“Trumping In”

Waverley Bridge Club Newsletter www.waverleybridgeclub.com.au

Phone: 03 9807 6502

APRIL 2014 ABN 86 643 699 219

Easter and

Passover

greetings to our

members. Take

care if you are

travelling during

the coming holiday, we need

you to come back safe to us.

WBC is open as usual during the Easter

break and you can come along to all the

normal sessions.

JAMES MACREADY-BRYAN FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER

A big thank you to the many members and friends who supported the James Macready-Bryan Foundation fund raising day held on the 8th of March.

We had a great day. 80 players of all skill levels came along to contest a keenly fought Swiss Pairs directed by Leigh Gold.

Congratulations to the winners:

Open Section: Annette Maluish, Justin Howard Restricted: Chris Scott, Thomas Johannsen.

Chris and Leonie McNeil (volunteers from the Victorian Youth Bridge Club) cooked up a splendid barbeque, and I think no-one went away hungry. We had a lovely email from a member following the event thanking all the many people who made the day possible, saying how great it was to enjoy the day with so many friends, and saying how lucky we all are to have such attractive and user-friendly club rooms. Thank you Cheryl, and we hope to be able to run many more events just like this, or even better, in the future. The raffle of a sheet of vouchers was won by Diana De Kessler. Thanks to all the ticket buyers. As a result of your generosity we have been able to send a cheque for $3427 to the Foundation. Well done to all.

The JMB Swiss Pairs winners, Justin Howard and Annette Maluish with Andrew Macready-Bryan

STAND BY ROSTER

Well folks, despite our very best efforts, we have been unable to attract enough volunteers to make a go of the stand-by system.

We do not want to abandon the system, believing that a successful club should always be able to provide this service to visitors and members who are temporarily without a partner.

From April 1, members who come to the club to volunteer their services, but do not get a game, will be given a voucher for a free game.

Please check on the April roster which is on the window of the director’s office, and put your name down on any day you can help. Thank you.

NATIONWIDE PAIRS HEAT FOR APRIL

Put aside one Monday evening this month to play in WBC Nationwide Pairs Heat this month and enjoy the possibility of substantial red point awards.

This month NWP Heat will be held on:

Monday April 21. 7.30 pm start. Table fee: $10 members; $12 non-members

COMING EVENTS

DENIS JAY TEAMS

Our premier Teams event for the year will have heats running on Monday mornings as well as Tuesday evenings. Put your names on the Entry sheet on the Events board or enter on-line at www.waverleybridgeclub.com.au

Heats will be held on:

Monday 10.00 am April 28, May 5 and 12; and, Tuesday 7.30 pm April 29, May 6 and 13.

Semi-final - Tuesday 7.30 pm May 20 Final – Tuesday 7.30 pm May 27

Entry fee for heats payable on Monday April 28 or Tuesday April 29 is: Members $33; Non-members $39

You can enter morning and evening heats if you wish.

Entry fee for Semi Final and Final - $11 per player per session.

Prizes according to number of entries. This is an honour board event.

BILL JACOBS ADVANCED WORKSHOPS

Bill’s next workshop is now running in early May.

Cue Raises and all that goes with them. Learn the tools to effectively support partner in a contested auction. Quizzes and practice play included.

Friday May 2 7.30 – 10.00 pm; and repeated on: Saturday May 3 9.30 am – 12.00 pm.

Cost $18, or two vouchers per session.

INTERMEDIATE CLASSES NOW RUNNING Saturday 9.30 – 12.00

April 5 – Bidding Very Strong Hands April 12 – Communicating with partner April 26 – Planning the Play.

Cost per session : $15 –members; $17 non-members

The annual WBC heat of the Bridge for Brain Research Challenge will be held on Wednesday 10.00 May 7th. Come along and help raise funds for research into Alzheimers Disease.

Table fee will be $15 with all profits going to the charity. Some snacks will be served.

If you would like to play but don’t have a partner, ask Mary or Laura and we shall give you a hand in finding one.

If you can’t attend on the day we are happy to accept tax deductible donations.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Welcome to our many new members:

Sharyn Glance, Margot Mentiplay, Sue Bridges, Elisita Steverlynck, Kate Bechet, Philip McDermott, Sally Thornton, Trafford Price, Elizabeth Price, John Arnold, Heather Smith, Simon Begg, Leah Kaplan, Belinda Pearson, Ilka Bickford, Susie Hall, Mary Hanrahan, Dorothy Barnes, Andy Hegedus, Christine Marks, Brendan Murray, Marcus Brodmeyer, Linda Hsu, Richard Carter, Tim Andrews, Ant Edwards, Veronica Nicholson, Liz Brady, Helen Rawicki, Joanne Bennett, Sharon McDonald, and Murray Mehmet.

