Pages 1-14 (1.6mb) - Mr Bridge

Exceptional cruise offers aboard Minerva 

Minerva Santiago de Compostela, Spain Alhambra, Spain 

Reykjavik, Iceland 

 

 

 

 

 

To book or request a brochure call 

01483 489 961 

www.bridgecruises.co.uk 

Torshavn 

Reykjavik 

Akureyri 

Isafjordur 

Portsmouth 

England 

Dublin 

St Kilda 

Siglufjordur 

Livorno 

Italy 

Portsmouth 

England 

Calvi 

Mahon 

Cartagena 

Malaga 

Cadiz 

Oporto 

La Coruna 

Sark 

Alghero 

CALL OF THE ARCTIC TERN 

6 DAYS DEPARTING 21 JULY 2011 

CAT 12 Inside GTY £1,695pp (20% Single Supp.) 

CAT 8 Outside GTY £2,195pp (30% Single Supp.) 

FREE complimentary pre and post cruise coach transfers from London Victoria Coach Station, 

Southampton Airport, Bournemouth and Poole Railway Stations. Reduced rates on pre-cruise hotel stay 

and parking also available, see page 21 of the March 2011 to May 2012 Swan brochure for further details. 

A SPANISH SUMMER 

15 DAYS DEPARTING 19 AUGUST 2011 

SAVE 10% OFF LEAD IN CATEGORIES 

CAT 12 Inside GTY £1,595pp (20% Single Supp.) 

CAT 8 Outside GTY £2,475pp (30% Single Supp.) 

FREE Complimentary pre-cruise transfer from London Airport to Portsmouth 

(please request at the time of booking). 

Godafoss Falls, Iceland 

Travel in country-house style aboard Minerva with around 320 like-minded passengers and dine in the restaurant of your 

choice. Be assured of excellent value for money, including all tips on board and ashore as well as an inclusive tailor-made 

excursion programme. 

All passengers who have booked and registered through 

will be eligible to partake in the late afternoon bridge sessions, held on days 

when the ship is at sea. There is no bridge supplement as, like most of the excursions, it is included in the price. Mr Bridge actively encourages singles 

to join the party and they will always be found a partner for a game. 

EXCLUSIVE 

MR BRIDGE 

FARES 

(Fares shown include 

10% saving) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exceptional cr 

Reykjavik, I 

to join the party and they will always be found a par 

when the ship is at sea 

All passengers who have booked and r 

excursion programme 

choice. Be assured of excellent value for money 

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Exceptional cruise offers aboar 

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Reykjavik, Iceland 

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Santiago de Compostela, Spain 

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Minerva 

Alhambra, Spain 

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GTY £2,195pp (30% Single Supp. 

Outside 

Inside GTY £1,695pp (20% Single Supp. 

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£2,475pp (30% Single Supp.) 

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request a brochure call

BRIDGE 

Publisher and 

Managing Editor 

Mr Bridge 

Ryden Grange 

Knaphill, Surrey 

GU21 2TH 

( 01483 489961 

e-mail: 

bridge@mrbridge.co.uk 

website: 

www.mrbridge.co.uk 

Associate Editor 

Julian Pottage 

Technical Consultant 

Tony Gordon 

Bridge Consultant 

Bernard Magee 

Proof Readers 

Tony Richards 

Danny Roth 

Hugh Williams 

Richard Wheen 

Office Manager 

Catrina Shackleton 

Events & Cruises 

( 01483 489961 

Jessica Galt 

Rachel Everett 

Megan Riccio 

Zoe Wright 

Clubs & Charities 

Maggie Axtell 

maggie@mrbridge.co.uk 

Address Changes 

Elizabeth Bryan 

( 01483 485342 

All correspondence should 

be addressed to Mr Bridge. 

Please make sure that all 

letters, e-mails and faxes 

carry full postal addresses 

and telephone numbers. 

FEATURES 

5 Mr Bridge 

7 Double Dummy Quiz 

by Richard Wheen 

9 Justin Corfield says 

Hold Up in 

Dummy’s Suit 

10 Seven Days 

by Sally Brock 

13 Playing and Defending 

agaisnt Precision 

by Jeremy Dhondy 

14 Wendy Wensum 

17 David Stevenson 

Answers Your Questions 

21 Bidding Quiz 

by Bernard Magee 

22 Bidding Quiz Answers 

by Bernard Magee 

23 Defence Quiz 

by Julian Pottage 

24 Defence Quiz Answers 

by Julian Pottage 

25 Declarer Play Quiz 

by Dave Huggett 

26 Declarer Play Answers 

by David Huggett 

27 Lead Quiz 

by Andrew Kambites 

28 Lead Quiz Answers 

by Andrew Kambites 

29 The A to Z of Bridge 

C by Julian Pottage 

36 Double Dummy Answer 


37 Readers’ Letters 

38 Little Voice Used Stamp 

Contributors 

40 Understanding the 

Contested Auction 

reviewed by David 

Huggett 

41 Heather Dhondy says 

Open Light in Third 

Seat Only in a Suit You 

Want Led 

44 Julian Pottage 

Answers Your Questions 

ADVERTISEMENTS 

2 Summer 2011 

on board mv Minerva 

3 2012 Diary 

4 Voyages to Antiquity 

Cruise on board 

Aegean Odyssey 

5 Just Bridge 

6 Bernard Magee 

at Haslemere Hall 

7 Mail Order Form 

8 Bernard Magee’s 

Interactive Software 

10 Tunisia 


Better Hand Evaluation 

12 Voyages of Discovery 

2011 Summer Cruises 


Winter 2012 Cruises 

16 Bridge Event 

Booking Form 


Tips for Better Bridge 

20 Bridge Weekends 

with Bernard Magee 


Begin Bridge – 

Acol Version 

23 Reader’s Digest 

25 Mr Bridge Christmas 

and New Year 

27 Mr Bridge Tutorial 

Bridge Breaks 

36 Duplicate Bridge 

Rules Simplified 

36 Charity Bridge Events 

37 Stamps 

39 Mr Bridge 

Rubber/Chicago 

Bridge Events 

42 Global Travel 

Insurance 


2012 Summer Cruises 

48 QPlus 10 

The views expressed in this publication are not 

necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor. 

