Grandslam #14 Aug/Sep 2002

This issue of Grandslam has been released one month earlier due to several breaking news and activities. Hope you enjoy it – editor

Message from the (new) Convenor – Carlton Parker

As we pass the mid-point of the year 2002, I am pleased to report that the Bridge Section is doing well. Membership has increased, our Monday night Practice Sessions are well attended, and we continue to enjoy regular activities with other Bridge clubs in Singapore.
As your new Convenor, my first duty is to extend a big “Thank You” to all those who attended our AGM on 27th July. We enjoyed a light lunch, elected a new slate of officers, and hosted our Second Annual Double Teams Club Invitational Tournament (see 2 & 3 below)
Thanks to the outgoing Committee for the fine job they have done during the past year, and we also thank the SRC management for their continued support of the Bridge Section.
A number of activities are "in the cards" for the remainder of 2002. These include participation in the "Double-8" tournament at Bishan in October (see 10 below), plus another tournament (to be decided) in November or December. The highlight will, of course, be our own Open Pairs Competition in December.
Let's make it another good year for Bridge at SRC!

2. Bridge Section AGM 27th July 2002

After lunch, the AGM was call to order by Convenor Chris Wong as there was a quorum of 12 members. The accounts were passed and a motion to extend the term of the office bearers to 2 years was defeated. This was followed by the nomination of office bearers for 2002/3. All positions were uncontested. The SRC Bridge Section Committee members for the 2002/2003 season are:

Convenor: Carlton Parker
Vice-Convenor: Dorothy Wong
Secretary: Shamim Moledina
Treasurer: B K Tham
Editor: Zain Moledina
Congratulations to all and a special thanks to Leonny, Shorbani and the F & B staff for the flawless organization and support.

Double Teams Inter-Club Tournament -- 27th July

As expected, this year’s tournament was much closer and the outcome was uncertain until the end of the final round.

SRC started Round 1 strongly with both our teams winning their matches. Peoples’ Association and Changi Beach Club were close behind. Round 2 was pretty much even as both CBC and SRC scored 33 points each and the round ended with SRC in a slender lead. In the final round SRC managed to pull ahead as Serangoon Gardens made a final determined effort to catch up.

1st Singapore Recreation Club -- 112 Points
2nd Peoples’ Association -- 94 Points
3rd Changi Beach Club -- 81 Points
4th Serangoon Gardens Country Club -- 73 Points

Congratulation to everyone and a very special thanks to SRC VP Bryan Phan and Rosalind for taking the time and kindly consenting to give away the prizes.

4. Serangoon Gardens Country Club Blind Pairs – 7th July

Dorothy, Shamim and Zain were invited to represent SRC in this annual tournament. Non-SGCC members were randomly selected to partner SGCC members. Zain managed to successfully defend his title again this year when he partnered 9-year old Jing Xian, who won his first ever champion trophy. Dorothy took Third place with Pauline while Shamim was close behind at fifth. Congratulations to everyone.

SRC Bridge Results – 1st July to 30th July 2002

DATE Pairs FIRST SECOND THIRD
1 Jul 5 Chris/Carl Isabel/Lee Chin Richard/Koh
8 Jul 12 Shamim/Zain Peter/Anna Lucy/Koh
15 Jul 7 Shamim/Zain Dorothy/Richard Pauline/Mrs Wong
23 Jul 9 Lucy/Koh Mr/Mrs Leong Eng Choo/Ron
30 Jul 8 Michael/Eng Choo Ron/Rahim Jane/Lucy

Special mention goes to the oldest regular player in Singapore – Mrs Wong – for her 3rd place finish on 15th July. Well done indeed!


6. Huh?

"I always arrive late for my Bridge, but I make up for it by leaving late

7. Bridge Escapade II to Genting – June 30th to July 4th

29 excited bridge players and friends boarded the 7.30am coach to the hill resort of Genting Highlands on 30 June. Heavy showers greeted us in Genting, but it was beautiful the rest of the days. The room was spacious with a panoramic view of the jungle with KL in the distance.

After a sumptuous buffet, a bridge session was held in a large function room on Level 5, although a few soccer die-hards gave priority to the World Cup Finals. The bridge room was well used throughout the days and nights by mahjong and card players. “Theme Park” tickets were given to the “young at heart” and extra meal coupons were awarded to the daily bridge winners as well as token prizes for 2nd and 3rd places.

The next day, most people took advantage of the “Genting Chip Program”, which provided bonus gambling coupons and food vouchers. Then it was Bridge in the afternoon and off for a sunset ride on the cable car to Awana for a huge buffet spread.

The following morning, many joined in the Chin Swee Temple and Mushroom Farm tour. While the latter was a bit of a disappointment, the temple provided a scenic view of the pagoda and giant Buddha against the rugged back drop of the Malaysian jungle. Then it was Bridge in the afternoon followed by a “Middle Eastern” dinner buffet, with big prawns accompanying the roast leg of lamb.

