zuoliu!

2010-12-17T02:58:00.003+08:00

You just activated my Beer Card.

So bored. You all faster come back from holiday and play bridge.

Updating

2010-10-13T16:43:00.003+08:00

Sorry guys, long time no update. A levels drawing closer so I thought I would not study for long periods of time to give you this.

Well, gl for A levels J2s. You die next year J1s. And yup. Cyas.

December Competitions

2010-01-04T21:33:00.003+08:00

Johnathan has a good point, I haven't been posting. (oops)

For our recent competitions.....

National Bridge Handicap Team Championships 12-13 Dec

Well nothing much to say really, we got owned pretty bad. But hey, it's how you play the game right?

We couldn't even play the last 2 rounds of the first day because of a certain player shortage. So yeah, I think it's safe to say we qualified for the CONSOLES without even trying.

Consoles was pretty fun, I think we managed to almost beat 1 team.

Overall, I think getting clobbered even with handicapped is pretty sad.... So yeah, lots of work to do guys.

National Youth Team Championships 19-20 Dec

A few things I learnt from the 2 days

1) Khalid is an idiot. Albeit a funny idiot.
2) The word "Youth" is deceiving.
3) Bridge is insanely fun when you're sleep deprived.
4) Watching ur P "sweat it out" while declaring because of your insane, irrational bids is VERY entertaining. (Don't let me catch you doing it)
5) No double no trouble.
6) Trust your P. No exceptions.
7) ALWAYS consider a walkover. It's like a sac bid.

Yeah this was slightly better. Had some pretty ownage streaks. Even had Kiran declare 80% of the boards in 1 round thanks to my awesome bidding.

We maintained ~5th position for the first day and first half of the second day. Then got totally raped by the top 3 teams of the competition and bumped down to 7th. (Refer to lesson 7)

So if you take away those 3 or 4 teams who fake youth, I think we settle pretty nicely into 3rd or 4th. Heh.

Also, we beat a team who beat us a week ago at the handicaps. AND THIS WAS WITHOUT HANDICAPS! Hahahaha that felt great.

They bidded an impossible 4H. Can't remember exactly how the bidding went, but the 4H was after his P preempted. I was thinking "Where are your points!?@ Sac bid while vul?!". End up 4Hx-2 vul, 500 for us plawks. (Should have been -3.... Oops!) Stole our 4S tho, but the other side didn't bid to game so yeah thanks for 8 IMPs.

We also downed their 4S cold, which was for the lulz.

So yeah... That's what went down during the 2 comps. Hope you guys learnt as much as I did and had as much fun as I had. And many thanks to Johnathan for coming down to help with our player deficit for both competitions.

Food for thought.

2009-09-14T00:20:00.002+08:00

Hi people. I was just conversing with my bridge teacher "Xiao Si" and he provided me with some very valuable insights so I thought I should share with you guys.

Purposes of overcalling:
1) Preemptive (Take up bidding space)
2) Lead-directing
3) Hope to win the contract or push opponents up higher.

So whenever you overcall you should be fulfilling one of these requirements. If not, just pass. Don't need to bid just because you can or you have X+ points and X+ cards.

And he also mentioned:
"If your partner makes a decision and you choose not to trust it, then there's no point playing Contract Bridge." I want to add: Or unless you have a very good reason not to trust it.

Simply because it's a game of partnership.

Okay answer for the previous quiz:
Lead is club 2, strongly suggesting that clubs are divided 4-4. You have 8 tops, because if diamonds don't break you'll always go down, but you can't always assume that. So does your 9th trick come from hearts or spades? Answer is spades. You can establish one easy winner and opponents can take 3clubs and the spade ace only. If you try hearts, and it wins, you're home as well, but if it fails, opponents and cash the spade ace for down one. Whereas if you try spades, regardless of where the Ace is, you can always take 9 tricks.

Lesson points: Inferring from opening lead, making the safety play.

2009-09-08T02:39:00.010+08:00

Ok one puzzle for you all. This is rated as fairly easy, does not really involve counting opponents' cards but your techniques (how you manage the suits which block each other up).

♠ AQxx
♥ 9xx
♦ AKJx
♣ AK

Contract: 6♥
Lead: ♠2

♠ x
♥ AKQJT
♦ xx
♣ QT987

Everyone try ok? As in EVERYONE!! Post answers on the tagboard.

(Oh yes, ♥ trumps are 4-1 to East. But you only know that after cashing the second round of ♥ trumps

---

Solution

Ok first of all, you should reject any finesse of all sorts. Look from your hand's point of view. You have no ♠ ♦ or ♥ losers. The only possible loser is the ♣J.

So what can be more wrong than to win the first trick with the ♠A, draw 2 rounds of trumps, discovering that trumps are 4-1. (If they were 3-2 instead, you could draw all the trumps, cash ♣AK, ruff a ♠ back to your hand and play ♣ from the top. You will score 13 tricks if the J drops. But if it doesn't, surrender a ♣, ruff the ♠ return with your last trump and the rest are good. Or if they return ♦, you can ruff the ♠ yourself to get back to your hand to score the last winning ♣. 12 tricks.)

Ok back to 4-1 trump break. If you continue drawing trumps (4 rounds of them), then you have to cash ♣AK next then get back to your hand via a ruff using your 5th trump. If the ♣J doesn't fall on the ♣Q next, then you have to rely on the ♦ finesse for your 12th trick (if you surrender a ♣, they can cash ♠ and you cannot ruff).

A better improvement will be to draw 2 rounds of trumps, discovering the 4-1 break. Then, cash ♣AK before using the dummy's ♥9 to cross back to your hand to draw 2 more rounds of trumps. Then play ♣ from the top. This way, if the ♣J falls then you have 13 tricks, otherwise, you can surrender a ♣ and will still have a trump to ruff the ♠ return. However, the problem is that the defender holding 4 trumps may trump your second round of ♣. It is unlucky that ♣ are 5-1. But you should have prevailed.

The correct line of play is to win the ♠A, then draw 2 rounds of trumps (bad break). Then cash ♣K only, before playing 2 more rounds of trumps to draw finish the defenders' trumps. But on the 4th round of trump, throw away your ♣A (!). Now you can play ♣ from the top (losing to ♣J eventually) without losing trump control. This caters to 5-1 ♣ break.

Did I mention that my nickname is Jeffery Jettison?

Bridge laws

2009-09-01T00:25:00.003+08:00

Some bridge laws on conduct and ettiquette.

