1: South and West began with big hands against each other:
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AJ63
AK3
109
KQJ2
...............109
...............109654
...............AKQ75
...............A
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South opened 1H and West may have been just too big for a 1NT overcall. The hand, though, played out better for N-S. Hearts split 3-3, so that N-S could almost surely take nine tricks in their diamond fit - and that only if E-W could play three rounds of trumps. Contracts were 1NT W twice, 2D S, 2Dx S, 2H S twice, 2S E twice, 2NT E, 2NT W, 3Dx S, 3S E and 3NT E twice. East's declaring in no-trumps likely cam about from East's replying 1NT to West's double of 1H.
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E-W could probably have taken eight tricks in their 4-4 club fit but the contract was never played there. In no-trumps, N-S would take either six or seven tricks depending on the lead and whether declarer wanted to risk the spade finesse after a heart lead. All the declarers in no-trumps took either six or seven tricks, West doing one trick better overall. In 2Dx Jeff took ten tricks but Marudy managed to defeat 3Dx. South appeared able to force a make of 2H by being relentless about drawing trumps - Jatin made the contract but Sarnny posted -2. 2S E, the contract after East chose a 1S reply to a double, was made by Lester.
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2Dx S +2 by Jeff
2D S +2 by Gernot
3NT E -3 vs Heve
2H S = by Jatin
2NT E -2 vs Mallys; 3S E -2 vs Dane; 3NT E -2 vs Ruise
1NT W -1 by Russ; 2S E -1 by Matt; 2NT E -1 by Harold
1NT W = by Don
2H S -2 vs Sarnny; 3Dx S -1 vs Marudy
2S E = by Lester
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2: N-S had 24 HCP but the scores ran strongly E-W:
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...............AJ8
...............K85
...............983
...............AQ43
1052.......................K764
J84.........................AQ10763
KQ52......................6
J62.........................97
...............Q93
...............2
...............AJ1074
...............K1085
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This was a reverse of the previous hand. Six Easts began the option with a pass, five opened 1H and three 2H. 2H ended the auction twice and led to 3H E the third time. A 1H opening bid resulted in 2H E twice, 3H E twice and 4Dx S. Passing led to 2H E, 3H E twice, 4C N, 4D S and 4Dx S.
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In theory the play ought to have been reasonably good for N-S, who seemed to have nine tricks available while East had entry trouble in hearts and could be held by truly sharp defence to seven tricks. The spread in heart contract was seven tricks twice, eight four times, nine thrice and even a gaudy ten for Judy (P). There was a three-way tie for top defending, with Rudy and Leighry rewarded for their doubles of 4D, -1, while Shane managed the only two-trick set.
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3H E -2 vs Randi
2H E -1 vs Glotin; 3H E -1 vs Linbot
4C N -1 by Hank (B)
2H E = vs Abhenki, Mallys and Lernot
2H E +1 by Geoff; 3H E = by Peter and Harold
3H E +1 by Judy (P)
4D S -2 vs Shane; 4Dx S -1 vs Rudy and Leighry
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3: With South dealer it was harder for E-W to find their way to game:
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...............7
...............Q10
...............Q10765
...............A9853
AK982....................103
J.............................AK987532
983.........................J2
Q742.......................J
...............QJ654
...............64
...............AK4
...............K106
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Had anyone else been dealer East would likely have opened 4H and that would?probably have been the end of it. Sadly only three auctions even got that high after South opened 1S. This hand shows the great benefit of a 4M opening bid, as N-S had a fine sacrifice in 5Dx or even in 5Cx. As long as the clubs were begun with the king first, then a finesse through West, declarer would come to ten tricks. But North would have a tough time finding a 4NT unusual overcall, especially if South broke tempo passing a 4H opening bid. Contracts were 2H E, 3H E seven times, 3Hx E, 3S S, 3NTx W, 4H E twice and 4Hx E.
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I really am quite clueless as to how four declarers managed to take fewer than ten tricks in hearts. The only line I can imagine is if the opening lead were a spade to West and both North and East were to duck the jack of hearts. Then North could get a spade ruff. Jerik survived a bit of a scare defending 3NTx. Had Jim led a spade, declarer would have stolen ten tricks. Fortunately Jim led either a diamond or a club and Jerik scored +1100. Sarah made 4Hx and Harold 3Hx for the top E-W scores. With so few pairs in game, Deoff scored well enough, 10/13, defending 3S S -4 not to need a double.
