1: N-S pairs made (and failed in) three different game contracts:
?
...............KQ9743
...............KQ
...............106
...............K64
AJ852.......................6
1053..........................AJ972
853...........................KJ42
95..............................832
...............10
...............864
...............AQ97
...............AQJ107
?
?N-S have game-going values but such an irritating sort of hand. The spades or clubs might do for a game contract or 3NT might make, but nothing feels terribly comfortable. KQ doubleton is not an appealing stopper opposite three small cards and perhaps even less so opposite four. And there is a club fit but South has a lot of losers of which to dispose. 1S-2C; 2S might be followed by 3NT if South is intrepid. South might rebid 3D, over which North likely chooses either 3NT or 4C, South likely going on to game over the latter. Except for one auction ending in 2Hx E after a reopening double when South disliked the misfit, everyone arrived in game: 3NT N four times, 3NT S thrice, 4S N and 5C S twice each.
?
4S is nearly unstoppable despite the 5-1 trumps. After eight tricks declarer wants the lead to be in dummy with East having won the ace of hearts and West down to all trumps. The fourth diamond through West comes at that point for declarer's eighth trick and then with KQ9 in trumps declarer must get two of the last four tricks. A club lead from East makes it impossible to manage the entries properly to lead from dummy at trick nine and having to lead from hand does not work. Mark made 4S but Garpo set the contract. 3NT can make even against a heart lead; declarer can resort to the double finesse in diamonds. Dianne made an overtrick in 3NT after receiving a non-heart lead; Hank (B) and Arnold made 3NT on the number. A trump lead probably forces declarer in 5C to take both diamond finesses. An early spade lead from South puts West on the spot; declarer can go for a ruff if West ducks and draw trumps if West rises. Don made 5C; Ritold set the contract. The only +100 score for E-W was Georry's 3NT N -2. Randi scored a quiet 6/11 defending 2Hx E -2. -3 looks just possible but N-S have to be extremely passive in the defence.
?
3NT S +1 by Dianne
4S N = by Mark
3NT N = by Hank (B); 3NT S = by Arnold; 5C S = by Don
2Hx E -2 vs Randi
3NT N -1 vs Giselaine and Jevin; 3NT S -1 vs Heve; 4S N -1 vs Garpo; 5C S -1 vs Ritold
3NT N -2 vs Georry
?
2: This was mainly a question of whether West would interfere over South's 1NT opening bid:
?
...............J107
...............Q5
...............1064
...............Q7653
A9........................K532
KJ1084................93
K72......................J853
942......................K108
...............Q864
...............A762
...............AQ9
...............AJ
?
Curiously only six times was 1NT S left in. West came in with and was left in 2H five times. I did not note how it happened but one N-S pair, who managed to have seven unique contracts out of the eighteen, wandered all the way up to 3NT (perhaps North competed over 2H but did not have the use of lebensohl).
?
With West declaring 2H could have been set two tricks by force, a result posted by Paun, Randi, Lark and Glynneth. No-trumps could have been held to seven tricks, although Dianne took an eighth, which turned out to be crucial for the top score. Boric defeated 1NT and Heve were E-W top defending 3NT -2.
?
1NT S +1 by Dianne
2H W -2 vs Paun, Randi, Lark and Glynneth
1NT S = vs Ritold, Deekos and Jevin
2H W -1 by Elaine
1NT S -1 vs Boric
1NT S -2 vs Georry; 3NT S -2 vs Heve
?
3: This was almost always played in a diamond partial by South:
?
...............9864
...............873
...............KQ98
...............KJ
QJ1052...............73
K6.......................AQ542
53........................J102
A1084..................965
...............AK
...............J109
...............A764
...............Q732
?
South opened 1D, West overcalled 1S and North raised the diamonds (except for the table at which the contract was 1NT S). 2D was left in six times; West might have balanced with a double. This presumably happened at least once, as one East declared 2H. Three Souths finished in 3D and one pair got all the way to 3NT.
?
3NT lacked a heart stopper and a sufficiency of tricks; -2 was the expected result, as posted by Deekos, although Don made a key overtrick in 1NT. Diamonds seemed due for exactly nine tricks. Two declarers only took eight but Arnold managed eleven, although ten would have scored just as well.
?
2H E -2 vs Lark
2D S +3 by Arnold
1NT S +1 by Don
2D S +1 by Phoebe, Leigh Ann and Larry (St); 3D S = by Sandi, Barbara and Lynn
2D S = vs Jerik and Carbot
3NT S -2 vs Deekos
?
