North Penn Bridge Bulletin

Greetings to the

North Penn Bridge Community!

Week of 10/31/2022

From the Club President

Pat Andrews



As November begins and Thanksgiving approaches, many of us are mindful of all we have to be thankful for. One item on my list is our awesome bridge club and those who work hard to make it a great place to enjoy the game. As we did last year, I ask that we once again designate November as Director Appreciation Month at North Penn. Join me in reminding our directors how much they are appreciated. Here's a list of ideas: show up early so Directors don't have to rush to set up the game, play in tempo to keep the games moving, and help clean up after the games by removing trash from around the tables and returning boards to the front of the room. Finally, let's all do our best to minimize Director calls but when they are necessary, remember to say "Director, please." 

 

As this new month begins, let's make sure our Directors April, Mitch, Brendan, Dennis, Rose, Roger & Dave know we are grateful for their service to our club.

From the Club Manager

Dave Dodgson



Membership. We are now accepting membership dues for next year. You can pay at the club, online, or by check. Check the Membership item at the bottom of our webpage for details. The dues for next year are $20.


October 31-November 6. Lancaster Regional. Check the ACBL website for details. Here’s the playing schedule for NPenn that week:


  • Monday, October 31 – open game at 12:00 noon
  • Tuesday, November 1 – online 7:15 p.m. game. No morning game
  • Wednesday, November 2 – Shuffle & Deal at 10 a.m. No open game
  • Thursday, November 3 – club closed
  • Friday, November 4 – 0-750 game at 10 a.m.


November 7-18. SUPER Club Championship and STaC.


November 12. Robot Individual at 4 p.m.


New Convention Cards. Information for filling out the new cards is available here.


Cleanliness. Please clean up your table area before you leave. And most importantly, empty any liquids in the sink before you throw away the cup.

Nominations For Election



There are three positions available on the Board of Governors at the North Penn Duplicate Bridge Club for the term January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025. If you are interested in becoming a candidate, please contact the Nominating Chair, Ken Salter at kensalter@verizon.net or in person at the club. Names must be received by November 8, 2022.

Education



Simple “Sohl,” a simplified version of the Lebensohl Convention, will be taught by John Dickenson in a one-session lesson on Monday, November 14 from 9-11 a.m. Click here for details.


Joann Glasson’s November Lessons

November 7 – Opener’s Rebid After Responder’s 2NT bid.

November 14 – Avoidance Plays.

Click here for details.

Special Fund Raising Event Update



The Stress Management Workshop scheduled for Saturday 11/12/22 requires a preregistration. The preregistration deadline is Wednesday 11/9 at 3 p.m. Please do not plan to attend unless you have preregistered by the Wednesday deadline. You can email Michael at mjcarver63@gmail.com for details and to preregister. Thank you!

Partnership



To add your name to the player list or to request a partner for a game, please send an email to northpennpartner@gmail.com.

Calendar


Click here to see a file you can enlarge.



We update our Facebook page regularly so be sure to check it out. It’s a great way to stay in touch with all the happenings at North Penn.

Tidbits



Lead trumps against sacrifice bids, even a singleton trump.


When your side clearly has the greater strength, how will declarer take tricks at a level higher than justified by the high card values? Only by ruffing. The best defense to maximize the penalty is to lead trumps at every opportunity.”



From 100 Winning Bridge Tips

by Ron Klinger

Deal of the Week

by Bruce Schwaidelson




Tony the Tiger Plays GR-R-REAT!




One Monday morning while Snap Krispie was taking his daily milk bath, he thought to himself: “What a great day for duplicate bridge!” Unfortunately, when he called up his Pop, he discovered Pop was already playing with Snap’s kid sister Crackle. Not sure what to do, Snap remembered that North Penn has this really cool system for finding partners and he was able to track down Tony the Tiger.


Tony informed Snap that he was indeed available since his regular partner, Cap’n Crunch, was aboard his schooner heading for the Bermuda regional. Snap was excited to play with Tony, since he is known to be an excellent player that loves taking “calculated risks” when he believes they would give him a pretty good chance for a top.


After enjoying a few rounds with somewhat “normal” results, the new partnership moved to the table where Pop and Crackle were sitting North-South. Snap of course introduced Tony to his family members. When Tony realized they were all fellow Kellogg employees happily promoting Rice Krispies or Frosted Flakes, he responded with a loud but pleasant “It’s Gr‑r‑reat to meet you.” They finally got down to business and began playing our Deal of the Week:



Crackle (South) opened 1♣ in first seat red v. white and Snap (West) considered his very flat 12 HCP hand. Years ago, when he had first learned to play, this hand was an automatic pass, but lately he had been reading there can be some nice benefits to getting in the auction early by doubling with so-called totally flat “pancake” holdings (4333 shape). Yes, if it turns out the opponents are headed for game they will know where to place the opponents’ points, but if it is in fact a part-score deal, Tony would have no problem bidding his longest suit and find Snap with at least 3-card support. The shapelier Tony’s hand, the more likely they could find a playable spot or at least push the opponents higher.


Tony, however, had other ideas in mind. He believed the “field bid” over the double would be 3NT and that his honor-filled major suit doubletons alongside his nice diamond 5-carder and ♣AK-4th would likely allow that contract to make, especially since South’s opener had already located all or most of the missing high cards. The Tiger’s analysis was “spot on” (despite not being a leopard), but instead of calling 3NT, he passed! His thinking: why not try for +500 or more when the non-vul game is only worth 400 or maybe 430?


