Two bidding problems continued.

Firstly:

x
109xxx
—
AKJ10xxx

(1) What do you respond to 1D? More questions to come on this one, but we’ll start there.

There is consensus to respond 2C.

(2) So, what now after 2D from partner?

Secondly:

K3
AQ9
AK10964
Q2

West….North…..East….South
……………………………1C (3+)
Dble…..1S………2D…….Dble (3 card raise)
?

Your partnership arrangement is that once they have bid 2 suits cues show, not ask for, stoppers in that suit.

I must say, 3NT looks like a completely normal punt to me. Sorry, I’ve added the information that opener showed support, which probably increases the chances of a spade lead. Clubs might break…and 5D is going to be way off, with 2 club losers and some if partner can’t help bolster your holding there.

Still, we played it on BBO and one of my esteemed opponents said to me, after my partner bid 3NT and made it opposite QJxxx diamonds and the ace of clubs, that ‘no bridge player in the world would bid 3NT with that hand’. Now, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to insult you guys all of whom quite like the bid. I’m with you! But I am pleased to see support for the idea…

Having said that, however, after the game I talked to David about it. It transpired he thought the opening bid was 1H, his double stopper. And there I was – and you all – supporting his thoughtful solution to the problem!

Comments suppressed for now.

Two bidding problems.

Firstly:

x
109xxx
—
AKJ10xxx

(1) What do you respond to 1D? More questions to come on this one, but we’ll start there.

Secondly:

K3
AQ9
AK10964
Q2

West….North…..East….South
……………………………1C (3+)
Dble…..1S………2D…….Pass
?

Your partnership arrangement is that once they have bid 2 suits cues show, not ask for, stoppers in that suit.

Comments suppressed for now.

Bridge and the environment

I’ve been involved in online discussions lately about the desperate plight of the planet and how/whether it might be possible to save it.

It strikes me that of the many easy steps that could be taken, one is to end physical events which can take place virtually, bridge being an obvious example. Chess and conferences (eg academic) are other terribly obvious candidates of absolutely unnecessary travel with all that entails environmentally.

There is a human tendency to think ‘if nobody else is doing anything much, why should I?’ There is also a tendency to think, ‘hey, I’ve given up plastic bags, I have to do MORE?’ Yet it seems to me if everybody just started doing what they could, all sorts of small things – eg for us, giving up chess and bridge tournaments – would all start adding up.

Well, what do you all think about this? Opinions keenly awaited!

Play problem concluded.

Contract: 6S
Opening lead: DQ

KQJ3
Q43
3
AK982

A9874
A
A7652
65

Plan the play.

Please refer to yesterday’s comments for various suggestions. The deal comes from Kelsey-Bourke Bridge Quiz for Improving Players. The answer given there, p. 58 is

‘The safest line is to reverse the dummy and establish the clubs. You should succeed whenever the clubs are 3-3, and also when the clubs are 4-2 and trumps no worse than 3-1. Unblock the ace of hearts at trick two and then enter dummy to ruff a heart. Return to dummy with a second club and ruff the last heart. Crossing back to dummy with a trump, you ruff a club with the ace of spades. [In the example layout] the clubs fail to break evenly, but you simply draw trumps [3-1] and conceded a club, leaving dummy high.’

Having set about the hand pretty much as has everybody else, but knowing that I was up against two excellent analysts, I gave the hand to Robby van Riel, who played it thus:

Diamond ace, diamond ruff, heart ace diamond ruff. If diamonds are 4-3, then spade king. If everybody follows you are cold. If spades are 4-0 heart ruff, cash the ace and king of clubs, heart ruff, diamond ruffed, and SA9 must win – this is a cute ending. If someone pitches on the second diamond, heart ruff, club ace and king, heart ruff, diamond ruff, club ruff with the spade ace, diamond ruff and one of S98 makes a trick by weight.

See you Monday.

Play problem

Contract: 6S
Opening lead: DQ

KQJ3
Q43
3
AK982

A9874
A
A7652
65

Plan the play.
Comments suppressed today.

Bridge, heart, caring.

I was reading an interview with supergrandmaster Alex Morozevich in which reference was made to a particular game he recently lost.

Rohrer: In Biel you played – and eventually lost – a sensational game against Vachier-Lagrave, which included some incredible positions. After the game, were you just completely disappointed or did you feel rewarded for having played such a great game?
Morozevich: Every defeat is a small lesson; You can take it from a philosophical point of view. During the game, I was in an all-in mood. After the game, though, I did not feel good, and I didn’t have the impression that it had been a great game – lots of sparks and desire, but very poor calculations. In general I never give an additional meaning to a game. Following the defeat against Vachier-Lagrave I lost interest in my last two rounds, but after a lucky win against Ivanchuk, suddenly in round 10, I had the chance to win the tournament. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to beat Caruana. So after the last game I felt sorry for those people who wished I would win. I’ve received hundreds of SMS, e-mails with thanks and consolation from all over the world.

It made me wonder if there is anybody in the world in bridge who would inspire such feeling, or is it that because bridge itself is a more trivial game – a hand cannot possibly inspire the emotion that a game of chess does – this reflects upon the players as well.

