Dear All,
  Attached the results from last night, a small select group of 31/2 tables so Sandra and I made up the numbers..  I take no credit for the placing, I hardly played any hands and poor Margaret had to play with half a dozen different partners during the evening as I roved around so well done to her.
  It was nice that we had a strong hand to practice what we revised last week and the 3 tables that played it all got to the small slam.  I have attached a very brief summary of 2NT / 2C openings in ACOL if it is any use to you as an aide memoir.
  Do not forget that there is no bridge on Thursday next week, so come along on Friday if you can.  Colin will be there and we will find you a sympathetic partner if you come without one.
  See you again on the 28th, then you get Colin back for May.
 

  Lesley

Sorry, but I can't copy the format that Lesley has sent for the results and notes. I'm working on it, but this is all for now! Jackie.

Dear All.

It was a close run thing on Thursday with two points separating the top four. Inching it were Pam Cleverly & Anne Chidgey, from John Dourleyn & Rex Amor one point behind.
Third equal, a further point behind were Julie Vennard & Ted Heath and Doreen Duhaut & Roger Skinner. Well done to all four pairs. The full results are below and no-one finished lower than 10th= out of 12!

There were four horrid 4-4-4-1 hands to deal with. You seemed to cope well with the stronger hands, particularly board 8 where most ended in 3NT making 9, 10 or 11 tricks.
On board 4, two pairs missed the 4-4 heart fit and played (unsuccessfully) in 3NT.

Board 2 was a weaker hand - East (dealer) held  S  K 9 8 5,  H  4,  D  A Q J 2,  C  K 8 7 6. Open 1D and, over partner's 1H, bid 1S.
West with  S  A 4,  H  K 9 8 7 3,  D  10 9 4,  C  Q 10 2, could then bid either 1NT or 2D (expecting a 5-card suit opposite). Opener should then pass.
The best result for East-West was when South overcalled 1H on a 4-card suit (naughty!) and went two off vulnerable for -200 in 2H when her partner supported (correctly!) with three hearts.

Board 11 was the fourth one: South (dealer)  S  Q 6 4 2,  H  A 10 7 6,  D  9,  C  A K 9 2.  North  S  K J 5 3,  H  9 7,  D  K 10 4 3 2,  C  6 4.
My recommended bidding is 1C 1D, 1H 1S, 2S Pass. The 4-4 spade fit comes to light eventually and most of you found it though some bid on a little optimistically to game.

Some notes are attached on bidding 4-4-4-1 hands but the main message to take away is for responder to show a 4-card major at the 1-level if possible.

Forthcoming programme: note there is NO BRIDGE in the week leading up to Easter (the hall is not available).

Next week it's a Friday game (March 18th) and then after Easter it's back to our normal Thursdays on March 31 and April 7.

Colin

4-4-4-1 hands

            These can be very awkward especially in the 12-14 point range.

            With a stronger hand (15-16), open 1 of a suit and if partner bids the singleton suit, rebid No Trumps at the lowest level e.g. 1♦ 1♥ 1NT. Of course if the response is one of your 4-card suits, it can be supported straightaway.

            With a weak opener (12-14), rebidding No Trumps isn’t an option if partner responds in your singleton suit. Whatever you bid it is misleading; partner will think you have 5-cards in your first bid suit. For that reason it is usually better to open a minor (and 1♦ with both minors). Note that when your singleton is red, you open the traditional ‘suit below the singleton’.

            Perhaps the most important aspect is for responder: show a 4-card major at the 1-level, otherwise a 4-4 major suit fit may be lost.

We played a complete movement last night and everyone played all 15 boards. Emerging on top was the canny pairing of Marie Comrie and Sue Walsh. Well done.
In second place, need you ask, were the perpetual bridesmaids Julie Vennard and Ted Heath (sorry Ted!). It is amazing how many times they just miss out on the top spot.

Don't worry too much about the scores (we have quite a range of experience) - it is much more important that you enjoy the evening.It's not a bad idea to set your own targets and be pleased when you meet them.

There was an instructive point on board 5. North held seven hearts to the A K Q and rightly insisted on playing in hearts. Some played in 2H, others in 4H.
Ted, as East, was on lead against 4H holding  S  A K x x,  H  x x,  D  x x x,  C  J 10 x x.  Ted led the ace of spades and dummy went down with  S  Q x x x,  H  J x x,  D  K 10 x x,  C  x x.
Ted continued with the king of spades which won, everyone following.  Now, who has the last spade? If it is declarer, West should continue with a third spade for East to trump, but if it his partner, declarer will win with the queen and get a handy discard.

