Ashby Bridge Club 

Website 

 

Members are reminded to make use of this very useful source of Club information.  There have been some problems in introducing the “deal of the week” feature and they are being addressed.

 

Annual General Meeting

 

The Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 12th July.  Would members wishing to submit resolutions please hand them to a member of the committee not later than June 23rd.  Nomination and resolution forms are available from Shirley White. Time permitting, there will be a duplicate bridge session following the meeting and in accordance with custom and practice there will be no table fees. However, members are asked to pay their annual subscription in a named envelope on the night.

 

Annual Presentation Dinner

 

This event will take place on Friday September 17th at Willesley Golf Club.  Further details will be made available nearer the time.  The price is £13 per person and members wishing to attend should pay in advance to Claire Lewis.  This event has been a very enjoyable occasion in recent years and it is hoped that it will be well attended.

 

Wednesday Afternoon Spring Knockout Competition

 

The winning pair were Carol Stevens and Janet Skelding.

 

Thursday Evening Duplicate – Partner Required.

 

Anyone without a partner for Thursday evenings can contact Malcolm Dawson by ringing 01530 223171, e-mailing maldaw@btinternet.com  before 5.00 pm on Thursday or by ringing or sending a text to 07982069531 anytime up to 6.00 pm.

Leave your name and contact number and Malcolm will do his best to put people in touch with each other but please be aware that there is no guarantee a partner will be found. The Monday evening host system will continue to operate as normal.

 

Cottage Fire Safety

 

All keyholders have undertaken to ensure that the garden door is unlocked and the outside kitchen door is unobstructed by bins at the start of every session.

 

Wednesday 16th June

 

Apologies to those members who managed to get to the cottage only to find no keyholder present.  We had four keyholders delayed on Nottingham Road as a result of the closure of Market Street due to the fatal road accident.

 

Ron Barker, Chairman.

 

19.06.2010

Bridge Laws and Etiquette by Malcolm Dawson

 

As in all sports and games duplicate bridge has rules which are there to ensure that the game is fair to all. It is the duty of all players of duplicate bridge to be aware of the laws.

In this series of articles we shall look at some of the basics.

Remember that the Director is the referee and should be called to make a ruling whenever a mistake has been made, when a player wants clarification of the laws or feels that an opponent’s action has damaged their side. Players should not be embarrassed to politely inform their opponents that they intend to call the Director, nor should this be seen as aggressive or overly competitive.

 

In the last newsletter we looked at the role of dummy and the use of bidding boxes.

To summarise:

 

·        Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand and it is illegal for dummy to touch or otherwise indicate a particular card to declarer or to suggest in any way a line of play.

·        Players should determine their bid before choosing a card from the bidding box. If a player appears to be about to select a pass card and then bids, or vice versa, it is illegal for their partner to draw any inferences by this action. Indeed partner must be seen not to be gaining an advantage from this and the opposition may call the director if they feel this is the case.

In this edition we shall be considering further the use of bidding boxes and the use of the STOP card.

 

End of the auction

 

·        The auction continues until three successive pass cards have been placed on the table.    It is tempting to assume that the auction is over once a game bid is made, especially when the opposition have been silent throughout, but they may be considering a bid of their own or a double. Bidding cards should remain on display.

·        At the end of the auction the calls should remain in place until the opening lead has been faced and all explanations have been obtained, after which they should be returned to their boxes.

·        Before selecting a card to lead a player is allowed to ask the meaning of any of the opposition’s bids. They should then select a card and place it face down on the table to allow their partner to ask any questions. They are not permitted to change the lead at this point.

·        Declarer can ask defenders to clarify the meaning of their bids or aspects of their system (e.g. discards) at any time.

 

The Stop card

 

·        Before making a jump bid (i.e. a bid at a higher level than the minimum required) a player must place the Stop card in front of him, then place his call as usual, and eventually remove the Stop card.

·        His left-hand opponent should not call until the Stop card has been removed. The Stop card should be left on the table for about ten seconds, to give the next player time to reflect. It should not be removed prematurely. After a jump bid, the next player must pause for about ten seconds before calling.

·        It is an offence either not to pause or to show indifference when pausing.

·        If the Stop card has been removed prematurely or has not been used, an opponent should pause as though the Stop card had been used correctly.

 

In reality many players leave the Stop card out for less than ten seconds, which seems a long time when you are waiting to bid, but that’s what the law says. Although players should not make inferences about their partner’s strength after they have waited a while before passing in regular bidding sequences, players should (according to the laws) wait 10 seconds after the Stop card appears before passing. This applies even when bidder has only left the Stop card on display for two or three seconds! It is important to use the Stop card when making a jump bid as

a)     It controls the tempo of the auction so that the other side cannot give unlawful information to each other.  Without a mandatory pause, the next player can pass quickly ("partner, I have nothing good here") or slowly ("partner there are some interesting cards in my hand").

b)      The Stop card lets everyone know that the bid was intentional. Opponents can then rely on that or possibly make enquiries.  Remember that jump bids have many meanings depending on the auction and on the methods used.  Thus, they may be natural or artificial (these should be alerted of course), they may be weak or intermediate or strong.  If the next player needs to know what the call means then he may ask its meaning before choosing a bid; equally if next player is always going to pass then he must not ask about it.  In other words, mere curiosity is not sufficient reason to ask questions during the auction.

If a jump bid is made and the Stop card was not used and a pair feel they have been damaged they should call the Director.

 

Try to make these routines part of your normal play. By doing this not only will you be complying with the laws of the game but you will be helping players of all abilities to enjoy their game.

 

Happy Bridging

 

Malcolm Dawson

 

Thanks to Malcolm for this.  Ron Barker.