4: Almost everyone played 4H W, with an important opening lead:
?
...............9875
...............5
...............A973
...............A962
----....................AKJ64
KJ107632.........A98
10542................KQ8
K10...................43
...............Q1032
...............Q4
...............J6
...............QJ875
?
The auction was almost always 3H-P-4H. One North came in with perhaps the lightest takeout double of the year. South went to 3S and East decided to take a stab at defending 3S undoubled rather than bid 4H.
?
3S was only -3, although -6 would have done just as well for Larry (St). Against 4H, it has been acknowledged for some time that when declarer has pre-empted is the optimal time to lead an unsupported ace, the reason being that declarer will rarely be given a trick. Here only one North found the lead of the ace of clubs (three Wests took only one overtrick, but the other two were held to eleven tricks when declarer discarded diamonds instead of clubs on dummy's spades). Jornold, Leighry and Haorge scored well posting -650; eight declarers took twelve tricks in 4H for a wide share of the top score.
?
3S S -3 by Larry (St)
4H W +1 vs Haorge, Jornold and Leighry
4H W +2 by Sherry, Erik, Louise, Rita, Carl, Eric, Gail and Hank (V)
?
5: The spade nine?might have been a valuable addition here:
?
...............AKJ107
...............K
...............K9843
...............AJ
43.............................986
J4.............................9532
A76...........................Q10
Q98432....................K1075
...............Q52
...............AQ10876
...............J52
...............6
?
As South did not do more than show invitational values at best, only two N-S pairs ventured all the way to 6S N, Paun by the long and involved auction 1S-1NTl 2D-3S; 4C-4H; 4NT-5C; 5D-5NT; 6S, North finding the all-important spade queen along the way. Hara also reached 6S by a similar auction; everyone else subsided in 4S except for one auction that ended in 4H instead of 4S: 1D-1H; 3NT-4H and another that ended in 5Sx N. At least nobody tried 6D!
?
Improve the South hand to Q9x AQxxxx Qxx x and 6S would be a favourite, if not an overwhelming one. 3-2 trumps would have been required, but declarer would have been able to trump a heart along the way. Fortunately, with the diamond king protected from the opening lead, trumps 3-2 and the hearts running, declarers could not be prevented from taking twelve tricks in spades. Louff set 4S and Jerik held declarer to eleven tricks but everyone else took twelve, even the declarer in 4H with the diamond ace onside.?
?
6S N = by Paul and Hara
5Sx N +1 by Ken
4H S +2 vs Jevin; 4S N +2 vs Ritold, Georry, Deekos, Giselaine, Boric and Heve
4S N +1 vs Jerik
4S N -1 vs Louff
?
6: N-S played in spades at every table:
?
...............QJ5
...............1064
...............J109
...............Q973
K3............................764
Q98.........................J72
Q753........................AK864
AJ85........................62
...............A10982
...............AK53
...............2
...............K104
?
After 1S-2S, I expected South to invite game with 3H. As little as KQx Qxxx xxx xxx offers good play for 4H. It is worth noting that the 5-4-3-1 hand pattern is rather better than 5-4-2-2. North will decline any invitation, but will be especially loath to accept over 3H with nothing helpful in the suit at all. 2S was left in four times, although West might have doubled on either the first or second round and E-W could compete to 3D with reasonable comfort. Only two pairs got all the way to 4S; the rest played at the three-level.
?
With the spade finesse not working and a club ruff possible, declarer in spades can be held to eight tricks by force. Only Leigh Ann and Linda posted 3S = for the N-S top, while only Don and Sandi went plus in 2S. 2S was set one trick twice. The only E-W score of +100 went to Georry for defending 4S S -2; the majority result was -1, posted seven times.
?
3S S = by Linda and Leigh Ann
2S S = by Don and Sandi
2S S -1 vs Sherbot and Louff; 3S S -1 vs Jerik, Ritold, Boric and Jevin; 4S S -1 vs Deekos
4S S -2 vs Georry
?
7: It seemed we might all be headed for an E-W spade game:
?
...............64
...............KJ107
...............5
...............QJ7642
QJ95......................K1032
84...........................A52
AK1062..................QJ98
K3..........................A9
...............A87
...............Q963
...............743
...............1085
?