HONOUR POINTS 

‘Honours' are the top five 

cards in the trump suit: 

‘A-K-Q-J-10’. If any 

player holds four of these 

cards, then his side is 

entitled to score 100 

bonus points above the 

line and if all five are 

held, that is worth 150 

bonus points. Playing in 

no-trumps, aces take the 

role of honours, and a 

player must hold all four 

to score 150 for honours. 

Any player can claim 

honours, including 

dummy (or declarer on 

dummy’s behalf) and 

either of the defenders. 

Honours count in 

Rubber and Chicago 

Bridge, but not in 

Duplicate (although it is 

legal for a sponsoring 

organisation to run an 

event in which they do). 

Honours can be claimed 

at any time during play, 

but it is wise to wait till 

the claimer has become 

clearly marked with the 

relevant holding, e.g. if 

declarer has drawn all 

the trumps and everyone 

else has shown out. 

Otherwise, honours can 

be claimed at the end of 

the deal when the score 

is being agreed. The last 

chance to claim honours 

is at the end of the 

rubber, as defined by 

Law 78: ‘When it is 

acknowledged by a 

majority of the players 

that a scoring error was 

made in recording an 

agreed upon result (e.g. 

failure to enter honours, 

or incorrect computation 

of score), the error must 

be corrected if 

discovered before the net 

result of the rubber has 

been agreed to.’ 

Reprinted from the 

Bridge Players’ Diary. 

Order your 

2012 Diary now. 

Page 3

CRUISES TO CLASSICAL CIVILISATIONS 

SAVE UP TO 

THE MYSTERY OF 

POMPEII 

& THE MAGIC 

OF SICILY 

£2,000 

PER COUPLE 

Explore the fascinating history of Sicily, the palaces of Malta 

and the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum 

BOOK NOW FOR SPECIAL 

FARES 

Cruise from Athens to Rome aboard the Aegean Odyssey 

and discover the architectural and artistic legacies of 

the classical civilisations of the Mediterranean. Discover 

sites in classical Greece, enjoy the natural beauty and 

magnificent history of Sicily and Malta – and explore 

the mysteries of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

Our voyage will be accompanied by a team of 

expert guest speakers and we are delighted to 

announce that the renowned historian and author 

John Julius Norwich will also be joining this sailing. 

Cruise in comfort, relax in style 

Aegean Odyssey is a premium class ship that has been especially 

refitted for cruising in the Mediterranean. Carrying just 350 

passengers, the atmosphere on board is relaxed with plenty of 

passenger space, a choice of restaurants (with open-seating 

dining) and generously-sized accommodations, plus the comfort 

and attentive service of boutique-style cruising. 

There is a supplement of 

£30 for those wishing to 

participate in the duplicate 

bridge programme or learn 

to play bridge. Singles are 

made especially welcome 

and a playing partner will 

always be found. 

2 nights in Athens 

Add a 2-night stay in historic 

Athens before your cruise. Stay 

at the centrally located deluxe 

Athenaeum InterContinental 

Twin/Double £245 pp, Single £375 

ITALY 

Civitavecchia 

Agropoli 

Sorrento Pæstum 

Tyrrhenian 

Sea 

Palermo Stromboli Ionian 

Trapani Taormina Sea Mycenæ 

Agrigento Syracuse 

Valletta 

MALTA 

SICILY 

GREECE 

Mediterranean Sea 

Aegean 

Sea 

Athens 

Nauplia 

13-DAY FLY-CRUISE FROM ATHENS TO ROME 

DEPARTS OCTOBER 13, 2011 

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Classical Greece; 

the superbly well-preserved Greek temples of Segesta and 

the Valle dei Templi; the fortifications of Syracuse; the 

Norman Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel in Palermo 

and Monreale Cathedral; Paestum and Amalfi Coast; 

Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

Standard Inside 

Superior Inside 

Standard Outside 

MR BRIDGE FARES* 

£1,495pp 

from £1,695pp 


Superior Outside 

Deluxe Outside 

Deluxe Balcony 

NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT ON BOARD 

FARES INCLUDE: 

SIGHTSEEING EXCURSIONS AT ALL PORTS 

EXPERT LECTURE PROGRAMME 

WINE WITH DINNER & GRATUITIES ON BOARD 

EXCLUSIVE MR BRIDGE COCKTAIL PARTIES 

SCHEDULED AIR & TRANSFERS 

BOOK EARLY – THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS SUBJECT 

TO LIMITED AVAILABILITY 

NO SINGLE 

SUPPLEMENT 




CALL ON 01483 489961 

ABTA No.Y2206 

10093 

VOYAGES TO ANTIQUITY 

* Price is per person, single or double occupancy, and includes MR BRIDGE SPECIAL SAVING. The bridge 

programme is completely optional and Mr Bridge passengers can participate as much, or as little as they wish. 

This offer is subject to availability, is capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. www.voyagestoantiquity.com

COVER CRUISE 

Come with me on a cruise, 

without single supplements, 

onboard Aegean Odyssey. 

All cabins and suites for the 

cruise are offered without 

supplement. It’s a good 

cruise with an interesting 

itinerary and the price 

includes gratuities on 

board, local wines with 

dinner and all excursions. 

