1:
?
...............Q1032
...............Q10
...............AQ63
...............753
7.......................AJ84
K93..................8742
KJ109752.........84
104...................AJ2
...............K965
...............AJ65
...............----
...............KQ986
?
Had the diamonds not divided 7-2, we probably would have seen a good many N-S pairs in 4S. In an uncontested auction South would have raised a 1S response to 3S and North would have accepted the invitation. But after P-P-1C-3D; a negative double from North produces 4D from South. If North passes South reopens with a double and North might bid 3S, 4S or 3NT, perhaps even pass. Contracts were 3D W, 3Dx W twice, 3S N twice, 3NT N four times, 4Dx W, 4S N thrice and 6S N.
?
4S and 3NT can both make by force, 3NT is much easier, especially if West has pre-empted. If North ducks the first diamond and wins the second, the suit never runs and then declarer just have to be careful not to get blocked into the South hand. This proved too much at the tables, with -1 posted thrice and Glynneth managing -4 in stages, declarer making two costly discards and then running the heart queen to the king at trick five. 4S is more difficult because declarer must play for the 4-1 split. Declarer usually does not do too badly, especially if the hearts are finessed early, as East has no way to gain control of the hand. The three successful contracts were all in spades, with Barbara posting 4S = for a score of 12/13. When declarer did lose control the penalty was large; Bee defended 4S -4 and Lewbot 6S -5 for the E-W top. Diamonds just manage eight tricks; North's six-spot is not quite high enough to promote. Three declarers in diamonds took eight tricks; Paun bettered par by two tricks for the N-S top. I can see the fifth trick easily enough against inaccurate play, but the sixth remains a mystery. At least only one matchpoint rode on it.
?
3Dx W -3
4S N =
4Dx W -2
3S N = (2)
3D W -1
3S N -1; 3NT N -1 (3)
4S N -2
3NT N -4; 4S N -4
6S N -4
?
2:
?
...............54
...............3
...............AQJ8765
...............Q52
A..............................K98763
K64..........................AJ8
10432.......................K
A10983....................J64
...............QJ102
...............Q109752
...............9
...............K7
?
With each side having an eight-card fit in a minor and a six-card major in one hand, the deal was a good candidate for the rainbow we?almost got. If East opens 1S and rebids the suit, West may go into 2NT or even raise spades on the singleton ace. If East downgrades the singleton king and passes, South may open 2H, which may be the only way to keep North's diamonds out of the auction. It probably would have required two passes ever to play in a club contract. We finished with contracts of 2S E, 2NT W twice, 3D N twice, 3H S twice, 3Hx S, 3S E four times, 3NT E and 3NT W.
?
3NT was the most interesting contract, providing the rare possibility of three different outcomes from leads in the same suit. After the common lead of the queen or jack of diamonds, West has a second stopper in the hand and can come to ten tricks. A low diamond lead establishes the suit for the defence and declarer cannot touch the clubs; eight tricks will be the maximum. The ace lead gives N-S an extra trick and also puts declarer in hand if North establishes the suit, producing a result of seven tricks. When West declared (notably Eric in 3NT W) the opening lead was always an intermediate honour in diamonds and all three declarers emerged with ten tricks. Loren made 3NT E, although I did not see the lead. Spade contracts yielded a relatively straightforward eight tricks, although of the five spade contracts only Bert took eight tricks in 2S =. Leigh Ann took nine in 3S = (heart lead?) but the other three spade declarers took seven tricks or six.? N-S could not force more than seven tricks in either red suit, although Marcia did get out in 3D N -1. N-S top was Con's defending 3S -3 while Lewbot were E-W top defending 3Hx -5.
?
3S E -3
3S E -2
3S E -1
3D N -1
2S E =
3S E =
2NT W -2 (2)
3H S -2
3D N -3
3H S -4; 3NT E =
3NT W +1
3Hx S -3
?
3:
?
...............A5
...............Q105
...............K832
...............K1074
KQ986....................J732
J..............................A6
J1096......................A4
Q96.........................A8532
...............104
...............K987432
...............Q75
...............J
?