Players should refrain from:
1) Making gratuitous comments during the play as to the auction or the adequacy of the contract.
2) Detaching a card from his hand before it is his turn to play.
3) Indicating approval or disapproval of a call or play
4) Indicating the expectation or intention of winning or losing a trick that has not been completed.
5) Commenting or behaving during the auction or play so as to call attention to a significant occurrence, or to the state of the score or to the number of tricks still required for success.
6) Looking intently at any other player(HAHAHAHAH), but it is alright to act on information acquired from inadvertently seeing an opponent's card(therefore hold your cards close to you)

Players should:
1) Maintain at all times a courteous attitude toward his partner and opponents.
2) Carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game.

Yup.

Source: http://web2.acbl.org/laws/rlaws/lawofcontractbridgecombined_2004.pdf

Quiz

2009-08-27T22:07:00.002+08:00

Hello people. I know you guys are stressed out mugging for Promos/Prelims/doing PW so here's a mini-quiz to tickle your brain.

KQ84
AQ76
654
54

52
JT2
A3
AKQT76

You're in a 3NT contract and the lead is the two of clubs. Think about how you would play this deal for the best chance of 9 tricks. Okay amendment. Don't assume diamonds are breaking. It may, it may not be.

(:

2009-08-23T22:08:00.002+08:00

WEll done people.

VJC - NUS(C): 25-0
VJC - BTCC: 17-13

I'm proud of the juniors. YOu guys have done very well today. Keep up the good work. Don't ~~throw my face~~ let this be a once-in-a-blue-moon thing yeah? :)

Oh yes, Teoliang's very happy she bidded and made six clubs today, although it was done in an odd manner.

P.S BPangsai

2009-07-30T20:52:00.000+08:00

Hello! How was exams? Not too bad I hope! Bridge players are supposed to be intellectual. To substantiate this claim, I was reading this article(by chance when I logged into BBO) about an Indian Bridge player debating with an Indian Chess player. Both are experts of course.

"Vishy came out with the revelation that being proficient in these mindsports generally improved the performance of the students in all subjects. This he said has been established in several researches."

"At this point Dhadi pointed out that Bridge was a part of the curriculum in Norway/st1:place> and Sweden where academic credits were awarded for learning Bridge."

After reading the second quote I got a sudden urge to go to Norway and Sweden universities :)

2009-07-08T20:34:00.002+08:00

In times of exams, bridge has also it's application. Fred Gitelman, BBO author and one of Canada's top players once said at a tournament:

"Well, that was not the kind of first board that I had been hoping for... Being able to get over bad results quickly is important if you want to win at this game... We had alot of boards ahead of us and getting annoyed on the first board was not going to help us score well in the rest of the event... Hopefully things would improve."

They pushed their opponents to game and doubling them when their opponents could have played in a partscore. Anyway, true enough things got better and they won USA which was an all-time strong team.

Just change "board" to "paper", "we" to "I" and "event" to "exams"

=) Happy studying!

2009-07-07T15:00:00.002+08:00

I was bored writing T3A. So...

Contract Bridge

X is a witty member of the VJC Contract Bridge Club. He has honed his bridge-psychological and falsecarding skills to an expert level. He made plenty of slams and grandslams which his foolish partner has placed him in through outwitting his opposing defenders and causing them to misdefend. Not only that, he is a sneaky defender and bidder too. His psyching bids has many a times resulted in opponents miscommunicating and missing what they should have bidded. On top of all, he has never gotten into trouble with the director. This shows how good his psyching skills are. Once, he even managed to fool a good declarer by falscarding his holding of Qxx. His quick-thinking skills will go a long way in aiding him in his future endeavours.

Okay. How's my T3A. I wonder if Mr Lee will approve...

2009-06-30T19:01:00.002+08:00

Bridge jokes:
[Econs teacher] Taxes transfer can redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor...
[Me] Rubbish! Texas transfer is 4D-4H/4H-4S and can only let the strong hand declare. Cannot redistribute wealth(HCP) from the rich(strong hand) to the poor(weak hand).

You know why Michael Jackson passed away? He was my opponent as a bridge table and he did a Michael's Cuebid showing Hearts and a minor. I bidded NT showing a heart stopper such that I can stop his heart from running. He dropped dead.

In Statistics (year 2), to prove that a claim is wrong you need to do tests and draw inferences. In Bridge, to do the same thing you just need to call the Director.

Okay lame. I thought of it in lectures 'cos they were too boring.

Anyway the answer to the deal last time:
You have no need to draw trumps. To make 6C, all you need is either the spade or heart finesse to work, that's about 50% chance. However, there's one way to make the contract regardless of whether both finesses are onside or offside, through an elegant Endplay. All you need to do, is to NOT ruff the opening lead at all! You can pitch either major spot card from dummy. At trick 2, you are left with: (suppose you pitch a spade)

xx
xx
-
xxxxxxxx

AKJ
AQxx
-
xxxxx

Now your LHO is on the lead and he is stuck, or endplayed. He has no clubs for a passive return. If he returns a diamond, he gives you a ruff&discard. Simply discard a heart from dummy and ruff in your hand and the rest is good. If he returns either major, he'll lead into your tenace positions (AKJ or AQ) and give you a free finesse.

The same goes if you've pitched a heart earlier on the opening lead.

If you had ruffed the opening lead:

xxx
xx
-
xxxxxxx

AKJ
AQxx
-
xxxxx

You're in dummy and you have to take a finesse, which might lose if both the spade Q and heart K are offside. If you hadn't ruffed the opening lead, it doesn't matter where both honours are. You can try to cash the AK spade and give up the J to LHO and similarly endplay him. However it is not a guarantee that spades are offside and if it's onside your RHO can simply return a heart through your AQ and you need to take another finesse.

So, the key thing is, 6C is cold on any layout!(any distribution of defenders' cards)

2009-06-28T20:11:00.000+08:00

Yeps. I wanna make room for Slam.

2009-06-25T01:01:00.003+08:00

Hello. I'm going to sleep after this. Try playing this contract.

6C, Lead Ace of Diamonds. In SHDC order.

732
94
-
J9865432

AKJ
AQ65
K
AKQT7

Wow you've 13trumps. This deal requires you to think out of the box. Sherman gave me this deal an hour ago and I was intending to think over it while mugging tmr(or later since it's 1am alr) and I thought of the answer when I finished copying the deal :) Not that it'll be easy :) It's 100% making on any defender distribution

Oh btw. Sherman likes to stare at opponents when he's dummy despite knowing it's illegal. So if you ever play with him remind him not to because his staring face is extremely hilarious and can cause you to burst out laughing.