The newly refurbished 

Aegean Odyssey carries 

around 325 passengers and, 

being a compact vessel, it is 

able to call at the smaller 

ports unsuitable for the 

floating hotels and holiday 

camps now sailing the seas. 

There is a similar itinerary 

at the end of August, with 

the same deal for singles, 

but with Mary Beard as the 

onboard lecturer. As I 

suspect the advertised 

cruise will be sold out 

almost as soon as this 

magazine lands on your 

doorstep, you should ring if 

this Summer alternative is 

of interest to you. 

DIARIES 

Club orders for their 2012 

diaries are now overdue. 

Don’t leave it until the last 

minute as you usually do. 

Standard diaries come in 

the same ten colour covers 

as last year. Luxury kidrell 

covered diaries come in 

ruby red, bottle green or 

navy blue. 

Let’s be hearing from you. 

PLEASE HELP ME 

In an effort to establish the 

average age of those playing 

duplicate throughout the 

UK, I am asking clubs to 

help me. At your next 

duplicate, please hand out a 

blank slip of paper to all 

participants. Everyone 

should write their age in 

years and months on the 

slip. These should then be 

collated, the ages totalled 

and averaged and these 

figures, in years and 

months, sent to me with the 

name and address of your 

club together with the 

name, address and postcode 

of the member with the age 

nearest to the average of 

your club. They will be sent 

a copy of Bernard Magee’s 

Quiz Book. Entries before 

the end of June please. 

The resultant findings 

will be published in the 

August issue. 

UNDERESTIMATE 

My rock-bottom offer of a 

black vinyl covered utility 

table and four matching 

chairs for only £100 + £20 

carriage anywhere in 

mainland UK has been 

extended until 31 July 2011. 

Those living nearby should 

ring to order and collect 

from my depot to save the 

£20 delivery charge. 

CALMED DOWN 

It is hoped that both 

Tunisia and Egypt will be 

fully restored to normality 

in time for next season’s 

bridge parties. Bernard 

Magee will lead both 

groups, Egypt in January 

and Tunisia in February. 

MONEY SAVER 

The price of posting a letter 

has gone up again and once 

again I write to tell you 

about Clive Goff ’s unusual 

service. He buys unused 

British stamps from 

collectors and investors 

and sells them below face 

value to people like you 

and me to stick on our 

envelopes, cards and 

packages. Do give him a 

ring on ( 0208 422 4906 

or send him an email on 

Clive-goff@londonrugby.com 

GOODBYE BEACH 

Full planning permission 

has been granted for the 

re-development of The 

Beach Hotel, Worthing. 

There are still vacancies for 

weekend events with 

several Just Bridge 

duplicates during the July 

and August high season. 

See adjacent advert. 

I will be staying over the 

final weekend with Mrs 

Bridge to greet guests at 

the Gala Dinner on the 

Friday evening to celebrate 

many happy memories. 

Bernard Magee (see page 

20) will be at The Beach 

twice in June and there are 

several tutorial events in 

June, see page 27. 

Be assured that The Beach 

still deserves its reputation 

for comfort and service. 

JUST BRIDGE 

♦ Full board 

♦ No single supplement 

♦ 6 sessions of duplicate bridge 

♦ No prizes or masterpoints 

♦ No tuition, seminars 

or quizzes, just bridge 

Latimer Mews 

Chesham HP5 1UG 

2011 

8-10 July £199 

The Beach Hotel 

8-10 July £169 

Latimer Mews 

15-17 July £199 


22-24 July £199 


5-7 August £199 


12-14 August £245 


with Gala Dinner 

30 Sep-2 Oct £169 

Latimer Mews 

28-30 Oct £169 

Latimer Mews 

4-6 Nov £169 

Latimer Mews 


Worthing BN11 3QJ 

Please see booking 

form on page 16. 

Page 5

Bernard 

Magee 

at 

Haslemere 

Hall 

Haslemere, Surrey 

Tuesday 

17 May 

Morning Session: 

11.00 – 12.30 

Ruffing for extra tricks 

Afternoon Session: 

15.30 – 17.00 

Competitive auctions 

Wednesday 

18 May 


11.00 – 12.30 

Making the most of 

your high cards 

in play and defence 


15.30 – 17.00 

Finding and 

bidding slams 

Thursday 

19 May 


11.00 – 12.30 

Play and defence 

of 1NT 


15.30 – 17.00 

Doubling and defence 

against doubled 

contracts 

£10 per ticket 

For advanced 

booking, please call 

Haslemere Hall 

Box Office 

( 01428 642161 

Please note that all sessions 

will be filmed. 

HASLEMERE 

This latest issue of 

BRIDGE is being sent a 

few days early to give 

readers a last chance to 

book one or more of the 

seminars as per the 

adjacent advertisement. 

Each seminar is being 

filmed and will be available 

as six self-contained DVDs 

early this Autumn. 

The contents are all fresh, 

so even if you have 

attended all Bernard’s 

portfolio of thirty-two 

weekend seminars, most 

of the material will be 

absolutely new to you. 

Reminder. Bring your 

camera. I have arranged 

for a photographer to be 

on hand all three days to 

take your photo with 

Bernard. Mobile phones 

have cameras these days if 

you do not have your own 

dedicated digital. 

As part of The Haslemere 

Festival, Bernard’s sister 

Yvie, pictured above, stars 

in Alan Ayckbourn’s 

comedy Round and Round 

the Garden in the same 

theatre. If you are staying 

over in Haslemere for the 

bridge, why not try the 

play for some light relief on 

the Tuesday or Wednesday. 

WHAT IS 

YOUR BID? 

