LIBRARY CORNERLIBRARY CORNERLIBRARY CORNERLIBRARY CORNER

Bridge Squeezes Complete: Winning Endgame Strategy Clyde E. Love The Bridge Center library has a wide variety of books with subjects ranging from the basics of bridge for the novice player to much more advanced topics for those well versed in the ba-sics and who want to take their level of play higher. The original edition of Love’s book on squeezes was published in 1959, but Linda Lee and Julian Pottage updated it, and the book was re-released in 2010. Cana-dian Lee is a WBF World Master who has written books and maintains a bridge blog (http://linda.bridgeblogging.com), and Pottage, also an author in his own right, is considered one of the world’s experts in con-structing bridge problems. The original book is said to have “unlocked the mysteries of squeeze play—until then the province of top players only.” With this edition, a “masterpiece” is brought up to date and will prove as valuable to today’s player as the original was in its time.

UNIT 206 CHIT CHATUNIT 206 CHIT CHATUNIT 206 CHIT CHATUNIT 206 CHIT CHAT Volume 3 Issue 3 Volume 3 Issue 3 Volume 3 Issue 3 Volume 3 Issue 3 Monthly Publication of ACBL Unit 206 Monthly Publication of ACBL Unit 206 Monthly Publication of ACBL Unit 206 Monthly Publication of ACBL Unit 206 March 2012March 2012March 2012March 2012 Editor: Sandy CervantesEditor: Sandy CervantesEditor: Sandy CervantesEditor: Sandy Cervantes Assistant Editor: Cheryl WhitfieldAssistant Editor: Cheryl WhitfieldAssistant Editor: Cheryl WhitfieldAssistant Editor: Cheryl Whitfield Staff: Teresa Moore Staff: Teresa Moore Staff: Teresa Moore Staff: Teresa Moore Features Editor: Marcia Lanphear Features Editor: Marcia Lanphear Features Editor: Marcia Lanphear Features Editor: Marcia Lanphear Myra ReneauMyra ReneauMyra ReneauMyra Reneau

BRIDGE TIP FOR MARCH

Never surrender control of a suit

without a good reason for doing so.

Louis Watson

DON’T FORGETDON’T FORGETDON’T FORGETDON’T FORGET

Please remember to wear your Chattanooga River City Regional buttons at all upcoming tournaments — We need to promote our July 2012 River City Regional at the

Chattanoogan!

FROM THE PRESIDENT

From the frying [smoking] pan into the fire—

more on that next month.

Your Board has been exploring ways to increase

attendance at our Chattanooga Club. We have

looked at several options, but the one with the

most potential was moving our Tuesday game to

Monday. We have surveyed the membership,

and although I believe we would actually in-

crease attendance with a change, our Tuesday

players were heard LOUD and clear that they do

not want a change. So, for now, we are NOT go-

ing to change this game. Thanks to all who par-

ticipated in the survey.

However, we have to do something to increase

attendance; and the Board will continue to look

at other ideas. If you have constructive ideas,

please e-mail me at jafelker1@aol.com.

Thanks, and I will look forward to seeing you on

Tuesday.

JohnJohnJohnJohn

DO YOU KNOW...DO YOU KNOW...DO YOU KNOW...DO YOU KNOW...

What’s a Sandwich NT?What’s a Sandwich NT?What’s a Sandwich NT?What’s a Sandwich NT?

Sandwich No Trump refers to a 1NT bid when LHO opens, partner passes, and RHO bids a different suit. Sitting in 4th seat, you are “sandwiched” between the two bidders. The Sandwich NT is similar to the Unusu-al NT bid, but one level lower. It describes a distribu-

tional hand (at least 5-5 in the two unbid suits) and generally de-notes a weak hand. The number of high card points required is not the most important factor although values should normally be be-tween 5 and 10/11 high card points and should be located in the two unbid suits. With a stronger hand, the option of a take out dou-ble is available. The two hands below illustrate this difference.

The bidding has progressed as follows: (1♣) — P — (1♥) — ***.

Holding Hand A, you have a perfect opportunity to bid a Sandwich No Trump; with Hand B, it is best to double to convey a stronger hand.

