We bid and could have made 2 slams last night.

This was the first one.

Playing Key Card I knew we were missing QH and didn't like to bid seven.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

I think that this was our correct sequence of bidding.

Quite unusual.

6 clubs of course makes.

[Natasha points out that it should'nt make, losing a diamond and a heart.

The 2 pairs playing in 5C both made 12 tricks. how?]

All we achieved was pushing our opponents into a makeable slam no one else is in.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Allsopp Trophy

(Winter Teams of Four)

A fun first night.

Well done Blue and Yellow teams

Only one slam bid and made last night.

Richard and John managed to get 6 Diamonds home on this unlikely lot of cards.

Everyone else was all over the place on this hand.

3NT is probably a good place to play.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our opponents settled for 3NT on this hand but well done John and Kathryn , Ben and Natasha who found the slam.

How should the bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Hello Phil

The slam Ben and I bid was on board 15 and the bidding was W (Ben)  pass, N pass, E (me) 2NT, S pass, Ben 4NT, me 6NT having disregarded Ben's first pass, for some reason! Russell, S, led a spade and I made 12 tricks. I think it should go off if a club is led.

Regards

Natasha

This was an interesting hand from last night.

tackling the bidding with usual Pat/Phil panache!? We ended up in 5H doubled.

I felt sorry for Shaun who, holding 19 points, led AS , one of my suits , watched me make 11 tricks.

What happened at your table. The scores are all over the place.

phil@thompsonsonline.net.

We played this hand against Jan and Richard. Kathryn opened 1S and Jan bid 2S which showed a very strong hand of 18+.I passed and so did Richard and Kathryn !  A truly remarkable bidding sequence.Jan had to play this horrendous contract which drifted 2 off for a good score to us.  John S

The 30th September was our annual mixed pairs Championship.

Congratulations John and Kathryn who narrowly beat David and Pat to become this years Champions

That, I think, was the bidding at our table. 6D* by N/S nearly as good as bidding 6H by E/W.

Any comments as to bidding or playing: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Make a note of Saturday 12 November our next Awayday at

Kedleston Golf Club

£20 for 2 sessions of bridge, interrupted by a carvery with wine etc.

Sign up when you are ready.

Friday evening 23 September

Board 18 was misboarded.

Scores have been adjusted and new results are now on the website and have also  been sent to the EBU.

I would ask the players in the NORTH position to always check that the cards after play go back into the boards in correctl positions.

25/09/2016

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulations to all our winners last night.

Natasha,Steve,Ian and Phil won the Gold final

Anne,Jan,Iris and Richard the Silver final

Jane,Tony,Nigel and Manfred the Bronze final

Click here for all the details

Stand by for the Winter cup!

Pat and I had a lot of fun last night.

Ben wanted me to explain how I ended up playing 2 Hearts, south on board 3 making 9 tricks!

I will gloss over how we missed slams on Boards 8,13,14 and 23!

Board 7!

We are playing 2C forcing to game, once Pat had gone 4C! over my normal target of 3NT the only way I could think of to get a good result was 6C!

A diamond lead gave me a chance, ignoring clubs, all I need to do is to trump 2 diamonds in hand and the slam must make!

Deep finesse says you can only make 12 but I thought you can make 13 on a diamond lead and knowing the exact layout?

Well done Pat for the 4C bid.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

A SLAM MISSED ?

At our table the bidding was as shown, Jeff and Richard sitting E/W. (2C was not alerted, should it have been?).  After Richard's 3NT, Jeff bid 4C (latter explained as Roman Gerber and 4H as 1 or 4)

How was it bid at your table?

Comments to: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Hi Natasha,

I'm not precisely sure about Jeff's 2C bid (can't remember) but, in any event, it certainly didn't need to be alerted. As far as anyone at the table was concerned, it would be natural. If Jeff decided to make a phantom bid that's his decision and he'd have to pick up the pieces if I passed (unlikely). Sitting West, I'm not to know.

When Jeff was pondering taking the auction further after my 3NT, I thought it was yet another attempt to ensure he played the hand! That was rather unkind (although understandable) since he quite rightly wanted to investigate a slam. Jeff would say he'd have made a better fist of playing it and I can't disagree.

Later in the play, I somehow convinced myself that you had showed out on the first round of trumps. Thinking I was facing a five-nil break, I gave Jan a ruff to even up the trump count. Stupid, but, then again, my concentration levels were pretty poor all evening (which is why I can't remember Jeff's bidding).
SOK

Jan and I had a horrendous night. Here is an example.

Jan made 5C brilliantly, but to no avail.

How did your bidding go?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Gary and I bid the hand  1C - 1D    1S - 2H (4th suit forcing)  2NT -3NT.  This is relatively straightforward to bid at pairs scoring where you tend to look for the better scoring 3NT contract than 5 of a minor.  John S

No slams last night but this was an interesting hand.

Jean bid 2S over Natasha's 1NT and I was not sure what to do.

i wasn't sure a double would be for take out and 3H might be passed so I settled for 3NT. John bid 4S and all I could do is double.

A poor result for us.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Phil

After a similar 2S overcall, Alan bid 3H. In our system, this is forcing. Having my hand it was a straightforward bid to 4H which actually goes off on best defence. 

Even without the overcall most pairs should find 4H rather than 3NT so you're unlucky to have had a disappointing result because the 4S bid (doubled) should have given you a top if all the other defenders had got 4H off! 