How does East know? The answer is that he won't unless West makes a signal. With a doubleton, West should play the high one first and then a low one - this is called a 'peter' (I'm not sure why) and is an encouraging signal for East to continue with spades.
With three little spades (9 7 4), West should play the lowest one first, the 4, and then a higher one. This is discouraging and West could then switch to a different suit looking to make two tricks in the other suits. This is what Ted did.

The rule is that when partner leads an honour in a new suit, play high means 'aye'; play low means 'no'. Life is difficult enough for the defence and signalling is a way of leveling the playing field. I will cover this in a future topic,

In the discussion at the beginning, we talked about the opening lead against No Trump contracts. Fourth highest of your longest suit is a good general rule, but sometimes you can do better than that by taking into account the bidding.
For example, it is good to lead partner's suit if they have made an overcall (showing a 5-card suit at least). A few notes are attached.

Note that next week, we are playing on the Friday, February 19. We then resume as usual on Thursdays (Feb 25).

Colin
 

Which suit do I lead?

            It’s a crucial decision but a chancy business as we know little about the hand. So, at least think about the bidding! You may only find the best suit to lead 50% of the time, but that’s much better than 25%.

No Trump contracts

            This is more straightforward, trying to establish tricks in our long suit. There are three things to think about – suit length, suit quality and whose suit it is. 

            In order of preference, lead partner’s suit (especially if they have made an overcall) or an unbid suit. Only lead declarer’s suit if you have a really good holding like K Q J 10 x.

            Leading your own long suit, especially if it is a 5-carder, is often the best so the general rule of leading fourth highest of your longest suit isn’t a bad rule – just consider alternatives first. And with a sequence of honours, lead the top of the sequence rather than fourth highest.

Welcome to our newcomers - making us 7 tables in all! And we completed the full movement so East-West played at all seven tables.

The full results are attached and top this week were Jeff Parsons & Marion Symons. Their best hand was board 5 where Marion bid to 6 spades and whereas most pairs made eleven tricks, Jeff managed to make the necessary twelve.
There were some other slams bid too (not all making!) but I am not pushing you to bid slams at this stage (though it's fun when they come off) - most hands hinge on whether to bid game or not and how well you play them!

Second were Julie Vennard & Ted Heath (again!) ahead of Pat & David Sweet in third position. Well done.

We had a lot of 1NT openers - there were at least three more in addition to the four boards I had fixed. It really is a common opening bid so it is good to have a system to find out what you want. At the start we went through 'Stayman and transfers'. Although rather artifical and difficult to grasp until you get used to it, I do recommend it as the best way of bidding over a 1NT opener. Some notes are attached and copied below.

When responder, work out how many points there are in the two hands combined and look at the length of your best major. Then, remember it's
 Stayman with four, transfer with more.

And one common trap to avoid: whereas with a 5-card major you should always transfer (and then pass opener's bid if you are weak), with only a 4-card suit you really need at least 11 points to use Stayman otherwise you can get too high.
There are a few weak hands where you can cope with any response to Stayman, but not many.

Lesley will be looking after you next week (Thursday Feb 4) and I will be back on Thursday Feb 11.

Colin
 

1NT responses

            The 1NT opener is so well defined that responder is in a good position to assess the combined strength straightaway. However, it is important to have a system to find out whether there is an 8-card fit in a major. Many players use ‘Stayman and transfers’.

Stayman    (when holding at least one 4-card major)

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♣ is artificial and announced by partner as “Stayman”.

            Opener then bids 2♥ with hearts, 2♠ with spades or 2♦ without either major.

Transfers    (when holding a 5-card major or longer)

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♦ is artificial showing 5 or more hearts. It is announced by partner as “Hearts”.

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♥ is artificial showing 5 or more spades. It is announced by partner as “Spades”.

            Opener then completes the transfer by bidding the next suit up – and awaits the next move by responder.

Remember: ‘Stayman with four, transfers with more’.

Spotlight on responder

Part-score or game?

            Work out the combined point count.

With 24 at most, stay low – either pass or transfer to the major and then pass.

With 25 at least, make sure you reach game – either bid 3NT directly or explore a major suit fit and then bid game.

With a borderline hand (11 or 12 opposite a 12-14 1NT bid), let opener choose whether game is on – 

            either raise directly to 2NT or explore a major suit fit and then bid 2NT or 3 of the major as an invitation.

Major suit or No Trumps?

With a 4-card major, use Stayman with 11+ points to see if there is a 4-4 fit. If not, play in No Trumps.

With a 5-card major, transfer to the major and then pass (if weak) or bid 2 or 3NT, leaving opener to choose whether to play in No Trumps or the major.

With 6 or more cards in the major, transfer to the major and then pass (if weak) or raise the major to 3 or 4.

            Sometimes it is possible to invite opener to choose both the level and whether to play in the major – 

            e.g. after the sequence 1NT  2♥  2♠  2NT (showing 5 spades and 11 or 12 points),

opener would pass or bid 3♠ on 12 points, bid 3NT or 4♠ on 14 points, or make any of these four bids on 13!