We hope that you enjoy good times, good bridge and good friends for many years to come at WBC.

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Tiny spots of rain chased up and down the highway on the way to Laura’s wedding in Tallarook on Saturday, causing me some slight anxiety and a bit of a search in the back seat for my umbrella – the wedding was scheduled to be outdoors. There needed to be no qualms however, the wind blew the shower way up past Euroa!

I arrived to be presented with the singular and most impressive sight of a large gaggle of 20-something year-old bridge players all looking utterly gorgeous in suits and other assorted party clobber mixing with the other guests. (Bridge players really know how to scrub up for a big event!)

Laura and Pete picked well for their wedding venue, country Victoria at its very best, marvellous scenery, a wonderful house and amenities, a vivacious and energising ‘breeze’ and a goofy and super friendly black dog called ‘Ash’ who wanted to be in on everything!I

At the end of the beautiful ceremony the guests all released blue and white balloons – I couldn’t think of a better way of symbolising the endless possibilities that await them.

Laura looked absolutely beautiful in a strapless ivory satin dress complete with long train that she agreed not to cut off after much urging (and with which I concede

she did struggle for much of the rest of the day); her bridesmaids, sister Cara and Jess Tearne were in long turquoise dresses. Pete and his best man, Justin Howard, and groomsman, Gus Munro, looked splendid in dark suits, white tie and waistcoats. Mountains of marvellous food, culminating in a spit roast, followed. Spirits were high, speeches were a cut above the ordinary (and we learned one or two things about Pete that we didn’t know before!), many photos were taken, music played, and one luckless guest (happily after changing out of his suit I think) ended up, involuntarily, in the swimming pool. Not greatly into cake, Laura and Pete decided to have a wine-glass-tower ‘cake’, ceremoniously ‘cutting’ it and offering the guests ‘slices’ of ‘chocolate’ or ‘vanilla’. Very handy for toasts! Celebrations continued for the whole weekend with guests being invited to wine tastings and lunches. I think it might take a bit of getting over by some of the participants.

Laura is blown away by the wonderful WBC card (it will take her quite some time to read it) and gift, and wants to thank everyone. And I, personally, want to congratulate Laura for snaring the world’s best bridge player!! (Or so her T-shirt says.)

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REVISITING OUR BIDDING BOX REGULATIONS

Now that we have been using our new regulations for a few weeks and members have largely taken to them with no problems, we just need to mention again one of the regulations.

When the bidding has ended, please leave all your bids out until after the opening lead has been faced. It can be difficult to choose a lead if all the bids are swooped on and put away before opening leader has had a chance to draw breath. Recently when I was on lead and all the bidding cards except the final contract vanished in a millisecond I had to ask for them to be put out again. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for newer players.

And one more thing. If anyone ever tells you that Mary said that the final bid has to be put on the board facing the declarer, tell them – NO she didn’t! I really don’t know where all this stuff comes from. Put the final contract any way you want!

RANK PROMOTIONS

Congratulations to our members who have recently achieved rank promotions:

*Local 25+ MP Jane Rennie

**Local Master 35+ MP Marina Darling

National 150+MP (incl. 75+ red & gold) Melroy Decouto

Grand 1000+MP (incl. 700+ red & gold) Devika Carter

BIDDING QUIZ FOR NEW PLAYERS

You are South. What bid do you make with the following hand in each of the auctions below? ♠KQ64 ♥A873 ♦5 ♣AJ92 1. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ?

2. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♦ Pass ?

3. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass ?

4. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4NT Pass ?

5. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass ?

6. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♥ 4♥ Pass ?

7. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1NT Pass ?

8. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass ?

9. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♠ ?

10. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 3♦ ?

Choose a bid for each hand, then see Page 8

PLAN THE DEFENCE – for improving players

The king of clubs is led by your partner against the opponent’s 2♠ contract after the following auction.

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ All pass

North ♠A106 ♥K963 ♦KQJ5 ♣74 You ♠743 ♥A852 ♦2 Lead: ♣K ♣A8653

What is your plan to defeat this contract on the lead of the ♣K? Partner’s lead looks like the top of a sequence, so we have two club tricks. The ♥A is the third – what else do you need, and how do you plan the play? Make your plan, then see Page 6 for a discussion.

