This part of the web site is designed to provide members with articles of interest. There is a wide variety of information, tips, articles and general interest features. Please bear in mind that whilst the authors of the Articles and the Club have taken great care to ensure accuracy, members are referred to the Official publications such as the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, Orange Book etc for more detailed, precise (and possibly, more accurate!) information.

APPEAL  PROCEDURE

See also Appeals Committee

What can I do if I remain unhappy at a Director’s ruling? The club has established a fine tradition and reputation for resolving differences at the table amicably and with good humour, and long may that continue. Nonetheless, as a responsible Club we have to be prepared for that rare time when you may find yourself unhappy at the director’s ruling. If this occurs there is little merit in having a long debate at the table; (a) its discourteous to the director who will only be doing his / her best; (b) it affects other players enjoyment; (c) it delays the progress of the event. Instead, simply tell the Director you wish to reserve your rights and play on. Reserving your rights will do two things: it protects your position and ensures the Director takes both an accurate note of the problem and a full hand record (or retains the curtain cards) at close of play. If time permits speak with him / her briefly at the end of the evening, but if you remain unhappy or time does not permit further discussion then it is open to you to use the Club’s appeal process which exists in line with EBU recommendation and the Laws of Duplicate Bridge.

Within 48 hours of the score being published on the web site (if you don’t have Internet ask any main committee or other member to let you have the score / traveller details as all time limits are strict!) you should give the Director verbal formal notice of appeal and within 72 hours thereafter send a letter signed by you and your partner setting out the full grounds of your Appeal. The Director will notify the Appeals Committee who will form an impartial Appeals Panel comprising a minimum of three members of the Appeals Committee, to include at least one Director of the Club not involved in the disputed decision. After the matter has been considered, you will be informed of the outcome. If you remain unhappy you have the right, as we are an EBU affiliated Club, to appeal to the WCBA where you will need to follow their process. Ultimately you can take your appeal to the EBU. Our Appeals Committee comprises all the club Directors plus experienced players. It is independent of, and does not report its findings to, the main club committee. Hopefully, none of us will ever have need of it but the process is there - just in case.

 ALERTING

Are weak jump overcalls alertable?

Weak overcalls are more common these days and as Richard Jephcott showed us weak jump overcalls can really disrupt the opposition. However, as they are non-forcing on partner they are not alertable. Opening weak two bids are alertable / announceable.

Is a strong 1NT opening alertable? No. Whilst you may think the information “we play a strong 1NT” should be volunteered by your opponents the Orange Book (rule book on conventions) says: “you are expected to know and if you are later embarrassed because you failed to find out, it will be your fault” ie ask!!

As from August 2006 it will be necessary for partner to announce the strength of your 1NT opening and also announce if it may contain a singleton.

CHANGE OF CALL

Can I ever change my call?

When you make the wrong call you are allowed to change it if:

1. It is inadvertent ie you did not intend it and
2. you change it or try to immediately after you realise your mistake, and
3. you change it or try to before partner calls

This usually happens when the wrong card is taken out of the box and is sometimes referred to as ‘mechanical error’. Note 2 above: if you put a call on the table, gaze around the room, then look down and realise it was not what you intended you are still in time (even if your LHO has called) because you have only just realised your error and try to change it immediately.

Similarly, you may also change an inadvertent call for the wrong card from dummy in similar situations. HOWEVER - you are not allowed to change your mind. Example: You took your singleton club that was in dummy with your own Ace and then lead back a club intending to ruff with the 2 of trumps. As you play your club from hand you call "ruff low please" (or state the 2 etc) and to your surprise your LHO ruffs with the 9. You cannot now say "O, then ruff with the 10 please" or some such. That is a change of mind - not inadvertence.

Also:

Should I correct a wrong call? If the bid is a legal bid, made in turn, then you are under no obligation to correct a ‘wrong’ bid. Suppose you meant to bid 2© but instead bid 2ª.Your opponents as a result missed their 3NT contract. If all else was legal about your 2ª bid then that’s the luck of the game.

It would of course be a different matter if you had a habit, understood by partner, of often deliberately making such ‘wrong’ bids.

LAW CHANGES 2006 & CONVENTION CARDS

In order to introduce the 2006 Law changes smoothly, we have provided players with a laminated summary sheet, plus table guide in addition to publicising them in advance via the Newsletter and web site. All members therefore should be aware of the changes and be prepared to follow them from 1st August.