At favourable vulnerability South may open 3H, which is likely to be raised to 4H. After 3H-P-P or perhaps 2H-P-3H, does East double? If East does, is West content with 3S or does West push ahead to 4S? Contracts were 3H S six times, 3S W, 4H S four times, 4S W, 5Hx S and 5S E.
?
In order to take a fourth trick against hearts, E-W just have to knock out the spade ace before South gains the lead. Of the eleven declarers in hearts, only NJ and George took ten tricks in hearts; the remaining nine declarers took nine, George's opponents actually did establish and cash their spade trick; he made an overtrick in 3H when he was given a ruff-and-discard in spades. It seemed more likely that E-W would take ten tricks in spades, as declarer can begin the clubs leading low to the queen and bring in the suit for only one loser. Indeed in order to force a fourth trick N-S have to lead clubs in order to pick up the fourth trick with a ruff in the suit (on a ruffing finesse if West declares). Yet none of the three declarers in spades took ten tricks; two took nine and Kelice were fortunate to hold 3S W to only eight tricks, which kept them off the bottom on the board.
?
3H S +1 (2)
3H S = (4)
5S E -2
3S W -1; 4S W -1
4H S -1 (4)
5Hx S -2
?
4:
?
...............74
...............Q62
...............AQ754
...............QJ9
KQJ2......................A10985
974.........................AJ85
10832.....................J
62...........................A43
...............63
...............K103
...............K96
...............K10875
?
Would N-S be scared out of a balance or pre-balance if E-W raised from 1S to 2S? It turned out to be dead even. East played 2S seven times. One South was allowed to play 3C. Five E-W pairs took the push to 3S and one E-W pair got all the way to 4S.
?
It made little difference, but East defending against 3C S missed a sitter after West led the spade king. The line of defence is marked. Overtake the king with the ace to switch to the singleton diamond. When in with the club ace, East can then give West the second spade and set 3C with the diamond ruff. Geoff was allowed to make the contract when East allowed West to lead the second spade. Spades yielded an almost certain nine tricks, the result for eleven declarers. Cindy and Howard took ten, presumably after N-S missed both their chances to establish their club trick.
?
3C S =
4S E -1
2S E +1 (6); 3S E = (4)
2S E +2; 3S E +1
?
5:
?
...............A7
...............A3
...............KQ5
...............AQJ1076
KJ92.........................1064
KJ84.........................Q10762
AJ987.......................64
----............................854
...............Q853
...............95
...............1032
...............K932
?
At least one North upgraded the hand to a 2C opening bid, although 2NT seems likely to lead to game as well and even 1C-1S seems likely to end in 3NT if not 5C. We finished with only one partial; contracts were 3NT N eight times, 3NT S, 4C N, 5C N thrice and 5Hx E (West might come in with a takeout double if the bidding is low enough.
?
This is perhaps the anti-Bill hand. Would he lead the five-card heart suit or try a spade instead? The heart lead sets 3NT in a straightforward fashion; any other lead lets declarer establish a ninth and if attempted a tenth trick in diamonds, with the chance of an eleventh on an endplay. West has a much harder time finding the heart lead and then also has to avoid blocking the suit; Marie, one of the declarers to take ten tricks, received the natural lead of a diamond. 3NT actually made five times out of the nine, with a four-way share of N-S top between Peach, Marie, Paul and Vicki. Setting 5C required only that West avoid being endplay with the second heart after trumps were drawn and diamonds cleared. It was not particularly difficult to manage and the three pairs defending 5C all set the contract. 5Hx E -3 could have escaped for -1, although that would have saved only one matchpoint.
?
3NT N +1 (3); 3NT S +1
3NT N =
5Hx E -3
4C N +1
3NT N -1 (3); 5C N -1 (3)
3NT N -2
?
6:
?
...............87654
...............7632
...............KQ2
...............8
KQ2......................J109
KQ108..................A
A3.........................J1054
QJ109...................K6432
...............A3
...............J954
...............9876
...............A75
?
We could have had everyone in 3NT W after a 1NT opening bid and at least an invitation. We were that close - one pair played 3C instead of the 3NT that was the end result at every other table.