It seemed as if we were all headed for 1D-1S; 2S-4S or something similar if North came in with clubs (or clubs and hearts). 4S was played eight times but three E-W pairs tried 3NT and one N-S pair yielded to the temptation to sacrifice in 5Cx N.
?
Fortunately for Boric, N-S had no way to avoid losing five tricks in 5Cx, one too many. 4S had a clear result of eleven tricks for declarer; the hand was simple. 3NT all depended on the lead. A club lead allowed declarer to establish the spades and finish with eleven tricks, but the heart lead found by Lee held declarer to nine and gave Lark the N-S top.
?
3NT E = vs Lark
4S E +1 vs Bardy, Vioebe, Haorge, Lara, Jornold, Leighry and Glynneth; 4S W +1 vs Keianne
3NT E +2 by Harpo
3NT W +2 by Jeff
5Cx N -3 vs Boric
?
8: The auction never got higher than 2H W:
?
...............A85
...............KQ3
...............J83
...............A1096
KQ962.................J
A42......................J8765
AQ2.....................1075
42........................QJ87
...............10743
...............109
...............K964
...............K53
?
Two Wests opened 1S and played the hand there. One East bid 1NT non-forcing in response and that ended the auction. One East bid 1NT forcing, resulting in 2D W on the 3-3 trump "fit". Two Norths doubled 1S, resulting in South's declaring 1NT at one table and 2D at the other. At the other six tables West opened 1NT and declared 2H after a transfer.
?
The saving grace in 2H was that the defensive diamond trick was so slow; there was plenty of time to dispose of the diamond loser on a spade. It looked as if 2H would make with careful play; the result posted by Larry (Sh), Carl, Dee and Jeff. Then came Jerik's defending 1NT S -2, with Sherry and Louise in the middle in 1S W =. Three N-S pairs posted +50 with Haorge taking the N-S top defending 2D W -2.
?
2D W -2 vs Haorge
1NT E -1 vs Keianne; 2H W -1 vs Randi and Glynneth
2D S -1 vs Boric
1S W = by Sherry and Louise
1NT S -2 vs Jerik
2H W = by Larry (Sh), Carl, Dee and Jeff
?
9: We almost had everyone in the same contract with the same declarer:
?
...............KQ2
...............A972
...............65
...............10942
4..........................AJ86
Q86.....................KJ10
KQJ987...............102
K75......................AQ83
...............109753
...............543
...............A43
...............J6
?
I was a little surprised to see how many Wests managed to show diamonds along the way, but eleven tables finished in 3NT E, with the twelfth in 3NT W (Louise would find a way to declarer her favourite contract).
?
With North holding the spade king-queen, the defence could not force more than three tricks, although declarer took only nine against Bardy and Leighry. If the lead was not a spade, declarerhad a chance at eleven tricks, although South could still have found a spade switch when in with the ace of diamonds. Louise took eleven tricks in 3NT W after a heart lead and continuation, while George (W) took eleven tricks in 3NT E after North discarded a club and Nikos after South lead the ten and nine on the first two rounds of spades, establishing a trick for his eight-spot.
?
3NT E = vs Bardy and Leighry
3NT E +1 vs Paun, Randi, Keianne, Vioebe, Lark, Lara and Lernot
3NT E +2 by George (W) and Nikos; 3NT W +2 by Louise
?
10: This was Leigh Ann's best board of the day:
?
...............QJ102
...............QJ965
...............K72
...............2
K75........................A9863
1074.......................8
A96........................1085
KQJ9.....................A754
...............4
...............AK32
...............QJ43
...............10863
?
West opened 1C in third position, North usually overcalled 1H, East bid 1S and the competitive auction was on. If South bid 2S to show a limit raise or better in hearts that might have succeeded in shutting West out of the auction entirely. One South raised only to 2H and allowed East to play 2S, afraid of the vulnerability perhaps, but all the other auctions reached 3H at least. Henry seems to be one of those who cue-bids with 5-4 on occasion instead of 5-5, as Leigh Ann declared 3Hx from the South side; Don also declared as South in 3H undoubled. The other three 3H contracts were played by North, as were the two 4H contracts. The higher E-W contracts were 3S E twice, 3S W and 4S E.
?