The Law changes are principally designed to assist the less experienced, and in line with EBU recommendations we wish to further their aims of making the game of duplicate bridge less intimidating for those new to it. However, it is also important to recognise that some of our members play in Local, County and National Competitions and it is important for them that they are properly prepared for external competitions. As a club we therefore have a responsibility to ensure that we give the best support we can to all, whilst maintaining the friendly and social aspects of our Wednesday evenings.

 From 1st August players will be able to refer to their laminated summary of the new announcing and alerting rules without penalty until we are familiar with the procedures. It is anticipated that this will take a couple of months but progress will be monitored by the Committee and Directors. Obviously if players are comfortable with the new procedures at an earlier stage then we can remove them. Initially it will be a learning curve for our players so there will be no penalty for failure to announce, nor for alerting incorrectly, but Directors will advise and encourage members to use the correct alerts and / or announcements in future.

CONVENTION CARDS

We have long encouraged the use of convention cards. We have a mixed ability range of
members and the less experienced players, who may be only be familiar with Basic Acol or simple systems, should not be disadvantaged by their opponents failure to disclose ALL aspects of their systems. Accordingly, players without a convention card will be expected to play EBU Simple System only. Partnerships playing standard Acol, and other systems must have identically completed convention cards. Blank EBU20B convention cards are available via the Club or the EBU, as is a pre-printed Standard Acol Convention card. From the 2nd August please bring your convention card to the Club.

Directors and session organizers will remind players about the announcements and alerts at the start of each session and also remind players about having a convention card available for their opponents. Your Convention Card must NOT be used as a crib sheet to assist you with your bidding – it should be given to your opponents at the start of each round and collected from them after the entire round has finished. It is not permitted to refer to your own card during bidding or play!

We very much hope that members will support these changes which are designed to make our games more enjoyable for all concerned, but if you have any difficulties please bring them to the attention of the Director or Committee who will be pleased to assist you.

ANNOUNCING AND ALERTING SUMMARY
Opening Bid	Description	Announce	Alert	No Action
1 And 1	Could be on fewer than 3 cards
	Could be as few as 3 cards
	Other (strong, artificial)
1NT	Balanced	“12 to 14” (or appropriate range)       and, if relevant, “may contain a singleton”
2	Strong, Acol, Benji Acol, etc.
	Precision	“Intermediate”
2	Weak with diamonds	“Weak”
	Strong with diamonds	“Strong, forcing” or “Strong non-forcing”
	Other (Benji, Multi, etc)
2/2	Weak with hearts/spades	“Weak”
	Strong with hearts/spades	“Strong, forcing” or “Strong non-forcing”
	Other (Lucas, Flannery, etc)
Responses to 1NT
1NT - 2	Simple Stayman (promissory or not)	“Stayman”
1NT - 2 - 2	Denies 4 card major
1NT - 2	Transfer	“Hearts”
1NT - 2 - 2	Completion of transfer
1NT - 2	Transfer	“Spades”
1NT - 2 - 2	Completion of transfer
Bids above 3NT
Bids above 3NT	Artificial opening bids
	Other bids

Action over Opponents' calls
Opponents Call ...	Meaning of their call ...	If your Double is...	Alert	No Action
A suit at any level	Natural	Take out
		Anything else
	Does not show the suit ( i.e. conventional or not natural)	Showing the suit doubled
		Anything else
A suit opening	Prepared, Phoney, Short or Nebulous 1 or 1 opening	Take-out
		Anything else
Opponents Call ...	Meaning of their call ...	If your Redouble is...	Alert	No Action
Double	Any meaning	for business, shows strength: partner is expected to pass
		Partner is expected to remove
Opponents Call ...	Meaning of their call ...	Other Actions...	Alert	No Action
Above 3NT	Any Meaning	Lead directing pass
		Lead directing double for a different suit to the one doubled
		Lead directing redouble for a different suit to the one redoubled
		Any other pass, double or redouble

 

Why do the opposition need my Convention Card?