Mr A Solomons of London, 

SW19 asked this question 

in his letter published on 

page 34 of the last issue of 

BRIDGE. 

At Love All, your right 

hand opponent deals and 

opens the bidding with 1´ 

– what do you say holding 

the following hand? 

´ Q 5 

K 3 

♦ Q 6 5 3 2 

® A K Q J 

Here are the answers from 

some of my experts in 

alphabetical order. 

Sally Brock 

1NT. I see this as the lesser 

evil of pass (second choice), 

double or 2♦. 

Dave Huggett 

1NT. I just know I would 

bid this. 

Andrew Kambites 

1NT. I dislike this action 

least. 

Bernard Magee 

Double. This is the easy 

answer for now, but what I 

bid over 2 from partner is 

less easy. I might rebid 2´ 

to show a strong hand that 

wants more information. 

Julian Pottage 

1NT. Prefer this to double: 

with a half stopper in 

spades and only two hearts, 

the hand is closer to having 

a spade stopper than it is to 

having four hearts. 

David Stevenson 

Pass. I do not expect this to 

be a majority view. Second 

choice double, third choice 

1NT. I would not consider 

2®, 2♦ or 2NT. 

INSURANCE 

Naturally, I am thrilled by 

the growing success of my 

club insurance promotion. 

Over 400 clubs are now 

covered by a policy that 

costs less and covers more 

than any other of its kind 

on offer in the market 

place. The significant 

uptake is evidence of this. 

Club committees should 

contact Moore Stephens on 

( 0207 515 5270. 

Buoyed up by this success, I 

am looking into competitive 

car insurance for us solid, 

reliable bridge-playing 

types. Watch this space. 

SECOND HAND 

TABLES 

All my holiday venues are 

shortly being re-equipped. 

As most clubs cover their 

tables with green cottonvelvet 

cloths, condition is 

unimportant. Stability is 

what matters. 

I will have over one 

hundred to clear in the 

Summer. Register your 

interest now and the 

number you require. I will 

advise all applicants as to 

cost. They will be priced to 

go. Locals may collect. 

MINERVA 

There is a Mr Bridge host 

on this ship on all cruises 

until November 2012. This 

does not guarantee a 

duplicate which is 

dependent on numbers. 

However, teams or a rubber 

or two after dinner can 

make all the difference to a 

holiday. See their advert on 

page 2. Nearly all port 

excursions are included in 

the prices quoted. 

Page 6

CHRISTMAS 

REALLY IS COMING 

There are small bridge 

parties this year on both 

Discovery and Minerva – 

full details on request. 

At home, our Christmas 

will be held at Denham 

Grove. The Christmas break 

itself, 24-27 December, will 

focus on Just Bridge, 

although there will be low 

key bridge tutorials and 

supervised play for those 

who want them. Twixmas, 

27-29 December, will be a 

standard tutorial break, but 

the New Year Event, 29 

December – 1 January will 

feature a new series of three 

seminars: Developing at 

Duplicate Pairs, together 

with matching sessions of 

supervised play. Following 

this, there will be a standard 

tutorial event: 1-3 January 

2012. See advert on page 25. 

REPEAT MAC 

I am pressed by enthusiasts 

of Apple Mac to provide a 

compatible bridge play 

program. As there is no 

prospect of a Mac version, I 

recommend Bridge Baron. 

As a service to readers, I 

now stock the very latest 

version of a Mac 

compatible, bridge play 

program, Bridge Baron 21 

for only £60. I also offer to 

take a cheque for £36 and 

any piece of old bridge 

software in part exchange. 

Offer ends 31 July 2011. 

RE-REGISTER 

Another Spring, another 

spring-cleaning. If you do 

not tell us that you are still 

alive or have moved house, 

sadly we cannot continue to 

send you BRIDGE. If your 

friends comment that they 

have not received their copy 

recently, please tell them 

that they must have ignored 

my entreaties to re-register. 

DOUBLE DUMMY 


´ Q 8 

4 3 

♦ Void 

® 3 2 

´ K J 7 5 ´ 6 

7 6 N J 9 8 

♦ Void 

W E 

S ♦ 9 

® Void ® 4 

´ A 9 2 

A 10 2 

♦ Void 

® Void 

North is on lead with 

spades as trumps. How can 

North/South make five 

tricks, when they seem to 

have two spade losers (the 

king and a long spade)? 

(Answer on page 36.) 

BRAND PLUG 

All packs have jolly jokers 

and mine are no exception. 

Each pack of my premium 

quality playing cards 

contains a red, a blue and a 

yellow jolly joker. 

60 unboxed packs for £60. 

London Bridge Centre. 

( 0207 4868222. 

BUNDLEWARE 

I have been urged to make 

a special offer for those 

wishing to make multiple 

purchases of the software 

products. I have been very 

reluctant to do so as there 

will always be some 

complaints but here goes 

anyhow. 

The tariff is set in the 

adjacent order form. 

However, if you have 

purchased in the past six 

months or so, do draw my 

attention to it and claim 

your bundle discount off 

your next purchase. (This 

offer closes 30 June 2011). 

All good wishes. 

Mr Bridge 

MAIL ORDER 

PLAY SOFTWARE 

QPlus 10 

NEW 

£86.00 ....... 

QPlus 8.8 (second hand) £56.00 ....... 

QPlus 10 upgrade 

(trade-in your old QPlus version) £35.00 ....... 

Bridge Baron Version 21 

The very latest and Mac compatible £60.00 ....... 

TUTORIAL SOFTWARE 

Begin Bridge – Acol Version £66.00 ....... 

Acol Bidding £66.00 ....... 

More Acol Bidding £96.00 ....... 

Declarer Play £76.00 ....... 

Advanced Declarer Play £81.00 ....... 