HAND A HAND B

♠ KQxxx ♠ AKQxxx

♥ x ♥

♦ KJxxx ♦ Axxxx

♣ xx ♣ xx

Sandwich NT is an optional rather than a "standard" treatment, except by a passed hand. It should only be used under partnership agreement, and it is alertable (when bid by an unpassed hand).

The Dreaded Reverse

Michael Sherman

(Note: For ease of discussion, the opponents will be silent throughout.)

With both sides vulnerable, partner opens 1 diamond, and you hold just enough to scrape up a 1 spade response:

♠ K953

♥ 87

♦ K85

♣ 9842. Partner now rebids 2 hearts: 1D – 1S; 2H ———— **. What are your thoughts?

We might wonder if partner could have a hand such as

♠ J6

♥ AQ42

♦ Q943

♣ KJ3, having decided that showing the 4-card heart suit must be a priority. If so, any safe havens we might find on this hand lie back down the bidding ladder. From this point, getting out for minus 200 would be a bargain. The good news is that partner should not have this hand. (Alas, should not and does not are not always the same thing.) He should realize that bidding 2 hearts is taking the auction dangerously high with no knowledge of a fit, and he should choose the safer and more descriptive 1NT rebid. The key ingredient in recognizing this imminent danger is observing that responder would need to bid at the 3 level just to show a preference for opener’s first bid suit. This situation arises when opener's rebid is either a jump shift or a reverse. Briefly, a jump shift by opener (jumping into a new suit) shows an unbalanced hand with game-forcing values. Here our interest is recognizing bids that are (and are not) reverses on the auction

1X — (P) — 1Y — (P)

** and then discussing the recommended requirements for making such a bid. In reversing, opener's rebid will be:

*A new suit (not a raise of responder's suit or a rebid of opener's first suit) *At the 2 level *Not a jump (a jump shift, mentioned above, involves slightly different guidelines) *Higher ranking than opener's first bid suit

A brief quiz: Try to identify whether opener's rebid on each of the following auctions is a reverse. If opener's rebid is not a reverse, determine which of the above requirements is missing. 1) 1D - 1S; 2C 2) 1D - 1S; 2H 3) 1D - 1S; 2S 4) 1C - 1H; 1S 5) 1C - 1H; 2D 6) 1C - 1H; 2S

The Dreaded Reverse ...continued

Looking back at the auction at the beginning of the article, we note that opener's rebid is a reverse (quiz problem #2…#5 is the other reverse) and remind ourselves that this action left responder, holding minimum values and in an awkward position. To prevent a non-competitive auction from

quickly escalating to an unplayable level (shooting oneself in the foot, so to speak), opener is expected to hold a strong hand (17+ HCP, or equivalent playing strength) in order to reverse. Opener should also have an unbalanced hand when reversing. Strong balanced hands with 18-19 HCP should rebid 2NT, except when holding 4-card support for responder's major. Other strong balanced hands should qualify for a notrump opening bid. There is one more standard requirement for opener's reverse, which is related to the fact that all 5-5 (and 6-6) hands should be opened with the higher ranking suit. Because opener should not be 5-5 (or 6-6) when reversing (the higher ranking suit has been bid second), it follows that opener's first bid suit must be longer than the second to reverse. It is worth noting that this also means that opener's first bid suit will always be at least 5 cards in length. Responder does not need to worry that opener might have a "short club" on the auction 1C - 1S; 2H. Because opener must have extra values to reverse and may have extra values beyond the minimum requirement, a reverse is forcing for one round. Responder must bid again, but the auction is not necessarily game forcing. Which of responder's rebids are forcing after the reverse and which are not is to some degree a matter of partnership agree-ment, and beyond the scope of this initial discussion. Feel free to contact the author (mds22@ez-insites.com) if you have questions related to this issue.

