1:
?
...............J1095
...............K8762
...............54
...............K4
AK43......................Q72
104.........................AJ
10973.....................QJ86
1093.......................QJ87
...............86
...............Q953
...............AK2
...............A652
?
This hand may reward actions that are not generally recommended. East opens 1m and is likely to declare 1NT, unless the auction goes P-1D-P-1S; P-1NT and it is understood by N-S that a double is takeout for hearts and clubs with the implication that short spades prevented an original double. That is reasonable enough, and will result in a contract in some number of hearts, North being able to compete to 3H. East may be left in 1NT; being left in if West shows belated diamond support seems less likely (and never occurred). Spades may get played as well. The non-recommended action is an immediate takeout double with short spades, although that was the start of the only auction to reach the dangerous-looking 4H: P-1D-X-1S; 2H-2S-3H-P; 4H. Besides 4H, contracts were 1NT E thrice, 2H N, 2S W twice, 2NT E, 3H N five times and 3NT E.
?
N-S have ten tricks available in hearts thanks to the 2-2 trumps; all the declarers in hearts took ten tricks, giving Mark (A) N-S top for being the only declarer in a N-S game. When East declared no-trumps, the hand largely came down to whether the opening lead was a club or a heart. When other factors are equal, leading from Qxxx tends to work better than leading from Axxx; the ace will often serve as a useful entry and may have less urgency to lead the suit at once. A large swing rode on this. The club lead in and of itself was not fatal; if North read the deuce as fourth-best and knew that East also held four clubs, North could have found the heart switch in time. But only Lark, who posted 3NT -4, played hearts in time and took their eight tricks. Conndy posted 1NT -1, the hearts probably blocking. The other three declarer in 1NT and 2NT took eight or nine tricks. Paul, in 1NT, received club leads to the first three tricks. He was then sure of -1 and emerged with eight tricks when N-S missed their last chance to switch to hearts.?
?
4H N =
3NT E -4
2H N +2; 3H N +1 (5)
2S W -2 (2)
1NT E -1
1NT E +1 (2)
2NT E +1
?
2:
?
...............9842
...............AK9863
...............K5
...............5
1053.......................AK6
----.........................QJ52
AQ6432.................10
10973.....................AKQJ2
...............QJ7
...............1074
...............J987
...............864
?
East opens 1C and West presumably responds 1D; North presumably overcalls, either 1H or 2H. East may well bid 3NT directly over that. In an uncontested auction, East would rebid 2H and West would likely show the good clubs; E-W could well end up in clubs instead. North's competition was occasionally effective; contracts were 2Hx N, 3C E twice, 3NT E eight times, 4C E, 5C E and 6C E.
?
Declarer in clubs can force twelve tricks against any defence, even a trump lead. Declarer scores three heart ruffs, the top two spades, the diamond ace, the five trumps in hand and then either the diamond queen or a fourth heart ruff. Vala got quite lucky - facing the only 6C contract in the field, they picked up a two-trick set for the N-S top when declarer could have made the contract for E-W top. Harold posted 5C +1; the three club partials yielded to declarer nine, ten and twelve tricks. The key to posting 2Hx -1 for Ken was not playing too many trumps too soon. 3NT could always have been made by force, though -1 was possible against, say, a lead of the spade queen; declarer might well finesse the diamond queen on the first round and never get a heart trick. But the heart lead was nearly universal; Paul, John and Yumi tied for E-W top with one overtrick if North persisted with a second heart.
?
6C E -2
3C E =
4C E =
3C E +3
2Hx N -1
3NT E = (5)
5C E +1
3NT E +1 (3)
?
3:
?
...............3
...............QJ1096
...............AQ942
...............42
Q10542.................976
K7..........................52
KJ..........................1065
9863......................KQJ85
...............AKJ8
...............A843
...............873
...............A7
?
N-S ought to have no trouble reaching 4H after a 1NT opening bid and a transfer; 4H S was played ten times. Two Norths went back to no-trumps afterwards and South curiously elected to play 3NT rather than 4H. One North accidentally passed 1NT. The last auction saw South go beyond game and eventually playing 6H.
?