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GEORGE SKARBEK’S ‘WORD’ TIPS FOR MARCH

Word Tip: You can have almost any magnification you like in Word. Click on the Zoom control in the tool bar and enter your own percentage magnification, such as 123%. Word Tip: If you wish to add a word to the Index you must click on Insert, Reference, Index and Tables and then select the Index tab or you can just select the word and press Alt + Shift + x Word Tip: In Word, when you are in Print Preview mode, if you click on the Multiple Pages icon you can drag it down and across to show as many pages as you wish on the screen.

We will have stocks of the

2014 Entertainment Book

soon.

Put in your order now for this

treasure trove of bargains in a huge

array of dining, entertainment,

sport, service, shopping and holiday

choices.

One of the features of the book is

permanent 5% savings on all your

Woolworths shopping.

The Entertainment Book is still only $65,

an amount you can make up in savings in

a very short space of time.

WBC makes $13 from every copy of the

book sold

- a very nice addition to our club funds.

Speak to Mary or Laura about ordering a

copy.

WHO HAS WHAT?

After the following auction you become declarer in 4♥.

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH (You) 1♠ Pass 2♠ 3♥ Pass 4♥ All pass West leads the ♠Q, dummy comes down and you see: ♠8763 ♥Q104 ♦J109 ♣A105 ♠Q ♠5 ♥AKJ963 ♦K82 ♣KJ3 1. Which defender has the ♠K?

2. Which defender has the ♠A?

3. Which defender has the ♦A?

4. Which defender has the ♦Q?

5. Which defender has the ♣Q?

6. How do you plan to play the contract? Decide on your answers then see Page 7 for a discussion.

English is a great language for puns and word games. Groan along with these ones … *A bicycle can't stand alone, it is two tired.

*A boiled egg is hard to beat.

*A dentist and a manicurist married - they fought tooth and nail.

*A thief who stole a calendar.... got twelve months.

*A will is a dead giveaway.

*Acupuncture: A jab well done.

*I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.

*Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

*I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time.

*I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.

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*A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

*He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.

*I did a theatrical performance about puns. Really it was just a play on words.

*I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now.

*Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A- flat minor.

*A new type of broom came out; it is sweeping the nation.

*A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said 'No change yet'.

*The new weed whacker is cutting-hedge technology.

*Some people's noses and feet are built backwards: their feet SMELL and their noses RUN.

*When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON LESSON TOPICS COMING UP

Improvers and Intermediate players – come

along at 1.30 on Wednesday afternoons to

our hand analysis session run by Laura.

April 2- When to play in a minor suit

instead of NTs

April 9- Michaels Cue Bids

April 16- Who’s got it?

April 23- Slam hands

April 30- Roman Keycard Blackwood

May 7- Discards

PLAN THE DEFENCE - improving players from page 4

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ All pass

North ♠A106 ♥K963 ♦KQJ5 ♣74 East (You) ♠743 ♥A852 ♦2 Lead: ♣K ♣A8653

What is your plan to defeat this contract on the lead of the ♣K? Partner’s lead looks like the top of a sequence, so we have two club tricks. The ♥A is the third – what else do you need, and how do you plan the play?

There doesn’t seem to be much hope unless partner has the ♦A. That would be a fourth trick, and you could get a diamond ruff for the fifth. How do we get one more?

It might seem a bit excessive, but the defenders can get the sixth and setting trick by playing the ♣A on partner’s ♣K! Here is the full deal:

North ♠A106 ♥K963 ♦KQJ5 Partner ♣74 You ♠J2 ♠743 ♥J74 ♥A852 ♦A10963 ♦2 ♣KQ10 ♣A8653 Declarer ♠KQ985 ♥Q10 ♦874 ♣J92

Overtake the ♣K with the ♣A and lead the ♦2 to partner’s ♦A. Partner returns a diamond which you ruff. Now play a club to partner’s Queen. He leads a third round of diamonds and you ruff again. That’s six tricks – two diamond ruffs, two clubs, the ♦A and the ♥A.

It may seem extravagant to play the ♣A on the ♣K, but that’s the key to defeating the contract. It’s all about entries! If you frugally play low on the ♣K, partner will continue leading the suit. You can now get one diamond ruff, but there is no entry back to partner’s hand for him to lead the crucial, third, diamond. Playing a high card on partner’s high card - - unblocking – is a technique often used by defenders to make the best use of their entries. Have a look at the following hand. South is declarer in 4♠.

