Grandslam #15 Oct/Nov 02

THE GRANDSLAM
SRC BRIDGE SECTION NEWSLETTER
OCT/NOV 2002 ISSUE #015

Message from the Convenor – Carlton Parker

Hello to all Bridge Section members and SRC guests,
Having just returned from three weeks in California and Mexico, your Convenor has not played any Bridge at all for a month. Even a week on a Cruise ship passed without any Bridge playing, although I did get involved in a Dominoes game called "Mexican Train" and an interesting card game called "Hand and Foot" which involves 4 to 6 players and FIVE decks of cards. (Just shuffling was a challenge!)
So I’m ready for some enjoyable practice sessions in our new venue of the Milne Lounge (see 2 below). I hope everybody is getting settled in these new surroundings.
I am also pleased to inform you of three new titles to our small library of Bridge books (see 6 below).
We are currently planning for our annual Pairs event on 30th November for those who have supported us during the year. Details will be sent to you soon and the full results will just make it into the next issue of The Grandslam. Don’t miss our event of the year!
2. The Elusive Bridge Room

When Bridge started over 4 years ago at SRC, it was just a small activity with about 4 SRC players. At that time we used the Chess Room on Level 2 for our practice. By rearranging the chess tables, we could just fit 8 people inside to play bridge.
We quickly outgrew that space and when we became a section 2 years ago, we had about 15 members and we were using the Milne Lounge for our games. The room was spacious, but the light level was poor.

We then decided to move to the Cafeteria Annex at B1. This room was smaller and was a little noisy due to the Bowling Alley next door, but the MC did installed good lighting for our use.

When Basement 1 was renovated, we had 20 members and we moved to the Jackpot Annex on level 1. The lighting was good and there was ample storage space for our bridge stuff, but the playing area was still tight and we occasionally “overflowed” into the corridor! Even Houdini would have a tough time fitting 7 tables into that area!

With the expansion of the Jackpot Room, we are now back in the Milne Lounge. Members will appreciate the larger space (once the pool table is relocated), easy access to the toilets and the quiet ambience. The MC and staff have been supportive to our requirements as we work towards improving the lighting and the usable space.
See you there every Monday at 7.30pm.

3. SRC Bridge Results – Aug 5th to Sept 30th 2002
DATE Pairs FIRST SECOND THIRD
5 Aug* 7 Zain/Ron Pauline/Alan Carl/Chris
12 Aug 13 Michael/Stella Adeline/Ronald Tanny/Siak
19 Aug 9 Ian/Christine Rahim/Ron Carl/Chris
26 Aug 10 Eng Choo/Veron Rahim/Ron Carl/Chris
2 Sep 11 Rahim/Zain=Dorothy/Richard Alan/Lena
9 Sep 6 Rahim/Ron Zain/Michael Richard/Koh
16 Sep 9 Chun Yee/Mike Zain/Shamim Ron/Rahim
23 Sep** 15 Zain/Shamim Ron/Rahim YeowChung/Lawrence
30 Sep 11 YeowChung/Lawrence Ee/Ronald Shamim/Rahim

* Zain and Ron broke the SRC Record set by Zain and Krisnan by achieving 87.5% on 5th Aug.
** NewAttendance record of 15 pairs for SRC Monday Sessions on 23rd Sep superceding 14 pairs on 29 April 2002.

4. SGCC Sparkling Diamonds Open Pairs

Rahim (SRC’s Bridge Instructor) and Zain (SRC) took first place in this inaugural tournament in August. Congratulations.
A special prize for making the highest Diamond contract went to Tan Peng Huat. Old timers will fondly remember Peng Huat as SRC’s first Bridge instructor. Needless to say, he has not lost his touch and was a little unlucky not to place this time round.

Our congratulations also go to the rejuvenated Serangoon Gardens Bridge Section for a well-organized tournament. Incidentally, SGCC is the envy of other clubs because of their ability to attract several of their club members’ children to learn Bridge.

5. People’s Association 2nd Anniversary Tournament

This 10-Table Pairs event was held on 7th September at the PA Kallang facility. SRC was well represented, but the competition was very keen. After a grueling 12 rounds, Zain (SRC) who was partnering Rahim, were narrowly beaten into 2nd Place by Robin/Alice from CSC.

