Congratulations to Southern Highlands who won the Interclub on the 12th October.  The other teams were placed as follows: Bowral (2nd), Goulburn (3rd), Kiama (4th), Berry (5th). 

Many thanks to John Hetherington for organising such a well-run event, and also to those who contributed and helped in the catering. Thanks!

Please note that it is club policy that directors will average any board where the dummy is not on the table at the three minute bell.  Please respect the directive if you are asked to take an average by a director, accept it graciously, as they are volunteers trying their best for all players, to ensure timeliness and enjoyment of play, and fairness to all.  Thanks very much, our directors, for your service to our club.

Dawn Kaehler and Jan Watson came 2nd (with an event percentage of 70.73%) out of 540 pairs in the Nationwide Pairs held in 31 clubs all over Australia, and played at Kiama on 13th September! Well done ladies!

Other Kiama pairs in the first 100 pairs were Brenda Miller and Maggie Sweeney (46th), Ken Horne and Richard Warren (54th), Dot Blomley and Carl Phillips (98th).

The next Interclub event will be hosted by Kiama on Wednesday 12th October, from 10.00am to approximately 4.30pm. The cost of $12 includes lunch.  Other clubs competing are expected to be Berry, Bowral, Goulburn and Southern Highlands.

Each club fields two teams (8 players).  The committee will select the Kiama teams from the pairs submitted. Please contact John Hetherington soon if you and partner wish to be considered for this event.

Our team successfully defended our title recently at Goulburn.  The team comprised Gwen Hinchliffe, Vonnie McCafferty, Dawn Kaehler, Jan Watson, Graham  Bradley, David Wardle, Peter Muller, Jeannette Horrocks.  Well done!

Thanks to Goulburn for a very successful and enjoyable day, and congratulations too to all participating teams.

If your email address has changed recently you may not be receiving newsletters and other correspondence from the club. The easiest way to notify the club of your new email address is to send an email to kiamabridge@gmail.com.

Congratulations to Mary Raftery and Margaret Cole, who were ranked 45th out of 1610, and achieved a percentage of 64.4% in the overall competition!  Well done, you have done Kiama proud!

The provisional results are now on the Australian Bridge web site.  To see a summary of results for all players from our club, you can click here. From within that summary, you can also click on individual players' names to view your personal results booklet (also available on the web site after selecting club and name from the drop down boxes).  The results will be declared final this weekend.

Joan Butts will be holding two workshops at IBA on Friday 9th September on Modern Competitive Bidding and Card Play Technique. 

The cost is $15 for one session or $30 for both sessions. This includes lunch at 12pm. 

For more information and bookings click on this link:
 http://www.joanbuttsbridge.com/event/2016/9/9/illawarra-bridge-club.  Or call Jill MacRae on 02 4284-8151.

=> Swiss Teams 3rd/4th Dec
=> Novice/Restricted Pairs 4th Dec

To view the brochure click on this link: http://nswba.com.au/pdfs/16Goulburn.pdf
To enter click on this link: http://www.nswba.com.au/tourn/eventDetails.asp?tid=2430&T=X

Congratulations to our two teams who won the recent Interclub event held at Berry on 10th August - Vonnie McCafferty, Gwen Hinchliffe, Jan Watson, Dawn Kaehler, Ann and Ian Blue, Carl Phillips and Wayne Courtney!  Well done teams!  Thanks to Berry for organising a wonderful event which everyone enjoyed, and congrats too to all the teams participating from Berry, Goulburn and Southern Highlands. 

When opener's Left Hand Opponent (LHO) overcalls, this sometimes pushes up partner's change of suit response to a level higher than he would have otherwise needed.

South	West	North	East
1♥	2♣	2♠	Pass
?

Here, North's 2♠ shows 10+ points and 5 or more spades but without the 2♣ overcall North would have happily responded 1♠.  As we know, a change of suit response is forcing and when East passes we are obliged to bid again regardless of the strength of our hand.

We could have a hand as poor as this:
South
♠ 97
♥ AK874
♦ AJ63
♣ 75

South	West	North	East
1♥	2♣	2♠	Pass
3♦

and yet we must bid again after partner's 2♠  response.