I'd have a word with them... perhaps they were in a state of confusion over the complex movement!!

SOK

How embarrassing 6NT missing an AK which Pat and Ben find.

6S is the correct bid but I missed it. How should the bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Iris and Derek were one of the two pairs who bid and made 6NT on this hand.

Unfortunately against us.

Iris successfully squeezed South to develop the hearts and avoid the losing clube finesse.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Morning Phil

I can't see why 6NT should be successful. There isn't really a squeeze.

Clearly a club lead puts the mockers on things from the off but any other lead from South should also make life impossible. E should only be able to cash four S and three D in the outside suits meaning South has an easy discard of a Club. ‎Whilst cashing dummy's two additional S, what is East going to throw from his/her concealed hand. If two clubs the equation should be straightforward (if East has HKQJ10 x then he/she is always making anyway, therefore whatever happens you must keep all your Hearts and bank on North having either the 10 or an Honour card). If a C and a H are discarded that's no problem either. 

I played it in W and even with a friendly Diamond lead meaning I could cash 4S and 4D, it is still not difficult for South really. Bearing in mind i'm also having to discard on the table whilst playing out my winners, this gives the game away. If needs must S has to bear his KC to keep the four Hearts. 

Better players than I will advise if I'm wrong. 

SOK

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the O2 network.

Most pairs managed to make 12 tricks here but only Roman and Janusz bid the slam.

How should the bidding go?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

  E & W all time PASS  


   N(Roman)                               S             
             1S  12-17 5+S             2NT(good   raise to 3 or better hand)
             3D not min.value D       4C ! cue bid  not min.not cue bid H(now K of D is a supervalue)
             4D cue bid                   4S everything has already showed
             6S easy decision,conclusions of bid(part not have min hand ,not have K of H)
regards.Janusz

Don't want to be a pedant Phil, but I think you'll find Stuart and I bid the same too. (One of the few things we managed to get right!) 
1S from me, 2H from Stuart. With this shape I'm happy to bid 3D even though my singleton is in partner's suit. 4S from South and do I go on? A fast arrival would normally suggest no, but I felt it was worth a peek. Key card gets a 5H response and 5NT finds a further K so 6S looks reasonable to me. Ruffing diamonds and setting up the fifth D gets you home.
SOK

Sorry Richard and Stuart missed your magic moment!

Two very interesting slam hands last night.

Imagine my surprise when Ian opens a strong 8 playing trick hand and I am wondering whether to do the same myself!

2D was a relay and I judged 3H to be stronger than 4H.

I felt almose certain we ahd 13 tricks but decided that 6NT should give us a good result.

Jeff and Kathryn were the only ones who bid the grand.

What happened at your table?

phil'thompsonsonline.net

Having missed out on the grand on Board 5 it wasn't going to happen again.

Ian's 3C could only be natural and positive.

His one ace almost certainly was in diamonds so it had to be 7C!

It would have been embarassing if he had the AS

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.ent

This was our bidding sequence playing 5 card majors.

I was not sure if Natasha would take the 4NT as quantitative or Blackwood but didn't really mind. If she had extra values we should make even if we were an Ace missing.

With careful play by Natasha it is very difficult for the defenders to be sure of what to keep. Played in the right order the diamond finesse can be avoided.We like others ended up with 13 tricks. 

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Good results for the Quarks and the Diabolicals last night.

Overall the Flower Arrangers and Troubled Waters remain in the lead.

Next month the fun really starts with a mixed Swiss evening.

Click here for all the detail

Jill and Ray were the only pair to find the 6H slam on this hand.

Not easy I suspect.

How should it be bid?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

 I think the bidding should go  3H - 5H - 6H. This looks a bit of a Heath-Robinson sequence but 5H has a specific meaning here saying bid 6 with good trumps otherwise pass. East readily bids 6. If East has AJxxxxx in hearts he has more of a problem.      John S

Just a reminder this competition takes place on every 4th Friday.

To qualify you have to have played with 3 different partners through the year.

Your best 6 results will then count.

See current position under Competitions

I am sorry some were upset with the short evening.

I have received considerable feedback. Including a couple of people happy with the shorter evening!

Overall there was a very definite view that we should not have bespoke longer movements which involved playing the same pair twice.

Having skips or even double skips were less objectionable.

A 3 board sit out was deemed acceptable by most.

A more complicated single wiinner movement was preferable if this avoided a 3 board sit out.

We will take these views into account.

Interesting hand.  Ben and I ended up in 3NT making just 10 tricks. Richard and Malcolm bid 6C and made it.  Some were in 6S making 11 tricks.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Most found the 5D contract here E/W but no one had a go at the slam.

Most made 12 tricks although someone went off in 5D.

Is it worth contemplating a spade sacrifice N/S?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

6NT looks like the optimal bid here but many preferred hearts.

How did they get there?

What happpened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Morning Phil

With us the bidding went 1NT, 2D (transfer), 2H, 4NT (key card), 5H (2 without QH), 6D (you choose partner - he can't have two doubletons), 6H. 

If partner had shown no Aces (most unlikely), my rebid would have been 5D,  offering a choice at the 5 level.  If he came back with one Ace, I was planning to leave it in 5D and take our chances. 