6. New Library Books
Feel free to borrow our latest books from our Bridge Library.
Kelsey on Squeeze Play: Simple Squeezes by Hugh Kelsey
Play a Swiss Teams of Four by Mike Lawrence
Reading the Cards (The Bridge Technique Series) by David Bird and Marc Smith.
7. Always Check the Scores

Developing Bridge players are sometimes intentionally or unintentionally taken advantage of in the scoring. When the hand is completed, North must write down the contract bid, the final result, who the declarer is, the number of tricks made and the correct score in the NS or EW column. It is the responsibility of EW to check.

In the SGCC Sparkling Diamonds tournament (see 4 above), about 5 errors were spotted and all the victims were the less experienced players. This not only pushes the victim’s position lower, but unfairly boosts the score of the error maker. Needless to say, errors are often missed.
Never walk away from the table until the score sheet is verified, folded and re-inserted into the casing. An ethical scorer will always voluntarily pass the score sheet to the opponents for checking, no matter how simple or straightforward.

8. Bridge Ethics … continued

Always remember that you are not allowed to provide information to your partner by the way you bid or the manner you play your cards. This can be viewed as an illegal communication and you can be penalized even if it is accidental or just an honest mistake. You are also not allowed to deliberately deceive the Declarer. Here are a few common examples.

You must write down your bid in the same manner. You cannot sometimes write lightly and sometimes boldly, sometimes small and sometimes large and so on.

You should hold your cards in the same way while bidding or play is going on.
You are not allowed to delay when it is your turn to bid unless a jump bid occurs just before you. This is especially true if you eventually decide to pass.

As a defender, you must play your card in the same manner. You should not sometimes play gently and sometime play roughly, sometimes slowly and sometimes quickly and sometimes even taking the card out before it is your turn to play. All this can be viewed as illegal communication.

If the declarer is taking a finesse against you, you should not hesitate. It is to your advantage to play smoothly whether you have the picture card or not. If you hesitate when you DO NOT have a picture card, you can be penalized for misleading the declarer.

Remember, even if you are an ethical player, you must play bridge in such a way so that others have no grounds for thinking otherwise.

9. An Ode to Bridge

I’m giving up bridge - tonight's my last night
It’s amen to Stayman, I give up the fight.
The insults and muddles are giving me troubles.
I can't sleep at night for thinking of doubles.
My cards are all rotten
And I have forgotten
Who has played what and what is trump
Sitting for hours with a sore rump

So it’s all over tonight - I'm off to the backwoods
I’m bidding goodbye to Gerber and Blackwoods.
I can't stand the hassle, I can't stand the pain
I’m getting those bad cards again and again.
Another bad night
Nothing's gone right.
My partner's a dope
I'm losing all hope.
When opponents say "double"
I know we're in trouble.

My points are not high, and I'm wondering why
She kept on bidding right up to the sky.
We're in seven spades, I doubt she makes
When surprise, surprise, all tricks she takes
The defenders feel sick
My partner’s really slick.
All of a sudden, gone is my sorrow
And yes, I’ll play again tomorrow!

10. A Woman’s Viewpoint

Life with Men is like Bridge
You need a Heart to love them;
A Diamond to marry them;
A Club to beat them;
And a Spade to bury them.

11. A Man’s Viewpoint

The bride came down the aisle, and when she reached the altar, she saw the groom with a deck of bridge cards in his tuxedo pocket.

She said, "Darling, what are your bridge cards doing here?"

He looked her right in the eye and said, "This isn't going to take all day, is it?"

12. A Child’s Viewpoint

The teacher asked little Johnny if he knows his numbers.

"Yes," he said.

"Good! Can you tell me what comes after three."

"Four," answers little Johnny.

"What comes after six?"

"Seven."

"Very good," says the teacher. “What comes after ten?"

"A jack," says little Johnny.

13. Filosophy a la The Simpsons

Bart decides to learn Bridge. He convinces his dad Homer to buy him some cards and a beginner’s book and starts to learn. A week later, the cards are scattered and the book is buried in a closet.

