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The Edinburgh No fears Bridge Club
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Director: Derek Sanders
Hugh Kelsey
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Director: Derek Sanders
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Director: Derek Sanders
Online No fears pairs
BBO
Director: Derek Sanders
How to register for online No Fears BBO events

1) Login to BBO with your partner.

2) Go to competetive

3) Click all tournament

4) In search type stdomingo

5) Enter you partners name and click invite

6) Your partner will receive an invitation and accept

7) When the Tourney starts you will be automatically taken to a table.

8) Good luck and have fun!

Release 2.19q
BBO Sunday evening pairs tournament and the live Friday evening pairs at the Carlton!

Hazel runs the Carlton BBO Sunday pairs tournament. Its great fun 24 boards, eight three board matches. Meanwhile Neil does the 'live Friday evening event' at the Carlton. No need to be a member, everybody is welcome for both! Not to mention the superb catering on Friday. So please come along!

Thursday deal of the day
Thursday 17th March...deal of the day!

Winners were Malkie and James, runners up Finola and celebrity guest Marty with 3rd spot going to Walter and Clare. Well done them!

Board 8 was one where a good technical play was found by James and Colin to earn an extra trick in a 3NT contract.

After the illustrated auction everybody received Q lead, north correctly ducked and then took the continuation. Nine tricks looked good provided the club suit behaved and broke 3-2. Declarers played ♣A and then a second club but when east showed out most gave up and won in dummy, resulting in seven tricks. Only James and Colin spotted a better line, on seeing the unfortunate 4-1 split, both played low from dummyyes, allowing west to take the trick. The effect of this action is to establish the club suit while still retaining an entry to dummy. Although 3NT could now not be legitimately made the club duck did provide one more trick for just one down rather than the two, crucial at match pointed pairsenlightened. Very nicely played those two!

Thursday 17th February...deal of the day

First place went to Katherine and Anne, second Robert and Colin and wining the split tie for third spot Irish Maggie and Johnwink. A very well done all of themsmiley.

Board 11 was a reasonable 50-50 slam in hearts which requires the ♣Q to be in the north hand or even singleton in the south hand. Infact most pairs played in 4.The illustrated auction is the suggested approach to bidding this type of hand. After the transfer to hearts west with excellent four card support can bid not just 2 but jump to 3 . This action, is called 'breaking the transfer' and helps partner reach games or even slams that would sometimes be missed.

1NT= 12-14  2 = transfer to hearts  3 = great heart support             4NT = RKC  5♣  =  three key cards or 5 =  two aces

Only Marion and Sheila bid to 6 but it was not their day when the club finesse failed. Never mind, unlucky and a great effortyes.

The sting in the tale!  Very ocasionally a 4-4 fit can be better than a 5-4 fit and here was an example. 6 is unbeatable because counter intuitively you get an extra trick in the 4-4 fit! Ok you lose a trump trick but the 5th heart provides a spade discard which you can ruff with one of  your spare clubs, ergo making them seperately. So if clubs are trumps you make that crucial extra trick which you cant do in heart contracts!

Thursday 24th February ...deal of the day.

This Thursdays winners were Margaret and Yvonne, runners up Jim and Alecs with third spot going to John and Andy. Well done themsmiley.

Board ten was a good 4 contract but game was missed a couple of times. John R and Irish Maggie bid it well in the illustrated auction. Maggies 1NT rebid indicated 15-17 points and an essentially balanced hand.

Meanwhile John, despite only seven points held the good six card suit. The 1098 add stuffing so are worth an extra point and along with the singleton also worth a couple, did the right thing and rebid 4. Partner will not know about the singleton so best just to bid game and trust it does the job. As it turned out the singleton worked a treat opposite three rag diamonds and hence no 'wasted values'. Infact there even might have been an overtrick had the club finesse been successful but no luck this time so just the ten tricks and +620. Nicely bid Maggie and John yes.

Thursday 27th January....deal of the day.

On board 11 three of the five E/W pairs bid to 6 but only John R made the contract after a favourable lead. North tried the  A which was ruffed. John drew trumps and played ♣A then ♣Q which he overtook wth dummy's ♣K to enjoy the winning diamonds for all thirteen tricks.

However on the most common lead of the singleton ♣4 declarer should win ♣A, (preserving the ♣Q as an entry to dummy) draw trumps and then overtake ♣ Q with dummy's ♣K. Now in dummy you can cash ♣J discarding a spade and take the successful spade finesse for your twelth trick.

However at one table after the illustrated auction it was a different story. North overcalled 3 and this was not going to have a happy ending when east doubled. Probably only four tricks for minus 1100. However not unreasonably west felt he would get richer in 6 and accordingly removed the penalty double to 6. North lead the singleton ♣4 Infact there is now a %100 line. Win ♣A Draw trumps overtake ♣Q with ♣K noticing north showing out. Since the auction marks north with A, the play is apparent.Take ♣J discarding ♠ 4 then play K discarding ♠ 9. North will have to win their  A but has no resource. A diamond to dummys winners or a spade into declarers ♠ A♠Q for twelve tricks and no need to risk the spade finesse.

