August 2011 ♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠ Club Games at the Lima Duplicate Bridge Club are held TUESDAYS at 12:30 P.M. and THURSDAYS at 7:15 P.M., at the Council on Aging Building at 215 N. Central Avenue, Lima. The games are OPEN to the public, and ALL are welcome. $3.oo per session is the CHEAPEST duplicate game in the area, and sanctioned by the American Contract Bridge League. The Lima DBC is your venue for special ACBL events, as well. If you do not have a partner, or if you have questions, please call the Club Owner & Director, Ruth Odenweller @ HOUSE PHONE (567) 712-7629 (this is a local number for Lima) or CELL PHONE (VERIZON) (419) 303-4940, email: [email protected], or Director Elaine Altstaetter @ (419) 738-6332, (419) 204-9656, email: [email protected].

PARTNERS ARE ALWAYS GUARANTEED!!!

♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠♣♦♥♠

The Lima Duplicate Bridge Club held its first Sectional Tournament at Clubs, and the Silver Point Event Was a Great Success! Roy Baldridge and Tom Faulkner Were Stars. Read More Inside! Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 1

In This Month’s Newsletter JULY HONOR ROLL .............................. 2 Local Stars ........................................ 2 UPCOMING EVENTS ............................. 2 JULY MONTHLY RESULTS ...................... 2 BRIDGE TIPS ..................................... 3 www.cuebiddingatbridge.blogspot.com ........... 4 Thinking Bridge ................................... 5 Roman Key Card Blackwood....................... 7 Sectional Tournament in Lima .................. 11 Bridge in the Barn .............................. 12 July Bridge in the Barn Overall Results ....... 12 Bridge Lessons at Bellefontaine Club .......... 12 THE BICKERSONS ON BRIDGE ............... 13 Opening NT with a Singleton ................... 14

JULY HONOR ROLL First Place: 2nd/3rd Place: 2nd/3rd Place: Fourth Place: Fifth Place:

Masterpoint Leaders (Including STaC Game) Dick Slonaker 4.74 MP Roy Baldridge 4.62 MP Tom Faulkner 4.62 MP Elaine Altstaetter 4.57 MP AnaKay Utrup 3.19 MP

Local Stars Congratulations to all the Lima players who scored well in the Lima STaC game! See the full article!

UPCOMING EVENTS Mark your calendars! Regional Tournaments

Dayton Regional September 6-11 Fort Wayne Regional September 19-25

Sectional Tournaments:

Dayton Sectional August 5-7 Monroe Sectional August 26-28 Columbus Sectional October 14-16 Toledo Sectional October 21-23

Local Lima:

Instant Matchpoint Game, Wednesday, September 14 (Replaces Thursday Night Game)

Bridge in the Barn (Bellefontaine):

August 28 and September 25 (Last Sunday of Month; 12:30 lunch, 1:30 game time)

JULY MONTHLY RESULTS TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 5 1. Lucy Poeppelman and Ralph Heitmeyer 70.31% 2. Trella Niswander and Elaine Altstaetter 56.77% 3. Marlene Sigler and Sandy Brading 52.08% 4. Ray Ridenour and Larry Coplin 50.52% THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 7 1/2. Jim Allen and Shirley Bindel 57.00% 1/2. CC Harris and Dick Slonaker 57.00% TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 12 N/S 1. Ralph Heitmeyer and Lucy Poeppelman 55.00% 2. Shirley Bindel and Ruth Frobase 52.92% E/W 1. Elaine Altstaetter and Trella Niswander 69.17% 2. Helen Stambor and Lester Fullmer 52.92% THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 14 SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT AT CLUB N/S 1. Dick Slonaker and Bob Leonard 55.00% (1.33 Silver MP – Section Top Flight A) 2. Elaine Altstaetter and AnaKay Utrup 53.33% (0.93 Silver MP – Section Second Flight A) 3. Larry Coplin and Ray Ridenour 52.92% (0.76 Silver MP – Section Top Flight C) 4. John Hoffman and Jim Allen 48.75% (0.53 Silver MP – Section Section Flight C) E/W 1. Roy Baldridge and Tom Faulkner 62.50% (4.62 Silver MP – 4th/5th Overall Flight A, 2nd Overall Flight B, 1st Overall Flight C) 2. Sandy Brading and Marlene Sigler 58.33% (0.93 Silver MP – Section 2nd Flight A, 6th Overall Flight C) TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 19 N-S 1. Ankara Utrup and Dick Slonaker 58.33% 2. Lester Fullmer and Helen Stambor 57.08% E-W 1. Trella Niswander and Elaine Altstaetter 64.58% 2. Janet Eisele and Frances Moeller 57.92% THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 21 1. Robert Leonard and Ken Rexford 60.12% 2. AnaKay Utrup and Elaine Altstaetter 56.55% 3. Dick Slonaker and CC Harris 55.36% TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 26 1. Dick Slonaker and AnaKay Utrup 72.40% HIGH PERCENTAGE GAME! 2. Elaine Altstaetter and Trella Niswander 69.80% 3. Bob Stern and Mike Mullen 53.70% 4. Helen Stambor and Lester Fullmer 49.54% THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 28 1. CC Harris and Dick Slonaker 55.36% 2. Tom Dautenhahn and Bob Leonard 54.17% 3/4. Jim Allen and Janet Eisele 52.38% 3/4. Ken Rexford and Elaine Altstaetter 52.38%