Not sure 6NT is the better contract to be in because it needs a host of things going for it (which they happen to do in this case). The added strength of East's singleton only comes to the fore in a suit contract. 

SOK

A good night for the Diabolicals and the Pushovers

Our bidding might look a bit agricultural but when I saw the hands go down I was pleased.

6NT looked right with a KD somewhere and no scope for a 13th trick without tackling diamonds - I thought.

I made 13 tricks tackling diamonds early by leading towards QD , and east holding up . Which I cant blame him for.

Once QD is in the bag the rest is shelling peas.

One pair bid and made 7NT, they must have found a differnt route?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

We also bid to 6NT. As N I opened 1H (too strong for 1NT) and the bidding proceeded 1S  3S  4NT  5H   6NT. Kathryn  wisely decided that 6NT would give a better score than 6S. JD was led and Kathryn took the A and cashed 4 hearts and 4 spades.East became squeezed not been able to keep the KD and 4 clubs so threw a club away and 4 clubs were cashed making 13 tricks          John S

This is how our bidding went and we missed an opportunity to bid the slam.

It needs the 2 trumps to split or the KD to be onside so it is a good slam to bid.

How did those who bid it get there?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our bidding was 2D (8PT), 2S(showing a positive relay but nothing to do with Spades necessarily), 4NT (Roman Key Card, deciding to immediately check for controls whilst spades were on the table), 5D (one key card), 6S (a last board of the night agricultural punt!).

A 5H or 5S response would have been brilliant. As it was, it wasn't clear. I could have backed off - probably should have done - but decided to risk the fact that partner actually had some Spades. If he hadn't, he would go off a packet, quite possibly never even being able to get into his hand to make use of any points he held! 

A good slam? Absolutely not, but you only live once!! 

SOK

I was not sure how to bid this.

Tempted to go 1NT-4NT quantitative which would have led us to 6NT, which doesn't make?

The best contract is 6H which Jeff and Alan found.

How did the get there?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.ne

Jeff opened 1NT (12-14). I bid 3H (slam invitation). With a maximum and good looking hearts, Jeff  jumped to 4NT (Roman Key card).  I bid 5S to show 2 key cards and the Q of trumps, and Jeff then bid 6H.  This can go off on the lead of A and another Spade. 

On the lead of the 7 of diamonds, I put in the 10, which brought the Q and A of diamonds.  I now had 11 tricks.  After cashing two heats in dummy and coming back to K diamonds I drew the rest of the trumps throwing a spade.  I led towards the K of spades.  I was planning on going for a squeeze for the 12^th trick, with a possible extra trick in either diamonds, spades or clubs.  

However, after I led the Spade, East went up with the Ace, so I immediately had my 12 tricks.

Regards

Alan

If you look at deep finesse 6NT can make so that ends up being the best contract. You have to be brave and have everything going for you but it can make. I'm certainly not saying I'd play it correctly and would more than likely have gone off without a gift. Personally I'm not sure about making a quantitative bid - even if partner has 14 HCP you've only got 31 and that's not enough. Alan suggests it's OK with having a five card suit but I'm not sure. If I was trying for a slam I would have taken the Hearts route.....and got the AS lead and gone off in that as well!
SOK
 

Ben and I were in 3NT played badly by me, for bottom board. Most people were in 4H, much better contract, although Jeff and Kathryn were in 3NT making 12 tricks.

How did you arrive at 4H and how was it played?

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulations our latest qualifiers 

Malcolm and Gary 

Andrew and David 

That was the bidding I watched.

The only N/S pair in 4D. A good board for N/S

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Another intersting hand I watched. Table 6, the only E/W pair in 4C*, all other tbales in 4S making or not.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Lots for slam potential.

a safe 6 clubs or a risky 6NT?

luckily our opponents stopped at 4 clubs.

what happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

  Richard and I bid 6C -         1H-3C     3D -4C     5C-6C Luckily I found Richard with the QC and there weren't 2 aces missing !  To be honest I never thought of 6NT. 6C making was only an average score. John S 

The results for this board were really all over the place.

It doesnt play well in NT, several tried 6NT,

Richard and Jan made 6C doubled, a really diffficult feat.

Probably the right contract is 6D , only John and June were in this making.

How should the bidding go?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Richard opened 4 spades!, , Jan then went straight to a hesitant 6 clubs, which Jenny with 6 clubs

 herself doubled. I lead a king of hearts, and Jan carefully took all tricks save for the last king of

clubs Peter A

That pesky John Shaw! At our table Alan opened 2D (8 playing tricks in unknown suit) and then

 Runner John struck with a 4H overall. It was the last board of the night so I had a long, long think.

The double was the easy option but I was concerned we were missing a pretty obvious vulnerable

game with no certainty that we'd get John off by enough to outweigh it. I was also sniffing a slam

somewhere but where? It was obvious Alan's 8PT suit was clubs and I don't really want to

encourage him to charge off in that suit and I'm not absolutely certain that his point count

strength was anything particularly special. What does 4NT mean in this situation? It should

perhaps mean two places to play but if I start that process are we getting into guessing game

territory? In the end I went back to the double option. Sadly the defence from both of us wasn't as

great as it might have been and John got away with three off instead of five off! Perhaps a

  stronger word than pesky is required..... SOK

I too went 4H over a 2D, strong hand opening by Ray, Jill not wishing to miss out in game bid 4S which was where it remained , making 11 tricks

Phil T

That is the bidding at one table.  How did the bidding go at your table and what was the out come?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Only 25 points but a really good play for 6 spades. You just need to trump out the 4 hearts in Noirth's hand.