North (Dummy) ♠10974 ♥A85 ♦KQJ7 ♣K6 West East (You) ♠KQ ♥Q ♥K7 ♦9632 ♣107543 South (Declarer) ♠AJ8653 ♥942 ♦104 ♣AQ

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Our first reaction is that partner has made a good lead. Our ♥K is likely to win a trick. If we hold on to it, however, declarer will make the contract. Suppose we thriftily play the ♥7 under dummy’s Ace. Declarer draws a round of spades - - leaving us with the ♠K, and leads a diamond. Partner has to win the first or second round of diamonds and can lead a heart to our King. Now what? We get our trump winner, the ♠K, but that’s all. Declarer will discard the remaining heart loser on one of dummy’s diamond winners.

Now let’s see what a little ‘wastefulness’ can do to change the outcome. When partner leads the ♥Q and declarer plays the ♠A from dummy, you should play the ♥K – a lot of high cards on one trick! When declarer tries to establish winners in diamonds, partner can win and ♦A and take the two promoted heart winners, thanks to your ‘unblocking’ play of the ♥K. We also get our trump trick to defeat the contract. When entries are everything and unblocking a suit is important, play two of our high cards on one trick might just be the way for the defenders to take all the tricks to which they are entitled.

PLAN THE PLAY

Contract 6♥ ♠J86 ♥85 ♦J753 ♣AK32 Lead: ♣Q ♠AQ ♥AKQJ103 ♦AK ♣764 West leads the ♣Q against your 6♥ contract. How to you plan the guarantee your contract? Plan the play, then see page 11 for a discussion.

CRANBERRIES AND CASHEWS

FOR SALE

Yes folks, we still have good stocks of

beautiful fresh, yummy and most reasonably

priced cranberries and cashews.

Cashews: $15 a kilo; Cranberries: $12 a

kilo.

Will sell in half kilo lots

Just speak to Mary or Laura.

WHO HAS WHAT? From page 5

After the following auction you become declarer in 4♥.

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH (You) 1♠ Pass 2♠ 3♥ Pass 4♥ All pass West leads the ♠Q.

♠8763 ♥Q104 ♦J109 ♣A105 ♠Q ♠5 ♥AKJ963 ♦K82 ♣KJ3

1. The Spade King must be with East. West would not have led the ♠Q from a holding including ♠KQ.

2. The Spade Ace must also be with East. Once again, West would not have led the ♠Q from ♠AQ.

3. West will hold the ♦A. West must now have virtually all the remaining points to be able to open the bidding.

4. West will also hold the ♦Q, as in 3 above.

5. Similarly West should have the ♣Q.

6. After ruffing the second round of spades, draw trumps and give up two diamond tricks to the ♦AQ. Eventually, take a finesse against West’s ‘known’ ♣Q to avoid losing a trick in that suit. The full deal should be something like this. ♠8763 ♥Q104 ♦J109 West ♣A105 ♠QJ1042 ♠AK9 ♥75 ♥82 ♦AQ6 ♦7543 ♣Q72 ♣9864 ♠5 ♥AKJ963 ♦K82 ♣KJ3

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BIDDING QUIZ FOR NEW PLAYERS from page 4 You are South. What bid do you make with the following hand in each of the auctions below? ♠KQ64 ♥A873 ♦5 ♣AJ92 1. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH ? 1♣: You have 14 HCP, more than enough to make an opening bid. You have no 5-card major suit, so open the longer minor - 1♣.

2. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♦ Pass ? 1♥: After a minor suit opening, the search is on for a major suit fit. Even though North responded 1♦, he could still very well have a 4-card major suit. So you must bid your 4-card suits ‘up-the-line’.

3. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass ?

3♥: When you find your 8-card heart fit, add your 14 HCP to your 3 Distribution Points for the singleton diamond, and with 17 Total Points, raise partner’s 1♥ bid to 3♥ - showing 16 – 18 TP. 4. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4NT Pass ? 5♥: Once an 8-card trump fit has been established, a bid of 4NT is now the Blackwood convention, asking for the number of aces you hold. With none, you would bid 5♣; with one, bid 5♦. With two aces, as in this hand, bid 5♥.

5. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass ? 1♥: When the partnership is looking for a fit, both opener and responder bid “up the line” - - - cheapest suit first. By responding 1♥, you’ll find a fit if partner has four hearts. If not, you’ve left room for opener to show a four card spade suit at the one level, and a fit will be found.

6. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♥ 4♥ Pass ? 4NT: Blackwood. Opener’s raise to the four level shows a maximum strength hand of about 19 – 22

points. Since you have 14 HCP and 3 Distribution Points, the partnership is headed for slam – around 33 points between the two hands is needed for a little slam (contracting to win 12 of the available 13 tricks) and 37 for a grand slam (contracting to win all 13 tricks.) You use Blackwood to make sure that you are not missing two aces.

7. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1NT Pass ?

2♣: Stayman. After a notrump opening bid, use Stayman to look for a major suit fit. The 2♣ response asks if opener has a 4-card major suit. If he responds in either major suit, you should start to consider slam.

8. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass ? 3NT: The 2♦ response to the Stayman 2♣ says, ‘sorry partner, I have no 4-card major.’ You now have enough combined strength for a game contract. Don’t worry about your singleton diamond, partner figures to have some length in diamonds.

9. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1♦ Pass 1♠ ? Double: Although there are only two unbid suits, double is still for takeout in this position, showing the strength for an opening bid and good support for hearts and clubs.

10. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 3♦ ? Double: A double of a three-level preemptive opening is for takeout. The higher the level, the greater the danger. But you can count distribution points when making a takeout double. The singleton diamond makes this hand worth 17 points, quite enough to risk competing for the contract.

I HAVE TO MAKE HOW MANY TRICKS?! Partner keeps on making your life difficult, bidding one more on awfully slender values. So here you are, declarer, looking at that crucial suit, playing a no trump contract. You need to make the stated number of tricks with each holding. How do you go about these problems? 1. You need 4 tricks. The lead is in the North hand and you have no outside entries to either hand.

♠A92 ♠??? ??? ♠KQ83

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2. You need 3 tricks and have plenty of entries. ♠J843 ♠??? ♠??? ♠A102

3. You need 4 tricks and have plenty of entries. ♠J432 ♠??? ♠??? ♠AQ9

4. You need 4 tricks and have plenty of entries. ♠2 ♠??? ♠??? ♠AJ10743

5. You need 3 tricks and have plenty of entries. ♠K9 ♠??? ♠??? ♠Q1087

Choose your play with each combination, then see opposite column for a discussion.

HAND VALUATION

Good hand valuation techniques can help any player make better decisions.

Dlr: North ♠AQ97 Vul: None ♥A8652 ♦K5 ♣63 ♠ - - - ♠J10 ♥Q1043 ♥J9 ♦AQJ943 ♦10762 ♣KJ9 ♣Q10872 ♠K865432 ♥K7 ♦8 ♣A54

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

1♥ Pass 1♠ 2♦ 3♠ Pass 4NT Pass 5♥ Pass 6♠ All pass

North, holding 13 HCP, opened 1♥. Once South responded 1♠ and West overcalled 2♦ however, North up-graded his hand and jumped to 3♠, a bid which normally describes a hand with 16 – 18 TP. (His diamond King figures to be a winner now, his spade support is wonderful, and on the loser count he only has 6 losers, despite the fact he has only 13 HCP.)

South’s very long spade suit looked even better now, so he also re-evaluated his hand by adding 3 length points for his 7-card suit, and 4 points for his doubleton and singleton. He bid 4NT Blackwood, and finished in 6♠ when partner showed 2 Aces.

West led Ace and another diamond. Declarer discarded the ♣4 on dummy’s ♦K, cashed two hearts and led a third. East discarded a club. Declarer ruffed low, led a spade to dummy’s queen and ruffed another heart.

It was easy to lead a trump to dummy’s ace and discard the ♣5 on dummy’s last heart. Making six.

On a club lead, declarer would eventually discard the ♦8 on dummy’s fifth heart, concede a club and ruff a club.

I HAVE TO MAKE HOW MANY TRICKS?!

From left hand column

1. You need 4 tricks. The lead is in the North hand and you have no outside entries to either hand.

♠A92 ♠104 ♠J765 ♠KQ83

Start by leading dummy’s 9 to the king, then low to the ace. Assuming West has played the 10 or jack on the second round of the suit, you now lead low to the 8. 2. You need 3 tricks and have plenty of entries.