A “Fun-and-Games” session was held after lunch the next day with The Botaks (Baldy) fighting it out with the Bulus (Hairy). After 11 questions, the Bulus managed to edge out the Botaks on the very last question. This was followed by a Quiz and a Crossword Puzzle (see below) with Soh Hong and Eng Choo winning the meal vouchers respectively. The final Bridge session used a handicap system and partners were matched up based on their performances earlier in the week. This allowed the weaker players to contend for the top places. A Buffet Dinner followed the session.

The final day was kept free and the group caught the afternoon coach back to Singapore. A feedback survey was conducted and the results were very positive. It looks like this is going to be an annual event.

8. Finite Memory

"And how is Bridge supposed to make me smarter? Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?"

Homer Simpson (slightly modified)

9. The Revoke – Common Rules

A Revoke occurs when you fail to follow suit when you have that suit.

If the defender immediately corrects the revoke, there is no trick penalty, but the exposed card becomes a penalty card. However, any exposed card by the Declarer NEVER becomes a penalty card.

The above also applies before the trick is completed. However, those who played cards after the revoke may withdraw their card and play another card if they wish. However, the card played by the partner of the offender also becomes a penalty card.

Once the trick is completed, the revoke cannot be corrected and the hand must be played to completion. The director now has to be called to assess the damage and award penalties.

If the offender won the revoke trick, the Director may award that trick plus a subsequent offending side’s trick to the opponents. If a non-offender won the revoke trick, the Director may award a subsequent offending side’s trick to the non-offending side. If the revoke caused several subsequent tricks to be lost, the Director may increase the number of penalty tricks accordingly.

There are other special cases on how to deal with a revoke, but the above are the most common. Now that you know the law, don’t let the Director award penalties arbitrarily. Note down the details and appeal to the organising committee!

A complete rulebook is available for borrowing from our library.

10. Upcoming Bridge 88 Tournament

In order to broaden the exposure of our Bridge Section members, we are planning to take part in the 88 Pairs Tournament at SCBA (Bishan CC) in early October. To qualify, the sum of the ages of you and your partner MUST be over 88 and one of you MUST be over 55. If you are interested, please let any Committee Member know.

11. How Observant Are You?

The King of which Suit is stabbing himself in the head?
The King of which Suit you can see only one eye?

Check your cards to see if you are correct!

12. Old Bridge Player’s Lament

“I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.”

13. Crossword Puzzle *1 (copyright – Zain Moledina)

I have decided to stop “Hand Analysis” for a while. In its place, I will put in a series of Bridge Crossword Puzzles I have developed in the past for various bridge functions. The one given below was an easy one for the Genting trip. Future ones will be tougher. Print out this page and have some fun. Time limit is 10 minutes. (see 16 below for answers).



1 2 3
4
5 6
7
8 9
10
11

ACROSS CLUES

The good way to learn or improve on your Bridge is to take a ______ (6).
The highest card is the Ace __ (2) Spades.
Finesse will fail if the King is on the wrong ____ (4).
The lowest ____ (4) is Clubs.
With a doubleton, you can signal to your partner by playing the bigger card before the smaller one. The initials for this play are __ (2).
The dealer is the opening ______ (6).

DOWN CLUES

When leading a card from a sequence, most people will ______ (6) the highest card to play.
People who live in the __ (2) use the ACOL bidding system.
Before you jump in your bidding, you should alert the opposition by saying “____” (4) or by using the “STOP” card.
The first person to bid is the ______ (6).
A small slam is sometimes called a ____ (4) slam.
10. The first and fourth letters of what you hold in your hand when playing bridge are __ (2).

14. When to Give up Bridge

First you forget to how finesse, then you forget what picture cards have been played. After that you forget what the contract was and finally you forget to pull your zipper up!

15. Last Issue’s Puzzle Answer – 3 Spades both ways

In the last issue, I asked if you can you create a bridge hand that 3S can be made by either N-S or E-W against any lead and against the best play by both sides? Try this out before you read any further.

S : x
H : A K Q J 3 SPADES BY S
D : A K Q x x or
C : x x x 3 SPADES BY E
S: - S : A K Q J
H : 10 x x x x x x H : x x
D : J 10 x x x x D : x x
C : - C : A K Q J 10
S : 10 x x x x x x x
H : -
D : -
C : x x x x x Note that “x” is a small card.

When South plays 3S, any lead by West is won in Dummy. On the HA, HK, DA, DK South discards his Clubs. On the HQ, South discards his last club. It does not matter whether East ruffs or not, his only winners are the 4 top trumps. 3 Spades made.

When East is the declarer, East wins any lead by South. 4 rounds of trumps are drawn and 5 Club tricks are cashed for a total of nine tricks. 3 Spades made.

16. Crossword Solution

ACROSS : 1. COURSE 5. OF 6. SIDE 8. SUIT 9. HL 11. BIDDER
DOWN : 1. CHOOSE 2. UK 3. SKIP 4. DEALER 7. MINI 10. CD