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3NTx W -4 vs Jerik
2H E +1 vs Ruise; 3H E = vs Jevin, Abhenki and Mallys
3H E +1 by Leigh Ann, Matt, Connie, Jerry and Judy (P)
3S S -4 vs Deoff
4H E +1 by Paul (P)
3Hx E = by Harold
4Hx E = by Sarah
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4: The layout was not kind for N-S here but the defence usually went wrong:
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J97
QJ9753
K105
J
?
AKQ10654
6
J6
KQ9
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North opened 2H and then South bid some number of spades. Every auction finished in spades - 2S twice, 3S and 4S eleven times. With North raising spades when the bid was taken as forcing, it's hard to stop out of 4S.
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It seemed that 4S would come down to the diamond finesse. East held both ace and queen as well as the heart ace; West held the club ace. It seemed easy enough to expect West to find the diamond switch in time. But only Jessica, Paul (K) and Lynn found the lead or switch to defeat 4S, also found by Don against 2S and Matt against 3S. 4S = created an eight-way tie for N-S top. My best guess is that a good many Easts won the first round of diamonds and then decided to try for two heart tricks instead of trying to cash the diamond ace.
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4S S = by Jeff, Venky, Phyllis, Linda, Rich, Gernot, Carl and George
2S S +2 vs Marudy
2S S +1 vs Paun
3C S = vs Mattbot
4S S -1 vs Jeter, Pester and Glynneth
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5: N-S had a secure 3NT which looked better on the auction:
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...............QJ65
...............2
...............A87
...............AK865
AK872...................943
A86.......................10743
652........................QJ3
103........................Q94
...............10
...............KQJ95
...............K1094
...............J72
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The North hand gets rather an upgrade after West overcalls 1S. QJxx is a useful double stopper. If North makes a free bid of 1NT over 1S game is likely to be reached, although the singleton heart may cause North to pass. South will still balance with a double. Three Norths chose to defend 1Sx, 2Sx and 3Sx. Other contracts were 1NT N, 2C N twice, 2D S, 2NT N, 3C N twice and 3NT N four times.
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The diamond spots make it impossible for E-W to get the suit going from the East side. Maybe the best try is a spade to West and a diamond back but North can win and finesse the heart nine or even duck the first diamond. If West returns a club instead of a diamond, East cannot switch to a diamond and the heart nine finesse secures the ninth trick. Three of the four declarers in 3NT succeeded, with Jim taking ten tricks. N-S top wen to Jevin in their usual element, defending 3Sx -4. Mallys and Randi both posted -3 against 2Sx and 1Sx, not enough to better game at the vulnerability but still above average. Glynneth tied for E-W top defending 3C N -1; the other N-S partials scored between +110 and +150.
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3Sx W -4 vs Jevin
3NT N +1 by Jim
3NT N = by Ruth and Larry
1Sx W -3 vs Randi; 2Sx W -3 vs Mallys
1NT N +2 by Abhi; 2NT N +1 by Gloria
2D S +2 vs Marudy
2C N +1 vs Ritold and Conndy; 3C N = vs Jernj
3C N -1 vs Glynneth; 3NT N -1 vs Deoff
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6: HCP were 8/12/10/10 with no fit. I expected South to open 1S and either rebid 2S over 1NT if West passed or to have a choice between 2S and pass after P-1S-2D-X; P.
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South declared at every table, three times in no-trumps and the rest in spades. 2S was the final contract ten times, along with 3S once and 3NT thrice, declarer hoping that K1087 in diamonds would prove sufficient help against West's suit. Diamonds did not establish and spades were 3-3, but E-W had four tricks outside of spades and South did not have the communications to cash nine tricks even if E-W did not cash out. Deoff defended 3NT -2 and Shane 3NT -1 but Linda manged ten tricks for N-S top. The spade partials took between six and nine tricks, with nine of the eleven contracts succeeding. E-W could take six tricks by force after a diamond lead and ruff; West could be re-entered with a high heart and a third diamond through allowed East to ruff over dummy, with West still sure of a trump trick.