Defence £76.00 ....... 

SOFTWARE BUNDLE OFFERS 

Any two software pieces £120.00 ....... 

Any three software pieces £175.00 ....... 

Any four software pieces £220.00 ....... 

BOOKS 

Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified £5.95 ....... 

Better Hand Evaluation – Bernard Magee £14.00 ....... 

Bernard Magee’s Bridge Quiz Book £14.00 ....... 

Bernard Magee’s Quiz and Puzzle Book £14.00 ....... 

Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge £14.00 ....... 

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Page 7

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Justin Corfield Says 

Hold Up in 

Dummy’s Suit 

The fate of many a contract 

depends on whether declarer can 

establish a long suit in dummy. 

Your job, as a defender, may be to 

prevent this at all costs. 

On some days, this is easy: 

´ 9 8 

2 

♦ K Q J 9 6 5 4 

® J 7 5 

´ J 7 5 ´ Q 10 4 2 

N 

Q 10 6 4 3 J 9 8 7 

W E 

♦ Void 

S 

♦ A 10 3 

® Q 10 6 3 2 ® K 8 

´ A K 6 3 

A K 5 

♦ 8 7 2 

® A 9 4 

West North East South 

3♦ Pass 3NT 

End 

West leads the 4, won by declarer, who 

plays a diamond. East can defeat the 

contract by holding up the ♦A until the 

third round. 

Before we move on, consider what 

might happen if West had led a club. 

Dummy plays low, and East must not 

play the ®K – if he does, the ®J 

suddenly turns into an entry and a dead 

dummy springs back to life. Do not do 

that. Killing dummy’s suit is not just 

about the hold-up; it is a way of life that 

can begin at trick one. 

When dummy has a long suit with no 

semblance of an outside entry, it is easy to 

see the need to hold up your stopper. A 

well-trained partner should be able to 

signal to you how many cards in the long 

suit he started with, telling you on which 

round to take your winner. When, 

unfortunately, dummy has outside entries, 

things become (much) more complicated. 

´ 9 8 

8 5 

♦ K Q 10 9 6 5 

® A 5 3 

´ J 7 5 2 ´ Q 10 4 3 

Q 10 6 4 N J 9 7 

W E 

♦ 4 ♦ A J 3 

S 

® 9 7 6 2 ® K 8 4 

´ A K 6 

A K 3 2 

♦ 8 7 2 

® Q J 10 

After the same auction, South is again in 

3NT. West leads a low spade. Do you 

want to play or defend? 

You should defend. 

Declarer will win the lead and play a 

diamond to the ♦K. East has two 

diamond tricks whether he wins this or 

not. However, the difference is all about 

timing. If we take the first diamond, 

declarer might win the return in hand 

and play another diamond, setting up 

the suit while the ®A is still in dummy as 

an entry. In contrast, if we hold up on the 

first round of diamonds, declarer can 

never get the suit going. 

What happens if declarer chooses to 

play a diamond to the ♦10 instead? This 

prevents East from ducking and so is a 

good play. However, declarer is not the 

only one who can play well. After taking 

the ♦J, there is just one defence worth 

talking about – can you see it? 

Right, East can switch to the ®K, 

giving up his club trick to knock out 

dummy’s entry (the Merrimac coup) – 

declarer has to win or East goes back to 

spades. I do not include this unusual 

play here just to be dramatic. Rather, it 

shows the lengths to which a defender 

must go to kill the dummy. 

Now for a scary one: same auction, 

same contract and a spade lead from 

your long-suffering partner. 

´ 9 8 

8 5 

♦ A Q J 10 9 6 5 

® 5 3 

´ J 7 5 2 ´ Q 10 4 3 

Q 10 6 4 N J 9 7 

W E 

♦ 4 2 ♦ K 3 

S 

® 9 7 4 ® K Q J 10 

´ A K 6 

A K 3 2 

♦ 8 7 

® A 8 6 2 

When declarer wins and finesses in 

diamonds, East needs to duck, doing so 

smoothly. If you duck with sufficient 

nonchalance, declarer will surely repeat 

the diamond finesse… and regret it. 

Here is one final example: 

´ A 9 5 

9 

♦ K Q J 9 8 7 

® 7 6 2 

´ J 8 6 2 

N J 3 2 

W E 

♦ A 5 3 

S 

® Q 10 5 

South is in 3NT, having bid hearts 

strongly. West leads the ®4. Declarer 

wins your ®Q with the ®K and plays a 

diamond… ♦10 from West. 

Whilst the hold-up is a sound general 

strategy, you must ask yourself what is 

going on. The usual aim of the hold-up is 

to stop declarer from establishing 

dummy’s suit. On this deal, nothing can 

shut out the diamonds; and it is too late 

to try to dislodge the Á entry. 

What we can do is grab the ♦A and 

return the ®10. If partner’s clubs are 

running and declarer has eight top 

tricks, this defence will be essential. ■ 

Page 9

AT THE 

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TUNISIA 

Two-week 

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February was rather quiet. Sadly, my good friend Debbie La Croix, who I have mentioned 

before in this column, lost her battle with ovarian cancer and died on the 12th March. 

Many of us will greatly miss her. 

At the beginning of March, one of Barry’s jurors had a holiday on a Thursday and Friday, 

so we took the opportunity to have a short holiday: three nights in Seville. Although the 

weather was not brilliant, it was warm enough for us to eat outside most of the time. We 

relaxed, visited many churches (a lot for a couple of atheists anyway), watched flamenco, 

ate and drank too much and generally had a good time. 

6-20 November 2011 

Tony & Jan Richards 

19 Feb – 4 March 2012 

Bernard Magee 

*per person half-board sharing a 

twin-bedded room and is inclusive 

of bridge fees. Single supplement 

£6 per night. These prices are 

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until the end of October 2011. 