Only Wilson and John bid it though. Perhaps thats why they came top.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our 50th Anniversary celebrations continue

13 tables enjoyed last nights cake and festivities

b

Some people have all the luck.

One pair decided to bid 6NT , luckily by north, and didn't get a club lead.

why doesn't that happen to us?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Only one pair were in 6NT and 2 pairs in 6D making 13 tricks, although quite a few pairs made 13 tricks, but did not bid a slam

Your throughts to: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulations to our first qualifiers.

Richard & Roman

Don't forget you can elect not to qualify, e.g if you want to try to qualify with a regular partner.

Please inform us within a week.

Our Celebrations Started with an Away Day at Kedleston Golf Club.

The excellent facilities were used to the full.

Thanks to everyone who helped and congratulations to all our winners.

Roger and Linda recognised the value of these hands, particularly the singletons, and bid this good slam.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations Ripley

winners of the 3 Clubs Competition

For full results click Wednesday Competitions and then 3CC 2016

Just one pair bid the slam on this hand , everyone else bidding 4 but making 6.

Should it have been bid?

How?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

If you play splinters which are a very useful convention the hand is easier to bid. West opens 1S and East bids 4H. This shows the values for a raise to 4S but with a void or singleton in hearts. West can now be confident his partner has good cards in the minors as cannot have any values in hearts and can check on aces with 4NT. Finding he is missing an ace he just bids 6S.Note that it would be unwise to splinter with a singleton with a singleton A or K as this would give a false picture to the rest of your hand.      John S 

We didn't play this but although the point count is a bit shabby it's perhaps worth a go even with my new resolve to stop punting contracts, particularly slams. 

It's an interesting one too for hand evaluation and the ways of getting there. Can't disagree with Runner John's submission, but I could see it going 1S, 2NT (raise to at least 3S so as not to take up bidding space) followed by a 3H cue bid. East, although with nothing special in terms of actual points, now sees his singleton working even harder and can easily continue the sequence with a 4C cue bid. With this news West's singleton is also a gem and with KQ diamonds he can go through key card and 5NT to find partner with a K‎. 6S is then worth a try in my book, or is it a punt? Alan knew it wouldn't last!

SOK

Congratulations to all our Winners including.

JAN COLLINS - Venus & Mars winner

WILSON HOWDEN - Venus & Mars winner  - and our Iron Man (Attending 46 Friday sessions)

JEFF CALLADINE - our new Slam Master - Wilson was second.

JOHN SHAW - Our averages leader 59.12% over 36 sessions

I think this was John and Kathryn's bidding against us.

John correctly reasoning that if Kathryn can make 6H then 6NT will also make for a joint top.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our bidding was probably typical. The weak 2 opener eating up bidding space.

we managed the requisite 11 tricks.

At other tables 6C was bid and made and 5C went one off.

what happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations to our new Pairs Trophy winners Malcolm and Jeff.

They saw off a strong challenge from Kathryn and John on the second night to win by a small margin.

Third were David Ford and John Morrissey.

Results for the second Friday alone are shown seperately.

Combined scores have been posted to the EBU

Friday 25th March will see the resolution of our last outstanding competitions before our new club year starts

Most pairs managed to get to 6 Hearts , making all 13 tricks.

Our bidding was a bit unusual , Natasha and I having several difficulties with our system.

Natasha correcting her RKC Blackwood response by bidding 6H.

I was puzzled how she could make a game forcing bid with only 1 ace!

What happened at your table?

 phil@thompsonsonline.net

At our table I opened 2C and Kathryn surprisingly responded with a positive 2H .I launched straight into Roman Blackwood (not keycard) with 4NT Kathryn showed 1 ace so I asked for kings and she showed 1 king.I thought about 7 hearts but decided not to.Maybe Kathryn has something like 
S xx H Jxxxx D xxx C AKx. Roman Keycard Blackwood works better here as it identifies the heart K but would you want to be in 7 opposite something like S xxx H Kxxxx D xxx C AK where you have to lose a spade trick ? So I don't think you can bid 7 with 100% confidence John S

Congratulations to Linda Hubbold, John Shaw, Jeff Calladine and Richard Horsley the winners of Allsopp Cup

and to John Gould, Andrew Huskinson, Tim Hallam and Tim Hanson winners of the Allsopp Plate.

Several pairs had a go at 6 spades here. Successfully with one exception.

How did the bidding go?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

It's not often you get 25 points.

We didn't make the best use of this.

How did your bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

THREE CLUBS COMPETITION

3CC

Second round results, played on Wednesday 24 February:

Allestree = 6      Ripley = 16       Belper = 8

Overall results after two rounds:

Allestree = 20  Ripley = 24   Belper = 16

For details see under Wenesday Competitions

FINAL ROUND WENESDAY 23 MARCH AT BELPER

Several pairs found a slam here despite only 27 high card points.

How did their bidding go?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

This hand played against Kathryn&John...bidding:

  dir.S


         S                  W                    N                    E
     Kathryn          Roman            John                 Janusz

      2D(multi)            P                 2H !                    4S
        P                     6S              all pass



a simple and effective,best regards Janusz

 

Congratulations to Roman and Janusz on winning the BeauRepaire Trophy.