When LHO's overcall pushes up responder's change of suit bid, openers lowest rebid doesn't guarantee more than a mimimum hand.   In this case opener's rebid is at the three level AND a 'New Suit Above the Barrier' but since opener is forced to bid, this may only be a mimumum hand.  It is important to note that it is an overcall by opener's LHO that causes this situation. If the overcall is by opener's RHO it is a completely different story!
- Taken from NoFearBridge.com

With 12-14 points and planning to rebid 1NT after partner responds at the one level, PASS if Right Hand Opponent (RHO) overcalls at the two level, since partner's response could be as little as 6 points.

West
♠ KJ8
♥ QJ2
♦ A842
♣ K64

West	North	East	South
1♦	Pass	1♥	2♣
Pass

West must pass with 12-14 HCP (if West had 15-17 he would have opened 1NT).  A 2NT rebid here would show 18-19 points. BUT see the difference if the 2♣ bid is by partner:

West	North	East	South
1♦	Pass	2♣	Pass
2NT

Now West may bid 2NT with 12-14 HCP because partner's bid shows minimum of 11 total points.  To make 2NT the combined point count needs to be roughly 23-24 points (can include length points).
- Taken from NoFearBridge.com and modified

For all upcoming congresses in NSW, view this link:

http://www.nswba.com.au/tourn/calendar.asp

This event is being held from 10th-11th September 2016 at Club Sapphire, and comprises Swiss Pairs and Swiss Teams.  Full details including how to enter can be obtained from the following link:

http://www.nswba.com.au/tourn/eventDetails.asp?tid=2469&T=X

Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2016

Kiama Bridge Club would like to announce that the upcoming Annual General Meeting will be held at the club house, Girrawheen Ave, Kiama on Friday 5th August 2016 at 9am. All positions will be declared vacant. 

The following documents will be tabled and can be viewed here by clicking on the links;

1. AGM 2016 President's Report
2. AGM 2016 Balance Sheet
3. AGM 2016 Profit and Loss Statement
4. AGM 2015 Minutes

Following the AGM the usual Friday duplicate bridge session will commence at approximately 9:30am

This interesting principle states that play of a particular card decreases the probability its player holds any equivalent card.

For example, South leads a low spade, West plays a low one, North plays the Queen, East wins with the King. The Ace and King are equivalent cards; East's play of the King decreases the probability East holds the Ace – and increases the probability West holds the Ace. The principle helps other players infer the locations of unobserved equivalent cards such as that spade Ace after observing the King. The increase or decrease in probability is an example of Bayesian updating as evidence accumulates.

To read more about this fascinating probability principle, click on this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_restricted_choice

An example of using this is in how to play the following card combination in NS:

First play the K, then the Q.  When West plays the five followed by the ten we face a decision on the third round: is it better to play the Ace (hoping that West started with JT5) or the nine (playing for West to have doubleton T5)?

Either player could have the Jack, so is the decision a pure guess? A specific 3-3 distribution is slightly more likely than a specific 4-2 distribution, so it might seem slightly better to play the Ace on the third round.

In practice, if West started with JT5 he might equally have played the Jack on the second round, whereas with T5 he would have had no option but to play the Ten. This means that JT5 is the less likely holding. This is an example of the Principle of Restricted Choice.

One way to justify the correct play in this example is to consider what happens if West plays either the Jack or Ten on the second round. Finessing on the third round wins if West has either Jx or Tx, whereas playing for the drop succeeds only against JTx. This makes it easier to see that finessing is the right play.

Hmmm. I think I get it, maybe ...

Once again as our AGM approaches, it is time to acknowledge and thank all the wonderful volunteers who have contributed so much to the running of our club.  Our ever-growing membership is testament to how well-run and successful this club is, and it is due to those who put in the time and effort behind the scenes, both now and in the past.

Too many to mention - please accept the club's heartfelt thanks for all you do.  And as the AGM draws near, to any member however new you are, who would like to have a go and get involved with the running of this club, you will be welcomed with open arms.  

News: Kiama Bridge Club financial members will not be required to pay table fees for the first week of each quarter: first week of December, first week of March, first week of June and first week of September giving a 25% reduction for each of those particular months.  This does not apply to the Monday supervised session as these table fees are not collected by the club.