Declarer in 4H loses the third round of diamonds and the trump finesse, usually emerging with eleven tricks. +450 was posted eight times. 3NT got lucky; it would have failed against a club lead but likely received a spade lead instead, allowing nine and ten tricks. 6H -1 gave Dalan the E-W top.
?
4H S +1 (8)
3NT S +1
4H S = (2)
3NT S =
1NT S +2
6H S -1
?
4:
?
...............A865
...............3
...............Q76
...............KQJ63
72.........................J109
A10876................Q54
J108.....................AK32
542.......................1097
...............KQ43
...............KJ52
...............954
...............A8
?
It seemed as if 4S N would be nearly inevitable, as with an unbalanced hand there would be no chance of North's rebidding 1NT after 1C -1H. We got as close to unanimity as we would all day - contracts were 3NT S, 4S N twelve times and 4S S. I am not sure whether any South opted for 2D Fourth Suit Forcing after 1C-1H; 1S, but the hand does not have sufficient extra values; 4S should be quite sufficient.
?
It turned out 4S was sufficiently right-sided when played by North; the only time 4S was defeated was when South declared and Phoebe made the natural lead of the diamond jack. 4S N can be defeated and it looked as if at least one or two pairs would find the diamond lead, heart switch and diamond return through, but nobody did. Henry made an overtrick in 4S for the N-S top, a plausible result after three rounds of diamonds or a club lead or shift.
?
4S N +1
3NT S +1
4S N = (11)
4S S -1
?
5:
?
...............A74
...............10752
...............K7
...............K982
62............................J109
9864........................A3
9864........................Q10532
Q107........................A43
...............KQ853
...............KQJ
...............AJ
...............J65
?
?N-S were bound for game again but would the game be 4S or 3NT? If South opens 1NT it may well depend on whether the pair plays Puppet Stayman or not. After a 1S opening bid, North can bid Drury but South may offer 3NT as a possibility and North may decide to sit. Contracts were 1NT N, 2S S, 3NT N, 3NT S six times and 4S S five times.
?
The main difference between 4S and 3NT is that in 4S declarer has a little more time. In 3NT a diamond lead means that declarer can only knock out one ace and must then cash out. Had the club ace been with West this would have given 4S a clear edge. But declarer cannot break the suit without losing the first two rounds. Ten tricks for both contracts. All seven 3NT contracts yielded ten tricks. Frank managed 4S +1 when the defence broke clubs. Jonj were E -W top defending 4S -1 when declarer ducked a spade for no good reason at trick three.
?
4S S +1
3NT N +1; 3NT S +1 (6)
4S S = (3)
1NT N +3
2S S +2
4S S -1
?
6:
?
...............82
...............A1082
...............K4
...............Q7653
K103.......................AQ94
J65..........................Q
J832........................AQ107
AKJ.........................9842
...............J765
...............K9743
...............965
...............10
?
This is a tough one. East opens 1D and West has a flat hand with 13 HCP. 3NT W looks nearly inevitable and was the contract eleven times. One pair got all the way up to 5D E, Dane reached the interesting 4S E and the last auction ended in 4H N - I would not have expected North to have found a way into the auction.
?
3NT W can be set off the top by a low heart lead, although the suit could have blocked. Frankbot and Darry were the only two N-S pairs to manage to take their five top tricks. A club lead allowed declarer to run ten tricks off the top when the diamonds behaved; Jatin received a club lead and finished +2 for the E-W top. 4S could have been defeated had South won the first heart with the king, although a club lead and ruff off the top cede control of the hand to declarer and allow a make. A heart lead to the ace and heart return lets East discard two club losers on hearts and make 4S another way. Dale was unlucky not to score well in 5D =, which would have done rather well in an IMPs bidding contest.
?
3NT W -1 (2)
4H N -2
5D E =
4S E =
3NT W +1 (8)
3NT W +2
?
7:
?
...............J98
...............75
...............K
...............AQJ10952
KQ106.........................2
AQ2.............................KJ1064
Q1083.........................J642
K8...............................743
...............A7543
...............983
...............A975
...............6
?
1NT from West and then North likely has system restrictions on how to get into the auction. East comes in with hearts if North does not bid 3C and then it seems largely just a question of whether North goes on from there. A few Souths came in on this auction, usually to their own detriment. Contracts were 2H W four times, 3C N twice, 3Cx N, 3H W four times, 4H E, 4Sx S and 5Sx S after a long and convoluted auction.