Summary

Frequently asked questions

            Does ‘Stayman and transfers’ apply after a 1NT response or a 1NT rebid?

No; the only other situations where they apply is after a 2NT opening or a 1NT overcall (showing 15-17 points).

            Can I use Stayman on weak hands?

In general no, although there are a few hands where you can stay low whatever the response – but be careful.

Friday dates coming up (remember the sessions start at 6.00 pm in the small room and we then play in the club duplicate afterwards):

Friday December 9th - Lesley will be doing this (as I will be playing in the county league}. She intends to cover No Trump bidding and Stayman.

Friday January 13th - this is also a county league night, but I will be doing our Friday session, probably on overcalls and take out doubles.

Note too that you would all be extremely welcome to come to the club Christmas party on Wednesday December 21st. The bridge starts at 7.00 pm, but come earlier (from 6.30) for drinks and nibbles.
It is all very light-hearted (on the lines of what we did at our Thursday Christmas do last year) and you don't need to come with a partner.

Last night we had just over ten of our 'Thursday' group and we covered bidding from responder's viewpoint. In particular we distinguished between bids where we can expect partner to bid again and 'limit' bids where partner could pass if she decides game is not on.
The principle is that the bid of a new suit is forcing for one round (i.e. partner should not pass) whereas a bid of No Trumps or a bid supporting partner's suit is a 'limit' bid and can be passed (even if you jump).

Let's look at some possible bids for responder if opener starts with 1H.
1S - at least four spades and at least 6 points (but could be much more). New suit, forcing for one round. Opener must bid again.
1NT - 6 to 9 points, unable to support hearts or bid 1S. Limit bid, can be passed by opener and indeed should be with 12-15 points unless they wish to show a second suit or insist on hearts (by bidding 2H).
2C or 2D - at least four of the suit and 10+ points (more because we have pushed up the bidding to the two-level). New suit, forcing for one round. Opener must bid again.
2H - 6 to 9 points, normally four card heart support. Limit bid, can be passed by opener and frequently is.
2NT - 10 or 11 points, unable to support hearts or bid 1S. Limit bid, can be passed by opener if weak, but it is much more encouraging than 1NT and opener may well bid again.
3H - 10 or 11 points with four card support. Limit bid, can be passed by opener if weak, but it is much more encouraging than 2H and opener may well raise to four.
3NT - 12+ points, unable to support hearts or bid 1S. However, it may be better to bid 2 of a minor instead in case there is a better spot elsewhere.
4H - 12+ points with at least four card heart support.

In the bridge afterwards our leading pair was Margaret Lomax and Marion Prince. They just pipped Pat and David Sweet who were doing exceptionally well at half-time.
There were some bizarre distributional hands and my only advice is to bid up when you are non-vulnerable against vulnerable opponents but be more cautious if vulnerable.

Enjoy your bridge, Colin

 

Thank you to all those who came to the first of our Friday sessions, starting at 6.00. It was very good to see Bernard again and also Jan and Elizabeth despite being somewhat under the weather.

We went back to basics and covered opening bids and opener's rebids. One of the main points to come out was to always open a 12-14 balanced hand with 1NT.
Treat 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 and 5-3-3-2 hands as balanced and even if the doubleton is two small open 1NT. If you don't open 1NT with a balanced 12-14, you have an awkward rebid.
With  S  3 2,  H  A Q 9,  D  K Q 10,  C  J 5 4 3 2, open 1NT. If you open 1C and partner bids 1S, you have to rebid 2C now (1NT now would show 15 or 16) but it's probably not the best contract.

In the bridge which followed Roger Skinner and Doreen Duhaut finished the best of our group, a very respectable 13th out of 20. At one stage they were up at 60% and were still doing extremely well at half-time.
Pat and David Sweet were also doing well at that stage. I don't know what's in the tea - but it didn't go quite so well in the second half! Actually it's quite difficult to keep concentrating for 26 boards, though it gets easier the more you play.
Angela Hendry and Jacqueline Park enjoyed their evening, avoided the bottom spot and scored an outright top on board 5 making an outrageous 12 tricks in 3NT against a very experienced pair. Well done!

This was an awkward hand to bid (board 1):
North  S  A J 6 3,  H  A Q 10 9 8,  D  A J,  C  7 3.
South  S  9 7 5,  H  7,  D  K 9 8 7 5,  C  K Q 9 8.
North opens 1H and South should bid 1NT (though some bid 2D). North is good enough to bid 2S (a 'reverse', showing five hearts, four spades and at least 15 points).
What now? Probably best is a stodgy 2NT though some tried 3S. North should probably pass but many ended in game (mostly 4S) - and went down. Misfitting hands don't play well.