To conclude, we will look at some examples of hands where the decision of whether (or not) to reverse is an issue for opener:

♠7 ♥AQ982 ♦AK10853 ♣4

Open 1D. If partner responds 1S, this hand qualifies for a reverse into 2H. The 6-5 distri-bution and well placed honors more than satisfy the requirements for "equivalent playing strength.” Note that if opener bids hearts again on the next round to show a 5-card suit, this would also reveal that opener has 6+ diamonds, even though the suit has only been bid once. 1D - 1S; 2H - 2NT; 3H - .... (Opener has 5+ hearts and 6+ diamonds.)

♠K3 ♥AQ74 ♦K8652 ♣K9

This hand is not strong enough to reverse. Opening 1NT will avoid rebid problems.

♠2 ♥AKJ4 ♦A62 ♣AKQ98

Open 1C. If partner responds 1S, reverse into 2H to describe this hand and force partner to bid again. Because 2H is forcing, it is not necessary to consume valuable bidding room by jumping to 3H.

♠8 ♥KQ62 ♦KQ5 ♣K7643

Open 1C. f partner responds 1S, go back to the dealing machine and request a reshuffle. If no mercy is offered, opener still should not reverse. We might debate whether a rebid of 1NT or 2C is "better" in this situation (an issue left for the reader to resolve), but treating this minimum opening like a strong hand could easily lead to trouble on this auc-tion and partnership mistrust in the future.

HIGH GAMES FOR FEBRUARY

Chattanooga Open Michael Sherman/Ron Smith 71.43 NLM Joyce & Ray Feher 74.20 Cleveland Dick Mellor/Barbara Creagan 71.88 Fairyland Joy & Gerry Jones 65.87

CHATTANOOGA BRIDGE CENTER

GAME SCHEDULE

Sunday 1:30 Open Game Monday 6:30 Mini Lesson 7:00 NLM Game Tuesday 12:00 Open Game Wednesday 12:00 Open Game Thursday 5:45 Lesson 6:30 Open Game Friday 2:00 Novice Lesson/ Play & Practice

CHANGE OF RANK

FEBRUARY 2012

Belinda Lloyd Sectional Master Russell Lloyd Sectional Master Marty Hershey Regional Master Bob Kemp Silver Life Master Muggs Smith Silver Life Master

♦♣♥♠♦♣♥♠♦♣♥♠♦♣♥♠

In Sympathy Our thoughts and prayers are

with our features editor Marcia

Lanphear on the death of her beloved mother,

Mildred Walters at the age of 102. We send

our most heartfelt condolences as Marcia and

her family deal with this difficult loss.

In MemoriamIn MemoriamIn MemoriamIn Memoriam

Players at the Chattanooga Bridge Center suffered an enormous

loss this past February 16th, when our lovely Muriel Morton passed away at age 92. Muriel was such a positive person, al-ways helpful and warm to partners and opponents alike.

A member of “the greatest generation,” Muriel was the personifi-

cation of the “steel magnolia.” Life was not always easy for this charming woman, but she unfailingly persevered in the face of difficulties and never allowed adversity to change her friendly

personality nor diminish her kind manner.

Muriel loved bridge and put her talents to use for the benefit of the club. For many years, she was the unit treasurer, and early

on she taught the game she so loved. Always willing to partner with a new arrival or novice

player, Muriel was unquestionably encouraging and optimistic, and her graciousness inevitably put partners at ease. Her trademark, “I surely do thank you” when her partner laid down his

cards (no matter how happy she was to see them) will be remembered fondly. We will miss her sweet nature, beautiful smile, affable manner, and unfailing cheerfulness. We

send our most sincere thoughts of sympathy to her family at this sad time.

Muriel and daughter, Betty

Jackson, at the Christmas

party this past December.

GET WELL WISHESGET WELL WISHESGET WELL WISHESGET WELL WISHES

We’re sending our warmest get

well wishes to Donna Myers. Now

that she’s out of the hospital, we

hope that when she feels able,

we’ll see her back at the bridge

table. We miss her contagious

laughter and beautiful smile!

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Michael Sherman has started his lessons again before the Thursday evening game.

The lesson begins at 5:45 with the game following at 6:30. The first half of the series will focus on rais-ing partner, including inverted minor raises and Jacoby 2NT. The second part will deal with the use of new minor forcing. The lessons are free for those who stay for the game and $4.00 otherwise.