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3NT S +1 by Linda
2S S +1 by Rich, Jatin, Carl and Hank (V)
2S S = by Venky, Judy (R), Louise and George
2S S -1 vs Pester and Paun; 3NT S -1 vs Shane
3NT S -2 vs Deoff
3S S -3 vs Mattbot
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7: HCP were 11/12/9/8. Assuming South passed with a 2=4=3=4 hand pattern and 2.5 Quick Tricks, West seemed due to open 1S and rebid 2S. With passive defence declarer might take up to ten tricks, but eight or seven seemed the usual expectation.
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Ten auctions duly finished in 2S W as expected. One West rebid 2D on Ax over East's 1NT response and declared 3D. One West opened 2S; South made a balancing double and North declared 3C. One South doubled 1NT for takeout and North again declared 3C. The fourth case of variance was another 3C contract, this time declared by South after a 1C opening bid.
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All three 3C contracts finished -2, giving Ritold, Glynneth and Sarnny a three-way tie for E-W top. Dane defended 3D W -1 to tie for N-S top with Glotin, the only pair to defeat 2S. There Wests managed +140 for a good score after insufficiently active defence.
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2S W -1 vs Glotin; 3D W -1 vs Dane
2S W = vs Jevin, Abhenki, Study, Linbot, Carthurl and Heve
2S W +1 by Peter, NJ and Don
3C N -2 vs Ritold and Glynneth; 3C S -2 vs Sarnny
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8: HCP were 14/10/7/9. The main point of the hand seemed to be whether East, holding K8 J10 K874 87642, would pass after 1S-1NT; 2C or take a false preference back to 2S. There was a secondary question of whether N-S would find a way into the auction.
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One East was left in 1NT despite West's 5-4 pattern in the black suits. Two Souths came in on an iffy heart suit and declared 3H. At the other eleven tables, four Easts passed 2C and it ended the auction. Seven Easts returned to 2S, which became the contract six times along with one contract of 3S.
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With spades 3-3 there was no expectation of an equal or better score in clubs. Clubs split 3-1 but South held the singleton queen so that declarer would have only one loser in the suit. Louise and Jane (M) did well in 3H, going only one down, while Abhenki were N-S top for going plus by defeating 1NT. Three of the four club contracts took ten tricks, the fourth nine. Spades had as even a spread as possible, with two declarers taking eight tricks, three taking nine and three ten. This gave Jessica, Russ and Don a tie for E-W top.?
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1NT E -1 vs Abhenki
3H S -1 by Jane (M) and Louise
2C W +1 vs Jevin; 2S W = vs Mallys and Heve
2C W +2 by Lynn, Henry and NJ
2S W +1 by Matt; 3S W = by Lenny
2S W +2 by Jessica, Russ and Don
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9: This looked like a surprise N-S trap hand but it completely fizzled with a couple of interesting bits of deception:
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K6
95
AK10
AQ8654
?
108432
A32
Q72
K3
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3NT is a nice contract; looking at the two hands it seems to be more of a bidding problem, easily solved if North opens 1NT but tricky after 1C. The club suit is a bit broken for a 3C rebid after 1C-1S but 2C was nearly sure to be passed and did end the auction three times. There were also four contracts of 3C N, suggesting a balance over 2C and North's taking the push. 3NT was reached half the time, thrice by North and four times by South. That East overcalled 1H at various tables may have helped or hindered.
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In the play we came across the hitch - East held four clubs as well as five hearts. West did hold the spade ace, but there should not have been a make with clubs not running. Yet, amazingly, all seven 3NT contracts made. When South declared there should really have been a set if West led a heart. Venky took ten tricks, the others nine. The three Norths to declare all took ten tricks, using having opened 1NT to be able to bring off a bit of deception. Kevin got a little lucky; he won the heart lead with the ace and gave East the fourth club but West never encouraged in hearts. The second heart was never led. Sandi was a bit more sneaky. She held off the ace until the third heart and discarded a club from her hand. When she played diamonds before clubs, East discarded a club as well from 109xx and the suit ran.?