Date for your diary - the next Friday session is Friday November 25th. Remember it's a 6.00 start.

 I'll try to remind you. Enjoy your bridge meanwhile,
Colin



 

Well, we tried an individual competition and, thanks to James Woodman making up our 7th table we had an ideal movement. 
7 being a prime number makes everything work simply; without that (I kid you not), it gets horribly complicated with people meeting each other again.

And the teaching is clearly working, as in the top positions we have Ted Heath on top, one point ahead of David Sweet and then 3rd= Marlene Ewens and Keith Colman.
All four were ahead of the 'experienced' club members! Very well done to those four and also to Catherine Berry who finished highest of those with the West cards.

But I hope everyone enjoyed the evening; it's just fun for a change playing with lots of different partners - and the scores are just an incidental (Ted!).

In any case, my award of star player on the evening goes to Jackie Reid who made ten tricks on board 13. She did so with the aid of a 'ruffing finesse'. Diamonds were trumps.
The clubs were A Q J 8 7 5 3 in dummy opposite a singleton 4. Jackie played the ace first and then the jack. When the hand on her right played small, she discarded a loser.
If the hand on her left has the king, the club suit will be set up. As it was, the hand on her right had the king, so the jack won the trick. Then a club ruff sets up the suit without losing a trick at all.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the drinks and eats - and a big thank you to Marion who organised it and put in a lot of effort to splendid effect (a shame about the curried eggs though!).

I will be keeping in touch with you all following our Friday sessions (the first is on October 21st starting at 6pm).
Meanwhile, thank you all for your best wishes and the splendid card,
Colin

We had four and a half tables on Thursday this week. Jackie Moody was back from her holiday in Peru and the Galapagos (the iguanas on her top were great, if a little scary!) - a big thank you to her for all her help.

And in fine form again were Jan Allen & Elizabeth Twine, arguably our best performers over the years, though others run them close. Not that they did yesterday. 
Jan & Elizabeth scored a runaway 74% with a big gap to Rex Amor & Jackie (59%), Pamela Mullins & Georgina Marshall 58% and Eveleen O'Farrell & Jackie Denton-Cox 56%.

I quite often look at the big hands but I've picked out this one for special comment this week - it was South on board 13 - something like:
S  J 4,  H  9 5 3,  D  9 7 6 4 3,  C  J 8 7 (yes, just two points).
The bidding goes 1NT from partner (12-14), double on your right. As Lesley covered a couple of weeks ago, the double of 1NT shows a strong hand with 15+ points and is a penalty orientated double.
Note that this is different from a double of a suit bid which would be a take out double asking for partner's longest suit.

It looks right for South to pass with only two points, but 1NT doubled went four down for a huge 1100 penalty. David Sweet (with no prompting from me) bid 2D as a weak take out and escaped for two down undoubled.
In this situation (after 1NT has been doubled), Stayman and transfers go out of the window. Instead it's 'any port in a storm'. David realised he might well do better in 2D - and in any case it muddies the waters. Well done to him.

We looked at how to play some suit combinations and the main message for declarer was to  lead toward honours rather than away from them - from rubbish  towards your goodies. 
With A Q x in dummy opposite x x x  it seems natural to lead a small one towards the A Q hoping the king is on your left - it's a standard finesse position. And, we saw, it works too with K Q x in dummy - lead twice towards the K Q hoping the ace is on your left.

Even with as little as A J 9 in dummy you might scrounge two tricks though you need to be a little luckier. The best chance is to hope your left hand opponent has the 10 and either the K or the Q.
Lead a small one towards dummy and,  if the next hand plays low, play the 9 - on a good day this will force out a high honour on your right. Then, when you get in later, lead a small one towards the A J hoping your left hand opponent has the other high honour.

Don't worry about this particular situation - just remember to lead towards your goodies if you can. It is surprising what happens sometimes.

The next Thursday bridge will be on Thursday October 6th though as always you are all very welcome to come on the intervening Fridays. 
This will probably be our last Thursday get together - we've been running the improver's group for nearly two years now. 
Instead I plan to run a teaching session at 6 o'clock on the second Friday of the month, starting on October 14th, with the intention of joining in the club duplicate which follows at the usual 7 o'clock.

So, on Thursday October 6th, I thought we'd have a bit of a party - please bring a little something (either food or drink) and we'll have it at half-time after the karate has finished! Lesley, Jackie and I will all be there.

Colin

See last Thursday's results from Lesley - and I look forward to seeing your doubles in action.

