1:
?
...............764
...............Q753
...............A973
...............93
A102...................KQJ3
8.........................AK102
QJ65...................K4
Q8652.................KJ7
...............985
...............J964
...............1082
...............A104
?
We began with a 2NT opening bid from East. Only one East did not open 2NT and only one auction went anywhere other than 3NT. Contracts were 3NT E seven times, 3NT W and 6NT E.
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No-trumps was right-sided played by East if declarer guessed to knock out the club ace before the diamond ace. A heart lead from South required North to play the queen to force the king and then South could not lead the second heart without losing a trick. North could lead a heart and declarer would come up with only ten tricks instead of eleven. The only West to declare, Judy, received a diamond lead instead and scored +460 along with six Easts. Linise held declarer to ten tricks to score -430 and Elott were N-S top defending 6NT E -2.
?
6NT E -2
3NT E +1
3NT E +2 (6); 3NT W +2
?
2:
?
...............A9
...............92
...............A962
...............KQ1075
KJ87........................Q1043
AJ654......................1073
KQ............................10875
AJ.............................96
...............652
...............KQ8
...............J43
...............8432
?
If North had not interfered over West's 1H opening bid that might have ended the auction. But everyone did, usually with 2C. West came in again and then it was a question of vulnerability against number of trumps and how people rated those factors. Contracts were 2S W, 2NT S, 3C N twice, 3S W, 3NT N, 4C N, 4H W and 4S W.
?
The friendly lie of the heart suit allows declarer to come to nine tricks in either major. Both games produced nine tricks for declarer while both partials produced only eight. Clubs could take nine tricks as well if declarer picked up the diamonds for one loser. All three declarers in clubs finished -1. Declarers overperformed in no-trumps, which could have been held to seven tricks. Nancy was N-S top in 3NT N =; after two rounds of hearts gave her one trick, she ran the clubs and East discarded a spade on the last one to surrender the set.
?
3NT N =
2NT S =
3S W -1; 4H W -1; 4S W -1
3C N -1 (2); 4C N -1
2S W =
?
3:
?
...............K7
...............98742
...............Q95
...............964
QJ86....................1053
6...........................A5
10843...................KJ62
AKQ7....................10853
...............A942
...............KQJ103
...............A7
...............J2
?
After West's reverse on Board 2, we finally had a hand with the right range and distribution for Flannery. At least one South opened 2D, to which North responded an immediate 4H. When the auction began 1H-X half the Norths went directly to 4H; otherwise it became a battle of the red suits with contracts of 2H S, 3H S twice and 4D E.
?
As declarer in hearts had nowhere to go for a tenth trick, that result was only posted when East led away from the king of diamonds, whih allowed Wendy and Elizabeth to make the contract to tie for N-S top. The other three 4H contracts finished -1, taking the same nine tricks as all the heart partials. 4D finished -2 against an aggressive forcing defence in hearts. Had declarer been aiming for -1 to beat any pairs defending a partial, that result might have been managed by playing on spades before drawing trumps. North can be allowed one ruff, which does not help the defence, and N-S's simply forcing in hearts again lets West take a second ruff in hand and retain control of the hand. It is possible to pick up trumps with one loser if declarer is psychic and runs the ten and eight of diamonds through North.
?
4H S = (2)
4D E -2
2H S +1; 3H S = (2)
4H N -1; 4H S -1 (2)
?
4:
?
...............1053
...............KQJ103
...............4
...............KQJ8
KJ9..........................872
A86..........................542
KQ92.......................AJ8
942..........................A1075
...............AQ64
...............97
...............107653
...............63
?
The East hand gives a good reason for why some pairs play that a negative double of a 1H overcall denies four spades. After 1D-1H East is well positioned if that agreement is in force for the pair; East can double in comfort. If a negative double implies spades, East can: pass with 9 HCP, double with only three spades, bid 1NT without a stopper or raise to 2D with only three-card support. None of those options are particularly appealing. 1H N was left in three times. Had any West answered a double in spades expecting a 4-3 fit we might have had a rainbow but nobody tried that. If 1NT was ever bid by West it was not left in ; the higher contracts were 2C E twice (a little strange), 2D W twice, 2NT W and 3H N.
?
