Walddk

I know the layout because I was present when the hand came up. So it would be unfair to comment in detail. All I can say is that it was very dangerous to do what Katz actually did. Roland

Happy Birthday from me too. Roland

Yes, amazing performance by such a small country. And then Denis even forgot to mention that two of the pairs, Hanlon - McGann and Garvey - Carroll, are back-to-back winners of the Lederer Memorial Trophy with top teams from England and abroad (Zia, Sabine Auken, etc.). The next version of that event will be held on October 28 & 29 in London (live vugraph broadcast on BBO). When the team travels to Shanghai next autumn for the Bermuda Bowl, it will be the first time that Ireland is represented in the most prestigious tournament in the world. I am told that 80 fans turned up at Dublin International Airport to welcome the team back from Warsaw and congratulate the players on their exceptional performance. In this context, it is also in order to congratulate three other small countries: Norway, Denmark and Croatia. Bronze medal and a Bermuda Bowl berth to Norway, 5th and 6th place to the Danish and Croatian women (berths in the Venice Cup), and a spot for the Danish seniors who finished 4th. The population of those three nations is (roughly): Norway (huge in size, small in population): 4.6 million, Croatia: 4.5 million and Denmark: 5.4 million. Norway and Denmark have been there a few times before, whereas it will be the first time that the relatively new country of Croatia (independence in 1991) has qualified for the World Championships. Roland

I am pretty sure you all agree with me when I say that the vugraph presentation from the European Championships was the best ever on BBO. Hardly a single technical error for 2 weeks! Lots of nice features, flawless operators, dedicated organisers, and not least the results service, designed and maintained by Jan Romanski. Congratulations to everyone in Poland who made this possible! You were all marvellous and have now set a new standard for how we would like our vugraph broadcasts in the future. Roland P.S. We also managed to get commentary in English, French, Italian, Polish (all four in every round), and occasionally Turkish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.

In the last round Saturday morning, we will be showing all matches that matter for silver, bronze, 4th, 5th and 6th place (all Bermuda Bowl berths). Italy has a bye and is European Champion for the 7th time in a row! Saturday, August 26: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney R33 Sweden v Iceland Luxemburg v Poland Wales v France Bulgaria v Netherlands Ireland v Scotland First 6 in the women's series (qualified for the Venice Cup) are: 1. France - 2. Netherlands - 3. England - 4. Germany - 5. Denmark - 6. Croatia. Roland

Friday is the penultimate day of the championships with just a single round (open series only) to be played on Saturday morning. Tomorrow's fixtures are: Friday, August 25: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney Denmark v Spain (open) Netherlands v Finland (seniors) France v Turkey (seniors) Scotland v Italy (seniors) Poland v Denmark (seniors) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR31 Italy v Belarus Poland v Lithuania Latvia v France England v Germany (women) France v Norway (women) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR32 Germany v Poland France v Serbia Hungary v Italy Norway v Ireland + 1 To Be Announced

New fixtures are: Thursday, August 24: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney RR28 Italy v Germany England v Poland Estonia v France Russia v Denmark France v Poland (women) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR29 Poland v Italy France v San Marino Israel v Hungary Denmark v Norway 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR30 Norway v Sweden France v Romania Belgium v Italy Finland - Poland Sweden v France (women)

I agree with BBC pundit Jonathan Agnew when he says ..... "While I do have some sympathy for Pakistan, staging a sit-in on Sunday evening was not the right way to register their protest. They clearly feel most aggrieved at having been found guilty of ball-tampering without being able to defend themselves. But a better, more sensible approach would surely have been to issue a strong denial at tea time, in which they also promised to appeal, and get on with the game. Instead, what they tried to do was effectively blackmail the officials into overturning the umpires' decision. This could have set a very dangerous precedent".

New fixtures here: Wednesday, August 23: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney R15 (seniors) Netherlands v France Turkey v Israel Italy v Wales England v Sweden 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR26 Israel v Poland Hungary v France Italy v Finland Sweden v Ireland France v Israel (women) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR27 Germany v England Poland v Croatia Lithuania v Italy Ireland v Bulgaria France v ???? (women or seniors)

LAW 42.3c (FAIR AND UNFAIR PLAY): "It is unfair for anyone to rub the ball on the ground for any reason, interfere with any of the seams or the surface of the ball, use any implement, or take any other action whatsoever which is likely to alter the condition of the ball". How does ball tampering favour bowlers? Bowlers shine one side of a new cricket ball while the opposite is left to deteriorate through natural wear and tear. This process helps bowlers swing the ball in the air. In simple terms, the aerodynamics of bowling mean the shiny side travels faster through the air, while the rough side acts as a brake, pushing the ball in the direction of the rough side. But as the ball loses its early shine, it begins to swing less and it is not until it gets older and rougher that it begins to deviate again, a process known as reverse swing. "As the ball becomes rougher, it will take on a different characteristic as it deteriorates", said former England fast bowling coach Troy Cooley, who helped England's bowlers use the phenomenon to great success during the 2005 Ashes series. "So if you present the ball as an outswinger, the ball has deteriorated so much on the rough side that it takes on the characteristics of the shiny side. This means that a natural outswinger will become an inswinger and conversely, an inswinger an outswinger". The laws of the game clearly state fielders can polish, clean or dry the ball, but nothing more. The batsmen, pitch and outfield all contribute to the natural wear and tear of the ball, which usually starts to reverse swing around the 40- to 50-over mark during a Test match. However, the earlier the ball starts to reverse swing, the more problems it poses for the batsmen. Bowlers can facilitate the deterioration by manipulating the condition of the ball illegally. The seam, which acts as the ball's rudder when it swings, can be picked with fingernails. The nails can also help to further scuff the rough side of the ball.

Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute after the controversial Oval Test against England. He also faces an allegation of changing the condition of the ball and a hearing will take place on Friday. As captain, he is deemed responsible for the conduct of the entire team. The umpires ruled Pakistan forfeited the Test by initially refusing to take the field after tea in response to being penalised for ball-tampering. It was the first time in 129 years that a Test had been conceded by forfeit. The disrepute charge, which the International Cricket Council views as more serious, could result in a ban of up to four Test matches or eight one-day internationals, if Inzamam is found guilty. He has also been charged with a breach of Level 2.10 of the ICC's code which relates to changing the condition of the ball. If Inzamam is found guilty of that allegation, it could cost him his entire match fee and result in a suspension of one Test or two one-day internationals. If guilty of both charges, any bans would be served consecutively. I predict that the Pakistanis will go home if Inzy is sentenced as charged. This is not the first time Pakistan has been involved in a ball-tampering incident. Last time was also in England. Mind you, the English are no angels either. Some of us still remember the Michael Atherton "dirt in the pockets" farce. Roland

2NT, 12-14 balanced. If he passes, fine, if he bids 3NT I hope he has spades stopped. If he hasn't, he can bid 3♠. Roland

New fixtures here: Tuesday, August 22: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney RR23 Netherlands v Hungary Italy v Croatia Poland v France Sweden v France ( seniors) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR24 England v Italy Belgium v France Switzerland v Poland Denmark v Bulgaria France v Netherlands (women) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR25 Germany v Israel Luxemburg v Italy France v Belarus Poland v Greece France v Estonia (seniors)

There will not be a fifth day, and the match has been awarded to England: "Pakistan forfeited the fourth Test against England after the match descended into chaos when the tourists were penalised for ball-tampering". http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/5268886.stm England won, cricket lost. Roland

As a follow up to what whereagles suggests, Kantar writes about the topic in 3 of his books: "Defensive Play Complete". "Kantar for Defense 1". "Kantar for Defense 2". I believe that you can get all 3 at Bridge World's bookshelf. Maybe the first one is sold out. Roland

New fixtures here: Sunday, August 20: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney RR20 Netherlands - Poland Switzerland - Italy France - Finland Iceland - Germany France - Austria (women) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR21 Hungary - Norway Italy - Greece Lithuania - France Poland - Iceland Wales - France (seniors) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR22 Israel - Italy Spain - Poland France - Germany Belarus - Netherlands France - Germany (women) ..... Monday is a day off in Warsaw. Roland

Not a chance that England are going to get the Aussies out in a single innings if Harmison keeps on bowling the way he did Friday. It was embarrassing. Maybe London puts a jinx on him. He doesn't like to bowl at Lord's, and we may hear the same about the Brit Oval soon. Roland

Everything is relative, but "recent" is perhaps not the appropriate word since Garozzo wrote about this method in 1965! Roland

New fixtures here: Saturday, August 19: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney RR17 Ireland v Hungary Italy v Iceland Poland v Russia Croatia v France France v Israel (seniors) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR18 Norway v Poland Spain v Italy France v England Hungary v Turkey France v Finland (women) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR19 Italy v France Poland v Scotland Germany v Netherlands Norway v Belgium Ireland v France (seniors)

Some day they will likely bar people from boarding an aircraft altogether. Passengers may explode if the cabin crew is impolite or they may start fighting violently and create havoc. It's also much safer to take off with an empty aircraft (pilots are allowed). (if some don't sense the irony, I'd better add there is a limit as to how much you can and should do. It's dangerous to live; you could die from it). Roland

Me. 1♣ stands out a mile; I wouldn't even consider 1♠. It actually doesn't matter if I'm in 3rd/4th seat or not. I open 1♣ with 5-5 in the blacks unless I am strong enough to reverse (3♣) over a 2♦/♥ response. Occasionally, for tactical reasons, I may open 1♠ in 3rd if my spade suit is considerably stronger than the club suit. Roland

You need an agreement (as always). If the lead of a king asks for attitude, you should encourage; if it asks for count or unblock, you should overtake. If the latter, he has considerable length apart from KQJ, and if he asks for attitude, it could easily be from KQx and an encouraging signal is called for. That would either show the ace or jack, perhaps both. I don't know what "standard" is, but I prefer that ace and queen ask for attitude, king for unblock our count (Garozzo vs. NT). Roland

I am not a passed hand, LHO opened, so 3♣ doesn't show spade support. I would bid 3♣ anyway, followed by spades as cheaply as possible. Roland

Adam makes a few valid points, but we are far away from each other regarding 2., 4. and 7. 2. It makes no sense to double if it doesn't show extras. East is facing a limited partner (max. 10 hcp) with no major suit. I also disagree that the auction will stop in 2♦ if East passes. West will surely compete with 3♣. 4. It's unreasonable to bid 3♦ with a hand that was absolutely minimum for the initial overcall, and with no 6th diamond. It must be partner's job to compete. There is no reason to tell the same story twice. 7. If you don't double 3NT with West's cards, you have lost confidence in your side's ability to defend. And you shouldn't fear a pull to 4♦ either. Partner has shown length in all side suits. I would be happy to double 4♦ too and lead a trump. Roland

New fixtures here: Friday, August 18: 4:30 am New York, 10.30 Paris, 9:30 am London, 6:30 pm Sydney RR14 Germany v Turkey France v Switzerland Ireland v Poland Norway v Italy France v Italy (women) 8:15 am New York, 14.15 Paris, 1:15 pm London, 10:15 pm Sydney RR15 Sweden v Hungary Greece v France Italy v Scotland Poland v Turkey France v Poland (seniors) 11:35 am New York, 17.35 Paris, 4:35 pm London RR16 Netherlands v Italy France v Israel Portugal v Poland Hungary v Bulgaria France v Croatia (women)