♠J843 ♠K976 ♠Q5 ♠A102

Lead low to the 10, and, assuming that loses, cash the ace and low to the 8. If the 10 holds, play the ace and another. You have to find East with honour doubleton. 3. You need 4 tricks and have plenty of entries.

♠J432 ♠876 ♠K105 ♠AQ9

You must find East with K10x. Might as well start with the jack in case East has Kxx and doesn’t cover. Assuming the jack is covered, reenter dummy and lead low to the 9. 4. You need 4 tricks and have plenty of entries.

♠2 ♠Q8 ♠K965 ♠AJ10743

Play the ace and a low diamond, hoping West has Qx or Kx. This is better than leading low to the jack which wins when East has KQxx and West has xx. Qx or Kx is more likely than xx.

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5. You need 3 tricks and have plenty of entries.

♠K9 ♠J65 ♠A432 ♠Q1087 Lead low to the 9, playing the hand with three cards for the jack. You are hoping West has Jxx or AJx. You cannot pick up Jxxx or AJxx in the East hand, so play for something you can pick up.

A CAUTIONARY TALE

One of the headlines in the March 27 Ninemsn internet news page was:

Bridge Champion dies playing the perfect hand

An 80 year old English woman collapsed while playing with a 29 HCP hand and despite the best efforts of club members died at the table. Editor’s comment: Though it would have been better had she finished the hand first, this is probably a very good way for a player to fold up her cards! However, if you are not yet ready to go, don’t complain too bitterly about all your 9 point hands – you’ll live longer!!

P.S. Strange to say, the day after this article appeared on the Channel 9 website, East had a 29 point hand on Friday morning. I am very happy to relate that we got through the morning without having to call the ambulance!

TALKING TO OUR MEMBERS

Peter Lau (Lau Wan Leung) has lived in Australia for much of his life, but has certainly followed in the footsteps of his great-great-great-great-grandfather, who left Northern China to travel to the south. During his long journey he discovered a substantial cache of money and, a wise man, used it to set up as a tea merchant, a business which would keep the family comfortable for three generations. Peter has travelled extensively in his life, and I think would agree he has found much 'treasure' along the way. Peter was born in Hong Kong and when he was two, his father was 'head hunted' for the post of Australian Government interpreter in Nauru, where they lived comfortably until 1941 when the war started to encroach. Australian women and children were evacuated, and this included Peter's

family. Peter, aged 5, and his two younger siblings (Janet, Wai Chi and Arthur, Wan Shun) arrived in Melbourne where the family had friends. Peter's mother couldn't speak English (Peter translated for her, though he has no memory of being able to speak Cantonese). Shortly after their arrival in Melbourne, they received news that their father, who remained in Nauru, had died of pneumonia. Although there was a Government pension to help, it was an extremely difficult time for Peter's mother. Peter remembers her getting work in the clothing industry, and later a share in a restaurant on Bridge Road, opposite the Richmond Town Hall.

Following the war, the family returned to Hong Kong. This was hard for Peter, whose upbringing was Australian. But he says it was an enriching cultural experience for him, and the family had the support of his grandfather. Three years later his mother died, and in order to support his two siblings, Peter entered the merchant navy as soon as he was able, at the age of 17, where he worked as a wireless operator. After nine years, he retired from the navy, and attempted to return to Australia to study, but would not have been allowed to work to support himself; so he set off to London instead. That was in 1962 and he studied Electrical Engineering part time, specialising in communications engineering.

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Shortly after, fate intervened in the shape of a country NSW lass named Mollie; they married and in quick succession, had two girls. Most of the time both Peter and Mollie worked; Peter as a technician for Decca Radar, and towards the end as a sound engineer for the BBC, and Mollie as a stenographer for the NSW Agent General's office. Pay was meagre in the UK then, so Peter went to Australia House to seek return fares to Australia as a ten pound Pom. The officer there was kind and tactful, but no. This was 1967 after all! Fate once again intervened and Peter scored a job with the Australian PMGs Department, who were recruiting in the UK for engineers. First class return fares were part of the deal! Peter tells me that civil servants always travelled First Class in those days! And on domestic flights, half the seating in Ansett and TAA planes was configured First Class. (Peter comments that Gough put an end to all that extravagance after 1972!) Peter's first job in Melbourne involved designing microwave relay systems (you know that huge tower on Canterbury Rd, Surrey Hills?) A transfer to the Dept of Civil Aviation saw Peter contributing to the fit out of the new Tullamarine Airport. Then in 1970 an eight year stint in Papua New Guinea began. The installation of more control towers and navigation aids was part of that time, also a shift into management. After returning again to Australia corporate restructuring eventually struck and Peter found himself in the early 1990's in the uncomfortable position of having to tell many of his workers they did not have jobs. The job was not going to get any easier, Peter said enough is enough, and in early 1992 took the opportunity to retire. You'd think that he might have had enough of travel, but no, Peter went back to the UK to meet his first grandchild, spent two years in Darwin where his two sons were working, and took two years to spend some time in Brisbane. Also in 2001, the opportunity arose for Peter to help crew a 50-foot yacht from Darwin across the top of Australia and down the Queensland coast. Peter had played Canasta and Cribbage in the past and somewhere along the way he decided playing Bridge was more rewarding than chess. He had lessons at the Darwin Bridge Club in 1995, and has