With the spade ace-queen nicely placed, declarer can take eight tricks in no-trumps. Gerbot posted 2NT W -1 when declarer didn't try the spades early enough. A little strangely, the 5-1 trumps do not prevent 2D from taking the same eight tricks, assuming holds off the heart ace exactly once. Still it is not very surprising that the bad trump split was enough to throw both declarers off. On the auction hearts were likely to split 5-2, which declarer likely ought to have played for, but it happens. Declarer could take seven tricks in clubs but both only took six against Jevin and Ritold. Heart contracts can be held to seven tricks if E-W lead trumps in time to prevent a club ruff but not right away, or declarer can establish an eight trick on a spade. That happened in 3H for -1; the declarers in 1H all made the contract on the number and regretted the vulnerability.
?
2C E -2 (2)
2D W -1 (2); 2NT W -1
1H N = (3)
3H N -1
?
5:
?
...............QJ75
...............AK54
...............107
...............873
109643.....................AK
J10973.....................Q86
654...........................A3
----............................AQJ962
...............82
...............2
...............KQJ982
...............K1054
?
How much does East upgrade for the powerful six-card suit? 1C is definitely too little, although it would have worked well here. 2NT is conservative; East could open 2C planning to follow with 2NT. South is unlikely to compete at unfavourable vulnerability, although 2D over 2C is possible. East's starting or following with no-trumps could and did lead to contracts in both majors, clubs and no-trumps. Contracts were 2NT E, 3C E (West either taking a position after a 3C rebid or else reaping the benefit of a double negative first response and an agreement to allow a pass of the rebid), 3H E twice, 3S E, 3NT E, 4C E, 5Cx E and 5NT E.
?
Maybe a little strangely East can only take five tricks in no-trumps, the result at all three tables, despite the contracts at different levels. Clubs can be held to seven tricks, taken twice by declarer while Marcia bettered par in 4C -2. In the majors spades could take eight tricks and hearts nine. Ritold defended 3S -3. Jamie took ten tricks in 3H; Jevin held declarer to eight when East led out the top spades in the middle of the hand instead of taking the ruffing finesse in clubs. All told the eight contracts that failed were down a total of 25 tricks.
?
5Cx E -4
5NT E -6
3NT E -4
2NT E -3; 3S E -3
3C E -2; 4C E -2
3H E -1
3H E +1
?
6:
?
...............852
...............Q732
...............A96
...............932
A43.....................Q109
K4.......................AJ98
QJ2.....................10875
K10876...............54
...............KJ76
...............1065
...............K43
...............AQJ
?
After the excitement of the previous hand, we could have had everyone in 1NT, which was played eight times. The fun part is that 1NT was played in three different table positions, once by West, twice by South and five times by North (likely after 1C-1H; 1S-1NT with West silent). The one different contract was 2C W.
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With N-S both holding flat distribution, West can make 2C in sufficient comfort. The 3-3 diamonds are especially helpful. But Jevin snuck in with a -1 result to steal the N-S top. The lead does not seem to matter in no-trumps; with any of the three possible declarers E-W can take eight tricks by force. Diane picked up two tricks to post 1NT W +3 for E-W top. North led a club at trick three instead of either major; then South discarded the spade jack at trick eleven instead of the diamond king. Three pairs of defenders matched par defending 1NT S -2 while Jamob went one better and posted -3. Gareth was able to make 1NT N, matched by both Louise and Jim in 1NT S. I'm not entirely sure why it played so well from the South side. West can afford a club opening lead.
?
2C W -1
1NT N =; 1NT S = (2)
1NT N -2 (3)
1NT N -3
1NT W +3
?
7:
?
...............AK10
...............10432
...............K1096
...............96
J832........................9765
KQ9.........................J876
J852.........................----
K2............................QJ543
...............Q4
...............A5
...............AQ743
...............A1087
?
Here we have a slam of tolerable play that seems almost impossible to bid if not playing Precision and even there it would be a bit of a leap of faith for South to look for more than 3NT. If South opens 1NT slam flies out the window at once. After 1D-1H; 2C, North will presumably make a game invitation with either 2NT or 3D, the former suggested by the strength of the hand being primarily in the unbid suit. 3D can give South a bit of a headache; one opener left it there. Everyone else finished in 3NT, thrice by North and five times by South.
