Grandslam #7

THE GRANDSLAM
SRC BRIDGE SECTION NEWSLETTER

JUL/AUG 2001 ISSUE #7

Message from the Convenor – Chris Wong
Hello everybody. This is your (new) Convenor speaking. The flight is proceeding smoothly and there is no need to fasten your seat belts.

Let me first extend a big “Thank You” to those who were able to attend our AGM on 10th June. We enjoyed a nice lunch, elected a new slate of officers, and hosted a 5-Table Invitational Bridge Tournament.

The SRC Bridge Section Committee members for the 2001/2002 season are:

Convenor: Chris Wong

Vice-Convenor: Dorothy Wong

Secretary: Shamim Moledina

Treasurer: Carlton Parker

Editor: Zain Moledina

I would like to sincerely thank the outgoing Committee for the fine job they have done during the past year, and also thank the SRC management for their gracious support of the Bridge Section and its activities.

The Serangoon Gardens Country Club hosted four SRC Bridge Pairs for a Team Competition on Sunday, June 17th. The SRC team came out victorious (262 points vs. 238 points for SGCC). Many thanks go to our hosts for an enjoyable day of Bridge, including snacks, and a buffet dinner after the competition.

In May, software and hardware for scoring was loaned to the Bridge Section and is being used for the Monday night practice sessions and tournaments. The software speeds up the scoring process, and allows us to build up a database of results

A good 20-strong turnout for the Bridge Escapade to Genting (July 1st to 5th) ensures that there will lots of great Bridge and a chance to enjoy the other activities on offer.
Learn to Play Bridge -- A repeat of the popular Beginners Training Course will be conducted at SRC starting the 28th of September (Friday) for seven lessons weekly. The cost is $80 for SRC members and $90 for non-members. For more details contact Esther Ong on 430-7567.

We look forward to lots of enjoyable Duplicate Bridge in the year ahead.

SRC Monday Bridge Results – 7th May to 25th Jun 2001
DATE PAIRS FIRST SECOND THIRD
7 May 12 Valerie/Brian Shamim/Zain Carl/Chris

14 May 9 Shamim/Zain Richard/Julian Ai Leng/Alan

21 May 10 Shamim/Ron Lena/Lucy Jane/Angela

28 May 10 Dorothy/Ron Richard/Zain Mr/Mrs Leong

4 June 10 Lena/Lucy David/Peter Shamim/Zain

11 June 10 Lena/Lucy Helen/Jansie David/Peter

18 June 9 Sha/Zain/Leong Lena/Lucy David/Peter

25 June 9 David/Peter Jansie/Dorothy Shamim/Zain/Foo =

Richard/Micheal =

With computer scoring now in place, mistakes are minimized and the results are known and tabulated accurately 10 minutes after the last board is played.

3. Bridge Section AGM and Tournament

The Bridge Section AGM was held on 10th June at 1pm in the Milne Lounge. After a quick lunch, the AGM started as there was a quorum. VP Terence Sheperdson and PR Manager Anna-Marie Miranda were present to meet the members.

The accounts were passed without query and as all positions for the 2001/2002 Committee Members were unopposed, the AGM was wrapped up in 10 minutes!

Guests started to arrive after 2pm and the AGM Bridge Tournament started at 2.30pm. 8 rounds and 24 boards were played with several breaks for snacks to ease the tension.

1st : Zain and Shamim (SRC)

2nd : Lena and Lucy (CSC)

3rd : David and Peter (CSC & PTC)

4th : Chris and Carl (SRC)

5th : Jansie and Helen (SRC)

All were given prizes.

SGCC Blind Pairs Tournaments
While many SRC members were toiling in the May sun doing the “Big Walk”, several bridge players participated in the Serangoon Gardens Blind Pairs Open Tournament. In this event, SGCC members are randomly selected to play with non-SGCC members. SRC players won all top positions. Well done indeed!

1st : Zain (SRC) and Mrs Ng

2nd : Jansie (SRC) and Pauline

3rd : Shamim (SRC) and Lena

Upcoming Courses
A Beginner’s Bridge Course will start at SRC in September. Encourage your friends to join the fun and exercise their brains! Rahim, who has taught several courses at NUS, will conduct this course with Shamim assisting him.

Zain intends to start an Intermediate Bridge Course in the Sept/Oct timeframe. This power pack course is a must for those who want to play in competitions.

6. Bridge Hand – Defensive Signals

On average, a player will be a defender twice as often as the declarer. While the declarer can look at his assets and plan the strategy, the defenders have no such option. Each defender must visualize what their partner’s possible hand looks like based on the bidding, opening lead and card play – this is where signaling comes into play.

On the hand below, South opened 1S and North’s 2S ended the bidding.





NORTH CONTRACT : 2S

S : 10 9 8 DECLARER : SOUTH

H : K J 7 OPENING LEAD : DK
WEST D : J 5 2 EAST

S : J 4 3 C : K Q 10 5 S : 5 2

H : 9 8 6 4 3 H : A Q 10

D : K Q 10 D : A 7 6 3

C : J 2 C : 9 8 7 4

SOUTH

S : A K Q 7 6 When West leads DK, East knows that it promises

H : 5 2 the Queen (Signal #1). As East wants a switch to

D : 9 8 4 hearts, he discourages with the D3 (Signal #2). As

C : A 6 3 South did not win with the DA, West knows that

his partner has the DA (Indirect Signal #3). From observing the dummy, West knows that his partner wants a heart lead and plays the H4 – 4th from the top (Signal #4). Dummy plays the HJ which is won by East’s HQ. East now underleads his DA to West’s DQ as per Signal #1 and West returns the H3 (Signal #5 showing the fifth heart), covered by the HK and won by the HA. East now knows that his partner had 5 hearts and therefore Declarer had only 2 and will trump any further Heart leads. East therefore cashes his DA. As it is most unlikely that West holds the CA as he did not bid and South did (Signal #6), East returns the last Diamond which promotes West’s JS to a sure trick. Down 1 thanks to a perfect defense using perfect signaling technique.


Editor : Zain Moledina

27th June 2001