Only runner up Daphne playing with Tom found this line but she was in 4 for two overtricks, still excellent playenlightenedand very well done her! 

Well done to this weeks winners Anne and Katherineyes.

Thursday 20th January... deal of the day.

Board 16 was unusual in that at all seven tables the auction was the same as was the strain of the lead! However the number of tricks made by the defence differed.

As in the illustrated auction west opened 1NT then raised to 3NT by east and all the norths either lead ♠6 (4th highest) or ♠9 (top of a sequence). At six of the tables of the tables declarer inserted the J and from here paths diverged with 3NT making a few times. At the runners up table John P covered with ♠Q then accurately switched to a diamond (a second spade at this point would allow 3NT to make). Countdown Andy won his a A to play a 2nd spade through dummy. John had dummy covered with his ♠A ♠10 and when declarer played low inserted the ♠10, then ♠A and ♠5 to scoop the suit and take the first five tricks,to set the contract. Very nice defence guysyes

At one table after ♠9 was lead declarer tried a cunning small spade from dummydevil. South was not to be 'missled' and could see all the cards higher than ♠9 so let the card hold the trick. When a second spade was played the suit too was picked up and the first five tricks taken.

Well done to the winners Jim and Irene, Countdown Andy and John 2nd, Ann and Margaret 3rd, with Colin and Robert 4th!

Thursday 30th deal of the day...a well bid grand slam!

On Board 17 runners up and past No Fears players Holli and Stephen, now residing in the U.S. bid nicely to a Grand slam and showed how it is possible to count your tricks during an auction. 

On the illustrated bidding Holli opened 2NT and Stephen responded 3 a transfer to spades. Meanwhile Dowell with his good eight card heart suit tried to put a spanner in the works with a 4 overcall. Even so Holli had good spade support and a great hand could complete the transfer at the higher level. With spades agreed Stephen wheeled out the Roman Key card convention. 5♣ indicated 4 key cards namely ♠K  A  A and ♣A. Stephen did the 'maths' and that came to eleven tricks but only fifteen of partners twenty points were acounted forenlightened. Bearing in mind Dowells 4 overcall the remainder had to be ♣K ♣Q making thirteen, so the 7♠ button was clicked, (7NT is safer, no danger of a ruff on the lead). As it turned out there were fourteen tricks 'on top' but you cant make overtricks in a grandslamwink

The winners who came in with a massive %73 score bid to the small slam. With no scientific methods John took the practical approach and responded 6♠ to Irish Maggie's 2NT. Very well done both pairs, great stuffyes.

Thursday 3rd March ....deal of the day.

A good six tables this evening. Winners were Dowell and Stuart, runners up Yvonne and Finola with third spot going to Alecs and Jim. Very well done them!

On board 3, in the illustrated auction Stuart with five card ♠ support, two singletons and a good six card  suit was well worth a shot at at slam after Dowell opened 1♠. Dowell received a diamond lead and inserted the Q, a 'free finesse'. See how If the K is onside the Q wins and if offside declarer can ruff and still not lose a trick. When the Q held, trumps were drawn, the A dislodged with dummy's K to set up Q and the remainder of the hand cross ruffed for twelve tricks. Well playedyes.

Meanwhile Yvonne was playing with a robot because Finola had not yet arrived. When the robot opened 1♠ Yvonne did not mess about and raised to 6♠enlightened. Probably best to ask for aces here because you need robot to have two. Anyway robot did and that was twelve tricks, well judged Yvonnewink.

Thursday 6th January No Fears... deal of the day!

Well done this weeks winners Sandra and Hazel, runners up Karen and Polly, third placers Katherine and Anneyes.

Board 5 caused any amount of problems to E/W pairs in either the bidding or the declarer play. With twenty five points and no particular fit the normal contract looks to be 3NT.

The problem in the auction was when west rebid 2 after an initial response of 1. Many easts were not sure as to the forcing nature of the bid and passed. Infact the 2 bid is forcing because with a weak hand west should pass the 2 rebid. 3NT is not at all easy and those that did reach the game got in a tangle with comunications and the contract was defeatedfrown.

Only Tom and Daphne got to grips with the hand as shown in the illustated auction. After Tom rebid 2♣ and with opening values herself Daphne sensibly jumped to 3♦ to ensure there was no misunderstandingenlightenedand game reached. Tom got the message and with spades guarded bid 3NT. Eldrydd was south and correctly lead the unbid suit spades, declarer won in hand and set about clubs, leading a small one towards ♣Q. Eldrydd with ♣K ♣J doubleton had no choice so took K to continue spades.Tom won, unblocked ♣Q entered hand with the singleton K to enjoy the club winners and played a diamond Eldrydd took her A cashed the two spade winners she had worked so hard to estabish but trick thirteen was Tom's. Nicely bid Daphne and well played Tom!