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3NT N +1 by Kevin, Sandi and Larry; 3NT S +1 by Venky
3NT S = by Linda, Jatin and Hank (V)
2C N +3 vs Shane; 3C N +2 vs Jernj
2C N +2 vs Jeter and Ritold; 3C N +1 vs Deoff, Sarnny and Conndy
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10: N-S had a fairly comfortable 4H:
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AJ10
A1065
K875
AK
?
Q985
Q742
A96
109
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A couple of Norths upgraded the hand to a 2NT opening bid, resulting in 4H N twice. The expected 4H S was reached seven times. There were two partials, 2H S and 3H S, along with 3NT N thrice, once after West made a light 1C opening bid and North jumped to 2NT natural rather than unusual. The card was not marked and I feared an accident if South took 2NT as Unusual, but South raised to 3NT.
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Lenny's 1C opening bid served its purpose, however, as Sarah got off to the best lead of a club from three small and the result was -3. Ritold also defeated 3NT but Kevin, who apparently received a spade opening lead, was N-S top taking eleven tricks. With West holding K3 in hearts and East J98, declarer in 4H could well lose two trump tricks to go with a diamond. Three of the eleven declarers in hearts took eleven tricks, the others ten. 4H +1 gave Venky, Sandi and Jatin a tie for second N-S.
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3NT N +2 by Kevin
4H N +1 by Sandi; 4H S +1 by Venky and Jatin
4H N = by Mark; 4H S = by Jane (M), Erik, Linda, Hank (V) and George
2H S +2 vs Leighry; 3H S +1 vs Shane
3NT N -1 vs Ritold
3NT N -3 vs Sarnny
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11: HCP were 9/11/8/12 with a likely Drury auction after East's 1S opwning bid in fourth seat. East held QJ863 A5 AJ53 73 and usually kept out of game.
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The contracts were all in spades declared by East, six times at the two-level, suggesting successful Drury declines. 3S was played five times and 4S thrice.
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Nine tricks seemed the likely outcome after a heart lead, with a chance of a tenth otherwise. At the tables nobody ten tricks, with Lernot, Heve and Randi able to hold declarer to eight for good scores. +140 E-W managed a nine-way tie for top.
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4S E -2 vs Lernot
3S E -1 vs Randi; 4S E -1 vs Study and Haorge
2S E = vs Heve
2S E +1 by Peter, Harold, Judy (Z), Connie and Geoff; 3S E = by Sharon, Leigh Ann, Jerry and Judy (P)
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12: N-S were in a trap after West opened 3C:
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QJ3
AQ72
Q75
762
?
K92
9863
AK62
KJ
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South is in a nasty position, especially as the vulnerability suggests that West could be opening on fumes. Pass 3C and North could easily hold something like Axxx Axx QJx Qxx, missing an easy 3NT. Double and one runs into a hand like the actual one, where West would easily have pre-empted even at equal vulnerability on a nice suit of AQ109xxx and out. Five Souths allowed 3C to end the auction. At one table West passed, resulting in a contract of 3Cx. There were seven balancing doubles of 3C and one 4C opening bid that also ended the auction. North did not have an easy time over the balancing doubles. As little as K10xx KJxx AKxx x would allow 4H to withstand one unpleasant break in a side suit and have a chance of an overtrick, but one can see the effect of the same 14 HCP less fortuitously distributed. Five Norths were cautious and stopped in 3H, one went to 4H and another finished in 4Hx.
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Heart contracts were disastrous, with all the honours badly placed and 4-1 trumps. Declarer might be able to salvage eight tricks thanks to West's holding the singleton ten in hearts. It looked as if 3C would be -1 with best play and defence, although two declarers, Matt and Rita, emerged with ten tricks. N-S top was a tie between Carthurl defending 3C -2 and Mallys defending 3Cx -1. The doubled contract had a chance of making; unfortunately declarer played safely for -1 rather than pinning all her hopes on the trump finesse and KJ doubleton onside. Four declarers in hearts took eight tricks and three took seven, with Deoff rewarded for their double with a nice +800.
