Things have been quite here for the last weeks. I have been busy with various aspect of the game but this was background work, with litle to write about. But, still time for an update.
Most players are familiar with this little book, the Laws of Duplicate Bridge. First published in 1933 by the Portland Club and the New York Whist Club and others, these laws have evolved into the current code maintained by the WBF and their Law Committee. The latest edition came into effect in 2007.
The WBF Law Committee currently has a schedule where the law book is updated every 10 years. It is now 2017, so that means that an update is due this year.
The WBF only publishes the laws, the NCBO have the freedom to set their own date when the new code will come into effect. In Holland, the bridge season tradionally starts in the first weekend of September, so the introduction of the new code has been set for September 1st.
10 years between updates may sound like a long time with plenty of time to arrange things, in practice it isn’t. First of all, the WBF only finished the text earlier 2017. That is the English text only, here we use a Dutch translation and the translator takes a bit of time too. Then, there are a number of choices in the laws that the NCBO has to make. Finally, the books have to be printed and distributed, and the TD’s need study time. With the relatively early start date of September 1st, 2017, that means there is a lot of work to be done in a relatively short time.
As a TD, I obviously have to know the laws, so I am currently working my way through the new text. If you are a player, don’t worry too much, most of the changes are in the wording and an ace will still continue to beat a king.
I have an other reason to study these laws in detail. Rozendaal, where I live, is part of district 7 of the Dutch federation. This district has asked me to run a couple of training session for fellow TDs in the second half of August. If you are registered as a TD in this district, you will get an invitation soon, if you don’t have it, contact me directly. Also, if you are in another district and are interested in these trainings, then I might be able to do one there as well.
No cards at all? In Slovakia, the European Junior Championships are under way. On various sites, the Dutch were listed as one of the favorites for the title, but so far, I’m not very impressed. At the halfway point of a 26 round round-robin, the team has lost big time to Sweden and France, two of the other favorites, and is currently not even in the top 6 needed to qualify for the Junior World Championships next year. One striking example from the match between Holland and England (the latter currently in 3rd place):
The auction started the same way in both rooms. However, where the English west bid a practical 5♣, the Dutch player tried a vague redouble. The problem with the redouble is that you have no idea what to do over the various continuations and have to guess. At the same time, you tell the opponents that it is your hand and they should not consider venturing at the 5 level. After a direct 5♣, that is not so clear.
Things got worse after that: east led the ♣J won by the ace and declarer played a small spade. West rose with the ♠K. At this point, east should give some signal to show the ♥A, but either he didn’t or west missed it. West continued with the ♣K for a ruff and a sluff, and the contract was made. I’m not sure if going up with the ♠K is the right play, double dummy it doesn’t matter, but west plays the ♠3, declarer has to take a first round finesse of the ♠8 in order to keep it to down 1. That is by no means obvious either. In the other room, 5♣ was an easy make, for a 15 imp Dutch loss.
Better news from the U21 and the U26-Women front: both teams are in the top. U26-Women is the new name for the event previously known as the “Girls series”, which sounds a lot more serious and appropriate. For more info, go to the Eurobridge.org site.
During the summer, the local club opens its doors for one and all three times a week. Arrive at 19:45, sit down, play, and the pair with the best score wins a bottle of wine. So far, I played 3 sessions, winning one and losing a bottle of wine on the last of another. Here is the hand, you are playing against an unknown pair who didn’t particular impress you on the first boards.
2♥ showed a weak 2 suiter, 3♦ was an artificial raise and 4♥ your best shot. West leads the ♣AK, with east contributing the ♣8 and ♣2, encouraging or an even number. West continues with the ♣10.
You don’t need the ♣Q as a trick, so it safe to ruff this with the _6. If east can overruff this with exactly the ♥J, you are down anyway. East surprises you by contributing the ♣J.
Next you play the ♥Q to the ♥2, ♥7, and ♥A. (A small heart to the king is wrong, in case west started with 5 clubs and the singleton ♥A, he wins and can promote a heart trick). A 4th round of clubs follows and you cash the ♥K. The suit splits and all you need is a spade trick.
There are 2 ways to get this and you start counting: so far, west has shown the ♥AJ and ♣AK, and east only the ♣J. That’s 12 points against 1, and west took no action over 2♥, strongly suggesting that the ♠K is with east, so you cash the ♠A and run the ♠Q. Down 1, as full hand is this, making you the only pair with a negative score as NS. Of course, most other wests doubled 2♥ or bid 1NT if south passed, making it a lot easier for declarer.
We finished second about 4 matchpoints behind number 2. 4_ making would have scored average on a 28 top. Friday night I get another chance.