PUT YOUR THINKING CAP ON On occasion, we will present an interesting hand in the newsletter for your examination.

It will be a hand that offers an opportunity to think outside the box. Our first hand is submitted

by Marcia Lanphear. Marcia offers that this hand ostensibly can only be made with one line of play. Take some time to study the hand and come up with the solu-

tion.

The contract is 7 Hearts by North/South. There has been no bidding by the opposition. The opening lead is the King of Clubs. How do you play the hand to make 7.

The solution will be in next month’s newsletter.

♠ AQ6

♥ AKQJ

♦ QJT987

♣

♠ T87432 N

W E

S

♠ KJ95

♥ 5432 ♥

♦ ♦ 65432

♣ KQJ ♣ 5432

♠

♥ T9876

♦ AK

♣ AT9876

MARCH SPECIAL GAMES

Monday, March 5 12:00 Noon Senior Pairs*

$4.00 Extra Points *55 and above

Thursday, March 29 6:30 PM

Grand National Teams Qualifier $20.00/Team Extra Points

IN MEMORIAM We learned recently of the death

of J.J. Andrews on February 1st.

J.J. was not able to play with us

often, but her enthusiasm and

competitive spirit were evident in

every hand she played. We send our condolences

to her family on this sad occasion.

CLEVELAND NEWS

CLEVELAND GAME SCHEDULE: Tuesday and Friday — Game at 1:00 P.M. Second Thursday — Game at 6:00 P.M.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to game time. Reservations are requested.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYHAPPY BIRTHDAYHAPPY BIRTHDAYHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!TO YOU!TO YOU!TO YOU!

Nell Morton March 2 Everett Hixson March 4

Annette Stansel March 4

Robert Rymer March 10 Mary Lou Miller March 16

Marion Kyle March 17 Susan Kimm March 18

Kathy Ellis March 20

Marge Wheeler March 20 Ann Arnwine March 21

June Carlyle March 21 Ron Brown March 22

Elizabeth Jones March 23 John Hudson March 24

Marilyn Free March 28

IN MEMORIAM We were saddened to learn of

the passing of Jean Hamm this

past February 23rd. Jean was

a vital member of the Cleve-

land community and will be missed by

many. We send our most sincere wishes of

sympathy to her family and friends.

5th FRIDAY TEAM GAME — MARCH 30

There’s a 5th Friday in March and that means a team game in Cleve-

land — a GNT, in fact. Register your team with Teresa Moore at moretea42@gmail.com, or call her at 706-861-7105.

SWAMP CRACKERSSWAMP CRACKERSSWAMP CRACKERSSWAMP CRACKERS

If you played at the CBC on Wednesday or in Cleveland on Friday, you may have sampled Marcia Lanphear’s Swamp Crack-ers. They’re delicious — and the perfect tidbit to pre-pare when you have friends over to your house for a game of bridge. Crunchy and spicy, they’re irresistible. Better still, they’re unbelievably easy! Marcia is kind enough to share her recipe:

1-1/2 Cups canola oil* 1 Tbs. crushed red pepper 1 Tsp. ground red pepper 1 package ranch dressing Saltine Crackers

Directions:

Combine oil, peppers, and ranch dressing mix, and mix well. Fill gallon glass jug with saltine crackers and pour seasoned mixture over crackers. Close lid. Let sit for 30 minutes. Turn jug upside down, repeating this for 6-8 hours. Occasionally, roll your jug so the mixture will be evenly distributed. *Marcia says she uses much less oil in her version.

ALERT!!ALERT!!ALERT!!ALERT!! There will be no game in Cleveland on There will be no game in Cleveland on There will be no game in Cleveland on There will be no game in Cleveland on Tuesday, March 6th. The Senior Center is Tuesday, March 6th. The Senior Center is Tuesday, March 6th. The Senior Center is Tuesday, March 6th. The Senior Center is closed due to the upcoming elections. We closed due to the upcoming elections. We closed due to the upcoming elections. We closed due to the upcoming elections. We

are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.