tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242643622008-04-28T18:02:38.550-07:00BridgeMattersGlen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-70280396795295005612008-04-21T16:38:00.000-07:002008-04-21T17:01:09.712-07:00Reading David Collier's excellent "Stayman v. Keri" blog entry (click on http://dcrcbridge.blogspot.com/2008/04/stayman-v-keri.html) had me puzzled why nobody I've run into yet is playing Jeff Rubens's Inverted Stayman.
Inverted Stayman gets the partnership to 2M on 5M invite hands, but, in contrast to Keri, frequently has opener play the contract if that's the landing spot. Inverted Stayman Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-85745314976755511652008-04-02T05:59:00.001-07:002008-04-02T06:35:41.168-07:00Bobby Wolff in his book "The Lone Wolff" (2008, Master Point Press) mentions how the ACBL Board of Directors approved the annual Ottawa regional in 1993 or just before then (page 66). Readers might assume Ottawa did not have a regional before then, but this would be wrong.
The Ottawa regional dates back to at least the 60s. In the 70s and 80s it was held every 3 of 4 years, but would give up Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-38952606974428705042007-12-20T20:01:00.000-08:002007-12-23T09:51:33.805-08:00Do you play splinters? Yes, every time my partner passes one.
A couple of links:
http://www.noozit.com/author/chip
http://www.noozit.com/author/Bob+Hamman
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Happy holidays everyone!Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-37919784067922485462007-12-17T19:17:00.000-08:002007-12-17T19:27:54.198-08:00ETM Spry is now up: http://www.bridgematters.com/spry.pdf
A sister of ETM Storm, the framework is:
1C is 15+, but 18+ if 5+Hs (if 5+Ss too then 15+)
1D is 10-14 with 4Ss
1H is 10-17, either 10-14 with 4H, or 14-17 with 5+Hs, or 10-11 5Hs flat without 4Ss
1S is 10-14 with 5+Ss
1NT is (11) 12-14 balanced, can have 5Hs, but not 5Ss
2C and 2D show a 5 or longer minor, no four card major, 10-14
2H Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-762901625573641132007-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:002007-11-11T17:12:55.160-08:00I've switch to short RSS feeds - if you are using a feeder you only see the start of the post. To see the complete post click on an arrow provided, or if none, on the post date.Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-4011854537351414092007-11-09T05:36:00.000-08:002007-11-11T17:13:06.677-08:00Playing with the house's money
In the last two rounds of the sectional pairs last night I took shots on the last 6 boards. These were not psyches but just anti-field positions, mostly playing notrump instead of investigating for suit contracts, or over-competing.
On a 8 top, our last 6 scores were: 2, 2, .5, 0, 6, 0.
3NT going down with 4M cold was awful on three boards, and going down 2 Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-67457956272554580512007-11-07T18:09:00.000-08:002007-11-07T19:12:41.947-08:00Here are some schemes that restructure the one level minor suit opening framework to incorporate a 1NT 10-12 opening. For a discussion on some of the related issues, see the entry just before this.
A) 1C Handles 15-17 Bal
1C: Cs or 15-17 balanced
1D: Ds or 13-14 balanced or 18-19 balanced
Analysis: Minor suit openings are both 2+. Straight-forward bidding sequences.
B) 1C Handles 16-18 Bal
Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-25638877894101030012007-11-07T18:02:00.001-08:002007-11-07T20:11:01.422-08:00Weak/Mini Notrump Issues
Introduction
This is a discussion on point range issues that comes up when playing 10-12 mini-notrumps and 12-14 weak notrumps. It will be worth reading for strong partnerships using one or both of these notrump ranges, and for those interested in the bidding theory involved. As the discussion quickly gets intricate it is not suitable for casual reading.
Terminology
Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-10890072731688826232007-10-09T18:18:00.000-07:002007-10-09T18:24:18.869-07:00Some pairs on the Netherlands team in the Bermuda Bowl semi-finals use the BOLO defense to could-be-short minor suit openings by the opponents.
In preparing some notes for the event, I took over a week to come up with Hands Bolo "use the force" - the Star Wars defense to the Netherlands BOLO method. Key was to make the method relatively straight-forward while covering hand types wanting to bid.
Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-90790632645811247372007-09-01T08:01:00.000-07:002007-09-05T18:06:38.121-07:00Nader Hanna, captain of this year's Canada Bermuda Bowl team, is doing a phenomenal job in getting the team ready for Shanghai - he has the team in all sorts of prep activities designed to maximum performance at the big event, and Nader himself is spending a zillion hours making this all happen.