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 2

BRIDGE TIPS

By Ruth Odenweller BLACK, SILVER AND GOLD MASTERPOINTS ... ALL AT THE LIMA DUPLICATE CLUB We have had an exciting month since we held our first-ever ST@C (Silver Tournament at Clubs) game. I was really worried that I would mess up the file, set up a game that didn't work or lose the whole game in the computer. I am not very swift with the computer program, so I had a lot of reading and studying to do but wanted all of you to have the opportunity to win some "silver points" in our own club. Thanks to all of you for participating so that we could have 6 full tables. Your cooperation was fantastic and I felt like we held our own in the District 11 which included clubs in Indianapolis, Louisville, Dayton, Cincinnati, Bellefontaine, and more. I know that many of you need those precious "silver points" so I will try it again when our District 11 has a week scheduled for this event. It must be at one of our regularly scheduled games (Tuesday or Thursday) during that specified week. In the meantime, we will look forward to the "gold point game" which will be on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. Yes, we really need to get 6 tables together for this Instant Matchpoint, so mark your calendar NOW!!! In the meantime, we will play for the black points. GOOD AND BAD HABITS It is great when we see bridge people enjoying themselves at a game. We have all made friends at the bridge table. It is like having this "extended family" on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But sometimes, we become a little lax in our commentary and actions. Here are some suggestions for you to think about. GOOD AND POSITIVE HABITS 1. Be polite to everyone ... especially your partner. Thank you partner, please lead ...., etc. show you have respect for the game and your partner as well as your opponents. 2. Be friendly and courteous when your next opponents sit down at the table. If they have been away, let them know you are glad they are back. 3. When your partner or the opponents have bid and

made a contract involving some higher skill level, praise or congratulate them on their success. A comment such as "nice playing partner" or "well done" goes a long way in making them feel good about their play. 4. Counting your cards (when you pick up your next hand) is expected and it is absolutely necessary. 5. Bidding and playing in rhythm is extremely important. If you make a skip bid, make sure you use your "stop card". This is used for any jump you make. It keeps your partner aware of the level of the bid as well as a less likely chance of an "insufficient bid" from another player. In bidding, too much hesitation may infer something which may lead to a penalty if your partner takes advantage of this "floating information". Think ahead about what you might do in bidding if there would be interference. Keep a steady pace ... quick passes or bids convey information, too. So, that can give your partner unauthorized information as well as long pauses. So, think of it as a steady pace ... not too slow, not too fast. 6. Make all your opening leads face down. Then ask your partner, "any questions?" That will usually keep you from leading out of turn and you won't face penalties of the declarer's choice. 7. Keep the game moving. Whoever is following you on each round should not always be waiting for you to finish. Penalties for slow play could be awarded. 8. THINK POSITIVE. You can bid and play every hand just as well as the others in the room. 9. Humor is great! Joking, laughing, loving the game ... that's bridge. 10. Treat all levels of bridge players with the same respect. You deserve respect and so do they. POOR AND SLOPPY HABITS 1. Don't touch the cards in the bidding box until it is your turn and you know exactly what your bid will be. (No fingering the cards!) 2. If you are the dummy, DO NOT TOUCH A CARD UNTIL DECLARER CALLS FOR THE CARD TO BE

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 3

PLAYED. Sometimes a dummy will push a card or touch one as if giving the declarer directions. That is a NO NO! 3. Never pull a card out of your hand to play until it is your turn. This is a definite rule, so WAIT UNTIL IT IS YOUR TURN BEFORE DISENGAGING A CARD FROM YOUR HAND. We definitely have some guilty players here. 4. Do not stare at an opponent or study an opponent's hand during the auction or play ... as for the purpose of seeing his cards or of observing the place from which he draws a card. 5. Acting bored or disinterested in the hand is disrespectful to ALL OF THE OTHER PLAYERS AT THE TABLE. 6. Derogatory remarks about bidding or play are totally out of line. We all have made mistakes, but CRITICIZING OTHERS DOES NOT BELONG AT THE CARD TABLE. Humiliating others is NOT part of this game. 7. Make sure that every "alert" is heard or seen by the opponents. It is YOUR responsibility that they are aware of this "alert". 8. Never pick up another player's cards without asking permission to see a card played to a trick or look at the hand even when it has been played. 9. Do not talk so loud that your voice carries to other tables in the room. They can hear your comments, results and information regarding bidding, distribution, contracts, etc. 10. If you want to converse about a hand, wait until you have finished playing all the boards on that round. Then, if you leave the table and move to another location to discuss systems, bids, strategy, etc., you won't be bothering others. We all can judge ourselves from the lists above. I bet we can all say we do a lot of good things. But, are there a few we need to improve upon? You probably have more we could add to both lists. Why not try to shorten the negative list so you have a very long positive list. That would make the game so enjoyable. Thank you, my friends.

www.cuebiddingatbridge.blogspot.com The Lima Duplicate Bridge Club website has a link to a blog maintained by Ken Rexford. You might want to check it out sometime. The latest article as a sample follows. Prioritized RKCB? I have for some time thought that a bit of structure might save space when asking for Aces. Consider spade agreement and launching into RKCB. One might have a structure at the four-level like this: 4NT 5C 5D 5H

= RKCB = Exclusion RKCB, void in clubs = RKCB switching focus to suggest showing diamond keys rather than spade keys = Asking for a heart control

The idea in the above is that calls at the five-level, if not cuebids but rather asking bids, are generally tied to the suit you bid. Is that ideal? One might, instead, simply adopt a sort of "Yummy Toes" predetermined set of priorities. For example: Step One Asking Bid = 4NT = RKCB Step Two Asking Bid = 5C = Exclusion RKCB for the known or only contextually possible void Step Three Asking Bid = 5D = Re-Focused RKCB focusing on the obvious focal side suit or only unknown side suit (as to controls) Step Four Asking Bid = 5H = Control Ask (their suit) Obviously, with Kickback, you drop a level or more. Also, this order might not be your preference for orders, and context might suggest other orders. For example, if you like having Exclusion as priority #2, but there are two possible void suits, then you might have Step #2 = lower exclusion, Step #3 = higher exclusion. Similarly, if voids are not possible, then you might have a switch-ask run Step #2 = Opener's other suit, Step #3 = Responder's other suit, or viceversa. Establishing priorities might seem somewhat daunting, perhaps. Which set of priorities is the best for the most possible auctions? Well, I am sure that the educated guess is better than the random draw of what happens to be established by rules of the game -- rank. One might decide that the best acronym resolves doubts, or that the acronym is better than a perhaps technically better structure because the acronym is easier to remember. Ideas for Acronyms, anyone??? I'll try some. REST? REMY? ACES?