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3C W -2 vs Carthurl; 3Cx W -1 vs Mallys
3C W -1 vs Dane, Study and Heve
3H N -1 by Kevin, Gloria and Larry
3C W +1 by Rita; 4C W = by Matt
3H N -2 vs Jeter and Marudy; 4H N -2 vs Pester
4Hx N -3 vs Deoff
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13: Almost all N-S pairs stopped in 4H:
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52
KQJ632
5
AK102
?
KJ963
1087
AQ976
----
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With only 23 HCP combined in the two hands it is not surprising that only one N-S pair looked for more than game. It would not take a huge change in either hand to give slam a fair chance - change the North hand to something like Q10 KQJ632 5 A1032 and 6H looks great, although I don't know how the auction would go any differently. We start 1H-1S and then South likely either rebids 2H or 2C; one can bid 2C if one can rust partner to take a preference back to 2H on almost aby doubleton, although North might decide that KQJxxx is good enough to want to play in hearts opposite a singleton. Over a 2H rebid, South might try a creative 4C splinter though I expect 4H would suffice for most. Over 2C the second call is a little awkward but, given the likely difficulty of getting either side suit going, 4H seems ample and 3H could well be enough, North will accept an invitation. The only auction that got higher went 1H-2D; 3H-4NT; 5C-6H, doubled by West. North would like the heart ten for 3H to make the suit genuinely semi-solid (KQJ10xx is quite playable opposite a singleton, losing only one trick a strong majority of the time) but the idea is all right as the hand has good playing strength and a low loser count. 4NT with a void club was the problem at that point; an Exclusion 5C at least would have saved some points in the bidding contests and here likely salvaged an average board.
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With East holding Q74 in spades and West A108, there was no way to prevent North's taking eleven tricks in hearts, especially with West's holding KJ4 in diamonds as well. Declarer can negotiate two club ruffs or establish the spades; trumps were 3-1 but East held the singleton nine. Some declarers did take only ten tricks and against Glynneth a cow flew by leading to 4H -2 and a tie with Leighry for E-W top, but half the room took eleven tricks.
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4H N +1 by Doug, Kevin, Abhi, Steve (R), Mark, Sandi and Gloria
4H N = vs Shane, Jeter, Rudy, Sarnny and Jernj
4H N -2 vs Glynneth; 6Hx N -1 vs Leighry
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14: This one looked as if the fits would not?support a game bid:
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...............AQ10753
...............10863
...............K2
...............K
J..............................98
A2...........................KJ54
AQ9865..................J3
A1072.....................J9653
...............K642
...............Q97
...............1074
...............Q84
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It looks as if the auction reaches at least 3S after P-P-1D-1S; X-3S. If East advances over South's barrage North may push on to 4S just based on the ten trumps. One auction ended in 2S N (West really ought not to have let that go, even after East's choosing to pass 1S) but every other auction went at least to 3S. Contracts were 2S N, 3S N five times, 4C W, 4D W, 4S N thrice, 4Sx N and 5C W twice.
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N-S have ten spades between them but four top losers in 4S and a possible heart ruff as well. In either minor E-W can bring in the clubs for one loser even if forced to start the suit with the ace out of the West hand, but the losing diamond finesse will hold declarer to ten tricks. North apparently always led a spade, so that the temptation to try for eleven tricks with the heart finesse never presented itself. Somehow Kevin was allowed to make 4S N; perhaps the opening lead was a club and West finessed the ten; that would be enough. The other 4S contracts were all defeated, with Rudy finding the heart ruff and extracting the maximum in 4Sx -2. Sandi took ten tricks in 3S, likely the same way Kevin did. In the minors one declarer took nine tricks, still for a good result, while the rest took the expected ten, giving Lynn and Don good scores.
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4S N = by Kevin
3S N +1 by Sandi
2S N +1 by Ruth; 3S N = by Jim, Abhi, Steve (R) and Gloria
5C W -2 by Jessica
5C W -1 by Matt
4S N -1 vs Leighry
4S N -2 vs Sarnny
4D W = by Lynn; 4C W = by Don
4Sx N -2 vs Rudy
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15: HCP were 8/14/8/8. South held 109754 84 KJ543 A and had a chance to come in after P-1C-P-1NT or P-1C-P-2C. Multiple Wests upgraded the hand to a 1NT opening bid. There was one director call when South bid 2D, thinking that the explanation of 2D as natural was incorrect, but the N-S card was marked that all balancing overcalls were natural.