There was this one board yesterday where I held an 18pt 6511 hand and the bidding went from my LHO: 1D-p-p-2D-X-2H-p-2S. Opponents asked my partner Sherman what's 2S and he replied that he wasn't sure but it's forcing in any case. The next moment he took out the green "Pass" card and tabled it. What an irony!

2009-06-24T22:08:00.002+08:00

Hello Everyone.

Just a battle report of 2 days of gruelling competition.
For your easy reference,
1) CJC 1
2) HCI 1
3) RJC 1
4) RJC 3
5) HCI 2
6) VJC
7) RJC 2
8) ACJC 1
9) ACJC 2
10) CJC 2
In comparison with last year, we improved greatly. Last year we were 10 out of 10. Anyway, we managed to finish in the top half despite having only one team. The field was certainly strong but I think the J1s did considerably well for their first official competition.

Well done guys!

Of course we musn't forget the J2s. Thanks to Jonathan who came down to help us in a few rounds, and my ever-hilarious partner Sherman who made my bridge experience such an exciting and interesting one.

Mug hard people!

2009-06-21T20:02:00.005+08:00

Hello.

First things first, core players for league please try to go for every game, be it postponed or not. Walkover isn't a good thing not only on our score but our reputation. Not very nice right make people go down all the way then end up do nothing. I already stated at the very start that this thing will last for one year through your exams and stuff, and if you can't commit then don't join. If you want to play then gotta play throughout. Postpone as many times as you want but don't give a walkover. If you wanna know when we're due to play, check http://www.bridgeleague.net/.

Anyway, I promised I'll post something educational, so here it is.

NEW MINOR FORCING or NMF

Background: Essentially, this convention allows you to find 5-3 or 6-2 major fits after opener rebids a minimum 1NT or 2X where X is the suit opened.

Problems without NMF: Suppose you hold an 11 point hand with 5card H and the auction goes 1D-1H-1NT. How are you going to bid? 2H shows 6-9points, while 3H promises 6+ H. Another scenario. You hold a 15point hand with 6+ H and the auction goes the same way. No way you can gameforce and show your hearts at the same time.

Meaning of NMF: Opener does not have to know what responder has, only answer accordingly. Usage of NMF will show at least an invitational hand (10-12points) with one 5+ major. Does not promise anything in the new minor suit.

Examples of NMF: Alertable. 1C-1S-1NT-2D!/1D-1S-2D-3C!/1C-1H-2C-2D!
Note - If NMF takes you to the 3 level then you need to have a gameforcing hand at least.
-Responder MUST respond at level 1.
-There is no NMF for opener. 1H-1NT-2C is not NMF.
-There is no NMF for minors. E.g. 1C-1D-1NT- You don't NMF to show 5+ Ds. It's only for majors. 2H/2S will be a reverse hand, very strong and probably 6-5 D-H/S
-1H-1S-1NT- Either 2C or 2D can be used as NMF but tie down with your partner what does each mean. Recommends: Use one as NMF and the other as natural or undefine it. OR Use both as NMF but bid your better minor. I.e. if you bid 2C as NMF your clubs are better than diamonds but no specific rules to what clubs you must hold.

Priorities of responses to NMF:
1) Show 3card major support for p's major.
2) Show your other 4card major.
3) Rebid NT to show none of 1 & 2. Balanced. Doesn't need a stopper in the artificial suit.
4) Bid the NMF suit to gameforce, which is rare.
5) Rebid your own suit if longer/no better bid

1,2 & 3 will usually cover everything. Don't show unnecessary information unless the first three options are absolutely unsuitable.

Since your hand is limited to 12-15, NMF also allows opener to distinguish between the lower and upper ranges. When choosing any of the above options, if you bid it at the lowest level, it shows 12-13 points while if you jump a level it shows 14-15 and gameforcing, since partner should have 10+ at least. E.g. 1D-1S-1NT-2C!- 2S will show exactly 3 (you would have supported 2S if you had 4, or opened 1S if you had 5.) carded spades 12-13 while 3S will show 14-15 with 3card spades. A little hard to use this if NMF is at level 3.

Other variations of NMF: 1C-1H-2NT-3D!/ 1H-1S-2NT-3C!/ 1D-1S-2NT-3C!
These will be gameforcing.

Responders dilemma solved:
How to show -
4H4S: Bid 1H if p did not bid 1S the problem is solved.
5S4H invitational: Bid 1S and NMF. If p did not do either 1/2 (above) major fit is out.
5S4H GF: Similar. Just that you jump to 3NT.
5H4S invitational: Bid 1H and NMF. P already denies 4card spade.
5H4S GF: Same. Just that you jump to 3NT if no major fit.
5S5H invitational: Bid 1S and jump shift 3H. No NMF here.
5S5H GF: Bid 1S and NMF. If p denies any 3card S and 4card H bid Hs again to show 5-5.
6+ any major: NMF and rebid the major again if p denies 3cards. Lowest level invitational, jump a level gameforcing.

Special cases: 1C-1H-2NT-?
2NT can contain 4card spades and is gameforcing.
3C-support (rare)
3D-NMF, 5+ H
3H-6+ H
3S-at least 4-4 in majors.
4C-slam interest in clubs
4D-6+diamonds slam interest?
4H/S-to play

1C-1S-2NT-?
3C-support, rare
3D-NMF, 5+ S
3H-at least 5-4 S-H (with 4-4 bid 1H first)
3S-6+ S

Alright I'm done. Try to digest bit by bit.

P.S Don't forget 1m-1M-1NT-2M is 6-9 5+ M while 3H is invitational 6+ M. M is major m is minor. Also, 1C/D-1S-1NT-2H is 5-4 nonforcing BUT 1C/D-1H-1NT-2S is 6-5 at least gameforcing (reverse).

2009-06-10T08:27:00.004+08:00

Mmm my first post.

National Schools Bridge Team Championships!

Let's see... Hong Aik and I (well mostly Hong Aik) managed to establish a team of 6 ppl, 3 J1 and 3 J2. And Hong Aik came out with a schedule of sorts.

Quote:

"23rd morning will be me+sherman+ any 2j1s, 23rd afternoon will be jonathan+you all 3j1s. then 24th will be me+sherman+any 2j1s"

I think that should be self-explanatory ba. The J1 pairing will be settled later. I'll post again when the payment thingy is settled.

Happy Holidays =D.

2009-06-07T17:51:00.002+08:00

Yeah. That's your new Bridge exco.

Found this on RJ's Bridge noticeboard. Bidding goes N pass, E 1C, S 1D, W 2C, N 3D, all pass.

West leads the three clubs and E cashes the King then the Ace of clubs, W following with the 2. It is also given the E has a singleton diamond, W starting with two.