RKCB, Exclusion, Switch, Their (Suit) RKCB, Exclusion, My Suit, Your Suit Aces, Control, Exclusion, Switch

I really like "ACES in Comp." With spades agreed, 4NT would be "A" for Aces; 5C "C" for Control (answer RKCB with control), 5D "E" for Exclusion (probably void in their suit), and 5H as "S" for Switch (which would be rare in competition, I would imagine). Out of Comp, a lot of sequences might make for ASSET. 4NT for "A" for Aces; 5C for "S" for SWITCH (my suit), 5D for "S" for SWITCH (your suit); 5H for Exclusion of the fourth suit, and 5S for "T" for "TRY" (a general try not otherwise covered). I'd love to hear some better ideas.

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 4

Thinking Bridge By Ken Rexford An interesting problem presented itself during a Thursday night game. You are dealt:

♠ x ♥ x x ♦ K x ♣ K 10 9 x x x x x All vulnerable, as Dealer, you decide to preempt to the four-level, opening Four Clubs. RHO, who is known to be quite aggressive, doubles for takeout. Your partner raises to Five Clubs, as RHO, who can be somewhat more conservative (especially with this partner), bid Six Clubs, asking partner to bid a major at the slam level. LHO picks hearts, partner passes, and your bid? At the table, this person bid Seven Clubs as a sacrifice, which was doubled and set 800. If the slam makes, this seems like a good sacrifice. Let us see what happens in Six Clubs after a passive club lead. Declarer sees this layout:

♠A9xx ♥KQxxxx ♦AQx ♣ -♠QJxx ♥AJxx ♦J98x ♣x The auction is of course dubious. Declarer’s double was VERY aggressive. Dummy made a somewhat odd bid of Six Clubs, but perhaps a 44 spade contract on another day might be superior to a possible 6-3 heart fit. Our Declarer is known for being aggressive, but his play of the hand often meets up. So, what does he do after a club lead? The first three cards seem easy. Ruff the club on Dummy and then pull two rounds of trump, ending in hand. Declarer will notice that hearts

split 2-1, with the person who opened Four Clubs having two hearts. With a likely 8-card club suit, that leaves only three cards (probably) in spades and diamonds. Declarer has some work to do. The spade suit, though, provides a fair chance for success. If Declarer can catch the spade 10 with RHO, it will be short and will likely fall after one or two rounds. In any event, the spade hook surely must be taken, so no sense waiting. Declarer will try the spade Queen, which will hold. The spade Jack will then be covered, won with the spade on Dummy, Declarer hoping initially for the 10 to drop, a smother play that would establish all four spades, such that the slam would clearly make and overtricks would be possible (if diamonds are coming in). If spades split 3-2 without the 10 dropping, Declarer can return to hand to hook a diamond. Then, if that works, Declarer exits a spade to whoever has the 10. If RHO has it, he surely must give Declarer a ruff-sluff when Declarer can pitch his remaining diamond loser. If LHO has it, he either gives Declarer a ruff-sluff himself or must lead away from his diamond King to give Declarer a second finesse. Either way, the slam surely makes. However, our Declarer will be quite annoyed that his great plan has run into a problem. With spades splitting 4-1, the 10 not dropping, this is really bad news. Can Declarer still prevail? One possible line is to come back to hand to lead a spade toward the 9. If LHO ducks, Declarer wins the 9 and then plays a spade back to LHO’s remaining 10, endplaying LHO into breaking diamonds. A small diamond allows Opener to duck in Dummy, hopefully winning the Jack, and then finessing diamond again. A ruff-sluff option for LHO allows one diamond pitch, and then a diamond finesse, if successful, pulls in the balance. But, LHO should see this and will

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 5

pop the spade 10 earlier, exiting a small spade to Dummy and avoiding the endplay. Declarer will then need some luck in diamonds (no luck). That line fails, but another presents itself. Declarer might also play RHO for the diamond King. RHO has shown up with one spade, two hearts, and likely eight clubs, meaning likely two diamonds. If that is the case, Declarer could catch RHO in a coup. Declarer can play the diamond Ace (RHO plays low) and then a SMALL diamond to RHO’s now bare King. RHO has nothing but clubs left at this point and must therefore give Declarer a ruff-sluff (Declarer pitches a spade from Dummy). Then, Declarer can cash the diamond Queen, now good, and return to hand to play the diamond Jack, pitching another spade. That way, Declarer ends up losing no spade tricks. Which way is better? By pure math, this alternative throw-in is better. Small toward the spade 9 should not work, because LHO should pop the 10 and exit. So, on the pure finesse approach, Declarer will be forced to play diamonds for no losers, meaning that he needs for RHO to have 10-x (Declarer leads the Jack, covered, Ace, then plays the Queen, dropping the 10, establishing the 9). The line of playing the Jack, covered, Ace, and then back to hand to hook the 9-8 toward Dummy’s Q-x does not work because of a lack of entries. The throw-in requires RHO to have K-x. K-x and 10-x seems like equally likely, but Declarer also can make it on a throw-in if RHO has specifically K-10 tight, which is one more chance. So, back to the bidding problem. There are reasons why sacrificing at Seven Clubs was probably not a good idea, at matchpoints. First, although this Declarer was known for coming up with exotic lines, and has a tendency toward the sexier lines, you generally do not expect that Declarer will find the primo declarer line, especially when there are options.

