
42
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
a spade or a club?
By pure chance, I was in the VuGraph theatre when this deal came up in the match between Poland
and France. East did lead the A against 5 and West thought for some time before playing the ten
of hearts. East dutifully switched to a spade and declarer was not hard pressed to make his contract.
Denmark took the set 52-35 to lead 100-90.3.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/obud353
8
Q63
A 10 5 3 2
K973
A Q 10 9 6 5
N
42
W
E
QJ6
S
82
KJ42
975
K87
J 10 5
73
A K J 10 8
94
AQ 6 4
Open Room
West
2
2NT
3NT
North
East
Brock
Reess
Smith
2
Pass
2NT
3NT
Pass
4
7-12, 6
Enquiry
Two top honours in spades
South
Zochowska
Pass
All Pass
North led the three of hearts and declarer won with dummys ace and led a diamond to the queen
and ace. North returned a club and declarer Brock put in the queen, led a spade to the ten, a club
to the ace and second spade to the nine.
Two more rounds of spades came next and South won and cashed the king of diamonds, +620.
Closed Room
West
North
Willard
2
Brown
All Pass
East
South
Cronier
Draper
Once again North led the three of hearts to dummys ace.

Declarer led a spade to the ten, a heart to the ten, a spade to the queen and the ace and another
spade. South won and played king and another diamond, +170 and 10 IMPs to England, and
the lead at 10-9.
43
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
10 6 5
K64
AK 4 3
J3
AK 9 8
KQ6
10 5 4
9875
W
N
S
9872
Q95
763
A 10 2
QJ
A 10 8 7 2
QJ2
J43
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Brock
Double
Double
3
Reess
Pass
2
Pass
Pass
Smith
Pass
Pass
2
4
Zochowska
1
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Declarer could not avoid the loss of two hearts, a spade and a diamond, -50.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Willard
2NT
Brown
Pass
Pass
Cronier
Pass
3NT
South
Draper
Pass
All Pass
With little to go on North led the four of diamonds that

went to the jack and king, declarer continuing with the ace
of spades followed by the three. South won and returned
the queen of diamonds. Declarer won and returned the
nine to Norths ten.
She exited with the four of hearts, but it was declarer
who held the jack and when South put in the ten it cost an
overtrick, +430 and 10 IMPs back to France.
Fiona Brown
44
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J532
K Q 10 8
AQ 4
54
Q95
AK J 9 3
A 10 7 4
4
W
N
S
J753
KJ632
10 8 7 6
K 10 9 8 7 6
A92
8
Q52
Open Room
West
2
3
North
Brock
Reess
Double
3*
All Pass
Multi
Pass or correct
East
South
Smith
Pass
Pass
Zochowska
2*
4
East led the three of diamonds to the queen and ace and declarer played a club to the queen and
king. Back came the nine of diamonds to the ten, jack and a ruff. Declarer ruffed a club then
carelessly led a spade (better to cross to dummy with a heart and ruff the last club first) and West
could play three rounds of trumps, leaving declarer with a problem.
She could still get home by playing a heart to the nine, but when she played for the suit to
behave she was left with a club loser and a red face.
Closed Room
West
North
Willard
1NT
2
Pass
Brown
Double
Double
4
East
Cronier
Pass
2
Pass
All Pass
South
Draper
1
Pass
2
West led the ace of clubs then switched to a heart, dummys eight holding the trick. Declarer
played a spade and West won and played two more rounds of the suit. Declarer could only ruff
one club but the other one went away on the fourth heart, +420 and 10 IMPs to England as the
lead changed hands again.
45
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
AJ984
Q8643
A 10 4
AKJ97654
Q 10 3 2
N
K2
10 7 3
W
E
J9
A 10 7 5
S
J
96
8
Q65
K2
KQ87532
Open Room
West
North
Brock
4
Pass
Reess
Double
6
East
South
Smith
Zochowska
1*
Pass
5
All Pass
Opposite a passed partner, South did well to remove the double of 4.

6 proved to be ironclad.
Declarer ruffed the spade lead and played a diamond to the king. When that held she took one
round of trumps then led a second diamond to the jack, queen and ace. She won the club return
in dummy, ruffed a diamond, played a heart to the jack, and ruffed another diamond so that the
appearance of the heart king was not required.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Willard
Brown
Cronier
South
Draper
3
All Pass
Souths reasonable looking preempt did not turn out well.

North led the ace and anotherclub and declarer ruffed, drew the missing trump then ran the
nine of diamonds. South won with the king and played a heart to collect two more tricks for down
two and -200, but 15 IMPs to France. For the fourth board in a row the lead changed hands and
France led by 9 IMPs going into set two.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/o22f3sf
46
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J82
J63
K6543
98
AK 8
AJ 3
J 10 6 5
Q 10 7
W
N
S
Q 10 9 7
A2
943
K962
A
K Q 10 7 5 4
Q72
854
Open Room
West
North
Dhondy
Reess
Pass
1
Pass
All Pass
4
Good raise in spades
East
South
Senior
Pass
2*
Zochowska
1
Pass
North led the three of hearts and declarer won with dummys ace and played the seven of spades,
the ace coming up on her right.
South returned the two of diamonds and declarer won with the ace, drew trumps, and exited
with a heart.
Back came a diamond so she won and exited again, this time in diamonds, to force the defence
to open up clubs. As the cards lay, there was no benefit to be gained from the endplay and the
defence also came to a club trick, -50.
That was a good line of play, but as I mentioned last month, there is stronger one, which involves
playing on clubs and affords an 83.85% chance of scoring three tricks.
Declarer should start by cashing the ace; on the second round, she leads low towards the jack.
The bidding on this deal would have tended to eliminate the possibility that North had started
with a singleton queen of clubs, but this combination is worth remembering!
Closed Room
West
2
3
North
Willard
Brock
Pass
Pass
2
All Pass
3
5-9(10) 6
Good raise in spades
East
South
Cronier
Pass
3*
Smith
2*
Pass
Play followed the same line as at the other table, declarer taking nine tricks, +140 and 5 IMPs to
France.
47
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
842
74
J 10 5 3
J863
A 10 9 7 6
N
W
E
87
S
A K 10 9 5 4
Q3
AQJ8
KQ942
72
KJ5
K 10 9 6 5 3 2
A6
Q
Open Room
West
2
2NT
North
Dhondy
Reess
Pass
2*
Pass
3
Pass
3
Spades and another suit
Relay
East
South
Senior
2NT*
3
4
Zochowska
1NT
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Uncertain that West held five spades East rebid her hearts and when West passed the doomed
game was reached.
Declarer took the diamond lead and overtook the queen of clubs in order to discard a diamond.
She ruffed a diamond and played the king of hearts, but could not avoid the loss of four trump
tricks, -100.
Closed Room
West
North
Willard
Brock
2
Pass
Pass
3
One-round force
East
Cronier
2*
4
South
Smith
1
Pass
All Pass
North led the jack of diamonds and declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the queen of clubs and
ran the jack of spades. When it held she drew trumps and played on clubs for +650 and 13 IMPs.
48
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 29. Dealer North.All Vul.
72
762
A752
K742
AK 6 3
N
K3
E
Q 10 9 4 3 W
S
A9
10 9 8 4
A 10 9
K8
Q853
QJ5
QJ854
J6
J 10 6
Open Room
West
Dhondy
1
1
2NT
North
East
South
Reess
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Senior
Pass
1
1NT
Zochowska
Pass
Pass
Pass
Played by East a club lead against a no-trump contract is nasty, as it sets up six tricks, but South
opted for the ten of spades and declarer could win and dislodge the ace of hearts for nine tricks,
+150.
Closed Room
West
North
Willard
1NT
2
3NT
Stayman
Brock
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
East
South
Cronier
Pass
2*
2NT
Smith
Pass
Pass
Pass
North led the two of clubs to the six, eight and nine. Declarer played a spade to dummy to lead
a heart towards her king. When it held she played a second heart to the queen and ace, won the
club return and had ten tricks for +630 and 10 IMPs.
49
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
A2
Q 10 4
K754
AK J 7 3
A
962
Q9743
J 10 8
W
N
S
Q 10 9 6
98
652
AK Q 5
J83
652
K J 10 8
743
Open Room
West
4
4
4NT
5
5
North
East
South
Dhondy
Reess
Pass
1
Pass
3
Double
4*
4NT*
Pass
Pass
5*
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
RKCB
1-4 key cards
Asking about the Q
Senior
1
4*
4
5*
6
Zochowska
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South led the king of diamonds to dummys ace and declarer, with nothing to guide her played
a low spade, putting up the queen and then running the ten.
North took the ace and returned a club, declarer winning and playing three rounds of hearts.
When the suit broke she drew the outstanding trump, +980.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
4
4
4NT
5
5
6
50
December 2015
Willard
Brock
Pass
1
3
Pass
Pass
4*
4NT*
Pass
Pass
5*
All Pass
6
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
RKCB
1-4 key cards
Asking about the Q
Q and K
Cronier
1
4*
4
5*
6*
Smith
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Declarer won Souths lead of the jack of diamonds perforce with dummys ace and played the king
of spades. North won with the ace and returned a club, declarer ruffing and playing a spade to
the ten. South won and returned a trump which meant declarer had to go two down, -100 and
14 badly needed IMPs for England, who trailed 46-77.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/o2se7ew
Board 2. Dealer East. N/S Vul.
85
J83
10 7 6 2
AK
KQ974
Q4
A 10 8 6 2
K 10 3
W
N
S
AJ 9 4
Q 10 6 2
3
A9 8 2
KQ3
9754
J5
J765
Open Room
1
1
West
North
East
South
Draper
1*
4
2+
Spades
Reess
Pass
All Pass
Brown
1*
2
Zochowska
Pass
Pass
A club would have put the defenders one step ahead, but South led the seven of hearts and declarer
won, and played a spade to the jack and queen.
South switched to the six of clubs and dummys queen was covered by the king and ace.
Declarer played a diamond to the king and ace and North returned a club to Souths jack. There
was still a trump to lose, -50.
Having taken the ace of clubs, declarer has to cross to dummy with a heart, play a spade to the
ace and pitch a club on the queen of hearts. Then she plays a diamond and gets home because
the hand with the ace does not hold the missing trump.
Declarer could have improved considerably by unblocking the hearts at trick two, when she
will be able to take a pitch without having to commit herself in spades.
Closed Room
West
North
Cronier
1
1
4
Senior
Pass
Pass
All Pass
East
South
Willard
1
1
2
Dhondy
Pass
Pass
Pass
North led the five of spades, which was ducked to Souths queen. A club would force declarer to
find the line I mentioned earlier unblocking the hearts and crossing to dummy with the ace of
51
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
spades, but back came the jack of diamonds for the queen and ace.
North played a second spade but declarer rose with the ace and, with the jack of hearts falling,
had no difficulty in coming to ten tricks for +420 and 10 IMPs to France, ahead 88-46.
52
52
AKQ865
Q 10 9
Q3
N
K J 10 9 4 3
W
E
7
S
A8 6 2
AJ9876
A86
94
73
K 10 4
Q7
J 10 3 2
KJ54
Open Room
West
North
Draper
2
Pass
Reess
3
Double
East
South
Brown
Zochowska
Pass
1
3NT
Pass
All Pass
With an opening bid on her left and a free bid on her right, Easts decision to bid 3NT looks
unsound. If East has to bid then a double, suggesting values in clubs and tolerance for hearts
looks best.
When North doubled it might have been an idea to run to 4, but that is always easier after
the event.
South led the nine of diamonds and North won with the queen. At this point switching to a
spade should lead to four down, but North cashed a second diamond and then switched to the
nine of clubs.
If declarer had put in the jack she would have been able to knock out the ace of hearts and
score nine tricks, but wanting to retain a certain entry to dummy she put up the king and played
hearts, South winning the thrird round and exiting with a club.
Declarer ducked the queen of clubs and North cashed a diamond and played a spade, two
down, -300.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Cronier
Senior
Willard
Pass
4
Dhondy
2
All Pass
North led the king of diamonds then continued with the ace. Declarer ruffed and played on trumps
and lost only to the major-suit aces, +420 and another 12 IMPs to France, leading by 48 IMPs.
52
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 16. Dealer West. E/WVul.
K 10 8 5 2
10 5
J654
KJ
AQ 6
93
N
KQJ9874
632
W
E
10 8
K9732
S
9
A4 3
J74
A
AQ
Q 10 8 7 6 5 2
Open Room
West
North
Draper
Reess
1
1
All Pass
4
Spade raise
East
South
Brown
2
Zochowska
3*
To defeat Four Hearts North must avoid a spade lead. Not so easy when partner has supported
your suit, but leading away from a king is frequently a double-edged sword and so it proved here.
Out came the two of spades and declarer had her tenth trick, +620.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Cronier
1
4
Pass
Senior
1
Pass
Pass
Willard
2
Pass
Double
Dhondy
3
4
All Pass
If 3 had implied a spade fit South could consider passing 4 North would surely lead a club rather
than a spade. However, that was probably not the case and South felt compelled to take another bid.
East led the two of hearts, showing an odd number and declarer won with the ace and led a low
spade, planning to put in the ten, which should lead to ten tricks as long as declarer ruffs a heart
and then plays on clubs. (The alternative is to play clubs at once, following the classic theme of
developing the side suit first.)
However, West took a long time to play low and declarer changed her mind because the ace
was obviously marked on her right and she put up the king. She continued with a heart ruff and
a club to the king and ace.
When East returned the two of diamonds declarer put in the queen. When that held she had a difficult opportunity if she cashes the ace of diamonds and then plays a spade she must come to ten tricks.
(East could have removed this possibility by ducking the king of clubs, winning the next club
and exiting with a diamond.)
Alas, declarer played the jack of spades and West won and returned a diamond to dummys ace.
She ruffed the club continuation with the ace of spades and played a heart, leaving declarer with
two losing diamonds, -300. England gained 8 IMPs, but were well behind at 68-114.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/p8eeggs
53
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Q64
K4
98753
J 10 8 7 3
Q
A8
K6543
Q J 10
W
N
S
J 10
Q5
AJ 9
976542
AK2
A962
10 8 7 2
K3
Open Room
West
North
Brock
2
Majors
Reess
Pass
3NT
East
South
Smith
Zochowska
Pass
1NT
All Pass
West led her stronger suit, but she went for the jack, which was fatal.
Declarer won with dummys king, East unblocking the queen, crossed to hand with a spade
and led the eight of diamonds for the queen, king and ace.
Back came the five of hearts, but when declarer covered with the six the disadvantage of starting
with the jack of hearts became clear as although West could win, she could not continue the suit.
She played a spade, but declarer won with dummys queen, played a diamond to the nine and
ten and then played on clubs, West taking the ace and playing a third spade. Declarer won and
could give up a diamond for +400.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Cronier
Pass
All Pass
Senior
1
1NT
Willard
Pass
Pass
Dhondy
1
3NT
East led the seven of clubs to the king and ace and West returned the suit. Declarer won but had
to play on diamonds and East could establish the clubs for two down, -100 and 11 IMPs.
54
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 24. Dealer West. None Vul.
543
Q 10 6
AK J 8
K754
Q3
A 10 8
A6
Q7652
J2
KJ87542
J943
Q 10 9 7 6 2
A983
10 9
K
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Brock
1
3NT
2+
Reess
Pass
Pass
Smith
3
5
Zochowska
3
All Pass
South cashed the ace of hearts and switched to the king of clubs.
Declarer won with dummys ace, playing the four from hand. She cashed the ace and king of
spades discarding the nine and jack of clubs from hand, keeping the three hidden from sight.
When declarer continued with dummys queen of diamonds North ducked, won the next diamond
and taken in by declarers play, she did not cash the queen of clubs, returning the five of spades
Declarer ruffed and ran the diamonds. With North guarding the clubs and South the spades, it
was a perfect double-squeeze position, in which neither defender would be able to keep two hearts.
Alas, declarer missed it, discarding the all-important seven of hearts on the penultimate diamond, one down, -50.
Closed Room
West
North
Cronier
Senior
1NT
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
Pass
Transfer to diamonds
East
South
Willard
3
Pass
4
Dhondy
Pass
3
All Pass
North led the three of spades to the queen and ace, a heart going from dummy and declarer took
a second spade to get rid of dummys remaining heart loser. There was a loser in each minor, +150
and 5 IMPs to France when it could have been 6 IMPs to England.
55
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 29. Dealer North.All Vul.
A9853
Q2
Q
J 10 6 5 4
A4
J8732
J976
54
K62
98
K 10 5
K Q 10 9 6
J 10 7 4
AK73
Q832
A
Open Room
West
1
1
North
East
South
Brock
Reess
Pass
2
1*
3
3
All Pass
2+
Transfer to hearts
Smith
1*
Pass
Pass
Zochowska
Double
Pass
4
When North bid spades a second time South decided to try for the bonus.
East led the nine of hearts and declarer won with the queen and played ace of spades and a
spade, East winning and exiting with her remaining spade.
Declarer won with dummys ten, played a diamond to the jack and king, won the club exit
perforce with dummys ace, cashed a top heart, ruffed a heart and played a diamond to the eight,
claiming when the ace appeared, +620.
No, I would not have found a diamond lead.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Cronier
Pass
All Pass
Senior
Pass
1
Willard
Pass
Pass
Dhondy
1
2
When spades were supported Norths hand improved, but not enough for her to consider bidding on (and with no opposition bidding to guide her declarer might easily have gone wrong in
diamonds). +170 but another 10 IMPs to France.
You can replay these deals at: http://tinyurl.com/otqw9kd
Down by 58 IMPs England were struggling.
As is often the case when you are not quite at your best the luck tends to go against you and
you miss too many of the opportunities that come your way.
However, in the penultimate set England showed they were not ready to throw in the towel.
On Board 4 Brock and Smith bid to 6 on these cards:
AK10543 K4 A7 J72 opposite Q Q2 KQJ863 AQ94 and picked up 12 IMPs
56
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
against the 720 recorded at the other table.
On the following deal Senior and Dhondy bid to 4 with Q73 AK942 87 K108 facing
K986542 - Q43 732.
There were four top losers, but East, with AJ 10765 KJ965 96 won the trump lead with
the ace and having seen her partner make a takeout double after 1-Pass-1 switched to the king
of diamonds. When that held she mysteriously switched to her remaining trump and declarer
could win, pitch two diamonds on the AK, ruff a heart and play a club. With the ace onside and
hearts 4-4 she could establish a long heart to take care of a losing club, +620 and 10 more IMPs.
France recovered 12 IMPs when they bid 5 with Q QJ8542 KQ8 Q106 facing 1096
6 AJ42 AK875. East held AK84 A1073 1053 J4 and although the defenders were
able to prevent declarer ruffing two spades she was able to dispose of one of them via a ruffing
finesse in hearts.
In the other room England were in 4 which had no chance.
England came right back, Senior and Dhondy reaching 6 with K A32 A975 Q6432
opposite A962 Q1054 6 AK107. Trumps were 2-2, so declarer was never in any danger,
+920 and 10 IMPs against the +460 recorded at the other table.
Board 13. Dealer North. Both Vul.
10 9 6
Q5
K872
A6 3 2
A8732
986
A54
10 4
W
N
S
KQJ54
J 10 9 6
KJ85
A K J 10 7 4 3 2
Q3
Q97
Open Room
West
Brock
All Pass
North
East
South
Reess
Pass
Smith
1
Zochowska
4
There were ten top tricks, +620.

Closed Room
West
4NT
North
Cronier
Senior
Pass
Double
Pass
All Pass
5
Pick a minor
East
South
Willard
1
4NT*
Dhondy
4
Pass
North led the ace of spades and continued with the eight, South ruffing and playing a diamond.
North took the ace and played another spade, two down, -200, but 10 IMPs to France.
57
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J7
J93
Q92
K9654
5
A7 6 5
K43
QJ732
N
S
A 10 6
K Q 10 4 2
A5
A 10 8
KQ98432
8
J 10 8 7 6
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Brock
Reess
Smith
Zochowska
Double
5
4*
6
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
All Pass
South led the queen of spades and declarer won with the ace, drew trumps and ran the queen of
clubs, +980.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
Cronier
Pass
Senior
Pass
Willard
3NT
Dhondy
3
All Pass
South started with the queen of spades and followed it with the king, so declarer had an easy route
to +490, still 10 IMPs to England, who must have been hoping for more slam deals.
A J 10 7 6
A7
92
K98652
10 8 7 5
AKJ986
N
S
4
QJ3
Q 10 3 2
AQ J 4 2
KQ853
10 4
754
K96
58
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Reess
Pass
4*
5*
5*
Smith
2*
4
Pass
Pass
Zochowska
Pass
4
5
6
Brock
2*
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
92
K98652
10 8 7 5 3
2
Weak 2/2, 0-8, may be 5-card
suit NV 1st & 3rd.
Pass or correct
2
Leaping Michaels
4
5
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
5
A J 10 7 6
A7
AKJ986
N
S
4
QJ3
Q 10 3 2
AQ J 4 2
KQ853
10 4
754
K96
Perhaps East might have preferred 2 at her first turn, although after West bids 3 Norths 4
might be non-leaping Michaels.
6 is a very good contract, but to defeat it West must lead a heart. She selected the nine of
hearts and declarers goose was cooked by the bad diamond break.
Closed Room
West
5
5
5NT
6
North
Cronier
Senior
Pass
1
Pass
5*
Pass
5NT*
Pass
7
Exclusion Blackwood
1 key card outside clubs
Asking about the Q
Q + K
East
Willard
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South
Dhondy
1
5*
6*
Here too West led the nine of hearts, so the grand slam was
two down, -100 and 2 IMPs to France.
England had won the set 52-29 to reduce the margin to 35 IMPs.
You can replay the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.
com/q237wjw.
In the last set England got just what they did not want, a
series deals with little chance of a swing. Seven of the first
eight boards were flat, England picking up 6 IMPs on the
remaining one.
By contrast, there were seven swings on the last eight deals
and England added 35 IMPs to their total enough to overturn their deficit.
However, as is frequently the case when you are pressing
for points they could not keep a clean sheet and they surrendered 31 IMPs, to lose by 186-211.
This deal near the end illustrates why France won they
were just that little bit sharper.
59
December 2015
Nevena Senior
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
93
J 10 8 7 2
76
AK Q 5
AQ 9 4
AQ 3
J2
J654
W
N
S
QJ84
943
865
K98
A K 10 5 2
6
K 10 7 3
10 7 2
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Brock
2NT
Reess
Pass
Smith
Pass
3NT
Zochowska
Pass
All Pass
North led the jack of hearts and declarer won with the king and played a spade to the three, queen
and king. When South returned the three of diamonds declarer put in the queen and cashed the
ace of hearts, South pitching the five of spades. Declarer tried a spade to the jack, but South won
and returned the seven of diamonds. Declarer won with the ace, cashed the queen of clubs and
played the four of diamonds. South cashed her winners for one down, -50.
Had declarer been able to see through the backs of the cards she would have resisted the temptation to play a second spade, simply cashing all her winners before throwing South in with a
diamond, collecting the jack of spades at the end.
Even after the spade play declarer still had a chance when South returned a diamond. If she
ducks that to Norths jack and the ten of hearts is returned all declarer has to do is duck. Then
she can squeeze South in spades and diamonds.
To avoid this South should have switched to a club when in with the ace of spades, scrambling
declarers entries.
Closed Room
West
2
2
North
East
South
Cronier
Senior
Willard
Dhondy
Pass
Pass
Pass
2*
2
2*
Pass
Pass
Double
Pass
Pass
3NT
All Pass
3
Either GF any shape or 21/22 balanced
0-1 controls
I have a feeling that East intended her double to be for penalties.