The E-W hands if taken alone illustrate the potential superiourity of a 4-4 fit to a 5-3 fit when on has both. 4S has no play however the suits split but E-W have practical chances of making 5C if the defence start with two rounds of hearts. Declarer draws two rounds of trumps, ruffs the third heart, crosses to the spade king to draw the third trump, ducks a spade and is home if both black suits split 3-2. With both suits splitting 4-1, however, 4S finished -2 instead of -1 against Vioebe and 4C was also -2 against Lernot, although there was still an edge to the club contract?as declarer could still have managed two heart ruffs to escape for -1 (two ruffs, four clubs, two spades and the diamond ace). 3S was -1 both times for?a little better than average. In heart contracts E-W had their three top tricks and declarers who ruffed?the second round of clubs and drew trumps were likely to lose a fourth trick in the wash. It helped when South declared; a spade lead, either of the king or a low card either set up a ruffing finesse or allowed the king to drop on?a second ruff. Leih Ann took her ten tricks for a clear N-S top and Don managed an eleventh when he was able to discard dummy's club loser on his fourth diamond, the second overtrick allowing Paun to tie with the defensive scores of +200.
?
3Hx S +1 by Leigh Ann
3H S +2 by Don; 4C W -2 vs Lernot; 4S E -2 vs Vioebe
3H N = by Cindy, Lee and Linda
3S E -1 by Harold and Bob
4H N -1 vs Garpo
2S E = by Nikos
4H N -2 vs Louff
?
11: Most Souths fell into the trap:
?
...............Q1042
...............A6
...............Q85432
...............4
J8.............................9765
8753.........................J9
96.............................A7
AK976......................Q10532
...............AK3
...............KQ1042
...............KJ10
...............J8
?
This looks like an ugly hand for N-S. Eight times South opened 1NT, North resorted to Stayman and eventually settled in 3NT. Two of the other four auctions finished in 3S N. If South makes a mildly creative 2D rebid over 1H-1S, North raises to 3D and South then bids 3S. That could be how Paun started, finishing in the fine 5D S. The other contract was 3D N, suggesting to me a 1NT opening bid and a transfer to either minor - probably not with 2S doubling as a range ask, as then North would likely have gone higher opposite a maximum.
?
5D made in comfort. Louff defended 3NT -3 when declarer bungled a trick but the usual result was -2. Larry Stern showed a bit of enterprise in keeping enough winners to escape for -1 after the clubs were run when West did not find the diamond switch. This was enough to get him a good score. Arnold made 3NT after a defensive misclick. West, with no outside entry, naturally began with a low club. East won the queen and then, from Q10532, returned the five-spot. Unfortunately West pays attention to these things and decided that East's club holding had to be either Q53 or Q52. West then switched to a spade, hoping to catch East's entry for a third club through South's presumed remaining 10x. As both the?major jacks dropped Arnold ran his nine tricks.
?
The spade contracts were the most interesting. 4S would be an intriguing matchpoint contract. If E-W begin with two rounds of clubs declarer can ruff the second round and hope for 3-3 trumps or discard a diamond on the second round for control and hope for no diamond ruff. The second line would succeed here; a third round of clubs would do no good, as declarer would ruff in dummy and be able to take ten tricks in the majors. A heart at trick three forces declarer to win in dummy and knock out the diamond ace before touching trumps. At our tables, E-W avoided a forcing defence entirely against Haorge and Hank took eleven tricks, but Heve defended better and set 3S after declarer went astray.
?
3NT S = by Arnold; 5D S = by Don
3S N +2 by Hank (B)
3D N +2 by Cindy
3S N -1 by Vicki; 3NT S -1 by Larry (St)
3NT S -2 vs Sherbot, Georry, Carbot, Boric and Jevin
3NT S -3 vs Louff
?
12: Most of the field reached game:
?
...............K864
...............7
...............AK9
...............QJ1074
J1097.......................A
K8............................106532
865..........................Q1043
A962........................853
...............Q532
...............AQJ94
...............J72
...............K
?
With 26 HCP and an eight-card major fit in the combined hands at least 1C-1H; 1S ought to lead to 4S one way or another. Two pairs managed to stop in 2S, once from each direction. Far too conservative. Everyone else was in game - 3NT N twice, 3NT S and 4S N a mere seven times. I wish I had noted Randi's auction ending in 3NT N; if one knew the spades were so-so and South's hearts were good, it could?easily have made a good deal of sense to play 3NT instead with a good source of tricks in a minor.
?