Prices for seven-night stays are 

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Monday 

Back to earth with a bump. 

After taking the kids to 

school, going to the gym 

and weighing myself (shock 

horror! I must do 

something about this) I 

settle down to catching up 

with work and dealing with 

the emails that have arrived 

in my absence. Dominica is 

the title that I am working 

on just now. Then, in the 

afternoon, I have an online 

session with Richard and 

Gerry. Barry has a juror 

with a sick child so there is 

an unexpected day off for 

him; his loss is our gain as 

we get to play together 

against Richard and Gerry 

rather than me partnering 

myself (I might do better 

that way, but it is not so 

much fun). 

Tuesday 

In the evening, I drive into 

London for the launch of 

the British Guild of Travel 

Writers’ annual yearbook. 

This is, as always, quite 

good fun with lots to drink 

and nibble on, as well as an 

excellent raffle. I keep buying 

tickets because, in the 

past, I have won a weekend 

in Dublin – though I suppose 

lightning is unlikely to 

strike twice. This year, it is 

held at the London 

Transport Museum in 

Covent Garden, so all that 

merriment takes place in 

between (and on) London 

buses from one era or 

another (including the latest 

prototype that has yet to hit 

the streets). 

Wednesday 

A day off for Barry. Finally, 

after more than four 

months, his trial is over and 

the jury finds all the defendants 

not guilty of murder – 

a great relief. We have an 

unhurried, relaxing morning 

before I set off for a 

Selection Committee meeting 

in Bloomsbury. After 

much deliberation on a 

number of issues, we finally 

break up at about 4.30pm 

and adjourn to the pub. I 

leave them later to meet 

Nicola for supper before 

proceeding to the Acol 

where we are playing in the 

new London League. This is 

not one of our better performances 

as we end up 

with only 1 VP – Nicola and 

I have not played for about 

five months and we are just 

beginning to start our 

preparations for the Venice 

Cup in October. 

Thursday 

I need to leave London by 

7am in order to get home in 

time to take the kids to 

school. Then the gym. In 

the evening, Briony and I go 

to a Careers Fair at her 

school. Shortly, she has to 

make a final choice of the A 

levels she wants to do. She is 

a good all-rounder and is 

finding it difficult to think 

about what she might do as 

an eventual career. At the 

fair, she is particularly 

inspired by the companies 

that take young people on 

immediately after A levels, 

where there is an opportunity 

to go to university 

alongside a real job. She 

likes the idea that what 

Page 10

Seven Days continued 

she would be learning would 

be of obvious practical benefit 

(and, of course, the idea 

of receiving payment to go 

to university appeals in these 

days of high tuition fees). 

Friday 

Off to my parents for the 

weekend. We pick the children 

up after school and 

arrive early evening in time 

for a drink and a browse of 

an art exhibition at 

Corsham Court, a lovely old 

house that is part of Bath 

University. Then a pub supper 

and back to my parents’ 

house for a game of 

Categories. You know the 

sort of thing: everyone 

chooses a ‘category’ and 

then has to think of two 

things for each category 

beginning with a particular 

letter. I like this because I 

usually win, but the real fun 

is listening to my mother 

argue the case for being 

allowed ‘Atlantic Ocean’ 

under ‘Waters’ for the letter 

‘o’, because it is a surname! 

Saturday 

This is the real reason for 

this specific visit. One of my 

parents’ friends bought a 

bridge lesson with me for 

another friend for a birthday 

present. Thus Andi, 

Paula, Linda and I all get 

together for a lesson. It did 

not seem sensible to prepare 

anything since I have no 

idea of anyone’s standard, so 

we just play a few hands but 

collect the cards, duplicate 

style, rather than in tricks as 

rubber bridge. (By the way, I 

would recommend that you 

all get into the habit of 

doing this when playing 

bridge socially. If an interesting 

hand crops up and 

you want to go back over the 

play, it makes life so much 

easier.) 

We will draw a veil over 

the first deal when they 

allow me to make three notrumps 

after a club lead, 

with a club holding of two 

low cards facing jack doubleton! 

What would you bid with 

this hand, at Love All? 

´ 6 

A J 9 8 4 

♦ Q 9 7 3 

® Q 10 6 

This is the start to the 

auction: 


Pass Pass 1´ 2♦ 

2´ ? 

If you were not a passed 

hand, it would be difficult. 

Do you bid that decent fivecard 

heart suit, or should 

you raise diamonds? 

However, as a passed hand it 

is much easier. In order to 

bid a new suit at the three 

level, you need good values 

and a decent suit. For it to 

be sensible for you to do this 

on a hand that was not 

suitable to open the bidding, 

you must have a diamond 

fit. So, here, you can bid 3, 

also showing a diamond fit. 

The full hand is shown at 

the top of the next column. 

Superficially, you might 

think that there are three 

losers: one in each side suit. 

However, it is impossible for 

the defenders to take them 

all. A spade lead and club 

switch sets up the queen of 

clubs for a heart discard, 

while a heart switch would 

set up that suit for club 

discards. 

North 

´ 6 

A J 9 8 4 

♦ Q 9 7 3 

® Q 10 6 

West East 

´ J 10 3 ´ A K Q 9 8 4 

Q 10 2 K 6 5 

♦ 6 ♦ 5 4 

® K J 9 8 5 2 ® 7 3 

South 

´ 7 5 2 

7 3 

♦ A K J 10 8 2 

® A 4 


Pass Pass 1´ 2♦ 

2´ 3 3´ 4♦ 

Pass 5♦ All Pass 

After a couple of hours of 

entertaining (I hope) bridge, 

we adjourn for a splendid 

lunch. There are definitely 

plenty of less enjoyable ways 

to make money! 

