Winifred by Foxymoron

 Today was the funeral of our late former Chair, and member since 1987, Winifred Irene Godber. She was born in Finsbury, Islington, in 1937 and spent her early years in Stoke Newington. She married John and gave birth to three wonderful daughters, Lyn, Susan and Diane. By 2021 her extended family had grown with six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

I knew her only through bridge, and she was a regular at the club for over 30 years serving on the committee, duplicating boards, and organising catering. She loved to play many card games with her large family such as spades, trumps, rummy and hearts.

One of her most astonishing hands was one on which she made 7H in the Garden Cities Team Tournament in 1991. And she shuffled and dealt the board at the table; no duplimate machines in those days. And she certainly shuffled well! As there was no really interesting hand in tonight's game at the Woodberry, I have no qualms in presenting this one again! Winnie was West, and often reminisced about this amazing board:

Winnie always liked to bid one more, and her 7H was a great success and as you can see cannot be defeated. Even better that 6S was making as those that doubled found to their cost.

She was very much a Londoner all her life, although moving to Essex after starting a family. Few know that the name Winifred comes from Saint Winifred, the Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th Century. So she has some links with my country, Wales, and there is the stained glass below of Saint Winifred in Castell Coch in Cardiff. The name is a form of Winefride, but all her life she was just Winnie to all who knew and loved her. May she rest in peace.

Expressing Doubt by Foxymoron

People have expressed doubt for thousands of years, as in this painting of Doubting Thomas by Caravaggio:

My partner's bidding on a hand last night was much better than mine, and I should have stopped to think what doubt the auction showed. Generally when you bid 3NT a round later than you might have done it shows doubt that 3NT is the best final contract.

We had a similar, but different in meaning, auction to the one below, to the same contract:

South's 2H was game-forcing and I think North should bid 3D rather than 2NT, and then 3NT over 3S, as my partner did. This should have shown enough doubt for me to select the best contract of 5D, but I elected to pass 3NT, although partner's heart stop was pretty much certain to be Qxx. At our table they cashed five rounds of hearts, and my partner went three off trying to get some matchpoints for 1 off. The first recorded zero appeared in Mesopotamia around 3 B.C. and we have had many of them since then. He would have scored the same zero for 2 off.

Against Ken and Chantal, NS had a top when East led a passive diamond. Declarer took the club finesse, and Debbie switched to the jack of hearts, but Richard fell from grace by not overtaking, which would have led to 3 off. 3NT+1 was a worldwide top for Ken and Chantal.

Continuing our Biblical theme, the expression fall from grace is derived from a passage in the Bible, Galatians 5:4: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” 

And for those that might have missed the announcement, Winnie Godber's funeral will be on Tuesday 21st September at 1:30pm at Enfield Crematorium,  Great Cambridge Road, Enfield, EN1 4DS.

This is being followed by a wake at Woodbine Social Club, Woodbine Close, Waltham Abbey EN9 3RQ. Winnie requested that people do not send flowers but instead send a donation to Meningitis Now:

https://www.meningitisnow.org/support-us/donate

Puppets and Muppets by Foxymoron

 

First there was Stayman, then there was 5-card Puppet Stayman, invented by Kit Woolsey, and then there was Muppet Stayman, The idea of the former is that the weaker hand shows the other Major, hence Puppet. In response to 2NT, a bid of 3C asks partner if she has a five-card major, which she bids, or a 4-card major when she bids 3D. Responder then bids the major she doesn't have. Puppeteer Jim Henson invented the muppets, but he did not invent Muppet Stayman which was also pioneered by Woolsey where the opener bids 3NT with 5 hearts. On the hand below, Janet Cahm and Marietta Andree, welcome visitors from the Wimbledon Club, used Puppet Stayman to good effect:

In response to 3C, North showed her 5-card heart suit and South judged well to bid Roman Keycard Blackwood. North showed 1 or 4 key cards, clearly 4, and South bid the good slam. East led a top diamond and Janet started well, cashing two high hearts. Now when the queen dropped she played two top clubs ending in dummy and now had a 100% line of ruffing a club high, crossing to the jack of hearts and taking two discards on the clubs. Instead she was greedy and tried to cash a third high club and if East had ruffed that she would have been a trick short. But East also took his eye off the ball and discarded, fatally. It is thought this expression comes from baseball, but is often used in golf and other activities as well.

The EBED SIMs, in aid of bridge development, was a great success and the hands with a good commentary by Brian Senior are at:

https://www.ebu.co.uk/sims/events/20210907_g3u64rtnxjr/20210907_commentary.pdf

Brian mentions that 6NT can be made on a strip squeeze and endplay on a spade lead. Declarer plays low from dummy and the ten forces the ace. Now declarer has seven red winners, and in the five-card ending West has to keep the king of spades and four clubs. Now declarer cashes two top clubs and throws West in with the king of spades to lead into the club tenace. The expression tenace, for any honour combination with a gap, comes from whist. Its etymology is the Spanish tenaza forceps, ultimately from Latin tenāx, holding fast, from tenēre to hold. The reason for the origin is unclear, but maybe that the two honours surround the other honour like a nutcracker with a walnut.

Computer Says No by Foxymoron

 One of my favourite sketches was on Little Britain, in which David Walliams plays a rude hospital receptionist. You can view it at:

.: - Little Britain - Computer says no - :. - YouTube

I was reminded of this when my partner only raised my 15-17 1NT to 4NT last night. The computer says, "No, you have should have raised to 6NT". Bridge Analyser thinks that the East hand below will make 6NT a whopping 81% of the time, even opposite a 15-count, so 4NT is just wrong. The key is the AJT combination which, like the little girl in the sketch said, is "nearly six" not the "five" that the Milton Work Count gives it. KJTxx is also "nearly five" and the East hand is worth around 17, and a clear raise to 6NT.

I think the above auction is normal, with Liz Clery raising directly to 6NT. Jim O'Donoghue and Iain Macleay also reached 6NT, 1S-2D-3NT (15-16)-6NT, and Jim guessed the spades to make a valuable overtrick. It seems that there is nothing to go on after a heart lead, but it is narrowly right to lead the ace of spades and then run the jack. You can pick up ª Qxxx in either opponent's hand, but cashing the ace first gains when South has a singleton queen.