?
The spade contracts looked on pace for eight tricks after a red-suit lead but both declarers fared worse, Dane posting +800 against 4Sx and Heve +1400 against 5Sx. Clubs had a chance of ten tricks if North could unblock the diamonds before having to use the spade ace; Mark (S) took ten tricks in 3C but Lourene were able to set 3Cx - a lucky outcome given the club layout. N-S had seven winners against heart contracts, but the best defence required the opening lead of the singleton king of diamonds. Accordingly all the declarers in hearts outperformed par, with Harold and Dale posting 2H = for the only E-W declaring plus scores.
?
4H E -2
3C N +1
3C N =
2H W -1 (2); 3H W -1 (4)
2H W = (2)
3Cx N -1
4Sx S -3
5Sx S -5
?
8:
?
...............AJ95
...............KQ9
...............KJ9
...............K62
----...........................KQ1032
7432.........................AJ10865
542...........................A
AJ8753.....................4
...............8764
...............----
...............Q108763
...............Q109
?
East's 6-5 pattern may suggest that there would be lively results in the auctions, and that came to pass, with the number of doubled contracts at five. If dealer, East would have had ample playing strength for a reverse and a 1H opening bid, but North opens 1NT and then East shows majors or at the very least bids hearts naturally. West has a good enough hand in support to raise, although not everybody did, and at two tables where South did not bid lebensohl to compete in diamonds the auction ended in 2H E. Two more auctions ended in 3H E but everyone else reached game. The game contracts were 4H E twice, 4H W twice, 4Hx E twice, 4Sx S, 5H W and 5Hx W twice.
?
Hearts can be held to eleven tricks by a heart lead only, so that with East declaring twelve tricks cannot be prevented, although to come to twelve tricks by force declarer must play North for all three trumps. Darry and Lernot both posted 5Hx -2 to share the N-S top. Against Darry, declarer took the ruffing finesse in spades (forgetting the auction?) and later began the hearts by leading the ace from hand. Four declarers found twelve tricks in heart games for pleasant outcomes. Jane (M) was E-W top making 4Hx, although Giselaine also went plus defending 4Hx -1; if anything one would have expected the double to assist declarer. Jane's making 4Hx prevented Heve from having a perfect round; they backed up their 5Sx -5 on the previous board with 4Sx -3, beating all the undoubled games.
?
5Hx W -2 (2)
4Hx E -1
2H E +1
2H E +2; 3H E +1
3H E +2
4H W =
4H E +2 (3); 5H W +1
4Sx S -3
4Hx E =
?
9:
?
...............K9
...............J98
...............AJ1075
...............Q106
65...............................A3
1073............................AQ652
KQ2............................983
AK432........................985
...............QJ108742
...............K4
...............64
...............J7
?
Would South's third-hand 3S opening bid end the auction? It did so eleven times. When anyone else came in the contracts finished at 4H E and 4S S twice. I can almost see East's taking a flying stab at 4H if West has passed in tempo, as West likely has the best hand at the table, but Ax is not the best spade holding for the action and the minor weaknesses could have declarer up against it at once.
?
All E-W have to do to set 3S is establish a diamond trick before the clubs provide a discard. That 3S made eight times suggests that, at least occasionally, West was too afraid of the club queen in dummy to cash the second winner, although Erik, one of the successful declarers, received a club lead with a heart switch to the king. Shane were N-S top defending 4H -2; Hever were E-W top defending 4S S -2.
?
4H E -2
3S S = (8)
3S S -1 (3); 3S S -1
4S S -2
?
10:
?
...............KJ106432
...............1094
...............72
...............Q
95.................................AQ
KQ5..............................AJ9863
AJ63.............................Q
5432.............................K876
...............87
...............2
...............K109854
...............AJ109
?
East opens 1H; West responds 1NT forcing planning a limit raise to 3H next. If South overcalls 2D West likely cue-bids 3D. North may come in with spades, but E-W ought to be able to reach 4H one way or another. One North was left in 3S and another sacrificed in 4Sx but all the other auctions finished in 4H E.
?