John and Kathryn were second.

Congratulations to Joan Smith and Joan Rothwell on winning the Plate Competition

With Ellis and Iris second

How to make 6H (or even 6NT) by West ??

Thoughts: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

6H looks simple although you'd need physic powers to play it this way. Take a S or C lead from N and West strips his Spades and Clubs from both hands, dumping a diamond on his A (or Q) of clubs. Then he plays his AH and another H to North's King. North is stuffed....he can't lead a D into the West's AQ and his only other lead of a club or spade means West can ruff in dummy and dump his QD.....over and out.

The same play won't work for 6NT of course and I can't see how you can make that contract. Over to one of our genius players....mind you if they had the sort of physic powers required they'd simply 'make' N lead a Heart or Diamond at trick one and then there's no problem at all!

SOK

Or even psychic!! (In both cases)!!
 

Our bidding was plain vanilla, 2D our big hand bid. Obviously we were unimaginative as some bid 6C or 6NT.

How do you bid it?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

ALLSOPP TROPHY

Congratulations to Team 1 leading with 108 points closely followed by Team 3 with 102 points and Team 4 with 101 points

(For full results see under Wednesday Competitions, Allsopp Trophy 2015-16)

2 pairs bid and made 6 hearts on this hand.

Is it a good slam to bid?

How can you make it against best defence?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Six hearts always makes as even on a diamond lead you can get to dummy with a diamond ruff and finesse the heart 10 for no heart loser.

If East plays a heart honour you can return to dummy with a club.Obviously a non-diamond lead helps but to work out whether this is a good slam you have to assume the best lead for the defence

.In this case you need the hearts 3-2 with the QJ onside and also the clubs to be 2-1 as you need the club entry to dummy without suffering a ruff.

This equates to about 10% by rough reckoning so it is not a good slam to be in but better than some slams I have had the misfortune to be in.     John S

Although we were in the slam I agree with John's assessment entirely. The fact that we got into it was largely due to Alan thinking he had a void which, of course, he hadn't. 

The pesky Jack of Diamonds was lurking elsewhere until he put his hand down as dummy. I got a Diamond lead but shall we say I had a bit of help with the rest of the play! (Makes a change.)

The bidding was interesting towards the end. In response to my 4NT inquiry (after an opening sequence of 1H, 1S, 3C, 3H) Alan bid 6C showing 0 or 3 key cards (the same as 5C) but with a void somewhere. 

Turns out we were playing slightly different systems at this point but it didn't make any real difference because I went to 6H which is where we should be on the assumption that Alan had indeed got the void. ‎Shame he hadn't but on this occasion it all ended well. 

SOK

How should the bidding go after 1S opening by W, and who should play in what ???

Any ideas: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

THREE CLUBS COMPETITION

3CC

Results for the first round on Wednesday 27 January

Allestree = 14

Ripley = 8

Belper = 8

For details see under Wenesday Competitions

NEXT ROUND WENESDAY 24 FEBRUARY AT BELPER

Thanks to all who played in the Individual on the 29th January.

congratulations to David Ford on winning with Andrew Skidmore second.

Most people bid 6NT here but not all made.

How should teh bidding go.

How should you play it to maximise success?

An interesting hand from our stepping stones programme.

How should it be bid?

Phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our  3 results last night were 6 diamonds going off 2 at 2 tables and 5 spades making at the other table.

That is the bidding at our table giving N/S a good score.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

5D* making by N/S for a good score.

How did the bidding go at your table?

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Apologies for not mentioning that Friday 15 January was the last BeauRepaire Heat.

No one qualified on that evening, so the qualifiers for the final are as shown under Friday Competitions.

As previously announced there will be a change of format for the Final on 19 February.

All will play in one group in the main room but only the qualifying pairs will be playing for the main trophy , everyone else for the plate.

ALLSOPP TROPHY

Team 1 (Jeff, Richard, Linda and ....) are still leading with a score of 27 pts on the night and total score of 81 pts. Can they be caught?

For details please look under Wednesday competitiions

I think this how our bidding went.

Going 2 off for a poor result N/S Pity the East that went 1S and was passed out?

What happened at your table? How should the bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

 Janusz opened 1NT(15-17). The next hand over called 2S.

We play the Lebensohl convention. This is very useful and I think everyone should consider playing it.

It can be used over over calls over our 1NT. Any bid at the 3 level is forcing. A bid of 2 NT is weak and asks janusz to bid 3C.

Now I either pass or correct to another suit. Naturally with 6 clubs, l passed and janusz made 11 tricks.

jeff

Come to the first Stepping Stones session of 2016. 7pm on Wednesday 13th.

Lots of slams around last night. This was our bidding sequence. Why didnt everyone end up in the slam?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Why didnt everyone end up in the Grand Slam? This was the sequence at our table.

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Our bidding on this hand was, Roger opened 2NT and I bid 3H as a transfer to spades.

Roger bid 4S showing 22 points and a good 3 or 4 card spade suit. I checked he had the missing aces by bidding Blackwood and then jumped to 7 spades.

We talked about the hand afterwards and said I should have asked for Kings and then bid 7NT for a better score.