?
The contract was right-sided declared by West; South might opt for a passive diamond lead, allowing E-W to establish and cash two diamond winners to go with the two black aces. With West declaring, however, even if North led a top-of-nothing spade eight to South's ace, South did not find the diamond switch at any table, understandable enough. When in with the club ace, it was too late. Either a spade continuation or a heart switch was almost inevitable and then it became a question of whether South would avoid giving declarer a second overtrick. By a 7-6 margin N-S managed to post -630 instead of -660; it did not seem that hard. Defending 3C W = gave Janda N-S top; E-W top was shared between Rich, Henry, Martin, Lynn, Tracy and Eric.
?
3C W =
3NT W +1 (7)
3NT W +2 (6)
?
7:
?
...............A3
...............J965
...............Q1054
...............KQ8
Q107.......................52
AK873....................42
9..............................AJ732
AJ103......................9752
...............KJ9864
...............Q10
...............K86
...............64
?
South has a probable 2S opening bid and West a likely 3H overcall. One or the other ought to be the final contract. Contracts were 2S S four times, 3H W five times, 3S S four times and 3NT.
?
?Hearts can be held to six tricks but never were; North has too natural a lead of the club king and may get endplayed into leading a club. Con and Sirbara were the only two pairs to post -2 and tie for N-S top. Spades ought to yield eight tricks. A diamond ruff does no good unless West gets a ruff and then South opts for a spade finesse afterwards. Don (S) had the best declaring result taking nine tricks. Most declarers took the expected eight tricks; Ruise held declarer to seven to tie Leighry's 3NT -2 for E-W top.
?
3H W -2 (2)
2S S +1
2S S = (3)
3H W -1 (3)
3S S -1 (3)
3S S -2; 3NT N -2
?
8:
?
...............K3
...............J43
...............AKJ95
...............KQ10
654..........................Q972
875...........................AQ10
Q82..........................764
9532.........................AJ8
...............AJ108
...............K962
...............103
...............764
?
If North upgrades to a 1D opening bid because of the strong suit, N-S should reach 3NT, either by North if East passes or possibly by South if East makes a takeout double. One North opened 1NT and was left there; two more Norths played in 2D and 3D; everyone else played 3NT N.
?
East has a grim time of it against 3NT. The layout is exceptionally kind to N-S with almost everything sitting well. Although it is the only lead other than the heart ten to give away a trick outright, a club could work out best; declarer might lead a heart to the king and let E-W escape with a score of -430. East gets squeezed when the diamonds are run early and declarer can always take eleven tricks. +460 was posted five times, by Sarah, Ken, Harold, Paul and Barbara. There could have been a sixth +460; against Conndy declarer had won nine tricks with the good J10 of spades still to cash at trick eleven but misclicked and lost the remaining tricks. Lernot were E-W top defending 2D +1.
?
3NT N +2 (5)
3NT N +1 (4)
3NT N = (2)
1NT N +4
3D N +2
2D N +1
?
9:
?
...............AJ97
...............9843
...............AK52
...............9
K3..............................10864
KQJ2..........................A76
J986...........................1073
A82.............................J104
...............Q52
...............105
...............Q4
...............KQ7653
?
One South passed and West opened 1D, but the opening bid was usually 1D by North. Some Souths responded 1NT and some responded 2C. We had the rare result of contracts with two different denominations played by both sides. Contracts were 1NT S twice, 1NT W, 2D N, 2S E, 2S S, 2NT N thrice, 2NT S, 3C S twice and 3NT N twice.
?
Declarer can just manage nine tricks in clubs thanks to the 3-3 split. Spades can also come to nine tricks for N-S, though perhaps with a bit more manouvering. No-trumps were more of a battle, coming out with seven tricks to N-S, also the par result in diamonds. Only three tables matched par: Marie in 3C S =, Judy (X) in 1NT S = and Troward defending 2NT S -1. Paul got out for -1 in 3NT when East gave away a trick with a spade lead. Other declarers ahead of the curve were Dale in 3NT N -1, Henry in 1NT W =, James (C) in 2NT N =, Don (F) in 2S S =, Hank in 2D N = and Vicki in 2NT N =. N-S top went to Kelice for defending 2S E -3; E-W top was shared between Jerik (1NT S -2) and Conndy (2NT N -2).
