Better Bridge in Barry County September 27 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠  J1084 ♥  9 ♦  96542 ♣  J94
West ♠  Q6 ♥  KQ108 ♦  J1083 ♣  753		East ♠  952 ♥  J6542 ♦  AQ ♣  Q106
	South ♠  AK73 ♥  A73 ♦  K7 ♣  AK82

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South None 7♣

North 3♣! 4♠!	East Pass Pass	South 2NT 3♠ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

Captain M. North was whistling softly to himself. Today was the first day of autumn, and the next few weeks of October would be dazzling with colors and the fresh smells of the woods and trees along the Thornapple River. The setting would be perfect for the final three or four river cruises and bridge tournaments on the Barry County Bridge Barge. No wonder the Captain was whistling.

Just then, Captain North heard a cheery call from the Port Tyden Park landing. “Yoo-hoo, Captain North! It’s Vera and Rosy! May we come aboard?” The captain looked up amused. “Of course, Rosy and Vera, come aboard. But you know, don’t you, that we have no cruise today? Our next cruise is early next week.”

“Oh, Captain North, of course, we know that. But we have such news that we couldn’t wait to share our stories with you.”  The Captain smiled. He knew that his cleanup of the BCBB would have a temporary pause. “Come aboard, and sit down, ladies.”

Vera and Rosy took their seats at one of the bridge tables. The captain took a seat as well and waited to hear his favorite bridge players share their bridge stories. “Oh, Captain North, you have heard of the Hastings Banner, haven’t you?” Rosy did not even stop to hear the Captain’s response; he only nodded. “Well, Captain North, you cannot believe all of the bridge classes that will be offered in our area shortly. Isn’t that a hoot?” The Captain smiled. “Yes,” went on Rosy without losing a breath, “there will be plenty of new bridge players for our weekly cruises down the Thornapple. Won’t that be wonderful?” Again, the Captain could only nod.

Here Vera chimed in, “Captain North, your bridge cruises have been the best experiences for playing bridge and seeing the natural beauty of our beautiful Barry County. We just wanted you to know.”

“The Captain smiled and said, “Thank you, Rosy and Vera, that is certainly a nice compliment. I was just thinking that our next few cruises will be especially fun with all of the fall colors and the changes in the season. Fall is one of my favorite seasons.”

Rosy spoke back up again, “That’s not all, Captain North. We have a special hand to share with you today. It happened just this week at our local club in Kalamazoo. You do know where Kalamazoo is, don’t you?” Again, Captain North nodded.

Rosy went on, “Vera opened her very powerful hand with 2NT, promising at least 20 high card points, even distribution, and a request for game if possible. In our partnership agreement, 2NT is not a forcing bid, so I could have passed without feeling too much “angst.” Do you know that word, Captain North? I just learned it on the internet. What fun!”

The Captain smiled. “Go on, Rosy, please.” Rosy sat up straighter in her chair. “Captain North, do you know what I bid as North with only two high card points? I had two jacks and not much more.” Here Rosy stopped and waited for Captain North’s response. The Captain only shook his head. “What did you bid, Rosy?”

“Three clubs!” Rosy exclaimed triumphantly. “The Stayman Convention works after 2NT just as well as after a 1NT bid. I bid three clubs, hoping that I might find my partner Vera with a four-card spade fit.”

Here Vera almost jumped out of her chair. “I responded to Rosy’s request for a major by bidding three spades, and guess what Rosy did next, Captain North? She bid four spades! Can you imagine?”

The two bridge players were so excited about their bidding sequence that Captain North had to nudge them along. “Well, what did Vera say when she saw your two high card points and four spades?” He looked at them expectantly.

Here Vera spoke up, “Well, Captain North, at first I was a bid flustered to say the least. But I duly thanked Vera for her bid, and I did ask her about it. She told me that with the two high card points and the singleton heart that we had a golden fit in spades and enough points to make a game. I nodded to her, and I set about with my plan.” Here Vera sat back down to regain her breath.

“And what a plan Vera made,” commented Rosy. “Why, Captain North, you would have been so impressed with Vera’s play. Vera took the club lead with the A♣ in her hand, and she drew two rounds of trump only, saving the J♠ and 10♠ on the board. She wisely played her A♥, and trumped a loser heart from her hand with the 10♠ in the dummy. She led a small diamond from the dummy, planning to finesse with the K♦, but East jumped in with the A♦. That set up Vera’s K♦.

Vera continued, “With the A♦ out of the way, I was ready. I did not draw the last trump, but I used the J♠ to trump my last loser heart. I led a small club to my K♣, played the K♦, and led a small club to the nine on the board. The rest was elementary, as the saying goes, and I made our four spade contract.”