never looked back. His involvement with WBC and the Kattery date back to about 1997. Currently Peter plays bridge once or twice a week, depending on when his partners are available, and spends a lot of time at Mollie's property in Daylesford, where they are building a native garden, Peter says that bridge has been most valuable, allowing him 'time off' and a wonderful distraction from the normal difficulties of life. Ballroom dancing was another passion which he continued until very recently. Peter, while he feels almost as Aussie as a jar of Vegemite, has taught his children to treasure their heritage, and surely they are fortunate to have entree into both worlds. Also he likes a saying that you can't give kindness away, it keeps coming back!

PLAN THE PLAY from page 7

Contract 6♥ ♠J86 ♥85 ♦J753 ♣AK32 ♠K943 ♠10752 ♥72 ♥964 ♦862 ♦Q1094 ♣QJ108 ♣95 ♠AQ ♥AKQJ103 ♦AK ♣764 West leads the ♣Q against your 6♥ contract. How to you plan the guarantee your contract? There are potential losers in spades and clubs. One loser will have to be eliminated. The spade finesse offers a 50% chance if East holds the ♠KJ. It might appear even better than that. If the finesse loses, dummy’s ♠J will become a winner on which a club loser can be discarded. West can spoil that plan, however, by leading another club, removing dummy’s last entry before you can make use of the ♠J. A second possibility is to give up a club trick, hoping that the missing clubs divide 3-3 so you can establish a club winner on which to discard the ♠Q. A sure way to make the contract is much more straightforward. Win the ♣K and draw trumps. Then play the ♠A and the ♠Q, giving up a trick to the ♠K. This

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establishes dummy’s ♠J as a winner on which the club loser can be discarded. The ♣A is still there as an entry.

FOOTY TIPPING RESULTS The footy season is alive and well and again Waverley is running our popular tipping competition. After 2 rounds the scores are quite tight but here are your top 5 tippers.

place Name Score

1 Nana Anne 17

=2 Marsali Thompson 16

=2 Wassa 16

=2 Tom Spall 16

=2 Cay Kellaway 16

=2 Suzy Lyons 16

LIBRARY BOOK SPONSORSHIP

Have you ever thought about donating to the club but don’t know how? Why not sponsor a library book? We are offering members the chance to buy a library book of their choice to donate to the library. Sponsored books will have a sticker on the inside cover acknowledging the donor. If you would like to order a specific book please talk to Jenny the librarian. Alternatively we have a stack of books that you can choose from in a box at the bottom of the library which range from $5 to $15 each. The books in the stack are being sold by the Victorian Youth Bridge Club, so by purchasing one of these books not only are you helping to improve the club library but you are also helping support the Youth Club.

5 MINUTE A DAY STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR BRIDGE

If you have a spare couple of minutes in a day why not do something to give your mind a work out and improve your bridge at the same time. 1. Write out an auction....any auction! Then ask yourself what it would show in your system. Then ask yourself what you think you would know as a defender eg.

a) N E S W 1C P 1NT What do you know about South’s hand already? b) N E S W 1D 1S 1NT What do you know about South’s hand already? a) South has 6-9 points and they should have a 3334 shape as they haven’t supported partner and they have not bid any four card suit. Some players might bid it on a 3343 or a 2335 but these aren’t really to be expected, just to be noted that they are possibilities. b) South has 6-9 points and they also have a spade stopper. They have denied four or more hearts, as with this holding they should negative double instead of bidding 1NT. Failing to use the negative double would make it very hard for partner to find an eight card heart fit at a later stage with competitive bidding. The hand might be balanced but does not have to be.