This week, bridge is on Friday (coinciding with the first county league night). Everyone is welcome and you will be fine.
The following week it's back to our Thursday session and you will have to put up with me!
So that's Friday September 9th and Thursday September 15th.
Colin

Dear All,

Attached are the results for last Thursday - but I am not sure how accurate they are.  Several pairs seem to have sat E/W for 3 boards when they should have been N/S, and in one case it was only 1 board.  I have input the scores as on the travellers, doing arrowswitch where needed, so hope it is OK.  Obviously more practice of Howell movements needed.

On a warm, sultry evening the Quiet Assassins returned. Yes, Jan Allen & Elizabeth Twine won with a huge 72% score - every board scored average or above - that's the way to do it.

Second were Janet Barker & Carolynne Fawcett (68%); third were Marion Symons & Rex Amor (62%). Also doing well were newcomers Rosie & Sam Buckland, a brother and sister combination.
Despite several zeroes they scored 58% - Rosie has clearly played before, at Oxford University it seems (wrong university but never mind).

And we had eight tables (an Olympic record) in our small room so it was quite noisy at times.

The hands were arranged so that the dealer had a 1NT opener (with the other three hands being dealt at random), but this didn't mean the hands were dull.
Board 14 shows what can be done with a double fit and good breaks:

With the hearts breaking 2-2 and the king onside and the spades breaking 2-2 as well, the major suits came in for a spectacular eleven tricks, not bad for a combined 17 high card points.
One pair managed to bid to 4S - that would be Roger Skinner's overbidding paying off!

In keeping with the hands, we covered bidding after 1NT with particular emphasis on Stayman. The notes attached cover transfer bids as well.
I know a number of you don't play transfers and this is fine - just read the Stayman bits.

Future programme:
Friday August 26, Thursday September 1, Friday September 9, Thursday September 15.
Thursdays include a teaching session and we join the main club on a Friday.

Colin
 

Stayman and transfers

            If partner opens 1NT, we already have a very good idea of the combined point count and we can explore a combined 8-card fit in a major using ‘Stayman and transfers’.

            Use Stayman with a 4-card major and transfers with a 5-card or longer major.

Remember:    ‘Stayman with four; transfers with more’

Stayman    (when holding at least one 4-card major)

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♣ is artificial and announced by partner as “Stayman”.

            Opener then bids 2♥ with hearts, 2♠ with spades or 2♦ without either major.

Transfers    (when holding a 5-card major or longer)

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♦ is artificial showing 5 or more hearts. It is announced by partner as “Hearts”.

            Over a 1NT opening, 2♥ is artificial showing 5 or more spades. It is announced by partner as “Spades”.

            Opener then completes the transfer by bidding the next suit up – and awaits the next move by responder.

Responders second bid

            When partner opens 1NT (weak, 12-14 points), responder should note the number of cards in their longest major. Then, if putting Stayman or transfers into action, responder can then follow the table - it’s all quite logical.

^ Opener should now bid onto game with a maximum (14 points or a good 13)

* Opener should now convert to the major with 3-card support

When does ‘Stayman and transfers’ apply?

            The system applies most commonly after a 1NT opener, but it is also used after a 1NT overcall (showing 15-17 points) or a 2NT opener. Make allowances in the table for the extra strength shown.

            However, ‘Stayman and transfers’ do NOT apply after a 1NT response (1♦ - 1NT - 2♣ would show a club suit), nor after a 1NT rebid, nor if your 1NT is doubled (1NT Dbl 2♣ would be a weak hand with clubs).

Can I use Stayman on weak hands?

            In general NO, although there are a few hands where you can stay low whatever the reply, for example:

5 spades and 4 hearts. If the reply to our Stayman is 2♥ or 2♠, pass, but bid 2♠ (to play) after a 2♦ reply.

5 hearts and 4 spades. If the reply to our Stayman is 2♥ or 2♠, pass, but bid 2♥ (to play) after a 2♦ reply.

4 spades, 4 hearts and 4 or 5 diamonds. Bid 2♣ Stayman and then pass the reply. Note that this wouldn’t work with a club suit.

See Lesley's notes below. Defence is important (you do it on half the hands) and it is very satisfying when your coordinated efforts thwart declarer. 
This week we are playing on Friday (12th) - I'll be there. And the following week I'll be running our Thursday session  (on the 18th).

Colin

Dear All,

Well done to Roger and Doreen for beating all the "Experts".

Well done everyone that played on Friday, but I have to pick out Bernard Stacey who finished top out of 27 pairs with 61%. Brilliant!
Our next best pair was Eveleen O'Farrell & Jackie Denton-Cox who scored a very creditable 49%. It's all there on the website -
https://www.bridgewebs.com/taunton/

Next week, I'll be doing a Thursday evening session (on Thursday July 21st). I hope to see you there,

Colin

Well done to all those who came to the Open Evening on Friday June 24th. We had about six pairs playing.
I was particularly impressed with Jackie Reid & Jackie Denton-Cox who found a really good defence to my humble 2D contract and held me to 8 tricks - most made 9, very annoying!
The full results can be seen at https://www.bridgewebs.com/taunton - click on Fri 24th Jun 2016 under 'Results' at the bottom right. Then click on your name to see what you scored on each board.

This Thursday we had five tables and it was good to see another newcomer Susan Crabbe (welcome), playing with Carolynne Fawcett.

Chris Maltby & Anne Watson won by just one point from Pat & David Sweet (well done). I saw David bring home a tricky 5D contract on board 15 though it wasn't quite clear why he had an extra card left in his hand at the end!

We concentrated on the Losing Trick Count - remember it only applies when you have found a trump fit (that's at least 8-cards between the two hands).

The player about to support their partner's bid suit counts their 'losers' and adds that number to an assumed number for partner (that's 7 if partner has opened the bidding or 9 if they have responded to your opening bid).
Take the answer away from 18 and, almost by magic, that is the level you should bid. Partner, if they have fewer than the assumed number of losers, can then bid on and judge the final contract.

It sounds difficult but, with practice, it will sink in - and it is a really useful guide to biding hands with a trump fit (better than counting points). More details and examples are attached and copied below.

Dates in July
There will be our usual Thursday 'Improver' evenings on Thursday July 7 and 21 and we would like you to play at the club on Friday July 15 and 29. You will be very welcome to play.

Colin

The losing trick count

            This is an alternative method of evaluating your hand for suit contracts, when there is a good eight card suit fit with partner. These are the mechanics:

1. Count your ‘losers’. In each suit, including trumps, how many of the top three honours are missing. Ignore the Q with a doubleton; ignore the K and Q with a singleton. So, the losers in these side suits are:

J x x  3;  x x x x  3;  A x x  2;  Q x x  2;  A Q x  1;  K Q x x  1;  K x  1;  Q x  2;  x  1;  A  0;  K  1;  void  0.

2. Work out the ‘losers’ in the two hands added together. As opener, assume responder has no more than 9 losers. As responder, assume opener has no more than 7 losers. Later in the auction you may know that partner is stronger, with fewer losers.

3. Take the number of losers in the two hands away from 18. This is the level you can bid to!

            Examples as opener: after 1♣ – 1 ♥, opener has four card support for hearts.

He has 7 losers. Add 7 to responder’s assumed 9 to give 16. 18 – 16 = 2. Bid 2♥.

With only 6 losers, 6 + 9 = 15. 18 – 15 = 3. Bid 3♥. With 5 losers, bid 4♥.

            Examples as responder: after 1♦ – 1♥ – 1♠, responder has four card support for spades.

She has 9 losers. Add 9 to opener’s assumed 7 to give 16. 18 – 16 = 2. Bid 2♠.

With only 8 losers, 8 + 7 = 15. 18 – 15 = 3. Bid 3♠. With 7 losers, bid 4♠.

With a mere 5 losers, she should consider 6♠, perhaps by bidding 4NT.

            Examples of further development:

After 1♠ – 3♠, responder has shown an 8 loser hand. Opener with the basic 7 losers should pass

(7 + 8 = 15; 18 – 15 = 3), but with 6 losers can accept the invitation and bid 4♠.

After 1♣ – 1♥ – 2♥, opener has shown 7 losers. Responder with the basic 9 losers should pass (9 + 7 = 16, 18 – 16 = 2), but bid 4♥ with 7 losers. With 8 losers, a further try of 3♥ (invitational) might be justified.

Note – counting losers is a guide.

Other considerations may influence this, particularly:

A 9-card combined trump fit is much better than an 8-card fit.

Intermediate cards.  K 10 9 8 7 is much better than K 5 4 3 2.

High cards (apart from the ace) in a suit bid on our left may be wasted.

In a suit contract, shortage in the opponent’s suit is more useful than shortage in partner’s suit.

In a suit contract, high cards in partner’s suit are better than high cards outside.

Poor trump quality is a minus; better to have honours in the trump suit rather than outside.

            Summary. The basic method works surprisingly well. The magic numbers are 7 losers for a minimum opener, 9 losers for a minimum response at the one level. Take the combined losers from 18 to determine the level.

            In a suit contract, the losing trick count is a better guide (though points work too).

In No Trumps, points are a good guide (the losing trick count does not apply).

----------------------------------------------------

A warm welcome to Chris Maltby playing with Anne Watson. And we were back to five tables again with a welcome return to the fray for Anne Hague and Jenny Bryant.

The results saw John & Sandra Cavaciuti out on top, with Eveleen O'Farrell & Jackie Denton-Cox second and Marion Symons & Carolynne Fawcett third.
Well done to all three pairs - but, more importantly, I hope everyone enjoyed the evening (the single most important thing as far as I am concerned).