Hearts can take ten tricks but have difficulties if declarer passes up the diamond finesse due to the bad club layout. Nine declarers made 4H, which seems a bit on the high side, although there are endplay possibilities otherwise. Against Shane, Cbot and Jerik declarer led a club to the king and never got a discard on the diamonds. Lernot and Delen scored much better in 3S -1 and 4Sx -2 than they might have done.
?
4H E -1 (3)
3S N -1
4Sx N -2
4H E = (9)
?
11:
?
...............105
...............AQ96
...............985
...............J1052
K98.......................A7432
J1054....................72
KJ1032.................A76
6............................A87
...............QJ6
...............K83
...............Q4
...............KQ943
?
1C from South; whether or not West overcalls 1D East gets 1S in and the spades probably dominate the competitive auction. Contracts were 1NT S, 2S E four times, 3C S twice, 3H N and 3S E six times.
?
All East has to do to come to ten tricks in spades is to finesse through South for the queen; between that and the 3-2 trumps the hand basically plays itself. Seven of the ten declarers in spades took ten tricks; the others took nine. Clubs should have taken eight tricks, with E-W holding five top winners, but Cindy took nine and the other declarer seven. Larry (St) did well in 3H -1. 1NT could have taken five tricks but four was more to be expected if the diamonds were cashed and then came a switch to spades, although declarer can manage four heart tricks by force with a finesse of the nine. Declarer in 1NT discarded a heart on the diamonds, removing -2 from the realm of possibility unless West switched to the heart jack. When in with a spade, declarer still had a chance to cash out for -3 and a fair score for -150 against a wall of -170s; -200 was bottom.
?
3C S =
3H N -1
3C S -2
2S E +1 (2); 3S E =
2S E +2 (2); 3S E +1 (5)
1NT S -4
?
12:
?
...............108542
...............K53
...............J96
...............86
K63........................J97
Q104......................AJ97
A7...........................Q102
KQ932....................1054
...............AQ
...............862
...............K8543
...............AJ7
?
1C-1H; 1NT seems likely to be the auction but too many Souths could not resist the lure of the opening hand, despite the poor quality of the diamonds. Indeed 1NT was never the contract; we saw 2D S, 2H E eight times (likely the result of a support double most of the time), 2NT W, 3C W twice, 3NT E and 3NT W. 3NT W was reached by accident, West rebidding 2NT instead of 1NT.
?
Everything sits just about perfectly for E-W; heart contracts can take eleven tricks by force and no-trumps ten. NJ was E-W top in 3NT E +1, Phoebe next in 3NT W =. Heart contracts took from seven to eleven tricks, with Paul posting +200, Hank, Sandi and Yumi +170. Jatin posted +210 in 2NT W +3. Vasu would have been all right in 2D S -3 had the vulnerability been the other way around.
?
2H E -1 (2)
2H E =; 3C W =
3C W +1
2H E +1
2H E +2 (3)
2H E +3
2NT W +3
2D S -3
3NT W =
3NT E +1
?
13:
?
...............AKQJ6
...............109
...............J83
...............A97
1082......................9743
QJ74......................A2
AQ9654.................K102
----.........................KQ53
...............5
...............K8653
...............7
...............J108642
?
There were some strange auctions on this hand. Two Norths were left in an opening bid of 1S; why would West pass? Perhaps the strangest thing is that the contract was never 3D E; one would expect a 1NT opening bid to start the auction 1NT-P-2D-X. One North was left in 2H after a transfer The plurality contract of 3D W was played five times, which makes sense. One human-Robot pair had a misunderstanding over how to proceed when a transfer is doubled and both halves of the pair left 2D in. Three auctions went beyond 3D, ending in 3H S, 3S N and 5C S. That left two contracts of 3C, played once by South and once by North after the Don't Try This at Home sequence of 1S-P-2H-P; 3C.
?
3D is an interesting make; declarer needs to start the hearts early unless South obligingly discards multiple hearts on North's spade winners. Only Leighry set 3H when West drew trumps too soon and was saddled with a second heart loser at the end. The strangest results in the play were that 1S was set two tricks by Dalebot and three tricks by Heve; seven or eight tricks for declarer seems to make more sense and for North to take only the top four trumps seems barely possible - trump lead to North, club ace ruffed, three diamond winners, fourth diamond ruffed and overruffed and then dummy would have to discard clubs on all the diamonds so that East would then turn to club and the low club would be high, West would discard three hearts, North would ruff the fourth club and lead a hear instead of the second trump, letting East give West a heart ruff. Just doable without nonsensical play. 3S -3 against Dalan was a much more plausible result. The club contracts all took the expected nine tricks. While Glotin scored well defending 3H -2, Ken produced the N-S top score of +140 declaring 2H +1, which strongly suggests a club lead ruffed and then another club ruff given when East took the heart ace, both ruffs helping declarer more than the defenders.