South led the three of diamonds and declarer played low from dummy, North winning with
the jack and returning the nine of spades for the queen and king. South switched to the six of
hearts and declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the king and queen, played three rounds of
60
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
clubs ending in hand, played a diamond to the queen, cashed the ace of diamonds and exited
with a diamond to endplay South.
Bien jou as they might say in Paris.
You can replay all the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/nqmypyn
In the other semi-final USA 2 won five of the six sets to defeat Netherlands 211.2-157 IMPs.
The Final proved to be a thriller.
When you come to the end of a major Championship you are tired and dont always play your
best. The Venice Cup Final saw both teams make mistakes, but it proved to be a nail-biter that
went right down to the wire.
Sylvia Moss, who was on the USA 2 team that had won the trials for Chennai, fell ill before
the Championships and Juanita Chambers had been called upon to fill in at the last minute.
She had played not a single board with her partner prior to the event.
A8 7
10 6
983
AK Q 6 4
J43
AK952
10 7
872
W
N
S
Q6
Q83
AK Q J 5 2
J5
K 10 9 5 2
J74
64
10 9 3
Open Room
West
3
3
North
Deas
Cronier
1NT
Pass
Pass
3*
Puppet Stayman
No major
East
Palmer
3*
3NT
South
Willard
Pass
All Pass
North led the five of hearts and declarer went with the odds, playing low from dummy. South
won with the jack and returned a heart, one down, -50.
Closed Room
West
Reess
1
3
North
East
Chambers Zochowska
1
2
Pass
3NT
South
Glasson
Pass
All Pass
South led the four of hearts and when North ducked dummys six declarer won with the eight,
cashed two clubs and claimed all the tricks, +520 and 11 IMPs.
61
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
9754
K Q 10
K86
74
J9
J86432
AK432
Q
W
N
S
A Q J 10 3 2
532
Q85
7
AJ986
10 7 6
A K 10 9 5
Open Room
West
4
4NT
5
North
Deas
Cronier
4NT*
4
Pass
5
All Pass
Leaping Michaels
Which minor
Clubs
East
South
Palmer
2
Pass
Pass
Willard
4*
5*
6
East led the ace of spades and declarer ruffed, played a club to the queen, overtook the ten of
hearts with the jack, ruffed a club, drew trumps (overtaking dummys king with the ace) played
a diamond to the ace and ducked a diamond, claiming when the suit divided, +980.
Closed Room
West
Reess
3
Pass
All Pass
Multi
North
East
Chambers Zochowska
2*
4
4
5
Pass
South
Glasson
3
5
6
West led the six of spades and declarer ruffed, played a club to the queen and followed that with
three rounds of diamonds. West ruffed her partners queen and returned the three of clubs and
declarer made an elementary mistake when she discarded a spade from dummy, a grateful East
ruffing for +50 and 14 IMPs.
France, who enjoyed a carry-over advantage of 1.67 won the first set 44-23 to lead by 22.67.
You can replay all the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/qyo7oat
62
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J53
653
K862
KQ742
AK 3 2
94
10 9 7 4 2
W
N
S
10
A 10 8
Q J 10 5
AJ 8 6 3
AQ974
J9
876
KQ5
Open Room
West
4
4
Sokolow
1
2
4*
6
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
North
East
South
Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Pass
2
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
Pass
4*
Pass
All Pass
North led the ten of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace, pitching a spade, and played the
ten of spades, South taking the ace and returning the six of diamonds. Declarer won with the ace,
ruffed a spade, drew trumps and claimed, +1430.
Closed Room
West
Reess
1
2
3
5
North
East
Chambers Zochowska
Pass
2
Pass
3
Pass
4
All Pass
South
Glasson
Pass
Pass
Pass
Who should take the blame?

I would say both players were simply too cautious.
North led a spade to Souths ace and declarer was soon claiming +620 and surrendering 13 IMPs.
63
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
AQ9
K3
62
K J 10 9 6 4
J875432
K6
N
52
QJ4
W
E
98
A K J 10 7 3
S
85
A7
10
A 10 9 8 7 6
Q54
Q32
Open Room
West
Sokolow
Pass
3
North
East
South
1
1
2
2NT
3
4
All Pass
East started with the ace, king and three of diamonds, West ruffing with the eight and declarer
overruffing and playing the king of clubs. East took the ace and returned a club, but declarer won
in hand, played three rounds of hearts, ruffing and claimed, +130.
Closed Room
West
2NT
3
3NT
4
North
East
Reess
Chambers Zochowska
2NT*
Pass
3NT*
3*
Pass
4
4*
19-20 balanced or semi balanced
Transfer
No fit
Retransfer
South
Glasson
Pass
Pass
All Pass
With little to go on South led the four of diamonds and declarer won with dummys eight and
played the two of spades.
It was virtually impossible for North to find the winning defence, which is to take the ace of
spades and switch to the king of hearts.
When she played low declarer won with the king of spades and played the top diamonds, pitching a heart. North could ruff, but declarer could take another pitch on a diamond and was +620
and 13 IMPs richer.
64
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
K J 10 8 7
10 8
9
10 7 6 5 2
Q
532
N
AK Q J 9 6
732
W
E
KQJ
542
S
A9 4
KQJ8
A964
54
A 10 8 7 6 3
3
Open Room
West
Sokolow
2*
2
3
4
North
East
South
Pass
Pass
Pass
2*
Double
Pass
2*
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
All Pass
North led the nine of diamonds and South took the ace and returned the ten of diamonds which
North ruffed. Now came the strange play of the king of spades. When South let it hold there was
no longer a defence,+620.
Closed Room
West
Reess
2*
2NT
North
East
Chambers Zochowska
Pass
Pass
2
Pass
3NT
South
Glasson
Pass
Double
All Pass
North led the nine of diamonds and South won with the ace and switched to the four of spades
two down and 13 IMPs to the USA.
You will have noticed that 4 is on for N/S.
One way to get there is for North to overcall 2, promising two suits of the same colour, when
South can jump to 4.
USA 2 took the set 38-29 to narrow the gap to 13.67.
You can replay all the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/oqnhvgg
65
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
10 9 2
K Q 10 9 6 5
KQ74
73
AJ 9 8 4 3
7
J 10 5 4
W
N
S
J865
A2
Q52
AQ 3 2
A3
J84
K 10 7 6
K986
Open Room
West
2
2
North
Deas
Reess
2*
All Pass
4
Multi
Takeout of hearts
East
South
Palmer
2*
Zochowska
Double
North led the queen of hearts and declarer made the slight mistake of winning with the ace and
playing a spade.
South took the ace and now had a chance to make a name for herself by finding a diamond
switch. North would ruff that and then have to underlead the king of hearts in order to secure a
second ruff.
However, she continued with the jack of hearts and, despite Norths ten, exited with a spade.
Declarer won, crossed to dummy with the jack of spades, played a diamond to the jack and a diamond back to the ten, claiming +420.
Closed Room
West
2
3
North
Cronier
Sokolow
2*
All Pass
Multi
Pass or correct
East
South
Willard Seamon-Molson
Pass
3*
The classic defence to a Multi is for East to double with 13-15 balanced, but when East passed
she was unwilling to reopen on the next round.
West led the seven of clubs and East took the ace and returned the two. West ruffed and switched
to the four of diamonds. Declarer ruffed in dummy and played the six of hearts and East won
and played the three of clubs. When West could not ruff declarer claimed, +140 and 11 IMPs.
66
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
3
AK65
Q J 10 8
874
9
K J 10 8 7
A 10 6 5 3 2
53
W
N
S
K97652
J 10 9 3
K8
A
A4
Q2
QJ74
Q9642
Open Room
West
North
Deas
Reess
Pass
1
5
3
Diamond support
East
South
Palmer
Zochowska
Pass
1
2*
All Pass
East led the seven of spades and declarer won with dummys ace and played a diamond to the ace
had she finessed East would have won, cashed the ace of clubs and got of play, West eventually
scoring a trick with the king of clubs.
Now the winning line is to cross to the queen of hearts, ruff a spade, play three more rounds of
hearts, ruffing, and exit with a diamond. East wins and can cash the ace of clubs, but must then
give up a ruff and discard.
When declarer played a second diamond East won and had only to cash the ace of clubs before
exiting. When she played a spade first declarer ruffed and now realised what was required, eliminating the hearts before exiting with a club to endplay East for +400.
Closed Room
West
North
Cronier
Pass
3*
Fit jump
Sokolow
1
5
East
South
Willard Seamon-Molson
1
1
Pass
All Pass
West led the queen of spades and declarer won with the ace and ran the queen of diamonds. East
won with the king and made no mistake, cashing the ace of clubs, one down and 10 IMPs to France.
A couple of deals later N/S held AK10852 KQ932 7 K opposite J9 A75 Q964 8642.
Hearts were 3-2 and the queen of spades was onside, so eleven tricks were available in hearts.
France bid 4 for +650, but the USA played in 3 and lost 10 IMPs.
USA 2 took the set 35-22 making the scores 96.67-96.0.
You can replay all the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/qaj8guc
The fourth set was relatively quiet, USA 2 edging it 23-18 to give them a narrow lead.
You can replay the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/nwyd6fv
67
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 9. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
A87
Q64
5
J 10 9 7 6 2
K Q 10 6 3 2
J54
N
J87
K 10 5 3 2
W
E
Q98
643
S
3
A5
9
A9
A K J 10 7 2
KQ84
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Sokolow
Pass
Pass
1
1
Pass
2
3
Pass
4*
Pass
4NT*
Pass
6
Pass
5*
All Pass
4
Cue-bid
4NT
RKCB
5
1 or 4 key cards
Once South cue-bid in support of clubs South could even contemplate a grand slam.
Could West find the only lead to defeat the contract?
She looked no further than the king of spades and declarer had time to knock out the ace of
clubs and establish the diamonds, +920.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Hugon
1
Pass
Pass
16+
Palmer Campagnano
Pass
Pass
Double*
2
3NT
Pass
5
All Pass
South
Deas
1*
3
4
It would have cost North nothing to bid 4 over 4, but it was no disgrace to stay out of a slam
that could be beaten. It cost 11 IMPs.
68
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
A7
KQ874
432
J32
K Q 10 8 6 5
N
9
W
E
KJ86
S
KQ
932
A 10 3 2
A5
A864
J4
J65
Q 10 9 7
10 9 7 5
Open Room
West
Sokolow
1
3
All Pass
North
East
South
Pass
1
2
Pass
3
Pass
Pass
4
East led the jack of spades when West put up the king declarer won with the ace, drew trumps in
three rounds ending in dummy and played the ace of diamonds and a diamond. West won with
the king, cashed the queen of spades and switched to the king of clubs. Declarer won with dummys ace, ruffed a spade, ruffed a diamond and played a club towards the jack, +620.
Closed Room
West
North
East
Hugon
1
2
Precision
Palmer Campagnano
Pass
Double*
Pass
3
All Pass
South
Deas
1*
2
Declarer had no trouble taking ten tricks, but that was 10

IMPs to France, now winning this set by 30 IMPs.
Beth Palmer
69
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
K4
K J 10 6
QJ952
A9 4
AQ 3
A4
10 8 5
Q J 10 7
W
N
S
A 10 8 3
732
KJ9
K85
76
Q85
7642
9632
Open Room
West
Sokolow
1
4
North
East
South

Pass
3
Pass
All Pass
Declarer lost two hearts, +450.

Closed Room
West
2NT
North
East
South
Hugon
Palmer Campagnano
1
Pass
2NT*
Pass
3
3
Pass
4
3
4NT*
Pass
5*
All Pass
6
Heart fit, limited
Deas
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
That cost France 11 IMPs. However, they won the set 42-23
to lead 156.67-142 with just 16 deals to play.
You can replay the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/
nzf3sfj
Lynn Deas
70
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
AJ75
10 8 7
Q94
KQ632
K6
A 10 4
Q872
63
W
N
S
K 10
94
J543
KQ972
8632
AJ5
A 10 9
J85
Open Room
West
North
East
Deas
1NT
Cronier
Pass
Pass
Palmer
Pass
3NT
South
Willard
Pass
All Pass
North led the two of diamonds and South took the ace and switched to the jack of hearts, which
speeded play up.
Declarer won with the king, led the ten of clubs to the king and played a heart. South put up
the ace and returned the ten of diamonds. Declarer won and played a spade to the king, +460.
Closed Room
West
North
Reess
1
2
Sokolow
Pass
Pass
Pass
East
South
ZochowskaSeamon-Molson
Pass
Pass
1NT
Pass
3
All Pass
INT would have been 14-16,balanced or semi balanced and

could include a five card major, so its not clear why West
rejected it in favour of 1.
There is no obvious explanation for Wests rebid on the
Convention Card.
Declarer lost only to the missing aces, +130, but 8 IMPs
to the USA.
Janice Seamon-Molson
71
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J 10 4
10 7 6 5
AQ 5
98
K 10 7 6
A8 5 4
Q542
10 2
W
N
S
K763
K3
AJ 9 8
Q73
982
AQJ42
3
KJ96
Open Room
West
North
East
Deas
Double*
Double
Precision
Cronier
3
Pass
Palmer
1*
Pass
3NT
South
Willard
1
Pass
All Pass
South started with the ace and queen of hearts, North following with the ten on the second round.
Searching for clues, declarer played on spades and when the suit divided she cashed four tricks
in the suit, South pitching club, and North the six of hearts.
Declarer knew nine of Souths cards, which makes North a slight favourite to hold the diamond
length, but declarer cashed the ace and had to go one down, -100.
Closed Room
West
North
Reess
2*
Sokolow
East
South
1
1
3NT
All Pass
South led the nine of spades and declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the king of diamonds
and ran the ten, South discarding the nine of clubs.
Declarer cashed the diamonds and followed that with four rounds of spades. When she played
a club towards the ace, South, down to KJ put up the king to avoid the endplay, but that gave
declarer four tricks in the suit, +690 and 13 priceless IMPs.
72
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
92
AJ72
Q 10 8 6 4
Q64
J
Q J 10 2
A65
A653
W
AJ 7
10 5 3
K 10 9 2
987
K53
K98
Q8743
K4
Open Room
West
North
East
South
Deas
Pass
All Pass
Cronier
1
Palmer
Pass
Willard
2NT
West led the four of spades and East took the ace and continued with the jack, declarer winning
the third round discarding a club from dummy. A diamond to the ace and another diamond saw
East take the king and return the nine of clubs, but declarer won with dummys ace and played a
diamond to the queen and a diamond, coming to nine tricks, +150.
Closed Room
West
2
2
North
Reess
Sokolow
Pass
1
Pass
2*
Pass
3NT
Artificial 2NT invite
Relay to 2NT
East
South
Pass
2*
Pass
2NT
All Pass
West led the six of spades, and East had an opportunity to put declarer under pressure by putting
in the jack, when the winning play would be to duck.
Unwilling to risk losing a trick to a possible Qxx East put up the ace and now declarer was in
control, playing on diamonds, scoring a spade, three hearts, three diamonds and two clubs, +600
and 10 IMPs for the USA, trailing by just 2.67 IMPs.
73
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Board 29. Dealer North. All Vul.
K7
KQJ
J 10 8 3
6
A8 4
K9642
J 10 6 5 3
QJ3
W
N
S
96
A 10 5 4
K97
A 10 8 5
AQ542
98732
Q2
7
Open Room
West
North
Deas
Pass
Pass
Cronier
1
1NT
2
East
Palmer
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South
Willard
1
2
West led the two of clubs and East won with the ace and switched to the seven of diamonds. West
took the ace and tried to cash the king of clubs. Declarer ruffed, and played a heart to the jack
and ace. When East cashed the king of diamonds, all declarers problems were solved. She won
the diamond continuation in dummy, drew three rounds of trumps and claimed, +110.
There are many ways to defeat 2.
For example, if West returns a diamond at trick three East wins and can now play a club. If
declarer discards she will be down in top tricks when the spades fail to break, but ruffing will
result in the loss of trump control.
Closed Room
West
North
Reess
Pass
Pass
Sokolow
1
1NT
2
East
South
Pass
1
Pass
2
All Pass
West led the three of spades and declarer won with dummys king and played the king of hearts.
An inspired East would have won that and returned a heart when the defenders can amass seven
tricks, but it was natural to play low.
Declarer now played a spade to the ace and a second heart, West pitching the two of clubs. East
took the ace, gave her partner a heart ruff, regained the lead with the ace of clubs and cashed the
ten of hearts, West discarding the four of diamonds. A low diamond now would have allowed
the defenders to play three rounds of the suit, promoting Wests jack of spades for two down, but
when East exited with a club declarer could ruff and draw the outstanding trump, saving a trick,
-100 and 5 IMPs to France.
France added an IMP on the penultimate deal, so when the last board settle on the table the
USA needed nine or more IMPs to win.
74
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
A J 10 9 2
AJ94
K
654
K7
N
Q72
E
J876543 W
S
9
8643
10 6 5 3
AQ
AK3
Q5
K8
10 9 2
Q J 10 8 7 2
Open Room
West
3NT
North
Deas
Cronier
Pass
1
Pass
4
Four card raise
East
Palmer
Pass
All Pass
South
Willard
3NT*
East led the queen of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace and played a spade to the jack
and queen. When East returned the jack of clubs West ruffed dummys king and switched to the
two of hearts. Declarer played low in desperation, but East took the king and cashed the ten of
clubs for one down, +50.
Closed Room
West
North
East
South
2NT
3
3
4
Reess
Sokolow ZochowskaSeamon-Molson
Pass
1
Pass
2NT*
Pass
3*
Pass
3*
Pass
3*
Pass
3*
Pass
4
Pass
4*
All Pass
Game-forcing raise
Any Minimum - 3 Asks
Shows some shortness - 3 Asks
Shows short Diamonds
East led the queen of clubs and declarer won with dummys ace and followed the same fatal line
of play, so there was no swing and France had won another Venice Cup.
Inevitably questions will be asked as to the best line of play in 4.
If declarer had played a spade to the ace and a spade (that was the line adopted at both tables
in the Bermuda Bowl final) the Venice Cup would be resting at ACBL headquarters, but that is
not the technical line in the spade suit.
Cashing two diamonds to discard a club before touching trumps is a plausible idea, as declarer
can then take two heart finesses. I like this line on general principles as eliminating a side suit in
a trump contract is usually a good idea.
However, we should not forget that the line chosen at both tables only failed because clubs were 6-1.
In the dOrsi trophy both declarers followed the losing line.
You can replay the deals from this set at: http://tinyurl.com/qycswbb
75
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
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77
December 2015
Bridge Magazine
Intermediate
Some Enchanted Evening

Tickets Available Now
When: Friday 6th May 2016, 7pm
Where: Glaziers Hall,
9 Montague Close, London Bridge,
SE1 9DD
Tickets: 100 per person, or 400 to
play with one of our professionals (drawn at random),
including:
David Price, Colin Simpson, John Holland,
Gunnar Hallberg, Nicola Smith, Heather Dhondy,
Brian and Nevena Senior, Robert Sheehan,
Tom Townsend and many more.
An evening filled with bridge, plenty of

booze, delicious canaps, and of course,
lots of opportuntities for fundraising including an auction!
Tickets now available, please email
briony.brock@smsr.org.uk to secure your place
With thanks to Bernard Teltscher for donating the drinks and to

the Worshipful Glaziers Company for providing the premiseT
78
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Bridge Over the Rainbow