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Contracts were 1NT W seven times, 2D S, 2S S, 2NT W twice, 3C W and a?courageous 3NT W twice. The hand lay well for declarer on either side. When West played in no-trumps, especially 1NT with no competition, there was a good chance of ten tricks in North led the heart jack from J10xx. Every contract made, giving George and Venky the best N-S scores having competed, while the brave Lenny and Dee took nine and ten tricks in 3NT for the best E-W scores.
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2S S = by George
2D S = by Venky
3C W = by Russ
1NT W +1 vs Jerik, Study and Heve; 2NT W = vs Linbot
1NT W +2 by Jessica and Don; 2NT W +1 by Paul (K)
1NT W +3 by Rita and Matt
3NT W = by Lenny
3NT W +1 by Dee
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16: This was a surprise double game swing:
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...............AQ62
...............K106532
...............K
...............52
10953........................J7
AQ4...........................9
762............................AQJ10953
Q109.........................J84
...............K84
...............J87
...............84
...............AK763
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N-S have excellent play for 4H, but the auction caught a?few pairs. After 1H-3D, South has no room to invite game and either has to commit to 4H or be content with only 3H, which can be passed. If South does bid only 3H, it's hard to blame North for the natural tendency to devalue the diamond king and think 4H too dangerous. Three N-S pairs stopped in 3H. 4H N was played nine times. One E-W pair misread the vulnerability and sacrificed in 5Dx. At the last table North downgraded the hand to a 2H opening bid, East upgraded to a 3D overcall, and the auction was P-2H-3D-3H; 3NT.
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Fortunately for Russ, simply declaring 3NT would have been a good result anyway, even had N-S found the set. Neither black suit runs and, with 4H making, 3NT could have been down many more tricks and still been a fine score. Russ received a heart lead, found the diamond king onside and stole game to create the swing. All the declarers in hearts took at least their ten tricks and five took eleven. Linbot collected +800 against 5Dx -3, the club ruff a bonus that just provided insurance against an aggressive double of 4H the other way.
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5Dx E -3 vs Linbot
4H N +1 by Kevin, Jim, Abhi and Mark
4H N = vs Ritold, Pester, Glynneth, Sarnny and Marudy
3H N +2 vs Leighry
3H N +1 vs Jeter
3H N = vs Paun
3NT W = by Russ
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17: This close game nearly had a possible effect on winning:
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...............Q82
...............AQJ1087
...............108
...............K10
KJ76..........................A1054
96..............................32
976............................KJ32
J943..........................A85
...............93
...............K54
...............AQ54
...............Q762
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I am rather in sympathy with the two pairs who stopped in 3H here, despite the?basically chance of making game. South has an invitational hand over North's 1H opening and East's takeout double. After 1H-X-2NT if that does not promise four-card support, North would like to make some sort of invitational bid but hardly knows what. The hand has nice trumps but not really anything else going for it and the spade queen turns out to be wasted. KQ2 AQJ1087 108 108 offers slightly better play for 4H than the actual hand but has a much easier time accepting South's invitation with consolidated values and nothing that is likely sitting in the wrong place. 1H-X-XX, which also occurred, may have been even worse, as that let West bid 1S, giving North a hint that that queen was not a working asset. In the end two pairs stopped in 3H, eleven went to 4H and one intrepid E-W pair took the sacrifice in 4Sx.
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Seeing both N-S hands was probably a pleasant surprise for declarer in hearts. East was likely to hold the diamond king and would be unlikely to be able to lead three rounds of trumps. Even after a likely trump lead, West should not hold two entries for further trump leads. North can win a trump in hand, take the diamond finesse (or win in dummy) and lead a spade through West rather than leading a low spade from hand, which may allow West to win cheaply, keeping the ace or king, and then leading the second trump from an original three. If allowed to do this, West may be able to kill the spade ruff. (Swap the treys of clubs and hearts; if North wins a trump lead in hand and leads a low spade, West can win, lead the second trump and then there will be no spade ruff. (Declarer will have to rely on the club finesse.) If East has to wine even one spade, declarer will be able to ruff the spade unless East doubled with three low hearts (yuck!). Everyone in hearts took ten tricks. 4Sx W never had a chance and was always going to be at least three down. Jerik managed -4 for the N-S top; E-W top was shared between Sarnny and Pester.