On arriving at the table it usual to exchange pleasantries and your basic system, ie 12 - 14 NT and weak 2s.  As we evolve as bridge players we add more gadgets to our system and it would take too long if you had announce each one at the start of every table so we exchange convention cards as well.  Remember the opposition are entitled to know as much about your bidding methods as you do!  Once the cards have been removed from the board, we can only communicate with partner legally by taking a card from the bidding box and putting it on the table in front of you. Announcements, Alert and Stop are all intended to help your opponents and your partner has to pretend they never heard or saw them (they are unauthorized information); they certainly must not make any bids based on any information received this way.  However the opposition will want to continue the auction based on your alert etc.  So, at /their turn to bid, they can ask the partner of the player who made the bid, what that bid means.  Because in some situations this can cause more unauthorized information and rather than ask, many will prefer to read your convention card.  Remember you should only ask questions when you are intending to make a call, not if you are going to pass anyway.  The time to ask questions is after the auction has finished (a) before the opening lead has been made if you are on lead or (b) after partner has placed the lead face down on the table.  Note: the lead should not be changed at this point, although if you feel that something has come to light which would change your actions, now is the time to call the director.

Alan

Doubling for take out:  by Grahame Weir

When we first learn bridge we are introduced to the concept of doubling, normally it is explained as a method of extracting more points ( double ) from the opposition, as we are quite sure that their proposed contract will fail. This double is referred to as the penalty double. Originally I suppose that was the sole use of the double, however in the modern game we are now confronted by many different uses of the double, I think the most popular use these days is the Take out double. I will try to give a few pointers on how to use this type of double to good effect in the modern game.

Just to get back to the penalty double quickly, is common that a double of 1NT is for penalties; I would suggest that you always double 1NT when you can. If the opposition are playing a 12-14pt NT you should have 15 or more points to double. The rule of thumb is that you should always have one more point than the maximum NT range used by the opposition. ( e.g. if the opposition play 14 –16  NT you should have 17+pts to double etc ) remember to check your opponents NT range before play, as it is not their responsibility to tell you prior to the hand. (from Aug 2006 has to be announced)

So this is a straightforward penalty double and most players realise this , however when you introduce take out doubles things can become slightly more complicated. You need to work out guidelines with your partner when doubles are for penalties and when they are for take out. A nice rule to use is ALL doubles are for take out up to 3ª unless the opposition or yourselves have bid No Trump’s.

Some examples being

N                                 E                                  S                                  W

1)   1§                               P                                  1©                               X ? 

2)   1¨                               X?

3)   1©                              X?                               1NT                             X?

4)   1¨                               1NT                             2©                               X?

5)   1©                              P                                  1NT                             X?

6)   1ª                              X?                               P                                  P?                   

1)      In example 1 your double is clearly for the unbid suits you should have at a minimum of  4/4 in ¨/ª’s and probably 12+pts (incidentally with 5/5 in the unbid suits you can bid 2NT Michaels style )

2)      In example 2 you should have 11+ pts and shortage in ¨’s ( no more than 2! )  You should also try to have at least 4/4 in the majors

3)      As you can see the double has been used twice in this example, the first double by E is the same as example 2 and should be 11+pts and at least 4 spades – after the south hand bids 1NT west’s double is now for penalties showing a nice hand with points but they have no fit for your suits so would prefer to try and take a penalty.

4)      In example 4 partner has bid 1NT showing 15 – 18 pts balanced ( a limit bid ) south has then bid 2© - your double should therefore be for penalties as No Trumps have been bid ( even by your side )

5)      In this example, double should show a penalty double ( however some pairs play this as a take out  double of  1© ) sorry but this is the rule being broken – that’s bridge!

6)      In the final example partner has shown 11+pts and length in the other suits – you have left it in – therefore you have converted the double to penalties – so you must have a trump stack and no fit for partner… possibly this type of hand.  ªKQJ983 © 8 ¨J65 §654

All take out doubles can be converted if you hold a very good suit of the opponents proposed trumps

Lets look at the concept a little further then. Take-out suggests that you would like partner to bid a suit, and that you don’t have more than 2 cards in the suit(s) bid by the opposition.

Lets say RHO ( right hand opposition) opens 1ª and you hold:

ª3   ©KQ43  ¨AK32  §QJ43  - this is a perfect hand to make a takeout double.

Whatever suit partner bids you will have a fit for and you can compete & maybe push the opposition too high, or even bid a game yourself.

At this point its worth mentioning that some partnerships use a double of an opened suit by the opposition to show opening values or even opening values and interest in the opened suit. I would recommend that this system should be scrapped, as double for take out gives you much more scope to land in the correct contract.