You have 8 tops. 6 diamonds and two hearts, after a sure-fail finnese because if it makes then there's nothing more to this deal. You can't get your 9th with a ruff. On the surface it seems you have two options. Guess the spade layout, or arrange for an endplay of E. The endplay seems impossible, so we shall ignore it.

Let's assume EW plays 3rd/5th best. W's choice of clubs indicates that he started with 6, since he cannot support with 4. If that's so, E must have 3 and he will definitely have a 5carded major which doesn't seem right. So we can conclude that EW play 4th best leads. Also, it can be said that the club honours were split Q with W and AKJ with E. E denies the Q by his King-Ace play and if W has the J he'd likely lead the Q from QJxxx.

So, we should be guessing the spade layout based on points. E has 8points in clubs, none in diamonds and hearts. He could have the Ace or the AQ of spades, giving him 12 or 14points. However if he had the Queen only, then he would not have sufficient HCP to open.

Therefore we should play E for having the A only, because if he has the AQ then the contract will always go down.

Right. Some ways to infer about opponents' cards when you're declaring :)

2009-06-06T23:21:00.004+08:00

Heyhey.

Congratulations to the new Bridge Head Chong Lim, and new Bridge Trainer Teoliang!

Okay, my job is done. Time to mug. I invite all the J1s to post on this blog already. Do use this blog and don't let it die :) I'll come and tag. And I also can track what's going on. xD

Oh, I'm always available for a few rounds of bridge if you guys are lacking people :)

2009-05-31T17:19:00.005+08:00

I believe I should do up a post for VJBridge. Haha.

Ok today Hong Aik and I went to play bridge at Kampong Kembagan CC. Matchpoint pairs. 4 pairs only. 18 boards. We played well, but all our good scores were reciprocated at the other table, so we didn't do as well as we thought we could. I'm not sure what's our rank but I'm guessing we're around 3rd.

At our 3rd (and final) round, I was holding this on the first board.

T86
QJT93
AK4
83

Only we were vulnerable. I was thinking whether to open this hand or not because I love my Hearts. But RHO solved all my problems after he opened 1D when partner dealt and passed. I overcalled 1H. This overcall can be anything from 8 to 15 points, so with sub-minimum opening hand, I bid 1H. Here's the bidding like:
P, 1D, 1H, P
2D!, X, 2H, P
4H, All pass

I was quite shocked when partner pushed to game even though he was a passed hand. Think of how to play 4H with this dummy (in SHDC order):

KQ75
A875
5
Q965

Lead: 7 of diamonds

T86
QJT93
AK4
83

There were 2 top diamond tricks plus a potential diamond ruff, 5 heart tricks if K is onside, and probably 1 spade trick. There was still 1 trick missing. I won the opening lead with the A and played the 9 of trumps. LHO follows low. Instead of finessing, I went up to the A to drop RHO's singleton K! The reason for doing that was because RHO most likely had the K for his opening bid. If that's the case, there was no point in finessing so I might as well cash the A. I proceeded to draw 2 rounds of trumps and ended up in my hand.

KQ75
8

Q965

T86
T3
K4
83

I think I tried clubs next. I led a 3, and when LHO follows with a 2, I played a 9. RHO won with K and returned a diamond, won by my K (discard spades from dummy). I tried clubs again, and this time LHO played the T. I played Q and saw RHO won it with A. He returned a diamond for me to ruff in dummy. I went to ruff a club (and both opponents followed). I was left with:

KQ7
-
-
9

T86
T
-
-

With 7 tricks now, I knew I had to take 2 spade tricks for my contract to make. I led a small spade to the K and RHO took his A. He returned a diamond, which a ruffed, and set LHO thinking for a long time.

Here are the cards that remained:

	Q7 - - 9
J4 - - J		92 - J -
	T8 T - -

When RHO played a diamond for me to ruff, LHO had no good discard. If he discards a spade, I will discard a club from dummy. I will then win the next 2 spades with Q and T respectively. If he chooses to part with a club, then I will discard a spade from dummy and dummy is good. LHO is squeezed! In reality, he discarded a club and got me thinking whether there were still any outstanding clubs. But I played correctly and brought home a difficult 4H contract.

There were many ways for the defence to kill the contract. For example, when RHO won the A club, he could have returned a club, spoiling the entry. Or at the 3rd last trick, he could have played a low spade, making me guess whether to play the T (maybe RHO has J) or play the 8 (maybe RHO has 9). Would I have gotten it correct? I'm not sure, luckily I didn't have to guess.

The full deal:

	KQ75 A875 5 Q965
J43 642 972 JT72		A92 K QJT863 AK4
	T86 QJT93 AK4 83

The second board of round 3 and I was dealt with a strong hand:

K97
Q2
KQ6
AKJ52

Nobody is vulnerable. RHO dealt and passed. I opened 1NT, which shows 16-18 HCP and balanced (4333/4432/5332) with no 5-carded majors. Here's the bidding:
P, 1NT, P, 2D (transfer to hearts)
P, 2H, P, 3NT
All pass

I was happy to see a 11-point dummy when the 4 of spades was led.

T63
AKT74
A83
84

Lead: 4 of spades

K97
Q2
KQ6
AKJ52

RHO won with A and returned a Q of spades. Think of how you will play. Remember that we are playing matchpoints and overtricks are important.

I had 9 top tricks (1 spade, 3 heart, 3 diamond and 2 clubs) and if hearts break 3-3, I have 11. If club finesse is onside, I can have one more. I won the Q spade with the K instead of ducking (I'll duck if I need to lose the lead again in order to make my contract) and tried 3 rounds of hearts (discard a club on my 3rd heart). Hearts break 3-3, good! I'm left with:

T
T7
A83
84

9
-
KQ6
AKJ5

I have 11 top tricks and I can possibly go for 12. But if I lose the club lead to LHO, he might cash his remaining spades. Just then, RHO's handphone rang. I played slowly to make sure I know what I was doing (I already had a plan in mind). I played 3 rounds of diamonds ending in dummy. While RHO was busy with his call, I told Hong Aik: I show you another squeeze. Well, I proceeded to cash my remaining 2 hearts and discarded a spade and a club from my hand, ending with:

T
-
-
84

-
-
-
AKJ

LHO struggled on his last trick. Eventually, he discarded a 9 of clubs. If someone had discarded the J spade, I will cash my T and claim the rest of the tricks. When the J did not come out, I proceeded to try to cash my clubs from the top. The Q dropped on the second round of clubs from LHO and my J won. Poor LHO, at the 4th last trick, he had Club QT9 and Spade J. Any discard will allow me to win the last 4 tricks. I'm really sorry that he was squeezed consecutively for the second time.