Here Rosy was practically jumping up and down at the table. “Captain North, you will not believe our outcome. With this same hand played 13 times, we were the only ones to find and bid four spades. We won the top board on that hand, a 12. Wasn’t that something?”

Captain North nodded and smiled. “Rosy and Vera, you are most amusing with your bridge enthusiasm. What a great bid and what a great play of the hand. You are indeed to be congratulated on your bridge skills.

“Oh Captain North, we did well on that hand. But on some of the other 25 hands, not so good. Not so good.” Here Rosy and Vera burst into laughter as the Captain looked at them with a bemused smile on his face.

Gerald Stein September 22, 2012 Number of words: 1084

Better Bridge in Barry County September 20 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

Last week’s bridge column listed the bridge classes that were available in Barry County and surrounding areas. These classes will be starting in the next few weeks. With classes offered in Hastings, Battle Creek, and Kalamazoo, all bridge players who are interested have only a short drive to learn new methods and conventions to improve their bridge game. This week we intend to look at places in Barry County and surrounding areas where avid bridge players can play as much as they want. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of known places in Barry County at this time, but hopefully that will change in the future. Here is what we have so far.

In Hastings, a weekly game is held each Tuesday night at the Pennock Village Community Center at 6:30 PM. Run by Director Audrey Burdick, this game is a mixed social bridge group with a range of players from beginners to advanced status. With four to seven tables depending on the night or the season, players have a chance to compete with others in a fun and comfortable setting. Three rounds of bridge with six hands per round make this a fun evening. According to Audrey, “This is a fun group. They all enjoy getting together and playing bridge.” If interested in finding out more about their game and their location, call Director Audrey at 269-945-2451.

In Richland, down M-43 about 20 miles south of Hastings, is the Richland Area Community Center at 9400 East CD Avenue. A social bridge game is offered at this new and comfortable facility each Monday afternoon from 12:30-3:30. If interested in learning more about this bridge game by taking a short drive down M-43, call the Richland Area Community Center at 269-629-9430. If you wish, you can visit their website at www.richlandareacc.org for other programs, including book discussion clubs, yoga, and dancing classes.

In Kalamazoo, a bit further down the road, there are two bridge sites to consider. Both are duplicate bridge game sites: The Mini Romans Duplicate Club meets at the Main Street Grill, 5463 Gull Road, Suite 6, near the corner of Gull Road and Sprinkle Road in Kalamazoo. There are three games per week at the Mini Romans: Wednesdays at noon, an open and stratified game; Fridays at 11:00 AM, also an open and stratified game, and Sundays at 12:30 PM, an open and stratified game as well. Call Director David Shafer at 269-365-2936 for more information, including fees, directions, and partnerships.

The other Kalamazoo bridge club is located at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center, 648 Maple Hill Drive, Kalamazoo. With nine different playing times throughout the week, it is easy to see that this is the largest duplicate bridge club around. The range of games is varied with open games, beginner games, and games in-between. The latest addition to their club line-up is the new beginner game on Friday nights, starting September 28, with a free pizza and salad and free play as an introductory class to playing duplicate bridge. This will be a fun evening for both social bridge players and those who want to look into duplicate-style bridge playing.  Contact Directors Alan and Brenda Bau at 269-9299, or visit the Kalamazoo Bridge Center website for lots of information about games, bridge classes, tournaments, and more: www.kzoobridge.com

In Battle Creek, the Battle Creek Duplicate Bridge Club, located at Burnham Brook Center, 200 West Michigan Avenue, meets on Mondays at 11:00 AM. The game is an open duplicate game with non-smoking, handicap accessible, and stratified levels of play. For more information, contact Director JoAnn Cornell at 269-323-1133.

In Lansing, there is a new website that is worth looking at: http://www.lansingbridgecenter.org I was pleasantly surprised by their new and easy-to-navigate site. The Lansing Bridge Center offers duplicate games on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays for beginners through advanced players. Located at 325 N. Clippert Street, across from Frandor Mall, the Lansing Bridge club just recently hosted the District 12 Regional Tournament in Lansing with seven days of tournament-style duplicate bridge sessions. A feature that not all clubs have is a bridge library. Lansing Bridge Club has a bridge library as does the Kalamazoo Bridge Club in Kalamazoo. Members may check out what is available and return with a wealth of bridge ideas.

In Grand Rapids, there are also numerous times and places to play duplicate bridge: weekly for Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays once a month. Grand Rapids Bridge Club is a close second to Kalamazoo Bridge Center in offering multiple duplicate bridge games per week. For more information, contact Director Joanne Molt at 616-957-5035. Visit their website for times, places, and interesting comments from players: http://www.westmichiganbridge.com/

While most of the featured clubs in this week’s column are duplicate clubs, there is much to look at by touring their websites. Links to other bridge sites are often offered as well as commentary from directors and/or players. Look around our area to see what a wide variety of bridge playing sites are available. Check out our area, and if you find a spot to play your variety of bridge and you want to advertise it, contact the Editor of the Banner.  If there are additional sites and places to play bridge in Barry County, we will try to include in future columns those places for Barry County bridge players to play bridge and have fun.