Alex Adamson and Harry Smith with more stories from Over The Rainbow Club
Flu Virus
The Club had been hit badly by the winter flu virus. Attendances were down and this had led to
some unusual partnerships being formed.
The Lion had been one of the victims. Well at least he had decided he was. He had sneezed
once two weeks previously and had spent the fortnight since then in bed, bravely preparing for
the worst. He had suffered no other symptoms, but he put that down to the aggressive preventative action he had taken having consumed vast quantities of aspirins, ibuprofen, cough medicines
and nasal sprays, and a few indigestion remedies as well just for safety.
This had left the Scarecrow partnerless and although the epidemic had ensured that quite a
few others would be looking for partners, whoever he asked seemed to have just managed to find
someone. Then again, there were some people that the Scarecrow was too scared to play with. On
this list were Dorothys Aunty Em and Uncle Henry. Having been reassured that they were both
in good health and definitely playing together, he phoned their farm to see if one of the farmhands would be interested in playing with him. Aunty Em answered. No, Zeke and Hickory cant
come out to play, she told him. She believed that all people younger than her should be treated
as children, while all those older were at least half way to losing their marbles. The Scarecrow was
about to ring off when she added but we have a new lad here, name of Hank. Ill send him along.
The Scarecrow had a feeling that he had heard of him. Yes, this must be Hank the Hunk not
so named for his appearance but because of the suspicion that his brain was of solid wood. Isnt
he the one who has been in the beginners class for five years?
Yep, said Em. Not annoyed because he broke your record, I hope?
But from what Ive heard he really hasnt got a clue! the Scarecrow responded.
Thats why its so important that more experienced players she coughed involuntarily,
partner him occasionally to allow him to see how he can develop, Em responded, almost choking with the unaccustomed effort of being tactful.
And so was born a partnership like no other in the club, or probably anywhere else in the civilised world, or beyond, for that matter.
The Club had recently purchased a set of Bridgemates for scoring, and, as he and Hank were
North-South and sitting throughout, the Scarecrow had taken charge of the machine. This was
a good safety play. Hank needed most of his concentration simply to hold all thirteen cards. The
remainder was required to follow suit. He had never yet been known to manage to muster enough
concentration to hope to play the cards in the right order.
The Scarecrow had the advantage over Hank in that he never really bothered much about concentration. He knew that no matter how much he tried, it rarely improved his results. Indeed,
the Tin Man had told him that the best part of his game, apart from shuffling and dealing (and
these were becoming redundant with the introduction of new technology), was in playing the
cards rapidly in whatever order they appeared. Better to leave matters of good card play to lady
luck, rather than take too active an interest in this part of the game himself.
Their first opponents that evening were the unusual partnership of the Wicked Witch of the
West, sitting West of course, and the Irritable Witch of the South, sitting East and distinctly
grumpy about it. Glinda, the Wicked Witchs usual partner, was missing, supposedly one of the
79
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
flu victims. There had been speculation, however, that the illness might have less to do with the
virus than the curses she had been subjected to the previous week when she went down in a small
slam with twelve top tricks. Its good to see you getting practice in taking finesses, Glinda, her
partner had begun, before the thin veil of politeness dropped. There was less speculation about
the missing Unpleasant Witch of the North. She had taken great delight in coughing and spluttering over everyone the previous week and was no doubt deeply disappointed by the number of
her opponents who were still fit to play.
This was the first hand of the evening:
2
A6 4
Q73
AK Q J 3 2
Q964
Q 10 7 5
KJ42
7
The auction was not a thing of beauty. With no-one vulnerable it went:
West
North
East
South
Wicked W
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Hank
1
2
3
Irritable W
Pass
Pass
Pass
Scarecrow
1
2
3NT
West led the 3.

The Scarecrow focussed on the Bridgemate, as the young farmhand laid down the dummy. Feeling nervous playing with a partner as accomplished as the Scarecrow (after all, he played regularly
in a team with the Tin Man and Dorothy), Hank felt he had to explain himself.
I was very worried about the spade suit, so I thought it best to try to play in clubs. I still think
Five Clubs might be better; what do you think?
The Scarecrow was too focussed on trying to enter the contract into the machine.
What do I do now? Oh yes, I press OK. Yes Five Clubs would probably be a reasonable bid;
after all, youve no losers in the suit.
He entered Five Clubs by South in the Bridgemate.
The Scarecrow looked at the dummy cursorily and called for dummys singleton to be played.
It didnt cross his mind to wonder if partner should have given heart preference with three-card
support. Many of his partners were reluctant to do so with four. East, the Irritable Witch, won
the first trick with A, and returned the jack to the queen and her partners king. The Scarecrow
played 2 from dummy and called for the ace.
Its customary, said the Irritable Witch in her crustiest tone, for the winner of the previous
trick to lead to the next one. Perhaps we should honour that custom.
But I ruffed that trick, squeaked the Scarecrow, horribly aware that he was about to experience another of the many awful things that seemed to happen to him.
An original tactic in 3NT, commented the Wicked Witch.
But, but, but, twittered the Scarecrow, as he realised his error, I wouldnt have played a
club had I known.
Thats a shame, said the Irritable Witch winning her partners spade return with the ten, the
80
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Scarecrow randomly throwing dummys 3. The Irritable Witch, sitting East, now cashed the A
and led her last spade to the Scarecrows nine, with her partner, the Wicked Witch, following low.
After a brief pause the Irritable Witch rounded on the Scarecrow. Will dummy be joining us in
this trick? she asked bitterly. This really is becoming impossible.
The Scarecrow, now in a complete tizzy, reached over and threw 4, following it up with 5
from hand.
Oh no, I didnt meant to play that. You see, I had just played a heart and I thought
Is it possible for you to concentrate for one second? snapped the Irritable Witch, and that
card is played, as she jabbed at the 5.
Meanwhile something very unusual had happened the Wicked Witch of the West had gone
silent. Where there was stirring to do and a good chance of upsetting the opponents, she was usually to the fore. However, she had started with
K753
KJ2
10
10 9 8 6 5
She and dummy were now down to
KJ2
10 9 8 6 5
A6
Q
AKQJ3
W
N
S
Forced to lead a heart from hand, the Scarecrow won in dummy with the ace, as the Wicked
Witch, with a strong sense of foreboding, played low. With four tricks in the bag, she had felt
quite confident that the Scarecrow would just run his club suit, and find the bad news of the 5-1
split too late. But now ..
The Scarecrow played dummys Q and overtook it with his K, then cashed J throwing the losing
heart from dummy. He was about to claim five club tricks when he noticed that West had discarded
the J and the K on the diamond winners. It always astonished him how players rated so much
better than himself, managed to make such trivial errors. Cashing Q, he claimed his nine tricks.
The full hand was:
2
A64
K753
KJ2
10
10 9 8 6 5
Q73
AKQJ32
W
N
S
A J 10 8
983
A9 8 6 5
4
Q964
Q 10 7 5
KJ42
7
81
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Three minutes later, after the Scarecrow had worked out how to enter the result into the Bridgemate, the Irritable Witch reluctantly pressed the OK button acknowledging a score of 400 for
North-South. No-one noticed that it actually showed Five Clubs making, a score which would
later cause much discussion as all wondered how this could possibly have sneaked home. Despite
lengthy questioning in the bar the Scarecrow and Hank were unable to recount the sequence of
plays, as people sought to find some explanation for this hapless pair sneaking into third place.
The two men were oblivious to the looks of amazement and simply thrilled.
The winter flu virus continued to plague the club over the coming days and so it was that the
formidable partnership of the Scarecrow and Hank had a second outing the following week.
Since that night, the bar had reverberated to tales of what they had done to opponents. Having started with the two witches, they had continued to have an uncanny knack of landing on
their feet. Their good scores certainly had nothing to do with skill. Rumours abounded that a
fairy godmother was looking after them, although Aunty Em has been heard to mutter something
about the devil looking after his own. Their results did have one very positive feature appreciated
by all no-one was short of a hard-luck story, which is, after all, the staple diet of bridge players
worldwide.
Hank was more nervous than ever. Aunty Em had told him that any score over 30% would
be a triumph and the pressure of having to continue this good performance was weighing heavily on him. To add to his problems, he had really struggled with using a bidding box and wasnt
looking forward to having to use them again. He had enough problems coping with the thirteen
playing cards in his hand; he now also had to look after two sets of bidding cards: 35 bids in one
socket containing everything from One Club to 7NT, and lots of passes, doubles, Redoubles,
stop cards and alert cards in the other socket. It had taken half the committee four days to reassemble the contents of his box from the week before, with the cards being found in a variety of
unlikely locations. Indeed the Five Spade ticket did not re-emerge until it was found in a trifle at
the Christmas Party.
His worst fear came true when he found that this time they would be moving. He was sitting
West, and changing tables after every three boards: he had received a lot of criticism for destroying one bidding box and was worried about how much carnage he might cause during a circuit
of the room. By the time he left each table, his bidding box had lost any semblance of a neat and
tidy appearance, much to the annoyance of the Chairman of the Lollipop Guild who was following him. As they started the last of the three boards against the Irritable Witch of the South and
the now recovered Unpleasant Witch of the North, One Club to Three Clubs were in the front
compartment, green passes, red doubles and blue Redoubles were thoroughly shuffled, and the
stop and alert cards were probably somewhere within 20 feet of the table.
The Irritable Witch of the South was dealer, and held the following hand:
AQ 8 2
A8 7 4
KJ8
KQ
The two witches liked changing their systems regularly putting in anything that might rile their
opponents, and then moving on to something else whenever they felt that the other club members were getting used to it. The primary purpose of any convention for this pair was that it should
upset and annoy the opposition. Once it failed to do that, it had outlived its usefulness.
Their latest ideas were based round an aggressive set of two-level openers. Foremost among them
was the Irritable Witchs favourite toy: Two Diamonds showed either a 1920 balanced hand or a
weak hand with both majors. With her balanced 19-count, she had a perfect opportunity to use
it. Opponents had a habit of coming into the auction expecting the weak variety, and she relished
82
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
the thought of another opportunity to take a big penalty, with the inevitable consequential arguments between East and West. She and her partner would then take great delight in entering the
fray and stoking up the aggro.
Disappointingly, Hank, on her left, passed. Her partner bid Two Spades showing where she
would prefer to play if she had held the weak version. Her 2NT now cleared matters up, and over
the Three Club ask, her Three Diamonds showed she had at least one four-card major.
This was all very boring for Hank, sitting over her in the West seat. He had had a run of good
cards, and was now looking at a 6-count. His mind wandered. He took a sip of coffee with his
left hand, and pulled the pass card with his right hand so it wasnt till the auction was over that
he found that his third pass was undeniably red.
The Unpleasant Witch of the North now bid Three Hearts, which told her partner that she had
a four-card spade suit. The Scarecrow, sitting East, didnt really understand systems. He certainly
had no idea what was going on, and it seemed to him to be insubordination to ask his betters
what their bids meant. After all, he didnt usually know what his own meant, and if he didnt ask
others, they might not ask him embarrassing questions in his auctions.
What he did know was that partner had doubled Three Diamonds, and he had a five-card heart
suit over this Three Heart bid. A double seemed the right thing to do.
The Irritable Witch of the South now realised with annoyance that her toy had wrong-sided
the potential Four Spade contract due to her partners Two Spade response. It was wrong-sided in
two ways. Firstly, a diamond lead would come through her honours with every chance that Hank
would be able to give the Scarecrow a ruff on the third round. Secondly, and more importantly,
she would be in the unfortunate situation of being dummy. She and her partner, the Unpleasant Witch of the North, did not agree on many things, but they both held very similar views on
declarer play; they both knew that they were far better at it than their partner, and both really
resented the indignity of having to watch their partner butcher the play. The situation called for
imaginative bidding, so disdaining the known 4-4 spade fit, she bid 3NT.
The rest of the auction was routine. Hank had been startled into a higher level of consciousness by his partners red card. He was very far from sure what was happening, but assumed that
he had to do something over the Scarecrows double. He doubled with a feeling that this might
be what was meant by following partners defence. Souths Redouble was even more routine. Her
oppositions known ability in defence was worth at least two tricks, and anyway the Redouble
would certainly rattle them.
The full auction had been:
West
North
East
South
Hank Unpleasant W Scarecrow
Pass
Pass
2*
Pass
3*
Pass
Double
3*
Double
Double
Pass
Pass
All Pass
Irritable W
2*
2NT
3
3NT
Redouble
The Scarecrow had loaned Hank several erudite books on initial leads. He hadnt understood any
of them, but, if asked, could quote the names of Mike Lawrence or Andrew Robson or Kelsey
Matheson. He was sure these people knew what they were doing, and it sounded good to say
that he followed their advice. On this occasion, he had remembered his partners double of Three
Hearts, and just in case that showed hearts, He decided to lead one, the five. Dummy was spread:
83
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
K943
K 10
10 2
J8764
AQ 8 2
A8 7 4
KJ8
KQ
The hand was an open book to a competent player like the Irritable Witch of the South. She took the lead
in dummy and led a club taken by Wests ace. Hank continued with his partners suit, leading the 2.
The Irritable Witch took this, cashed the Q, and played three rounds of spades ending in
dummy, the Scarecrow, East, showing up with three in that suit, Hank, West, discarding a diamond.
She now played J, the Scarecrow discarding a diamond, and, and as she led the penultimate club
from dummy, she sat back in quiet contentment. Hank was out of spades and hearts so on winning the fourth club he would have to play diamonds round to her. She wondered if he would
cash the A and then play into her king-jack, or play a small one. Either way, she would have ten
tricks. A small one appeared, and she laid down her remaining cards with a flourish.
Ill win this, then take a spade and the last club for up one, thank you very much, she said.
The Scarecrow looked distinctly uncomfortable as he played the A. He was sure the Witch knew
what she was talking about but he really thought that his three remaining cards, all hearts, were winners.
The full hand was:
65
52
Q9543
A 10 5 2
K943
K 10
10 2
J8764
N
S
J 10 7
QJ963
A7 6
93
AQ82
A874
KJ8
KQ
The Irritable Witch spluttered with rage, as she picked up Hanks hand. How can you double
Three Diamonds with that load of rubbish?
Well done partner, started the Unpleasant Witch of the North. I suppose youve never seen
either of our two opponents in action before. Is that why you chose to believe their bidding, or
was it just crass stupidity? The contract could be made by any Munchkin on that lead, although
even a Munchkin might have opted for the more normal contract of Four Spades, which even
you couldnt fail to make.
In 3NT, play three rounds of spades immediately, and then if that fool in the West seat discards a club you can set up four tricks in clubs with your nine of spades as an entry. If he discards
a diamond, you can now safely get one diamond trick and two club tricks. If he discards a heart,
he cant do you any harm when he wins his ace of clubs.
The Unpleasant Witch of the North was in her element. She had no qualms about using double dummy analysis to criticise her partner. It was worth getting a bad score to have her partner
squirming this much!
84
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
LYON - the place to be in August 2017

World Youth Championships
from 15th 25th August 2017
LYON - FRANCE
Lyon is a place of warmth and

cultural exchange, and cultivates
a tradition of hospitality and
openness.
As a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and a leading European tourist
destination, Lyon is also known
for the hosting and organisation
of major events.
In Lyon, the past and the future
meet. Ancient, modern and urban
combine with each other, every
discovery and every encounter
that you experience will be full of
wonder.
Welcome to Lyon where the 5th
World Youth Open Bridge
Championships, which are
organised by the World Bridge
Federation in cooperation with
the French Bridge Federation, will
be held at the Cit Internationale
of Lyon
The French Bridge Federation is
pleased to invite you to come and
participate in the events for
Juniors, Girls, Youngster

and kids.
Schedule of play for the 2017

Youth Open Championships
Pairs Registration
Tues 15th Aug (at 10.00 hrs)
Opening Ceremony
Tues 15th Aug at 19.30
Pairs Championship
(Prize-giving at 19.00)
From Wed 16th to Sat 19th Aug
Teams Championship
(Prize-Giving at 19.30)
From Sun 20th to Thurs 24th Aug
Teams BAM
From Tues 22nd to Fri 25th Aug
Championship
Prize-giving &
Closing Ceremony
85
December 2015
Fri 25th Aug at 19.30 hrs.
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Test Your
Defence
with Julian Pottage
Solutions on page 96
Dealer South. Both Vul.

9
Q J 10 4
K764
AKJ2
N
S
10 7
A8
A 10 8 5 3 2
10 8 6
WEST NORTH EAST

SOUTH
3
All Pass
Partner leads the three of hearts (fourth highest) to the
ten, ace and five. How do you continue?
86
December 2015
K J 10 9 8
K43
Q93
A6
N
S
AQ 6 2
J 10
876
5432
WEST NORTH EAST

SOUTH
1
Pass
1NT
All Pass
Partner leads the eight of clubs (second and fourth),
which loses to the ten. Declarer plays a spade to the
ten and queen. What is your plan?
BRIDGE Magazine
87
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
The Abbot Reads the Cards