?
2H N +1
3C N = (2)
3D W -1
3D W = (4)
1S N -2; 3H S -2; 5C S -2
1S N -3; 3S N -3
2Dx S -4
?
14:
?
...............AKJ
...............10
...............10954
...............86542
42............................Q8
AJ764......................KQ82
K862........................73
KJ............................AQ1097
...............1097653
...............953
...............AQJ
...............3
?
How many Souths came in with 2S over East's opening 1C? With North an unpassed hand, Bill might give it a miss even at matchpoints (had this been Board 1 with North having dealt and passed, I would not have expected him to remain quiet), but at least one South came in, C finishing by declaring 4S, although the auction was 1C-1S-2H-2S; 3H-3S-4H-4S. East's declaring thrice and one contract of 5H W suggests other jump overcalls by South and North's competing to 4S at least twice more. Contracts were 4H E twice, 4H W nine times, 4S S, 5H E and 5H W.
?
The layout was remarkably good for spades. C even made 4S when West did not realize the need to force dummy with the second heart in order to be able to lead the third heart when in with the king of diamonds. The inference that East did not hold five hearts would have told West that South would have a heart loser remaining after the ruff. It made little difference as only one pair managed to go down in 4H - perhaps declarer tried to discard spades on clubs before drawing enough trumps? East declared, too, which was rather a shame, as Gloria took twelve tricks in 5H E, the logical result after a club lead. Perhaps the strange result was 5H W =; either North didn't cash the top spades or South let a diamond go through. One West and the other East in 4H took eleven tricks but that still left eight declarers in 4H W posting the expected +420.
?
4S S =
4H E -1
4H W = (8)
4H E +1; 4H W +1; 5H W =
5H E +1
?
15:
?
?
...............Q7
...............9643
...............975
...............AJ64
A94.....................KJ852
AK1052...............Q7
3..........................AKQ42
K1072..................8
...............1063
...............J8
...............J1086
...............Q953
?
It was hard to say with this hand how many pairs I would expect to look for slam. After 1H-1S; 2C-2D; 2S, East knows West has three spades and short diamonds. If East starts showing controls, West will like the improving hand even more and be glad to co-operate. An asking sequence offers the chance to stop in 5S when the spade queen and one key card turn up missing. But only one pair played in 5S while two went to 6S. Perhaps even more strangely five pairs played in 3NT, twice by West and thrice by East. Six pairs were content with 4S E.
?
No-trumps contracts were right-sided when played by West, although no South found the club lead that could have held declarer to eleven tricks. With both majors behaving declarer had thirteen tricks available in either no-trumps or spades on any non-club lead. Louise, Vicki and Yumi took all the tricks in 3NT to score 11/13; Alan played 6S+1 but the other declarer in 6S found a way to go down against Darry - perhaps drew trumps first and didn't notice that the heart jack fell? The spade games similarly had a narrow majority taking thirteen tricks, just above average. Had East's diamonds been AKQJ2, 6NT W would have been considerably better than 6S (or slam in either red suit), as declarer would have had multiple possible paths to twelve tricks and would not have needed any particular suit of the three to behave.
?
6S E -1
4S E +2 (3)
3NT E +3; 3NT W +3
4S E +3 (3); 5S E +2
3NT E +4 (2); 3NT W +4
6S E +1
?
16:
?
...............Q95
...............A854
...............J42
...............532
106432.....................AJ87
QJ72.........................109
Q103.........................A986
4................................A98
...............K
...............K63
...............K75
...............KQJ1076
?
After P-P-1D-2C, a lot may depend on what West does then. Pass, a negative double and perhaps 2D are possibilities. 2C S was left in four times. One North played 2H, the least comprehensible contract. The lowest contract after that was 3Cx S, although one might have expected to see 3C undoubled a few times. Negative doubles of 2C got multiple auctions higher, to 3S W, 3NT S, 4Cx S twice, 4S E, 4Sx E, 5C S and 5Cx S.