Second, your partner might come up with a diamond lead, which makes life MUCH harder for Declarer. In theory, maybe the diamond lead should result in Declarer hopping the Ace, trump to hand, ruff a club, trump to hand, spade hook, spade Jack-King-Ace, and out a diamond, which is essentially the exact same line in the end. But, who turns down what they think might be a free finesse in diamonds, and who spots this exotic play that early in the hand? Third, and more important than the first two, is that the sacrifice gained nothing! The scoring was matchpoints. When the score sheet was opened up, no one even bid the slam. More importantly, perhaps, no one made the slam. The field perhaps should have found Six Hearts, but they did not. The field perhaps should have taken twelve tricks, but they did not. Thus, -800 beats -1430 in raw points, but both scores got the same matchpoints ZERO. The point should be easy to see. If the opponents get to a slam that you expect to be a rare slam, tend to defend. Make Declarer find that exotic line and earn his top. Give partner a chance to find that brilliant lead that causes Declarer a problem. In the end, if the slam makes, the sacrifice just might not matter anyway, if the score is worse than a game making. -800 or -1100 gains nothing over -1430 when the highest other score is -650 or even -680. If, however, our Opener had an expectation of going for only -500, then a sacrifice might have made sense. What should she have done? Maybe DOUBLE, asking for an unusual lead! After all, -1660 is no worse than -1430 or -800 at matchpoints. If the double gets partner to try a diamond, the contract might be set. Maybe doubling 6♣ to ask for a non-club lead would work? (Did you know that doubling a suit you already showed asks for a lead other than that suit? If partner already will lead it, double to change his mind!)

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 6

Roman Key Card Blackwood Consider using Roman Key Card Blackwood. One of the hands from the Sectional Tournament at Clubs illustrated the power of Roman Key Card Blackwood. What is that, you ask? Normal old-fashioned Blackwood involves simply asking for the number of Aces, and then for the number of Kings. Roman Key Card Blackwood makes three changes to this scheme. First, you add in the King of Trumps as if this was one of the Aces. That makes sense, because you surely need to know whether we have that card or not, as that card surely is quite important. Best to learn that fact immediately. Also, notice that 5NT asking for the number of Kings does you no good for two reasons – bidding 5NT commits you to slam anyway, and you never know which King(s) partner has anyway! The second innovation is to allow you to ask about the Queen of Trumps, for similar reasons. The third innovation is to enable not simply the number of Kings but rather which Kings, and that is often important. The answers to Roman Key Card Blackwood’s 4NT asking bid are easy to remember, for the most part. First, COUNT THE KING OF TRUMPS and add this to the number of ACES. If you have three Aces without the trump King, you have THREE KEY CARDS. With three Aces AND the King of Trumps, you have FOUR KEY CARDS. If it makes it easier, call the TRUMP KING the FIFTH ACE and count the number of these ―FIVE ACES.‖ With 0 of the ―Five Aces‖ (or, 0 Key Cards), bid what you usually bid – Five Clubs. With 1, bid what you usually bid – Five Diamonds. So far, so good: 5♣ 5♦

= 0 Key Cards (0 of the ―Five Aces‖) = 1 Key Card (1 of the ―Five Aces‖)

With two ―Key Cards‖ (two of the ―Five Aces‖), you will tell partner AT THE SAME TIME whether you have the Queen of Trumps. With no Queen of Trumps, bid Five Hearts. With it, bid Five Spades.

This is obviously a new idea, but you will be able to get this after practice. Thus, with two Key Cards (two of the ―Five Aces‖), you bid: 5♥ 5♠

= 2 Key Cards, no Trump Queen = 2 Key Cards and the Trump Queen

As a recap: 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ 5♠

= 0 Key Cards = 1 Key Card = 2 Key Cards, no Trump Queen = 2 Key Cards and the Trump Queen

So far, not so bad, eh? Most of the time, this is all that you will need to remember, as the person asking the questions usually has the big hand, right? You do not usually answer Blackwood with three Aces (or with three ―Key Cards‖) because usually you do the asking. However, this does occur. So, what do you bid with Three, Four, or even Five Key Cards?!?!? Well, you do something kind of weird. You start over: 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ 5♠

= Could be 3 = Could be 4 = Could be 5 = Could be 5

Key Cards Key Cards Key Cards, no Queen Key Cards and Queen

This may seem weird, but it works. Partner should be able to figure this out. I mean, three Key Cards (for example) is at least two Aces and a King, or 11 HCP. If your partner cannot figure out whether your unknown 11 HCP is three Key Cards or a bunch of Queens and Jacks, there is a MAJOR PROBLEM with his bidding and thinking. Trust me on this – you never (should) have a problem knowing which partner has. So, the full first answers are: 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ 5♠

= 0 or 3 Key Cards = 1 or 4 Key Cards = 2 or 5 Key Cards, no Queen = 2 or 5 Key Cards and Queen

The next step to learning Roman Key Card Blackwood is to know how to ask for the Trump Queen if partner’s answer did not tell you. This happens when partner does not have specifically 2 or 5 key cards and thus bids Five Clubs or Five Diamonds.

