Walddk

If you want to have a look at something very French and standard, click on this link: http://www.jcbl.or.jp/nec2006/cronier-willard+notes.pdf The convention card of Bénédicte Cronier - Sylvie Willard. Roland

After 3 days of the World Cup it has been disappointment upon disappointment in my view. The most positive so far was the heroic fight of Trinidad & Tobago to earn a draw against Sweden. ... and then there was Arjen Robben! As a whole: it can only get better and that also applies to the referees. Most of the 8 matches have been boring beyond belief. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo & Co., where are you? We miss you desperately! Roland

Hannie's line is no doubt superior to any other line. I promise not to tell how jillybean played it, but who cares, she made it :P The double squeeze would have worked, and so would Jimmy's because East had Kxxx diamonds and ♣Q. Roland

I have no problem with opening this hand 1NT. It's off-shape, semi-balanced if you like, but it's the least of evils in my opinion. This hand, however, is much more difficult: ♠ xx ♥ AQ ♦ K10xx ♣ AK9xx I would probably still open 1NT, but it's far from being as clearcut as the hand shown by jdeegan. 1♣ followed by 2♣ over a 1♠ response is not horrible, but 1♦ then 2♣ is something I would never do with that hand or the hand above. ♠ xx ♥ AJ ♦ AKQx ♣ Jxxxx ... and I might. But only "might"; 1NT is still an option. 1♣ followed by 2♣ is definitely not. Roland

How do you show ♥Q and ♠K? Roland

[hv=d=w&v=n&n=saj73haq105da5caq7&w=sq8h9764dqj962c43&e=sk10954hj832dk4cj8&s=s62hkd10873ck109652]399|300|Scoring: MP[/hv] World Championships, mixed pairs. NS: Zia Mahmood - Jill Meyers. EW: unknown. West passed, and it went 2NT pass 3NT, all pass. Yes, 6♣ is cold, but it's virtually impossible to get there. 2 out of 83 NS pairs were in the club slam. Anyway, you're in the normal looking 3NT at MP. Lead: ♠9 (none or two higher) to the queen and ace. How many tricks would you and I take? And how many did Zia end up with? Roland

Perhaps, but it would have been nice if Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard (aside from 2 nice shots) had come out for the second half too. Paul How much do these guys earn every single week of the year? £100,000 is it? What a shame theat they didn't show that they are worth just a tiny fraction of that amount. Roland

1. If you are referring to Michael Owen, you are absolutely right. He was a stowaway for 55 full minutes. Oh, perhaps you mean Wayne Rooney. Leave the man alone; he doesn't deserve to be put among 9 hopeless team-mates (Robinson was ok). 2. Certainly. I just need you to turn up here and give me £1 in cash. Any other takers? I am pretty certain that at least 100 naive Englishmen could add to my (non-existent) fortune! Roland

What a miserable performance, England. The chances of becoming world champions are about the same as me being elected president of Paraguay. Even if I could get odds 100:1 I wouldn't waste a single £ on the English darlings. They even needed the opponents to score for them. Pass me the bucket please. We lost an opportunity to send out a message that we really mean business and that we could win the competition. It was a very negative performance in the second half. We handed over the impetus to Paraguay. Why don't we just play our pressing Premiership game? BBC pundit Ian Wright Well put! Roland

Very good. Make sure all 4♣ bids are Gerber. Why of course ("selbstverständlich", as they would say south of the border), what else can 4♣ be? Roland

Tarp's 4♦. Invented by Kaj Tarp of Århus, Denmark. 4♦ is range asking right enough. 4♥ minimum, 4♠ medium, 4NT maximum. 4NT over 4♥ and 4♠ are sign-offs. If responder has enough for slam, he will now bid his 4-card suits up-the-line at the 6-level (even 7-level). If opener has 4 cards in the suit, he passes; if not they bid 4-card suits in turn until a fit has been found or 6NT (7NT) has been reached. I don't think any sensible person in Denmark plays this, excuse me, nonsense convention these days, but I know that a few did 30 years ago (no, I was not among them). Roland

Finally, we have got something substantial to offer. Take a look at: http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/sched...?order_by=event We may well be able to show more, but it will all depend on operator availability at the venue. As I am writing this post Fred is on his way to Verona; he may be able to tell us more within 24-48 hours. I am quite hopeful because we have quite a few non-playing BBO'ers on site. Roland