The squeeze here will work if someone holds the J of spades along with 3+ carded clubs headed by Q. It's roughly a 50% chance that someone will be squeezed. I chose that play instead of a finesse because 1) A finesse may be dangerous. I might not be able to cash the last 2 club tricks, 2) Other than the 50%, I can also catch doubleton or singleton Q, so it increases my percentage. A finesse is a dead 50%. So in the end I had 3 overtricks and zuo liu! But the other side also made 3NT+3 so it was a push board. I doubt they managed to squeeze, and I think it's because of a poor discard that's why. Here's the full deal:

	T63 AKT74 A83 84
J854 J63 T52 QT9		AQ2 985 J974 763
	K97 Q2 KQ6 AKJ52

In both these boards, I have executed a simple squeeze (or a two-suit squeeze) in each board. Ok I must admit that for the first board, I didn't really execute it, but it was executed anyway. In simple squeezes, one opponent must hold all the cards involved (cards in the 2 suits). There must also only be one loser remaining in my hand (the first board: I had 2 cards remaining and only Q spade as a winner; the second board: I had 11 top tricks after losing the first trick, going for the 12th). If I had more than one loser, then the opponent being squeezed can have an extra card to discard.

In the first board, it is a positional squeeze (it can only work for one opponent and not the other). This is because both the threat-cards are in one hand (the club and a low spade (the low spade is required so that I can play it to win the Ten in my hand)). If RHO had all the remaining cards and I play my last trump, I had to discard before RHO, so he can discard whatever I discard in dummy.

In the second board, it is an automatic squeeze (it works for any opponent). I don't have to count the clubs that came out, I just had to see if the J of spades came out. If it hadn't, then I just try the clubs. It is easier for me because I don't have to care who had the Q of clubs and the J of spades.

Btw, RHO scolded Hong Aik for bidding 3NT instead of 4H when he saw the dummy. I dun think he's correct... 3NT is good here and if we had gone into a 4H contract, we would have gotten bottom board (4H+2 is +480 whereas 3NT+3 is +490). Haha.

Ok that's it. If you all are free, you can go KKCC to play every Monday and Thursday evening at 7pm. It's just a short 3-minute walk from Kembagan MRT station. They also have a Beginners' Course on Contract Bridge (but I forgot when it is already).

- Sherman

2009-05-16T20:19:00.005+08:00

Hello. In the triangle match today, we lost to X-Men by 10IMPs but won D'rakes by 10IMPs. Here's a summary of the boards:

In the first 6boards, we did badly against X-men by losing 32-1. All 6 boards were game-makable boards so quite a few swings. Against Drakes, we trailed behind by 11IMPs.

In the second half, we caught up quite a bit. A few boards yielded quite a number of points. There was a 5Hx-5 which resulted in 1100, and a 7NT grandslam which was 6NT= at the other table. We earned more IMPs then both teams in the second quarter, but unfortunately we were unable to catch up 31IMPs against X-men.

In SHDC order,

A9xx

AK97x

KQ9xx

QJx

AQx

S is the declarer in 7NT, lead of x diamond. You have 12 top tricks. How will you play? Assume a 3-2 diamond break.

A9xx

AK97

Kxx

KQ9xx

QJx

AQx

A modified version of the above deal. Contract now is 6NT with 11 top tricks. How will you play?

Just for fun: Construct a 4-hand (NSEW) deal whereby grandslam is makable for both NS and EW. Any level 7 contract.

2009-05-06T12:43:00.002+08:00

HELLO!

I want to post this for very long, but ah wells, time isn't on my side.

Congrats for the win!

Ryan+Junyuan+Elroy+Jourdan came in 3rd postion, while Sherman+HongAik+Christopher+Jonathan came in 4th. Overall, VJC is third! Yays.

Our profile will certainly be raised after this victory, within the Bridge community. There's another Inter-College tournament coming on 23 and 24 June, organised by SCBA. Keep up with the good work and hopefully we can win something there too!

Btw, trainings on thursdays are still on yeah?

2009-04-18T22:43:00.001+08:00

Bleh. Lost to GWCC D Rakes 40-51.

Oh wells.

2009-04-05T21:54:00.002+08:00

Hello. Good effort by the 4 who went today, but lost 25-3 VPs.

Haha expected. It's Div 1 vs Div 3.

:) cheers

2009-03-28T19:14:00.002+08:00

Hello people!

I wanna thank those that played in league against RJ today for their good work, although we lost 16-14 VPs, still I consider it very good. Keep up the good work okay?

Oh and I realised there's Cup and League matches. Cup matches are knock-out, like winner fight against winner, loser fight loser. League matches are round-robin, you play every team.

The next match will be 5th April against GG, because they propose a postpone. Venue not sure yet. The link for all the matches: http://www.bridgeleague.net/schedule.html

Cheerios!

2009-03-22T19:36:00.003+08:00

Hallo. Okay I've been too busy/lazy to post, so I'll seize this chance to post while I'm still free.

Same quiz. Construct a reasonable bidding sequence and formulate a declarer's plan to go about making your contract. Start bidding from the lower hand.

(SHDC)

J832

AJT97

Q32

KQ63

KJ5

AK83

~~~~~

AKQJ4

AQ72

975

AKJT94

~~~~~

Did you know?

The system we play is called Standard American Yellow Card(SAYC), but there are plenty of other systems out there such as "Precision"(something I'd like to learn :D) and 2/1(the advanced version of SAYC)

2009-03-10T19:17:00.002+08:00

Hihi. I just got owned by CTs. Ah but who cares. Anyway.

Deal 1

1NT-2C-2H-2S*-3C-3D-3H*-3S-4D-4NT*-5H-6H*

2S: Void sufficient to warrant slam interest.

3H: Waiting, no more first round controls.

4NT: Responder must ask as opener has shown description

6H: 1 keycard missing

We have 10 top tricks here. 4trumps, 2diamonds and 4clubs. To establish two more, we can choose to ruff two spades or use diamonds. For the former, we need two entries back to hand and it may result in a ruff. The remaining 4top trumps AKQJ can be used to draw trumps. If trumps break 5-0 it may turn out tricky because he can always ruff your winner and return a spade for down 1. For the latter, draw trumps first. If it's 4-1 or 5-0, draw three rounds, then play diamonds so that you have a trump to take care of the spade return in case diamonds fail. The dangers for both lines are quite minimal, although a bit lesser in the latter.