David Bird
he Abbot was exhausted. During the past week he had sent countless emails, home and
abroad, relating his experiences in the Chennai Bermuda Bowl. Attached to each one were
copies of all the daily bulletins that had mentioned his name. It had been hard work, but
very rewarding to spread pleasure in this way. It would surely inspire his monastic colleagues
around the world to improve their own play.
What was the time? Ah, only ten minutes before the start of the Thursday duplicate. On the
day of his return, a week ago, he and Xavier had finished in a disappointing sixth position. Still,
it was difficult to adjust from playing at the exalted level of the Bermuda Bowl to a near-meaningless local duplicate. Nor did Brother Xavier play at anywhere near the same level as the Parrot,
strange to say. It was a complete mystery how the Parrot had become such an expert at the game.
A Google search on the matter might prove interesting. Perhaps there were other bridge-playing
birds somewhere.
The session soon began and this was an early board played against the novices, Brother Adam
and Brother Mark:
Dealer East. Both Vul.
Q754
97
9872
984
K82
Q65
A63
10 7 5 2
W
N
S
3
A K J 10 4 3
J 10 5
KJ3
A J 10 9 6
82
KQ4
AQ6
West
North
East
South
Brother
Xavier
Pass
All Pass
Brother
Adam
The
Abbot
1
Double
Brother
Mark
1
4
Brother Xavier led the 9 and the Abbot overtook with the 10. When he continued with the
ace and king of hearts, the young declarer paused for thought. Should he ruff with the nine or the
ace? The Abbot had opened the bidding, it was true, but he seemed to hold six hearts to Wests
two. Perhaps that made West the favourite to hold the trump queen.
Brother Mark eventually decided to ruff with the ace, a club appearing from West. He ran the
jack of trumps successfully on the next trick and continued with a trump to the eight, the Abbot
88
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
discarding a heart. Oh dear. With West still holding the Q-7, it seemed that he would have to
avoid a club loser. Perhaps the Abbot had started with K-J doubleton.
A finesse of the club queen succeeded but only a low spot-card showed from the Abbots hand.
Brother Mark cashed the ace of clubs, followed by three rounds of diamonds, ending in the dummy.
These cards were still in play:
Q7
10 7
W
N
S
J4
10 9
6
Club, please, said Brother Mark.
The Abbot won with the king, West discarding the 9, and then had to lead a heart. Declarer
ruffed with the 9 and Brother Xaviers Q was trapped. Whether or not he overruffed, the contract would be made.
Wow, brilliant! exclaimed Brother Adam.
Brother Xavier looked across at the Abbot. A wonderful effort from the youngster. Im sure
you agree, Abbot.
Very lucky to make on that line of play, grunted the Abbot. He turned towards Brother Mark.
Apart from needing me to hold the K and Brother Xavier to hold the Q, you also needed
Wests shape to be 4-2-4-3.
Yes, but that was my shape, said Brother Xavier.
The Abbot waved this valueless observation aside. On the third round of hearts you should discard a club, he persisted. You win the return, run the jack of trumps, draw trumps and finesse
in clubs. Thats the way to play it.
Brother Mark had barely listened to the Abbots comment. What a fantastic play he had made!
The Abbot would no doubt raise some objection if he took a record of the deal now. He would
search out the board at the end of the session.
Not long afterwards the novitiates strongest pair arrived. The Abbot surveyed the disrespectful Brother Cameron as he took his seat. Would it have killed him to make some reference to the
Abbots success in the Bermuda Bowl during the last few days?
Evening, Abbot, said Brother Cameron. Damien and I hit a good streak while you were away.
Won the pairs twice running.
The Abbot had rarely encountered such a lack of modesty. In any case, such victories had little
merit in the absence of the monasterys best player.
62% and 59%, Brother Cameron continued. I can show you a few hands afterwards if you like.
The Abbot made no response, reaching for his cards. Why would man or beast be interested in
some brash novices efforts when they could instead enjoy tales of fine play from the worlds top
tournament?
This was the deal before them:
89
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Dealer East. East-West Vul.
K972
5
43
10 8 4 3
10 8 4
8762
AQ93
Q J 10 9
W
N
S
J6
AQ 9 6 2
KJ2
AK 4
A Q 10 8 5
KJ7
765
53
West
Brother
Damien
Pass
North
Brother
Xavier
East
Brother
Cameron
1
All Pass
South
The
Abbot
1
Brother Cameron won the low heart lead with the ace and paused for thought. There was every
chance of adding two club tricks to the pile. What hope was there of a fourth defensive trick? Left
to his own devices, it seemed that the Abbot would soon be able to claim five trumps, two clubs,
the ace of diamonds and a couple of heart ruffs.
Brother Camerons eyes narrowed as he spotted a chance for the defence. Was there any law
against his partner holding the 10? At Trick 2 he switched to a low diamond into the dummys
tenace. West did indeed produce the diamond ten and the Abbot won with dummys queen.
Not liking the situation at all, the Abbot drew trumps in two rounds and played a club. Brother
Cameron won with the king and led the king of diamonds, clearing a trick in that suit. There was
nothing the Abbot could do after this bright defence and a few moments later he was one down.
I dont want to appear critical, partner, exclaimed Brother Xavier, looking at the scoresheet,
but everyone else has made ten tricks.
The Abbot slumped in his chair. Were you even watching the play? he demanded. Once he
strikes lucky with the diamond switch, theres nothing I can do.
I wasnt implying that I would have made it, Brother Xavier replied. I was just telling you
what happened at the other tables. Still, never mind.
The Abbot exhaled slowly. What a partner! The Parrot was no slouch at expressing disapproval
of his partners efforts but at least he followed every trick and knew what had happened.
A round or two later, the Abbot faced Brother Hubert and Brother Richard. This was the first
deal of the round:
90
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Dealer North. Both Vul.
J3
A J 10 9 4 3
10 9 8 7 5
K87
KJ83
9
965
52
W
N
S
642
Q65
Q 10
J 10 6 4 3
AKQ
2
A742
AKQ87
West
North
East
South
The
Abbot
All Pass
Brother
Hubert
2
Brother
Xavier
Pass
Brother
Richard
3NT
The Abbot led the 10 against 3NT and Brother Richard won in his hand. He continued with
the ace of clubs, noting with interest the fall of the 9 from the Abbot in the West seat.
Although an overtrick was still possible if West had played the 9 from some 3-card holding, Brother Richard viewed a safety play in the suit as a much sounder prospect. He crossed to
dummy with the ace of hearts and led dummys remaining club. When a low spot-card appeared
from East, he covered with the 7. The Abbot showed out and four club tricks brought declarers total to nine.
Theres no point in splitting my honours, said Brother Xavier. He can force out my remaining high card with his 87.
Obviously, grunted the Abbot.
What we needed was a heart opening lead, continued Brother Xavier. That takes out the entry
to dummy prematurely. Theres no way to make it after that.
Good point, muttered Brother Hubert.
The Abbot, who had rarely heard a less interesting point, closed his eyes for a moment. The
Parrot was not a perfect partner, far from it. At least he didnt resort to fatuous double-dummy
suggestions in the post-mortem.
He can win a heart lead with dummys ace, said Brother Hubert, but a club to the eight is no
good then. You would still hold the nine.
Ah yes, thats very clear now that youve explained it, said the Abbot heavily. Kind of you.
Near the end of the session the monasterys two top pairs faced each other. Although the Abbot
felt no need to display his prowess after such a mind-blowing performance in the Bermuda Bowl,
he would not be averse to at least one noteworthy move on his part.
This was the first deal of the round:
91
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Dealer South. None Vul.
A9632
Q 10 7
AQ
A 10 6
J
N
82
E
J 10 9 5 4 2 W
S
J984
K854
AK53
K6
K73
West
Brother
Paulo
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
North
Brother
Xavier
2
3NT
4
4NT
6
Q 10 7
J964
873
Q52
East
Brother
Lucius
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
South
The
Abbot
1NT
3
4
4
5
The Abbot broke the transfer, setting spades as trumps, and Brother Xaviers 3NT was a waiting
bid to see if his partner could cue-bid in clubs. The jack of diamonds was led against the resultant spade slam and the Abbot won with dummys ace. He continued with the ace and king of
trumps, discovering that he had a loser in the suit.
The Abbot sat back in his chair. How could he give himself the best chance? Playing on hearts
immediately was obviously a poor idea. Perhaps he could enlist some help from the defenders. He
cashed his other diamond trick and exited with a trump to Easts queen.
Brother Lucius already had a good picture of declarers hand. The appearance of the king and
queen of diamonds on the second round marked South with only two cards in the suit. The bidding placed him with the AK and K; if he held fewer than four hearts, he would presumably
have eliminated that suit before exiting in trumps. A red-suit exit was out of the question, so he
would have to play a club. Suppose he exited with a low club, finding partner with the jack to
force dummys ace. Declarer would then have a straightforward squeeze against him in hearts and
clubs. The only hope was to exit with the Q, giving declarer a guess in the suit.
The Abbot won with the K and cashed the ace and queen of hearts, the jack failing to appear.
He continued with two more rounds of trumps, discarding a club from his hand. After overtaking the 10 with the king, West showing out, these cards remained:
92
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
J9
A 10
W
N
S
7
The Abbot surveyed the dummy in expert fashion. One of Easts cards was known to be the J. If
he had started with the QJ2, the jack would drop under dummys ace. With a relatively strong
player such as Brother Lucius in the East seat, there was another possibility he had foreseen
that he would be squeezed after a low club exit and had returned the queen from Q52. On
the assumption that East was good enough to exit with an honour from Qxx or Jxx, Restricted
Choice made this a more likely prospect than East holding QJx.
The Abbot made up his mind. He led his last club and called for dummys ten. The finesse succeeded and the game was made.
I did what I could, observed Brother Lucius. Not good enough on this occasion.
The Abbot sat back happily in his chair. Excellent defence and top-class declarer play, he
exclaimed. It was an exchange worthy of the Bermuda Bowl itself!
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93
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Solution to Non-Prize Problem
South reaches Four Spades after West has overcalled the One Heart opening with Two Diamonds. West leads a club. South wins and plays a diamond. West wins the ace and switches
to the jack of trumps. How should South continue?
KQ52
Q
KJ2
K8763
8643
AJ542
8
AQJ
The deal is from the year 2000 Cap Gemini Invitation in the Netherlands. The declarer was
Krystztof Jassem of Poland. He found the winning line of playing LOW from dummy.
West, Jason Hackett, had a singleton club but had made an error when he switched to the
trump jack from J 9. When Jassem played low Justin could no longer beat the contract because
if he overtook to give partner a ruff he lost his trump trick.
At another table the play started with the same first two tricks but Andrew Robson, who won
the event partnering Zia Mahmood, switched to the NINE of trumps. Now when declarer
put on the king Zia was able to win his ace, give partner a club ruff and still make the ten of
trumps later on.
Had declarer played low from dummy the defence can still survive if East finds the play of
putting in the ten.
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94
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
VIDEO OFTHEMONTH
The Videos Shout:

Balicki-Zmudzinski
The Polish stars Cezary Balicki and Adam Zmudzinski are the third pair currently under investigation
by the European Bridge League.
In the article that appeared on Bridgewinners (www.bridgewinners.com/article/view/the-videos-shoutbalicki-zmudzinski/) the hypothesis regarding the bid spacing of Balicki-Zmudzinski is as follows:
On the second round of bidding or later, when the bid is placed on the tray with a wide space between
the current bid and the previous bid, that indicates a good hand (within the context of the auction).
When the bid is placed on the tray with a narrow space between the current bid and the previous bid,
that indicates a bad hand.
65 bids were analysed by an expert panel, which comprised: Sabine Auken, Tony Forrester, Chip Martel,
Fred Stewart, and P.O. Sundelin
They were asked, for each of the 65 bids, if they were permitted to signal in such a manner would they
place the bids with wide or narrow spacing?
Out of the 65 clearly irregularly-spaced bids, the
majority choice of the expert panel matched the
actual spacing 56 times. When the expert panel was
unanimous (40 hands), they matched the actual
spacing 38 times.
Here are two of the videos they examined:
On the first deal (see video - top right) Balicki as
North has: [ A K 8 4 2 ]A { K J 8 5 2 } 6 3.
The relevant part of the video is at 1:43:04,

total length of video is 2:29:38
After two passes West opens a strong 1} and

Balicki overcalls 1], two suits of the same shape,
8-15. When East passes South bids a pass or correct
1[ and West bids 3}. With the best hand he can
have Balicki wants to make a strong double.
On the second Zmudzinsk(see video - bottom right)
(South) has [ 7 4 2 ] 6 5 3 { 8 5 4 3 } 10 5 4.
His partner opens 1] and East overcalls 1[. West
cue bids 2], North bids 3} and East jumps to 4[.
South wants to make the weakest Pass he can.
95
December 2015
The relevant part of the video is at 1:43:04,

total length of video is 2:29:38
Bridge Magazine
Intermediate
Solutions to Test Your Defence
with Julian Pottage
K85
K9732
Q9
Q95
See page 86
9
Q J 10 4
K764
AKJ2
10 7
A8
A 10 8 5 3 2
10 8 6
AQJ6432
65
J
743
WEST NORTH EAST

SOUTH
3
All Pass
Partner leads the three of hearts (fourth highest) to the
ten, ace and five. How do you continue?
The three of hearts looks like a fourth-highest lead from
a suit headed by the king. Since the two of hearts is
missing, the lead may well be from five, in which case
a simple heart ruff is not available.
Rather than lead from a broken heart suit, partner would
probably have led from Q-J-9 or a singleton diamond,
so you place declarer with exactly one diamond. This
is the most likely diamond layout anyway given what
you know about the spade lengths in the unseen hands.
If declarer can overruff the third round of hearts, it could
still be in your interest to ruff. Perhaps you can promote
an extra trump winner for your partner. As a prelude
to this, you should cash the ace of diamonds and then
revert to hearts. How high should you ruff the third
round of hearts? You want to keep the ten of spades to
neutralise the nine and so should ruff with the seven.
96
December 2015
53
A9 2
K 10 4
KJ987
K J 10 9 8
K43
Q93
A6
AQ 6 2
J 10
876
5432
74
Q8765
AJ52
Q 10
WEST NORTH EAST

SOUTH
1
Pass
1NT
All Pass
Partner leads the eight of clubs (second and fourth),
which loses to the ten. Declarer plays a spade to the
ten and queen. What is your plan?
You should start by trying to read the initial lead. If it
was second highest, declarer has the king-queen-jack
and possibly other clubs left. Blocking the suit seems an
odd thing to do, as also is making an initial short suit
lead in a minor. Far more likely, the lead is fourth best.
It seems natural to return a club to set up partners suit.
Indeed, this is correct. The more interesting question is
what to do when you get back in with the ace of spades.
If you simply continue clubs, partner may end up having to make a losing lead from the king of diamonds
or ace of hearts. Admittedly, declarer may need to read
the layout to take advantage.
Note also that you can ill afford to hold on the spades.
If you hold up, you may find that declarer abandons
the spade suit and switches to hearts. One danger is
that declarer can set up the hearts while endplaying
West in the process.
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
PARTNERSHIP PROFILE
In this issue, the Editor looks at the Champions Cup 2015.
The 14th European Champions Cup was staged at the Horwood House Hotel, Milton Keynes.
The twelve teams played a complete round-robin of 10-board matches after which the top four
advanced to the 32 board semi-finals.
Here is how the teams lined up:
Radkov
Bulgaria
Roumen Trendafilov (pc), Vladislav Isporski, Tenyu Tenev, Todor Tiholov
Pharmaservice
Denmark
Hans Christian Graversen (pc), Poul Clemmensen, Emil Jepsen, Lars Tofte
England
Allfrey
Alexander Allfrey (pc), Mike Bell, Tony Forrester, David Gold, Andrew Robson, David Bakhshi
England
EBU
Simon Gillis (pc), Boye Brogeland, Tom Hanlon, Espen Lindqvist, Zia Mahmood, Erik Saelensminde
Soulet
France
Philippe Soulet (pc), Michel Lebel, Erick Mauberquez, Christophe Oursel, Bernard Payen, Thierry
de Sainte Marie
G.S.Allegra Italy
Maria Teresa Lavazza (npc), Alejandro Bianchedi, Dennis Bilde, Norberto Bocchi, Massimiliano
Di Franco, Giorgio Duboin, Agustin Madala, Massimo Ortensi (coach)
BCt Onstein
Netherlands
Louk Verhees (pc), Berend van den Bos, Joris van Lankveld, Ricco van Prooijen, Richard Ritmeijer,
Magdalna Tich
Heimdal
Norway
Erik Berg (pc), Erik Hoftaniska, Olav Arve Hyem, Aksel Hornslien, Lars Arthur Johansen, Brre
Lund
S.S.D. Angelini Bridge S.R.L. Italy
Francesco Angelini (npc), Leonardo Cima, Valerio Giubilo, Lorenzo Lauria, Antonio Sementa,
Mustafa Cem Tokay, Alfredo Versace
Top Bridge Bucharest
Romania
Marius Briciu (pc), Ionut Coldea, Filip Florin, Ovidiu Ghigheci, Bogdan Marina, Iulian Rotaru
Uppsalabridgen Skalman
Sweden
Krister Ahlesved (pc), Tommy Bergdahl, Jonas Petersson, Niklas Warne
Cayyolu Bridge Club
Turkey
Suleyman Kolata (pc), Ismail Kandemir, Ali Ucar, Nafiz Zorlu
97
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
They were competing not only for the title of European Club Champions, but also substantial
prizes:
1st 5000
2nd 3000
3rd 2000
4th 1500
5th 1000
6th 600
At the end of the round robin the table looked like this:
1
EBU
127.58
2
BCt Onstein
125.89
3
Angelini Bridge S.R.L.
125.01
4
Ita-G.S. Allegra
124.94
5
Nor-Heimdal Bk
115.86
6
Allfrey
115.52
7
Uppsalabridgen
112.35
8
Tur-Cayyolu Bridge Club
102.43
9
Soulet
101.38
10
Top Bridge Bucharest
97.59
11
Pharmaservice
88.84
12
Radkov
79.61
In the semi-finals EBU lost to BCt Onstein 42-77, while the holders, G.S.Allegra defeated Angelini Bridge S.R.L. 74-47.
The Hands
(This month all the deals were played at IMPs.)
Hand 1. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
North overcalls 2
QJ4
N
K 10 8 6 5 4
W
E
A2
S
97
West
Van Den Bos

2*
3NT
2
10-13, 6
A9 5
AQ 7 2
K 10 7
AQ 3
North
East
2
Pass
Van Lankveld
3*
4
South
Pass
All Pass
When East issued a mild slam try West politely declined.

North led the jack of clubs from K1087632 3 Q64 J6 and with the king of clubs offside
there were only eleven tricks, +650.
98
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
West
2
4
4
Bocchi
2*
3NT
4*
5*
Pass
9-12, 6
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
North
East
South
2
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Bilde
3*
4*
4NT*
6
6NT
Pass
Pass
Pass
Double
All Pass
When South doubled 6 it was clear to East that it showed a void in spades, so he converted to
6NT and hoped for the best.
Once again the lead was the jack of clubs and declarer could not muster more than eleven
tricks, 13 IMPs to BCt Onstein.
Writing in the Bulletin Brian Senior observed that played by East 6NT might have some chances,
as the club position is protected, but even after a diamond lead to the queen and king there is no
way to reach a position where South can be endplayed.
However, 6 played by East does have chances. It is laydown if South leads a club, and after
a diamond lead to the queen and ace, declarer can draw trumps, cash the ace of diamonds, play
the queen of spades for the king and ace and play the ten of diamonds, pitching a club (or spade)
from dummy. South wins, but is endplayed.
To defeat 6 by East, South must lead a trump.
Make mine a Multi.
Recommended auction: Once North has overcalled, it is not unreasonable to reach 6 you would
expect the missing kings to be well placed. So I am happy to endorse the Italian teams auction.
Marks: 6(E)10, 6(W) 8 4 7.
Running score: G.S. Allegra 10 (0) BCt Onstein 7 (13)

Hand 2. Dealer East. Both Vul.
A8 6 5 4
N
A 10 9 8 6 4
E
W
K4
S
West
QJ72
K
Q73
A K 10 8 2
East
Van Den Bos Van Lankveld
1*
1
1
2*
2NT
3NT*
3
5*
5*
Pass
5
1
2+
2
Fourth suit game-forcing
3NT
Serious 3NT
5
Exclusion Blackwood
0-3 key cards outside clubs
5
99
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Madala led the jack of hearts from K9 QJ3 AJ92 QJ74 so declarer could dispose of dummys diamonds on the top clubs. Declarer rejected the spade finesse, so he was +680.
West
East
Bocchi
2*
6
Stayman
Bilde
1NT
2
Pass
South led the ace of diamonds, but with the spade king onside and trumps 2-2 there was no
defence, +1430 and 13 IMPs to G.S.Allegra.
Recommended auction: I like the sequence adopted by the Dutchmen on a diamond lead only
the 20.34% chance that the spades will play for no loser delivers 6.
Marks: 510, 6 5.

Hand 3. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
J42
A Q 10 8 4
A3
AK 8
West
N
S
A K Q 10 7 6
5
K 10 9 6 4
5
East

1
1
2*
2*
2NT
3
4*
4NT*
6*
5*
Pass
7
2
Gazzilli
2
8+
4
Cue-bid
4NT
RKCB
0 or 3 key cards
5
Asking for third-round diamond control.
6
Madala led the three of spades from 953 763 J2 J10642 and declarer won in hand, cashed
a second spade, played a heart to the ace, ruffed a heart, played a diamond to the ace, a diamond
back to his king and ruffed a diamond. When the suit failed to divide he ruffed a heart then
cashed his trumps, pitching the last two hearts from dummy. There was no squeeze and he had
to concede the third round of clubs at trick 13 for one down.
100
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
West
4
4
4NT
5
6
East
Bocchi
Bilde
1
2
2NT
3
3
4*
4NT*
4*
6*
5*
Pass
7
Cue-bid
Cue-bid
RKCB
0 or 3 key cards
Grand slam try
Once again South led a trump and after winning in hand declarer cashed the ace of spades, led a
heart to the ace and ruffed a heart. He continued with a diamond to the ace, ruffed a heart low,
cashed the king of diamonds and ruffed a diamond with the jack of spades. A third heart ruff
established the queen and declarer could draw the outstanding trump, throwing dummys club
loser, and claim the last three tricks with the ace and king of clubs and queen of hearts. +1510
and 17 IMPs to Allegra, who led 46-38 IMPs at half-time.
Recommended auction: I like Bildes 2 very much in the style of Rixi Markus. Probably all
roads should lead to the grand slam, for example after 1-1-2NT-3-3-4NT*-5* East can
bid 6 and West will jump to 7.
Marks: 7 10, 6 8,6NT(W) 7, 6NT(E) 5.

Hand 4. E/W Vul. Dealer North.
AK 6
AK 8 7 2
852
K9
N
S
North opens 2 weak and South raises to 4

West
North
Van Den Bos
Pass
1
1
Pass
2*
Pass
3
3NT
Pass
Pass
5*
Pass
5*
Dble
Support double
4
RKCB
5
0-3 key cards
Asking for the Q
5
9
J93
AK Q 6 3
AQ J 3
East
Van Lankveld
1
Double*
3
3*
4*
5*
6
South
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
North led the two of clubs from QJ7532 Q10 J9 852 and declarer won with the king and
cashed the ace of hearts. When the ten appeared he did not have to consider safety playing the
trump suit, which might risk North scoring a club ruff.
101
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
West
Bilde
Double
6
North
2
Pass
All Pass
East
South
Duboin
Double
4NT
4
Pass
When West made a responsive double Easts 4NT offered West a choice of places to play.
Recommended auction: After 1-1-(1) East might bid 3. Then the auction can continue
3-3*-4*-4-4*-5-5NT-7-7NT. A fair alternative for East is to ask for key cards over 4
and then make a grand slam try.
In the second auction, the lack of space leaves E/W guessing.
Marks: 7NT 10, 7 9, 6NT/6 8, 7 4.

Hand 5. Dealer South. Both Vul.
K842
AK Q
J864
97
West
N
S
965
32
9
A K Q 10 8 6 4
East

1*
2*
3
2*
3
3*
5
4
Pass
1
2+
2
Inverted raise
2
No shortage
Diamond shortage
3
Heart concentration
3
3
Denying a spade stopper
Despite having a spade stopper West, worried about the diamond situation, went past 3NT.
North led the five of diamonds from AQ73 10764 Q752 3 and South won and switched
to the jack of spades for a rapid two down, +200.
West
East
1
1
Bilde
1*
1NT
Pass
2+
No major
Duboin
1*
3NT
With a blind lead North opted for the ten of hearts and declarer claimed ten tricks.
If North finds a diamond lead South will need to find a spade switch not easy.
Recommended auction: Playing a weak no-trump 1NT-3NT is the practical shot.
Marks: 3NT10, 5 5.

102
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
AJ 2
Q 10 7
A K 10 4 3
83
West
N
S
Q543
A
7652
AK Q 7
East

1NT
3*
4
4*
4NT*
4*
5*
5*
Pass
6*
3
4144
Cue-bid
4
4
Cue-bid
4NT
RKCB
0 or 3 key cards
5
Asking for the Q
5
1NT was ostensibly 15-17.

North led the jack of clubs from 987 J98653 - J1094 and declarer won with dummys
ace and played a diamond to the ace, North pitching the three of hearts.
Declarer came to hand with a heart and played a diamond, ducking when South put in the
jack. Back came a trump and declarer won with the ten, ruffed a heart and played a spade to the
jack. After drawing the outstanding trump, this was the position:
9
8
A2
Q
4
8
10 9 4
W
N
S
Q5
KQ7
K 10
K
52
If declarer now cashes the last diamond, followed by dummys top clubs, then South will inexorably be squeezed.
Alas, declarer cashed the ace of spades first, and now South was under no pressure.
Brian Senior suggested that Madala should have returned a club when in with the jack of diamonds, breaking up the squeeze.
However, declarer wins in dummy, plays a spade to the jack, cashes the ace of spades, ruffs a heart, discards a spade on the queen of clubs, ruffs a spade, ruffs a heart and plays a card, collecting Souths trumps.
Before I leave this hand I wonder if declarer should cash the ace of hearts before playing a diamond to the ace?
When South discards declarer ruffs a heart, plays a spade to the jack, cashes the ace of spades,
plays two rounds of clubs pitching a spade, ruffs a spade, ruffs a heart and claims.
103
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
West
North
Bilde
1NT
2*
Pass
Pass
3NT
All Pass
Multi Landy
East
South
Duboin
Pass
Double
3
Pass
Norths intervention (remember it was based on 987 J98653 - J1094) and the pre-emptive
raise left E/W with no room to manoeuvre and they stopped in 3NT.
East led the six of hearts and after winning perforce with dummys ace declarer played a diamond to the ten. When East discarded a heart, declarer crossed to dummy with a club, played a
spade to the jack and cashed his winners for +600.
Recommended auction: If you consider the West hand to be too good for a 12-14 INT (it rates
15.5 on the Kaplan-Rubens Hand Evaluator) the bidding could start 1-1-1NT-2*-2-3
and subsequently East is unlikely to stop short of 6.
Marks: 6 10, 5/3NT 6.