Gerald Stein

September 12, 2012 Number of words: 911

Better Bridge in Barry County September 13 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

Now that school has started, and our students are back in the classrooms, isn’t it time for Barry County bridge players to think about taking bridge classes this fall? Today’s column will list some of the bridge classes that will be offered either locally or nearby. Next week we will visit some local places for bridge players to play bridge. For now, let’s see what class offerings are available for beginners, advanced beginners, intermediates, or anyone who just wants to brush up or learn some new bridge tricks in the fascinating world of bridge.

For starters, a beginning bridge class for truly the beginner in bridge will be offered at our own Fehsenfeld Center, Kellogg Community College, Hastings campus, beginning on Wednesdays in October and November: October 3 to November 28 from 10-12 noon. Entitled Bidding in the 21^st Century, this class centers on the basics of bridge playing: counting, bidding, playing, and generally learning the necessary parts of bridge. In nine weeks, players will learn to bid using the latest bidding practices as taught and encouraged by the American Contract Bridge League. A minimum of eight students must register for the class through KCC’s Institute for Learning in Retirement. Go to the KCC website www.kellogg.edu/lifelong/ilr/pdf/Newsletter.pdf and register online or call their office number: 269-965-4134 Ext. 2.

If the daytime hours do not fit your schedule for this class, the same class Bidding in the 21^st Century will be offered in Battle Creek at the Kellogg Community College Technology Center on Hill Brady Road on Wednesday nights beginning October 3 from 6-8 PM for nine weeks. This class is perfect for beginners in bridge but also serves as a refresher class for those who want to see what new ideas in bridge bidding have developed since they first learned to play. Again go to the KCC website www.kellogg.edu/lifelong/ilr/pdf/Newsletter.pdf and register online or call their office number: 269-965-4134 Ext. 2. The text is included in the tuition cost for both classes. A bonus chapter in the beginning class is the final chapter, and all students will know and be able to use the Stayman Convention by the end of the nine weeks.

A third class, geared more for the advanced beginner, the intermediate player, and anyone who wants to improve the defense part of their bridge game, will be offered on Monday mornings, beginning October 1-November 26 from 10-12 noon. This class entitled Defense in the 21^st Century will also be offered through the Institute for Learning in Retirement program through Kellogg Community College at their Technology Center on Hill Brady Road. The text is included in this class as well, and the class runs for nine weeks just like the beginning classes. This class will delve into opening leads against no trump contracts and trump contracts, developing defensive tricks, making a defensive plan, and a bonus chapter on learning a popular and useful convention: the negative double. Again go to the KCC website www.kellogg.edu/lifelong/ilr/pdf/Newsletter.pdf and register online or call their office number: 269-965-4134 Ext. 2.

A fourth class that will be offered in Kalamazoo at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center is the Play of the Hand in the 21^st Century. This class follows the Bidding in the 21^st Century class and is the second class in the ACBL series. For more information on this class, which begins on Thursday, September 20, 2012, call 612-508-1360. This class also runs for nine weeks and includes the text. Learn how to make a plan, take all the tricks you need, and impress the in-laws with your play of the hand.

Finally, an exciting offering for those social bridge players who want to know a bit more about duplicate bridge playing and where to go for more instruction, here is a bit of news from Alan and Brenda Bau, Directors at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center in Kalamazoo, just off of US 131.

A New Beginner Bridge Game Starts Friday, Sept. 28^th at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center, 648 Maple Hill Drive in Kalamazoo: From Alan and Brenda Bau, Directors.

Call (269) 372-9299 or visit http://www.kzoobridge.com/

 “We will be starting a new bridge game targeted toward helping social bridge players who want to learn about duplicate bridge and new duplicate bridge players get off on the right foot. The first session will be on Friday night, September 28, 2012 starting at 6:30 PM. This is a FREE SESSION and plan to come at 6:00 PM for pizza and salad.

Many times social bridge players and new duplicate bridge players are somewhat overwhelmed in the beginning. This new game is intended to relieve any stress and will be a great learning experience. There will be a brief pre-game lecture that will focus on the basics of bidding, defense, declarer play, etiquette and a host of other related topics. Each session will consist of twelve hands. To enhance the learning experience most of the hands will relate to the material covered in the lecture.

We ask that you pre-register for the first session as it will help us plan the food requirements for the evening. If you would like to sign up for this free bridge game that includes dinner, please contact us at your earliest convenience. We hope to have a really good turnout, so we suggest making your reservations early.”