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4Sx W -4 vs Jerik
4H N = by Doug, Abhi, Steve (R), Mark, Ruth, Linda, Sandi, Gloria, Larry, Steve (G) and Hank (B)
3H N +1 vs Pester and Sarnny
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18: This was a real banger of a finish:
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...............73
...............1065
...............72
...............J106542
6............................J102
A...........................Q8742
AKQJ643..............985
A987.....................Q3
...............AKQ9854
...............KJ93
...............10
...............K
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Our closing board produced ten different scores at fourteen tables, including a rare swing of game made in one direction opposite slam in the other.
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After South opens 1S, West has a fine hand for that rare call, the jump cue bid. Over a 1m opening bid this would presumably be natural; over 1M one is hardly going to want to play a trump contract against a five-card holding (or even four against Jevin). Thus the jump cue bid tells partner either to bid 3NT with a stopper in opener's suit and 4C otherwise. (Over 1H the partner of the 3H bidder has 3S available, which might have one of a number of meanings.) West has nine almost guaranteed running tricks and with three aces has 3NT locked up unless N-S can run five spades off the top. The only slight flaw with the 3S bid is that the 7-4-1-1 pattern is so good there is a chance of missing a fine slam. East could hold a Yarborough 4=4=4=1 hand on which 6D could be excellent, or, even worse, Axxx xxxx 10987 x, nearly a guarantee for 7D when East will bid 3NT over 3S and play 3NT +1 instead of at worst 5D +2.
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Auctions took wild turns. While I did not see any P-1S-3S auctions (I wish I had seen Paun's), two E-W pairs were thinking of 3NT. One West overcalled 3NT against Mallys (perhaps hoping that North was possessed by Bill Dyckes and would lead anything but a spade?), ending the auction. Other auctions had West start with a double or some number of diamonds and basically all got competitive. One West finished in 4D and one N-S pair left in 3Dx (oops). Other contracts besides 3NT W were 4S S twice, 4Sx S, 5D W six times, 6Dx W and 6Sx S. The 6Dx auction was the most interesting one of the day and shows an occasional drawback of One Club systems in a relatively original light. After South opened a strong, artificial and forcing 1C, West made the second of the two Gambling 3NT overcalls. This was passed back to South, after which ensued a long and dramatic break in tempo. The chance that North would lead a spade was not all that small, as North would presumably want to hit partner's suit if South had one and West was showing a long, running minor, but South hardly wanted to rely on North's finding a spade lead, and it would not take much to make 4S. South bid 4S, West bid 5D and another couple of pushes later the auction ended in 6Dx.
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The few spade declarers almost all took nine tricks. The one exception was Jane (M), who made 4S when, after drawing trumps, she led the club king and West let it run. Sadly the lack of entries to dummy prevented anyone's being able to lose only one heart. In diamonds, it turns out that twelve tricks cannot be stopped because of South's holding the singleton king of clubs and a singleton diamond. In 6Dx, after a spade lead and second spade ruffed high, declarer led the club ace and was rewarded when the king dropped singleton. Then came one round of trumps, taking out South's singleton there, so that the club queen stood up. Playing the heart ace before the second club was a minor inaccuracy; it made declarer ruff the fourth round of hearts high, but that was safely negotiated and the contract was made. In 5D, however, the natural way to play the clubs was to lead low to the queen, possibly after drawing trumps. As a result, declarer often lost two club instead of none; in 5D three declarers took eleven tricks, two ten and one only nine.
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4Sx S = by Jane (M)
3NT W -3 vs Mallys
5D W -2 vs Jevin
5D W -1 vs Ruise and Lernot
4S S -1 by Judy (R) and Linda
4D W +1 by Jessica
5D W = by Paul (K), Russ and Cindy
3Dx W +2 by Jane (T)
6Sx S -3 vs Glynneth
6Dx W = by Matt