Thursday 10th March....deal of the day!

This weeks Thursday evenings winners were Polly and Karen, runners up John Pottinger and Countdown Andy with third spot going to Marion and Sheila. Well done them!

On Board 16 the runners up bid 6♠ on the illustrated auction. Andy's 4♥ is a splinter bid indicating a heart shortage, spade support and slam interest. John P with a good hand himself did not waste any time and bid straight to 6♠, nicely doneyes.

Meanwhile John Ramsay and Irish Maggie also got involved in the slam auction and after a bidding misunderstanding ended up in 7. Disaster you might think missing ♣A, but north was on lead and it was south that held the 'case ace'*. The lead was J and when dummy appeared on the screen John's heart must have sank. But look there was a way outangel! He won the trick, drew trumps and discarded the two losing clubs on AKQ to claim all thirteen tricks and +2210!  As John R said after the hand 'lucky' wink.

*Case card.... a commonly used poker term for the missing 4th card

Thursday 3rd February.....deal of the day!

There was a tie for first place with Tom and Daphne, Malkie and James sharing the honours. Third spot went to Dowell and Stu, fourth to Andy D and John S. Well played them!

Board 10 was an exciting one with game contracts in both directions. In the llustrated auction one of the winning pairs came to grief when they bid to 5. Sharman sitting opposite a vulnerable 1 overcall and holding a pair of aces, not unreasonably felt that Malkie and James had overstepped the mark and doubled 5devil. She lead A and the defence took the first two heart tricks at which point Joyce switched to a club. James took the diamond finesse and played  J from dummy, covered by the singleton K. Now Sharmans 10 was in business and promoted for the setting trick! See how a small diamond from dummy would have forced Joyces K to 'beat thin air', preventing the 10 from becoming a winner. The odds favour a small diamond and is probably the best line of play!

Meanwhile (N/S) Anne and Katherine did not mess about, they located the ten card spade fit and bid to 4♠. Katherine was declarer and nicely took her major suit finesses. Both were favourable and that was ten tricks for 620 and top board. Well done those twoyes!

Thursday 13th January ......deal of the day!

Five tables, so perfect for a full Howell movement. That meant nine matches of three boards at a good 18 minutes per round. So not only did all the pairs play one another but also a record for the No Fears! Twenty seven boards played in the normal time! Well done everybody and the winners Robert and Colin just ahead of Karen and Polly in second with Andy D and John S in third spot.

Infact it was board 13 where the winners and the third placed pair clashed on a decisive board that determined the overall result. Andy (north) opened a light 1, with a weak 2♥ an alternative option. No stopping John now with the very good eighteen points from bidding to slam (illustrated auction). Unfortunately there is a major flaw to this contract, N/S are missing ♣A♣K surprise but on the other hand have twelve tricks themselves. Namely six hearts, five spades and  Adevil.

Colin was on lead and only a club would defeat 6NT. Robert saw the ♣8 flash up on the screen and grabbed his ♣A  to accurately return the ♣3 to partners ♣K and take their two tricks before declarer cashed his twelve! Great lead Colin and nice return Robertyes.

Thursday 16th December...deal of the day!

Six tables this evening and it was Alan from the Abroath Bridge club kindly subbing with Margaret to make up the half table who took the honours. Runners up were 'count down' Andy and John, third spot going to Jim and Alec with Karen and Polly 4th. Well done them!

On Board 14 Alan showed good technique to land 3NT. After the illustrated auction, he received the 8 lead to Q which he ducked along with the continuation taking A on the third round. This play breaks comunications between the defenders hands and despite Jim (north) having two spade winners Alec (south) was void and would be unable to return the suit.

Meanwhile Alan could count seven tricks and needed two more. Holding all the diamond pips(♦1098) the best chance was a double finesse and so he played J running it to souths Q. With no spade to return Alec tried a club, declarer took A and continued with 10 again intending to run it, the K appeared so taken by A. That was the two diamond tricks he needed established to make nine, very nicely playedyes.

See menu bar for more on the double finesse.

Thursday 21st April deal of the day.

Well done this weeks winners John P and Coundown Andy, runners up Susan and Dave , Colin and Robert in third spotyes.

Board 13 was a good example of how extra tricks are available if you use dummys trumps to ruff losers. In the illustrated auction, after north opens 1♠, east should double for takeout rather than bid the five card heart suit, you generally need six cards to overcall at the two level. South with seven points and a singleton club is worth a raise to 3♠ and now game is reached.