For convenience, here are the 2 teams again: Europe: Tom Hanlon (O155) & Hugh McGann (O153) IRELAND Jason Hackett (O69) & Justin Hackett (O69) ENGLAND Sabine Auken (W2) & Daniela von Arnim (W5) GERMANY Geir Helgemo (O39) & Tor Helness (O30) NORWAY Norberto Bocchi (O4) & Giorgio Duboin (O2) ITALY Cezary Balicki (O19) & Adam Zmudzinski (O18) POLAND NPC Paul Hackett America: Bob Hamman (O5) & Paul Soloway (O12) Jill Levin (W27) & Jill Meyers (W7) Zia Mahmood (O16) & Roy Welland (O98) Fred Gitelman (O48) & Geoff Hampson (O53) David Berkowitz (O45) & Larry Cohen (O57) Bobby Levin (O77) & Steve Weinstein (O125) NPC Donna Compton O & W suffixes relate to World Rankings – Open & Women’s – as of 05.12.31 Roland

You were indeed lucky to be facing a partner in an individual who took 5♥ as "bid slam with a diamond control". Was she 1714? Something like: ♠ x ♥ AQ10xxxx ♦ x ♣ Qxxx If yes, pretty good for an invitational 3♥, knowing that you had 5+ clubs. OTOH, not easy to find a better bid. Perhaps 3♦ and then she will get 3♥ from you. That makes her hand enormous. Roland

I now have the time schedule for this match (will be listed on our vugraph web page within too long). Here is the formula and scoring for what is now known as The Warren Buffett Cup The draw: On Sunday evening (September 17) the two captains will give their line-up (blind) to the TD (Fearghal O’Boyle) by numbering their pairs 1-6, their teams 1-3 and their individuals 1-12. Pairs: Each pair will sit in the same direction as their opposite number and will only be comparing their score with their opposite number, i.e. Europe 1 will compare against USA 1. Each pair will play an 11-board match against each of the 5 remaining pairs from the opposite side. They will not meet their opposite number. Point-a-Board scoring will be used. At the end of each 11-board match the winning pairs will earn 2 Championship Points and the losing pairs will lose 2 Championship Points, (0 Championship Points for a draw). Thus, at the end of the 5 matches, the maximum any pair can win is 10 Championship Points and the maximum each Continent can win is 60 Championship Points. Teams: Each team will play 2 x 14-board matches against each of the 3 opposing teams with an automatic change of opponent after each 14-board match. Point-a-Board scoring will be used. At the end of each 14-board match, the winning teams will earn 3 Championship Points and the losing teams will lose 3 Championship Points, (0 Championship Points for a draw). Thus, at the end of the 6 matches, the maximum each team can win is 18 Championship Points and the maximum each Continent can win is 54 Championship Points. Individual: Each player will sit in the same direction as their opposite number and will only be comparing scores with their opposite number, i.e. Europe 1 will compare with USA 1. Each player will play 6 boards with each of their 11 team-mates in turn, and against all of their opponents except their opposite number. Point-a-Board scoring will be used. At the end of each 6-board match, the winning players will earn 1 Championship Point and the losing players will lose 1 Championship Point, (0 Championship Point for a draw). Thus, at the end of the 11 matches, the maximum each Individual can win is 11 Championship Points and the maximum each Continent can win is 132 Championship Points. Overall scoring: As there are 246 Championship Points at stake, the first Continent to reach 124 Championship Points will be declared the winner. Roland

What did the bra say to the hat? "You go on ahead. I'll give these two a lift". Warning from the League for Political Correctitude (LPC): This joke is politically incorrect. It is potentially offensive to: Some women. Easily-offended people. Roland

The First 3 Years of Marriage: In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen. Roland

Although it is and should be a privilege to be a vugraph commentator, it is also fair if you give them some leeway. We are there day in and day out, hour after hour, also at ungodly hours, and occasionally we say things that we shouldn't have. For goodness sake, don't be overly sensitive. No-one among our 226 commentators will ever hurt any other person intentionally. I was there when the "panda issue" was raised (no, it wasn't me), and I didn't find it offensive at all. One user mesaged me about it, and I sent this message back. "It was meant to be a joke, perhaps not a good joke as you see it. No offence intended I can assure you". Blame it on me or fred or uday if you think one or more of our commentators overstep the line. We are responsible and we will obviously take the appropriate action if we think that the complaint is a reasonable one. If a commentator finds it amusing to belittle a player or fellow commentator publicly, one of us will likely be there to prevent this from happening again. It has happened once or twice in the past. The persons in question are not vugraph commentators any more. Yes, we should perhaps be more careful, but we are only humans, and we do make mistakes, just like everyone else does. Roland

When 1 of my suits is a major I will definitely open 2♣ with that hand. Say it goes: 2♣ - 2♦* 2♥ * waiting Now I would like to know if we play second negative (2♠) or not. Roland