Deal 2

1H-1S-1NT*-3H*-4H*

1NT-Prefered over 2D
3H-Might jump to 4H; Max hand, good spots
4H-Might not accept because of no extra values

You seem to have alot of losers, but one obvious line would be to draw trumps and play spades to try to use two of them to discard your losers. If it doesn't turn out too well fall back on the diamond finesse, cashing the Ace first. This is a stretching 4H, so any bad breaks will almost certainly cause the contract to fail. This looks like your only chance.

Cheerios

2009-02-25T21:25:00.005+08:00

Here. Construct a reasonable bidding sequence for each of the following deals, starting the hand below. In SHDC order.

KQ64

A9763

KQ53

A983

KJT2

AJ9

~~~~~~~~~~~~

QJ73

J94

AT42

AK753

J653

Optional: Come up with a line of play that gives you the best chance of taking the highest number of tricks. Assume best defence.

2009-02-25T20:56:00.005+08:00

Hi here are the answers.

1) Suit: A
NT: x (4th best)
*You need at least three touching honours to lead from the top in NT. This is because you need extra strength to set up the suit, unlike in trump contracts, where your main aim is to get fast tricks because declarer can easily ruff your 'set-up' suit. And remember never to underlead Aces in suit contracts.

2) Suit: T
NT: T
*T is an honour.

3) Suit: 2
NT: 7
*3/5 best corresponds to 3rd best if you have 3 or 4 cards or 5th best if you have 5 or more cards. If you have the latter, it's not 3rd OR 5th. It means lead 3rd best when you have <5>4 cards.

4) Suit/NT: K
*Doubleton, always lead top regardless of what it is. Times when you lead 2nd are usually in middle or late stages of the play, but let's ignore that for the time being. Leads from Kx are highly discouraged unless partner has indicated an interest in that suit.

5) Suit: Q
NT: 6
*Same logic, you need three or more touching honours (e.g. QJT) to lead Q in NT. I'd only lead the Q in this case if I've longer length or the 8.

6) Suit/NT: 9
*3/5 best in suit and 4th best in NT applies ONLY when you have at least one honour in that suit. If you have no honours in that suit (worthless), lead middle-up-down for a trebleton holding and top-of-nothing for 4cards or more holding.

7) Suit: 2
NT: 3
*T is an honour here, although the suit is lousy. Unless I've the 9 and 8, I wouldn't risk leading the T. Especially with such length.

Amendment: Previously for the suit-combination play, AQxx opposite Jxx should be cashing the Ace before guessing the side with the K. Reason is because you can catch both sides with Kxx or Kx, compared to finessing where you can only catch that onside.

2009-02-20T23:16:00.007+08:00

Hi. This blog's rather stagnant. I see buzzing mosquitoes already. Haha kidding. I don't have too much time, so I'd just post something easy. Leads.

What would you lead from this holdings? Both for suit contract, and NT. Assume no clues from bidding.

1)AJTxx

2)KT98

3)Q9872

4)Kx

5)QJ96

6)9642

7)T7432

Did you know?

1NTxx+6 scores the most points, 3160, higher than 7NT=, which yields 2980 only.

2009-02-14T21:49:00.007+08:00

Hello. I've been very innovative :D

(In SHDC order)

QJ73

J3
AQJ
AJ86

----

K84

K97652

K53
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J3

KQJ765
Q2

Q98

----

AQ4

432

KT9753

A

Here are two deals. One hand is on the top and the other is on the bottom. Construct a reasonable bidding sequence for these deals (when bidding for one hand, assume you do not know what the other hand has). Bidding starts from the hand on the bottom. Do not bother about whether the contract makes or not. For example, do not pass an invitation to game just because you see that game cannot be made although accepting the invitation looks reasonable.

After you reach a final contract, plan the play from the declarer's point of view. Number of tricks/losers, how to get more tricks/get rid of losers, attack which suit first and why, dangers etc. Haha.

Valentine's day gift. Have fun :)

2009-02-12T22:25:00.002+08:00

Oh by the way,

STRATEGIC GAMES CLUB MEETING FOR J1s

Date: Wednesday, 18 Feb
Time: 315pm
Venue: V22

This meeting is compulsory for all J1s.

2009-02-12T21:48:00.003+08:00

Just wanted to post a welcome message to the J1s if they are reading this:

Hello! We're very glad to have you with us and be part of the Bridge family! This game might be a little different from the normal style of bridge you play with your friends casually, but I can confidently assure you that you'll find more satisfaction and fun in Contract Bridge. The initial learning process may prove to be a challenge, but hey, every journey begins with the first step, so as long as you're willing to take the first step and persevere on, your efforts will pay off tenfold. In addition, you will come to realise that many of the strategies in Contract Bridge can be applied to Social/Floating Bridge as well. These are many principles that casual players neglect and therefore end up losing. But you, as a student of Contract Bridge, are well-versed in these principles and can make accurate decisions, instead of leaving it to luck.

Allow me to give a brief history of myself; how I learnt this game. It was at a class chalet in 2006. If I did not remember wrongly, Downtown East was undergoing some renovation and we got bored of the facilities around. So my friends started playing bridge, a game new to me. At first, I thought it was just another silly card game, but they played for hours, and I was curious how this 52 cards can entertain so many people for so long. Some time later, I found out I've a friend who plays Contract Bridge too, so I got him to explain the game to me and I just got more and more interested in the game. Initially, he told me I needed to memorise quite a number of things and I admit I did think of stopping, but somehow I didn't. I ended up learning it throughout my O levels year, and the peak peiod was around June where I just played everyday online. Fortunately, I didn't flunk my exams as a result. But playing everyday helped me revise what I learnt. Soon, I did not even have to think to recall. It just came naturally. It's like how you still remember how to walk and how to talk etc.

So, the point is, do stay on and you'll be vastly rewarded for your hard work :)