Linda Hubbold

Check out the latest Chellenge Trophy position. Apologies the Individual Tournament has to be postponed again but will now be held on the 29th January. Entries now being taken

We got a good board out of this helped by the favourable vulnerability. A nice balance of attack and defence. There are only ever 10 tricks in Hearts but doubling 4S for perhaps 2 off is frustrating. What happened at your table? phil@thompsonsonline.net

Don't forget the Stepping Stones sessions

We are short of numbers.

Come along any Wednesday evening.

We can't promise cake every week!

ALLSOPP TROPHY

Congratulations to Team 1 leading with 54 points closely followed by Team 3 with 52 points

(For full results see Wenesday Competitions)

I show our bidding which wasnt very scientific and carried the risk of our losing 2 diamonds straight away. We were (I was) in gung ho mood.

Here is a perfect example of where a splinter bid 1S-4D would have shown the key singleton and provided much more safety.

3 couples managed to bid the slam.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Alan and Richards bidding may look a little strange. 

The 3c is asking for 5 cards majors. The 4NT is quantitative but based on Alan's miscounted of his points! 

Most of course bid the slam direct and went off.

Richard played masterfully or we didn't defend well and he made 12 tricks anyway for a top.

What happened at your table?

Phil@thompsonsonline.net

Well done Ruby and Kathryn for bidding 6H on this , scoring better than 6C.

It must have been tempting for Ruby to go in clubs.

6NT can make if played by East but not if played by West as one pair found out. How did your bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations David and Bill for qualifying for the BeauRepaire Final. One more heat in January.

3 pairs bid 6NT, most others were in 3NT making 12 tricks and one pair were in 6C making.

How did your bidding go?

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

No one who bid the slam made it.

The key is what South retains when discarding on trumps.

Assuming AS lead , which we received, the diamonds have to be retained but is that obvious.

Natasha made 12 tricks and I regretted my jump to 4H which precluded us exploring the slam.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Ian and Joan were the only ones to find the slam here.

Our bidding was as shown which may well be typical.

How do you think the bidding should go?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations to Linda and Roger for winning the Thompson Trophy.

Second were Jan and Richard with John & Kathryn 3rd.

Thanks everybody for making the Awayday a brilliant success. Well done all the winners,John and Malcolm, Ben and Natasha, Lesley and Gail, Viv and Chris, Anne and Bill, Ellis and June. and all the other great efforts

Lots of slams being bid last night

Natasha and I can give lessons in how to turn a top into a bottom!

1C from Natasha. We play 5C majors, better minor so Natasha has at 3C including the K.

6C from me, a bit of a punt (would have been top)

6NT from Natasha , if he can bid 6C we should be able to bid 6NT (would have been top)

7C from me , 6NT cant be right and if she has AH and AD we have at least a chance of 7C.

Oh dear!

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

ALLSOPP TROPHY

(WINTER CUP)

First round results

Congratulation to Team 3 (Roger, Gary, Alan and Wilson)

Away Day Saturday 31 October 2015

Venue: Kedleston Park Golf Club

10.00 am to 5.00 pm

£20.00 to include a carvery lunch, wine, dessert and two sessions of fun bridge

If interested please contact: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com or 01773 852748

Only Anne and Joan found the heart slam.

How did your bidding go?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Lots of chances of a slam last night.

Jen and Sue took the bold approach to this one!

Any suggestions as to a more scientific bidding sequence?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Few pairs in 6C and 6C*, going down. The bidding at the table I was Kibitzing at was as above. What happened at your table?

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Only two pairs were in 6S and made it.

Why didn't more pairs bid 6S?

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Re Board 18, to answer your question directly, I think most people didn't bid the slam because its actually not a very good one to be in. 

We homed in on it with the bidding of 1H, 2S, 3S, 4NT (keycard), 5D (obviously,1) and a risky 6S from me. It's a 'Friday night at the club' bid, because with Derek only showing one keycard, he's either missing KS or AH. If it's the AH then he's got to have KH or we're right up the creek. There's also the question of the whereabouts of the QS of course and, even then, it depends on a 3-3 heart break. All in all therefore it's decidedly unsafe but being foolhardy/intrepid, I gave it a crack. 

In my view, it is certainly one where the question should be asked and it's strange so many played in a straight 4S. That said, as soon as you get the wrong response after the 4NT inquiry then you should really duck out into 5S. 

SOK

Bridge Lessons for Beginners

Starting on Friday 25 September at 2.00 - 4.00 pm

At

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For further details please contact Ian Roxburgh on 01332 550882 or iroxburgh@yahoo.co.uk

I think our bidding was as shown. Ray and Jill getting a good result with 11 tricks in NT.

Melinda and Pat found the 6C slam.

There would have been a good sacrifce in Spades.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Summer is over!

Easter Islands (Linda,Jeff,Richard & John) had a convincing win against Tioman (Roger,Gary,Wilson & Derek) by 26 imps, never losing their early good start

Despite enforcing the extra 4 boards overtime rule, Hawaii(Natahsa,Kathryn,Phil & Steve) still lost to the Magicians(Iris,Ellis,Mick & Stuart) by 13 imps

Bidding at our table was as above with Maggies playing East and Jill West. Well bid Jill.

How did it go at your table?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulation to Naomi and John, the latest BeauRepaire qualifieres.

Having bid 4S I made 11 tricks, but some bid 6 and made 12 or 13 tricks. How?