Hand 7. Dealer West. None Vul.
J3
95
W
E
KQ8
S
K 10 9 7 5 2
West
AK 9 2
A7
AJ 6 5 2
A3
East
Madala
Bocchi
Pass
2NT
4*
4*
6
5
Pass
Slam try in clubs
It is not clear if 4 was simply a cue-bid, or showed an even number of key cards.
North led the seven of spades and declarer won with dummys ace, cashed the ace of clubs and
played a club to the nine, +920. If North had led a heart declarer would have won, cashed the
top clubs and played four rounds of diamonds to dispose of the losing heart.
West
North
East
South
Verhees
Van Prooijen
Pass
Pass
1*
2*
3
Pass
Double
Pass
3NT
4
Pass
4
All Pass
5
16+ Unbalanced,17+ balanced
1
Pass
Pass
Pass
Im not sure about the meaning of 2 it may have been promising a six-card suit in clubs. Wests
double probably showed some extra values, but they could not find a route to the slam.
Here South led the king of hearts from Q8 KQ1083 943 Q64 but declarer could win
and take the safety play in clubs for +400.
104
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Recommended auction: Using methods I have outlined before in this feature the auction might
go: 2NT-3*-3NT*-4-4*-5-6, which is analogous to the one produced by Madala and
Bocchi, West having shown a single-suited slam try in clubs.
You will observe that with both minor suits breaking there is no defence to touch 7.
Marks: 6 10, 7 8, 5/3NT 7, 5 6, 6NT 5.

Hand 8. Dealer East. None Vul.
K Q 10 3
8
J 10 9 4
K Q 10 2
West
N
S
A2
QJ96
AK Q
AJ 9 6
East
2NT
3*
3*
3NT
3*
5NT
6
Pass
3
Puppet Stayman
3
At least one major
Spades
3
After a Puppet Stayman start to the auction that revealed there was no major-suit fit West jumped to
5NT asking East to pick a slam, at the same time clearly suggesting he could support either minor.
West
East
3
3
3
Bilde
Duboin
2NT
3*
3*
3NT
3*
4
4
6
Pass
Puppet Stayman
At least one major
Spades
Another Puppet Stayman sequence.

I suspect that 4 was natural and whatever the precise meaning of 4 it was enough for West
to jump to slam.
Recommended auction: If the auction starts 2NT-3*-3*-3*-3NT*-4 then all roads should
lead to 6, for example the continuation might be 4-4-4-6.
Marks: 6 10, 3NT/5 7.

It was almost a dead heat in the bidding stakes, but the Italian Champions had a huge edge where
it really mattered and they easily secured their fifth title in a row.
105
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
This months bonus deal:
Dealer East. All Vul.
K 10 3
AK Q 9 8 7
843
J
4
J52
A952
K 10 5 3 2
W
N
S
A8 6
4
J 10
AQ 9 8 7 6 4
QJ9752
10 6 3
KQ76
In the Closed Room West came to rest in 4 and North led the three of clubs. Declarer played
low from dummy, but South ruffed and after cashing two diamonds the defenders played a trump,
leaving declarer a trick short, -100.
In the Open Room:
West
North
East
South
Madala van Den Bos
2*
Pass
Pass
3
3NT
All Pass
5+, game-forcing
Bocchi
1
3
3*
Van Lankveld
1
Pass
Pass
North led the two of diamonds, but the defenders could only cash four tricks in the suit, +600
and 12 IMPs.
You can play through the deals mentioned in this article.
Just follow the links:
Hands 1, 2 & 3: http://tinyurl.com/o7sjcuy
Hands 4,5,6,7 & 8: http://tinyurl.com/nqc7wwl
106
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
MARKS & COMMENTS

Set 298 conducted by Alan Mould
It will be nearly Christmas by the time you are reading this so Happy Holidays to all our readers. To celebrate we have a bumper panel this month 23 no less.
This month hands 1, 3 and 4 are all from Marc
Smith (thanks Marc), problem 2 I made up (more on
that later), problem 5 is from Sally Brock, problem
6 from reader George Willetts, problem 7 from John
Matheson and problem 8 from Iain Sime. It was a good
set this month with only two heavy majorities, three
problems with no overall majority and all problems
attracting at least four answers. With a big panel less
waffle from me so straight on with the show:
PROBLEM 1
THE BIDS & MARKS

Bid
1.
2.
3.
Pairs. Dealer North. E/W Vul
AK Q 4
J9632
K Q 10 3
West
4.
North
2*
East
Pass
South
Pass
Natural and weak
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
Pass
10
10
Three Hearts
9
9
Double
7
2
2NT
7
2
3NT
2
0
Three Clubs
1
0
A wonderful problem to start with nothing but
flawed possibilities. We have too much to pass really
but do have more than half our values in the opponents suit and a partner that could not act with (presumed) short spades. But what are the alternatives?
Three Hearts on a non-suit, 2NT on a not quite balanced hand or Double with a not quite classic shape.
The panel just (and very unusually for them) go quietly and are full of comments like this:
Cope: Pass. I know I am being fixed but why should
partner have the cards I want? To double and bid
hearts overstates my hand, and 2NT gives us little chance of a heart contract. I will collect in 50s
and apologise later.
Green: Pass. Trying for a plus score, I cant bid 2NT
with a void and Three Hearts is horrible. Ill take
107
December 2015
5.
6.
7.
8.
Pass
Three Hearts
Double
2NT
3NT
Three Clubs
4NT
Five Hearts
Six Clubs
Four Spades
Five Spades
Five Diamonds
Six Spades
Pass
Five Hearts
4NT
Five Clubs
5NT
Six Hearts
Four Spades
6NT
Four Diamonds
Redouble
4NT
Four Hearts
Pass
5NT
6NT
Double
Four Hearts
Four Spades
Five Clubs
Four Clubs
Six Clubs
5NT
Five Hearts
3NT
Four Spades
Four Diamonds
Four Hearts
4NT
Four Clubs
Redouble
Pass
Two Diamonds
Two Hearts
Three Clubs
Three Hearts
Two Spades
2NT
3NT
Pass
Three Spades
Three Hearts
Three Diamonds
Four Clubs
Marks No. of Votes

10
9
7
7
2
1
10
8
8
6
4
2
2
10
9
8
8
6
6
1
1
10
9
8
4
2
2
1
10
8
8
7
6
6
5
2
10
7
2
2
2
1
10
9
8
6
6
2
1
1
10
9
7
6
1
1
10
9
2
2
0
0
17
3
1
2
0
0
0
10
7
1
1
3
1
0
0
9
9
5
0
0
0
0
12
5
2
1
2
1
0
0
22
1
0
0
0
0
14
2
2
4
1
0
0
0
14
7
1
1
0
0
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
the fifties. I dont expect to miss that many games
as partner will strain to double with short spades
and a near opener.
Sime: Pass. Whilst I am hopeful of a plus score,
minus 110 may be an indication that I have dodged
minus 200 by passing (Hmm if passing is -110 when
I have these trumps I would have thought bidding was
-800 at least!). And even if there is a plus our way, it
is not certain we would land there.
This is a good point even if there is a bigger plus
score are we sure to find it? Three Hearts risks Four
Hearts when 3NT is right, 2NT risks 3NT when Four
Hearts is right and Double just risks!
Rosen: Pass. Not really very close to tell you the
truth.
Well more people bid than passed Neil Brock: Pass. At least Im out of my misery in the
bidding. Any other bid and the torture is prolonged!
Several panelists mention this is easier at Pairs:
Silver: Pass. Since partner could not act with spade
shortage I will trade on the form of scoring (since
plus scores at Pairs are all important) and try for
our most likely plus rather than gamble and bid this
moth-eaten heart suit at the three-level in order to
try and find a much bigger plus score (of course I
am a Three Heart bidder at most other forms of
scoring).
Bowyer: Pass. It is Pairs, so if I have done the wrong
thing its just match-points. Collecting 150 for Two
Spades down three may be good for us. Keeping
out of a deathtrap if South has a good hand with
short Spades may be the winning action. At IMPs
its harder since we may have a score in excess of
600 available.
Greco: Pass. I will hope we dont have a game (or
slam) since I have no good bid to make, but at least
its Pairs so its only one board.
Bird: Pass. I dont usually bid at this level with only
six points outside the openers suit. Oh, I missed
a cold slam in hearts, did I? Well, I cant score 10
points on every deal.
You have scored 10 on this hand David whether
or not Six Hearts is cold.
Robson: Three Hearts. Too good to collect in 50s.
Zmudzinski: Pass. After a very long hesitation.
Three Hearts is not for me.
It was however for nine panelists so it ran Pass
very close:
Kokish: Three Hearts. Blame it on the vulnerability and the inevitable optimism of finding trump
support in dummy when holding length in RHOs
long suit.
A warm welcome back to the Koach after his
108
December 2015
exertions in Chennai. His fellow Canadian agrees

with him:
Cannell: Three Hearts. I hate it! But, even though
partner is short in spades and did not act after Two
Spades does not mean partner does not hold four
plus hearts. If that is so, then a vulnerable game is
certainly possible here. Wolfie will tell us that passing is too dangerous. Anyone for a bizarre 2NT balance on this collection? LOL
And does Bobby bid? Course he does:
Wolff: Three Hearts. A simple bid to a ridiculously
difficult situation. The vulnerability cries out for
more than 50 a trick.
Apteker: Three Hearts. Obviously Pass could be
right but if we are making Three Hearts, we will
need to be taking this three down which is unlikely.
If opponents were Vul, it would be an easy Pass
at Pairs. Partners inability to act despite probably
being short in spades does not mean he wont have
heart support or some critical fillers that will make
Three Hearts playable.
Alder: Three Hearts. We could have a vulnerable
game, but obviously passing could work out much
better. (I am not keen on 2NT with that void.)
McGowan: Three Hearts. This is horrible. I could
bid 3NT but they might lead diamonds, and anyway, where are the tricks to come from? Lets hope
partner can raise hearts.
Matheson: Three Hearts. I might catch a cold, but
partner could easily have three or four hearts and
some values.
Teramoto: Three Hearts. I dont want to lose the
chance to play 3NT or Four Hearts. Defending
Two Spades will get us only a small penalty.
Then we have two minority choices both offshape.
First up is our flexible friend:
Lawrence: Double. Getting 150 on defence is
wimpy. I will bid Three Hearts after Three Diamonds. May turn out that the wimpy 150 was a
better approach.
Barry is trying to spread the risk:
Rigal: Double. I have no idea where Im going but
this way I can share the blame with my partner if
everything goes pear-shaped. Direct action will
probably allocate all the blame to me, thus should
be avoided.
Hmm if things go pear shaped after you have
started with a takeout double on a void Barry good
luck in trying to spread the risk!
Two go for 2NT on the void:
Leufkens: 2NT. Chances for game good enough
not to pass Two Spades. Partner cant bid diamonds
anyway...
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Love it! Since Three Diamonds will be a transfer.
Last word to the man who knows:
Smith: 2NT. I am almost persuaded by the Pairs
scoring simply to go for a plus score by passing out
Two Spades. After all, whilst we can probably make
something, how good are the chances of stopping in,
say, Three Hearts? If we can make game, can we get
to the right one: 3NT, Four Hearts and Five Clubs
are all possible, but odds are that they wont all be
making. Overcalling Three Hearts will be right if
our only game is the 5-3 fit in that suit. Doubling
is most likely to get us to clubs when that is right.
In the end, though, I settle for the natural 2NT,
which at least has the merit of getting my range
across reasonably accurately. If two of my hearts
were diamonds, wouldnt this be routine? Cant say
I like this problem any better now than I did the
first time I saw it.
Partner held xx A10xx Kxxx Jxx so Four
Hearts was an easy make. You get 150 or 200 out of
Two Spades (the extra undertrick scoring a fair number of matchpoints). Presumably partner will raise
Three Hearts to Four Hearts but might he not just
raise 2NT to 3NT?
PROBLEM 2
IMPs. Dealer West. E/W Vul
AK J 4
6
A
K Q J 10 8 6 3
West
1
?
North
Pass
East
1
South
4
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
4NT
10
17
Five Hearts
8
3
Six Clubs
8
1
Four Spades
6
2
Five Spades
4
0
Five Diamonds 2
0
Six Spades
2
0
OK I made this hand up. In Set 295 problem 7 we
held AK A10874 AKQ1054 and saw the
auction 1, Pass 1, 4, ??. Then 10 panelists bid
Five Diamonds arguing it was natural and four panelists bid 4NT arguing it was the minors. It occurred
to me that neither of these were particularly obvious
without prior discussion and that many of the readers may think Five Diamonds agreed spades and/or
4NT was RKCB. So I tried to invent a hand where
109
December 2015
both were plausible. My imagination failed me and

the best I could come up with a hand where you want
to put in Blackwood. How many of the panel did I
catch with this red queens ruse (when I make a bid it
means exactly what I want it to mean)? No panelist
bid Five Diamonds this time so that is out. However
17 panelists bid 4NT, all of whom were present on the
panel last time. Liz McGowan and Enri Leufkens this
time bid Five Hearts; Sally Brock still bids 4NT but
says it is for minors but she will then correct 5m to Five
Spades so that is consistent; and finally Phillip Alder
also bids 4NT arguing that he thinks it is the minors
as he did last time, but if we think it is RKCB then
that is his bid a two-way shot! So readers you will be
delighted to know that the expert panel is completely
consistent, knows what their agreements are and dont
change them as the hand changes. Impressive or what
Only Paul picked this as a made up problem and
comes up with a very conservative answer:
Bowyer: Four Spades. Yes... is this the contrasting
hand to one given in a previous quiz? Last time we
were 0-2-5-6 and 4NT was for the minors; here you
are trying to see how many bid 4NT and claim it
is Blackwood. Right? Anyway, I reckon 4NT is the
minors here so I am unable to employ RKCB. So
we are on the spot and have to choose a super conservative Four Spades, a punt of Six Spades or something weird like Five Hearts. Everything repels so
I will stick to the principle of gaining a plus score
following a preempt and bid Four Spades.
Paul had one supporter:
Apteker: Four Spades. Too big a position to bid Five
Hearts as Five Spades may possibly not be making
so I am taking the low road.
Lets move on to the rush of 4NT bidders. Listen
first to this masterly analysis by Eric K of our options:
Kokish: 4NT. While settling for Four Spades
might be the winning action its too unilaterally
conservative without enough evidence to dictate
that approach. 4NT in this non-forcing situation
is about clubs with secondary diamonds until further notice. When I convert Five Clubs or Five
Diamonds to Five Spades I will be making a slam
try in spades that will get us to six when partner
has an ace and the Q but will not necessarily get
us to clubs when thats the correct strain to preclude a club ruff. As partner will expect a significant
trick source for my commitment to the five-level
he will certainly keep clubs in mind but its fair to
say thats not quite the same as bidding Six Clubs
or 5NT over Five Spades.Why not Five Hearts to
agree spades? That would not be wrong per se but
in real life the message will be first-round heart
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
control though practiced partnerships will have
their own ideas about that.
As I have already said Sally also bids 4NT but not
as RKCB:
Brock: 4NT. Not RKCB on this auction, but Ill
bid Five Spades over whatever he bids showing a
serious slam try.
And so does Marc:
Smith: 4NT. It would be nice if 4NT were RKCB
for spades here, but its not. Initially, partner will
assume 4NT shows minors, perhaps 5-6, and he
will give preference. When I then continue with
Five Spades, though, perhaps he will work out what
I really need. I must have a heart control (I could
bid Five Spades to ask for one) and I must have
good trumps (Five Hearts would ask for those), so
the logical conclusion is that I need something I
cannot ask for ie an ace. Well, it seems obvious
from this side of the table! The secondary problem,
of course, is that we may still need to play the hand
in clubs (109xxx xx KQx Axx for example)
either at the five-level or the six-level. To do that,
though, I probably have to guess now whether he
has an ace or not and just bid the appropriate number of clubs. Tough problem.
Iain isnt sure but thinks he has all bases covered:
Sime: 4NT. No footnote so this is RKC for spades!
What do you mean No? OK, it must be 2P2P
(Two Places To Play AM), I have that as well.
Tadashi makes similar points:
Teramoto: 4NT. I want to bid RKCB on this hand
but it depends on our agreements. 4NT over 4M
may be a minor-suit takeout, say 4-6.
As does Phillip as I have already mentioned:
Alder: 4NT (or Six Spades please read on). Nearperfect if it is RKCB for spades. But if in your system this shows a big minor two-suiter with shorter
diamonds, I will bid Six Spades (slightly nervous
that Six Clubs will be safer). P.S. I think 4NT should
be the minors, not RKCB.
The rest of the 4NT bidders are sure it is RKCB
Robson, Rosen & Zmudzinski: 4NT. RKCB
John and Joey have no intention of playing in Spades
Matheson: 4NT. RKCB 1430 if partner shows
one key card I am playing in Six Clubs, two in
Seven Clubs, and if none Five Spades.
Silver: 4NT. Intending to bid Six Clubs should
partner have one or two aces, and Seven clubs if East
has two aces and the spade queen (aint bridge easy?)
Rigal: 4NT. Keycard my best bet for a sensible
way forward. Yes it could turn a plus score into a
minus but this is surely the percentage action.
Wolff: 4NT. And then six if partner has one ace.
110
December 2015
Does anyone want to sell partner the queen of

spades or perhaps 6 or 7 instead? Still a danger of
a club ruff to not make 11 tricks but what is a fella
to do? It is still a percentage game and perhaps N/S
will take a phantom save.
Lawrence: 4NT. Safe facing almost any One Spade
response.
Cannell: 4NT. Please do not tell me this is anything other than RKCB for spades. If I did hold
four diamonds and six-plus clubs I do not think
I would bid 4NT here. Maybe a takeout oriented
double would make some sense with that holding.
Drew wasnt on the panel for Set 295 so we will
never know what he would have bid on that hand
Green: 4NT. RKC for spades in my book, with
Double as takeout. If 4NT isnt RKCB then stick
me with Five Hearts.
Cope: 4NT. Keycard in my book. I am not selling out to Five Hearts so lets see if we can make
Six Spades.
Three panellists go for Five Hearts as their slam try,
all concerned that 4NT is not RKCB:
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BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
McGowan: Five Hearts. I think 4NT would show have a lot of controls, but then we have opened Two
the minors here because it is not a jump. I expect Clubs. 10 of the panel, enough for the 10 marks stop
partner will bid Five Spades, leaving me guessing, right here and I agree with them:
but if he has six spades and an ace he will know Cope: Pass. My hand seems to have gone backwards
what to do.
I assume partners bidding is showing some sort of
Greco: Five Hearts. I need so little for slam I think 5-6 hand and something like x Kxxxx Qxxxxx
its worth the gamble to moving past Four Spades. I x is more than we can hope for and still a slam in
have an easy RKC bid but I think that it is at least hearts is not a good proposition.
50/50 this would be takeout and it certainly is not Kokish: Pass. What does negative mean in this feature? By bidding his suits in natural order rather than
clear absent an agreement.
Leufkens: Five Hearts. 4NT is either minors or descending order with five-six there is some implicastrong spade support, but that doesnt help (espe- tion that his hearts are not very good and diamonds
cially if N supports his partner).
more substantial within the modest parameters of
And finally as a lone voice David solves the prob- negative so slam figures to be some way off. Even
lem of avoiding club ruffs:
king-fifth of hearts and three black-suit discards entails
Bird: Six Clubs. Occasionally this will succeed when some handling and needs good breaks, so as I believe
Six Spades goes down. (I may avoid a club ruff or be Four Hearts is not forcing, I consider myself unforced.
able to discard spade losers from my hand). Most of the McGowan: Pass. Looks as if partner is 5-6 or 5-7
time, the two black-suit slams will sink or swim together. in the reds but I would be very surprised if either
Given the overwhelming majority for bidding on suit was as good as KJ10xx I can invent hands
I have downgraded the Four Spade bid slightly. There where slam might make, but I prefer to take the
is of course no companion hand.
likely plus score.
Apteker: Pass. Feels like a complete guess. Partner is
PROBLEM 3
expected to have 5-6 in the reds or better but opposite
Kxxxx or QJxxx, slam is not good and he may be worse
IMPs. Dealer West. All Vul
making the five-level unsafe.
Greco: Pass. This is a tricky one. What is going on?
AK J 8 4
Partner
could easily have started with Two Hearts with
A8 4
decent
hearts
(even with longer diamonds) as there
A
would be no other way for him to bid his hand. I feel
AK Q 6
like partner has something like x Qxxxx KJxxxx x.
West
North
East
South
Lawrence: Pass. Expecting five poor hearts and six
2*
Pass
2*
Pass
so-so diamonds.
Pass
3*
Pass
2
Robson: Pass. I think partner is weak 5-6 and we
Pass
3NT
Pass
4
have the wrong cards for six. Close though.
?
Wolff
: Pass. Finally a time to be conservative, but
2 23+ balanced or any game force
so
much
guessing to do and always much at stake.
2
Negative
3
Natural
Sime: Pass. Ah, I have found my Two Clubs bidding card. I expect two trump losers so eleven tricks.
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
Perhaps only ten tricks on a good day.
Pass
10
10
Alone amongst the passers Paul thinks partner may
Five Hearts
9
7
be 4-6. Wouldnt partner put down the dummy with
4NT
8
1
Five Clubs
8
1
that shape?
5NT
6
3
Bowyer: Pass. What has partner got to bid this
Six Hearts
6
1
way? 1-5-6-1? Could he have four hearts only and
Four Spades
1
0
be 4-6? In any case, I dont think Five Diamonds is
6NT
1
0
right. Four Hearts might not be the best spot but it
What has partner shown? Specifically has partner
should scramble home. After the negative response
shown any values AT ALL? Would partner bid like I cant see a slam.
this with for example x xxxxx xxxxxx x? After
Those arguments seem pretty strong to me but more
all 3NT is unlikely to be right and we have no second than half the panel bid on. Can they convince us?
negatives in our methods so why shouldnt partner have Next up with seven votes is the general slam-try raise
that? Even if he might is it too extreme to Pass? We do to Five Hearts:
111
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Cannell: Five Hearts. A general slam-try for hearts.
In other words partner bid slam if you have a
couple of heart honours. My belief is that partners
sequence shows five hearts and six-plus diamonds.
Do you really want to play slam opposite say x
KQxxx xxxxxx x? No top losers is certainly true
but 12 tricks seem a long way away.
Smith: Five Hearts. Wouldnt he bid this way with
both x Jxxxx KJxxxx x and x KJxxx
Jxxxxx x? Im willing to take a shot at slam
opposite the second hand, but not the first, so I
ask about his trumps.
Really? Not sure I am.
Leufkens: Five Hearts. Partner should be 6-5, so
Five Hearts asks about quality of hearts. 4NT is
sign-off.
Ben gives us some helpful analysis of the continuations:
Green: Five Hearts. Im assuming that Four Hearts
is natural and that partner has something like five
hearts and six or more diamonds. Since this is an
unusual sequence I think it might be good to discuss what continuations mean. For example 4NT
for me is natural and regressive. The 3NT bid could
have been made with a 5-2-1-5 shape. Four Spades
would be to play for me, based on a decent sixbagger. Five Clubs would be a cue agreeing hearts
(though I suppose it might agree diamonds on some
days) and Five Diamonds would be to play in diamonds. But what am I worth? Since in my view
I cant bid Blackwood, Id like to find out if partner has decent trumps, so Ill make a general try
of Five Hearts. I dont want to play in slam opposite Qxxxx KJxxxx but partner will know that
QJ10xx KJxxxx is a far stronger hand at least
thats what Im hoping.
Rosen: Five Hearts. Asking for decent hearts in
context. Pass was my second choice.
Silver: Five Hearts. With East being at least 5-6 in
the red suits there are a lot of losers to cover since
he has a minimum, but with a complete bust I dont
see him bidding Four Hearts even holding 11 red
cards. So I will ask about his heart quality, and with
a little extra he will go on.
It is entirely unclear to me why partner cannot have
a complete bust. Is he supposed to pass 3NT with a 1-56-1 zero count? Or bid Three Hearts over Two Spades
and bury the diamonds forever? Or what?
Teramoto: Five Hearts. Four Hearts sounds like
partner is 5-6 so I invite a slam.
Sally gives Five Clubs a try:
Brock: Five Clubs. First thoughts were to bid
5NTbut he doesnt have to have much if hes 5-6
or 5-7. This has to be pretty encouraging and is
112
December 2015
probably enough with most of my values in the