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 7

The way to ask is to bid the NEXT UP SUIT. So, if partner bids Five Clubs (0 or 3 Key Cards), then Five Diamonds (by the person asking the questions) asks partner if he has the TRUMP QUEEN. If partner’s answer was Five Diamonds (1 or 4 Key Cards), then Five Hearts (the next-up suit) asks for the TRUMP QUEEN. So far, easy enough:

Trump Queen is the suit we have set as trumps. This is true. There are several ways of handling this.

4NT 5♦ (Queen?)

5♣ (0/3 Key Cards)

One is called the ―Kickback Convention.‖ You see how there is no problem if spades are trumps? If hearts are trumps, however, and if partner shows 1 or 4, bidding Five Diamonds, the Queen Ask is Five Hearts, which creates the problem. If the agreed suit is a minor, it gets worse rapidly.

4NT 5♥ (Queen?)

5♦ (1/4 Key Cards)

You also probably generally hate when you ask for Aces with a minor suit as trumps, eh?

The way to answer with bad news is to sign off at the cheapest level of the agreed fit without the trump Queen. So, in the two examples above, with no Trump Queen, partner will bid Five Spades (which might be passed). The cheapest level might be a small slam. With good news (you have the Trump Queen), you should tell partner more information. At this point, you will show partner the Trump Queen by bidding your cheapest Specific King!!! If Spades are trumps: 4NT 5♦ (Queen?)

5♣ (0/3 Key Cards) Answers: 5♥ = Q, heart K 5♠ 6♣

= no Q = Q, no heart K, club K 6♦ = Q, no heart K, No club K, diamond K ----------------------------------4NT 5♦ (1/4 Key Cards) 5♥ (Queen?) Answers: 5♠ 6♣ 6♦ 6♥

= no Q = Q, club K = Q, no club K, diamond K = Q, no club K, no diamond K, heart K

This gets a tad trickier, but it works well in practice. You may be thinking that there is a problem if the exact same suit that you would use to ask for the

Well, ―Kickback‖ solves this problem. ―Kickback‖ is a change to asking for Aces where 4NT is the Aceasking bid ONLY when spades are agreed. If hearts are agreed, Four Spades asks (and you bump down your responses by one bid: 4NT is 0/3 Key cards, 5♣ is 1/4 Key Cards, etc.). For diamonds, Four Hearts asks; for clubs, Four Diamonds asks. The ―RKCB‖ call is Four of the Agreed Suit, plus one. This Kickback solution is tough for many. If you want to skip that idea, a second ―solution‖ was recommended by Eddie Kantar and is called the ―1430‖ solution. With that idea, you switch the Five Clubs and Five Diamonds answers. Now: 5♣ 5♦

= 1 or 4 Key Cards = 0 or 3 Key Cards

The idea here is that the ―0 answer‖ is almost always bad news, such that you less frequently care about the Queen in that event. So, you save space for the Queen Ask when the answer is 1 (or 4). 1430, though, is tough to remember, and it only helps with hearts. The minors are still a problem. A third solution is to skip over the agreed trump suit. Thus, the Queen ask when hearts are agreed (and when the answer from partner is Five Diamonds) is Five Spades! With diamonds agreed, if the answer is Five Clubs, skip to Five Hearts! This works OK. A fourth solution is to not use RKCB (but to instead cuebid at the five-level) if the answer will deprive you of the ability to ask for the trump Queen and you would need that information to decide upon slam. The inference, then, of a cuebid instead of bidding 4NT is that you have this very problem!

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 8

For my part, I would recommend Kickback for any serious partnerships (best methods) but would use the ―skip trumps‖ method for any casual or beginner/intermediate partnerships (easiest).

But, let us try this out with that deal I mentioned from the STAC game in Lima.

Back up. Suppose that partner has already told you about the trump Queen (by bidding Five Hearts or Five Spades) or that you are looking at it and therefore do not need to ask. In either event, you can use Five No Trump as a King-ask. But, unlike Blackwood (which asks for the number of Kings), in RKCB the 5NT bid asks partner to bid Kings up-theline. Thus, Six Clubs shows the club King, but Six Diamonds shows the diamond King without the club King. Up-the-line, bidding specific Kings.

DLR: South VUL: Both

You may notice that this causes a problem, again, if trumps are anything but spades. There are, again, multiple solutions from which to choose. One is Kickback, which again solves all problems. Now, if for example Four Spades asked for Key Cards, Five Spades asks for Kings up the line. A second is to use the SECOND STEP (skipping the Queen-Ask step) to ask for Specific Kings. In either event, 5NT by partner will show the SPECIFIC KING that could not be shown (meaning, the King in the suit that partner used to ask for specific Kings). An example. Suppose that hearts are trumps. Whether 4NT asked for Aces and Five Spades ends up being the Specific King ask, or whether Kickback is used (again with Five Spades being the Specific King ask), partner can bid 5NT to show the King of Spades. As always, the cheaper route still requires bidding the Kings up-the-line, starting at the cheapest possible bid, including 5NT. Another trick to this is that the asker always asks whereas the answerer always answers. If, for example, partner asked for specific Kings and you have just bid Six Clubs to show the club King, partner can bid Six Diamonds to ASK if you also have the diamond Ace (with it, bid SEVEN). If partner asks for the diamond Ace but you lack it, you can SHOW the HEART ACE by bidding Six Hearts, in case that is enough for him. Again, the ASKER ASKS and the ANSWERER ANSWERS or SHOWS. There is a lot more to Roman Key Card Blackwood that can be agreed and used.