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In no-trumps declarer has ten easy tricks with little prospect of an eleventh unless East discards carelessly on the diamonds. Jeff took eleven tricks and Jim took twelve; against Jim on the run of the diamonds East discarded down to QJ in clubs and let declarer establish two extra winners in the suit. One declarer took only nine tricks after starting diamonds with the king instead of ace or queen to cater to either opponent's holding all four. Diamonds can take twelve tricks thanks to the star asset of the doubleton club, but only if declarer commits to playing West for the diamond jack, which entails not drawing even one round of trumps. If declarer does, we get heart king to ace, diamond ace, spade queen, spade to ace, spade king, club to ace, club to king, heart ruff. Now when declarer leads the third club for a ruff West discards the last heart and the diamond jack scores. Without a round of trumps South can ruff both remaining hearts high and then finesse in diamonds at trick twelve. Declarer is almost sure to prefer drawing trumps, playing for a 2-2 split, the singleton jack, or at worst the chance of a ruffing finesse in clubs if East holds three trumps and Hx in clubs. Stindy were guaranteed the E-W top when their opponents stopped in 3D but were able to hold declarer to ten tricks anyway.
?
3NT S +3
3NT S +2
3NT N +1 (2); 3NT S +1 (4)
3NT N =
?
8:
?
...............J53
...............Q962
...............64
...............K852
K964.........................A72
AJ85.........................K1043
108............................KQJ953
A106..........................----
...............Q108
...............7
...............A72
...............QJ9743
?
This hand raises a particular bidding issue for E-W. If the partnership bypasses longer diamonds to respond in a four-card major, does that still apply on slammish hands such as this, especially when the diamond suit is so strong? East has ample values for a reverse and 6D can make by force, but the trend seems to be to respond 1H; 4H was declared six times by East and only once by West. One pair might have misunderstood each other and finished in 3NT W, the auction likely being 1C-1D; 1NT-3NT, East perhaps thinking that they avoided bypassing on strong hands, West thinking they always bypassed and then East not expecting West to rebid 1NT with a four-card major. The last contract was 4Cx S.
?
Jim took his eight tricks in 4Cx and was nearly top. Hearts can take eleven tricks but Nary managed to defeat 4H E. After a club lead declarer unwisely ruffed a second club before starting trumps, then led the heart king and another to the ace before taking another club ruff instead of starting diamonds, killing the second discard of a spade from West. Judy, Henry, Steve (Y) and Marcia all took their eleven tricks. Twelve are impossible in hearts even with a neutral lead, as the spots are good enough for North to have a sure trump trick against any line of play. 3NT could have finished -2 by force against a club lead, although letting declarer take nine tricks (a strange result against any lead; did North lead a club only for the suit to get blocked?) only cost two matchpoints. Diamonds can take twelve tricks by force with a little pretty play. Suppose a spade lead; when first in dummy East discards a spade on the ace of clubs. If the spade king has also been taken out, East ruffs the third spade before resuming trumps, eventually crossing to the heart ace, discarding a heart on the thirteenth spade and finessing North for the heart queen.
?
4H E -1
4Cx S -2
3NT E =
4H E = (2)
4H E +1 (3); 4H W +1
?
9:
?
...............KJ9875
...............K84
...............842
...............7
AQ3....................1062
109.....................AQ532
K.........................A103
KQJ9653............A8
...............4
...............J76
...............QJ9765
...............1074
?
Left to an uncontested auction E-W might reach the good slam; 1H-2C and then possibly an invitational 4NT over a 2NT rebid and East is better than minimum. After 2S from North and 3H from East it's tempting just to jump either to 6C or 6NT at once. Trying to go slower with 4C didn't work out all that well; two Wests were left there. Three Wests bid the practical but underwhelming 3NT; the remaining four contracts were split 2-2 between 4H E and 5C W.
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4H E is very shaky but can come to twelve tricks thanks to 3-3 trumps if declarer is careful to lose the trump trick to South; North never gets to cash the spade king. Both declarers took eleven tricks, but that was still enough to beat the club contracts. Twelve tricks was the maximum all around, more easily managed in no-trumps than hearts while in clubs declarer can take all the tricks unless the lead is a diamond; otherwise declarer can establish hearts and overtake the diamond king with the ace for thirteen tricks; the four club contracts were evenly split between twelve and thirteen. The practical 3NT came out on top, taking eleven tricks twice and all thirteen for Bob after a spade lead.
?
4C W +2
4C W +3
5C W +1
5C W +2
4H E +1 (2)
3NT W +2 (2)
3NT W +4
?
10:
?
...............103
...............AJ54
...............J4
...............KQJ86
AK972....................86
Q6..........................K109872
AQ73......................62
A3...........................952
...............QJ54
...............3
...............K10985
...............1074
?