If   RHO opens 1© and you hold: ªA3 ©KQ3 ¨J1098 § QJ32  I would suggest that you PASS – you do not have enough points to bid 1NT ( 15 – 18 ) and you don’t have a good enough suit to bid at the two level, you just have to hope that partner bids and then you can support them or that you may take the opposition off in their contract. If you double to show opening values your partner will bid ª’s most of the time and you may get into all sorts of trouble. The hardest bid to make in bridge is PASS…

The majority of pairs use takeout doubles these days however there is some confusion as to what to do next …here is a useful guide about how far to compete after partner has made a takeout double.

Lets say LHO bids 1§ and your partner doubles for take out:

You can trust that partner has 11+pts and probably 0/1 §’s  ( 2 on a bad day ) and that they have at least 4/4 in ©/ª’s and at least 3 ¨’s.

So RHO passes and the ball is in your court. Now firstly partner could have any number of points maybe 11 or maybe 20!  So its up to you to tell partner about your hand.

I would suggest you always jump with 8+ pts and an 8 card fit. ( or extreme shape)

So if you have ªKQ45 ©A32 ¨9876 §43  you should jump to 2ª ( your partner will have 4 ª’s ) if you are sticking to the rules. If partner does not have 4ª’s then they should have 16+pts and very good suit of their own.

Just to clarify this point, if you hold  ªAKQJ54  ©AQ ¨J98 §87 and RHO opens the bidding 1¨ , you should double in the first instance and then bid ª’s – this shows a hand with 16+ and a really good suit , that was to strong to just overcall 1ª on the first round in fear of missing game. Some of you will play strong jump overcalls and a bid of 2ª’s will also show this hand type.

However far more common is a hand with distribution and 11 – 15pts.

If you have less than 8pts – you can just bid your best fit at the lowest level

e.g.  ªQ945 ©A32 ¨9876 §43 – you should just bid 1ª. If partner does have a big hand 18+ then they can bid 2ª as a game try, at this point you could have a zero count and partner should try no to jump to 3 or 4ª’s – remember you have forced your partner to bid, they are not obliged to hold any points.

So using these rules try this test and see how you do? Write down your bids for the eleven examples and see if you can score 110 points:

WRITE YOUR ANSWERS DOWN – don’t cheat by looking!! Scroll page for the answers.

Love all - RHO opens 1ª ? what would you bid or call next

a)   ªJ92               ©KQJ3           ¨QJ2               §KJ5

b)   ªJ                   ©KQJ2           ¨K876            §AJ32

c)   ªKQ93           ©AJ65             ¨J76                §AJ

d)   ªA                  ©KQJ543       ¨KQ2             §Q32

e)   ª32                 ©AQ3             ¨KQJ93          §J109

Your Partner doubles LHO’s opening bid of 1§ - RHO passes what do you bid?

(  W: 1§ - X – P - ? )

f) ªQJ8                 ©KQ3             ¨QJ765           §43

g)ªA7654             ©KQ32           ¨3                   §543

h)ªK102               ©Q10              ¨J652              §K1098

i)ªJ9876               ©A653            ¨543               §4

j)ª4                       ©J54               ¨J72                §KQJ987       

k)ª-                      ©QJ98765      ¨J8765            §8

DON’T  SCROLL UNTIL YOU HAVE WRITTEN YOUR ANSWERS DOWN!

Answers:

a) 2© = 6               Pass = 10         1NT = 7           Double = 3       others = 0

b) 2§ = 6               2© = 6             Double = 10     2¨ = 6             others = 0

c) 2© = 6               Pass = 4           1NT = 10         Double = 1       others = 0

d) 3© (strong ) = 10                       2© = 6             Double = 10     4© = 5

e) pass = 9             double = 6        2¨ = 10           3¨ = 3             others = 0

f) 1NT = 4             2¨ = 7             3¨ = 10           2§ (forcing) = 10

g) 2ª = 10             3/4ª = 8          2© = 7             1ª/© = 5

h) pass = 8             1NT = 10         2¨ = 2             2NT = 3

i) 1© = 6                1ª = 10           2ª = 3             others = 0

j)1NT = 5              2§ = 2             1© = 2             pass = 10

k) 3© = 10            4© = 9.5          2© = 5             pass = 0

In k) your extreme shape and length in hearts + spade void , should make game or a sacrifice a good option, so you should jump, in hearts.

Well I hope you all scored 110 anything over 95 is very good.