On this curious hand East is quite happy to try and take 1NT Double off and is delighted when partner leads top Hearts. However, after cashing the first 6 Heart tricks that is East West's lot. Declarer has no problem in wrapping up the rest by way of 5 Spades and 2 Minor Suit Aces.

To add insult to injury EW has no problem if they were to bid to 4♥ which is a fairly easy task . 
From http://www.haroldschogger.com/interestinghands.htm

Setting Up A Long Suit

1. How should this hand be bid?
2. What is the opening lead?
3. How should the hand be played to make 13 tricks?

This hand from the Junior Camrose 2012 saw West lead his singleton heart won by East with the King. East cashed a second winning Heart and West threw a low club to discourage Clubs. Now the hand blew up when East tried to play another Heart. Declarer was able to ruff high and then draw trumps ending in dummy with the 9♦ after the second round and run all dummy’s winning Hearts declarer making 5D doubled. Poor West wanted a Spade switch.  How could he tell his partner?

A purportedly rigged hand dealt to the son of George III, the King of England, resulting in the loss of a £20,000 wager.  The  hand was was used in the James Bond movie, "Moonraker" against the villain Drax (West).

While the crafty 007 (North) only has 8 points in his hand, by finessing Drax's Club tenaces and promoting Bond's long Diamond suit, he establishes a whopping 13 tricks!

On Thursday the director had to amend many boards where the results were entered incorrectly. Please remember to enter the actual tricks made.  So if the contract is 3NT making 9, enter 9 not 3.  If it is 3NT making 10, enter 10.  2S making 9, enter 9, not 3. 

Hideous Hog:
Probability, playing rules, conventions and systems take the place of thinking. That is why they are so popular.
(He) is so bad that he admits to mistakes before he makes them.
If you award Masterpoints for very good results then, logically, you should deduct them for very bad results.

Wayne recently emailed to members a series of points put together by Matthew McManus, the Chief Director of the NSWBA and published in the NSWBA’s econgress news. There are many situations in bridge where what is conventional wisdom is really not that wise.  Quite often, someone says, “so and so told me that….”. And also quite often the “so and so” is a director, so therefore it must be true!

A little more investigation usually shows that the person doing the quoting was relaying what they wanted to hear, not what they were actually told. So, in the interests of trying to shed a little more light, take a look at these interesting and sometimes light-hearted “just because” situations.  You may wish to discuss them with your partner or a director.  To view them click on this link: Rules of the Week and scroll down to "Wayne's list from Matthew McManus".

To view Ron Klinger's analysis of the hands played in this competition at Kiama on 5th May 2016, please click on Bridge For Brains Research 2016.

These classes will commence on Wednesday 18 May and will run for a finite period of 6-8 weeks. The session will start at 9:30am so players will need to be seated by 9:15am.  They are only open to players with <5MP’s who must be financial members.  The table fee is $5.

The classes will help newer players, playing in an unsupervised setting, learning to use the bridgemates, with bridge etiquette and playing against the clock. The director on the day will also be available to provide support.

All players need to be seated at least 15 minutes before the start of play so that the director can count tables and identify any half table. This is critical in setting up the computer with the session’s movement. It makes it very difficult for the director to count tables if players are walking around, standing in the kitchen or sitting at a table other than their own. If you are called to take your seat, please do so promptly.

If dummy is not down by the time the three minute warning bell goes, the director must be called to average the board. Pairs will each receive 50% Continuing to bid after the bell has gone is poor etiquette as it slows down the entire room as people are kept waiting and this creates a backlog around the room for all tables.

Also dummy is absolutely mute. Dummy may not point out a mistake, call the director etc. If the director is called dummy may not take part in the conversation unless specifically asked by the director to do so. The only time dummy may talk to the declarer is to prevent a revoke by declarer by saying things such as “no diamonds partner?” or “having none?”

... can be viewed by clicking on this link: http://www.illawarra.bridgeaustralia.org/teamresults.asp?id=2690. Illawarra Bridge Club (IBA) were out and out winners on the day and took home the trophy.

Congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to our hosts - Mollymook Bridge Club - for putting on such a well-run and enjoyable day.