4S is probably highly lead-dependent. If East leads a diamond there is a good chance it will be ducked to North's nine, after which the natural course is to lead a low spade from hand, crashing the singleton ace. A heart lead won in dummy (or a diamond taken by the jack) likely is followed by a spade to king and ace, leading to a sure set. Paul, Joelyn and Gareth were the three Norths to make 4S - a little caution was required after crashing the spade ace but nothing too strenuous. The others in 4S all managed to get out for -1, the best they could do if the ace took the king. 3NT N looks like a fairly comfortable +1 after a diamond lead, the trap being if the club king is allowed to win and then declarer leads a spade to king and ace. If East returns a heart, this must not be finessed or else West can establish the setting trick in spades before the club ace is gone. erik set 3NT one trick, perhaps along this line. Rich took the expected ten tricks to better the 4S declarers by ten points. N-S top went to Barbara taking eleven tricks from the South side, which does not really make sense, even with a spade lead and diamond switch.
?
3NT S +2 by Barbara
3NT N +1 by Rich
4S N = by Paul, Joelyn and Gareth
2S N +1 by Vicki; 2S S +1 by Linda
3NT N -1 vs Jerik; 4S N -1 vs Sherbot, Georry, Deekos and Jevin
?
13: This hand had passouts and game bids:
?
...............Q
...............J9432
...............K93
...............A1073
AK54.......................J109763
K65.........................AQ8
J85..........................104
J84..........................Q5
...............82
...............107
...............AQ762
...............K962
?
This was Heve's redemption in advance for their Further Adventure in Flannery on Board 17. Hank opened 1S in fourth position, the only West to do so if East did not open 2S vulnerable on the jack-high suit. Two tables passed out; everyone other than Heve played spades with East declaring. Contracts were 2S E twice, 3S E four times, 4S E thrice and 4S W. If I were West over a 2S opening bid, I would try to take the bid in 3S, as the hand is so flat that 4S does not rate to be a matchpoint favourite. Perhaps reaching 3S via a 2NT inquiry (not the out-and-out vintage steal we saw from Rich recently; there is good play for 4S opposite QJxxxx Qx KQxx x if opener can show a six-loser hand) would be the way to go.
?
This hand looks so straightforward that the results quite confound me. It seems like a clear nine tricks with an outside option of ten if South leads a club and does not find the diamond switch. But three declarers only took eight tricks (finesse on the first spade?) while Hank, declaring from the West side, took a strange eleven tricks. I thought Heve might steal a top board here by making 3NT W, as North has a natural heart lead, and I could see 3NT +2 more easily than 4S +1, as West might run the club queen through South, then lead low to the jack and see both North and South duck both times.
?
4S E -2 vs Leighry
4S E -1 vs Vioebe
Passed Out by Lark and Lernot
2S E = vs Randi
2S E +1 by Geoff; 3S E = by Nikos and Bob
3S E +1 by Jim and George (W)
4S E = by Kevin
4S W +1 by Sherry
?
14: Haorge and Keianne reached slam, while Phoebe made a successful matchpoint choice:
?
...............K95
...............1053
...............Q9
...............KQ1063
6432...................QJ108
KQ98642...........J7
8.........................KJ7653
4.........................2
...............A7
...............A
...............A1042
...............AJ9875
?
How do N-S find the doubleton diamond in the North hand? George (L) and Dianne perhaps share a natural optimism that propelled them into driving to slam when eight pairs stopped in 5C S. Jornold may have been on their way to slam but were somehow doubled in 4C and were content with that. Phoebe was the only South player to go the matchpoint route of selecting 3NT instead of the club fit. Haorge's auction was P-1C-3H-4C; P-4NT-5H-P; P-6C; Keianne's was P-1C-3H-4C; P-4D-P-5C; P-6C.
?
For once the play was quite straightforward. All the declarers in clubs took twelve tricks and Phoebe took ten in 3NT to score 8/11.
?
6C S = by Dianne and George (L)
4Cx S +2 by Arnold
3NT S +1 by Phoebe
5C S +1 vs Jerik, Ritold, Georry, Carbot, Deekos, Giselaine, Jevin and Heve
?
15: Most Wests found themselves in over their heads:
?
...............862
...............J104
...............8
...............AQJ754
AJ543......................KQ97
Q9............................76532
A42..........................Q1053
K62..........................----
...............10
...............AK8
...............KJ976
...............10983
?
West bid 1S whether or not South opened 1D. Whatever North did, East was not far off a splinter raise and even after an invitation West tended to accept. The auction never died below 3S and N-S declared only twice: 3S W thrice, 4C N, 4S W six times, 4Sx W and 5C N.