The deal was Board 7:

♠K ♥AJ7 ♦ K 10 7 6 5 ♣AQ85 ♠A9732 ♥84 ♦AQ84 ♣K4

South, as Dealer, starts with an easy One Spade opening. North, with 17 HCP, sniffs a slam, but a fit would be nice. So, he starts with a Two Diamonds response and is rewarded when Opener raises this to Three Diamonds. Sometimes bidding is easy, or is it? Now, at this point I like cuebidding. But, this admittedly gets a tad complicated. With minor suits as the agreed strain, you want to reconsider getting to 3NT, such that new suit calls often are notrump probes. (A ―probe‖ is a ―sniffing out‖ of 3NT, seeking stoppers elsewhere.) There is something to be said for being practical. North has control of every suit, and his two-suited hand looks really good. So, suppose Responder decides to use Roman Key Card Blackwood and launches into this immediately. Using the traditional RKCB, Responder bids 4NT, asking for the number of ―Key Cards,‖ which includes the diamond King (Trump King). This time, that does not matter, as Responder is looking at the King. Had South decided to use RKCB, this would help let South know that North has the diamond King (and two Aces). But, the Queen part comes up! South has two Key Cards (two Aces, no trump King). With that holding, South next looks to whether he does or does not have the Trump Queen (the Queen of Diamonds) for his answer to 4NT. He has it, so his answer is (5♣ = 0 or 3, 5♦ = 1 or 4, 5♥ = 2 or 5 without the Queen, so…) Five Spades for ―Two Key Cards plus the diamond Queen. How nice to know! This is good news to North, as he now knows that the partnership has all three top diamond honors, such that the trump suit almost assuredly comes in with no

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 9

losers. Plus, North knows that all of the ―Five Aces‖ are held (the four Aces and the diamond King). So, maybe a grand is there? 5NT by Responder next asks for Specific Kings. Opener shows the Ace of clubs by bidding Six Clubs. Notice how important that card is! Because Opener started with One Spade, he has at least five spades. The Three Diamonds response usually shows fourcard support. So, Opener probably only has four remaining cards in hearts and clubs. The Ace, King, and Queen of clubs, plus the heart Ace, probably cover all of these side cards for no side losers. Knowing that one King is the club King and not the heart King tells Responder that the club Queen carries FULL WEIGHT. If Opener has the heart King instead, we have three tricks in clubs and hearts, but the fourth will need to come from either a club finesse against the missing King or a heart finesse against the missing Queen, or some squeeze or something. Knowing that the only King is in clubs SPECIFICALLY makes life easy for Responder. With that stiff spade King, opposite the known Ace-fifth (or longer), Responder has an easy line. Win whatever lead and cash the spade King. Pull two trumps ending in the South hand. If trumps had split 2-2 (they did not this time) you would have an easy route to 13 tricks. You have the Ace and King of spades (2), three top clubs (3), a top heart (1), and two top diamonds (2), for 8 tricks on power. With a cross-ruff of your remaining five diamonds (5), you get your 13 tricks! Bad luck this time, though, as diamonds split 3-1. No problem, yet. Ruff a small spade with a diamond in the North hand and then pull the last trump (leaving one diamond in each hand). Cross to the club King and then cash the spade Ace. If the spades split 4-3 (good luck this time as they did), the opponents will be down to just one spade remaining, Ruff your fourth spade with your last trump in the North hand and cash your winners in the North hand. Ruff a club or a heart with South’s last trump and enjoy the established 13th spade as the 13th trick. Suppose on this hand that Responder, instead of blasting 4NT, had instead tried that cuebidding idea. After his Two Diamonds response was raised to Three Diamonds, suppose that he cuebid Three

Hearts, perhaps a notrump probe but perhaps a cuebid for slam purposes – Opener is not sure yet. Opener might bid 3NT because he has a stopper in clubs, the fourth suit. At this point, things get complicated for North, because 3NT-P-4NT at THIS point might be taken as ―quantitative,‖ or a mild invite to 6NT. (This, incidentally, is ANOTHER reason why KICKBACK is useful.) So, perhaps Responder next bids Four Clubs as a clear CUEBID (North now is obviously not ―probing‖ for 3NT but is instead thinking slam). This might induce South into launching RKCB himself. How would that work out? South bids 4NT, as RKCB. North counts his Key Cards and has three (two Aces and the King of diamonds). With that holding, remember that he ―starts over‖ and bids Five Clubs (0 or 3). South thinks about this. How could North have slam interest with no Aces and no King of diamonds?!?!? Please. This obviously is the ―3‖ scenario. So, the next question is the trump Queen. Were South not looking at it, he could skip over Five Diamonds (skip over the agreed suit because Five Diamonds would be to play) and bid Five Hearts. But, that is not relevant because South, again, is looking at the diamond Queen. Instead, South can ask for Specific Kings. This is where it gets tricky. Using the normal methods, 5NT asks for specific Kings. That does not leave any room to show any Kings except the club King, as North would not likely bid past Six Diamonds to show a King that might not be important. And, for South the most important King is the King of spades. That’s bad. Kickback again would really help. Maybe you are thinking, ―Aha! Maybe number of Kings is better here!‖ But, the number of Kings does not help South that much. He wants the King of spades! Numbers only work when you have everything. So, suppose you use the ―one above the Queen ask‖ method. Five Diamonds would be a signoff. Five Heart would ask for the trump Queen. So, Five Spades asks for Specific Kings! With the spade King, hearing this Five Spades call, North bids 5NT (did you remember this?), which is

