I played in the Tollemache Cup, the English inter-county weekend, with the Bear. With four matches to go we were lying bottom behind the Channel Islands, and the Bear and I were sent home in disgrace!!!
I used Stayman and the Bear responded 3
[!] so I had another look at the bidding:
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass | 1 |
1 |
Pass |
| 2 |
Pass | 3 | . |
I've bid Stayman in response to 1! Aaargh! I bid 3, the Bear bid 4, and the two international
opponents and partner looked at my 5=4=3=1
shape with some interest! I tried to pretend I wasn't there! Two off - we would have gone one off in 3 anyway!
We had two hands of some real interest, and here is the first:
Qxx 98x AKJT7x x |
RHO opened 1, I passed, LHO bid 2, RHO bid 2, I gave fleeting thought to 3 but passed, 2NT by LHO, 3NT by RHO, so I doubled. It may not be automatic, but I have hesitated, so the Bear who is completely ethical will not lead a diamond otherwise.
He led the 3 and this was the dummy:
|
AT8x AKx Q6xx Kx |
|
![[ ]](gif/table-ss.gif){kind=small} |
Qxx 98x AKJT7x x |
Small from dummy, I played the ten, nine from declarer. She looked to me like someone who would not play the 9 from 92, so it appeared the Bear had 32. Passive, I thought, and played the 8 back. Declarer played four rounds of hearts [she had QTxx], discarding a spade from dummy, and then led the J to partner's queen and the king, and then a club back to the ace. What do you discard on the fourth heart and second club? Why? What is your game plan?
While you are considering that one, let me ask you this one:
| xx T9xxx QTxx xx |
Partner opens 1 [Acol], RHO passes, you pass, LHO bids 2. Double from CHO [takeout, of course], 3 from RHO: what do you bid? OK, 3 seems obvious, and the Bear bid that: now 4 by LHO, double from CHO, pass from RHO: what now? Why? What do you expect from partner?
This article seems long enough already. I'll tell you what happened in a later article.
This was the first problem hand in my previous article.
|
AT8x AKx Q6xx Kx |
|
|
|
Qxx 98x AKJT7x x |
The Bear led the 3 against 3NT doubled, small from dummy, I played the ten, nine from declarer. I played the 8 back. Declarer played four rounds of hearts [she had QTxx], discarding a spade from dummy, and then led the J to partner's queen and the king, and then a club back to the ace. What do you discard on the fourth heart and second club? Why? What is your game plan?
. Qxx allows me to either
I didn't, but I have been kicking myself ever since, because this is exactly right. I would have unblocked the Q under the ace if necessary, but I had regrettably discarded a spade so I did get endplayed on the second round of spades. Unblocking on the first round from Qx does not work since declarer now finesses the ten for her ninth. Of course 3NT is cold since declarer does not need to cash all these cards and squeeze the dummy: she can play an early spade to the ten. However, I was given a chance and didn't take it.
This was the second problem hand in my previous article.
| xx T9xxx QTxx xx |
Partner opens 1 [Acol], RHO passes, you pass, LHO bids 2. Double from CHO [takeout, of course], 3 from RHO: what do you bid? OK, 3 seems obvious, and the Bear bid that: now 4 by LHO, double from CHO, pass from RHO: what now? Why? What do you expect from partner?
and is hoping you might say 4.
.When discussing it afterwards I suggested that if I have no interest whatever in game I would just let them play undoubled, ie that 5=3=4=1 was more likely than [say] 5=3=3=2. I held
| AKJTx QJx AKJx x |
The Bear passed, 4 doubled was cold, and it takes a fine defence to beat 4 [or 4].
Ted Reveley has played an excellent game of bridge for many years with Ralph Churney. Ralph told me yesterday that he was playing rubber bridge with friends over the weekend. He held something like:
| QJxxx Jxx Qx Txx |
and partner opened 2NT. He was sure they played transfers so he bid 3, next hand passed, partner's turn.
Long think.
Long think.
4 from partner, querulously. As he bids it, partner says "Ralph, if you wanted to play in hearts, why did you not transfer with 3?"
Hehe!
I played against the Bear tonight - and he bought a round of drinks! Shock! Horror! General opinion was that he may have bought one at university in the late 1960's - or again he may not. Certainly not since!
I offered a drink to the female members of his team and told them the Bear was paying. He merely grunted, so I offered a drink to everyone in the match, and he eventually bought eight drinks! Wahey!
Discussing it with his team-mates in the second half, Sheila Mattisson reckoned we should put a plaque up in Liverpool Bridge Club to mark the event. Of course, he leant on me to buy a round at half-time, which I did, but I reckon it was worth it [and we won by 61 imps!].
Ted does not read the Web, so no-one is going to tell him that I wrote this, are they?
Note: 5=4=3=1 means the suits are in that order, ie 5 spades, 4 hearts and so on, unlike 5-4-3-1 or 5431 which means any hand with a 5-card suit, a 4-card suit and so on.
Editor's note:
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