Five local teams - Kiama, Southern Highlands, Bowral, Goulburn and Berry enjoyed a great day of competition and friendship at Southern Highlands Bridge Club Interclub event on 13th April.  Many thanks to our hosts for putting on such a well-organised event including a delicious lunch, and congratulations to all participating teams.  Kiama won the trophy for the day - here are our successful teams holding the trophy ...

On 23rd/24th April this year, Southern Highlands Bridge Club will be hosting the State Novice and Restricted Pairs on behalf of the NSWBA.

The event provides a great opportunity for players with less than 100 (Novice) and less than 300 (Restricted) masterpoints to compete against players at a similar level and from a range of NSW clubs.  Click HERE to view further details on this event.  Entries should made via the NSWBA website: (http://nswba.com.au/tourn/calendar.asp).  

Renowned bridge teacher Joan Butts is again offering lessons/workshops at Kiama Bridge Club, to be held on the weekend of 13th-14th February.  These lessons are funded by the ABF and NSWBA.

Day One - Saturday 13th February - 9:30am-11:30am - "Opening Leads for No Trumps and Suit contracts", suitable for all improving players.  Cost is $15 per head.  For further details please click on Joan Butts Lesson Kiama 2016

Day Two - Sunday 14th February - 10:00am-4:00pm. Free to all bridge teachers and intermediate to advanced players.   For more information please click on Joan Butts Professional Development Day Kiama 2016.  For information about the subjects being taught that day please click on Joan Butts Professional Development Day Kiama 2016 Program

Please note that if you wish to attend one or more of the days, you MUST book in so that numbers are known in advance.  You can pay on the day for Day One.  To book in, either add  your name to the form on the board in Kiama Bridge Club, or call Ann Blue on 0413731146, or email her on annblue50@hotmail.com

A very thorough introduction to the fascinating game of bridge with ANN BLUE.  Start playing from your first lesson with the help of lesson notes and tuition, with the opportunity to continue learning in supervised games and improvers lesson.

When: Monday 5th September 2016
Cost: $60 for 6 weeks.  Mondays 9.30am to noon.
Address: Kiama Bridge Club, Girrawheen Ave, Kiama
Contact: Ann Blue 0413 731 146 or 4232 4852

Come along and enjoy the most popular card game in the world and make new friends along the way.

Congratulations to Kiama Bridge Club prize winners in 2015!

For a full list of prize winners and place holders please click to view the December newsletter.

The results for the Kiama Restricted Pairs 2016 event held on 20th March can be viewed by clicking on Kiama Restricted Pairs Results.  Alternatively you can click on bridgeunlimited.com , then click on Results, then on NSW Country Congress Events and then on Kiama Restricted Pairs 2016. 

Further results will be posted as they come to hand.  In the meantime, Illawarra provided the winners and runners-up. The third placed pair are from the Southern Highlands.
The minor category winners were from Illawarra (under 50MPs) and Mollymook (under 10MPs).

Thise event takes place in bridge clubs all over Australia next week.  At Kiama it will be held on Thursday 25th August.  There is no extra cost to participants, who will be playing against pairs across Australia that day, with extra prizes on offer as well as Red Points. Be in to win!

A Tale so Tall It May Even Be True?

Baron Munchausen (or a descendent) claims to have held the South hand and heard his right-hand opponent open seven spades.

The Baron reasoned that East was a sound bidder, so the only hand he could have, given South's holding, was a singleton club ace and 12 solid spades. That meant that West was void in spades and would not know what to lead against seven no-trump. Full of his customary bravado, Munchausen made the bid of 7NT and was doubled on his right.

The spotlight was now on West, who was somewhat dazed by an auction that he, like the rest of the world, had never heard before. The Lightner double, asking for an unusual lead, did not seem to offer any guidance in this situation.  Leading one's long suit against no-trump is standard, but the double demanded a non standard lead!  East would not have doubled holding 13 spades, so he had to have an ace. BUT WHICH ACE???

So West should have led a club, which would have given the defence 13 tricks. Instead he did not reason correctly and led his shortest suit the diamond jack!!   Munchausen, finding exactly the dummy he needed, quickly gathered in six diamond tricks and seven heart tricks.

''That is new to me,'' declared Munchausen thoughtfully. ''A grand slam for either side that depends on the opening lead.''