The Board of Directors of the ACBL (The American Contract Bridge League) recently ruled, effective Aug 2, 2016, that it is now legal to open a natural One No-Trump when you have a singleton. There are some restrictions. The singleton must be an Ace, King, or Queen, and the hand also must not contain a doubleton.
The previous rule considered opening One-No-Trump with a singleton to be a psych (an unconventional bid) which was legal if you used it only occasionally, but an agreement to do so was illegal. This legal grey area often interfered with the accurate bidding of a hand. This was particularly a problem with two-suited hands. Suppose you had five Spades, four Diamonds, three Hearts, a singleton Ace of Clubs and a point-count of 16. If you opened the hand One-Spade, and rebid One No-Trump, you are describing a hand that is weaker than your actual hand. If you rebid by a jump to Two No-Trump, you are describing a hand that is stronger than your actual hand. To many players, it made no sense that you could not open One No-Trump with a singleton Ace, while you could open One No-Trump when you had a hand, with a comparable point count, that contained a worthless doubleton. At long last, good sense has prevailed.
There is a downside to the new rule, but isn’t there usually a downside? It has always been comforting that when you were contemplating bidding your five-card suit, after a No-Trump opening, to know that your partner had at least two in the suit. So the worst that could happen was that you would be playing in a seven-card fit. Now, the five-card suit you bid could be the suit where your partner has a singleton and you would be playing in a six-card fit! Bridge, like Life, isn’t perfect!
To learn more about this new ruling, go to : http://www.acbl.org/clubs_page/club-administration/club-directors/rulings-faq/opening-1nt-with-a-singleton/
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PORT CARLING DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB ENDS SEASON
NOTE: The final game of the season was Wednesday, Aug 31, 2016.
Thanks for a great 2016 season!
The following winners are from the season’s FINAL game Wednesday, Aug 31 with 8 tables playing a Mitchell movement. North-South 1. Judy McIntosh and John McIntosh; 2. Pat Davies and Sue Scott; 3. Bev Howard and Hazel Bowes; 4. Nora Robinson and Billie Anne Robinson; East-West 1. Phillis Robinson and Elizabeth Trotter; 2/3. Nancy Barber and Carol Anne Robinson; 2/3. Ann Kristoffy and Nick Kristoffy; 4. Gaye Kastning and Anne Stevens
HUNTSVILLE DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB
Games for the Huntsville Club are Tuesdays, 7:15pm, Trinity United Church 33 Main Street. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. Contact Jan Roberts 705-635-2522 or [email protected] for information and partnerships.
The following winners are for Tuesday, Aug 30 with 8 tables playing a Howell movement. 1. Jim Smith and Ralph Mitchell; 2. Liz Graham and Sandy Graham; 3. Susan Marshall and Jan Roberts; 4. Yvonne Cox and Dorothy Russell; 5. Ann Cassie and Bruce Cassie; 6. Andrea Killackey and Art Insley; 7. Diane Taylor and Martin Taylor; 8. Jennifer Thompson and Gordon Duncan
MUSKOKA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB (Bracebridge)
Games at the Bracebridge Club are at the Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Taylor Road 7pm Monday evenings. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time.
The following winners are from Monday, Aug 29 with 12 tables playing a Mitchell movement. North-South 1. Kel Andresen and Jim Smith; 2. Mary Luke and Donna McIntosh; 3. Gaye Kastning and Bill Kastning; 4. Betty Franklin and Catherine McMillan; 5. Jane Insley and Mary Martyn; 6. Val Rhead and Peter Rhead; East-West 1. Gerry Flaherty and Ralph Hair; 2. Mary Mitchell and Susan Maddocks; 3. Anne Hampton and Bill Hampton; 4. Betty Rintoul and Bev Howard; 5. Beth Henderson and Tom Dyke; 6. Pat Davies and Sue Scott
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