?
2S E -3
2NT N = (2)
2S S =; 3C S =
1NT S =; 2D N =
2NT S -1; 3C S -1; 3NT N -1 (2)
1NT W =
1NT S -2; 2NT N -2
?
10:
?
...............KJ932
...............AK85
...............K105
...............4
A4...........................Q105
732..........................J106
QJ643.....................A82
KQ6.........................J872
...............876
...............Q94
...............97
...............A10953
?
The likely start was P-P-1D-1S; 1NT. Then what? 1NT E was played four times. Three Souths raised to 2S and that ended the auction. Half the auctions went to the three-level, with contracts of 3D W, 3Dx W and 3S N five times.
?
The diamond ten was the key card to N-S's setting 1NT, all four tables producing the par result. Spades and diamonds took the expected sixteen tricks combined at par, with a 9-7 division favouring spades. With both sides vulnerable, defending was bound to score better with sixteen tricks total. Matty posted 3D -2, Ritold 3Dx -3 for the N-S top. Against spades, Boric were E-W top defending 3S -2. One declarer took eight tricks, three took nine and three (Ken, James [C] and Hank) took ten.
?
3Dx W -3
3D W -2
2S N +2; 3S N +1 (2)
2S N +1; 3S N = (2)
2S N =
1NT E -1 (4)
3S N -2
?
?
11:
?
...............K109
...............AK109
...............105
...............10852
43..........................A875
3............................862
98763....................AQJ2
AQ643...................J7
...............QJ62
...............QJ754
...............K4
...............K9
?
It looked as if a 1H opening bid would be raised to 3H and likely passed if West did not come in with 2NT for the minors (iffy but not vulnerable). Some Souths opened 2D Flannery, one without a clear explanation when the bid was made. Except for an inexplicable auction that ended in 1NT W, everyone got at least to 3H S, played four times. 4D E was played twice, along with 4H N twice, 4H S thrice, 5Dx E (1H-2NT-4H-5D; P-P-X) and 5H S.
?
The hands outperform the Law this time, largely with both sides having a workable side suit. There were eighteen total trumps and nineteen tricks combined, nine in hearts and ten in diamonds with one finesse working for each side. Except for a result of 3H S -1 against Marudy everyone took the expected number of tricks in hearts and diamonds. Rich was E-W top declaring 1NT W +3, which looks just barely possible after a club lead if North unguards the clubs on the diamonds, and even then N-S had a second chance to run the hearts.?
?
The interesting part was almost the possible adjustment, as West at the table where 2D was not explained said he would have bid 2NT for the minors had he known 2D to be Flannery. As the table result was 4H N -1 and E-W could not have forced anything better (except with a double, which would not have happened; East would have been far more likely to have bid 5D) the result was allowed to stand. There were some interesting possibilities, though. It would have been most interesting had hearts taken ten tricks and diamonds nine, which would have made 5Dx -2 the par result. There would then have been grounds for adjustment, possibly to 5Dx -2, possibly to average-plus for E-W.
?
3H S = (3)
5Dx E -1
3H S -1; 4H N -1 (2); 4H S -1 (3)
5H S -2
4D E = (2)
1NT W +3
?
12:
?
...............AKJ
...............A5
...............10986
...............AJ85
863.......................Q94
1062......................QJ983
AKQJ4..................7
107........................Q962
...............10752
...............K74
...............532
...............K43
?
Presumably 1NT from North, and then will either East or West enter the auction? Most did not; 1NT N was played nine times. One North did not open 1NT, the contract being 3NT S. At one table East played 2D, after West balanced over 1NT with a single-suited 2C, then passing 2D when East completed the relay. Two Wests declared 2D and one South came in over 2D with 2S.
?