As part of the prep activities organized by Nader, Team Canada has these upcoming practice matches Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-48726613631097641182007-08-22T19:03:00.000-07:002007-08-22T19:04:54.171-07:00If you are using something like reader.google.com (and you should), the site feed is:
http://bridgematters.com/bridgematters/atom.xmlGlen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-66794576412951389222007-08-11T06:35:00.001-07:002007-08-11T06:36:04.833-07:00Alje Kamminga, who edited both the Chip Martel and Eric Rodwell interviews, was first in the world, with partner Margaret Pearce in the 21st Worldwide Bridge Contest on June 2. Congratulations Alje and Margaret!Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-53089414519762087382007-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:002007-08-09T14:42:21.488-07:00ETM CANDY is now up - it combines:
a) Two-way club, either 17+ any or 11-13 with a five card major and balanced/semi-balanced
b) Canape 1M openings
c) 2C opening show 5+Ss and 4+Hs
d) 2M Fantunes openings - 9/10-13 five or longer suit, if just 5 then must have a singleton or void
http://www.bridgematters.com/candy.pdf
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Karen and I are surprised how much we have used Good Bad Gerber Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-32049744917795721792007-07-20T03:47:00.000-07:002007-07-20T03:55:30.335-07:00Here's a 1995 posting of mine from rec.games.bridge
In the February 1995 issue of Bridge World, Henry T.C. Sun's article "The Power of Artificial Preempts" details a preemptive bidding structure that allows the description of many different types of preempts. Here is a modified version where an artificial preempt can only have two possible main suits. [At this point I noted bids like 2H may not Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-81184762567455565712007-07-17T16:27:00.000-07:002007-07-17T16:30:56.267-07:00BridgeMatters moved to a new host today - if you find an article or link missing, please let me know by email or comment hereGlen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-53213916379657133502007-07-15T16:46:00.000-07:002007-07-16T05:52:20.222-07:00The final result of the Canada-Mexico playoff for the Bermuda Bowl spot is at:
http://www.bridgemontreal.ca/blogs/files/21/File/score(4).txt
Canada's team in the Bermuda Bowl will be:
Kamel Fergani - Waldemar Frukacz - Piotr Klimowicz - Nicolas L'Ecuyer - Jeffrey Smith - John Zaluski
NPC is Nader Hanna
Canada's Venice Cup team won their playoff by default - the team is:
Sylvia Caley - Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-33598264811559463922007-07-15T08:03:00.000-07:002007-07-16T05:52:54.910-07:00I was part of a "best hand of the tournament" recently.
I had:
------------AT8
------------T
------------AQJ852
------------AJT
LHO opens 2C (standard), and I have an instant "tell" that it is not a regular 2C bid. RHO bids 2H "a bust" (no ace, no king, not lots of quacks). I throw in 2S to find out what's going on, and LHO bids 3NT. Based on my hand, this looks to me like long Hs and a S Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-47705473490676693522007-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:002007-07-14T14:41:25.799-07:00I was Bashing with Dan Neill this morning on BBO, Dan showing his excellent ability to take system notes from 0-to-60 in just a few minutes.. Opening light is a double-edged sword as Josh Sher correctly put it - on one hand we were -500 where every other table where the hand was played it was passed out. However we certainly had a lot of action, and a lot of fun, and that's what light opening Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-16325847032963687442007-07-10T20:12:00.001-07:002007-07-10T20:19:18.245-07:00Two new items at BridgeMatters, and these are both a result of tournament experiences last week. Karen uses Gerber to investigate slam, as well as to check for aces, so we now have Good Bad Gerber which asks for good or bad, and number of aces and kings:
www.bridgematters.com/etmgbg.pdf
As we had a couple of bad results on Law-Of-Total-Trick raises, now this document covers the additional Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-65796570547776840942007-06-29T14:56:00.000-07:002007-06-29T15:02:31.021-07:00ETM BASH is now up:
http://www.bridgematters.com/bash.pdf
Since this is a 1D opening in 1st and 2nd:
S: J87
H: K87
D: J63
C: K432
and this can be opened 1NT in 3rd if you wish:
S: 876
H: 876
D: 8742
C: 876
Opinions on this will vary!Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-16168192885592281752007-06-09T05:03:00.000-07:002007-06-09T05:07:41.532-07:00If I ever get Change of Heart approved by the ACBL (using 1H as 15+ artificial strong opening for Mid Chart+), here's the structure I'll use:
White:
1C: Natural or balanced 13-15 or 19-21, forcing
1D: Natural unbalanced, forcing
1H: 15+ & 5+Hs, or balanced 16-18 or 25+
1S: 5+Ss, 10 to Near Game Force
1NT: 10-12 balanced
2C: 5+Hs, 4+Ss, 10-14
2D: Weak two in either major or Near Game Force+ withGlen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-90840971890963259782007-04-27T05:39:00.000-07:002007-04-27T05:42:18.116-07:00http://news.yahoo.com/comics/070427/cx_dilbert_umedia/20072704
The NFL draft is tomorrow so here's a coaching story. Tee Walsh (perhaps a relation of Bill Walsh) had invented the South Coast offence, an integrated running/passing approach that took the run n' gun style to a new level. However when Walsh became head coach of the LA Terminators, he inherited a starting quarterback who was a low Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-66675004345669301422007-04-25T10:13:00.000-07:002007-07-16T05:57:22.142-07:00Let's go for another design walk to look at the considerations for system designers. Most systems start with a base premise, and here it will be that balanced hands show themselves quickly, with a bid that means only balanced. This seems like a good core concept, but how to deliver it?
So 1NT could be 12-14, and if 18+ balanced we will open on two level, say Mexican 2D for 18-19, 2NT for 20-21, Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-38479629294535839302007-04-24T05:57:00.000-07:002007-04-24T15:54:28.167-07:00A great site to see links to the latest on bridge is Claire Martel's What's new?:
http://www.clairebridge.com/whatsnew.htm
Here there are links to such things as:
Strong Diamond System by Noble Shore and Mike Gill
Danny Kleinman Bridge site (then check out his bidding and conventions section)
A complete system based on the French System Majeure by Geoffrey Ostrin (this really is complete - Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24264362.post-34156833680210305062007-04-23T16:57:00.000-07:002007-04-24T10:19:20.023-07:00One of things that system designers look at is how opener's 17/18+ hand types handle common jam situations. With responder just passing and opener to make first rebid, three measure points often considered are:
Opponents reach three of the highest unbid major (e.g. 1C-1S-Pass-3S--?)
Opponents reach four of the highest unbid major (e.g. 1S-2H-Pass-4H--?)
LHO (of opener) jumps to three of highest Glen Ashtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01705543534132372375noreply@blogger.com