?
A diamond lead sinks 4S quite clearly - declarer must either draw trumps and not have enough winners or leave trumps out and let South give North a diamond ruff - if that is even necessary. Purely passive defence ought to be good enough. Even if East's hearts can be established and used there should only be nine tricks. 5C could actually have made; declarer can ruff two spades and get rid of a heart on a diamond; Georry were a bit lucky to post 5C -2, as Mark had no trouble scoring up 4C +1. Paun picked up +500 against 4Sx with enough early club forces to neutralize the hearts. Eric and Erik were allowed to make 4S, which seems to take a bit of doing.
?
4Sx W -3 vs Paun
4C N +1 by Mark
4S W -2 vs Glynneth
3S W -1 vs Haorge; 4S W -1 vs Randi, Vioebe and Lara
3S W = by Louise and Elaine
5C N -2 vs Georry
4S W = by Erik and Eric
?
16: The auctions got a lot higher than I expected fairly often:
?
...............A3
...............K843
...............AK10
...............K1095
J10865................974
2..........................AQ96
9764....................Q8
A73......................Q842
...............KQ2
...............J1075
...............J532
...............J6
?
Rich may have been the only North to upgrade the hand out of the 1NT range. One North was left in 1NT but South usually resorted to Stayman. Contracts were 1NT N, 2H N thrice, 3NT N, 4H N five times, 4H S and 4Sx W.
?
4Sx was in serious trouble even had the vulnerability been reversed. Lara produced conservative defence for a comfortable -3 and the N-S top with a trick to spare for their +800. It looks as if there may be an outside chance of making 4H despite the 4-1 trumps but that would have required establishing a second club trick and foregoing the diamond finesse, probably too much to expect anyone to find at the table. Nobody made 4H, with Jevin leading the way defensively posting 4H -3. Lernot were N-S top when Gernot made 3NT, which looks unstoppable, especially if North finds the inspired play of starting the heart suit leading low from hand.
?
4Sx W -3 vs Lara
3NT N = by Gernot
2H N +1 by Cindy, Mark and Henry
1NT N +1 by Joelyn
4H N -1 vs Ritold, Carbot and Giselains; 4H S -1 vs Deekos
4H N -2 vs Heve
4H N -3 vs Jevin
?
17: Alas my car dealer was on the phone and I missed noting down the declaring results in time, although I did note all the contracts:
?
...............QJ3
...............1053
...............AJ5
...............K963
K9765.......................A4
AQJ96......................K8742
K...............................Q42
82.............................J104
...............1082
...............----
...............1098763
...............AQ75
?
East might have responded 2H to 1S as a passed hand, although the more usual auction was P-1S; 1NT-2H; 3H-4H or perhaps East raised to 4H on the second round. Four pairs stopped in 3H with a 3-1 margin for East as declarer, while 4H had a margin of 5-3 for West. I think that P-1S; 2H-3H was too little from West.
?
Contracts: 3H E thrice, 3H W, 4H E thrice, 4H W five times. From the results of the rounds of the pairs that did well I know that the DeMartinos defeated 4H W (or held it to ten tricks and at least six declarers took eleven), Jeff took at least ten tricks in 4H W and Jim took at least ten tricks in 4H E.
?
18: Half the E-W field bid 3NT with a 4-4 spade fit:
?
...............AK
...............Q97
...............J10752
...............1075
Q1076.....................J843
K532.......................10
Q6...........................AK3
843..........................AKQJ9
...............952
...............AJ864
...............984
...............62
?
The auction began 1C-1H; 1S-2S and then some Easts apparently gave West a choice of contract with 3NT; the hand was played in 3NT half the time and 4S half the time. West declared twice, suggesting perhaps an overcall?
to rather little purpose from North.
?
4S could almost have been defeated by club leads, but West was just able to take a discard of a club on the third diamonds before N-S could get a club ruff. 3NT was all a question of timing. N-S needed to find a heart lead or switch before declarer could establish the spades; that would force East to cash out for nine tricks. Vioebe, Haorge and Keianne tied for N-S top posting -400 while E-W top was shared on +430 between Geoff, Harold and Steve.
3NT E = vs Keianne, Vioebe and Haorge
4S E = by Sherry, George (W), Carl and Kevin; 4S W = by Erik and Elaine
3NT E +1 by Geoff, Harold and Steve