Interestingly, par was seven tricks for N-S in any contract. Five declarers succeeded, four of them Norths in 1NT. East has a tricky time finding discards against 1NT N if diamonds are run before declarer gets into difficulties losing the lead to East more than once. Marcia was the only declarer in 1NT to take eight tricks; three others made the contract. 1NT was set five times, -1 once, -2 thrice and -3 against Jerik when Jim set up the hearts in the East hand and Erik took four diamonds at the end. This tied Jerik for top with Doren, who defended 3NT S -3. All the declarers in diamonds overperformed, 2D W finishing -1 against Saranne and Ritold while Bert played 2D E +1, which requires more than N-S's simply not finding the heart ruff.
?
1NT N +1
1NT N = (3)
2D W -1 (2)
1NT N -1; 2S S -1
2D E +1
1NT N -2 (3)
1NT N -3; 3NT S -3
?
13:
?
...............Q873
...............KQ84
...............AJ
...............AQ4
54........................A
96........................AJ10732
KQ10984.............32
K105....................J832
...............KJ10962
...............5
...............765
...............976
?
East's choice of overcall could play a significant role here over a 1C opening bid. After 1C-1H, South has an easy 2S if played as weak and a reasonable 1S otherwise; N-S are then likely to reach 4S. A 2H overcall probably quiets South and leaves North with an uneasy call, especially if South has passed out of tempo. One auction ended in 2H E. At least three Norths opened 1NT either on a range that goes to 18 or on a downgrade; they declared 2S once and 3S twice. One contract was 2NT N, which suggests the auction 1C-2H-P-P; 2NT and a pass from South. South declared in spades at all the other tables, 3S thrice and 4S six times.
?
Heart contracts can be held to eight tricks; North either covers the nine on the first round or plays the eight if West leads the six and declarer cannot bring in the trumps for one loser. Just playing the hand should be enough to win the board anyway; Howard would have been E-W top in 2H +1 without the overtrick. No-trumps is the most interesting denomination. North can be held to eight tricks by force, but only by a strange line. East must lead a diamond, which obviously North must duck. West then cannot lead a second diamond, as there is no entry, and must switch to clubs to establish two club tricks to go with the diamond and the two major aces. Even though the heart six to queen and ace and a second heart to the nine must be ducked, that does no good as North's ninth trick has been established in hearts before the fifth trick for the defence. Boric scored well enough for -150 defending 2NT N +1 and not finding the arcane line only cost one matchpoint, as only one declarer in 3S took nine tricks. Ten of the twelve declarers in spades took ten tricks with the club finesse succeeding. Jerik were second E-W defending 4S S -1 when declarer discarded a diamond on the second heart instead of a club.
?
4S S = (5)
2S N +2; 3S N +1; 3S S +1 (3)
2NT N +1
3S S =
4S S -1
2H E +1
?
14:
?
...............AK62
...............10952
...............AJ
...............973
10975....................J8
A4.........................KQJ76
963........................8752
AJ108....................Q2
...............Q43
...............83
...............KQ104
...............K654
?
Those Easts who bid 2H on strong five-card suits are likely to play the hand there. Otherwise the most likely start to the auction is with a fourth-hand opening by North, although Daeff-Jerik passed the hand out. A 1S opening bid likely leads to 2S N if South is allowed to bid Drury, perhaps a higher contract if East overcalls 2H, as South is on the spot. P-P-P-1C; 1H often led to South's raising clubs, a most unpleasant development for North. Contracts were 1D S (I am thankful to report that the East who left 1D in was not a player of whom I had any knowledge), 1NT S (still strange), 2C N four times, 2D E, 2H E, 2S N twice, 2NT W and 3C N twice for a full rainbow and with two denominations played by both sides.
?
