Grandslam #17 Jan/Feb 03

THE GRANDSLAM
SRC BRIDGE SECTION NEWSLETTER
JAN/FEB 2003 ISSUE #17

New Year bonus issue of THE GRANDSLAM for your reading pleasure – the editor

1. Message from the Convenor – Carlton Parker
Brand new year! Same old game?
There was a flurry of Duplicate Bridge activity as the year ended. SRC’s own Year-end event was on 30th November, but the last weeks of December brought lots of opportunities to play at Singapore Island Country Club, Peoples’ Association, Changi Beach Club, Serangoon Gardens Country Club, Chinese Swimming Club and SCBA.
Has this burst of activity left you satisfied with your game, or still wishing your results were a little higher up in the rankings? Maybe it’s time for a couple of New Year’s resolutions. You could work with your regular partner(s) on defensive signals. Or add another bidding convention to your repertoire (Cappelletti, anyone?)
With a little effort applied consistently over the year, we could all improve our game. Yes, I know, we play for the enjoyment, not the prizes. But, hey, winning is fun too.
2. SRC Year-end Bridge Party – 31st December
24 bridge players did exactly what they like doing best to bring in the New Year – playing bridge.

With everybody wearing funny hats, balloons everywhere and with Indian music blasting from one direction and shattering pop music from the other, nobody could really concentrate on the game – but then again, nobody really cared. They were there to eat, drink and enjoy themselves.

Amid the chaos, confusion and laughter, all sorts of crazy results were recorded. Close to midnight, the bridge party joined with the other two groups in the 1883 lounge to welcome 2003 together. Whew!

3. SICC Xmas Open Pairs – 19th December
Singapore Island Country Club’s annual tournament attracted 38 pairs from all over Singapore. Zain (SRC), who partnered Tian Mao, came in 5th in this strong field, missing the 4th position by a solitary point.

4. SGCC Year-End Open Pairs – 29th December
The Serangoon Gardens Country Club Year-end Annual Pairs attracted 30 pairs and was won by Victor Lim & Y F Thong.

Interestingly, the organisers placed all the strong pairs in the NS direction. Using a 30-board Mixed Mitchell Movement, the end result was that 9 out of the top 10 positions were NS and ALL of the bottom 10 positions were EW!

Pat, Mr. Leong, Helen, Carl, Chris, Cheyenne and Dorothy represented SRC. Everyone fell into the middle positions from 12th to 18th respectively. Special mention must go to newcomer Cheyenne who has just completed her beginner class – a new star in the making?

5. Chinese Swimming Club’s Bridge Activities
Chinese Swimming Club’s Bridge Section recently returned from an inter-club tournament in Kuala Lumpur. Eric from CSC said that his club’s recognizes the importance and prestige of a successful bridge section.

Their budget covers their bi-yearly Major Competitions as well as a minor tournament every month. (Zain and Molly won December’s event) They also have targeted funds to play at major tournaments and leagues in Singapore as well as travel overseas. Eric was very excited that next year they would also be able lure more of Singapore’s top players to grace their tournaments by providing significant financial incentives and monetary prizes. With such programs in place, there is little doubt that CSC’s bridge will improve in quality and quantity. We wish them all the very best in their endeavors and goals.

6. SRC Bridge Results – Dec 2nd to 30th 2002
DATE Pairs FIRST SECOND THIRD
2 Dec 10 Zain/YewChung Lucy/Koh Rahim/Ron
9 Dec 8 Rahim/Ron Alan/Ronnie Lucy/Koh
16 Dec Score was scrapped due to error in Movement Chart
23 Dec 18* LyeMeng/Ng Kong Rahim/Ron David/Adrian
25 Dec 11(day) Rahim/Ron Zain/Kanan Shamim/Lucy
25 Dec 8(night) Pat/Leong** Zain/Ronnie David/Hsien Ping
30 Dec 14 Shamim/Molly Wikker/Maggie Zain/YewChung
31 Dec 12 Zain/Ronnie*** Shamim/Molly Lawrence/YewChung
* A new attendance record of 18 Pairs on 23rd Dec, which shattered the previous record of 15 pairs on 23rd Sep 2002.
** Congratulations to Leong and Pat for upsetting the odds on Xmas. *** Special “deafness” award to Zain/Ronnie for being able to hold their concentration in 120 Decibel noise level on New Year’s Eve.