Just to clarify: I did lose 2 unnecessary diamonds by not planning and not trumping a diamond.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

A long hesitation before I passed the 6H. I dearly wanted to bid the 7th. Andrew almost certainly had all 4 aces, but could have had a void.

He almost certainly had KH but not absolutely certain.

How should the Grand Slam be bid?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

No slams last night but this hand was interesting.

I had no hesitation in going 5H over 4S bid but in retrospect I was too strong defensively. 5H is a great bid provided 4S makes. Better to double .

Even better to get the opposition to go 5S and then double as several did, but they were too canny for that! What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

With us it started with a diamond bid from East, 1H from Jeff and then straight to 4S from West. The fact that East had opened helped make my mind up and I bid 5H. Having no spades means there would be chances anyway and, of course, it actually makes with careful play. East, however, then popped up with 5S which I doubled when it got round to me. Before I go however, I just wonder if dear Jeff has anything further to say about his commentary on last week's slam hand. An investigation has revealed that, despite his very careful use of the English language in explaining the bidding, he did, in fact, punt the slam!! People may consider this disloyal to a partner who helped drag us back from six straight bottoms at the start of last night, but the truth must come out! SOK

I should like to point out to my erstwhile partner that I did not say that I asked for aces. I can imagine him at school Please miss, Please miss it was him.

Jeff

Heres how we managed to miss a stone cold slam with 32 points. Only Jeff and Malcolm got there! Where did we go wrong and they go right? What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

I opened 1C, Malcolm bid 1D. I know that it is not an ideal bid, but I then bid 1H. Malcolm will think that I have 4 hearts, but fortunately he bid 2NT.

Ask for aces and with 1 ace opposite, my K of spades now looks agood card and with 6 clubs, I bid 6 NT.

I know you can devise a circumstances where this is not enough, but if you think like that you will rarely bid any slams.

Jeff

That was the bidding at our table, with various sound effects and facial expressions in between, but Ben was undeterred and made the contract!

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

The Line Up for the Finals on 23 September has now been determined.

Easter Island  (Jeff's team) will play Tioman (Roger's team)

Hawaii (Natasha) will play the Magicians (Mick)

To be played over 24 boards with an extra 4 board option by the first named team in each match

Look under Wednesday competitions for the 12 August results

I can't remember our opponents exact bidding sequence but they ended up in 4H, making.

A reasonable contract but there is a club slam going begging. Only one pair bid it.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Against us the bidding was 4C -5C. I don't see any way of bidding the slam other than gambling ( in fact the words "Phil" and "gamble" came up in the post hand analysis ! ).

To be honest I prefer a 5C opener with the East hand but 4C is ok as well unless playing South African Texas where it would show a stronger type 4H opener.

I would be interested to know how 6C was bid.     John S

Alan having decided to amuse himself elsewhere, I decided to tune into the Forest/Brighton match on Friday. (In truth, I'd actually have had more fun sitting out all night....) I don't want to disagree with my sometime (and far superior) partner, Runner John, but how's this for a sequence? That control and two singletons look enticing so could you construct an argument for opening a light 1C just to see what happens? It's not going to damage too much because you'd surely make a 5C sacrifice if needed and, if you have given too much space to the opposition, that's unfortunate. Anyway, with most of my partners, a tempting strong jump in H would be the response. A frisky 4NT would get a 3 key card reply and then 6C wouldn't be a bad shout. Of course it's a risk,...replies of 5H or 5S are quite likely and would take you into difficult, although not completely hopeless, territory. 5D would be utopia because for it to only show one key card is pretty much impossible after the jump bid. But, after all, it's Friday and it's a club night so does it really matter! SOK

Roger (east) opened 4C and I raised it to 5C. Roger said he would have risked 6C with my hand, but after giving it more thought said I should have bid 4NT (Blackwood) and if he replied 5C with no aces I could pass, but if he bid 6D (one ace) then I could safely bid 6C. Sounds good to me, pity I was not East!! Linda

Several hands with slam potential last night. This is the most dubious.

Richard and Jeff managed to get to 6H played by East and making. Our opponents contented themselves with 4H.

What happened at your table?

Is it a good slam to bid?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Any of our more experienced players want to have a go at this from our revision sessions.

Answers to phil@thompsonsonline.net

I think this is how our bidding went playing Roman Key Card.

I guessed the spades wrong but still managed to scramble to 12 tricks

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Check out the position after 4 rounds. Iris,Joan & Graham are the first qualifiers , having played with 3 different partners on the 4th Friday in the month.

Away Day Saturday 31 October 2015

Venue: Kedleston Park Golf Club

10.00 am to 5.00 pm

£20.00 to include a carvery lunch, wine, dessert

and 2 sessions of fun bridge

Contact: John Gould (john.gould@birchover.com ; 01332 551397, 07813 836307)

The bidding was all over the place on this strange hand.

Ours was fairly straightforward I think and we made 10 tricks for a reasonable result.

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Er.. well, the less said about this bidding the better. Malcolm opened a feisty 3D and, following a 4C overcall, I had a bit of a think. My first inclination was to double, but then I managed to convince myself that a slam might just be on. (Can't let lucky Jeff walk away with the slam master title!) So 4NT from me and 5C from Malcolm. I somehow managed to see this as one or four key cards rather than nought or three! I decided a slam might just work on a finesse or two and hoping partner had a reasonable point count so 6D it was. Malcolm did well not to utter an expletive when I put dummy down and he duly went off - miraculously not for a bottom. Why hadn't I just doubled and left it at that! SOK

Congraulations Peter Bell and Peter Smith our latest BeauRepaire qualifiers.

