December 2010 - 42
Bridge Player's
Survival Kit
Leslie Shafer
slamhand@verizon.net
One downgrade is enough
Dlr: South K 7 3 2
Vul: Both A K
KQ942
K 10
A 10 9 6 5
J
N
8643
J 10 9 2
W E
-
10 8 6 3
S
9653
J842
Q84
Q75
AJ75
AQ7
North
1 (2)
4NT (3)
South
1 (1)
1NT
Pass (4)
Leslie Shafer is the editor of
"Bridge Students 'R Us," a national bridge newsletter specifically for
Intermediate and Novice players.
You may subscribe by sending your
name, address, phone number and
payment of $25 for a six-issue subscription to Leslie Shafer, 331 Market
Street East, #154, Gaithersburg, MD
20878. Visit her web site at www.
bridgeteacher.com.
42 Bridge Bulletin December 2010
(1) Playing 15-17 1NT opening bids,
South thought about opening 1NT
with his balanced 15 high‑card points,
but he knew about hand evaluation
tools and utilized them properly: (a)
Downgrade for flat distribution (4-3-
3-3); (b) Downgrade for queens that
are not offset by an ace in the hand
(South had three queens and only two
aces). I agree with the 1 opening
bid. After the adjustments, South is
too weak for a 15-17 1NT opening -
it's worth closer to 14 points.
(2) North evaluated his hand as a 19
count (adding 1 point for the fifth dia‑
mond). He thought slam was possible,
but did not have enough information
to decide where to play. He made a
forcing 1 bid, in order to find out
more information from his partner.
(3) After the 1NT rebid by South
(showing 12-14), North thought his
19‑count might still be enough for
slam if his partner's minimum was
around 14, the higher end of his
range. The 4NT bid was a quantitative raise which said, "Partner, I
know you showed me a minimum
opener of 12-14 points, but if you're
at the higher end of that range, please
take us to 6NT."
(4) South was still in a downgrading
mood and passed. With a downgraded
15 count, he should have thought: "I'm
at the top of my promised 12-14!" and
accepted the invitation to slam.
South might try to visualize where
partner's points are located. He can't
have too many queens, so it should be
aces and king which would fit beauti‑
fully opposite South's soft values.
North should have about 18-19
points for his invitation to slam be‑
cause he knew South was showing
12-14. He asked a specific question:
"Are you closer to 12 or to 14?" South
must answer the question. Opener
was so caught up in his initial evalu‑
ation, however, that he missed the
bigger picture entirely.
There are 12 tricks in notrump on
this deal by promoting a spade honor.
The 12 winners are: one spade, three
hearts, five diamonds and three clubs.
Notice that a 6 contract might be
set with a defensive spade ruff.
In bridge, you need a two‑way
radio, one that transmits and one
that receives. This South was only
transmitting. Even worse, he was
transmitting the same information he
had already sent.
r
Once you're already downgraded
appropriately, there's no need to
do it again.