A Marge Fiedleresque 2H opening bid from East leads to 4H; a pass from North over West's 1S opening bid likely lets the auction conclude there; both 4H E and 1S W were played twice. Most auctions began P-P-1S-2C. Three Souths raised to 3C and West was too unenthused by the vulnerability to continue. Two Souths bid 2D instead of raising and declared 2D and 2NT, completing the rainbow.
?
E-W have five top tricks against clubs and can force a sixth. Going too aggressively for a trump promotion can be foiled; declarer will either go for heart ruffs or try to establish dummy; the defence can then counter along the other line. Leighry were E-W top defending 3C -3; Eric had the best declaring result in 3C =. West ducked a second spade lead from dummy. In the end position Eric was down to K86 in trumps at trick eleven when West held ---- ---- AQ A and East was on lead with ---- 109 ---- 9; West could have trumped the heart lead and then promoted East's club nine but discarded a diamond instead and Eric had his make. Stindy had seven tricks against 2D on a major lead and took them. 4H can make; declarer must duck a club lead and then will either get to ruff a heart or will be able to establish the fifth spade for a discard of the club loser if N-S play two hearts to kill the ruff. Winning the first club and leading the second right away lets North play ace and another heart, then discard a diamond on the third spade to cut off the last entry. Jimbot defended 4H -1 and Gerbot 4H -2. Spades can always take seven tricks by force; N-S can cut E-W off and force West to lead diamonds from hand but West can eventually force a trick with the diamond queen, although that may entail discarding a diamond on the third club. Kunal took the par seven tricks and Judy an eighth. 2NT finished -1 as expected for the middle score.
?
4H E -2
3C N =
4H E -1
1S W =
2NT S -1
1S W +1
2D S -2; 3C N -2
3C N -3
?
11:
?
...............J732
...............AQJ8
...............K73
...............106
Q6.........................AK95
96542....................10
98..........................AQ54
AJ54......................K873
...............1084
...............K73
...............J1062
...............Q92
?
We nearly had another rainbow here. I assume Kevin opened 1H in third seat (East doubled) but Jeff let it go for 2C W, a very good thing as 2Hx N, a highly plausible result if West is in an aggressive, top-hunting mood, can be set three tricks by force. N-S did declare twice. One North opened 1D in third seat and declared 2D; another North passed and then doubled later, leading to 2S S. E-W contracts were 1NT W, 2C W, 2NT E, 2NT W, 3C E and 3NT W twice.
?
The hand falls beautifully for E-W, who declaring can force nine tricks in no-trumps or eleven in clubs; defending they can hold diamonds to four tricks and spades to three. +150 E-W became the majority score, recorded in five different contracts. Nary were N-S top defending 3NT -1 when declarer began the clubs by leading the jack for no discernible reason. Bob made 3NT for the E-W top; all the E-W partials scored +150 except for Leigh Ann's 2NT W +2. Both N-S contracts did a trick better than expected; Harold joined the pack at -150 in 2D -3 while Stindy's 2S -4 gave them the same score as if they had forced -5.
?
3NT W -1
1NT W +2; 2C W +3; 2D N -3; 2NT E +1; 3C E +2
2NT W +2
2S S -4
3NT W =
?
12:
?
...............A8765
...............J63
...............873
...............KJ
K102.................J3
AK10852..........974
J........................A1062
A104.................Q752
...............Q94
...............Q
...............KQ954
...............9863
?
One East took a strong position and passed West's 1H opening bid; South let that go as well. Otherwise E-W began 1H-2H with or without any competition from N-S, finishing in either 3H or 4H with a 4-4 division between the two. West might just invite and East has a little something opposite either help-suit try and no wasted values opposite the short-suit try.
?
4H is pretty much on the edge with two of three suits needing to behave and varying chances they would. The likely diamond lead seems neutral, as declarer would likely play the hand the same way by attacking spades first. Breaks are good enough for par to be ten tricks, the result at seven of the nine tables, with one declarer taking eleven and one taking nine. Kunal was E-W top taking the overtrick when North surrendered the trump trick by leading a heart in an attempt to stop the spade ruff. Ritold set 4H for N-S top.
?
4H W -1
1H W +3; 3H W +1 (4)
4H W = (2)
4H W +1
?
13:
?
...............83
...............AJ64
...............1032
...............9763
J10965...............K7
Q........................1052
Q5......................KJ987
AKQ54...............1082
...............AQ42
...............K9873
...............A64
...............J
?