This may shed some light on the take out double – the main thing to have is partnership understanding, good luck all. 

Grahame Weir

INCORRECT EXPLANATION

“My partner gave an incorrect explanation during the bidding but I don’t have to say anything until the end of the played hand”. If you become declarer or dummy and your partner has given a wrong explanation, or one of your alertable calls has not been alerted, you MUST rectify the situation before the opening lead is faced. You must not do this as defender until the hand is over, when you are required to do so and if damage to your opponents has resulted the director may award an adjusted score.

BIDS – 1NT

Is a strong 1NT opening alertable? No. Your 1NT is not alertable but it is announceable ie your partner must say its strength and he must also say if it may contain a singleton.  You and your partner should use properly completed convention cards (which would disclose the strength of your 1NT opening). 

Can I make a first round double over 1NT to ask partner to bid? Because it will not be expected, you must alert any take-out double of opponents 1NT opening. A double of opponents 1NT is expected to be for penalties and shows at least 15HCP or “compensating distribution”.

Can I make a first round double over a 1NT response as a take out of opener’s suit? Because it is not natural, the double has to be alerted! An example: your opponent, North, bids 1© and S responds 1NT. If your partner now doubles for take out you must alert; and he must alert if N passes the 1NT and you double for take out

INSUFFICIENT BID

Example 1:

How friendly advice can lead to problems! NS were the more experienced players, EW being fairly new to duplicate. All were kind, friendly players (of course!) and when W made an insufficient bid N tried to be helpful ……. The bidding went N: 1¨ ; E: Pass ; S: 1ª ; W: 1©. North said quietly “you should make that good”. West, not knowing the implications, decided that 2© was not a good idea so Passed. North now said gently, “you can’t do that, you must make a bid” whereupon W thought 2§ a safer bet. At this point N realised things had gone from bad to worse and it was time for the Director. Had the director been called as soon as the insufficient bid was made all the options would have been made clear: In simple terms did N accept the 1© bid? If ‘yes’ bidding proceeds normally, but N would say ‘No’. Then W would be told to correct the bid by either the lowest sufficient bid or pass but before deciding which the ramifications would have been explained: There would be no penalty provided the replacement bid was in the same denomination (2©). If the insufficient bid or the substituted bid could have been conventional or the bid was corrected to any other sufficient bid (eg suit changed) or Pass then offenders partner must pass whenever it is his turn to call and lead penalties may apply. If offender (W) substitutes a double or redouble that call is cancelled; partner must pass throughout and lead penalties may apply. Lead penalties: If the withdrawn call referred to a natural suit that was not specified in the auction by the offender, then declarer can require or forbid that suit to be led by offenders partners at his first turn to lead and for such restriction to continue for as long as offenders partner remains on lead. If the withdrawn call referred to NT declarer chooses which suit he requires (or prohibits) to be led by offenders partner for as long as he is on lead.

So, in trying to be helpful N had actually made matters worse (and contravened Law 9B1) and a strict interpretation of the laws would certainly penalise poor EW who had not only made an insufficient bid but W had given unauthorised information to partner by mentioning pass and 2§. That said, even inexperienced players should remember one golden rule: When things go wrong call the director immediately (Law 9B1).  Any of the four should have done this. Could it be resolved fairly to all parties now? Well, the the Laws as above should be applied with a warning to E not to take advantage of the unauthorised information and then letting the bidding and play continue. If NS felt they had been disadvantaged by the unauthorised information the Director would return and determine, what if any, adjustment needed to be made but in view of N role in the affair and the inexperience of EW, I suspect NS would not get very far.

MISCELLANY

The subject you have requested is contained on this page – scroll down to find what you want.

Can I insist on starting at a particular table / polarity? No, though its rare you will be asked to move. Exceptions would be the need to make up full tables or where someone with mobility problems requires a ‘sitting’ table.

As I move around the room it does it matter if I play E or W (S or N) at one table and swop places with partner at another”. Yes, It does – you can’t pick and choose whom you “sit over” and therefore the director will only sanction a change of your compass position in special (and rare) circumstances.

What is a Swiss Event? A Pairs (or Teams) event where in simple terms after the first round each pair plays an assigned, different opposing pair and where the cumulative scores of both pairings (teams) are approximately equal. As each winning pair or team can score points each round, a Swiss Event gives both weak and strong players a chance of some successes, though the overall winners usually get additional points.