Cheerios,
Bridge Head '08/'09

2009-02-08T16:53:00.004+08:00

2H-3C-3H-3NT

2H: Preempt, 6 H.
3C: Forcing one round, 5+ C, game interest
3H: Waiting
3NT: To play

1D-1H-1S-2C-2NT-3NT

1S: 12+ HCP, 4 S (cannot be 5 else would open 1S)
2C: Artificial, gameforcing
2NT: 12-15 HCP, C stopper. With 16-18 HCP, bid 3NT
3NT: To play

1S-2D-3C-3H-3NT

2D: 10+ HCP, 4+ D, may have S support, Forcing
3C: 15+ HCP, 5-4 S-C, Gameforcing
3H: Natural 4 H. With 5+, bid 2H instead of 2D
3NT: To play

1H-1S-1NT-3S-4S

1NT: 12-15 HCP, exact 5 H(else would 2H), no 4card S

3S: Invitational, 6+ S
4S: To play

1H-1NT-2C-2S

1NT: 6-9 HCP, no 3card H, no 4card S

2C: 12-18 HCP, 5-4 H-C, non-forcing
2S: Undefined/Partnership agreement

*If 2S was 2D, it'd be a self-sufficient diamond suit playable with minimum support from partner. To play.

AQxx - Jxx
Finesse the Q against the K on the first round. Do not finesse the J as you don't have T or 9. If the Q holds, cash the A and hope the K falls.

KJxx - T98x
Finesse against the Q by leading the T and letting it run if the next opponent plays small. Do not finesse against the A. Finesse against the Ace only if you have a singleton in the other hand and can ruff. However, sometimes when you have singleton, you can still choose to finesse against the Q, because if it works the K can provide a discard elsewhere. If this sounds abit confusing, consider this case:

S AKx
H KJx

S xxx
H x

Finessing against the Q usually has higher chance than that against the A. So if you finessse the J here and it works, the K can be used to discard the spade loser. If you finesse the K and it works, you also reduce your losers by one. So you take the finesse with a higher chance (J). Unless you don't have other losers or no entries, then play towards the K.

Axx - JTxx
Cash A and play towards JT. This play loses only when KQ is sitting after JT. All other layouts (split KQ and KQ sitting behind JT) yields at least 2 tricks. Finessing twice by leading the J will never work. Cashing A picks up singleton honour anywhere.

AKxx - T98x
Cash the A and finesse by leading the T on the second round. If the finesse fails, the last honour will drop on the K. If T is covered then you only have one loser.
Alternatively, you can cash the A and play small to T, conceding one trick.
Both lines of play catches everything except for QJxx and QJxxx sitting after the AKxx. They work equally well. In fact, I'd prefer the second line since you need an extra entry to get back to the hand to lead the T.

2009-02-04T19:32:00.002+08:00

Hi. Some new problems to ponder over.

A) 2H-3C-3H-3NT

B) 1D-1H-1S-2C-2NT-3NT

C) 1S-2D-3C-3H-3NT

D) 1H-1S-1NT-3S-4S

E) 1H-1NT-2C-2S

Something special, card combinations. Please explain how you would play these combinations with the given quota of tricks.

AQxx opposite Jxx (best chance to take 3 tricks)
KJxx opposite T98x (best chance to take 3 tricks)
Axx opposite JTxx (best chance to take 2 tricks)
AKxx opposite T987 (best chance to take 3 tricks)

2009-02-03T20:04:00.003+08:00

I'm always paranoid that people will forget about training, so it will be ON on thursday, 3pm at C11. I doubt attendance will be good but oh wells.

Declarer play:

You have 9 top tricks, 5 trumps, 3 diamonds and the club Ace. Where's the 10th? The club finesse might work, but we don't have to rely on that. A better line of play would be an endplay.

Endplay basically is technique where you allow a particular defender to be on the lead, such that no matter what he leads, he will give you a free trick which is not available if you were to play without letting him lead.

In this case, first drop all the outstanding trumps and cash 3 diamonds. Cash the club Ace and concede the queen club to whoever has the K. The defender that has it will be endplayed. If he returned a minor you'll yield a ruff&Discard, giving you your 10th(via a ruff). If he returns a spade, simply 'second-hand-play-low' and you're confirmed to win a 10th in spades regardless of how the spade suit is divided.

The key here is, do not take the club finesse for an extra chance. If it failed, defenders can return a club to your Ace and you'll have to play spades yourself, which will probably end up with 3 losers, with the club K makes 4.

I guess the first few bids are more or less familiar. So I'll just state the conditions that are more commonly forgotten.

1D-2C-2D-2NT-3NT
1D: No 5card major
2C: 10+ HCP, 4+ cards, may have 4+ cards in majors
2D: Waiting
2NT: Minimum, 10-12 HCP, no 4card major
3NT: To play

1D-2S-3S-4C-4H-4S
2S: 16+ HCP, strong 6+ cards
3S: Agree on S, slam interest. Without slam interest go to 4S immediately.
4C: First round control in clubs (Ace or void). Slam interest
4H: First round control in hearts, no first round control in diamonds (up the line)
4S: To play. If still have slam interest should Blackwood. No point bidding that suit just to ask partner to bid 4NT. Bid it yourself.

*Cue-ing of trump suit does not show first round control. It denies any further first round controls.

1S-2NT-3S-3NT
2NT: 10-12 HCP, balanced no support.
3S: Accepting invitation, 6+ S. If deny invitation can pass 2NT even with 6+ S.
3NT: To play

1H-1S-2NT-3S-4S
2NT: 16-18 HCP, exactly 5H (else would 3H), no 4card S(else would 3S)
3S: Accepting invitation, 6+ S. (Can be 5+ but I prefer 6+. Partnership agreement)

1C-1H-2NT-3S-3NT
2NT: 19-20 HCP, GF, may have 4card major
3S: 4-4+ H-S. Can be 5-4 or 6-4 or 6-5(strong hand) but not 5-5 or 4-5 else would bid 1S first.

2009-01-29T20:24:00.002+08:00

Training's on next thursday, 5 Feb. Venue's C11 at 3pm. There's probably a class using it before that, so I'll try to find another classroom to start earlier at 230pm, but for next thursday, follow the above.

2009-01-28T21:29:00.003+08:00

Hmmm. Seems like it was too easy.

Well, the key play is to overtake the Q with the A on the first trick, preserving the diamond Ace as an entry. Nothing much after that.

Here's a slightly harder one, I think.

Dummy

S J82
H QJT76
D KQ4
C AQ

Declarer

S Q74
H AK852
D A72
C 43

Contract 4H. Lead is the Ten of diamonds.

(One line of play will guarantee the contract on ANY layout.)

In addition, here are some more bidding problems.

