Walddk

If I had been a WBF executive (I never will be), the juniors would have been highest on my priority list. How do we attract new youngsters to the game? There are several ways, but one thing is certain: definitely not by (indirectly) telling them that they don't matter and that they are not worth showing on vugraph in front of hundreds of spectators. Drop one of the posh dinners for goodness sake and spend the money on bridge! This is not BBO's responsibility; we already offer our software for nothing. What more do the organizers want? If they can't get sponsors, then find the money elsewhere. NickF told you how money could be spent on the kids rather than demanding Hilton suites for the officials. Roland

I don't think there is a standard agreement regarding 4th suit by opener. In our textbook we have it defined as: "4th suit by opener is always on the third round of bidding where opener already has limited his hand. It shows a maximum within that range with no descriptive bid available and therefore no clear direction". Example: ♠ A ♥ 1054 ♦ K84 ♣ AQJ843 1♣ - 1♠ 2♣ - 2♦ 2♥ "Nothing more to add for now, but I have a maximum for my 2♣ rebid. I do not have as much as a doubleton honour in spades, no certain heart stopper and no 4-card support for responder's second suit". I am sure that others have a different agreement. Do not venture it with a pick-up partner or in an indy. Roland

No wonder they can't afford to offer an operator something to eat, drink, and a modest place to sleep. Excuse me, but it's embarrassing! Roland

Operators are also humans and they need to eat, drink and sleep. You don't get that for nothing in Thailand either. It's not a question of getting paid, merely how you cover their expenses. Roland

Although this is a very generous offer, I don't support your suggestion. It will obviously be the start of the vicious spiral if this is the way we tackle the issue. If we do it once, then what do we do next time, regardless of the event? Roland

Here is my personal view (which doesn't necessarily reflects the view of the BBO management): The same old story, and I suspect that it's not the last time we see it. We have a pc, we have an internet connection, but we have no operator. Why is that? Because no-one wants to pay! The WBF: not us, the PABF: not us, the Contract Bridge League of Thailand: not us, and BBO: not us. So, who else is there? You? Me? The United Nations? If it hadn't been so sad, it would have been hilarious. *ONE* local operator, and nobody can find the money to cover his or her expenses for 10 days?! Roland

This is how highly the organizers rate the world's best junior players and the thousands of spectators who would like to watch them on BBO. Here are two letters to show you. I sent mine 1 hour ago and got a reply 15 minutes later. Issues not relevant to the broadcast are omitted. Dear Anthony, 12 days to go. Are you saying that we are still waiting for approval? I find it quite strange given that the WBF approved long time ago. Roland Wald .... Dear Roland, Sorry for the delay. The PABF did not agree to provide the budget for the operator. Unfortunately Panos* is reluctant to squeeze his budget. Therefore there is no WBF approval anyway. I guess that means we can't get the show on. Anthony Ching, Chief Tournament Director * Panos Gerontopoulos, Chairman of the WBF Youth Committee

1. Pass. I have not been invited to the party. 2. Spade. Set up a trick before partner's red ace has been knocked out. 3. Double. Plusschreiben und gewinnen. Roland

Did he really? I hope you weren't commentating on BBO Vugraph at the same time.... Whoops, typos are wonderful, but not the worst I have made in my time. CMJ is actually a capable bridge player, and he was spot on. It was also horrible bridge. Roland

Why don't you call your news channel and ask them to tell it every time you turn on the telly? Or do you expect us to do it for you? A person like yourself who doesn't know what Hamas and Hezbollah stand for should actually have it turned on 24/7. A few hours ago I told you, and now you think this forum is a good place to tell that you are unhappy with your news channel? For goodness sake, call them and complain! The reporters don't tell you what you expect. I think the lot should be sacked with immediate effect. Perhaps, while you're at it, you could also suggest that you are the man for the job. Reporters ask questions, you ask questions. I am convinced that yours are better. Roland

That's what I wrote on July 1. Now I am asked that question over and over again every time I log in to BBO. The championships start in 18 days, and the PABF is still deliberating it appears. I am really sorry that I was proven right, but it was quite predictable. Roland

We don't need to march to support Israel. History has shown that the Israelis are quite capable of defending themselves. What they do need, however, is moral and financial support. Moral support is easy, but some of us have also been supporting Israel financially for decades. By visiting the country, by living in the country, by donating Danish kroner, US$ or whatever. Again, Denmark is no different from the USA. You may disagree with all this, but they are facts. Roland

You have a tasteless habit of trying to put words into people's mouths. Where was it I was generalizing about Hamas and Hezbollah and the whole Arab world? I merely explained what the two organizations stand for, with reference through two links. If you quote people, then at least quote them accurately and do not state something they did not say. Roland

You seem to be missing something then. The Danish policy is that Israel should be recognized as a free an independent state, and Denmark supports negotations in order to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East. However, because Hamas and Hezbollah are considered terrorist organizations by the Danish government, and because Denmark is against negotiations with terrorists, this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. In other words: exactly the same policy as USA's. Hope this makes it clear. Roland

They want to destruct Israel. "Why not just give it to them"? I'd like to know what your reply would be if they wanted to wipe out USA. "Just give it to them"? Roland This is really unclear, if true why does the world not know this. I say this becuase all I hear from Europe and many parts of the world is that Israel is not being proportional it in it's response. Again this makes no sense. If they want to destroy the country how can the response be too much? Why is this not repeated over and over, they want to destroy Israel. Are you saying Muslims the world over want to do this or would not care one way or the other or what? I do not argue that you are wrong in what they want, only this seems unclear to almost the whole world. Are you sure this is what they want and why do so many billions seem not to know this? I don't really know how ignorant you are, or if you are trying to provoke. You may not know what Hamas and Hezbollah stand for, but rest assured that most people do. Let's take Hamas first: "Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel, and the United States, and is banned in Jordan". Let's move on to Hezbollah: "Hezbollah's political platform has consistently called for the destruction of Israel". Are you saying that you didn't know that? It's no crime to be ignorant, but at least you know it now. Is it something I make up? Look for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah Roland