Here was another Flannery hand, although at least less difficult for those who did not ply Flannery, as South could open 1H and rebid 2D over 1NT forcing. When South did open 2D the contract finished as 4H N, perhaps with North bidding a competitive 3H over a 3C overcall and South's thinking it might have been at least partly forward-going. After a 1H opening bid West might have tried 1S, 2C or 2H; I rather like 2C with the intent to follow with spades. In competition it likely behooves North to get the auction to 3H quickly. 3H was played thrice, along with 3C W four times and 3S W once.
?
4H almost makes on normal play when trumps behave and the spade finesse works, but the fourth spade will either be overruffed or not be able to be ruffed at all when trumps split 3-1. Ten tricks are possible if declarer has a psychic flash and trades a spade ruff for a diamond ruff. Diamond queen to ace (ducking the first diamond works even better), heart to ace, spade to queen, spade ace, third spade discarding a diamond from dummy. West can lead a diamond to East and East can lead a second round of trumps, but, when declarer has to lose a club to get back to hand, East cannot win the first club to play the third and fatal round of trumps. Who knew the club jack would be of such value? Of course nobody at the table found the winning line and all the heart contracts took nine tricks. Defending against clubs the best N-S can do is to force in heart but West just establishes spades and diamonds before touching trumps and South can never lead more than one club. In the end West can just push spades through North, overruffing if North ruffs in and then drawing trumps, or else just cross-ruff. Only Cindy made 3C, while Ritold, Nary and Elott posted -1. 3S -2 could have been forced; declarer tried to avoid the -200 and went down an extra but irrelevant trick against Linise.
?
3S W -3
3H S = (3)
3C W -1 (3)
4H N -1
3C W =
?
14:
?
...............82
...............Q4
...............J765
...............KJ862
A1053....................Q74
K106......................J982
10832.....................K9
Q4..........................A1095
...............KJ96
...............A753
...............AQ4
...............73
?
I was looking for 1D-1NT at matchpoints and that did become the contract five times. 2D S was played once. Somehow three Souths declared higher contracts of 2NT once and 3NT twice (did any Easts double 1D-2D?).
?
The layout is friendly enough to N-S for declarer to come to eight tricks in diamonds - one spade, one club, two hearts, the three high diamonds and North's fourth diamond scores on a ruff. Study managed a set when North led the third club both too soon and too late. In no-trumps N-S eventually pick up a second spade trick by force instead of the fourth diamond, although the timing has to be exact. Jim was N-S top taking nine tricks in 1NT, followed by Kevin and Louise taking the par eight. Karleta were the only pair to set 1NT Nl the higher no-trumps contracts yielded from six to eight tricks, with Penj and Leighry tied for E-W top on +100.
?
1NT N +2
1NT N +1 (2)
1NT N =
1NT N -1; 2D S -1; 3NT S -1
2NT S -2; 3NT S -2
?
15:
?
...............86
...............KQJ10954
...............942
...............J
AQJ95........................K1042
A32.............................7
A.................................KQ853
9654...........................873
...............73
...............86
...............J1076
...............AKQ102
?
1S from West and then usually 3H from North. Usually either East or West got the side to 4S, although a 3S response from East over 3H was left in once. 4S W was played six times. One N-S pair had a little accident and left in 2Sx W; one North ventured to 5Hx despite the vulnerability.
?
E-W have six top tricks against hearts; Study only took four but that was still enough to score 7/8. Spades took ten tricks against a club lead and more otherwise. Cindy and Dave took twelve tricks with proper play after a non-club lead; two declarers took eleven when they did not establish the fifth diamond early enough. Diane cruised to the E-W top in 2Sx +2.
?
3S W +1
4S W = (2)
4S W +1 (2)
4S W +2 (2)
5Hx N -2
2Sx W +2
?
16:
?
...............1053
...............K10
...............KJ1082
...............Q102
A98..........................Q742
Q865........................A942
Q54..........................A93
AK4..........................95
...............KJ6
...............J73
...............76
...............J8763
?
E-W seem headed for a rather gnarly-looking 4H (very bare bones) and the contract was duly reached seven times after 1NT and Stayman. Two Easts raised only to 3H and West passed it there.
?