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 10

good news. South, remember, always ASKS. The Asker always asks and the Answerer always answers. But, there still is not enough room to ask for more information. Six Clubs by South would ask for the club King, and South is looking at that. Six Diamonds is to play. What to do? South probably just signs off at Six Diamonds. But, perhaps North would have preempted this decision earlier. If South asked, maybe North should ―know‖ that his hand is right? South must have all of the Aces and the trump King, as well as the trump Queen (south did not ask about it). The 3NT call way back when (when North might have been ―probing‖) clearly was bid with the King of clubs. So, our North actually had as much information as the North who took control himself, if our North at this point THINKS. There are two lessons from this alternative sequence. First, RKCB works more smoothly if the strongest hand asks. Second, RKCB is no substitute for thinking – you still need to use your brain! Now, since I got this started, let’s go ONE STEP FURTHER! How many of you know about EXCLUSION Roman Key Card Blackwood??? Exclusion RKCB is a call that SHOWS A VOID and is RKCB at the same time. The point of EXCLUSION RKCB is that the Answerer is supposed to skip that Ace in his count, because THAT Ace is not important. If the location of the void is unknown, the traditional way to use EXCLUSION RKCB is to bid FIVE of that suit, as RKCB. A simple example might explain this. Your partner opens 1NT and you have a monster player with very long spades, plus a void in clubs. So, you bid Four Hearts, a Texas Transfer to Four Spades setting spades as trumps. When partner dutifully bids Four Spades, you could bid 4NT as RKCB. But, if you are missing one Key Card after his answer, it might be a useful Ace, the trump King, or the Ace in your void suit. No good solution! Using Exclusion RKCB, you bid Five Clubs: 1NT 4♠

4♥ 5♣!

This asks partner for the number of Key Cards, without counting the Ace of clubs (whether partner has it or not). The answers start higher, though, such that Five Diamonds shows 0 or 3, Five Hearts shows 1 or 4, etc. After the Exclusion RKCB call, the King-ask is typically the ―Queen ask plus one‖ method. Plus, Opener can NOW show the Ace in the void suit as if it was the King! (The King alone is useless, but that Ace might at least have some value.) If you use Kickback, your Exclusion RKCB calls can be lower. Plus, 4NT then becomes the Exclusion RKCB call that shows a void in the suit that is used for Kickback. Thus, if Four Spades is Kickback RKCB when hearts are agreed, 4NT then is Exclusion RKCB with a void in spades! If the void is ALREADY KNOWN, or if the void can only be in one place (for example, you made a SPLINTER or you bid three suits), then you can save space by making Five Clubs always Exclusion RKCB (excluding the KNOWN shortness) or by using Kickback-plus-one as always RKCB for a KNOWN SHORTNESS.

Sectional Tournament in Lima Thursday Night, July 14, the Lima Duplicate Bridge Club held its first ever Sectional Tournament at Clubs event. With six full tables, the event was a success. Lima players did very well in the tournament. Twelve Lima players earned a combined 18.20 Silver Points! The stand-out stars of the evening were Tom Faulkner and Roy Baldridge who ended up First Overall for Flight C for the entire District Eleven. Roy and Tom also ended up Second Overall for Flight B for the entire district Eleven, and tied for Fourth Overall even in Flight A for the entire District Eleven. An amazing performance that yielded each of them almost five entire Silver Points. Sandy Brading and Marlene Sigler also scored up a Sixth Overall in their Flight C for the entire District Eleven, not a bad performance either! Full results are available online at: http://www.acbl.org/stac/stac_results.php?sid=1107007

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 11

Bridge in the Barn A lot of Lima folks enjoy Bridge in the Barn, a monthly team game at the Logan Bridge Club.

July Bridge in the Barn Overall Results 1.

Sally Egleston, Sherry McCardle, Dinah Williams, and Barbara Bates 66.00 Points 2. Beth Duncan and Norine Emett of Springfield, Allen Hadley, and James Rash 50.00 Points 3/4. Ted Price, Catherine Linstedt, Patricia Lee Pua, and Kevin Kelleher 42.00 Points 3/4. Patricia Whalen (Melbourne, Florida), Lois Latimer, Helen Elliott, and Shirley Hartlieb 42.00 Points

Bridge Lessons at Bellefontaine Club Ricki Nehs is scheduled to offer a series of three bridge lessons in September at the Logan Bridge Club in Bellefontaine!

Gather a team and make your reservation by contacting Jim Rash at [email protected] or telephone him at 321.960.4315. Reservations need to be made by noon of the Saturday before the game. The game will be limited to twelve teams.

The club offers excellent food!

Mark your calendars for September 12, 19, and 26! Classes will be held at the Logan County Friendly Senior Center and will run from noon until 2:30. Each lesson will feature some topics from declarer play and defensive play, followed by guided practice. Those of you who have had the privilege of attending a session taught by Ricki in the past know what an extraordinary instructor she is. Don't miss this opportunity! It will be helpful to have some idea as to the number of people who will take advantage of this opportunity. Send to [email protected] and let them know of your interest. You are welcome to attend one, two or all of the sessions. Two final notes: (1) Ricki is teaching the classes purely to promote the game of bridge and will not accept any compensation for her instruction. The Logan County Bridge Club suggests that participants consider making a donation of $2.00 to the Senior Center's Coffee Fund -- even if you don't drink coffee -- to make a small contribution back to the Center for the use of the facilities. (2) The classes are not intended for those who have never played bridge; rather, they are for those who are seeking to improve their skills -- at all levels beyond very beginning.

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 12

THE BICKERSONS ON BRIDGE By Ken and Leah Rexford (Ring, Ring, Ring) Hello? Where are you?!?!? been over two hours ago!

The game should have

Well, I need you to post bail for me. What on earth happened?

The Bridge Police have arrested me. It seems that I opened 1NT with a singleton! You KNOW that opening 1NT with a singleton is not allowed! Why would you do that?

Actually, that is not exactly true. The ―General Convention Chart‖ for the ACBL defines the rules on opening 1NT with a stiff or a void. The exact language is, ―A no trump opening or overcall is natural if not unbalanced (generally, no singleton or void and only one or two doubletons).‖ Thus, a 1NT opening

must ―generally‖ not have a singleton or void. This means that there are exceptions. Oh, so Mr. Lawyer thinks he has found a loophole? How is that working out for you, Jail Bird?