black suits.
That brings us to the slam forcers out of kilter
really with the view of the rest of the panel.
Rigal: 5NT. Partner knows I dont have four hearts,
so in context we surely have play for a slam but
which. See problem one for the correct attribution
of blame. Why should I pick the wrong slam when
partner can?
And how are you going to avoid the blame when
there is no slam? Alder: 5NT. Pick a slam. I am assuming partner
had a double negative available. Yes, this is a slight
overbid, given the potential misfit, but to settle for
4NT seems cautious.
Zmudzinski: 5NT. We are in the slam. Which one?
Of course over Six Diamonds I bid.
For the second problem in a row David is alone
in blasting a slam. What has happened to your much
cherished reputation for solidity David?
Bird: Six Hearts. You can make a case for 4NT being
RKCB for hearts (expecting a 5-6 hand opposite).
I am not going to risk it. Call this Bird a chicken
if you insist.
A fine pun and probably one used before.
Finally John bids 4NT the equivalent of Pass as
he thinks he believes (rightly so) that it is regressive.
Maybe like Paul John thinks partner may only have
four hearts?
Matheson: 4NT. I have a good hand, but we are
not fitting well.
Partner held QJ9xx J10xxxx xx which
seems fair enough to me. Hearts were 3-2 and diamonds 4-2 so Four Hearts was the limit of the hand.
Given that 19 out of 23 of the panel passed or did
not force to slam I have downgraded the slam forcers
slightly (plus it didnt work at the table!).
YOUNG CHELSEA
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Intermediate
PROBLEM 4
IMPs. Dealer East. N/S Vul
4
AQ 7 6 2
K53
Q873
West
3*
4
?
2NT
3
4
North
Pass
Double
East
2NT
3
Pass
South
Pass
Pass
Pass
20-22
Transfer
Natural
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
Four Diamonds 10
9
Redouble
9
9
4NT
8
5
Four Hearts
4
0
Pass
2
0
5NT
2
0
6NT
1
0
Well this is a weird one! I cannot add anything to Erics
superb analysis again:
Kokish: Four Diamonds. Congratulations on finding an auction none of us has seen before. (Why
thank you kind sir!) Assuming North is merely
deranged rather than certifiably insane we have to
deal with Easts pass over the double versus Redouble, Four Hearts and a retreat to 4NT, not to mention the unexpected opportunity to bid a now-natural Four Diamonds. Given that our side would never
play in Four Clubs doubled (we would redoublefor
business if we could make it, or look for another
landing place if we couldnt make it) East would
redouble with most four-card club holdings, bid
Four Hearts with preference and nothing special,
often bid Four Diamonds with five and only two
hearts and less than four clubs, bid 4NT with no
fit and no reason to play in Four Clubs redoubled
or Four Hearts, and Pass with none of those. So
where does that leave us? Some of the attractiveness in bidding Four Diamonds to complete my
pattern has been deflected by Easts failure to bid
Four Diamonds indeed he might expect me to
be 0-5-4-4 if thats the way we bid with that distribution but as Four Diamonds keeps our slam
chances open and avoids playing in Four Clubs
Redoubled when thats the only contract that fails
and gives East a more enlightened chance to play
in Four Hearts or 4NT too, I cant find a better call.
Fair enough! This fine analysis together with the
113
December 2015
analysis on problem 2 wins Eric the comment of the

month award. Eight panelists agree with Eric, several
of them also with detailed analysis such as Ben:
Green: Four Diamonds. I think this boils down to
what do partners actions mean over the double? I
have bid Four Clubs naturally and they have doubled showing good clubs, I think Redouble from
partner shows a willingness to play in Four Clubs
Redoubled, Four Hearts would be regressive and I
think since he hasnt used the Redouble then Four
Diamonds must be a cue for hearts. What would
my actions mean? Well wouldnt Redouble say I
dont mind playing here? Or would it show the
ace? Its all a bit murky. Since I dont have either
of those I have to decide what to do next. Now if
I assume that partner doesnt have four clubs nor
does he have a heart fit then what else is left? We
could easily belong in diamonds if partner is 3-25-3 so Ill try Four Diamonds. Whether partner
reads it as semi-natural I dont know, but at least
he will know I have a good hand without willingness to play in clubs.
Bird: Four Diamonds. The double has introduced
an air of uncertainty into the auction. Partner
could not redouble, with the A and heart support, because I might read this as to play. He could
have cue-bid Four Diamonds with that ace, because
after Norths double this would clearly be agreeing
hearts. I am going to mark time with Four Diamonds and hope for the best (something that my
M&C answers often require).
Leufkens: Four Diamonds. What does partners
pass mean? Heart support with 2nd round club
cue, or no heart support, no club support, and
doesnt fancy 4NT? What would Redouble by partner mean? What would my Redouble now mean?
That was my 2nd thought, but in my partnership
that would indicate better clubs. Hopefully Four
Diamonds helps partner, maybe because hes got
five diamonds!
Greco: Four Diamonds. Who knows what partner has for their pass of Four Diamonds but my
hand has gotten worse. As partner should be able
to tell but maybe partner has long diamonds and
this will strike gold.
Rosen: Four Diamonds. Weird problem. Playing
Four Clubs Redoubled probably unwise since partner couldnt redouble themselves. Should we just
sign off in Four Hearts? No... Lets make one last try.
Out of kilter with the panel Liz thinks redouble
from either side would show the ace:
McGowan: Four Diamonds. Patterning out, I hope.
Should deny A at least, when I would redouble.
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Partners pass also denies that card, so maybe I
should bid 4NT as a sign off. Still, partner could
have six diamonds
Matheson: Four Diamonds. My fragment, although
against some opponents I would be tempted to fight
it out in Four Clubs Redoubled.
Brock: Four Diamonds. I have a rule that I can
never play this type of auction un-redoubled (otherwise its a lot of work for little gain even if I make
it). Maybe I should redouble and teach them a lesson, but maybe its me who would be taught a lesson! Not sure what to make of partners pass I
dont think it necessarily denies a club honour as
redouble would probably show a wish to play there
rather than a control.
Five panelists bid 4NT rather than Four Diamonds
Alder: 4NT. This is a little pushy, but I think redouble would promise five clubs. Yes, perhaps I should
just pass, but I will assume North knows what he
is doing. Partner could have redoubled.
I rather agree with Sally even if you make Four
Clubs doubled it is only a couple of IMPs as surely
other games make as well. Paul also agrees
Bowyer: 4NT. So we have 31-33 points and are
doubled in a part-score? Its tempting to Pass but
wed only score 510 even if this dangerous venture succeeded. In fact, if North has six clubs, Four
Clubs will probably fail, so Pass (or Redouble) may
well make me look very foolish. Surely we cant
make a slam so lets play 4NT.
Apteker: 4NT. My Clubs are not good enough to
redouble. Partner has probably denied 3x hearts
and LHO has announced that my queen of clubs
might not be worth its weight so my hand is now
worth inviting slam at best.
Lawrence: 4NT. Partner has 4-2-4-3. Or he has
four lousy clubs. He would redouble with four good
ones. I dont see the need to play in a nervous 4-3
club fit when we are gin for a game. Is that Zia in
the North seat?
Great idea a psychic double to put us off our cold
club slam - But no it wasnt Mike.
Teramoto: 4NT. Natural, non-forcing. He may bid
a slam if he wants. Four Clubs Redoubled may be
dangerous with so many losers in clubs.
Finally the third option of the panel, tied with nine
votes, is the oft-mentioned go for the throat redouble.
Everyone of course believes it is to play.
Robson: Redouble. In for a penny. We may hold
our losses to three club tricks.
You had better!
Silver: Redouble. Since in principle 10 tricks a priori are easier to take than 12 I will try and punish
114
December 2015
the villains right here for their effrontery!

Not one but two mentions of backgammon:
Cannell: Redouble. Up the ante!!! Lets turn the
backgammon cube on North.
Cope: Redouble. Partner has passed Four Clubs so
I assume that is the suit they prefer (and like?). I am
happy to spin the cube despite the bad club break
Rigal: Redouble. To play; thatll larnem or us.
No reason to assume we cant make something at
the four-level and this is the most likely candidate.
Wolff: Redouble. And breathlessly wait for the
dummy to appear. The dealmaker for me is that
North, in order to get a club lead may have overextended his luck. Of course, Im relying on my partners tacit acceptance of that contract unless he was
intending to just mark time. If so, it is strange to me.
Sime: Redouble. Partner was content to declare
Four Clubs doubled. So Redouble is my opinion
about our prospects, and a means of improving our
score if I am right. North has picked an unfortunate moment to indicate a lead against an expected
heart contract.
That remains to be seen!
Zmudzinski: Redouble.
Smith: Redouble. I would expect partner to be 2-3
in my two suits with four clubs I would expect
him to redouble, and either with three hearts or
with only two clubs, I would expect him to make
whatever bid he would have made without Norths
double. Perhaps something like AKx Kx AQJxx
K10x. Perhaps in retrospect, with 6NT now likely
cold after Norths double, this redouble risks getting us to the only slam (Four Clubs Redoubled)
that doesnt make please tell me there are not four
trump losers. (Although it does look like slam in a
red suit may go down on a club ruff.)
OK Marc I wont tell you there are four trump
losers there are FIVE trump losers! North held
AK109xx and partners hand was AKQ Kx
AQJxx Jxx. Arguably this is partners fault as perhaps he should have bid Four Diamonds or 4NT but
he did have three clubs and if you had five maybe
clubs were the right denomination. Somewhat amusingly the Four Diamond bidders will also get a negative score as partner will raise (presumably) putting
North on lead and the ruff will be the third trick. With
hearts 3-3 twelve tricks in NTs, hearts or diamonds
are cold but only from partners hand. Given that the
majority of the panel chose not to redouble and that
it was wrong at the table I have used my casting vote
in favour of Four Diamonds (even though that too
gets a negative score).
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
PROBLEM 5
IMPs. Dealer West. E/W Vul
3
A K 10 7 5 4
A8
AJ 8 6
West
1
?
3
North
1
East
Double
South
3*
Pre-emptive
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
Double
10
12
Four Hearts
8
5
Four Spades
8
2
Five Clubs
7
1
Four Clubs
6
2
Six Clubs
6
1
5NT
5
0
Five Hearts
2
0
The oppomemts are in our faces (so what else is
new?). We have a very good hand but concerns about
both strain and level. In such circumstances expert
players tend to reach for their flexible friend and
this is no exception half of the panel (well OK as
near half as can be with an odd number) Double,
many with similar comments about their intended
continuations:
Apteker: Double. The most flexible call while
announcing extras values. While I have an extra
heart or two more than I have promised, Four
Hearts does not allow for Three Spades doubled or
exploration for club contracts. Four Clubs probably
overstates my club length and understates my heart
strength. Over a Four Club response to the Double,
I will cue Four Spades, over Four Diamonds, I will
bid Four Hearts, over 4NT I will bid Six Clubs and
will raise Five Clubs to Six Clubs.
Cope: Double. And if partner bids Four Clubs
bid Four Spades, if they bid Four Diamonds bid
Four Hearts.
Silver: Double. With slam in clubs a real possibility I will try and use the villains aggression against
them by making a mark time call intending to bid
Four Spades over Four Clubs and Four Hearts over
Four Diamonds and Should N/S bid Four Spades
I can always bid Five Clubs (unless my OX gets
in the way and forces me to Six Clubs over Five
Diamonds)
Teramoto: Double. If partner bids Four Clubs, Six
Clubs will be close. If he bids Four Diamonds I will
bid Four Hearts, natural NF.
115
December 2015
Sime: Double. Extra values takeout. I will try

Four Hearts over Four Diamonds, but pass Five
Diamonds.
Greco: Double. I have a huge hand but I have no
clear bid at this point so I will make an action double. Partner should go out of their way to not pass
this type of bid when I could have many hands.
To be honest Eric if partner passes this when I have
AK, A, A that is fine by me! Barry thinks so too:
Rigal: Double. If partner passes how bad can it
be? And this way we can correct Four Diamonds
to Four Hearts and still leave clubs in the picture
facing a hand with very short hearts.
Robson: Double. Takeout. Too Six Clubby simply to sign off in Four Hearts.
Green: Double. Tempting to bid Four Hearts but
that could buy a singleton heart when Six Clubs
is making. I dont feel I can commit to clubs with
potentially only a 4-4 fit. I will Double for takeout
and see what partner does next. My decision will
come on the next round.
Lawrence: Double. Good hand. Ensuing auction
will be curious.
An odd choice of adjective?
McGowan: Double. I think this shows general
strength. Hoping partner will do something helpful and I can then do something sensible. Both
seem very unlikely!
Yeah that is my experience as well Liz.
Zmudzinski: Double. And Four Hearts over 3NT.
Maybe too aggressive but I cannot bid Four/Five
clubs or Four Hearts immediately.
The next largest vote (five) was for the bid that gives
up all hope of slam and just bids what the panelists
hope is the best game.
Brock: Four Hearts. I think I remember this one
(yep you sent it to me). I always rebid the major with
6-4. If they bid Four Spades I will bid Five Clubs
next time.
Bowyer: Four Hearts. I bid what I think I can
make, trying for the best plus score after a preempt.
Four Clubs may get passed out, Five Clubs is too
committal.
So what is wrong with Double then?
Leufkens: Four Hearts. Practical. Rest is guessing,
both number of clubs from partner and level.
So what is wrong with Double then?
Rosen: Four Hearts. Double could be right (so why
not bid it then?). Trouble with bidding clubs is a)
how many, b) how do we get across our good sixcard heart suit...
Wolff: Four Hearts. Somewhat conservative but
prefer numbers to random guesses.
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
I dont think the Four Heart bidders make much
of a case, do you? I have thus somewhat downgraded
it in the marking.
Eric K and Marc Smith think Double does not go
far enough:
Kokish: Four Spades. This looks eerily familiar. I
believe there is great merit in treating Four Clubs as
forcing to keep Four Hearts in the picture, I would
do that if wed agreed on this somewhat arcane
treatment, but playing with a strange English partner unaccustomed to quirky Canadian ideas, I will
go with the flow and give up on finishing in Four
Hearts in order to try for slam in clubs: East will
bid 4NT to see where Im coming from but bid
Five Clubs with no interest in a minor-suit slam.
Whether Five Diamonds over Four Spades should
be treated as a good hand for clubs but a rejection
of a slam invite in diamonds is something to add
to our list of partnership testers.
Indeed!! A sort of pass or correct at the five-level not
something I would wing past partner without discussion. Nor indeed a forcing Four Clubs in this position.
Smith: Four Spades. I would like to keep both clubs
and hearts in the picture, but Im not sure that is
possible. The alternatives seem to be Four Hearts
(huge playing strength for this minimum bid, but
can hardly bid more hearts with no guaranteed fit)
and Five Clubs (but a spade control may be all he
needs to bid slam). Four Spades is a slight overbid
and also has the disadvantage that partner does not
know which minor we are agreeing, but it seems
like the best choice since all options are flawed.
What about Double then?
No one so far has supported a suit partner has more
or less promised with primary support. Somewhat
unusual. But the minority choices make up for it by
bidding clubs at all three of the lowest legal levels. We
have had a remarkable number of solo leaps to slam
this set and Phillip adds to them:
Alder: Six Clubs. I doubt I will have much any?
company (nope none at all Phillip). Would Four
Clubs be forcing? I am guessing not, but perhaps it
ought to be; trying to stop on a pinhead is rarely sensible, especially at IMPs. So, if Four Clubs is forcing,
please change my answer. If not, I will keep it simple sensible-or-stupid, depending on the outcome.
Maybe I am growing old (well yes we all are) but
despite such gurus as Eric and Phillip suggesting Four
Clubs is forcing I just cannot see it! Yes it is nice on
this hand, but surely we want to bid Four Clubs on
(say) x, KQxxx xx AQxxx five-card support
for a suit partner has promised? We would only have
bid Three Clubs had South bid Two Spades but do we
116
December 2015
really want to be shut out when they bid Three Spades.

Anyway going down:
Cannell: Five Clubs. Sure, I could bid Four Hearts
and try to make that, but partner is guaranteed to
have at least 4-4 in the minors if not more. The heart
holding is not known, and the hand will collapse on
spade punches if we play hearts opposite 0-1 cards.
So, I will contract for eleven tricks in the known
club-fit. I do not know how to convince partner
that slam in clubs is available in a scientific manner.
Four Clubs would be non-forcing and Four Spades
is far too nebulous.
And finally we have two Four Club bidders. It is
not clear whether John thinks it is forcing:
Matheson: Four Clubs. Typically this shows a
decent 5-5, but I dont want to commit to Four
Hearts.
Whereas David does:
Bird: Four Clubs. This is a difficult one. I was leaning 15 degrees towards Four Hearts initially but
there is a fair chance of a club slam. I like to think
that Four Clubs is forcing but partner may surprise me.
Well partner passed it at the table as she would if
it is NF since her hand is xxx J Qxxx K10xxx.
With clubs 2-2 and hearts coming in with one ruff
that was a rather embarrassing +170. Four Hearts
is clearly where you want to play but partner really
doesnt have much of a hand!
PROBLEM 6
IMPs. Dealer East. E/W Vul
AK Q
5
Q 10 9 5 4 3
A Q 10
West
2
2*
?
North
Pass
Pass
East
1
2
3*
South
Pass
Pass
Pass
2
in BM standard neither 2NT nor Three Diamonds is forcing
3
Natural and forcing
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
3NT
10
22
Four Spades
7
1
Four Diamonds 2
0
Four Hearts
2
0
4NT
2
0
Four Clubs
1
0
OK this really was not much of a problem and I take
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
the blame for that. I am very grateful to Andrew Robson for avoiding the only single vote panel in my reign
as conductor so lets start with that:
Robson: Four Spades. The 4-3 fit should play well.
Why did I set this problem then? Well partially
to see if a somewhat arcane piece of Acol theory was
still in vogue. Of course I did not expect anyone not
brought up on Acol to know this, but when I was
learning the game,... to bid 3NT over Three Spades
here effectively DENIED a club stop. The argument
went that if you had four spades you would have bid
Four Spades (else why bother introducing them at all
if you didnt want to play in the suit) therefore you
only had three spades. Since we have bid Two Spades
on three and then followed with 3NT why didnt we
bid 3NT immediately? The only reason for this is that
we dont have a club stop (no one worried about slams
after a non-forcing Two Heart bid ;-)). Hence 3NT
denies a club stop. Only Ben mentions this:
Green: 3NT. In traditional Acol doesnt this
sequence usually show a hand with no club stopper, something like 3-1-6-3 with good diamonds
and a decent spade fragment. Im afraid that partner might pull the 3NT call to a worse contract
but spades wont necessarily play well if I have to
ruff hearts with my top trumps. I would have been
tempted to bid Three Clubs over Two Hearts but
wouldnt be enthralled if that caught a raise. I dont
think were making a slam as we dont seem to have
a diamond fit I would expect partner to raise to
Three Diamonds with 4-5-3-1 shape (really? My
experience of playing with John Holland is that he
always rebids Two Hearts on 4-5-3-1 shape) unless
the hearts were terrific and with that he will pull
3NT to Four Diamonds.
The rest of the panel bid 3NT with various versions
of What else do you expect us to bid? so I will just
let the panel get on with it.
Bird: 3NT. At last I can take a breather. I may have
a bit to spare for 3NT but I dont see that I can
bid any more.
Brock: 3NT. Take the low road when you dont
know where youre going!
Bowyer: 3NT. This is the way to show that your
spades are fictional. If you bid anything else partner will know that you have four spades and you
may play in a foolish contract.
McGowan: 3NT. I think I must do this now to tell
partner I have only three spades. It is a pretty strong
sequence. We seem to have a misfit in the red suits,
so I am content to look for the best game now.
Teramoto: 3NT. 3NT says that my spades are not
four cards in length and is non-forcing. Despite my
117
December 2015
17 count we are not very close to a slam.