None of the thirteen contracts bid should have made. In both diamonds and no-trumps the advantage of the opening lead allows the defence to take most of the tricks. Both declarers in diamonds finished -1, but both declarers in no-trumps took eight tricks, as either West or North would have had to begin with the doubleton ace, not often a standout lead against no-trumps. Defensive speed was the overall theme of the hand. Heart contracts offer declarer eight tricks on gaining the lead, but N-S can take a sixth trick by playing four rounds of diamonds before East gets in; the fourth round promotes a trump trick for North. Defending spades is a bit tricky, though less so with North declaring. Were South declarer the defence might start with three rounds of hearts, letting South ruff low and declarer cannot be hurt after that. A club lead or switch from East and declarer is in deep trouble. Only club contracts don't rely heavily on early play; E-W have at least six tricks and perhaps more if declarer gets unlucky in the trump suit. The club contracts all failed, with declarer taking five tricks once, six thrice and seven twice. Along with the two no-trumps contracts all three major contracts succeeded; N-S did not find the trump promotion to set Judy (P) in 2H E and against both 2S contracts West won the second heart and it was too late for the killing club shift from East. Ken as N-S top playing 2S N +1; Lewbot took E-W top defending 3C N -4.
?
2S N +1
1NT S +1
2S N =
2D E =
Passed Out
1D S -1; 2C N -1 (2)
2C N -2 (2)
2H W =
2NT W =
3C N -3
3C N -4
?
15:
?
...............109743
...............10
...............A76
...............J932
K.............................J652
Q973.......................AJ
943..........................J10852
108654....................A7
...............AQ8
...............K86542
...............KQ
...............KQ
?
Did North respond to South's 1H opening bid? It seems safe to say that North passed 1H at least thrice, as three Souths played 2H, not at all a likely rebid if North responds. Two pairs reached game, which probably requires a response from South. The other eight contracts could go either way. Whatever happens on the first round of the auction, South does not have a happy rebid on the second after either 1H-P-1S-P or 1H-P-P-2D. Over 1S, a 2NT rebid may be as good as anything else. It does make me wonder whether it is worth playing 3NT over 1H-1S as showing a hand willing to commit to game with exactly three spades, as otherwise one would have to manufacture a jump shift into 3m and hope not to be raised. The 3NT rebid after 1m-1M shows a hand with a source of tricks, but after a 1H opening bid declarer can just bid 4H if the suit is that good. Contracts were 2H S thrice, 2NT S, 3C S (did North really pass a jump shift?), 3H S seven times (1H-1S; 3H? the hand is likely worth a downgrade out of being a game force with the KQ doubletons but the heart suit is dreadful), 3NT N and 3NT S.
?
3NT makes by force on a strange line. With the spade king singleton, declarer can establish nine winners but has a nasty time unscrambling them. After a diamond lead, play might go something like diamond to king, club king to ace, diamond to queen, club queen, spade ace, spade queen, spade eight to nine and jack. East cannot return a diamond or the fourth spade and therefore must get out with ace and jack of hearts. But South ducks the heart jack. If it wins, East must put North in. If West overtakes, West must either give North the balance by leading a club or give South the balance by leading a heart. 4S makes on a similar line, only after the spade ace South leads a heart to East's jack. Eventually North ruffs a second heart and finesses spades through East, losing only one heart, the club ace and one spade, either on a ruff or East winning the fourth round with the high jack.
?
At the table only three contracts made - 2H S = by George, 2H S +1 by Linda (R) (the only par-beating declarer) and 3NT S = by Alice for the N-S top. -1 was just above average for N-S; four E-W pairs posted +200, Ruise against 3C S, Lewbot and Bee against 3H S and Troward against 3NT N. Against Troward declarer began the spades leading low from the South hand at trick five instead of leading the ace.
?
3NT S =
2H S +1
2H S =
2H S -1; 2NT S -1; 3H S -1 (5)
3C S -2; 3H S -2 (2); 3NT N -2
?
16:
?
...............K1053
...............862
...............J98
...............854
976.........................QJ84
KQ1075..................J4
106.........................AK752
QJ2........................K3
...............A2
...............A93
...............Q43
...............A10976
?
1D from East in third seat. South might pass, overcall 2C on the poor suit or upgrade the hand to a 1NT overcall. 1NT S might be left in or West might come in with a non-forcing 2H. West might declare 1NT if South stays quiet; over 1NT W East might come in with 2D again and West could give preference back to 2S. South could play 2C or 3C and we did in fact, get another rainbow. Contracts were 1NT E(!), 2C S, 2H E(upgraded to a 1NT opening bid?), 2H W four times, 2S E, 2NT W, 3C S thrice and 3D E twice.