Would you have passed for penalty? It’s generally not recommended at the 1-level when you hold only 4 trump and, truthfully, the rest of his hand did not exactly cry-out “lots of defensive tricks here.” In fact, a recent bridgewinners.com bidding poll (posted by yours truly) indicated that 82% of the participants (including a couple of bridge super-stars) chose 3NT, whereas positively NO ONE voted “Pass”! Believe it or not, even Tony the Tiger voted for 3NT – go figure.


Now it was up to Crackle. She could have made an “SOS redouble” to ask Pop to rescue her in his longest suit, but she too decided to pass, perhaps not wisely. Snap, on the other hand, really liked his cards for defending 1♣ doubled. Tony had passed for penalty without knowing that his partner held 3 clubs; surely dummy would hold a singleton or void in the trump suit.


Snap had no problem finding the lead of the ♣J. He recalled Frank Stewart had recently written that a trump is “the textbook lead when partner [has] converted a low level takeout double for penalty.” Larry Cohen had even more demanding words: “It's a nearly iron-clad rule that you should lead a trump against doubled part scores.”


Snap was pretty surprised to see 2 trump in dummy. His sister clearly would have redoubled for runout if she held only 3 clubs - what was Tony up to? Could this be one of those “let’s see if I can get a top” deals? Snap had heard that Tony was a reputed cereal-killer, so he figured his sister must be in big trouble. You can follow the play by clicking here and hitting “NEXT” repeatedly.


Tony ducked Snap’s ♣J lead to Crackle’s Queen, and Crackle knew she was in deep do-do. Her dummy was pointless and entry-less and she looked like she was about to cry. She was certain that redoubling would have fetched a 1♠ bid from Pop and then he would be declarer! Having to do something, she began with a low spade to Tony’s Jack. Tony cashed the ♣K, removing dummy’s 2nd trump, and was overjoyed to see his partner follow suit. Tony’s plan was to set up his diamonds while either ruffing down or eliminating declarer’s trump holding.


Now for the key play. Take a look at the diamond suit to see what would happen if Tony leads his 4th best 7:


----------------------------Dummy: 95

--------------W: Q62-----------------------E: K10873

----------------------------Decl: AJ4


When declarer plays low, dummy’s 9 forces Snap to win with his Queen, leaving declarer’s AJ sitting over Tony’s King. To prevent that occurrence, Tony recognized that he had a “surround play” available. Whenever the 9 is in dummy and the defender over the dummy (East) holds the 10-8 (the cards “surrounding” the 9) PLUS a higher honor, he should lead the 10 rather than the 3rd or 4th best.


Tony did indeed play his 10 and declarer could score only a single diamond trick, the Ace, no matter how she played. At the table, Crackle covered with the Jack, Snap winning with his Queen. Before continuing diamonds, Snap surprised Tony by cashing the ♣10, leaving declarer and Tony each with a single trump, Tony still holding the Ace. The diamond 6, 9, K, A were next, and Tony’s 873 were now high. If you were at the club that day, you would have heard a ferocious “That’s GR‑R‑REAT” in Surround Sound everywhere in the room. Snap found out later that even the attorneys next door heard it.


Crackle had won just 2 of the 1st 6 tricks, and she was getting quite flustered. I am sure she should have cashed her ♠A next and played another spade, hoping to somehow score her K and her last trump, but even if that were possible (it wasn’t), she would be down 2 (-500). Instead she made the mistake of a low spade, which ran to Tony’s Queen. As we are about to see, poor Crackle – you should pardon the expression - could now “kiss her Ace good-bye.”


Tony drew declarer’s final trump and ran his 3 diamond tricks leaving a 2-card ending. It didn’t matter which 2 cards declarer came down to: ♠A-K or K8 since Snap held onto his AQ to take the last 2 tricks. Down 5 (1400!) was not just an E-W top at North Penn, it was a very rare 100% result in the Common Game.


Declarer’s best line against best defense would have resulted in -1100, making little difference to her matchpoint score. Some East-West pairs did find their way to 3NT, making 400 or 430, but 1♣ doubled was destined to be the top. Snap actually felt bad for his sister, but he overheard Pop consoling her with “Don’t worry, Little Krispie, it’s only one board.”


Tony the Tiger, on the other hand, was rather proud of the accomplishment and his “brilliant” pass. When Snap asked him about that board after the game, Tony said that he was fortunate to have his “Lucky Charms” with him and then confided in a whisper: “Don’t tell the Kellogg’s execs but I always play Gr‑r‑reat when I eat those General Mills Wheaties for breakfast. They’re the ‘breakfast of champions,’ you know.”


Snap advised his partner that the surround play was really cool but never mentioned that he not only detests Wheaties – and Frosted Flakes too - but he is in fact “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs”! They’re “Gr‑r‑reat!”

Laughter is the Best Medicine



How does a pair of pants feel when they are ironed?

  • Depressed


Which word becomes shorter after you add two letters to it?

  • Short


 What do you call a fake noodle?

  • An impasta


 What did the fish say when he bumped into the cement wall?

  • Dam!




Courtesy of our resident jokester

Michael Carver




Watch this space for future big game scorers.

It could be you and your partner!

Play often to improve the odds!


November Birthdays



Adelman, Nancy

Abell, Dick

Bauer III, William

Dowling, Christina

Fryman, Maribeth

Garrity, Kay

Gewirtzman, Steven

Goldman, Bill

Goldman, Ellie

Meyers, Alan

Salasin, Sandra

Serfas, Robert

Sigmund, Ruth

Stanley, Lee

Teates, Mike

Tolles, Leslie


North Penn Duplicate Bridge Club
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