Rosen: 3NT. Surely this was our intention when
we bid Two Spades on the last round.
Rigal: 3NT. Words never fail me. Nonetheless it
will be interesting to see any sensible alternatives.
Scratch that: no it wont. As Maggie Thatcher would
have said: TINA.
For those not well versed in UK politics (and why
should you be) TINA was one of the sobriquets of
UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and stood for
There Is No Alternative a reference both to a speech
of hers and her general belligerent and steadfast stance
on all matters.
Matheson: 3NT. Some extras, but not enough to
make a stronger bid.
Long time friend of our methods Iain Sime has
some sarcasm for us:
Sime: 3NT. I am distraught that this feature is
abandoning 1970s Acol. Auctions such as this have
been such a source of amusement and material.
My trusted dinosaur will figure out why I didnt
bid 3NT a round sooner. Luckily we didnt graft
Serious Slam Tries on to the system or wed have
another ambiguity.
Cannell: 3NT. This is a suggestion to play here.
This likely announces to partner that I only have
three spades in the Acol base as I had to create a
force after the Two Heart rebid.
Eric continues with his detailed expositions:
Kokish: 3NT. Though 4NT would be natural, how
good is this hand for no-trump if we both hold
singletons in partners long suit? Although a forcing 2NT over Two Hearts would be a significant
improvement because it gives East the chance to
show a sixth spade or diamond support, here it
might not matter that much as East would almost
certainly be raising 2NT to 3NT or introducing
spades if I could still have four. Sure, we might
make a lot of tricks in spades if East has J10xx and
can get one of the red suits going with enough communication to enjoy the god news, the truth is that
trying to find a perfect mesh is not worth the risk.
Silver: 3NT. With partner showing a lack of support
for diamonds and with no known fit slam seems
out of the picture so I will bid our most likely game.
Lawrence: 3NT. Partner has done nothing to
encourage me and plenty to warn me. Facing a
4-5-1-3 hand or 4-6-1-2 hand, game is probably
worth taking.
Cope: 3NT. Another hand that seems to have gone
backwards. If partner has a diamond shortage we
are high enough. Even if partner has a diamond
honour do we really want to play slam opposite
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
Jxxx AKJxx Ax xx which is more than we
Kx in the pocket and the club finesse right so 13
have the right to expect?

Wolff: 3NT. Another slightly conservative action,
but Ill live with it.
Greco: 3NT. I have no clear fit and no reason to
think we have a slam with the misfit unless partner
has no diamonds.
Leufkens: 3NT. Simple. Without a clear trump suit
this is high enough. I dont like 4NT as even with
a maximum partner (Jxxx AQJxx Kx Kx)
slam is far away.
Zmudzinski: 3NT. Partner denied club stopper
and showed four spades.
Not sure partner has denied a club stopper Adam
surely he would always raise with four spades?
Alder: 3NT. I would really like to bid a quantitative 4NT, but am afraid partner would think it is
RKCB in spades.
Apteker: 3NT. After not receiving delayed support
for diamonds last time round, I am now taking the
low road with 3NT and getting out of this potential
mess.4NT would be RKCB for Spades.
As you can see there is no clear agreements as to
what 4NT is!
Smith: 3NT. I seem virtually forced to bid 3NT
now club stopper but not four spades. I cannot
say I particularly like the Two Spade bid here when
Three Clubs was far less dangerous.
Partner may not stand 3NT since surely our sequence
shows concern about strain or level and in either case
partner has reason to pull on xxxx AKJ98x AJ
x. The cards are lying very fabulously for you with
tricks roll in.
CARD TABLES
FOR SALE
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29 each
Will deliver within reasonable distance
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47 Bearing Way, CHIGWELL,
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118
December 2015
PROBLEM 7
IMPs. Dealer South. All Vul
A
A 10 8 7 6 4
K72
A6 2
West
1
?
North
Pass
East
South
Pass
Double
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
Redouble
10
14
Pass
9
2
Two Diamonds 8
3
Two Spades
8
1
Two Hearts
6
2
Three Clubs
6
1
Three Hearts
2
0
2NT
1
0
OK I have to confess myself bewildered by the panel
response here. In my world, one that I thought was
completely normal until I read the panels responses,
redouble here shows an interest in penalizing the opponents and therefore short clubs say the exact hand we
have with the black suits reversed or preferably even
say 4-5-3-1. This is analogous to 1x, Double, Redouble where the archetypal hand is a 4-4-4-1 10 plus
hand short in partners suit. However 14 out of 23 of
the panel redouble. What they are going to do when
partner makes a penalty double of Two Spades (or
worse still Three Spades) in the fond belief you have
what I think you should have I have no idea. Still,
lets hear from them:
Green: Redouble. Shows a better than minimum
hand. Ill see what happens next, if partner doubles a Two Spade run out then Ill have to decide
whether to pass. The only alternative is to pass first
and then double for takeout later. But I think I prefer the Redouble.
Apteker: Redouble. Either partner doubles them
in Two Diamonds which I will pass or the opponents has just given me an opportunity to express
my strength before showing my length. I will bid
a forcing Three Hearts over Two Spades.
Bird: Redouble. No bid in hearts or clubs hits the
mark at this stage. I will show a good hand and hope
the outlook is clearer on the next round.
After Three Spades, Double, Pass I would have
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
thought storm clouds were developing
Brock: Redouble. At least that puts us in a penalty
double position so if they bid Four Spades and partner doubles I will be content. No other bid really
seems to do justice to the hand.
And if partner Doubles Three Spades? Or Two
Spades?
Zmudzinski: Redouble. Well see how high they
jump.
And then what?
Cannell: Redouble. I am announcing to partner
that we are on a game-force. Something that Two
Hearts or Three Clubs does not do. I hope to have
the time to get across my sixth heart and/or my
third club later in the auction. That is the trade off.
Cope: Redouble. The most economical bid I can
make and shows strength at the same time. We will
need room to develop this hand.
Rigal: Redouble. Good hand. Lets take it from
there, since once we have shown a good hand we
can raise clubs and try to elicit heart support from
the ox.
Greco: Redouble. I will make up a bid since I dont
want to make a NF Two Heart bid. Hopefully the
auction will stay low.
Bobby at least has a different meaning for Redouble:
Wolff: Redouble. An alert to partner that I like my
hand and, at least to me shows at least some support for his suit.
Marc has a similar meaning:
Smith: Redouble. I play this as a support redouble,
but it seems to work equally well as a natural bid
on this hand extra values with a club fit, perhaps?
whilst keeping the bidding low enough that we
might be able to show our extra heart length later
without overemphasizing the suit quality (having
not rebid the suit at this turn).
Robson: Redouble. For now. Wont take a lot to
get me to Six Clubs.
That sounds like a man who aint standing anything doubled!
Rosen: Redouble. Easy for this round.
Easy for you to say!
Leufkens: Redouble. Two Hearts to bid my sixth
heart is nice, but unfortunately non-forcing. So
Redouble, then hearts and clubs (if not too high...).
The rules require me to give 10 marks to redouble.
I can however upgrade other bids and I thus upgrade
what I think is the right bid:
Matheson: Pass. With a complex hand such as this I
dont want to commit to any direction at this point.
Sime: Pass. Not redouble as I want to double spades
for takeout, not for penalty (Quite! I agree entirely
119
December 2015
Iain). And thank you South for sparing me an awkward rebid.

Paul and Tadishi bid a natural Two Diamonds.
Well at least this is forcing and is unlikely to attract a
raise given that RHO has announced them:
Bowyer: Two Diamonds. A free bid here shows
some values, the more so when its one of the opponents suits. If and when I support clubs partner
will deduce the single Spade. I think Redouble is a
waste of breath here as spade preemption will make
this hand unbiddable.
I agree with you Paul.
Teramoto: Two Diamonds. Natural and forcing
looking for the best game.
Mike makes the best of what he sees as a bad job!
Lawrence: Two Diamonds. I have no idea what
the right bid is in the current methods with Two
Hearts non forcing!
As ever Eric has very detailed agreements and again
shares with us:
Kokish: Two Spades. When an opponent shows two
specific suits as South has done here, its a useful idea
to treat both their suits as strong bids in our suits,
so here Two diamonds would be a strong club raise;
Two Spades an extra-value heart bid (6+), neither
of these bids overlapping standard splinter raises
Three Diamonds and Three Spades would both be
strong (enough) four-card club raises with shortness
in the appropriate suit. But even with such agreements in place this hand does not fit tidily into a
pigeon hole: West wants to show 6+, extra values
and a club fit without overemphasizing either strain
while keeping in mind the likelihood that N/S are
likely to be in Three Spades or Four Spades in a
hurry. The opponents potential to disrupt detracts
from the effectiveness of the straightforward redouble, although by redoubling we create a game force
and because it is IMPs we neednt worry as much
about finishing in clubs when we have a six-two
heart fit. The times when strain is a serious issue are
when we can make Four Hearts but not Five Clubs
(or Five Hearts) or when we should be defending.
Because this is a magazine that encourages innovation in this feature, I am going to bid Two Spades
with the proviso that it creates a game force with
6+. That might work well in a subtle way as it
gives North a chance to double which would suit
our side better than a Three Spades or Four Spade
bid. My plan is to support clubs later having shown
strength and essentially denied both a fourth club
and a hand appropriate for a splinter raise.
Finally we have three votes for non-forcing bids. I
find these hard to live with we have a good-looking
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
15-count with a six card suit, semi-support for partner then this is something else. To be fair the problem
and lots of controls and yet make a bid that is not only was sent to me without this information. I recently
non-forcing but quite likely to get passed out:
asked Jason Hackett how he played 3m over 1NT
Alder: Two Hearts. Especially in a four-card-major and his response was any hand I want to bid 3m on
system, I must show my long suit first, then support strength undefined! This was just after I had overclubs on the next round. (I believe in your system called Three Clubs over a strong NT on AKx
my two-heart rebid is non-forcing, but I think that xxx AQJ10xxx, got a fortunate lead and +150
is crazy. A two-over-one response should be forcing scored every matchpoint in a 50-table pairs field. I
to 2NT. In addition, this suit is not good enough wondered whether some panelists would try and find
for a three-heart rebid; and it consumes valuable spades on the hand not a bit of it. The panel treated
bidding space.) Maybe some panelists will redou- this as a straight decision between Pass and 3NT with
ble, but that risks leaving them very badly placed the bidders winning by 14-7.
on the next round.
Bird: 3NT. I am having to guess why partner passed
McGowan: Two Hearts. I would bid Three Hearts, and then bid Three Clubs. Surrounded as I am by
showing a partial fit, with a better suit and pass with panelists who will take any opportunity to mention
a worse hand than this. Seems unlikely that I can Bob Hammans name, I will try 3NT.
shut out the spades now.
Amazingly no one mentioned it David but you do
On his own:
have plenty of support for your bid.
Silver: Three Clubs. In a competitive auction hold- Matheson: 3NT. I will normally be able to preing the rounded suits versus the pointed ones it vent them running the first five hearts, especially
pays to support partner at ones first opportunity.
if North breaks with four cards.
This is a very good point with no transfer break
This time it does not matter what you do as partner
has Kxx Kxx xx KQJxx. With trumps 2-2 and we should be able to stop the suit running even if we
the diamond ace where it should be you could make technically have no stop. Marc makes similar points:
Six Clubs/Hearts/NTs but obviously Four Hearts is Smith: 3NT. Hopefully, this shouldnt require much
where you want to play.
more than guessing the heart position at trick two
and taking the working club finesse. Of course, I
PROBLEM 8
will go down if we are missing the A and the opponents manage to set up their hearts whilst retaining
IMPs. Dealer North. E/W Vul
communications.
Greco:
3NT. Partner has belatedly bid red vs white
A 10 8 7 2
in
a
live
auction so they must have something decent
Q62
although not enough to bid Three Clubs the first
A8 2
time.
J5
Several panelists mention partner might have solid
West
North
East
South
clubs. I know this is popular but personally I have
1NT*
Pass
2*
never seen passing 1NT with a solid suit work at the
3
Pass
Pass
2
table, either against me or from partner. Someone
?
ALWAYS
bids!
1NT 12-14
Apteker:
3NT. Looks like partner was trap-passing
2
Transfer
with long running clubs. Being teams vul with two
Bid
Marks No. of Votes
quick tricks, help for partner in clubs and a stopper
3NT
10
14
of sorts and I am taking the high road.
Pass
9
7
Brock:
3NT. I think partner probably has solid
Three Spades
7
1
clubs.
To
bid Three Clubs here is, if anything, more
Three Hearts
6
1
dangerous than Three Clubs on the first round so
Three Diamonds 1
0
the explanation for it should be that he was happy
Four Clubs
1
0
There were some complaints about this problem per- defending 1NT.
haps with justification in that I had not defined what Cope: 3NT. Partner could have bid Three Clubs
an immediate Three Club bid over 1NT would be. directly over 1NT, so this delayed sequence sounds
Clearly if Three Clubs was originally weak then this as if they were happy to defend 1NT with fairly
solid clubs. I have two tricks to go with their posshows values whereas if Three Clubs was constructive
sible six in clubs and we might just find one more.
120
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
No reason that this should play any worse than
Three Clubs if partner has nothing but solid clubs.
McGowan: 3NT. What is the difference between
bidding Three Clubs on the first round and bidding it now? Whatever, partners hand is not good
enough to double 1NT, and this can hardly be a
lead-director since he is on lead. I guess he has six
clubs (with more he would bid Three Clubs last
time) and some bits and pieces, or perhaps solid
clubs and nothing outside. If he has more than one
heart there should be play.
Lawrence: 3NT. Partner has a good hand.
But not good enough to double a weak 1NT Mike.
Zmudzinski: 3NT. Partner didnt double 1NT but
has enough strength to bid at three-level.
Leufkens: 3NT. Just a guess, but partner can easily
have Kx xx Kxx KQxxxx and thats enough!
(well maybe I dont fancy your chances if RHO has
the ace!) Not Three Spades as even opposite three
spades Four Spades rates to be worse. Hopefully,
North doesnt have four hearts (otherwise no Two
Hearts). I assume partner cant bid intelligently with
clubs and a strong(ish) hand after 1NT.
Robson: 3NT. Cant pass and Three Spades risks
bypassing the most likely game.
Joey doesnt know:
Silver: 3NT. God knows. What I do know however
is that partner has tried for nine tricks in clubs and
for the same number of tricks in NTs they give a
500 point bonus.
Whereas Iain is supremely confident:
Sime: 3NT. One of these hands where we have nine
top or obvious tricks. Even more annoying for the
defence is that they cannot run the hearts with AJx
or similar on lead.
That is the case for aggression. What about the case
for passivity? Eric as ever gives us the arguments:
Kokish: Pass. Assuming the only way East could
show clubs earlier would be via a direct Three Clubs,
his chosen approach covers a lot of ground although
his strength is limited by not doubling 1NT. If we
can make 3NTor Four Spades Im willing to take
my medicine and doff my cap to the weakie.
Rosen: Pass. Not the greatest problem
without discussion as to what Three
Cubs
directly over 1NT would have been. I personally
play it over a weak no trump as intermediate, thus
a delayed Three Clubs would be a bit more iffy! Im
sure this panel more used to defending strong notrumps will all argue that Three Clubs is full value
so will bid Three Hearts or 3NT. I think they will
be missing the point quite honestly.
Bowyer: Pass. It may help to know the East-West
121
December 2015
style here. If Two Clubs is not natural over 1NT

(does ANYONE play it natural?) then a direct Three
Clubs would, maybe, have shown genuine values as
a direct overcall. This contrasts with an immediate
Three Clubs being a WJO. So I dont know if East
is now showing a fair hand or a weak one (surely
it cannot be that weak he has come in at red at the
three-level in a live auction). When in doubt, Pass.
Rigal: Pass. Not knowing what else partner could
have done with real clubs. I assume he has less than
a penalty double, so no reason to bid on. Well, not
much of one.
Cannell: Pass. Colour me chicken. I think partners
values must be limited to an extent since no action
directly after the weak no-trump opener.
Teramoto: Pass. We will not have a good game,
because he passed over 1NT. He would have bid
immediately with a good hand.
Green: Pass. Im not about to punish partner for a
brave balance (at most a pre-balance he has come
into a live auction). If I dont catch a spade fit and
go down in Four Clubs then partner will stop balancing with me. My heart value could well be waste
paper so I feel Im looking at a nine count with no
real fit.
We have two lone voices on this problem (making
a remarkable 10 in all)
Alder: Three Spades. We have lost one round
because of our inefficient methods, but now must
do the best we can.
What inefficient methods are these?
Wolff: Three Hearts. A general forward move asking for more information, but will pass Four Clubs.
Partner held xxx A10 xx AQ10xxx so had
done pretty well to bid at all. The club king was where
it ought to be with insufficient length to make a trick
so 3NT was cold. Four Spades if you get there goes off
on the 4-1 break amongst other things.
Congratulation once again to Tim Cope for a fine
79, his third win recently and showing he is the man
to beat. Second equal are
Eric Greco, Ben Green
and Iain Sime all on 78.
Have a good break and see
you next year.
Tim Cope
BRIDGE Magazine
Intermediate
SET 298 THE PANELS BIDS & MARKS
Tim Cope
Eric Greco
Ben Green
Iain Sime
Sally Brock
Neil Rosen
Andrew Robson
Adam Zmudzinski
Eric Kokish
Joey Silver
Alon Apteker
Drew Cannell
Mike Lawrence
Liz McGowan
John Matheson
Marc Smith
Tadashi Teramoto
Enri Leufkens
Barry Rigal
Bobby Wolff
David Bird
Paul Bowyer
Phillip Alder
South Africa
USA
England
Scotland
England
England
England
Poland
Canada
Canada
South Africa
Canada
USA
Scotland
Scotland
England
Japan
Netherlands
USA
USA
England
England
USA
Total
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
3
Pass
3
Pass
3
3
Double
3
3
2NT
3
2NT
Double
3
Pass
Pass
3
4NT
5
4NT
4NT
4NT
4NT
4NT
4NT
4NT
4NT
4
4NT
4NT
5
4NT
4NT
4NT
5
4NT
4NT
6
4
4NT
Pass
Pass
5
Pass
5
5
Pass
5NT
Pass
5
Pass
5
Pass
Pass
4NT
5
5
5
5NT
Pass
6
Pass
5NT
Redble
4
4
Redble
4
4
Redble
Redble
4
Redble
4NT
Redble
4NT
4
4
Redble
4NT
4
Redble
Redble
4
4NT
4NT
Double
Double
Double
Double
4
4
Double
Double
4
Double
Double
5
Double
Double
4
4
Double
4
Double
4
4
4
6
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
4
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
4NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
Redble
Redble
Redble
Pass
Redble
Redble
Redble
Redble
2
3
Redble
Redble
2
2
Pass
Redble
2
Redble
Redble
Redble
Redble
2
2
3NT
3NT
Pass
3NT
3NT
Pass
3NT
3NT
Pass
3NT
3NT
Pass
3NT
3NT
3NT
3NT
Pass
3NT
Pass
3
3NT
Pass
3
79
78
78
78
76
76
75
75
74
74
73
73
73
73
73
73
73
72
72
72
70
69
62
Victor Mollo books from
MASTER POINT PRESS
LAST CALL IN THE

MENAGERIE
SWINGS AND
ARROWS
DIAMONDS ARE THE

HOGS BEST FRIEND
Victor Mollo
Victor Mollo
Victor Mollo
the bridge publisher
THE HOG TAKES

PRECISION
TO
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BRIDGE IN THE
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DISCUSS
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TODAYSBRIDGE
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122
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