?
Against clubs, it does not really matter whether or not West gets a diamond ruff, as it just cancels out the second trump trick. Declarer comes to seven tricks, although Randi picked up one extra trick on defence against inexact play. A spade ruff does make the difference against a diamond contract, giving N-S six tricks, both 3D contracts finishing -2. Eight tricks are straightforward in either no-trumps or hearts (both NT contracts yielded eight tricks as did all four 2H W contracts; curiously it was only in 2H E against which South did not get the spade ruff; South did not lead a spade against Jim (U) and ducked the first heart. 2S is the most interesting contract. N-S have four top tricks and can pick up a fifth either by drawing West's trumps and preventing the hearts from running or else by aggressively playing clubs and forcing East to ruff. Lewis, the only declarer in 2S, managed a ninth trick to tie for E-W top with Jim in 2H E +1. Saranne and Ritold shared the N-S top defending 3D E -2.
?
3D E -2 (2)
2C S -2; 3C S -2 (3)
2H W = (4)
1NT E +1; 2NT W =
2H E +1; 2S E +1
?
17:
?
...............Q653
...............Q53
...............QJ84
...............109
----.......................AK108
AJ1092................874
A1073..................96
AK84...................Q632
...............J9742
...............K6
...............K52
...............J75
?
We could have had the auction 1H-2H; 4H at every table. Even if West were not to go directly to game but were to invite, East would have a clear acceptance. That there were ten contracts of 4H W has to be considered too low. Partials were 2H W twice, 2NT E and 3H W.
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Declarer has eleven tricks in hearts with little trouble. The trickiest lead is a club; if declarer wins in the East hand and finesses a trump at once, North leads the second club and then declarer gets stuck leading the trump ace from hand, but that get lucky when the king drops. The only pair to hold 4H to ten tricks was Vioebe; declarer never finished drawing all the trumps and eventually surrendered a club ruff. No-trumps can be held to ten tricks by a diamond lead. A club lead is not quite tricky, as East's six-spot serves as a second entry. 4H W +1 was posted by Tracy, Ruth, Eric, Connie, Erik, Rich, Henry, Gernot and Lewis. N-S top was Sirbara's defending 2H W +2.
?
2H W +2
2H W +3
2NT E +3
3H W +3
4H W =
4H W +1 (9)
?
18:
?
...............QJ
...............962
...............Q1092
...............QJ94
1087642.............9
AK......................J10743
J7.......................K6
A63....................K10875
...............AK53
...............Q85
...............A8543
...............2
?
South opens 1D and West overcalls 1S. Then comes 2D by North (not always) and perhaps more. East might have a light responsive double or a 2H bid; West might reopen with a double or even 2S. Contracts were 1S W, 2D S, 2S W thrice, 3D S thrice, 3Dx S, 3S W, 4D S, 4H E twice and 5D S.
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E-W cannot quite set 3D by force, but can force declarer to guess if West gets a heart ruff off the top; declarer must then run the diamond queen to pin West's jack. Four of the seven declarers in diamonds took nine tricks (Dianne and Don [F] tied for N-S top in 3D S =); Boric were a little lucky to post 3Dx -1 to tie for E-W top with Bee (5D -2) and Glotin (4D -2); South led a low diamond at trick five when a spade, heart, or the diamond ace would still have allowed the make. East can technically force nine tricks in hearts and both 4H contracts yielded the par nine tricks; clubs can come in with one loser and the diamonds are frozen. In spades declarer has four trump losers if N-S don't crash honours. N-S can collect their trumps and the diamond ace and then wait for the club trick, or defend actively, push three rounds of clubs early and then after South's last trump is gone force West with the heart queen and make West break the diamonds. Declarers in spades took seven tricks three times, eight once and nine once.?
?
2D S +1; 3D S = (2)
2S W -1 (3); 4H E -1 (2)
3D S -1
1S W +1
3S W =
3Dx S -1; 4D S -2; 5D S -2