7. Intellectual Game
Asked why he does not play any intellectual games like Chess or Bridge, Homer replied, “My idea of an intellectual game is trying to remember which is the Sports Channel”

8. Chicago Bridge using Russian Scoring
How many times have you had just 4 people for bridge? You really hate to play Rubber Bridge because of the heavy luck element and besides, everyone knows that the people who sit in the direction of the bathtub will get the better cards!
Well, salvation comes in something called Russian Scoring. While not exactly as fair as duplicate scoring, it goes some ways to neutralize the fall of the cards, at least in hands that are not too distributional in nature.

Games are played in groups of 4 boards (16 is better) like Chicago Bridge. The first board has no one vulnerable, the second has NS vulnerable, the third has EW vulnerable and the fourth has both vulnerable. Standard duplicate scoring is used and the dealership rotates as per the duplicate boards.
On each deal, there is a target score, which depends on the number of high card points held. At the end of the play, the high card points held by each side are counted, according to A, K, Q, J = 4, 3, 2, 1. There are 40 points in all. The pair, which held more high card points, finds its target score from the following table:

High Card Target High Card Target
Points NV V Points NV V
20 0 0 21 50 50
22 70 70 23 110 110
24 200 290 25 300 440
26 350 520 27 400 600
28 430 630 29 460 660
30 490 690 31 600 900
32 700 1050 33 900 1350
34 1000 1500 35 1100 1650
36 1200 1800 37+ 1300 1950

The difference between the target score from the above table and the actual score become the “net score” which is then converted to IMPs, using a standard IMP table. The total IMP scores over a series of hands are totaled to give an overall result.

As an example, suppose we are North-South, and on the third deal of a Chicago we bid 3S and made 10 tricks. We then count our high card points and discover that between us we had 26. We were not vulnerable, so our target score from the table was 350 but we only scored 170. We are 180 points short of our target. Therefore using the IMP table, our score for this hand is minus 5 IMPs. This is our penalty for not bidding game with game points.
Yes, it takes more time to do the scoring, but I figure it compensates for all the stress and time wasted moaning and groaning about your side not getting good cards all day. You forgot to check the bathtub, didn’t you?
9. Tip On Usage of Bidding Box
Correct Method: Decide exactly what you want to bid. Move your hand to the bidding box. Smoothly pull out the bid and place it in front of you. Sounds easy doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, hesitation is very common. I have even seen players partially pull out a bid, hesitate, put the bid back, think some more and finally pull out another bid. Remember if you hesitate, do not be surprised if the director is called and you are penalised. This behavior could be viewed as providing illegal information to your partner. This is similar to a defender pulling out a card and then putting it back.

Being ethical is not enough. You must behave in a way that your ethics cannot be questioned.

10. The Olympic Status of Bridge
Bridge is a recognized Olympic Sport. The World Bridge Federation logo and flag are included in International Olympic Committee’s publications and displays. So far, Bridge has reached the same status as, say, Golf, Rugby, Squash, and Karate. Although recognized as Olympic sports, these are not yet being played in the Olympic games for medals.

Given that the Olympic Summer Games have grown to the limit, new disciplines can only be accepted in the Winter Games. An amendment to Rule 9.4 of the Olympic Charter is required. This states that: 'Those sports which are practiced on snow or ice are considered as winter sports'.

Bridge was demonstrated before the public and the IOC officials at a Grand Prix shortly before the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, in Salt Lake City, USA. It is hoped that the final step of bridge becoming medal sport will be achieved at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, scheduled to take place in Torino, Italy.

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to “contribute to the building of a peaceful and better world, by educating people through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit that requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”. We certainly look forward to this historic occasion.