84-0, 136-8. I'm speechless. Back to the well known English collapse of the past. Full credit to Murali of course, but .... Roland

Some of the fielding positions and other expressions from cricket must sound pretty weird to outsiders: Third man, slip, gully, night-watchman, googly, chinaman, doosra, protected area, popping crease, no ball, wide ball, byes, leg byes, timed out are just a few examples. You really should be at a cricket ground and have an expert by your side to tell you about the various details when they happen. TV is ok, but there is no substitute for the real thing. Roland

A few, mostly Americans, have asked me to explain how cricket is played. OK then, are you ready for a novel? Before I begin, perhaps I should tell you that this is not all there is to say! Cricket is a team game played during the summer in England and in several countries influenced by the British, such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The game is played between two teams of 11 players on a grassy field, in the center of which are two wickets - the equivalent of baseball's bases. When a team is "in", the other team attempts to get each of them "out". Then the team that was "in" is "all out", and takes its place in the outfield. The team that was in the outfield in turn goes "in" until they too are "all out". This process (an innings) may be repeated once more (a match can last one day or take as many as five). 5-day matches are known as test matches. The team with the highest number of runs (points scored primarily by running between wickets after hitting the ball) wins the match. Cricket freaks (like myself) will tell you that one subtle difference between their sport and baseball is that the ball can bounce before the batsman hits it. This bouncing is called a pitch, but the player bouncing it is not called a pitcher like his baseball equivalent. He is the bowler. He must keep his arm straight when releasing the ball, which he aims at the batsman's wicket. The wicket consists of three upright wooden sticks so placed that the ball cannot pass between them. Wooden bails lie in grooves on top of them. When hit by the ball the whole or part of the arrangement collapses, indicating the batsman is out. When a team has lost 10 wickets, the innings is over. The 11th player (who is "not out") is not allowed to bat alone. The act of bouncing the ball on its way to the batsman allows the bowler to impart movement to the ball with the intention of catching the batsman unaware. This movement may cause the batsman to missjudge the flight of the ball, resulting him to mis-hit into the waiting hands of a player from the opposite team, or even to miss it altogether. As a batsman there are several ways to get out. The most common are caught, bowled, run out and leg before wicket. A collection of six balls (deliveries) is called an over. According to the speed (pace) and movement of a ball, the batsman has various options. He may drive it along the ground, lift it into air, or flick it to the side or behind himself. Alternatively, he may use the safety pads on his legs (or arms) to stop or deflect the ball. This is risky because it will invariably prompt the bowler and his team to shout "Howwizzzahhtt"! This means something like "How does that look to you Umpire - is he out"? and is often ignored by the umpire (referee) unless he judges that the ball would have continued on to hit the wicket. Then the batsman is given out (leg before wicket or lbw) and the bowler's team-mates smugly feel that their banshee scream was justified. If the batsman is out without having scored a run, this is a duck and his embarrassment is compounded. On the edge of the field is the boundary. If a batsman hits the ball to this boundary he is awarded 4 runs. If it does not bounce before doing so it is 6 runs (and stands a good chance of hitting a spectator). :P The field itself is divided into two halves, the on side and the off side. "On" is synonymous with "Leg", and represents the side of the field to the left of the batsman as he faces the bowler or opposite wicket, presuming that he is right-handed. If he is a left-hander, everything is reversed. Fielders are placed at strategic positions (in order to both stop runs and to catch a batsman out if possible) and these positions have distinct names. For example, the long off position is near the boundary, far away from the batsman to his front and right, while silly mid-on represents a position of extreme danger, as the name might suggest, being as it is immediately to a batsman's left. A square leg says more about where one umpire stands rather than how he is standing, while backward point or deep fine leg says nothing about any mental or physical ability at all. There are various other fielding positions. To name just a few: slip, gully and cover point. I could go on for hours, but it's time for me to say .... Howzat!? ... and "Cricket is life, the rest is mere details". Roland

I can add "pinning" and "scooping". Roland

Well, at least I got Pietersen's score almost right :P The rest is silence, apart from the fact that Plonker did live up to the (not so flattering) nickname I gave him. "They say he can bat, but I am not convinced", was Geoffrey Boycott's comment on Radio 4. Roland

The double is a standard take-out double of 1♠. Take-out doubles are supposed to be taken out, so I'll bid 2♦ or 2♣, depending on my mood. 2mi sounds less encouraging than 2♥. In an ideal world I have 4 cards in the suit I bid, but the world is not ideal. I've got to bid the hand I am dealt. Roland