http://www.bridgeteacher.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2010
Viewpoint - Brent Manley
Letters to the Editor
From the CEO - Jay Baum
Louisville Hosts the Spring NABC
World Championship coverage from Philly
Instant matchpoint game winners
TDs Boyd, Smith receive honors
East hands for The Bidding Box
A Game for All Ages
Jack wins world computer title
Big Games
Club News
Product reviews
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Ruling the Game - Mike Flader
For Newer Players
Teacher's Notes - Val Covalcuic
Ask Jerry - Jerry Helms
Bridge Players Survival Kit - Leslie Shafer
Mike's Bridge Lesson - Reevaluating - Mike Lawrence
Upgrading Your Game -Twin Imposters - Lynn Berg
In My Humble Opinion - David Berkowitz
Puzzle page
Play & Learn - Pat Harrington
For Intermediate Players
Boehm on Bridge - Boehm mots No.5 - August Boehm
Misplay these Hands With Me - Against all odds- Mark Horton
The Real Deal - Larry Cohen
Better Bridge with Bergen -Slam bidding - Marty Bergen
Chalk talk - Eddie Kantar
It's Just MayHem - Marilyn Hemenway
For Advanced Players
My Bridge and Yours -- Frank Stewart
Bidding Matters - 12 habits - Karen Walker
Test Your Play - Eddie Kantar
West hands for The Bidding Box
Mike's Advice -Play at trick one - Mike Lawrence
Solutions to Test Your Play
Obituary - Donald Campbell (1957-2010)
George's World - George Jacobs
The Coolest Gizmos and Gadgets - Modified Baze- Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - David Bird
Partnership Bridge - The Granovetters
Life Master Milestones
New Life Masters
In Memoriam
Obituary - Eugene "Gene" Maurice Short Jr. (1932-2010)
Tournament Directory
Obituary - William "Bill" Mann (1924-2010)
Obituary - Brooks Hughes (1934-2010)
December 2010 - 1
December 2010 - 2
December 2010 - 3
December 2010 - 4
December 2010 - 5
December 2010 - Letters to the Editor
December 2010 - 7
December 2010 - 8
December 2010 - From the CEO - Jay Baum
December 2010 - Louisville Hosts the Spring NABC
December 2010 - 11
December 2010 - 12
December 2010 - 13
December 2010 - World Championship coverage from Philly
December 2010 - 15
December 2010 - 16
December 2010 - 17
December 2010 - 18
December 2010 - 19
December 2010 - 20
December 2010 - 21
December 2010 - Instant matchpoint game winners
December 2010 - East hands for The Bidding Box
December 2010 - 24
December 2010 - A Game for All Ages
December 2010 - 26
December 2010 - Jack wins world computer title
December 2010 - Club News
December 2010 - Product reviews
December 2010 - 30
December 2010 - The Bidding Box
December 2010 - 32
December 2010 - 33
December 2010 - It's Your Call
December 2010 - 35
December 2010 - 36
December 2010 - 37
December 2010 - Ruling the Game - Mike Flader
December 2010 - Teacher's Notes - Val Covalcuic
December 2010 - Ask Jerry - Jerry Helms
December 2010 - 41
December 2010 - Bridge Players Survival Kit - Leslie Shafer
December 2010 - Mike's Bridge Lesson - Reevaluating - Mike Lawrence
December 2010 - Upgrading Your Game -Twin Imposters - Lynn Berg
December 2010 - Puzzle page
December 2010 - Play & Learn - Pat Harrington
December 2010 - Boehm on Bridge - Boehm mots No.5 - August Boehm
December 2010 - Misplay these Hands With Me - Against all odds- Mark Horton
December 2010 - The Real Deal - Larry Cohen
December 2010 - Better Bridge with Bergen -Slam bidding - Marty Bergen
December 2010 - Chalk talk - Eddie Kantar
December 2010 - It's Just MayHem - Marilyn Hemenway
December 2010 - My Bridge and Yours -- Frank Stewart
December 2010 - Bidding Matters - 12 habits - Karen Walker
December 2010 - West hands for The Bidding Box
December 2010 - Mike's Advice -Play at trick one - Mike Lawrence
December 2010 - Obituary - Donald Campbell (1957-2010)
December 2010 - George's World - George Jacobs
December 2010 - The Coolest Gizmos and Gadgets - Modified Baze- Billy Miller
December 2010 - Bridge with the Abbot - David Bird
December 2010 - Partnership Bridge - The Granovetters
December 2010 - Life Master Milestones
December 2010 - 63
December 2010 - 64
December 2010 - New Life Masters
December 2010 - Obituary - Eugene "Gene" Maurice Short Jr. (1932-2010)
December 2010 - Obituary - Brooks Hughes (1934-2010)
December 2010 - 68
December 2010 - 69
December 2010 - 70
December 2010 - 71
December 2010 - 72
December 2010 - 73
December 2010 - 74
December 2010 - 75
December 2010 - 76
December 2010 - 77
December 2010 - 78
December 2010 - 79
December 2010 - 80
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