Bidding Competition Set 299
Open to all Free Entry
See following pages for system and method of entry
PROBLEM 1
PROBLEM 5
IMPs. Dealer North. All Vul.
IMPs. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
K762
74
Q 10 9
A 10 5 3
West
J62
QJ
A
AK J 8 7 5 2
North
3
East
Double
South
Pass
PROBLEM 2
K J 10 7 5 3
872
K 10 5
1
2
North
1*
Pass
East
1NT
2
South
Pass
Pass
PROBLEM 3
East
1
2*
South
Pass
3
2
Natural and reversing values. Forcing one
round but not FG
PROBLEM 4
West
1
?
North
3
East
3NT
South
4
PROBLEM 7
West
1
3*
4
?
3
North
Pass
Pass
Pass
East
1
3
4
South
Pass
Pass
Pass
Natural and FG
PROBLEM 8
Pairs. Dealer North. All Vul.
Pairs. Dealer North. E/W Vul.
J 10
762
AK Q 5
AK J 7
AJ
A K 10 9 6 4 2
A8 5 3
North
2*
Pass
AJ 6 3
Q J 10 5 4 2
KJ6
Q6
A K Q J 10 8 5
AK 5 2
K2
A9 8 6
K985
A6 3
West
South
Pass
Pass
IMPs. Dealer West. All Vul.
IMPs. Dealer East. None Vul.
North
East
1
3
IMPs. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
N/S play 4-card majors, 15-17 1NT opening

Transfer
West
1
?
North
Pass
Pass
PROBLEM 6
IMPs. Dealer North. All Vul.
West
2*
?
West
1
3
?
East
2
3
South
Pass
Pass
West
?
2
North
Pass
East
Pass
South
2*
Natural and weak
2 Natural and weak
123
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

How to enter
Send your chosen bid in each of the eight sequences opposite, preferably by email, to John Carruthers at: marksandcomments@sympatico.ca. Alternatively, you can enter by post, to: John
Carruthers, 1322 Patricia Blvd., Kingsville ON N9Y 2R4, Canada. Entries must be received by
the 31st December. Include your name, address and telephone number. Please quote the month,
competition and value of your prize when ordering Master Point Press books.
Grand Prix
PRIZES
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
50
25
15
10
Master
Master
Master
Master
Point
Point
Point
Point
Press
Press
Press
Press
books
books
books
books
In addition there is an annual Grand Prix with

Master Point Press prizes of 100, 50 and 35.
Only scores of 50 and over will count and the
maximum score is 400. Each contestants Grand
Prix total is their five best scores over the year

(JanuaryDecember).
Bridge Magazine Bidding System

Basic Method
Natural
Five-card majors
Minors are three cards in length minimum.
Always open 1 with 3-3 or 4-4, so 1 is 3
cards only if precisely 4-4-3-2 shape
15-17 no-trump in all positions and
vulnerabilities
Two over one is game forcing in all uncontested
auctions
A 1NT is up to a non-game force but it is notforcing. However the only hands that pass are
weak no-trump types.
Jumps at the two-level are weak (eg, 1 2)
and at the three-level are invitational (eg 1
3)
1M 3M is a limit raise
Weak 2, 2 and 2 (59, six-card suit). In

response 2NT is a relay asking for a high-card
feature if not minimum with 3NT showing a
good suit, non-minimum. 3 asks for a singleton with 3NT showing a singleton . 4
is RKCB
Three-level openings are natural and pre-emptive. Over 3//, 4 is RKCB and over 3,
4 is RKCB.
3NT opening is Acol gambling solid suit and
at most a queen outside.
Four-level opening are natural.
No-trump bidding:
After 1NT 1517, 2 = Stayman, 2/2 =
transfers, 2 = s with 2NT/3 denying/showing a fit, 2NT = s with 3/ denying/showing
a fit. After this new suits are splinters. 3 is 5
card Stayman, 3 is 5-5 ms FG, 3/ 1-3-(45) / 3-1-(4-5) and FG. 4 is 5-5 majors, game
only, 4/ = /s (then 4NT = RKCB and
new suits are Exclusion).
Inverted minors are played. 1m 2m is F2NT

and 1m 3m is pre-emptive. Over 1m 2m,
2NT is a WNT and is non-forcing, 3m is unbal- 1NT rebid = 12 - 14 with 2 a puppet to 2
anced and non-forcing. All other bids are at least to play in 2 or make an invitational bid, 2 is
quasi-natural and FG
game forcing checkback, new suits at the 3 level
are 5-5 FG and higher bids are auto-splinters.
124
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

Jump 2NT rebid = 1819 with natural
continuations.
After 2 over 1, 2NT is 12-14 balanced or 18-19
balanced and 3NT is 15-17 range with a reason
not to have opened 1NT
Jumps when a bid of the suit one level lower is

forcing are splinters, as are four-level responses
in a lower-ranking suit to 1/1. Jumps when
the previous level is forcing are splinters.
4th suit = game-forcing.
3NT rebid after a one-level response shows a

good suit and a good hand.
When responders suit is raised a return to openers suit is forcing.
After 2NT, 20-22, 3 = Stayman, 3/3 =

transfers, 3 = slam try with both minors. Four
level bids are as after 1NT opening.
Slam bidding:
Kokish is played after 2 opening (2-2-22-2NT is 25+ balanced FG, and 2-2-2NT
is 23-24 balanced NF)
Initial response:
Jump shifts are weak at the two-level and invitational at the three-level. Bidding and rebidding
a suit is invitational, bidding and jump rebidding a suit is FG (eg 1, 2 is weak, 1, 1,
2 2 is invitational; 1, 1, 2, 3 is FG).
2NT after 1/1 is natural and invitational
without 4M.
2NT after 1/1 = game-forcing with 4+ card
support. Continuations in new suits are splinters, 3/ extras with no singleton, 3NT =
18-19 balanced, 4 new suits are 5-5 good suits,
4/ minimum balanced.
Continuations:
1x 1M 2M promises four-card support or
three-card support and an unbalanced hand.
Balanced hands with three-card support rebid
1NT
Reverses are forcing for one round after a onelevel response. The lower of 2NT and 4th suit
encompasses all weak hands, responders rebid
of own suit is F1 but not necessarily strong, all
other bids are FG.
All high reverses are game-forcing.
125
December 2015
Roman Key Card Blackwood (1 or 4, 0 or 3, 2,

2 + trump Q).
Exclusion Blackwood only in clear circumstances including a jump to the five-level in a
new suit and after 1NT 4/. Responses are
0, 1, 2.
Cue-bids are Italian style, that is the lowest control is shown regardless of whether it is first or
second round or a positive or negative control
and skipping a suit denies a control in that suit.
Exception: a negative control in partners suit is
not shown immediately.
The default for 5NT is pick a slam.
Competition:
Responsive and competitive doubles through
3 after that, doubles are value-showing, not
penalties.
Negative doubles through 3 after that, doubles are value showing, not penalties.
After a 1M opening bid and an overcall, 2NT =
four-card limit raise or better and a cue-bid is
a three-card limit raise or better, raises are preemptive, change of suit forcing one round but
not FG. New suits at the three-level are FG.
After a 1m opening and an overcall, 2NT is natural and invitational and the cue-bid is a limit
raise or better, raise are pre-emptive, change of
suit F1 but not FG, new suit at the three-level
is FG.
BRIDGE Magazine

Fit-jumps after opponents overcall or take-out
double.
Fit jumps after our overcalls. Jump cue-bid is a
mixed raise (about 6-9 with four-card support)
Double jumps are splinters.
Lebensohl applies after interference over our
1NT. An immediate 3NT shows a stopper but
not 4oM, 2NT then 3NT shows a stopper and
4oM, 2NT then cue-bid shows no stopper but
4oM immediate cue-bid shows no stopper and
no 4oM. In summary 3NT at any time shows
a stopper and cue-bid at any time denies one, a
jump to 3 (eg 1NT 2 3 is FG).
2NT is rarely natural in competition (except as
defined above). Possibilities include Lebensohl
or scramble if game is not viable.
Overcalls:
After a 1M overcall, 2NT = four-card limit raise
or better and a cue-bid is a three-card limit raise
or better, raises are pre-emptive, change of suit
forcing one round. Fit jumps, jump cue is a
mixed raise (about 6-9 and four trumps)
Defences:
Against all pre-empts, take-out doubles with
Lebensohl responses - same structure as above.
2NT is rarely natural in competition (except as
defined above). Possibilities include Lebensohl
or scramble if game is not viable.
Over 2M, 4/ are Leaping Michaels (5,5 in
/ and oM, FG). Over Natural weak 2, 4 =
Leaping Michaels (5, 5 in & a M with 4 to
ask for M). Over 3, 4 = Ms and 4 = &M
with 4/ as P/C. Over 3, 4 = Nat and
4 = Ms. Over 3, 4/ = Nat, 4 = &m,
4NT = ms. Over 3, 4// = nat, 4/4NT
= two-suiter
Over their 1NT, Dble = pens, 2 = majors, 2
= 1 major, 2/ = 5/ & 4+m 2NT = minors
or game-forcing 2-suiter.
Over a strong 1, natural, double = majors,
1NT = minors, pass then bid is strong.
After a minor suit overcall, 2NT is natural and

invitational and the cue-bid is a limit raise or
better, raises are pre-emptive. Fit jumps, jump
cue is a mixed raise (about 6-9 and four trumps)
Weak jump overcalls, intermediate in 4th.
Michaels cue-bids. 1m -2m = Ms, 1M 2M
= oM and m with 2NT asking for the m, inv+
and 3m P/C
Send stamped addressed envelope to Chess & Bridge Ltd for WBF style Convention Card. You will be
able to find a link to the new Convention Card on our web site.
126
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

WEST
Hands for the

December 2015 Partnership Profile
QJ4
K 10 8 6 5 4
A2
97
North overcalls 2
Hand 2. Dealer
East. Both Vul.

A8654
A 10 9 8 6 4
K4
Hand 3. Dealer
South. N/S Vul.

J42
A Q 10 8 4
A3
AK8

AK6
AK872
852
K9
BIDDING COMPETITION
SET 299
Bid these hands with those on the following

page with your favourite partner; then turn to
Partnership Bidding inside to see how your score
compares to that of the experts
Hand 5. Dealer
South. Both Vul.

K842
AKQ
J864
97
Hand 6. Dealer
West. E/W Vul.

AJ2
Q 10 7
A K 10 4 3
83
Hand 7. Dealer
West. None Vul.

J3
95
KQ8
K 10 9 7 5 2
Hand 8. Dealer
East. None Vul.

K Q 10 3
8
J 10 9 4
K Q 10 2
Why not enter a bridge hand or bidding problem of your

own for use in BRIDGE Magazine?
(for the December Competition)

My answers are
(the Adjudicator)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
WEST
NORTH
EAST
SOUTH
8.
Total marks:
Email to marksandcomments@sympatico.ca
or post to: Bidding Competition (292),
John Carruthers, 1322 Patricia Blvd.
Kingsville ON N9Y 2R4, Canada
Name:
(please print)
Address:
Telephone: ___________________________________
Entries must be received by

31st December 2015.
127
December 2015
BRIDGE Magazine

EAST
Hands for the

December 2015 Partnership Profile

A95
AQ72
K 10 7
AQ3
North overcalls 2
Hand 2. Dealer
East. Both Vul.

QJ72
K
Q73
A K 10 8 2
Hand 3. Dealer
South. N/S Vul.

A K Q 10 7 6
5
K 10 9 6 4
5

9
J93
AKQ63
AQJ3
Bid these hands with those on the previous

page with your favourite partner; then turn to
Partnership Bidding inside to see how your score
compares to that of the experts
Hand 5. Dealer
South. Both Vul.

965
32
9
A K Q 10 8 6 4
Hand 6. Dealer
West. EW Vul.
Q543
A
7652
AKQ7
Hand 7. Dealer
West. None Vul.

AK92
A7
AJ652
A3
Hand 8. Dealer
East. None Vul.

A2
QJ96
AKQ
AJ96
BIDDING COMPETITION
Set 297 Top Scores
Other Good Scores:
Prize winners should quote the month,

competition and value of their prize when
placing an order for Master Point Press
books. Prize winners can refer to the list of
MPP titles on the inside back cover of the
current issue of Bridge Magazine.
On a low scoring set, Well Done! to
Graham Johnson, Stuart Nelson and
Mike Perkins on 74, with Phil Callow
and Mike Ralph one back on 73. After
a random draw and a coin toss, Stuart
is awarded 50 worth of Master Point
Press books from Chess and Bridge, Mike
Perkins 25 worth, Graham 15 worth
and Mike Ralph 10 worth.
72 Peter Hawkes
71 Harald Bletz, Andrew King
70 Ian Andrew, Peter Barker, Axel
Johannsson, Brian McDowell, Andy
Poole, Tony Poole
69 Kresten Kristensen, Norman Massey,
Olga Shadyro, Nick Simms
67 Derek Markham
66 Malcolm Copley, Nigel Guthrie
65 Tugrul Kaban
Grand Prix Standings

after Set 297
Mike Perkins had another good month
and held onto his lead he can be caught
however! There was some movement in
the remaining prize positions, so next
month will decide everything!.
128
December 2015
1
2
3
4
5=
5=
7
8
9
10=
10=
12
13=
13=
15=
15=
17=
17=
17=
17=
Mike Perkins
Graham Johnson
Peter Hawkes
Mike Ralph
Kresten Kristensen
Norman Massey
Stuart Nelson
Harald Bletz
Bill Gordon
Phil Callow
Michael Kaye
Andrew King
David Barnes
Frank Turton
Nigel Guthrie
Axel Johannsson
Chris Bickerdike
Derek Markham
Tony Poole
Olga Shadyro
383
378
377
376
373
373
372
371
366
365
365
364
363
363
362
362
361
361
361
361
BRIDGE Magazine
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Deadly Endplay (fiction)

Shades of Grey (fiction)
I Love This Game
25 Bridge Myths Exposed
Bridge Endplays for Everyone
Bridge Squeezes for Everyone
Clever Plays in the Trump Suit
Defensive Signaling at Bridge
Off-Road Declarer Play
Somehow We Landed in 6NT
Winning Notrump Leads
Winning Suit Contract Leads
Leading Questions in Bridge
Bridge at the Edge
Bridge Crosswords
Following the Law
Larry Cohen's Bidding Challenge
To Bid or Not To Bid
Death in Duplicate
Standard Bidding with SAYC
Bridge with Bells and Whistles
A Modern Approach to Two-Over-One
Winners, Losers and Cover Cards
Can You Win The USBC Team Trials
I Shot My Bridge Partner (fiction)
Murder at the Bridge Table (fiction)
Bridge Conventions in Depth
Bridge Master Vs Bridge Amateur
Misplay These Hands with Me
The Hands of Time
The Mysterious Multi
Duplicate Bridge at Home
The Bridge Magicians
For Love or Money
The Rabbis Rules
Building a Bidding System
Canadas Bridge Warriors
Card by Card
Fantunes Revealed
One Trick at a TIme
Polish Club International
Patrick Jourdains Problem Corner
Advanced Bridge Defense
Classic Kantar
Defensive Tips for Bad Card Holders
Kantar on Kontract
Modern Bridge Defense
Roman Keycard Blackwood - 5th ed.
Topics in Declarer Play
Improve Your Bidding Judgment
The Thin Line
365 Winning Bridge Tips
Human Bridge Errors
A Bridge to Inspired Declarer Play
A Bridge to Simple Squeezes
Bumblepuppy Days
Still Not Finding Squeezes?
25 Conventions for ACOL Players
Complete Book on Overcalls (2nd ed.)
Complete Book on Passed Hand Bidding
Allen, Ken
Allen, Ken
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Bird, David
Bird, David
Bird, David
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Bird, David
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Bird & Anthias
Bird & Anthias
Brock, Sally
Brogeland, Boye & Bird, David
Chen, Jeff
Cohen, Larry
Cohen, Larry
Cohen, Larry
Coplea, Carole
Downey, Ned & Ellen Pomer
Dufresne, MA & Ellingsen, M
Eichenbaum, Ken
Eichenbaum, Ken
Felmy, Matthias
Granovetter, Matthew
Granovetter, Matthew
Granovetter & Granovetter
Horton, Mark
Horton, Mark
Horton, Mark
Horton, Mark
Horton & Gittelman
Horton & Kielbasinski
Horton & Senior
Horton, Mark
Hughes, Roy
Hughes, Roy
Hughes, Roy
Jacobs, Bill
Jackson, Jim
Jassem,Krzysztof
Jourdain, Patrick
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kantar, Eddie
Kimelman, Neil
Kimelman, Neil
Kleinman, Danny
Kleinman & Straguzzi
Laderman, Julian
Laderman, Julian
Laderman, Julian
Laderman, Julian
Landry & Horton
Lawrence, Mike
Lawrence, Mike
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12.50
10.50
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Complete Book Takeout Doubles (2nd ed.)

Falsecards (New Edition)
Encyclopedia of Card Play Techniques
Bridge Squeezes Complete
Bridge, Probability and Information
Win the Bermuda Bowl with Me
The Setting Trick
Competitive Bidding in the 21st Century
Inferences at Bridge
It's Your Call
Modern Constructive Bidding
My System: The Unbalanced Diamond
Bridge in the Menagerie
Card Play Technique
Diamonds are the Hogs Best Friend
Swings and Arrows
The Hog Takes to Precision
Kickback: Slam Bidding at Bridge
First Book of Play Problems
Second Book of Play Problems
Bridge Behind Bars (fiction)
Clues from the Bidding
Defend These Hands with Me
Play or Defend?
Defend or Declare?
Deadly Hold-Up
Double Elimination: A Bridge Mystery
Matchpoint Defense
Takeout Double: A Bridge Mystery
Thinking on Defense
Positive Declarer Play in Bridge
Positive Defense in Bridge
The Extra Edge in Play
Modified Italian Canap System
Lawrence, Mike
Lawrence, Mike
Lev, Guy
Love, Clyde. E
MacKinnon, Robert F.
Meckstroth & Smith
McCance, Ian
Miles, Marshall
Miles, Marshall
Miles, Marshall
Miles, Marshall
Miles, Marshall
Mollo, Victor
Mollo & Gardener
Mollo, Victor
Mollo, Victor
Mollo, Victor
Munger, Robert
OConnor, Patrick
OConnor, Patrick
Pottage & Smith
Pottage, Julian
Pottage, Julian
Pottage, Julian
Pottage, Julian
Priebe, Jim
Priebe, Jim
Priebe, Jim
Priebe, Jim
Priebe, Jim
Reese & Pottage
Reese & Pottage
Reese & Pottage
Rexford, Ken
New Frontiers for Strong Forcing Openings
Rexford, Ken
Overcalling Opponent's 1NT
Rexford, Ken
Really Unusual Notrump (R.U.N.T.)
Rexford, Ken
Variable Key Card Blackwood
Rexford, Ken
Breaking the Bridge Rules
Rigal, Barry
Rodwell Files: Secrets of a champion
Rodwell, Eric
How Good is Your Bridge
Roth, Danny
Bridge on a Shoestring
Schoenborn, Michael
25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know Seagram & Smith
25 More Conventions You Should Know Seagram & Bird
25 Ways to Be a Better Defender
Seagram & Bird
25 Ways to Compete in the Bidding
Seagram & Smith
25 Ways to Take More Tricks as Declarer Seagram & Bird
Declarer Play at Bridge: A Quizbook
Seagram & Bird
Defensive Play Quizbook: A Quizbook Seagram & Bird
Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand
Seagram & Bird
Pocket Guide to Defensive Play
Seagram & Bird
Scotlands Senior Moment
Smith & Adamson
Becoming a Bridge Expert
Stewart, Frank
Frank Stewart's Bridge Club
Stewart, Frank
How to Play Bridge with your Spouse
Tevkolsky, Roselyn
Bridge at the Breakfast Table
Thurston, Paul
25 Steps to Learning 2/1
Thurston, Paul
North of the Master Solvers Club
Vine, Frank
Bridge at the Enigma Club
Winkler, Peter
The Lone Wolff
Wollf, Bobby
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GREAT BRIDGE GIFTS FROM

MASTER POINT PRESS

THE BRIDGE PUBLISHER

The Great Bridge Scandal

25 Bridge Conventions for ACOL Players

New Pocket Guides

The Pocket Guide to Even

The Pocket Guide to

AVAILABLE FROM CHESS & BRIDGE

The English Bridge Explosion

EBU set to appeal

World Women Elite

21st Century Bridge

The Festive Season

6 Problem Corner Ron Tacchi & Patrick Jourdain.

88 The Abbots Reads The Cards David Bird

7 The Second Best Exotic Chennai Hotel The

94 Solution to Non-Prize Problem

GI 79 The Rainbow Bridge Club Alex Adamson &

86 Test Your Defence Julian Pottage

GI 95 This Months Video Page

96 Solution to Test Your Defence

97 Partnership Profile Mark Horton

107 Marks & Comments Alan Mould

Solution to Prize Problem 309

THE ORION PUBLISHING GROUP

Look for Patrick Jourdains Problem Corner,

Email your answers to BMProb@vaupillon.com or send

Prize Problem 310

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Missing game cost Australia 10 IMPs.

The Far Pavilions

This was not a triumph for N/S.

The Bronze Medal Winning English Team

Both N/S pairs played in 3NT.

In the Closed Room West became declarer in 3NT.

Declarer was not hard pressed to score an overtrick, +950.

The Raj Quartet

I determined to check that after finishing this article.

5-11 six card suit in either major

Silver Medal Winning USA Team

No prizes for guessing which auction I prefer.

Passing the Test

South led the seven of diamonds and declarer won with

Gold Medal Winning Team from France

Cronier Lund Madsen

Once again North led the three of hearts to dummys ace.

With little to go on North led the four of diamonds that

Opposite a passed partner, South did well to remove the double of 4.

Souths reasonable looking preempt did not turn out well.

There were ten top tricks, +620.

I have a feeling that East intended her double to be for penalties.

Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Who should take the blame?

Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Declarer had no trouble taking ten tricks, but that was 10

Cronier Seamon-Molson Willard

Declarer lost two hearts, +450.

INT would have been 14-16,balanced or semi balanced and

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