About this time of year, subscriptions are due to the E.B.U., via Staffordshire C.B.A. Why not try to boost our membership by getting your friends to join too? It is surprising how many Club players are not members of the E.B.U. Certainly, it is well worth joining as there are competitions for ALL standards of players. If you want to improve your play, the best way to do so is to play against the better players, so do yourself a favour: join the E.B.U. and play in as many competitions as you can.

Oncoming Events

Tettenhall Bridge Club

In a County second team match at Leicester, Mike Brettell and, Mike "Basher" Boulton found themselves in six hearts with everything resting on the hearts situation. This was the position:

Two heart losers, agreed? "Basher" led the Jack off the table, small, King -phew! Then, quick as lightening, came the H9, declarer's left hand opponent could not resist playing the HQ - and the HA captured the trick! No problem - six hearts easily made!

The club's Men's Pairs Championship was won by Alan Hatrick and Roger Steel, with the Ladies' Pairs going to Doll Lovell and Mary Slyde for the second year running. The Mixed Pairs was won by Mary and Ken Slyde by one point from Mrs. Lovell and Mike Brettell.
Club members Mike Boulton, Roy Biddlecombe, Pat Poxon and Graham Shaw, who finished third in the Midland Congress Teams of Four, have been chosen to represent the County in the Beck Cup in Oxford in March.
Congratulations to Beryl Stanley and Sheila Green for winning the Ladies' Pairs at the Midlands Congress.

Wolverhampton Bridge Club

Wolverhampton Bridge Club is still very much alive, having had a very good year in 1982. A happy atmosphere now exists and this is complemented by new decorative surroundings - come and see for yourselves!
The Autumn Mixed Pairs was a most enjoyable event and the winners, Hilary Williams and Brian Cornelius, had to beat a wood field to win their bottles of Scotch.
The Competitions for the Express and Star Trophies and the Cutty Sark Cup were both well supported; the former being won by Mrs. P. Hough and C. Hickman and the latter by Miss P. Braddock and D. Smith.
The Christmas Mixed Pairs went to Phil and Ann Topley who turned up for what they thought was an ordinary duplicate event and went home with vouchers for two turkeys!
We congratulate Joe Fawcett on becoming the latest regular member of the County team - especially since this season Staffordshire are almost certain are almost certain to win the Dawes Trophy. I hope he will take all the credit!

Visitors are welcome for all sessions but if you need a partner, please telephone beforehand - Wolverhampton 20927. The club runs classes for both beginners and improvers at regular intervals. Anyone interested should contact the proprietor - Peter Tottenham..

Newcastle Bridge Club

Not content with two club and one open night a week, plus handicap teams, County Pairs and sundry County and National Events to play in, the Newcastle Bridge Club held a teams competition on 21st November simply to fill in a spare Sunday. A small field played a round robin event, and, with all teams winning at least two matches and the traditional Newcastle half-time tea to enjoy, nobody went home feeling too disgruntled. For the record, the event was won by:

Mr. R. Stubbs & Mrs Jordan, Mr Goodwin & Mrs Gane with Mrs. M. Rowley & Mrs P. Cookson, Mr. Barnard & Mr. Harris runners-up.

The Newcastle heat of the National Pairs was played on 12th December. As the list of qualifiers shows, the event attracted entries from all over the County:
Feltbower & Perry (Stafford)
Mallett & Trounce (Stafford)
Riley & Kendall (Chasetown)
Nicholls & Mitchell (Shrewsbury)
Webb & Vaughan (Basford)

What return did Newcastle get for the dastardly trick of arranging the event on the day as the Tollemache? One qualifying pair - Mrs Sumberg & Mr Day, plus both N/S and E/W 1st reserves!

A heat of the European Simultaneous Pairs was held on 14th November, with leading scores provided by:
Mrs M. Dash & A. Ballham 60.98%
D. Marshall & A. Moss 58.51%
Mrs E. Gane & Mrs J. Ross 57.58

Chasetown Bridge Club

Pairs Championship:
1. Gwyneth Derry & Elaine Watterson,      2. Jim Riley & Les Kendall

DEFENCE TO A 1NT OPENING BID - Bob Beech

Let me summarise our system and then tell you about a hand.

2 clubs indicates at least 5-4 in the majors - inquire for the longer major with 2D - an immediate 2 of a major in response to 2 clubs is to play - 2NT is a forcing inquiry.
2 diamonds indicates one 6 card major - responses are the same as for an opening multi 2 diamonds bid - that is
2 hearts if you wish to play there should hearts be the suit.
2 spades if you wish to play there should spades be the suit but with a willingness to play in at least 3 hearts should hearts be the suit.
2NT forcing enquiry - 3 clubs long hearts poor overcall - 3 diamonds long spades poor overcall - 3 hearts/spades natural good overcall.
2 hearts/spades indicates a five card suit with a second four card minor. 2NT enquires for the minor.

