DAVID ANNING
1939 - 2016
DAVID Anning was a keen sportsman in his
younger days, playing county hockey, lawn tennis &
squash. David took up duplicate bridge in 1989 to
provide him with the competitive edge he missed in
sport. He was a member of Canterbury BC for over 25
years where he scored, directed and was treasurer for
10 years. In 2013 David was the driving force in the
recreation of Tyler Hill BC. He was also a bridge cruise
director for over 15 years, helped by his wife Linda
who died in 2005. David was area secretary for East
Kent until 2013, Kent's auditor from 1985-95 when he
joined the committee, becoming treasurer in 2010
until retirement in 2016. Approval for a Dimmie
Fleming award came through a few days after his death
on 9th September following a stroke.
31
December 2016 English Bridge
Whose fault was the bad result? East thought his
partner had been very careless. After giving count at
trick one, East played the three, then the four, then
the five of spades. These should all be suit
preference for clubs. If West had been paying
attention, he would have known what to do after
winning the spade.
When West suggested that East could have made
it easier by cashing the ace of clubs - the setting
trick - before playing the fourth spade, East said he
didn't want to give up the chance of two off if
declarer mis-guessed clubs. However, East was also
guilty of not paying attention: declarer had at most
the ace of spades and the A-Q of hearts as high cards
outside clubs, so had to have the queen of clubs to
get up to 12 points. Both West and East could learn
from the hand, but not if they were too busy
explaining why partner misdefended to listen.
DON'T GIVE PARTNER IMPOSSIBLE
PROBLEMS
Avoid putting partner in a position where the
Laws won't let him do the right thing. Suppose
right hand opponent is dealer and you hold
Here's another one:
1´ - 2®
2t - 3™
?
Partner's 3™ bid shows a singleton heart,
diamond support and a game force. You have extra
high cards but your heart holding is unsuitable for
slam, and at matchpoints you may want to play in
3NT. I don't know what the best bid is here, but I
do know that the worst bid is a very slow 3NT. If you
are going to bid 3NT, bid it quickly, so partner
doesn't get the wire that you were unsure. If partner
has a marginal slam try, and bids over a slow 3NT,
the TD is likely to adjust the score back. r
´ K J 2
™ 6 4 2
t 10 8 3
® A Q 9 7
´ A J 10 6 2
™ K J 10
t A Q 5 2
® 10
The auction starts:
West North East South
Pass Pass (you) 1™ Pass
2®A ?
A Alerted
If 2® is artificial, you might want to double
it to ask for a club lead (although this could go
wrong). There are two sensible things you can do:
ask what 2® means, then double if it doesn't
show clubs; or pass without asking. There is one
thing you absolutely shouldn't do, which is to ask
what 2® means, then pass when it doesn't show
clubs. Unless you ask about every alerted call
whenever it is your turn, this suggests to partner
that you have good clubs. Now, as an ethical
player, he will actively choose not to lead a club if
he has a viable alternative and you are in a worse
position than if you said nothing.