In the evening, we go to a 

village talent show. I 

certainly have my share of 

misgivings about this (and I 

let Barry off – he was 

playing in a National Pairs 

semi-final on the Sunday – 

and I put him on a train 

before the event starts). It is 

actually good fun – 

especially as I know many of 

the people. 

Star of the show is 

Caroline Dale, a top-class 

concert cellist who lives in 

the village. 

Sunday 

After a family lunch, I have 

arranged a bit of a treat for 

the three of us: we go quad 

biking on a local farm. Of 

course, the children spend 

most of their time lapping 

me – I think they do three 

circuits for every two I manage 

– but the weather is brilliant 

and we all have fun. ■ 

Better Hand 

Evaluation 

Bernard Magee 

Introduction 

Better Hand Evaluation is 

aimed at helping readers to add 

greater accuracy to their 

bidding. It deals with auctions 

in which you and your partner, 

against silent opponents, can 

describe your hands fully to 

each other and, by evaluating 

them accurately, find the best 

final contract. The emphasis of 

all good, accurate bidding is on 

hand evaluation. 

There are two general types of 

auction: a) a fit is found and b) 

no fit is found. 

When you do not have a fit, you 

are aiming to describe the 

strength of your hand as soon 

as possible, most often using 

no-trump bids. This book 

begins by discussing balanced 

hand bidding in Acol, as it is 

very important that both 

members of a partnership have 

an accurate knowledge of how 

to show hands of different 

strengths. 

When a fit is found, there is 

much re-evaluation of the hand 

to be done; point count, though 

still important, needs to be 

evaluated together with 

distribution. The best way of 

reaching an accurate assess - 

ment is to use the Losing Trick 

Count; this is an important 

method of hand evaluation and 

takes up a number of chapters. 

Finally, we move on to different 

forms of evaluation including 

game tries and splinter bids. 

You can never know enough 

methods of hand evaluation; 

the more you learn, the better 

you get at judging your hand. 

Although the Losing Trick 

Count is used more easily in 

tandem with your partner, a 

large proportion of the ideas in 

this book can be used by an 

individual. For example, evaluating 

your hand to be worth an 

extra point is going to help anyone 

you partner – as long as 

you get it right. 

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gs

Playing and Defending 

Against Precision 

with Jeremy Dhondy 

If you play only in your local club, 

you may come across very few different 

systems; if instead you visit 

other clubs, tournaments or countries 

or even venture online, you may come 

across something more exotic. The 

aim of this article is to help you when 

you come across strong club systems 

such as Precision Club. There are 

strong club systems other than 

Precision, but they are quite rare and 

for the most part the same principles 

apply whichever one you meet. 

A Chinese Engineer, C C Wei, is 

credited with the invention of 

Precision Club and, when it first surfaced 

in the late 1960s, it came to 

prominence because previously 

unknown (in bridge terms at least) 

Taiwan suddenly started doing exceptionally 

well at international level. The 

players were good, of course, but the 

system was credited widely with making 

a difference. 

The main elements of the system are: 

1. Most opening bids are limited to 15 

points maximum. 

2. Virtually all strong hands start with 

1®. 1♦ is the negative response. A 

normal 2NT opening is the exception 

to this. 

3. Major openings show five cards. 

4. 1NT is typically 13-15. 

5 . 2® is the opening for hands with 

good clubs and opening strength. 

6. 1♦ is the dustbin bid into which all 

other opening hands go. 

7. Weak Twos in the majors. 

If you meet a strong club, it is first 

worth deciding what to do if they do 

not open a strong club! This is as there 

will be more opening bids that are 

under 16 points than over. It may be 

obvious, but a failure to open a strong 

club limits opener’s strength – this 

gives responder some licence; it will be 

more common for sequences to go: 


1 Pass Pass ? 

East may have more points to pass 

than you might expect in a traditional 

system. 

´ J 5 4 

J 2 

♦ K J 3 2 

® 10 7 5 3 

This hand would be a routine pass of a 

1 opening so, when you consider protecting, 

you should be aware of this. 

The other side of the coin is that 

opener can jump around with rather 

weaker hands in terms of point count 

than you might expect. This is 

because, given opener’s failure to open 

1®, responder will never expect some 

hand with 18 or 19 points. A typical 

example might be: 

´ K Q J 9 5 

A Q J 10 5 

♦ 7 

® J 5 

A Precision player, after opening 1´, 

will rebid 3 over a 1NT response, 

whereas a traditional Acol player 

would regard it as lacking in high-card 

strength to do this. 

When the opponents open 1♦, they 

may have diamonds but they may also 

have hands unsuitable for anything 

else. It is usually better to defend by 

bidding as if it is a normal 1♦ opening. 

This does not always work but it saves 

a lot of heartache and discussion. 

When strong club players have good 

hands, they open 1® and here you can 

take advantage. If you sit back and 

admire their sequence (and, of course, 

they know their methods) then your 

opponents can have a lengthy and pretty 

sequence and alight often in an excellent 

contract. They have started lower, 

by opening 1®, than those who play 

traditional systems and have more 

room to explore. They can also make 

bids called ‘asking bids’ to determine 

things like how good their trump suit is 

or how many controls they have. They 

cannot do this so easily if you intervene, 

so what you can do is disrupt them by 

being keen to enter the auction. The 

standard way to defend against a strong 

club is to bid immediately with a suitable 

weak hand and wait for the next 

round with a good hand. Suppose you 

hold a hand such as this: 

´ K J 10 7 5 

4 3 

♦ Q 10 6 5 

® 5 4 

You would overcall 1´, even though 

you are a bit weak to do this normally. 