Board 14 was fun, for West at least holding an 8-card suit. This was the hand:
West  S  A x x,  H  A Q J x x x x x,  D  void,  C  x x.   East  S Q 10 x,  H  K 10 x,  D  A x x x x, C  Q x.
Everyone played in hearts and it is tricky for the defence to get their three tricks (two clubs and the king of spades).

North on lead has  S  K J x x x,  H  x,  D  x x x,  C  A K x x. Best defence sees North play AC (often the best lead holding an AK, giving you a look at dummy before deciding what to do next) and then the KC.
What to play now? A spade gives declarer an extra trick in spades with the AD providing a discard for the other low spade.
A club is no better allowing declarer to trump in dummy and discard a spade from hand, again with the other losing spade being discarded on the AD.
Instead North has to 'go passive' by exiting quietly with a diamond (not easy to find at the table). She can then sit back to make the KS eventually.

In this position, Anne Moyle came up with the equally brilliant heart lead which also gives nothing away. I'm not sure about her reasoning (!) but it held declarer to ten tricks. Well done.
All this about an overtrick or not in 4H, but in pairs that overtrick can be vital.

Some notes are attached (and copied below as usual) on how the defenders can cooperate to work out how the cards lie in a suit. Try to lead consistently every time a new suit is led: 
either the top honour from an honour sequence, or the fourth highest from a suit with at least one honour, or the second highest from a rubbish suit with no honour, or (and I should have mentioned this) the top card of a doubleton.

I'll be in Iceland next week, but Lesley will be there to look after you and remember - you don't need a partner, there will always be someone there to play with.

Colin

Third in hand play

            Assess partner’s lead – could it be a short suit lead, second highest from small ones, fourth highest with at least one honour etc.

A welcome to our newcomers this week Viv Haylings, Sue Little and Linda Knowles and I noticed their table finished quickest in the first round,
Despite that we only managed twelve hands during the evening, perhaps I took a little too long at the beginning!

And although we don't pay too much attention to the scores (especially when Ted wins), I have to say that the winners this week by a good margin were Julie Vennard & Ted Heath. Well done to them.
Second were Keith Colman & Moira Grant (welcome back, Moira) and a healthy third were Sue Little & Linda Knowles.

Board 2 took my attention this week. The points were divided 21-19 in favour of N-S. But because of the distribution, N-S could make 10 tricks in clubs while E-W could make 9 or 10 tricks in spades.
South held  S  A,  H  K Q 4 3 2,  D  J 7,  C  A Q J 9 7. East opened 1S and most bid 2H on South's hand. The opponents bid 2S and South (vulnerable) now has another chance to bid. This is a strong shapely hand and I recommend competing with 3C (as Bernard Stacey did).
He found partner with only four points but an immensely useful K 10 5 3 2 in clubs. For fans of the 'Losing Trick Count' (I am), note that South only has 4 losers.

Board 8 was the fixed hand and most reached 3NT (not necessarily by the approved route - which is fine). East held  S A K 10 9 4,  H  A 3,  D  Q J 4,  C  8 6 5. Partner opens 1H and, over your 1S, bids 2D. An awkward bid now unless you are playing 'fourth suit forcing'. If you are, you can bid 3C (partner alerts) and partner may bid 3D, 3H or 3S (all helping you to know where to play) or, as on the actual hand, bid 3NT with A Q x in clubs.

Last week we dealt with responding on 6-9 point hands. This week we looked at responding on hands with 10+ points. First of all we are free to respond at the 2-level if we need to. 
Then the important thing, on the second round, is to distinguish between:
10-12 point hands, where we are interested in game but can only issue an invitation to partner to bid game if they have a little in reserve; and
13+ point hands where we must either bid game or make a forcing bid.

Dates in June: Thursdays June 2, 9, 16, 30 and Friday June 24. 
June 24 is our club open evening (it will help you get over the result of the referendum!). All bridge players are welcome to come (arrive 6.45pm for a 7pm start).

Colin
 

Responding on stronger hands

          With stronger hands 10+, we are free to respond at the two level if we need to.

          On the second round of bidding we must distinguish two types of hand:

10-12 points (or 8 losers). Strong enough to invite game, but not bid it directly.

13+ points (or 7 losers). A game going hand. Once a fit is found, we can bid to game.

3-card support for opener’s first suit

          After the sequence 1♥ 1♠ 2♣, partner has shown at least five hearts and four clubs.

With  ♠  A K 8 4 3,  ♥  A 9 2,  ♦  Q 7 6,  ♣  10 8, bid 4♥. With J♠ instead of the king, bid 3♥.

Note that 2♥ would show a weak hand (6-9 points).

4-card support for opener’s second suit

          After the sequence 1♠ 2♦ 2♥, partner has shown at least five spades and four hearts.