11. It’s all Relative
When my 80-year-old grandfather finally retired after 20 years of playing bridge, he had this to say “My Bridge days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the misery I've endured since my birth.”

12. How much fun is Bridge?
Bridge is the most fun a person can have without laughing.
13. Crossword Puzzle –copyright Zain Moledina
The puzzle below was created especially for the SRC Pairs Tournament on 30th November 2002. Good Luck!

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
Across Clues
3. A 5C Blackwood response means zero or ___ (3) the Aces.
7. A suit (6)
8. In top level Bridge, regular partners use a lot of ____ (6) bidding conventions.
9. After trump suit is agreed, cue ___ (4) are used to show controls.
10. If you don’t revalue your hand after the trump suit is agreed, you will tend to ________ (8) and perhaps miss game.
12. To bid 3NT, your side must have a _______ (7) in all the suits.
14. There are _____ (5) high card points in a deck of cards.
17. After opening 1S and partner responds 2S, a rebid of 3D is known as a Long Suit ____ (5) Bid which asks for help in diamonds.
18. If an honour card is exposed while dealing, this is a ______ (7) and the cards have to be dealt again.
20. While a short discussion is acceptable after each hand, there should be no ________ (8) during the game.
22. The most common bid is a ____(4)
23. An SOS Redouble is to ask partner to ______ (6) into another suit.
24. A good opening lead is the top of a ______(6)
25. With an odd number of pairs in a match, one pair will have to ___ (3) out in each round.

Down Clues
1. A double jump to 4C after your partner opens 1S is known as a ______ (8) bid showing support for Spades and slam interest.
2. To finesse or try for a drop? A good player must be familiar with the ____ (4) in order to make a good decision.
3. For a player to bid 7NT, he must first be _____ (7) that his side has all the aces.
4. A good defender should have a good knowledge of opening ____ (5).
5. If a contract is redoubled, the penalty points for going down are at least ________ (8) when compared to the normal points.
6. The small slam is sometimes called a ____ (4) slam.
11. Bridge is available 24 hours a ___ (3) on the Internet.
13. One of the best ways to improve your bridge is to ________(8)
15. A ________ (8) bid is used after 1NT to ensure the strong hand becomes the declarer.
16. Bridge cards, Poker cards, Tarot cards. The Tarot cards are the ______ (7).
17. Once you have found a partner who is strong and understanding. You must handle him with ___ (3) (abbr.)
19. ____ (5) are not considered as Honour cards.
21. To improve your defense, you must ____ (4) the signals of your partner’s cards.
22. A below game contract is known as a ____ (4) score.

14. Bridge Wisdom
Bridge wisdom does not necessarily come with practice. Sometimes practice is all you are ever going to get.

15. Long Bridge to Cross
A two-day bridge tournament was invented because it is impossible to cram all the bad luck into one day.

16. Last Year’s Resolution
If over the past year you have kept your 2002 New Year’s resolution not to “correct” your partner when he makes a mistake – check your pulse. You may be dead.

17. Goodbye Jolene
The Bridge section committee would like to put on record their appreciation to Jolene Wood (SRC PR) for her sincere efforts in supporting and coordinating the activities of the SRC Bridge Section over the past 6 months. We wish her well in her reassigned role and hope to work with her again soon.



18. Crossword Answers
Across Clues: 3. ALL 7. SPADE 8. EXOTIC 9. BIDS 10. UNDERBID 12. STOPPER 14. FORTY 17. TRIAL 18. MISDEAL 20. CHATTING 22. PASS 23. RESCUE 24. SERIES 25. SIT
Down Clues: 1. SPLINTER 2. ODDS 3. ASSURED 4. LEADS 5. FOURFOLD 6. MINI 11. DAY 13. PRACTICE 15. TRANSFER 16. BIGGEST 17. TLC 19. NINES 21. HEED 22. PART

19. Copyright Note
All the crosswords are original and many of the jokes/articles in this and past Grandslam Newsletters are either original or have been significantly altered and adapted to Bridge. If you wish to reproduce them, please contact Zain at zainmole@hotmail.com

Editor: Zain Moledina
1st January 2003