If your partner can raise, your opponents 

will have a tough time sorting 

out what to do in the auction. You will 

be able to imagine how unpleasant a 

decision they can have: 

´ Q 5 

K Q 8 5 

♦ A J 5 3 

® A K 6 

With this hand, your opponent has 

opened 1® to show a strong hand; you 

have bid 1´. When responder doubles 

to show some values, they know they 

are close to game; your partner then 

bids 3´. This gives the opening side a 

nasty decision. They may double to say 

that they do not know what to do 

Page 13

Precision continued 

and will find it difficult to get 

to 3NT when it is right; they 

may languish at the four 

level in an uncertain cause if 

they cannot bid no-trumps. 

Some players bid naturally 

against a strong club but 

others have a conventional 

defence worked out. A simple 

one is that a double of 

1® shows the majors and a 

bid of 1NT (not needed to 

show a strong hand) shows 

the minors. 

As Precision players open 

1® to show a good hand, 

they need something to do 

with opening hands that 

have at least five clubs and 

do not qualify for a strong 

club opening. On these 

hands, they often open 2®. 

A typical example might be: 

´ 7 6 

K J 9 5 

♦ K 7 

® A Q 10 7 4 

If an opponent does this, 

then it is right to defend the 

way you would against a 

natural 1® opening, i.e. you 

double for take-out. Usually, 

they respond 2♦ if they 

want to investigate the possibility 

of game. 2♦ is a relay 

asking the opener to 

describe his hand telling 

responder whether he has a 

four-card major and 

whether he is minimum or 

maximum. You can double 

the 2♦ response to show 

diamonds and enough values 

that you do not mind if 

partner competes. 

If you want to know more, 

there are endless references 

on the worldwide web. 

w w w. u s a b r i d g e . c o m / 

assets/applets/Precision_Cl 

ub_Article_One.pdf is an 

example. 

■ 

Millie and I have 

settled in comfortably 

as members 

at the Riverside, so I 

felt confident enough to 

invite my friends, Gail and 

Chloë, to the club as visitors. 

Both are beginners 

and attend local bridge 

classes. As they arrived at 

our table, Millie welcomed 

them by raising her halfempty 

brandy glass. The 

first two hands were relatively 

uneventful, but the 

next board produced an 

unexpected twist. 

I knew that something 

had gone wrong with the 

bidding. For a start, Millie 

was dummy. She was looking 

distinctly nervous in 

the role. In my view, that’s 

because she doesn’t get 

enough practice at it. The 

trump suit was also rather 

dicey. 

Gail was West and led 

the Á. With the king in 

dummy, prospects for the 

club slam seemed to have 

improved significantly. 

Even so, the chances of 

success were still slim. 

Millie 

´ K J 8 3 

K 9 5 4 

♦ 10 6 

® 9 6 5 

N 

W E 

S 

Wendy 

´ Void 

A J 2 

♦ A K Q J 5 3 

® K Q 7 4 

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum 

Episode 3: 

Hold Up? – Daylight Robbery! 

From the beginning, I knew 

it was going to be my fault. 

It was I, who after much 

debate, finally agreed to 

play these fancy Benjamin 

two bids. Needless to say, it 

was Millie who had suggested 

adopting them. 

With a good diamond suit 

and a 20 count, I opened 

2®. Millie responded with 

a 2♦ relay. It seemed to be 

going so well. At this point, 

I naturally assumed that, as 

usual, I would be dummy. 

That hog instinct within 

her is difficult to counter. 

On this occasion though, I 

was quite wrong. A veil 

will be drawn over the precise 

details of the auction. 

It is sufficient to say that 

Millie had forgotten the 

new meaning of the 2® bid 

and assumed it was artificial 

and forcing to game. 

To be fair to Millie, we had 

agreed the system change 

in the hostelry after the last 

bridge night and so a haze 

engulfs the exact arrangements. 

In addition, some 

confusion also arose over 

the meaning of a 4® bid, 

which Millie insisted was 

always Gerber asking for 

aces. I certainly don’t 

remember that from our 

classes, but I digress. 

After the lead of the Á, 

I contemplated the possibility 

of making my 6® 

contract; it still seemed 

remote. For a start, I did 

not hold the ace, jack or ten 

of trumps. I ruffed the 

opening lead in hand, and 

led a small heart to the 

king. At this point, I considered 

ditching my J on 

the ´K, but a spade continuation 

from defenders later 

would cause even more 

havoc. At this moment of 

crisis, Millie disappeared 

from the bridge room to 

have her brandy tankard 

refilled. From dummy, I led 

a small club to the king; it 

held the trick. Now I played 

a small diamond to the ten 

on the table followed by 

low club; East played low; I 

played the queen, and West 

the ten. Lo and behold, 

now another trump from 

hand crashed the ace and 

the jack. A heart return 

from West ensured the 

contract. For the record, 

Gail, West held ®A-10-2, 

and Chloë the ®J-8-3. 

‘Why didn’t you take the 

®K or ®Q with your ace 

earlier?’ I enquired of Gail. 

‘Well,’ said Gail, ‘as you 

know, I am going to bridge 

classes now just like you 

used to do and last week we 

were learning about holdup 

plays, so I thought I 

would try it out.’ ‘You have 

learned it very well, dear,’ 

said Chloë. She sounded 

kindly enough, but I 

thought I heard a touch of 

irony in her voice. ‘Who 

did you say your tutor 

was?’ inquired Millie, who 

had just returned with 

another brandy, but the 

director had called the 

move and Gail and her 

partner were already on 

their way to the next table. 

Millie turned to me. 

‘Why didn’t you use my 

´K?’ she asked sternly. 

‘Should we have bid the 

Grand?’ 

Page 14

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