If there is a player in bridge who might be compared with Morozevich is it Zia? And if so, does this next question and reply pertain to him also:

Rohrer:You are widely thought of as a creative, unconventional and unpredictable player …
Morozevich: Unpredictablility and unconventionality add up to an old image which dates back almost 15 years. And for that time, my experiments were okay. Compared to then, I play a totally different game today. Unpredictable? They link this to my results, though I have been among the top players for many years now. I am quite a universal player with a classical approach. True, I play a little bit more aggressively than other players, try to win with both colours. But nowadays I play normal openings. And in these, I found new ideas at a very early stage. I am one of the few who always tries to invent something new, and one of the main fashion leaders in chess at the present time.

Is this Zia? Is the Zia that has finally won a world championship the same Zia as twenty years ago or has he grown and matured as a player whilst still keeping to the sense of Morozevich’s attitude to the game? There must be people reading this blog who’ve followed Zia for a long time. What do you think?

Careful does it. Answer.

	NORTH 105 A J10972 AK1064
WEST A932 KQJ8642 A 5		EAST K876 — K6543 Q973
	SOUTH QJ4 109753 Q8 J82

The question was how to play 3H after North has overcalled 1H with 2NT and your 3H rebid ends proceedings.

See yesterday’s post for interesting comments on this. At the table David Beckett took Phil’s line. Big spade from hand, another to table and then back to hand for a low heart to drop the bare ace. A handy swing when 4H went three down undoubled in the other room.

By a strange coincidence I got to play 3H on a not dissimilar hand last night:

VBA
Pennant Session one
Bd 25
Dealer North
EW Vul

	NORTH A6 KQ98752 10 KQ4
WEST Q72 J1043 A8543 102		EAST K1054 A6 AKJ7 876
	SOUTH J983 — Q962 AJ953

West…..North….East…..South
…………1H……..Dble……1S
Pass…..3H……..All Pass

The opening lead was a big diamond and then a spade shift to the nine, queen and ace. Presumably the right way to play hearts is from the top, generally making when they are 3-3 or minor honour is doubleton. Yes? But I had low on the brain after watching David’s play on the weekend and, so floated a high heart pip to the ten. A spade to the king and another spade gave me this interesting option. Now I could win the spade, discarding a big club, and via diamond ruffs and the two club entries, coup RHO. This must be wrong in practice as the opponents could have shifted to a club instead of a spade and then you are an entry short…but still, I couldn’t resist and indeed it was the line to come home.

Careful does it.

WEST A932 KQJ8642 A 5		EAST K876 — K6543 Q973

Sitting West the auction is:

West…..North….East….South
……………………………Pass
1H……..2NT……Pass….3C
3H……..All Pass

North begins with the ace of clubs and then a diamond to the queen and your ace.

What’s your plan? (Comments suppressed for today)

Forever anonymous

A hand tomorrow. For now I wish to observe, if you go to the Nanjing chess tournament site and scroll down to the bottom of the page, that you will see reference to the Chess & Cards Administration Center of General Administration of Sport of China.

Interesting, is it not? I rather think that bridge got a foothold in China well before chess did, but still. There it is, seated somewhere between poker and gin. One of the great tragedies for bridge is that it was given such a mundane, anonymous name. If I tell people I play chess, I do not have to add ‘you know, the board game’. If I tell them that I play bridge not only do I have to add ‘you know, the card game’ but I know that it is quite likely they don’t know, even then.

What a pity we couldn’t stick to whist as a name. Unique, a history to it, though not quite as grand as chess’s.

Does this all depress anybody else reading this?

Still in the stratosphere continued

The question yesterday was this: playing matchpoints, all vul, sitting West:

5
AJ10964
AJ5
Q86

West…….North……East……South
………………………3D……..Pass
3H……….4S……….5H………5S
?

I thought it was a simple case of bidding on, just because it’ll be cheap. And I assume, if you decide to bid on that it should be in hearts…why reveal the double fit? Perhaps it’ll make it harder for them to bid on if slam happens to be the right level for them.

This is the whole deal:

Victoria State Pairs Final
Board 26
Dealer East
Both Vul

	NORTH AKQ863 5 102 AK74
WEST 5 AJ10964 AJ5 Q86		EAST 72 K72 KQ98763 9
	SOUTH J1094 Q83 4 J10532

I asked Neil Ewart what he and Blaine Howe did on the hand, they having won the State Pairs, and he commented:

“It went 3D from Traian and 3H from Dan – I bid 4S and in pass out seat Dan bid 5D. I took the push to 5S and Traian led a low heart which Dan won – he cashed the ace of diamonds and and exited with a heart. I played spades so now was pretty sure Traian was a 2371, cashed the Club ace and took the hook.

In retrospect I think Dan’s 3H was uncharacteristically naïve because he knows a spade bid is coming fast. A direct 5D bid would have been better. It might be harder for me to get the count without the low heart lead.’

I must say, although it seemed obvious to me to bid to the six level on the way out, I was obviously prepared to be chicken on the way in: I suggested 4D. Pusillanimous?

See you tomorrow for a hand from the weekend’s Cayne match.