A) 1D-2C-2D-2NT-3NT

B) 1D-2S-3S-4C-4H-4S

C) 1S-2NT-3S-3NT

D) 1H-1S-2NT-3S-4S

E) 1C-1H-2NT-3S-3NT

2009-01-26T01:00:00.005+08:00

Heh. Let's have something new for a change. A declarer play problem.

North (dummy)

S AK432
H AK32
D 654
C Q

South (declarer)

S 65
H 654
D A32
C AJT98

Contract is 3NT. West leads the club 5 and your club Q holds, with East contributing the 2. Think about how to make your contract. This can be made on best defence (i.e. 100%). If you need clues please ask on the tagboard. I'll be posting the answer in a few days time.

Did you know?
Conventions such as stayman and jacoby transfers were named after their inventors.

2009-01-26T00:10:00.004+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year folks! I'm here to publish the answers.

A) 2C-2D-3NT-4C-4NT-6NT

2C: Any 23+ HCP hand OR 19+ HCP with 8.5+ tricks
2D: Any 0-7 HCP hand
3NT: 25-27 HCP balanced, no 5 card major
4C: Gerber (I realised this should be Stayman. In future, sequences like this will be Stayman)
4NT: 3 Aces
6NT: To Play

B) 1D-2C-2H-2S-3NT

1D: 12+ HCP, 3+ cards, no 5carded major
2C: 10+ HCP, 4+ cards, may have 4carded major
2H: Reverse - 16-18 HCP, 5-4+ D-H, gameforcing
2S: 4+ S
3NT: To play

*2S isn't artificial because 2H is already gameforcing (16+10). Alternatively, you might want to play it as asking for stopper to play NT since partner is unlikely to be 5-4-4-0.

C) 1S-1NT-2H-2S

1S: 12+ HCP, 5+ S
1NT: Any 6-9 HCP hand, no 3card S
2H: 12-18 HCP, 5-4 S-H, non-forcing
2S: To play, 2card S

*There could be two reasons for bidding 2H. One, opener might have genuine game interest if responder has maximum values. Two, opener does not want to play in NT. In this case he likely has more than 5-4 in majors, perhaps 6-4 or 5-5. Since responder does not know which case is it, he should strive to keep the bidding alive lest it's case 1, unless he has minimum values (6 HCP) and knows game is impossible. In this sequence he shows a preference for spades over hearts.

D) 2H-3H

2H: Preempt, 6card H.
3H: Further preempt, to play.

*Remember that conditions for preempting (no 4card major, void etc.) are to be adhered when in 1st/2nd seat but are more flexible in 3rd seat since no game is possible and the objective is to disrupt opponents bidding. Also note that 'preempting' in 4th seat shows 12-15 HCP and 6+ cards. Reason is if you are weak can just pass out. 3H in this case merely eats up opponents bidding space. Check out the vulnerability when preempting too.

E) 1S-2C-2S-4S-4NT-5H-6S

1S: 12+ HCP, 5+ S
2C: 10+ HCP, 4+ C, may have S support
2S: Waiting
4S: 13+ HCP, 3+ S, to play
4NT: Blackwood
5H: 2 Aces
6S: Sign off

*2S is 12-15 HCP with 6+ S only when responder responds at level 1. At level 2, it's a waiting bid. Bid 2S when you don't have the following:
1) 12-13 HCP, balanced (2NT)
2) Second suit to show (shift/jump shift)
3) 16-18 HCP, 6+ S (3S)
4) 16-18 HCP, 5 S, balanced (3NT)
5) 15+ HCP, 4+ C (3C)

People might do a waiting bid even with 5). Waiting bids do not promise anything more. Examples would be 6+ S, 12-15 HCP. By standard convention, 3S after 2S shows minimum 10-12 HCP with 3card support (not 3+ else would have 3S after 1S) wherelse 4S shows 13+ HCP, 3+ S and is essentially to play if opener does not have much more. However, if opener has say 19 HCP with 7 S he will have slam interest and would do the waiting bid as well, hence the Blackwood bid. However more often than not will you get a hand where slam is so visible. Takes a decent amount of judgement for a slam try when you have an intermediate hand (maybe 16 HCP). Good judgement comes with lots of practise :)

Cheerios.

2009-01-23T22:41:00.002+08:00

Exercise 2 :)

A) 2C-2D-3NT-4C-4NT-6NT

B) 1D-2C-2H-2S-3NT

C) 1S-1NT-2H-2S

D) 2H-3H

E) 1S-2C-2S-4S-4NT-5H-6S

Oops :) Enjoy!

2009-01-23T22:08:00.009+08:00

Here's the answers to the previous posts.

A) 1H-1S-3H-4H
1H: 12+ HCP, 5+ H
1S: 6+ HCP, 4+ S, may or may not have H support
3H: 16-18 HCP, 6+ H, no 4card S
4H: To play
(With 19-20 HCP and 5 H/6 bad H, rebid 3NT. 21-22 HCP can open 2NT. With 19-22 HCP and 6H, consider opening 2C or rebidding 4H. Alternatively, you can fake a suit by jump shifting.)

B) 1C-1S-2NT
1C: 12+ HCP, 3+ C, no 5card major
1S: 6+ HCP, 4+ S
2NT: 19-20 HCP, balanced, may or may not have S support since 19+6=25 (Gameforcing)
(With 19-22 HCP unbalanced, jump shift will show 19+ HCP and also gameforcing.)

C) 1NT-2C-2H-2NT-4S
1NT: 16-18 HCP, balanced, no 5 card major
2C: Stayman, asking for 4card major
2H: 4card H, maybe 4card S
2NT: Invitation to 3NT
4S: To play, since responder must have 4card spade for stayman

Any further queries please use the tagboard. FYI, this is not "homework", it's just some revision to refresh your memories. You can simply write down your answers somewhere and check when answers are up. If you have any further questions then please feel free to use the tagboard or email me. Of course, if you prefer to send me your answers I'll be glad to have it and I'll give you a more detailed reply.

Cheers and Happy CNY! :)

2009-01-22T20:51:00.002+08:00

Training's cancelled on 29 Jan. Will resume on 5 Feb unless there's CCA walkabout, which then will resume on 12 Feb.

I'm trying to get a new classroom because the H3 Math students are using it 415pm. So for now assume everything status quo unless otherwise informed.

Thanks!

2009-01-21T18:36:00.004+08:00

Let's just start with easy things - Bid explanation.

Explain each of the following bids in this sequence, including HCP promised, number of cards promised and other information it may show. Include things that the particular bid denies as well.

Example: 1C-1H-1NT-3NT
1C: 12+ HCP, 3+ cards, denies 5carded major
1H: 6+ HCP, 4+ cards
1NT: 12-15 HCP, denies 4 card H and 4 card S
3NT: To play

A) 1H-1S-3H-4H

B) 1C-1S-2NT

C) 1NT-2C-2H-2NT-4S

Use the tagboard for enquiries!

2009-01-15T20:38:00.004+08:00

Hello. This is going to be the contract bridge blog of our club. There'll be many interesting things you can find on this site; random did-you-know facts, declarer play deals, double dummy analysis, and bidding problems.

Announcements will also be posted here, so do check this blog often!

2009-01-15T00:53:00.000+08:00

Testing...

1C, 2H, 3H, 4D, 7NT!