Now the hand I mentioned -

Non vulnerable against vulnerable, pairs, second in hand you pick up,

The spade Ace is led and the hands were:

With hearts breaking and the club Q, J coming down in three, 6H doubled rolls in without the need for the diamond finesse. Partner explained his 4NT bid as a play to find out whether my minor suit was clubs so that he could lead his King against 5S. I must try this saving at the six level again!!

BE CAREFUL WITH THOSE BABY TWO'S - Tony Mallett

Few players toss away aces and kings without some thought. The same cannot be said of 2's and 3's - but sometimes these small cards can be thrown away too casually. Consider the following hand from a Friday night teams league at Wolverhampton Bridge Club;

You sit south and partner leads the 10 of spades, taken by declarer's queen. The queen of hearts is covered by the king and ace. The 3 of hearts is led from table and it is very easy to throw the two of clubs. Partner takes his jack and switches to - the jack of diamonds! Had you been more careful and thrown the non-committal five of clubs, north would have made his natural switch to the nine of clubs and broken the contract.

Another hand, this time from a heat of the Bearn :

WHY IS IT...................MUGGINS REVEALS ALL - Roy Martin

You may have noticed in previous articles my bidding is impeccable and my partners are weird; but while they frequently fall in the canal, they always come up smelling of roses. The other aspect of this phenomenon is that when I fall in the Arabian aromatic Fountain of Beauty, I crawl out smelling of dead donkey and looking like a vampire's breakfast.

Of course, you are now expecting me to illustrate the inherent truth underlying the above remarks and I am going to disappoint you by doing just that. Precision with Bellapel is like, carpet laying with Susan George ...you feel you you've nearly got it right, but not quite (the editor may use his discretion and delete that joke? and insert the following : ...is like looking for a straw in a needlestack ... the feeling that something is amiss but you're not sure what). He has this extraordinary propensity for 4C (Roman Gerber Convention for aces), he bids it at every conceivable opportunity, and a few that are not conceivable too, "....if you'd got 3 Aces, the King of spades and a singleton club then 6H is cold" he explains as he puts down a grotty 10 count for a dummy. My declarer play is accurate and shows flair but nevertheless 5H-1 is not a good score. He then explains how, with better accuracy and more flair, I should have made it. The trouble is my play lags somewhat behind his bidding!

Gerber strikes again.... Strange he should sign off in 4NT though. Bellapel is glaring at me across the table as opponent leads a club; I can't have done something wrong can I? The King of clubs holds the trick and Bellapel discards! Ah Well, we do play that a double jump in a new suit shows a singleton or void with good support for the major.

"Nobody else has made 11 tricks in Notrumps" I said to him, filling in a score sheet studded with grand slams. Like Victoria, he was not amused.

Notice that this auction means I started with 18 points (mind you I have been known to miscount). Like everyone else I make 12 tricks, but we are the only ones to bid it.... which leads me to WHY IS IT that when I make an understandable and forgivable small error we get an outright zero but when partner makes an horrific gaff we get a top?

This is not an isolated example, it happens every week. Playing in a Swiss teams event with W. Pedlar (with Coffin Stone and Heart Surgeon as teammates) we begin our first round match with this gem

Ah yes! After forgetting (again) that our 1S and 1NT responses are inverted he is in trouble. Need I add that clubs are 3-2, the finesse is right, and a spade ruff in my hand brings the slam home (and 12 imps). Incidentally winning this match 19-1 in VP's entitled us to play Smolski-Horton while our teammates took on Armstrong Forrester; this is what happens when you win? I should hate to lose! (And we did!! - they were lucky). Now compare this, from a pairs session:

Opponent leads the King of diamonds from Kx, he receives his ruff and sits back waiting for his natural trump trick to materialize. 4S-1 does not trouble the scorer. I still have nightmares in which I play this hand always one off, then I watch Bellapel play it making an overtrick, then the Welsh Pedlar plays it and makes two overtricks, then I play it..... IS THIS HELL? IT SURE IS.

Next Bulletin will appear in June; contributions (in your neatest handwriting please!) by mid-May. Please send something as soon as possible so that I can stop people moaning at me about late publication! Next Bulletin will feature a club round-up giving times, venues, secretaries etc - so please send your club's details in.

Editor: Les Kendall, Oldbury Street, Wednesbury, West Midlands.