Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

♠ J 3
9 7 5 3
A J 10 9 3
♣ K O
♠ A Q 10 9 7
Q 4
K 8 6 2
♣ 8 5
East South West North
1NT* 2♠ Pass 4♠
All Pass
* 1NT=15-17
The J is led, and East wins the king. After cashing
the A (West playing the deuce), East takes the ♣A,
West playing another deuce. East now exits with the
6 as West follows with the eight. You ruff and cross
to a club and pick up the spades, finding East with ♠K
x x. How do you play the diamonds to justify your
partner's aggressive bidding?
In counting East's points it is clear that he has either
the Q, the ♣J, or both. On this information
alone, East is more likely to hold Q x x than x x.
However, let's turn our attention to West.
If East has:
♠ K x x A K x Q x x ♣ A x x x x
where finessing in diamonds is correct, then West did
not lead his singleton diamond from:
♠x x x J 10 8 x x ♣ J x x x x
which is very unlikely, so you should play for the drop
in diamonds.
In general, you will be much more successful in reconstructing
the unseen hands if you make sure both
hands are consistent with the bidding and play to date.
If you follow my Bols Tip and make sure that when you
construct a possibility for one hand you also check the
fourth hand you will "guess" correctly far more often.
Soon your partner and opponents will be complimenting
you on your ability to see through the backs of the
cards.
194 IBPA Handbook 2010
THE 1992 BOLS BRIDGE TIPS
Eric Crowhurst (GBR)
ERIC CROWHURST GREAT WINNER IN BOLS
BRIDGE TIPS COMPETITION 1992
With an overwhelming majority, 100 IBPA members
from 36 countries have appointed Eric Crowhurst
(GBR) the winner of the Bols Bridge Tips Competition
1992. The complete results of this year's competition
are:
1. Eric Crowhurst (GBR) Second hand problems 382
2. Bob Hamman (US) When in Rome 274
3. Marijke v d Pas (NLD) Play the Hand Yourself 266
4. David Birman (ISR) Give Partner a SPS 206
5. Eric Kokish (CAN) The Simplest Gifts are Best 188
6. Jon Baldursson (Ice) Don’t Be a Pleasant Opponent 184
7. Terence Reese (GBR) Idiocies in the Modern Bridge 124
8. Paul Marston (Aus) Take the Hint 100
9. Matt Granovetter (US) Keep Your Guesses to Yourself 90
10. David Poriss (US) Don’t Walk the Plank 70
Number of Votes Received From:
Arg, Austl, Bel, Bra, Bul, Egy, Est, Ger, HK, Hun, Ire, Mau,
Pak, Prt, Rom, Rus, Spn, Ury............................................ 1
Astr, Fin, Ice, Ind, Isr, NZel, SAfr....................................... 2
France................................................................................ 3
Den, Ity, Pol, Swe .............................................................. 5
Can, Nor ............................................................................ 6
US...................................................................................... 8
Neth ................................................................................. 10
GB.................................................................................... 14
Jury (or come closest) Competition
The results in the Jury Competition are:
Equal first: Sally Horton (GBR) and Uno Viigand (Estonia)
Equal third: Gavriel Unger (Austria) and Pierre Philogene (Mauritius)
Fifth Rodrigo da Cunha (Portugal)
The article "Second Hand Problems" was appreciated
by almost everyone. Dr Gavriel Unger from Austria
wrote: "This is a tip for everybody. The idea is excellent,
the article clear and the hands are simple. What
can be better?" And Arne Hofstad (NOR) predicted:
"The Crowhurst article is outstanding. I would be very
surprised if it does not win."
Sally Horton (GBR) likes the winning article very
much and with a different scoring system she would
have given Eric Crowhurst 15 out of 20 points. Jose
Le Dentu (FRA): "Although Crowhust's tip is only for
experts, it is the first time I have seen the principle so
completely explained and illustrated." 27 members of