Next week, in this column, we will look at the places in Barry County, Calhoun County, Kalamazoo County and Kent County where bridge games are available and ready for bridge players. For now, consider the bridge classes in our area or in nearby communities. Begin the school year with a desire to learn some new ideas about your favorite game. Sign up for classes or take a drive with some friends to the free pizza and salad night offered by the Kalamazoo Bridge Center. You will be opening a wonderful window in your bridge learning. Have fun in Bridge Class!

Gerald Stein

 September 9, 2012

 Number of words: 1000

Better Bridge in Barry County September 6 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠  J3 ♥  A ♦  AQ984 ♣  KQJ98
West ♠  A1094 ♥  QJ762 ♦  107 ♣  A5		East ♠  Q762 ♥  9543 ♦  632 ♣  76
	South ♠  K85 ♥  K108 ♦  KJ5 ♣  10432

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South North/South 3♥

North Dbl 3NT	East 2♥ Pass	South Pass 3♥ Pass	West 1♥ Pass Pass

In today’s column, we will take a final look at bidding, planning, and playing a no trump contract, but unlike the past few weeks, this hand will illustrate what happens when the opponents enter the bidding and make life difficult for the North/South team. Let’s see what happened in a recent game at the club.

As dealer, South had inadequate points for an opening bid, but looking at her distribution and good points in three of the suits, South certainly hoped that her partner could enter the bidding. South had a nice hand to respond to the partnership.

West entered the bidding with a rather weak hand, but this is the way bridge is played these days. With only 11 high card points and one point for length in the five-card heart suit, West did what most competitive players would have done, and she opened a 1♥ bid. Those hearts were nothing to write home about, but there were five of them and a few points to spare with two aces in other suits.

North, with a strong hand and with shortness in both hearts and spades, elected to use the Takeout Double for his bid. With 17 high card points, shortness in two suits, and length in the minors, North was hoping to make something happen for his team. His double demanded that his partner bid if East did not bid and for his partner to name her best suit.

East, with a meager hand of two high card points, supported her partner with a 2♥ bid. East knew that there was not much there, but she did know that their partnership had at least nine hearts between them and a golden fit in the heart suit. Again, this is modern bridge bidding. Bid and bid some more!

At this point, South reevaluated her hand and used a cue bid, bidding the opponents’ suit and promised with that bid a limit raise of 10-11 points. This was an extremely accurate bid, plus it was rather intimidating to the opponents to have their suit bid and raised. They sometimes do not know what to do, and this can allow the bidding to falter or stop because of the cue bid.

West duly passed the cue bid, and North evaluated the bidding, and promptly bid 3NT, a most accurate and courageous bid, considering the heart bid by East-West and his meager holdings in spades. But the big reminder here is to remember to trust your partner. Partner must have had something to have bid the cue bid of 3♥.

The final contract was 3NT by North, and East tabled the 3♥, the fourth down of her partner’s suit, and the entire table knew that East-West had nine hearts between them. Unfortunately, for East/West, the hearts were stopped by the A♥ in North’s hand and the K♥ in South’s hand.

North thanked his partner as usual for a good bid and a good dummy, and he took the time to count the immediate winners as we have been practicing the last few weeks: two heart tricks, four diamond tricks, and no certain winners in spades or clubs. North-South had six certain tricks to start. Where would the other three tricks come from?

North certainly liked the dummy and his own hand and how they fit together. With stoppers in hearts, the plan was to knock out the A♣ and run the good clubs for four or more extra tricks. North started that plan immediately, taking the A♥, and then led the K♣. North was virtually sure that West had the A♣ because of her opening bid. West can duck the trick, but that would be only a short-term solution. Instead, West took the A♣, and led back the 2♥. This was won by South with the 10♥, and the rest of the tricks were claimed by North, taking 12 tricks altogether. East-West lost their A♠ because West did not take the ace when she could have.

Did North-South miss out on a small slam in no trump on this hand? They did not miss a small slam. East-West held two aces, the A♠ and the A♣. With both aces in one hand, it is a good bet that when West got in, she would have led the setting trick at once. North-South were tipped off by West’s opening bid of one heart. While not enough for slam, game was a real possibility, and North-South bid it and made it, despite competition from the opponents. Well done, North-South.

Gerald Stein

August 30, 2012

Number of words: 945

Answer to last week’s bridge question: What other slam could have been bid and made despite the fact that there was a Moysian fit? Hearts can make a small slam, and indeed that was bid and made at the Regional Tournament. The Moysian fit suggests a 4-3 fit in the trump suit, a situation most bridge players try to avoid. In this case, the misfit was even worse: all 6 trumps were in the declarer’s hand with none in the dummy; his only plan was to draw trumps with the A♥ and K♥, and then give up a heart trick, regain the lead, draw the last trump and claim the rest, making a small slam in hearts.