Vil Gravis's blog

Question Time

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Fri, 07/06/2019 - 14:10

An ordinary 1NT opening bid can often lead to all sorts of end results, as evidenced by this deal.
Board 11 from Thursday 6/06/2019
Dealer S Nil Vul

6
K8764
A6
AK976
Q982
AT5
KJ75
QJ
KT7543
Q32
T83
T
AJ
J9
Q942
85432

It's the Thought that Counts

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 21:54

This week we see the first session of a Swiss Pairs at our club, so I will be looking for deals where an emphasis on teams play strategy is necessary to achieve best results. That means bidding confidently to your games, and taking great care in your declarer play, as well as good defence. All that will come with more play and learning. Maybe I will get some responses from readers this week, I still have not had any responses to the previous review which asked for suggestions on declarer play.

Board 16 from 5/06/19
Dealer W EW Vul

2
5
A98732
KQJ83
9865
QJ9743
K6
2
AQJ43
A6
QT
A976
KT7
KT82
J54
T54

A Right Royal Tussle ..

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Fri, 31/05/2019 - 16:00

Competing at low levels is a big part of the match point game, and lighter than normal opening bids can help or hinder both sides. South’s opening of 1D third in hand was reasonable enough, and it made life difficult for EW. It should not have but it seems that it did.

Board 21 from Thursday 30/5/19
Dealer N NS Vul

AJ43
32
AT872
75
KQ865
Q974
AKQ9
T2
A865
963
T863
97
KJT
KQJ54
J42

The Naughty Corner ...

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Thu, 30/05/2019 - 14:30

Some basic bidding lessons were clearly ignored when this board came up.

Board 6 from 29/05/2019
Dealer E EW Vul

KJ95
2
KJ742
AK3
7
AQT864
T63
J97
AQT64
J7
AQ85
T8
832
K953
9
Q6542

Skating on Thin Ice

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Fri, 24/05/2019 - 14:49

Competing over an opponent’s 1NT can be fraught with danger, as many EW pairs discovered when they played this deal. It certainly helps, if you’re going to have the nerve to come in with a poor hand, if your declarer play is good enough to handle what may happen later.

Board 6 from Thursday 23/05/2019
Dealer E EW Vul

A
T98632
K92
876
Q9853
AJ4
84
QJ5
7642
AQT53
AT42
KJT
KQ75
J76
K93

Over The Top ...

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Fri, 24/05/2019 - 14:33

Sacrifice bidding is something that few new players have as yet mastered, and perhaps that is just as well. But it helps to understand what it is about and how you can recognise when you have a good enough hand to compete, be it at a low part score level, or much higher.

Board 13 from 22/05/2019
Dealer N All Vul

A9
AJ987
KJ
AJ83
KJT762
Q6
T872
T
Q843
3
A653
KQ72
5
KT542
Q94
9654

A Risque Business

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Sun, 19/05/2019 - 15:19

As declarer, what risks are you prepared to take for extra match points? And how do you assess your risk? Here is a very good example of when you might consider taking a risk and why.

Board 15 from Thursday 16/05/2019
Dealer S NS Vul

QT9
KJT753
6
A83
K4
A96
T84
KQ975
J76532
82
J975
4
A8
Q4
AKQ32
JT62

Point Count Schmoint Count!

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Thu, 16/05/2019 - 18:43

How many lessons can we learn from just one deal? Look at board 4 from this session:
Board 4 from 15/05/2019
Dealer W All Vul

652
K73
AKT82
K6
KT73
QJ654
A752
AJ94
Q962
73
T84
Q8
AJT854
9
QJ93

Better Get Thee to a Nunnery, perhaps?

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Fri, 10/05/2019 - 11:53

To bid or not to bid? That is the question. Simply passing a (suitable) hand out at the one level (as in yesterday’s article) or in 1NT is most likely to result in a below average score on the board, and this one was no exception.

Board 14 from Thursday 9/05/2019
Dealer E Nil Vul

T87652
95
J5
AKQ
K3
K432
9843
J98
AQJ
QT87
K76
T42
94
AJ6
AQT2
7653

What happened at your table?

Submitted by Vil Gravis on Thu, 09/05/2019 - 11:43

There could be a lot of different bidding on this board, some of it right, some of it clearly wrong, and some of it debatable. Which category would you have fitted in? Let’s take a look.

Board 4 from 8/05/2019
Dealer W All Vul

A32
A63
K9
AT987
K6
QT842
QT84
Q2
J987
K9
AJ65
KJ5
QT54
J75
732
643

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