In this section I would be putting together all the information regarding bridge facilites in the various cities in India.The information may be sketchy at present but would be made comprehensive in future.
Lucknow Allahabad Varanasi Meerut Dehradun Delhi ChandigarhA convention card editor fills, edits and prints convention cards on computer. Lee Edwards of Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA has designed this very convenient convention card editor for various convention cards. The convention cards which can be filled by this editor are ACBL, SAYC, WBF, WBF(England), EBU, BBL, French, Dutch, Belgian, Sweedish, Italian, Austrian, Ireland, Israeli, Indian & Australian. You can download this software which is freeware from the link mentioned above. Those of you who want to send your comments to Lee Edwards can do so at ledwards@bellsouth.net
For Indian bridge players,lovers & enthusiasts the good news is that the convention card designed by Bridge Federation of India (BFI) appears on this convention card editor. So for those of you who have computers the convention card filling in India is a lot more easier job now.
Lee has been constantly updating the software. The latest version he informs is 6.0.1 with enhanced printing features.The software now supports 21 formats and the convention cards of Germany and South Africa are in offing.
In this section I would cover tournaments happening in India and more so the tournaments happening in Northern part of India and in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Winter Nationals started in Delhi on 7th November.There were widespread protests against the organizers on first playing day. Participants complained of lack of food & water and were unhappy with the lodging arrangements. The play was heldup for about three hours.Though the organizers have pooled in Four Square Sports Gear as sponsors for the event the organization was decidedly poor.
Lohia bridge championship would be held at Kanpur in March.
In this section I would cover one good deal which appeared in the Weekly Bridge Tournaments at Lucknow or in a recent tournament with explanations.
Should you double with a void is what this week's deal is all about ?.
Dealer: East
Vul : Both
Lead : H x
| S | A 9 7 x x | |||||||||||
| H | J 9 x x | |||||||||||
| D | - | |||||||||||
| C | J 10 x x | |||||||||||
| S | 8 x | S | Q J x | |||||||||
| H | 10 x x x | H | A K Q x x | |||||||||
| D | A J 9 6 x | D | 10 8 | |||||||||
| C | x x | C | K x x | |||||||||
| S | K 10 x | |||||||||||
| H | - | |||||||||||
| D | K Q 7 5 x x | |||||||||||
| C | A Q x x |
Bidding
| East | South | West | North |
| 1 H | 2 D | X | Pass |
| Pass | Pass | ||
Double with a void ,well is not a difficult question, but there are different views.
In this week's deal East opens 1 Heart , South overcalls with 2 Diamond and West doubles which is penalty , though explained as undecided, and everyone passes.
North made South play in 2 Diamond doubled with a void in diamond suit. The trouble was 4 Spades by NS makes.
Usually a bidding system caters to a set of deals and due to which sometimes specific deals can not be played in par contracts.
Look at this weeks's deal. South holds 14 HCP and a void in heart suit. Different bidding sysytems would have different ways to approach this deal. Some would bid 2 Diamonds as they do not have 4 cards in Spades, Some would double with these cards and some would bid 2 diamonds as they have void in Heart suit. Larry Cohen ,the total trick Guru, recommends not doubling with a void. He has sound reasons. According to him it is very difficult to defend against a suit contract with a void. Also when partner doubles he usually gives 4441 shape to the partner and looks at the further bidding from that point of view. He doesn't say that one shouldn't double with a void but one should consider not doubling with void.
Larry has perhaps developed that kind of judgement and would do well to share with us so that we are able to bid these deals better!!
Not many players nowadays play direct double as penalty so perhaps West's Dimond Ace is a give away. North didn't redouble. A 2 Spade bid over double would have been absolute weak. A redouble is also SOS and shows tolerance in both Clubs and Spades. On redouble if South bids 3 Clubs perhaps North would pass. So how would NS reach 4 Spades ? Before we come to this question let us look at what happens when South makes a take out double. West has a raise to 2 Heart or 3 Heart over a take out double. Not many pass take out double in the modern bidding with fit in partner's suit. If take out double doesn't promise 4 cards in Spades , a responsive double should not deny 4 cards in spades, so any bid of Spades at 2 or 3 level by North would promise 5 cards in Spades and South would gleefully bid 4 Spades. So if you haven't doubled because of void or because you don't have 4 cards in Spades what would you do ?
In the sequence shown perhaps a multipurpose 2 Heart cue may promise something more than SOS and not necessarily game values. A spade suit after cue could be 5 card.This is not perfect but if you place Diamond Ace well game invitation should at least be made.
Following very good bridge sites are available for any bridge enthusiast:
Some other bridge sites are: