1:
?
...............Q107
...............AK65
...............86
...............J876
98........................KJ543
J83......................7
A109754..............KJ2
Q9........................A1032
...............A62
...............Q10942
...............Q3
...............K54
?
East opens 1S and South probably passes but may overcall 2H despite the unimpressive suit and unconcentrated assets. If South overcalls, North probably raises to 3H and ends the auction. Otherwise E-W start off 1S-1NT; 2C uncontested. Then West may bid diamonds or go for the higher-scoring false preference in spades. With one West left in 1NT we finished with contracts in four denominations: 1NT W, 2D W, 2H S, 2S E, 3D W, 3H S eight times, 4D W and 4H S.
?
1NT can be made by force, which seems likely enough with the spade and diamond honours as they lie, but Pally posted 1NT W -2 to score 11/14. N-S get a lucky eight tricks in hearts thanks to West's spade holding of 98 doubleton, establishing a surprise trick for North's seven-spot. Spade contracts show the value of a forcing defence. If N-S do not force East to ruff a heart twice right away, East can draw trumps, run the diamonds and emerge with ten tricks. But even being held to 2S = still scored 11/14 for Tracy. Most declarers in hearts, six of ten, took the par eight tricks. Two took seven and two took nine. Best E-W score with hearts as trumps was Randi's 4H -2; Eric and Alba tied for N-S top playing 3H =. In diamonds West had fine play for ten tricks (North had to push through a club to secure the third trick), with Larry, Lianger and Jane sharing E-W top on +130, losing one trick in each side suit.
?
3H S = (2)
2H S =
1NT W -2
3H S -1 (4)
3H S -2 (2); 4H S -2
2S E =
2D W +2; 3D W +1; 4D W =
?
2:
?
...............K8
...............Q8
...............AQ842
...............K743
J93...........................105
972...........................AK106543
J9763.......................10
85.............................A92
...............AQ7642
...............J
...............K5
...............QJ106
?
At most tables East opened 1H and South overcalled spades. Once spades were rebid North usually got the auction to 4S. One N-S pair stopped in 2S and three stopped in 3S but South played 4S nine times. Ken was the only East to push to 5H (I don't know how many Wests contributed to the auction). This put N-S on the spot; eventually North doubled. This did not matchpoint all that well, but eleven tricks were no more than an even chance; the double would have been the purdent choice at IMPs. The final contract was 4H E. This was achieved by Rich, who chose to open 4H instead of 1H. That provided us with a fine example of pushing the opponents out of the bidding. Both South and North had to guess what to do with no information. South might have tried 4S had the hand been AQJ642 7 K5 QJ106 on the Losing Trick Count of five but the actual hand with the shaky spades made the four-level too daunting for a first bid. North had less reason to act and might well have had excellent reason to pass if South broke tempo in passing 4H (I did not see, but, if this hand had occurred in my ACBL directing and South had broken tempo before passing, anything other than a pass from North would almost certainly have been overturned on appeal).
?
N-S have eleven tricks in spades with 3-2 breaks in both black suits, creating a nine-way tie for N-S top. Sunger and Paun scored 12.5/14 holding 3S to ten tricks while all the other declarers in spades took the expected 11. Hearts had a par of nine tricks. Ken only took eight but still had secured a good score by bidding 5H; there was no difference between 5Hx -2 and -3. Rich was E-W top for his 4H opening bid, in which he played a placid 4H -1. Did he risk missing a slam? Possibly so at favourable vulnerability, although many West hands that would make 6H a good proposition, such as AKQx xxx Axx xxx, would not look for slam opposite a 1H opening bid and 2H rebid. And nothing other than a 4H opening bid would have shut N-S out of the auction; even a 3H bid can be overcalled with 3S and then North probably raises to 4S just out of having nothing else to do.
?
4S S +1 (9)
5Hx E -3
2S S +3; 3S S +2
3S S +1 (2)
4H E -1
?
3:
?
...............Q5
...............A73
...............AQ98
...............A1075
J9642................A83
QJ10864............92
K3......................J54
----.....................K9432
...............K107
...............K5
...............10762
...............QJ86
?
Some Norths did not open 1NT and they often lived to regret that decision. West presumably passed with 6-5 majors (it's a bit much to open 2H with five spades on the side), but, even if West did so, North would likely have overcalled 2NT and been raised to 3NT. A 1NT opening bid likely elicits some form of invitation from South, likely accepted. P-P-1m-P; 1NT can give North trouble whether or not West comes in with 2H. Contracts were 1NT S, 2H W twice, 2NT N thrice, 3C S, 3D N, 3D S and 3NT N six times.
?
N-S have nine tricks in no-trumps. E-W can get the hearts established but there is no entry to the West hand to run the suit if declarer has not been careless. It's a little surprising that 3NT was only made thrice; it's easy enough for declarer to come to three tricks in each minor to go with two hearts and one spade. Alba took ten tricks in 3NT for N-S top; Connie and Paul (J) scored 12.5/14 in 3NT =. Paun were E-W top defending 3NT N -3. Strangely, N-S can pick up ten tricks in clubs despite the 5-0 trumps. Declarer plays two rounds of each side suit, winning five, after which North ruffs a spade and leads a heart through East. Then declarer just avoids leading trumps and comes to ten tricks. It is not unreasonable that the one declarer in 3C took only nine tricks. Jim (U) and Geoff both took ten tricks in 3D. Declarer can be held to nine tricks if West gets a club ruff, but East led a heart against Jim. If North declares a second ruff can be scored, but that just swaps the trick for the E-W club winner; the last club loser will go away on the third spade. Declarer has a straightforward seven tricks in hearts; East's honours in the minors prevent any effective N-S forcing game despite the defence's four winners in the majors. North had a bad hand for leading, however; both Carl and Jane made 2H to score 12.5/14. A diamond or club lead gives declarer a trick at once and a spade lead may well require that North lead the club ace later in the hand.
?
3NT N +1
3NT N = (2)
1NT S +3
2NT N +1 (2)
3D N +1; 3D S +1
2NT N =
3C S =
3NT N -1 (2)
2H W = (2)
3NT N -3
?
4:
?
...............8
...............109852
...............A862
...............974
AQ63.......................KJ72
K3............................AQ7
J974.........................KQ
853...........................AKQ6
...............10954
...............J64
...............1053
...............J102
?
E-W have an easy enough slam; the real question is whether they will find the claiming 6NT or settle for the lower-scoring 6S. East opens 2C and rebids 2NT if possible (after a waiting 2D, for instance). West has a slam invitation and likely bids Stayman along the way, making 6S quite likely. The 2NT rebid shows 22-24 HCP. It happens that East has the 24 HCP maximum. Give West one of East's queens and East would make the same 2NT rebid but then West would know the side held 34-36 HCP and might just go to 6NT to avoid the extra uncertainties of playing a small slam in a suit, although then there would be the chance that there might be an overtrick in 6S that would not exist in 6NT. Eleven of the fifteen pairs reached slam, with 6NT winning out by a 6-5 margin. Paun might have been at a loss for an invitational continuation from East. Their auction was 2C-3C; 6NT, 3C showing an ace and a king in controls. Paul knew Don held one of the missing aces and the king of hearts but, unless 3C implied extras beyond the ace and king, Paul could hardly have been certain of slam but might have had no invitational bid available at that point (4NT would seem to have fit the bill but perhaps would have meant something else on their system). The non-slams were 3NT E twice, 4S E and 5S E (oh, the evils of asking for aces or key cards and then stopping when one is missing).
?
It seemed almost certain that twelve tricks would be the outcome but Ken took all thirteen in 6S for a top board. Ken drew trumps and then North ducked two rounds of diamonds, knowing that winning the second would give Ken three diamond winners and hoping that he would have to cross to dummy and guess whether to lead the jack or nine on the third round. Unfortunately the second diamond winner gave Ken twelve tricks with the thirteenth coming when the clubs split evenly. Everyone else took twelve tricks, giving Rinnie and Ribot a tie for N-S top.
?
4S E +2; 5S E +1
3NT E +3 (2)
6S E = (2); 6S W = (2)
6NT E = (6)
6S E +1
?
5:
?
...............943
...............A10
...............K1073
...............10852
85...........................QJ1062
Q832......................KJ94
AQJ965..................2
7.............................A94
...............AK7
...............765
...............84
...............KQJ63
?
South opens 1C if East passes and perhaps overcalls 2C if East opens 1S. North may keep E-W out of further action by raising clubs. P-1C-2D may end the auction. West may make a negative double or get to bid 1NT in an uncontested auction, oer which East will rebid 2H. One West even apparently overcalled 1D and eventually got East into no trumps. Contracts were rather high: 2C S, 3C S, 3D W thrice, 3Dx W, 3H E twice, 3NT E, 4Cx S and 4H E five times.
?
4H was lucky to make by force with N-S's holding three top winners including two spades, a suit declarer would have to play. Luckily for East the spades split 3-3 so that declarer could go after spades if N-S attempted a club force. Only Larry made 4H, though, perhaps because people relied on the diamonds establishing, which did not occur. Two declarers finished -1, with?Runny managing -2 and?Albot?-3, tying for top with 3NT E -3 posted by Rinnie. South had nine tricks in clubs, although to get them all declarer would have had to duck a second diamond from West rather than cover with the king and get it ruffed. There is no need to win the second diamond with the king, as declarer has a sure spade loser that can be discarded on the king after it cannot be ruffed. Phyllis (B) negotiated the position correctly for her nine tricks. West had eight tricks in diamonds, losing two trumps to go with the three major losers; all the declarers in diamonds lost five tricks.
?
3NT E -3; 4H E -3
3C S =
3Dx W -1; 4H E -2
2C S =
3D W -1 (3); 4H E -1 (2)
3H E = (2)
4H E =
4Cx S -3
?
6:
?
...............Q
...............KQ4
...............KJ932
...............10983
AJ9652.................K
A92.......................J8753
Q7.........................A85
Q7.........................A642
...............108743
...............106
...............1064
...............KJ5
?
If East opens the bidding E-W presumably reach 4H. Otherwise West opens 1S, North might overcall or even double and we could land almost anywhere. Curiously the only denomination not played was diamonds, with contracts of 2H E, 2S W, 3C S, 3H E twice, 3S W, 3NT E, 4H E seven times and 4Hx E.
?
Against 4H a diamond lead holds declarer to nine tricks. So does a spade but not a heart. North wins a heart lead and cannot attack diamonds; either East's diamond losers go away on West's spades or West's diamond loser goes away on East's club ace. Betty made 4Hx for E-W top; Hank (B), Larry and Paul (P) all made 4H =. Rich was second E-W in 3NT +1; after a spade and a heart North switched to a diamond instead of leading a club to have the diamond come from South; Rich was always making 3NT from then on and picked up an overtrick later. Of the other declarer in hearts ive took nine tricks, one took eight and Boric held declarer to six tricks in 4H -4 for the N-S top. Pheileen bettered par by two tricks defending 3C -4 for a good score. Par in spades was nine tricks, with both declarers off by one trick on one side or the other.?
?
4H E -4
3H E -1; 4H E -1 (3)
2S W =
2H E +1; 3H E =
3S W +1
3C S -4
4H E = (3)
3NT E +1
4Hx E =
?
7:
?
...............KQ87
...............J65
...............K9765
...............7
A.............................1096543
AQ109....................2
AJ32.......................Q104
AQ96......................1085
...............J2
...............K8743
...............8
...............KJ432
?
South passes and West probably opens 1m or 2NT. 2NT was quite popular, as West declared in spades at more than half the tables. East thought the six-card suit enough to venture to game even with only two HCP more often than not: 3S W was played thrice and 4S W five times. There was also a 4NT W contract that resulted after a 2NT opening bid and an auction on which I could not be at all sure that either opener or responder knew what the sequence meant. One West was left in 1C. One East presumably made a weak jump in spades and was put into 4S. Other contracts were 3C W, 3H S and 3NT W twice.
?
The layout is gorgeous for 3NT. The only king offside is in diamonds, and that is the only finesse declarer cannot take anyway. Even crashing the spade ace against all spot cards will not help N-S; declarer reaches dummy twice in diamonds and finesses, probably twice in clubs, coming to four clubs three diamonds and the major aces if not better. Indeed it takes a spade or diamond lead to hold declarer to nine tricks, as those leads avoid taking a finesse for West. Curiously, Lianger made 4NT W for the E-W top while Jerik and Louff both defended 3NT -1. Jerik received the benefit of West's not maximizing entries. After a diamond to the ten and a club finesse, Jim ducked the diamond jack and declarer let it ride, finishing an entry short. Given the cross-ruffing situation possible, it is not surprising that a trump is the best lead against clubs, holding declarer to nine tricks. Both declarers achieved the par result. 3H -3 would have been par but declarer saved three matchpoints by escaping for -1. The singleton spade ace was unfortunate for the spade contracts; it gave declarer three trump losers to go with the diamond; only Steve in 3S = and Sandi in 4S -1 even took the par nine tricks.
?
4S E -2; 4S W -2 (3)
3S W -1 (2); 3NT W -1 (2); 4S W -1 (2)
3H S -1
1C W +2; 3C W =
3S W =
4NT W =
?
8:
?
...............AKJ643
...............K5
...............A
...............AQJ9
72...............................1085
843.............................976
KQ852........................109763
532..............................85
...............Q9
...............AQJ102
...............J4
...............K1076
?
Opposite a 2C opening bid from North it should have been easier to find the grand slam than it proved to be. It helps if South does the asking, as South has the major queens, the spade queen in particular being sure of pulling its full weight. That 7NT would be virtually claiming even without South's heart queen ought to have made for an easy time of it, especially with 7C, 7H, 7S and 7NT all making. If N-S do not use 2H as a double negative response, the auction can begin 2C-2H; 2S-3C; 4C and then South can ask for key cards with confidence; with such porous suits North will not have two diamond losers: AKJxxx ---- Qx AQJxx is not a hand on which one wants to open 2C, nor is AKJxx Kx Qx AQJx. Indeed, South can practically go to 7NT as soon as North shows a suit-oriented hand; if North is within a trick of game South almost surely provides four winners.
?
Sadly only Mallys and Jerik found the seven-level. Many auctions foundered when whoever asked for key cards found that one king was missing and could not be sure which it was. Jerik had the advantage of starting with 1C and getting a 1S response to show three controls. Jim then jumped to 3S, after which a key card ask ensued: 1C-1S; 3S-4NT; 5C-5NT; 6H-7S. Mallys reached 7C after finding the fit in that suit: 2C-2D; 2S-3H; 4C-4NT; 5C-7C. Everyone took thirteen tricks; lower contracts were 6NT S twice, 6NT N four times, 6S N four times, 6H S, 6C N and a sad 4S S.
?
7S S =
7C N =
6NT N +1 (4); 6NT S +1 (2)
6H S +1; 6S N +1 (4)
6C N +1
4S N +3
?
9:
?
...............----
...............J865
...............QJ743
...............10754
65..................................Q942
A932.............................Q7
AK10.............................865
AQJ2.............................K863
...............AKJ10873
...............K104
...............92
...............9
?
This hand is remarkably similar to East's hand on Board 2 with the further advantage to South of being third seat. With North not holding an opening bid chance of slam is virtually nil. At the favourable vulnerability South has an excellent case for opening 4S in third seat. West will double and East will pass for penalty, not wanting to go to the five-level. After 1S-X, East bids 2C and may try 3NT when West raises to 3C. Contracts were 2NT E, 3C W, 3S S thrice, 3Sx S thrice, 4C E thrice, 4S S twice and 4Sx S twice.
?
South has to avoid giving East a spade trick to hold no-trumps to eight tricks. If South establishes spades, East cashes the six minor winners, on which South must discard two spades to keep the heart king guarded (with North void, East will have a clear count on the suit). Then East will throw South on lead in spades and South will have to lead a heart to let East score ace and queen. If South makes a passive lead eventually South can be thrown in with the first spade but can give East the fourth spade and East will have to break the hearts. Declarer in 2NT took the par eight tricks for the middle score. In spades dummy should prove to be of no help at all; declarer can be forced in clubs and be forced to lead hearts out of hand. Larbot produced the optimal defence against 4Sx S for the E-W top. Four other pairs also found that line of defence; two declarers took eight trick, two took nine and Lynn was N-S top in 3Sx +1. West gave her a trick three times, by ducking a diamond at trick three, then ducking a heart at trick four and finally by discarding the diamond ace on trick twelve. Par in clubs was nine tricks but Tracy and Ken took ten in 4C = (probably after two spade leads) but Pally defended 3C -1.
?
3Sx S +1
3S S =
4C E -2
3C W -1
3S S -1; 4S S -1
3S S -2
2NT E =
4C E = (2)
4S S -3
3Sx S -2 (2); 4Sx S -2
4Sx S -3
?
10:
?
...............2
...............K87632
...............AK98
...............103
QJ43.......................A10986
Q10.........................4
J10753....................4
J7............................AQ9652
...............K75
...............AJ95
...............Q62
...............K84
?
East has nice distribution. I was favorably impressed that West declared four times in spades given how the trend seems to be to open 1S with 5-5 or even 5-6 as here in the black suits. If the auction begins 1S-P-2S, North can come in with 3H, which might get South to go to 5H over a possible 4S. If East does open spades and West raises East might as well go to 4S. Then again, North may well come in whatever happens excpet that the hearts may seem flimsy after 1C-P-1S. The auction became a Battle of the Majors, with contracts of 3S E, 3S W, 4H N five times, 4H S, 4S E twice, 4S W, 4Sx E, 4Sx W twice and 5Hx N.
?
Both suits had straightforward play. With both finesses losing E-W had nine tricks in spades. With the club ace onside N-S had eleven tricks available in hearts. Almost all declarers took the par number of tricks; outliers were 4S E -2 against Pancy, 3S E +1 by Sue, 4H S = against Haorge and 4H N +2 by Louise, scoring 13/14 after Linda's 5Hx N =. East ducked Louise's spade lead to allow the second overtrick in 4H. Sue's 3S +1 was E-W top.
?
5Hx N =
4H N +2
4H N +1 (4)
4H N =
4S E -2; 4Sx E -1; 4Sx W -1 (2)
4S E -1; 4S W -1
3S W =
3S E +1
?
11:
?
...............4
...............KQJ10874
...............Q42
...............J8
1087632....................Q95
----.............................63
A85............................KJ3
K975..........................Q10632
...............AKJ
...............A952
...............10976
...............A4
?
This was the one hand on which we had everyone in the same denomination - hearts, although not everyone declared from the South side despite the hand's holding a clear 1NT opening bid; I did not see anybody open anything else, although I did not see all fifteen opening bids. Some Wests competed. If West passed, North had to choose between Jacoby and Texas for the transfer. The Texas transfer gives up on slam; 2D followed by raising 2H to 4H keeps slam in play. An alternative would have been to start with a Jacoby transfer and then make a self-splinter bid of 3S. The South hand is not far from making slam - rearrange the hand, for instance, to 1097 A952 AKJ6 A4 and 6H sails home - but as the slam requires not only excellent honour placement but finding partner with AKJx in diamonds or AKQx in clubs as well as two more aces it seems prudent to surrender the slam; x KQJ10xxx Kxx xx would be more suitable to looking for slam, as opener could hold Ax in diamonds and make for a fine 6H with two more aces and a black king. We finished with contracts of 3H S, 4H N twice, 4H S eight times, 5H N, 5H S and 6H S twice. One of the 6H auctions saw North going all out: 1NT-2D; 2H-4NT, then going to 6H after the answer. For pairs playing both Jacoby and Texas, this is the wrong way around; if one wants to ask for key cards, Texas first is the way to do it. A Jacoby transfer followed by 4NT is considered an invitation to slam with (presumably five) hearts.
?
E-W can take three tricks in diamonds against hearts, although doing so only happened four times, giving a score of 11.5/14 to Pheileen, Jurcia, Larbot and Haorge. A club lead (or spade lead from East) results in ten tricks if declarer plays safely or eleven if declarer risks the club finesse. When South declared it appears the usual lead was a spade, affording declarer two discards. This allows declarer to force twelve tricks by discarding diamonds, losing one diamond, then trumping two more rounds of the suit to establish the thirteenth diamond. Declarer can afford to draw trumps first as long as two entries in hearts are retained to the South hand. Geoff, who received a spade lead, made 6H for N-S top; he was the only declarer to take twelve tricks. Matty were E-W top defending 6H S -1. Taking eleven tricks in a heart game scored 10.5/15.
?
6H S =
4H N +1; 4H S +1 (5); 5H N =; 5H S =
4H N =; 4H S = (3)
3H S +2
6H S -1
?
12:
?
...............A983
...............AK876
...............7
...............1064
Q42..........................KJ6
QJ32........................95
J82...........................AK10954
KJ2...........................87
...............1075
...............104
...............Q63
...............AQ953
?
At least two Norths opened with a Flannery 2D, as South declared 2H and 3H. This, indeed, was more often than hearts were declared by North, who played 3H once. There was even a 1H contract played by West after North passed and East opened in third seat. If North opens either 1H or 2H, it seems likely that the auction will reach 3D or perhaps 2NT by West, as the hand is better suited to no-trumps play, although the values are a little too much on the soft side to make game. Contracts were 1H W, 2H S, 2NT W twice, 3D E seven times, 3H N, 3H S, 3NT W and 4D E.
?
If North leads a low heart against no-trumps West is held to six tricks as the long heart can be established and cashed. If declarer knocks out the spade ace first then North's fourth spade establishes instead of the fifth heart. Dianne and Lianger made 2NT to share E-W top, Dianne after North began with the heart ace and king. Louff scored well defending 3NT -2. Diamonds have five clear losers; only Paul (P) took a ninth trick, most likely by being allowed to discard a heart on a club? A correct guess in trumps of starting the suit by leading South's ten will let N-S emerge with seven tricks in hearts; Cindy was N-S top in 2H S = and Eric also took eight tricks in 3H -1, while when North or West declared N-S took seven tricks.
?
2H S =
3NT W -2; 4D E -2
1H W -1; 3D E -1 (6)
3H S -1
3H N -2
3D E =
2NT W = (2)
?
13:
?
...............K1083
...............AQJ
...............6432
...............J9
QJ76......................952
83..........................K109
K10........................J85
AKQ106.................8754
...............A4
...............76542
...............AQ97
...............32
?
I hope not many Souths opened 1H in third seat; I could accept 1D, which would give West a choice between 2C and 1NT (preferably not double). South's opening in either red suit might well lead to declaring in that suit or to West's declaring in clubs on an overcall. If South passes West opens, usually 1C although a surprising number of Wests seem to have opened 1NT, which became the most common contract. One West was left in a 1C opening bid and West even declared in spades after a competitive balancing sequence. Contracts were 1C W, 1NT W six times, 2H S four times, 2S W, 3C W, 3D S and 3H S - our one rainbow hand.
?
A heart lead lets N-S set 1NT but North is unlikely to find it. Rinnie were the only N-S pair to post 1NT -1; Larry took seven tricks while Carl, Sandi and Steve took eight and George was E-W top with nine after a low spade lead, then a diamond discard from North at trick eight and finally when North led a spade at tick eleven to give up the remaining tricks when a heart lead would have locked George in dummy and allowed South to win the last trick in diamonds. Runny were N-S top taking their par six tricks in posting 2S W -2. Par in either red suit was nine tricks but that requires South's catching West with the doubleton king of diamonds. If West has shown opening values this might be done; Erik managed nine ricks in 2H for the N-S top but he was the only declarer in hearts or diamonds to take nine tricks, the others all taking eight. N-S hold clubs to eight tricks with a spade ruff; Mallys did defending 3C -1 but Marcia played 1C +2 to score 10/14, picking up two matchpoints for the second overtrick.
?
2H S +1
2H S = (3)
2S W -2
1NT W -1; 3C W -1
1NT W =
3D S -1; 3H S -1
1C W +2
1NT W +1 (3)
1NT W +2
?
14:
?
...............7
...............J4
...............KQ92
...............AJ9732
10854......................KJ9
K10932....................AQ765
A3............................J1084
Q8............................K
...............AQ632
...............8
...............765
...............10654
?
East opens 1H and West has to choose how high to raise. 4H likely ends the auction. 3H perhaps will end the auction as well, although North may come in with clubs. All auctions reached game, almost always in either hearts or clubs. The curious contract was 4S S, which South might bid to back in after 1H-P-4H-P; P. If that was the auction North should have taken it out, as South would surely have found some number of spades to bid over 1H if the suit were good enough for a single-handed 4S. 4H E was played nine times, 5C N twice, 5C S once and 5H E twice.
?
All games were settable. E-W had the red aces and a trump trick against 5C; 5C N finished -1 both times and Limes scored 13/14 defending 5C S -2, presumably after two diamonds were led and then declarer finessed on the first round of trumps, allowing a diamond ruff. Ribot could have taken one trick more than the six they did against 4S, but were still N-S top. Against hearts a club lead allowed N-S to hold declarer to eight tricks with the club, two spades, a spade ruff and eventually a diamond. Ten declarers in hearts took eight or nine tricks, evenly divided 5-5. Rich was E-W top in 4H =; the defence began with two rounds of clubs and then South gave a ruff-and-discard at trick six after winning the first round of spades.
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4H E -2 (5); 5H E -2 (2)
4H E -1 (3)
5C N -1 (2)
5C S -2
4S S -3
4H E =
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15:
?
...............K964
...............J109
...............Q1054
...............93
8.............................Q752
A752.......................K86
A983.......................K762
AK102.....................J8
...............AJ103
...............Q43
...............J
...............Q7654
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Here it would seem that West is more likely to open 1D than 1C, as a 1C opening bid and 1S response leaves West forced to choose between a 1NT rebid on a singleton spade with too many points, a rebid in a four-card suit or a reverse with too few HCP and the wrong distribution. But 1NT W was played five times. After 1D-1S; 2C, East has a choice between 2D and 3D; the hand is on the edge. West may try 3NT over 3D and may leave in 2D or advance, perhaps with 2H. Contracts higher than 1NT were 2D W four times, 2H W, 2NT W twice, 3D E(!), 3NT E and 3NT W.
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Par scores were +120, +130 and +140. In hearts declarer has to be careful not to draw trumps at once if the opening lead is a diamond or club. If the defence begin with a spade force declarer go for more spade ruffs in hand. Albot were allowed to hold declarer to eight tricks; stopping the overtrick saved them eight matchpoints. Three of the five declarers in diamonds (Liz, Paul and Larry) took their par ten tricks; with a little care declarer can lose two diamonds; the main thing is to prevent North from being able to draw a third round of trumps. Par in no-trumps was eight tricks, declarer having three clubs on the finesse, the red ace-kings and then a length trick in one red suit or the other (if in diamonds by playing the ace first and then forcing North to play an intermediate on the second round); N-S can cash four spade tricks at any time. With the East hand showing, however, Mary in 1NT and Lianger in 3NT both took nine tricks for the top two E-W scores when North never found the spade switch. Pally were N-S top defending 3NT E -1; two declarers in 1NT were held to seven tricks.
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3NT E -1
1NT W = (2)
2D W +1 (2); 2H W =
1NT W +1 (2); 2NT W = (2)
2D W +2 (2); 3D E +1
1NT W +2
3NT W =
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16:
?
...............AK763
...............975
...............7
...............A1094
5...............................4
Q104........................AKJ632
K10652....................AQ93
J865.........................72
...............QJ10982
...............8
...............J84
...............KQ3
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P-1S-2H-4S was almost universal; then it became a question of whether East (or possibly West) pushed the auction to the five level or not. Contracts were 3S S after an original pass from North, 4S N eight times, 4S S, 5H E and 5S N four times.
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In spades declarer loses one trick in each red suit. The declarer in 3S only took ten tricks but it made no difference. N-S can cash three tricks against hearts. Eileen played 5H +1 when North won the first spade and played a second spade, providing a ruff-and-discard, with a discard of the other club loser following on the fifth diamond. But simply being allowed to play 5H was good for E-W top anyway.
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4S N +1 (8); 4S S +1; 5S N = (4)
3S S +1
5H E +1
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17:
?
...............A10732
...............K1097
...............J
...............Q93
QJ64........................----
6...............................8432
Q1095......................K876
A876........................KJ1054
...............K985
...............AQJ5
...............A432
...............2
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I thought we might see everyone in spades again after P-P-1D-P; 1S and a raise to 2S or 3S from South. We could have arrived in 4S N at every table. Jevin would likely have joined the one declarer playing 4H S, as Jeff would have opened 1H instead of 1D. Four pairs (a bit high) managed to miss game, declaring 2S N and 3S N twice each. That left ten contracts of 4S N.
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4S makes despite the 4-0 trumps; as long as declarer does not let West draw a third or fourth round of spades declarer is in fine shape even if the spade ace is played early - ruff two clubs in dummy, play the spade king and then just push hearts at West and it does not matter whether West ruffs or not. Bob took eleven tricks in 4S when the defence began with two rounds of clubs, allowing him to cross to hand in hearts, ruff another club, then play the spade king and draw trumps, losing only one club and one spade. Connie, Jeannie, Paul (J) and Rita posted the par 4S N =. Three declarers in spades were held to eight tricks and six to nine. In hearts the bad splits in both majors allowed E-W to hold hearts to nine tricks, although taking two spade ruffs off the top actually helps declarer, the second ruff being a trade-off for a natural spade trick and letting declarer get more ruffs. Larbot defended 4H S -3 for E-W top.
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4S N +1
4S N = (4)
2S N +1; 3S N = (2)
2S N =
4S N -1 (3)
4S N -2 (2)
4H S -3
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18:
?
...............85
...............AK652
...............A7
...............KJ92
KQ...........................J107
Q8...........................973
K8643.....................J1052
A873........................Q54
...............A96432
...............J104
...............Q9
...............106
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South may open 2S despite the vulnerability and the blah suit. West may overcall 3D, similarly with the blah suit. North will overcall 1H and may or may not come in if South opens, whatever West does. Contracts were 2H N thrice, 3D W, 3H N twice, 3S N, 3S S twice, 4H N, 4S S four times and 5Dx W.
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E-W almost sneak home in 5Dx for a profit; North leads a spade to South for a club shift and South gets a club ruff for the defence's six tricks. Declarer may also end up leading a diamond from hand for the same result. Lianger scored 11/14 playing 3D W -2, while Louff were N-S top defending 5Dx -4. 4S S makes if declarer reads the clubs correctly because East cannot get in for a diamond lead in time. Three of the seven declarers in spades took nine tricks, three took ten and Phyllis (B) took eleven tricks in 4S when E-W never cashed their club ace after a diamond lead from West early. 4H was the most interesting contract. East has to lead a diamond to hold declarer to ten tricks by force. If East leads a spade (or trump) declarer can take eleven tricks by force - duck the spade, ruff the third spade, draw trumps ending in dummy, discard a diamond and two clubs on the spades, then guess the clubs. Eleven tricks are also possible after a club to the ace and a second club back. Again, duck a spade. The other line can be prevented by forcing South with the third club. This kills the chance of running the spades but declarer can still force eleven tricks with a Vienna Coup. After trumping the club, South leads the heart jack. If it covers South wins the next round of the suit with the ten and then (or after the jack if it holds) South leads the diamond queen to king and ace. Then the run of the hearts and the fourth club squeezes East. Swap the ten and six of hearts and South cannot lead the diamond queen before North cashes out, but the heart and club winners will still squeeze East out of the jack or ten of diamonds after which South discards down to the spade ace. Then a spade is led to the ace and the diamond queen through West pins East's jack. Even so, ten tricks in hearts id doing quite well enough; Jenny posted 4H N = to core 11/14 but nobody else in hearts took ten tricks.
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5Dx W -4
4S S +1
4H N =; 4S S = (2)
3S S +1
2H N +1 (2); 3S N =; 3S S =
2H N =
3D W -2
3H N -1; 4S S -1
3H N -2