I mean, think about it. There is a situation where basic bridge logic tells you that a 1NT opening is probably the worst of all evils. The hand I imagine as the best example is a hand with 1-4-3-5 shape, poor hearts, exactly 16 HCP, and the stiff King of spades. Maybe ♠ K ♥ A 6 3 2 ♦ Q 10 9 ♣ A K 8 3 2 works? The only other option is a One Club opening. I expect a high likelihood of a One Spade response. Now what? This hand is way too weak for a reverse. Rebidding 1NT to show 12-14 HCP is hardly good, as we end up missing 3NT when partner has 10-11 HCP! If I rebid Two Clubs, I solve nothing. But, if I open 1NT, all problems are solved. But, if you try that, partner might transfer you into spades and assume at least a 2-card fit!

What would you rather see in Dummy if you play Four Spades – the 3-2 or the K? The same thing for ―stoppers.‖ I’d rather have a stiff King than 3-2 doubleton opposite Qx or J10x or the like. I mean,

the hand where opening 1NT with a stiff comes up is very rare. I would describe it as always involving 16-17 HCP with a stiff King, not good enough to reverse therefore, and with a two-suited hand, the shorter of which is higher-ranking than the longest. 3-4-5-1, 3-4-1-5, 1-4-3-5, 1-3-4-5, or 3-1-4-5 seem like candidates, and maybe 1-4-5-3 (but with that maybe One Diamond and then Two Clubs works). I mean, Montreal Relay helps alleviate the problem with 3-4-1-5 and 3-4-5-1, and maybe opening One Diamond with 3-1-4-5 or 1-3-4-5 might make sense. But, what about the classic problem of 1-4-3-5? There is no solution except opening 1NT! I mean, all that theory stuff makes sense, now that you mention it. Is that what you had?

That’s not precisely what I was looking at. I was holding 3-6-1-3 and thought I would be tricky. Tell it to the judge, then. I’m not posting bail. I kind of am enjoying not having you come storming into the bedroom with tales of every hand from the evening.

But, I still think… (Click) notes The rules for opening 1NT with a singleton have been confusing. In September of 1999, Brian Moran in the Bridge Bulletin answered a question from a reader: Question: "Some players in our club are opening 1NT with a singleton. I was under the impression that if the director is called, then the player is forbidden to do it again during the session. Please set me straight on this. Also, is there a penalty for opening 1NT with a singleton?‖ Answer: "Having a partnership agreement that an opening bid of 1NT or 2NT may include a singleton or void is illegal. There is no automatic penalty for making such a bid, but the director may adjust the score if he judges that an illegal agreement was in force.‖

However, the ACBL website has an article on this topic, printed in the ACBL Club Director’s Handbook and available at: http://www.acbl.org/learn/noTrumpwithaSingleton.html

The article follows on the next page.

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 13

Opening NT with a Singleton "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes ---

and ships --- and sealing wax --- of singletons and kings." On many of the occasions that someone opens 1NT (or 2NT) with a singleton, someone else at the table becomes upset with the opener. Half of the time it's an opponent (who has ducked an ace and lost to a singleton king), and the other half it's opener's partner who has transferred into the suit in which opener has the singleton, causing the partnership to play in a 5-1 or 6-1 fit (going down) when the contract should have been some number of notrump. Bridge players have different understandings of what the rules are concerning opening notrump with a singleton. It is described, depending on who you ask, as illegal, immoral, unethical or fattening. The answer is almost always—none of the above. The ACBL General Convention Chart states, "A notrump opening or overcall is natural if not unbalanced (generally, no singleton or void and only one or two doubletons)." Also from the General Chart is this definition of natural opening suit bids and responses: "An opening suit bid or response is considered natural if for minors it shows three or more cards in that suit and for majors it shows four or more cards in that suit." Players who, by agreement, use opening bids that are not natural may use only the conventional methods permitted by the General Chart. If your notrump opening shows a balanced hand, you may occasionally pick up a hand with a singleton which you may want to treat as balanced. You may use your bridge judgment to open or overcall a notrump with a singleton, provided that:

It is a rare occurrence (no more than 1% of the time), Your partner expects you to have at least two cards in each suit, and You and your partner have no agreements which enable you to discover that partner has a singleton. For example, using strong notrumps, a player may elect to open 1NT with: K83

AQ72

A9653

K

He might judge that he did not want to open 1 and rebid such a weak suit, or raise spades on only three cards after partner's 1 response, or rebid 1NT. You may feel such judgment is incorrect but that was his decision. Similarly, a player playing five-card majors may opt to open AKQJ 87642 K8 Q9 with 1 rather than 1 . If, however, your opponent has opened 1NT with an outlandish distribution—6-5-1-1, 6-4-3-0 or some such—or has agreements about one-of-asuit opening bids or other openings which mean that they have to open all 4-4-4-1 hands with 1NT, you should report such to the director. The director should determine whether the pair's notrump opening is natural or conventional. There is one conventional 1NT opening permitted on the General Chart. It's a forcing 1NT opening indicating a hand of 16 or more high-card points which may be balanced or unbalanced. An example is the Dynamic 1NT opening, which is a cornerstone of the Romex system. Also, there are two types of conventional notrump overcalls permitted. The first is a twosuited takeout, i.e., the unusual notrump. If used by an unpassed hand at the one level or as non-jump overcall, it requires an Alert. The second is a three-suit takeout similar to a takeout double [Ken and Leah play this]. This always requires an Alert.

Lima DBC Newsletter, www.limadbc.blogspot.com, August 2011

Page 14