. You have to have a spade stopper to bid 1NT here. You do not need to respond with a hand with 6-9 points, no spade stopper, no fit and without 4+ hearts any more. The opponent’s bid allows partner to make another bid if he has a big hand so you are not at risk of missing game.

2. Play the high card hunter or counting game online at http://bridgewinners.com/games/. The quicker you can complete these the easier it will be to think about suit breaks and you will use less mental energy on the small stuff. 3. Read an article from an online bridge blog. 4. Look over your results from a recent session (online) and write a brief summary about a couple of hands that you think your partnership could have done better. Arrange to talk to your partner about it at a later stage (the quicker you get to this the easier it is to remember what happened).

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Want to have fun and improve your game? Did you know you can use a bridge coach?

Bridge is just like any other sport or game. You might have personal goals for improvement such as winning an event or finishing in the top 3.

You also might have areas that you think you can improve on such as doubles, bidding with distributional hands or when to compete. You also might want to celebrate a special occasion with fellow bridge playing friends by holding dinner with a bridge session or talk.

Consider a bridge coach!

Pete Hollands is a Melbourne based Materials Engineering PHD candidate and bridge professional who has been competing on the world stage for many years. Pete recently won the Summer Festival of Bridge National Open Teams in January 2014 and was a part of the anchoring pair in the 2013 Australian Junior team which came 2nd in the World Championships in Atlanta.

Pete has extensive experience in teaching players of various ages and skill levels from beginner to expert.

Pete is proficient in most systems and is a friendly and patient teacher.

Coaching sessions with Pete can be tailored to suit individual, partnership or group needs. Whether it is a single session to analyse hands or a few sessions to refresh basics or work on specific conventions. Long term arrangements and special occasions such as dinner parties or birthdays can also be arranged.

Cost: $150 for 2 hours (up to 8 people)

Bridge Coaching by Pete Hollands

Individual and partnership lessons

Group lessons

Dinner parties

Professional play

Supervised play

System coaching

Topic specific lessons

Conventions

Directing

lectures

To find out more don’t hesitate to contact Pete: 0409 504 108 or peterhollands@live.com.au

MIKE’S CRYPTIC #1 (with thanks to Mike Pogson)

All solutions next month.

ACROSS

1 He was the first to go round, scrap about in advance (7)

5 The bulk of them reversed and sprinted into crossbar (7)

9 Goes around with Ann, in lights (4,3) 10 Gale, ice storm, spawn funereal reference (7) 11 Nation reelected strange Gallic alliance (7,8) 12 Fantastic dwarf, stunted, and French cocktail (6) 14 Milestone oft celebrated with inward restraint. Onwards! (8) 17 23, once spoken? (8) 18 Mistake…that would appear to defy gravity (4,2) 21 Mercator, toiling somehow, about angles (15) 24 Crazy country, almost. A pleasant tipple (7)

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Pirate a rugby song, by the sound of it! (7) 26 Temperature extremes in the direction of the race (7) 27 1's literary countryman lost ingredients in trifle (7)

DOWN 1 Sing out, with clipped tongue, in the orient. It's good for you! (7)

2 Edits Moog Synthesizer, and has a ball it seems (4,5) 3 Mad King's daughter, born of anger (5) 4 Resided in Long Street (6) 5 Squaring off, and extremely bandy-legged it seems! (3,2,3) 6 Descriptive of dance, shake, gyrate a lot (9) 7 God! Be quiet for medical procedure and First Aid! (5) 8 Murderer, literally, or raincoat for a lady perhaps (7) 13 Be frugal; I once had some around! (9) 15 Awaiting delivery, perhaps (9) 16 Undermine 9's state? Beg to differ! (8) 17 Flower of Virginia, up top with no raincoat (7) 19 Horse for a mate who's available, we hear (7) 20 Jazz enthusiast embracing copper with warmth (6) 22 Lemur inhabiting, in the main, drier climes (5) 23 Right over the mountain range. Up the country! (5)

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TRY THESE PUZZLES

Below you will find 15 well known six letter words, with only their endings remaining. Can you determine the

words? …amt …nue …rtz …oze …mth …iek …gry …thm …koo …spy …sip …lem …uid …tyr

…meg

Word Finder How many words can you find? Each word must contain the central P and no letter can be used twice, however, the letters do not have to be

connected. Proper nouns are not allowed, however, plurals are. Can you find the nine

letter word?

Excellent: 25 words. Good: 18 words. Average: 13 words.

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All solutions in May newsletter