Homer asks "Bart, why aren't you learning Bridge?"

"It's too hard, Dad," Bart replies.

"Son," the elder Simpson mused philosophically, "anything that’s hard can't be worth doing. Let's go watch TV!"
-- from “The Simpsons” (modified)

14. How True

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you sit at the bridge table.

15. Crossword Puzzle #2 (copyright Zain Moledina)

Good luck on this crossword puzzle which was developed for the SRC 2001 year-end tournament. Answers are given at the bottom.


1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

10 11 12 13 14
15 16
17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25
26 27
28 29 30

31 32

Across Clues

The Declarer may play a higher card than necessary to mislead the opponents. This is known as a _____ (5) card.
A 2C reply after partner’s 1NT opening is known as the ______ (7) Convention.
You should not make any _____ (5) during the match as it may distract other players.
In a Match Point tournament, even a _______ (7) margin of one overtrick can mean the difference between an average score and a top score.
Raising to 4S after your partner opens 1S is known as a ____ (4) out bid.
Some players play “___ (3) of Nothing” as their opening leads.
There are numerous bidding conventions. ____(4) and every one of them have pros and cons.
It is not easy to ___(3) out a living by playing bridge alone.
With 9 cards of the suit, should you finesse the _____(5) or play for a drop?
For most tournaments, you play a ___(3) of 24 boards.
The best ____(4) of partner to have is one who is strong, but courteous.
The ___ (3) of a Transfer Bid is to make the weak hand the Dummy.
When your weak suit is attached during an NT contract, it is advisable to ____(4) rather than win immediately.
In major tournaments, North does the scoring and E or W must _______ (7) the score sheet.
Players sometimes use Psyche Bids to ___ __ (3,2) the opponents as to which suit they are holding.
Throwing in an opponent to lead a suit that will cost him a trick is called an ___ ____ (3,4).
When your partner makes an artificial bid, you are required to _____ (5) the opponents.

Down Clues

Winning a trick with a lower card when the opponents hold a higher one is called a _______ (7).
While some people take their bridge seriously, to most it is a ______(7) activity.
When the opponents are holding an ___ (4) number of cards in a suit, most of the time they will not split equally.
When the opponents double you for penalties, you may redouble to request partner to change the suit. This is known as a ___ (3) redouble.
When replying to Blackwood, 5H means you have two ____ (4).
In Singapore, the _____ (5) rarely gives any publicity to bridge.
Before a tournament starts, the director will specify which direction is _____ (5).
With five Hearts and thirteen points, a player _____ (5) 1H.
After a suit is agreed, a bid of another suit is known as a ___(3) bid.
Bridge and chess players like to believe that they have higher ___ (3) than the average population.
A Trial bid asks partner if he has ___ (3) stoppers in that suit.
RCKB stands for Roman ___(3) Card Blackwood.
A _______ (7) occurs when a defender cannot guard two suits.
A Double at a low level is known as a ____ ___ (4,3) Double.
If you have A Q J in Dummy and two low cards in your hand, you can finesse _____(5).
It has been known to happen when unethical player has deliberately _____(5) into their opponent’s card to gain an unfair advantage.
At the end of each hand, North must ____ (4) in the score and E-W must check.
If an irregularity occurs, both sides must ____(4) their case to the director who will then make a ruling.
29. After the opening lead, dummy will ___(3) down the cards.

Crossword Answers

Across : 1. FALSE 2. STAYMAN 8. NOISE 9. SLENDER 10. SHUT
11. TOP 13. EACH 17. EKE 19. QUEEN 20. SET 22. TYPE 24. USE
25. DUCK 28. INITIAL 30. LIE TO 31. END PLAY 32. ALERT

Down : 1. FINESSE 2. LEISURE 3. EVEN 4. SOS 5. ACES 6. MEDIA 7.NORTH 12. OPENS 14. CUE 15. IQS 16. ANY 18. KEY 20. SQUEEZE 21. TAKE OUT 22. TWICE 23. PRIED 26. FILL 27. PLEA 29. LAY

Editor: Zain Moledina
1ST October 2002