With  ♠  7 6,  ♥  A Q 9 2,  ♦  A K 8 4,  ♣  10 8 2, bid 4♥. With J♦ instead of the king, bid 3♥.

Stoppers in the fourth suit

          After the same sequence 1♠ 2♦ 2♥, with

♠  7 6,  ♥  10 8 2,  ♦  A K 8 4 3,  ♣  A Q 9, bid 3NT. With J♦ instead of the king, bid 2NT.

Game going but still unsure where

          After the same sequence 1♠ 2♦ 2♥, with

♠  K 6,  ♥  Q 8 2,  ♦  A K 8 4 3,  ♣  J 7 6, bid 3♣, ‘fourth suit forcing’.

          Most club players play a bid of the fourth suit as conventional rather than natural (it should be alerted). It says, I’m strong enough for game, please tell me more.

          In this sequence opener could then bid 3♠ with 6-4 in the majors, or 3♥ with 5-5 in the majors, or 3NT with a club stop, or 3♦ with three diamonds.

We managed to play a complete 4-table 'Howell' movement, so each pair played two boards against every other pair.

Georgina Marshall & Pamela Mullins won with a 64% score. This was in spite of playing the last two hands against Roger & Doreen who had played the same boards earlier in the evening (my mistake).
I should add that Roger did worse the second time round! Second equal were Carmen Slade & Marion Symons and Bernard Stacey & Jackie Moody.

Board 3 was a big hand for North-South and everyone made 12 or 13 tricks. No one managed to bid a slam, but they are never easy to bid and at least everyone was in game!
Slams aren't very common (in No Trumps you need about 33 or 34 points between the two hands) but they are exciting if you bid and make one.

We looked at how to bid weak 6-9 point hands as responder. On the second round the trick is to keep the bidding low unless you have found a really good fit.
Some notes on the hands we looked at are attached.

Dear All,
Fridays must be having an effect, although we did not start playing until 7.30, we still managed to play 15 boards and finish well before 10pm.  Also thank you, there were no missing scores on the travellers this week and any mistakes were picked up in later rounds as we played.  Keep up the good work, it makes scoring so much easier.

Well done to Ted and Julie, Roger and Doreen.

Regards
LesleyÂ

North / South 

East / West

A happy New Year to everyone and a warm welcome to Anne Chidgey and Pam Cleverley who I missed last week. They did very well finishing third this time.

Top of the pops this week were Eveleen O'Farrell & Jackie Denton-Cox with Julie Vennard & Ted Heath in their familiar runners-up position. After Anne & Pam were Elizabeth Twine & Jan Allen. All four had high scores, above 60%. Well done.

Roger was wanting his money back for holding poor hands as West - there was some justification for this (but no success!) as, on board 5, West held a 'Yarborough' with the nine of clubs being the highest card. As we all know after the Christmas quiz the chances of being dealt a Yarborough are 1827 to 1.

We looked at how to keep the bidding low when, as opener or responder, you have enough points to bid but are near the minimum, so that's 12-14 for the opener or 6-9 for the responder.
For opener (with 12-14 points),
     open all balanced hands 1NT (you don't need a stop in every suit),
     open one-suited hands with one of the suit and rebid 2 of the same suit, and 
     with two-suited hands (that's at least 5-4 in the two suits), open one of the longer suit but don't rebid the second suit unless it's lower ranked and partner can retreat to your first suit at the two-level
            (a sequence like 1D No 1S No 2H would show the shape but a stronger hand 15+).
For responder, don't bid a new suit at the two-level unless you have at least 10 points. With 6-9 and five clubs, say, bid 1NT. This will tell partner that you have enough to respond, but are fairly weak. Game might still be on but opener will need to be quite strong.
      With 6-9, you can (and should) bid a new suit if you can do it at the one-level; this is how you find out if there is an 8-card fit in one of the majors
 
Remember: if there's no possibility of game, try to stay low - you won't need to take as many tricks when you play the hand!

Next week, we're playing on Friday (that's Jan 22) (I'm hoping you will all come if you can) and then we'll be back on Thursdays from January 28.

By the way, if you don't want to receive these e-mails just let me know and I will take you off the list.

Colin
 

Attached are the results and travellers for last night, plus the booklet as a PDF file.

Taunton detailed results at Results

To see what contracts the boards were played in on Wednesday, click on any pair and details of final contract for all pairs for all boards can be seen.
National results are at www.ebu.co.uk/sims if anyone is interested.
Regards

Lesley

A somewhat different format for the results this week, but plenty of information (the bare results are in the first attachment).
Many thanks to Lesley and her helpers. And very good to see we had six tables - it could be interesting next week! 
I will be there next week so you will all have to be on best behaviour!
Colin