The key to making ten tricks is to appreciate that outside the trump suit you only have two tricks, namely A K .So the remainder will need to be generated by ruffing with dummy's trumps. The singleton K in hand and singleton 8 on the table allows declarer to take the cross ruff line. Infact providing the defenders or declarer dont lead and then continue trumps, eight trump tricks are there for the taking to get home in 4

Thursday 24th March deal of the day!

Winners were Malkie and James, runners up  Anne and Nanna. There was a tie for third spot between Alec and Jim along with John and Countdown Andy. Well done them!

On board 10 the two pairs who tied in third spot bid to 6NT. At the other tables east opened 2NT and west with twelve points made a quantatative bid of 4NT. Holding the minimum 20 points, east passed.

In the illustrated auction, John P appreciating the good five card diamond suit, awarded himself an additional point and raised Andy to 6NTyes. A fine contract and requires either the diamond finesse to be successful or this failing, the two black suit finesses to come in, all in all a two in three chance! At both tables south lead the ♣6 and when dummy's ♣J held declarer just needed one of the two remaining finesses. It was the spade finesse that came in and that was twelve tricks, for +1430.

Meanwhile, there is an alternatve auction and that is to use the stayman convention after 2NT. This action locates the 4-4 spade fit. Great you might think, but look there is an inescapable trump loser and with the Q unfavourably placed, probably only eleven tricks surprise.

Thursday 10th of February...deal of the day!

In a close finish, Daphne and Tom took the honours just ahead of runners up Karen and Polly. Well done themyes.

Board 6 was one where both west and south had strong hands. West holding the seven card spade suit was generally able to out bid south and played in 3♠. But in the illustrated auction Anne (west) and Jim Bruce (south) had an unorthodox 'bidding match' to 4♠ which Jim doubled after competing with his four card heart suit at the four level. Irene Bruce elected not to lead her partners  suit and found the lead of J. With all the top  honours Jim overtook and played to the third round of the suit. Irene overuffed the ♠J with ♠Q and even if Anne ruffs high the ♠Q is promoted and becomes a trick. So one down and minus 200crying. Unlucky the 2NT opener did not have Q  (just switch the major suit queens).

Meanwhile John R was in 3♠ which south doubled too and he was given a chance to make ten tricks! After two rounds of diamonds south switched to a trump and thinking Walter had doubled with Q John not unreasonably put aside the 'eight ever, nine never' rule and took the losing finesse, still the same nine tricks as Anne but +730devil

Thursday No Fears 9th December deal of the day!

Four tables this evening and runners up John S and Andy D were the only pair to reach the excellent slam on board 16.

On the above illustrated auction Andy (north) opened 1  and after a spade response rebid 2NT indicating 18-19, essentially balanced. Easy now for John with fourteen points, a heart fit and a singleton to boot, he asked for aces. Andy responded 5♠ showing three which must have confused John since he had two and that made five aces in this virtual packsurprise. Anyway there was no option but to bid 6. Twelve tricks were wrapped up and that was a top board. Well done themyes.

Thursday 2nd December BBO No Fears ...deal of the day!

The Thursday BBO No fears saw five tables and on Board 13 the winners and runners up took a different approach after their partners opened 1NT. West only has nine points but the great distribution make it well worth a pot at game!

Irene responded 2, a transfer to spades and then rebid 4♠ allowing the 'stronger' hand to declare. But with AQ and ♣K, i think i would prefer to be declarer and have the lead up to these cards rather than expose them in dummy. So quite like an imediate 4♠, you dont need to right side the trump suitwink!

Meanwhile Dowell bid Stayman (illustrated auction) and after 2, jumped to 4♠. This route gave him a chance of locating a heart fit but at the slight risk of missing a better spade fit. Either way 4was bid but declarer was not the same at the two tables and so received different leads.

Jim(east) saw 5 appear on his screen and ruffed in dummy. The spade finesse came next, trumps drawn and that was twelve tricks.

For Dowell(west) it was a different story. North lead the singleton ♣2. Marion took her ♣A, then accurately returned the suit to give Sheila a ruff and that was only elevensad. Still not enough for Jim and Irene to catch up, Dowell and Stuart hung onto first place. Well done those two pairsyes.

How should we bid this hand?

Souths double is a good bid. This shows a strong hand not quite right to bid 2NT (17-19). Pass would be typically weak 2-2-4-5 shape and with 4-3-1-5 min would bid 2♥.   So X shows strong bal or strong unbal. Either way north with four card club support and a crucial singleton not to mention the powerful AK♥ has an auto 5♣ bid over 4♠ . Dont worry South must have 4 plus clubs on this auction .  5C is fine with the singleton and club support! Ok they might bid 5 but you have done your best! This hand is such a good example of how the weak No trump can sometimes out play the strong NT.

Remember my secret tip 5 of a minor is fine if one of you have a singleton!!