?
Clubs seem bound for nine tricks, but three declarers took ten. Leigh Ann was N-S top in 3Cx =. Spades take nine tricks if declarer plays the trumps correctly. With the nine-spot missing it's technically a toss-up between leading to the ace and leading to the jack; either works if spades split 2-2 while the ace is better if South has a singleton honour and the jack if South has a singleton spot. The ace has a slight practical advantage in that North might play an honour from KQx. All three spade declarers took nine tricks, giving NJ E-W top in 3S =. 3NT could have been two tricks down after a spade lead to the ace, or one down after a diamond lead and continuation. Cindy had a bit of good luck; West led a spade but East finessed the jack and she had her make, eventually finishing with ten tricks.
?
3Cx S =
3NT S +1
4Sx E -1
2C S +2
2C S +1 (3)
4S E -1
5C S -1
2H N -2; 4Cx S -1 (2); 5Cx S -1
3S E =
?
17:
?
...............1074
...............A5
...............A543
...............KQJ2
J865......................AKQ
J8762....................1043
10..........................KJ87
A107......................643
...............932
...............KQ9
...............Q962
...............985
?
I was looking for 1D-P-1NT, which turned out to be the plurality contract, played five times. There was also a sixth 1NT contract declared by North. North might open 1C instead, or East might double (more likely after 1C than 1D, although I do not recommend takeout doubles on flat hands too weak for a 1NT opening bid. There may have been one auction 1D-X-2D-X, which is the most likely way to produce the contract of 2S E. The other auctions all turned into mild battles of the red suits, with contracts of 2D N twice, 2D S, 2H W, 3D N and 3H W twice.
?
South makes 1NT in relative comfort; E-W have five tricks off the top but South establishes a seventh trick quickly. C and Dee both posted +120 after a heart lead, as declarer's establishing the clubs gets lucky and kills off the fourth spade winner. North makes 2D despite the 4-1 trumps, as the singleton ten is helpful and in the right spot. North starts with the ace and then finesses through East twice, losing only the king. Cindy managed an overtrick in 2D when she was able to discard a spade on the third heart and ruff the third spade but a spade opening lead from NJ set 3D N. A club lead, which looks quite obvious, gives the defence six tricks against hearts. Keianne and Leighry took six tricks against 2H and 3H; Doug was allowed a make, which seems to have required two bits of help.
?
1NT S +1 (2)
2D S +1
2S E -2; 3H W -2
1NT N =; 1NT S = (2)
2H W -1
1NT S -1; 2D N -1 (2); 3D N -1
3H W =
?
18:
?
...............Q63
...............KJ654
...............KJ4
...............A8
982.........................A105
AQ73......................98
A107.......................95
Q76........................KJ10532
...............KJ74
...............102
...............Q8632
...............94
?
The closing hand looked fairly tame, with most of the fireworks supplied by pairs trying to go out in a burst of glory. If there is a mild surprise, it could be that nobody took a shot at 3NT; it would at least be mildly tempting for East after P-P-1C-1H if East does anything mildly encouraging and West ever shows the heart stopper. Two auctions ended in no-trumps: 1NT E and 2NT N. East may well slow-roll the hand, first raising to 2C and then continuing to 3C; there were no suit contracts at the one- or two-level. 3C W was played six times. Higher contracts were 3H N twice, 3S S twice, 4S S and 5Cx E.
?
3NT W makes after a heart lead, but other declarers or leads should produce eight tricks for E-W, the outcome for both 1NT E and 2NT N. Most contracts were quite straightforward. Against clubs, N-S had to be active in establishing spades and diamonds. This would have held declarer to eight tricks but nine tricks occurred just as often - Harold, for instance, received a club lead and continuation and was able to get a discard on the hearts. Jatin even managed ten tricks. The best E-W scores were defensive: Dalebot's 2NT -3, Heve's 3H -2 and Dane's 3S -2.
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5Cx E -3
3C W -1 (2)
3H N -1; 3S S -1; 4S S -1
3C W = (3)
1NT E +1
3C W +1
3H N -2; 3S S -2
2NT N -3