The play of the hand really shows the potential power of the nines and eights. When North drops the heart ten under the ace of trumps, declarer can finesse on the second round (even that turns out to be far from enough). North's most likely opening lead of a spade turns out to be a big help, eliminating one of the two losers in the suit and letting declarer establish the thirteenth spade for a discard of a diamond. The winning line against the best lead of a club is not easy to spot. Declarer endplays North by ruffing the third club at one and then playing two rounds of hearts, finessing on the second round. If North returns a spade, it has the same effect as a spade opening lead. North has a better try in a diamond; declarer takes the top two diamonds and then gives North the third diamond for a second endplay, South discarding a club. Again North cannot break spades. A fourth diamond looks okay, as it is not a ruff-and-discard situation. If East ruffs South overruffs and is safe. But when North leads the fourth diamond at trick nine East discards a spade, leaving South to play from the remaining KJ6 J ---- 8. Discarding a spade is out; West ruff and ducks a spade. Discarding the club lets West ruff, draw the last trump and then, with all the clubs out, run the spade nine (covering the ten if played) to South for a third endplay. Trumping the fourth diamond to preserve the club does not help; West overruffs and runs a spade to South, who just has the choice between a spade lead back and a ruff-and-discard. That five of the declarers took ten tricks was almost certainly due almost entirely to a spade lead. When the hand went wrong it went very wrong; Jevin posted 4H -2, Ritold and Gerbot 4H -3. Leigh Ann, NJ, Bob and Cindy shared the E-W top on +620.
?
4H W -3 (2)
4H W -2
3H W -1
3H W +1
4H W = (4)
?
17:
?
...............K5
...............KQ9542
...............K97
...............85
Q8743.......................A96
108............................A76
A863..........................J1042
J9...............................K76
...............J102
...............J3
...............Q5
...............AQ10432
?
Elott and Penj produced a passout (North usually opened and either East or South might have opened as well). 1H-1NT; 2H was perhaps the most likely auction; West has a tough time balancing on what is not necessarily a fit auction. 2H N was played three times. If East doubled an opening bid from North (or balanced after a 3C opening bid from South) we got a bit more competition, with higher contracts of 3H N, 3NT E, 4H N, 4S W and 4Sx W.
?
Heart contracts threaten to take ten tricks with a diamond ruff. E-W can draw two rounds of trumps easily enough but need to keep control of the timing. A heart or club lead holds declarer to nine tricks by force. A diamond lead does not work because, after jack/queen/ace and the necessary heart switch, East can never lead a second diamond and eventually gets squeezed in the minors. Eric and Jim took ten tricks in 2H; the three other heart declarers took nine. No-trumps by E-W could have been held to five tricks by a heart lead; Henry escaped with seven after the lead of a club. Spades can be held to seven tricks, as the entries to dummy do not allow declarer to do everything and the diamonds must be played relatively late in the hand, at a stage when the needed heart ace will be long gone. As declarer would need to bring down the spade king on a spot card, it is not surprising that at the tables declarer underperformed par, Gerbot picking up a crucial fourth undertrick against 4S, while Jevin's 4Sx -5 was two tricks more than they'd have needed to top 4H = but at least scored a nice +1100.
?
4Sx W -5
4S W -4
2H N +2 (2)
2H N +1; 3H N =
3NT E -2
Passed Out
4H N -1
?
18:
?
...............952
...............AK1043
...............5
...............Q963
KJ86........................AQ103
Q8............................J9765
10973.......................AQ6
J84...........................5
...............74
...............2
...............KJ842
...............AK1072
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Another Flannery hand, this time for E-W, but also this time with the fun of South's holding the two minors. Over Flannery some play a 2NT overcall as directly for minors; others play 2NT as a hand with tricks and tack the minors onto the three-suited takeout bid of 2H, pulling if partner bids spades. I even came across a method once on which people bid 3C with both minors. If East opens 1H South might not want to come in at the vulnerability, but 2NT is plausible. One South opted to pass 1H, West bypassed the spades to respond 1NT and East ended up declaring 2D. 1H-2D is a plausible beginning; East ended up declaring 3S at one table and 4S at another, possible after a negative double from West. South usually showed both minors; North declared 3C thrice, 4C and 5C. The last contract was the only time South declared, playing 6Cx.
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E-W have three top tricks against clubs but Kevin made 5C after a heart lead. Stindy were E-W top defending 6Cx -1. The club partials took eight, nine, ten and eleven tricks. Diamonds could have been held to five tricks for a good defensive score but Steve (R) escaped for -1 and 6/8 instead of 1.5/8. A heart lead holds spade contracts to seven tricks; both declarers finished -2 for near-middle scores.
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5C N =
4C N +1
3C N +1
3C N =
3S E -2; 4S E -2
2D E -1
3C N -1
6Cx S -1