There was no eligible North/South winner last night

6H and 6D making, the rest in 4H mostly making 11 or 12 tricks. How did your bidding and the play go?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

The bidding at our table was interesting to say the least. Sean made 12 tricks

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

I think this is how our bidding went. Most bizarre. I resisted going to 6C which would have pushed our opponents into the cast iron slam. What happened at your table? phil@thompsonsonline.net

The bidding at our table was 1D - 1S -(dble) - 6S. What you open with the North hand is anyone's guess and the final bid of 6S is also a gamble.
The AC lead meant 13 tricks. The 6S was bid 5 times but on one occasion made only 12 tricks which gave N/S a below average score !
It looks as though a heart was led but how was this found ?   John S

We played this board against John and Naomi. John opened a strong 2C
and Naomi replied a positive 2S. I kept quiet with my "strong hand"
John asked for aces and Naomi showed 1 ace. John then bid 6 spades. I
was on lead from my strong hand and thought that perhaps John had no
clubs (I don't know why!) I led the ace of hearts which gave us the
one trick. Pity really as they bid the hand well

Linda Hubbold

Jeff and Kathryn were in fine form last night. This was their bidding, getting to the small slam in clubs.

Roman Key Card being employed.

Why did it have to be against us?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Hi Phil

At our table the bidding was 1H -2C (2S) pass    (3S) 4C pass 5C.

The opposition bidding spades made it difficult to bid the slam but it's not easy anyway

John S

Okay I know Jeff and Ruby are good players but how did they bid and make 6NT on this hand.

At our table the bidding was unremarkable ending up in 3NT. I lead KH and E/W made 11 tricks.

Would a spade the unbid suit been a better lead?

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Hi phil, like the good player bit, although I can think of some people, including me at times, who would not agree.  The bidding was 1 heart, 2 diamonds,  3 clubs. I thought 3C showed more points than 14, so I bid  4 no trumps. The reply showed we had all the aces, so I bid 6 no trumps. The lead was a spade and fortunately as east I can let it run to my queen. I can now finesse the jack of spades giving me 3 spades, 3 diamonds, 5 clubs and 1 heart. Jeff

Congratulations Roman & Janusz, Roger & Linda our latest qualifiers for the Final

BELATED AGM PRIZE GIVING PICTURES

No particular hand stood out but this one is interesting. Firstly the preemptive power of 1NT. Several tables left the 1NT alone - generally a good result for N/S.

Secondly the value of having a artificial defence. West's 2D showing Hearts and Diamonds - surely the perfect hand for it.

Thirdly you have to know what you are doing. 2NT which was natural was not understood.

Fourthly beware the double. Even though 4H looks certain to go off from North's perspctive. If you play North for all the key cards I think you can make 11 tricks! Luckily that's not how it turned out and 4 off doubled was a good result for us. Any comments?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

This is not an easy hand to bid particularly for the less experienced. One suggestion opposite. Even with a game forcing 2D bid in the armoury it is still difficult to know which slam to go for. 3 tables got to the optimum 6NT with 2 making. If you ask for kings you are lead towards 7NT. How should you play the hand for maximum safety and the best possibility of making 13 tricks? email Phil.

phil@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations Joan Smith on reaching a Special Milestone

The consensus in the pub was that this was the most interesting hand. I think our bidding was as shown and we made 11 tricks for a good result.

Someone managed to find the slam in diamonds. One West also managed to make 5H doubled!

What happened at your table?

phil@thompsonsonline.net

The Second Round of the Summer Cup was close run affair with the Tioman winning on the night and slightly increasing their lead.

Click here for full results.

Richard did his best to interfere with our bidding process but we were undeterred. Playing DOPI I knew I was an Ace short. One pair didn't as they ended up in 7H. Richard and John could have sacrificed in 7D but that is difficult to see. What happened at your table?

Phil@thompsonsonline.net

Hi Phil
At our table the bidding was 1C* (pass) 2H (4S !) 5H pass pas pass
The 4S bid by Kathryn really put a spanner in the works as David couldn't
now ask for aces and passed fearing 2 aces missing.    John S
* maybe 2 cards

Congratulations Andrew & John, Maggie and Clare our latest qualifiers for BeauRepaire final in February.

Richard's psyche with 6 points made this hand difficult to bid. we ended up taking 4S dbled off one for a poor result. How should the bidding have gone? What happened at your table? phil@thompsonsonline.net

We were allowed to play in 4 Hearts

Spade led, away went the losing club, loosing 1 Heart and 1 Diamond

Kindest regards

John.R

Although nearly everyone made 12 or 13 tricks in Hearts, only one pair bid 6H

How did your bidding go?

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Everyone made 12 or 13 tricks in diamonds or no-trumps, but only one pair bid 6NT.

The bidding at table 11 was as shown.

What happened at your table?

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Nearly everyone made 12 tricks in spades. The biding at table 11, again, was as shown.

How was it at your table ?

Reply: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

At a certain table the bidding was as above, -4. What do you think ?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Please note the Club AGM at 6.30 on the 1st May.

All encouraged to come.