They want to destruct Israel. "Why not just give it to them"? I'd like to know what your reply would be if they wanted to wipe out USA. "Just give it to them"? Roland

And a vivid example of why outsiders don't understand that cricket is such a fascinating game. They played for 5 full days, no weather interruptions, and yet they were far away from getting a result. It's negative cricket when a captain is more concerned about not losing the match rather than trying to win it. Roland

Goes to show that Strauss doesn't have much confidence in his bowlers. First of all he wants to make sure that England don't lose the match. Destructive approach if you like. "Horrible bridge, waste of time", said Christopher Martin-Jenkins on Test Match Special just now. I guess that sums it up. Now England can't even get a second new ball. Roland

No, it wasn't. You can't ask the Swedish, Italian, Dutch, Danish or English federations for permission every time you would like to comment on a pair from one of those countries. You stated that in your view Rimstedt - Sivelind were slow, and you were not rude in any way. I am sure that Sveriges Bridgeförbund (Swedish Bridge Federation) won't bar you from commentating on Cilla and Sara, or anyone else in the Swedish U25 squad ;) Roland

1. Reverse, 17(16)+ hcp. Forcing for at least one round. 2. Jump shift, 19-21 hcp, game forcing. Reverse Bid This is an unforced rebid at the 2-level or more ("high reverse") in a higher ranking suit than that originally bid. This shows at least 5 cards in the lower first-bid suit and at least 4 cards in the higher ranking suit. Minimum 16 hcp (some prefer 17+). It's a strong bid, but not game forcing. Roland

"Right Through the Pack" is a very entertaining book written by Robert Darvas and Norman D. Hart. A group of 52 linked short stories, each narrated by one of the 52 cards in the deck. Can we do something similar without using any of the stories in the book? We need 51 more after I have told The Tale of ♣2 Normally, everybody regards me as nothing at all. ♣2, the lowest card in the pack which virtually never takes a trick in notrump, almost never in a non-club contract, and unfortunately also rarely when one finally decides to play in clubs. They always sacrifice me under trump ace or king. On this deal, however, revenge was sweet. At long last, I was in the hands of a player who knew how to treasure me: [hv=d=s&v=b&n=sa10532h9765d4cj87&w=s7h108432dqj96cq95&e=sj98hqjda1053c10643&s=skq64hakdk872cak2]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Contract: 6♠ by South. Lead: ♦Q. After an elegant auction with a 2♣ opening, transfer, slam tries, etc., my master arrived in the spade slam. Some may be able to see that with ♦A on side the contract is cold. You can ruff three minor cards in the dummy, but that would mean that I, among others, would be sacrificed. No way did my master allow that to happen! He thought for about 9 minutes and 37.2 seconds before leading to trick three, but then he spotted the chance. Look how beautifully it can be done: East won ♦A at trick one and switched to ♥Q. My master won in hand, cashed ♠K and ♠Q, West pitching a heart. Then came ♥K and ♠4. At this point, West was squeezed; he just did not know. Obviously, he could not let go a club. A heart wouldn't work either (then my master sets up an extra heart trick), so he had to discard a diamond. No harm done, is there? Both defenders can hold on to a diamond, but in reality that's an illusion. A heart was ruffed, ♦K cashed and a diamond ruffed in dummy. This was the ending with four cards left: [hv=d=s&v=b&n=sa10532h9765d4cj87&w=s7h108432dqj96cq95&e=sj98hqjda1053c10643&s=skq64hakdk872cak2]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Yesssss! A double squeeze has presented itself now that only East is able to guard diamonds. ♠10 kills the defence. East must pitch a club in order to keep ♦10, "we" toss the now useless ♦8, and West is wriggling. He can't throw ♥10, else dummy's 9 is high, so he must also depart with a club. Do you see it? The smallest card had become the BIGGEST! The 12th and decisive trick was won by little, sorry BIG me! What a ball I had; it will likely not happen again in the foreseeable future. The squeeze outlined above is well known, but as you saw there was also a squeeze when ♠4 was played. It is known as a "pentagon squeeze" (squeeze in 5 suits) - first West in three, then East in two. Roland P.S. The hand came up in a tournament in Canada in 1997. John Gowdy (gowdy on BBO) was the declarer.

January 16, 2007 at 22:37.29 Greenwich Mean Time. Roland

this comes from Roland? :blink: :blink: :blink: *shock* *awe* *faint* Nothing sensational about that. As long as there is room for partner to find out if NT is the right spot, I don't have a problem. What I do not do, however, and what you seem to have misinterpreted, is to jump to 3NT indiscriminately without having a suit covered. Axx xxx AQJx Qxx 1♦ (1♠) dble pass 1NT That's fine with me because partner, below game, can find out if I am serious about NT. I merely show my pattern, and that's balanced. However, with the following hand I do not jump to 3NT: K AQ1054 J94 KJ83 1♥ - 1♠ 2♣ - 2♦ I have a feeling that you might punt 3NT. I don't; I bid 3♦. Roland

Monty Panesar isn't either, so a draw is indeed most likely. With this said, it was quite amazing to see how much spin the pitch took on day 1. Very unusual for a test match at Lord's. Roland

1) Take-out, short hearts, extras. 2) Take-out, doubleton heart, maximum. Ideally the 2nd hand is something like AQxx xx KQJx AJx