1:
?
...............QJ3
...............97
...............AQ52
...............QJ52
109862...................K5
J..............................106532
K103.......................J8764
AK106.....................4
...............A74
...............AKQ84
...............9
...............9873
?
North presumably opens, South responds 1H, north likely rebids 1NT and eventually 3NT N is reached after South looks for a 5-3 heart fit. Curiously, only a 5-4 majority of pairs reached game; contracts were 2H S, 2NT N, 3H S twice, 3NT N four times and 3NT S.
?
The 5-1 heart split holds heart contracts to nine tricks at most; Pauise held declarer to eight. In no-trumps N-S can take ten tricks, although if South declares a spade lead makes it trickier; declarer needs to duck in dummy and win the ace to be able to establish the clubs without E-W's establishing spades first. If South does take the spade ace early, it is likely necessary to unblock the heart nine on the first round in order to be able to finesse the eight next. Nobody in 3NT found the overtrick; Ken, Bob and Eric made 3NT while Leighry defended 3NT -2 for E-W top.
?
3NT N = (3)
2H S +1; 3H S =
2NT N -1; 3H S -1; 3NT S -1
3NT N -2
?
2:
?
...............K943
...............K1063
...............KQ52
...............4
J65.............................Q10872
QJ84..........................A95
1086...........................J4
AK9............................Q103
...............A
...............72
...............A973
...............J87652
?
Marudy/Stindy, Jimbot/Leighry and Karleta/Study passed the hand out. One South opened 3C, declaring 3Cx. Three Wests opened, 1C twice and 1H the third time, the 1C opening bids leading to 2S E and 3D S, 1H to 2H W. Two of the five Norths to see three passes opened 1D in fourth seat, leading to contracts of 1NT S and 3D N.
?
Passing out turned out to be the middle score on this full rainbow. Mary was N-S top playing 3Cx =. A heart or club lead could have defeated 3Cx two tricks and giving East a diamond ruff would have resulted in -1. After a heart lead and spade switch Mary was headed for -1, but East did not give West a spade ruff at trick eight, which would have allowed East and West to score their two high trumps separately. Owbot took the par six tricks defending 2H W -2. Renee received a heart lead and continuation to make 1NT S. David made 2S, although that contract could have been defeated two tricks. N-S can make 3D by establishing the clubs, but declarers missed that and finished -1 and -2, 3D S -2 giving the Sandies the E-W top.
?
3Cx S =
2H W -2
1NT S =
Passed Out (3)
3D N -1
2S E =
3D S -2
?
3:
?
...............KQ10876
...............KQ75
...............8
...............106
A93...............................J
J1063............................942
Q42...............................J10753
987................................KJ52
...............542
...............A8
...............AK96
...............AQ43
?
I am a little surprised nobody looked for slam, as South has a maximum 1NT opening bid and North has a Losing Trick Count of five. Asking for key cards in not quite the way to go for North, as the hand has two quick club losers. One possible approach would be to transfer to 2S and then splinter into 4D, which here might turn South off, as the diamond king will only provide a discard, which may not be as valuable as the asset might turn out to be in another suit. Maybe someone did splinter and South opted to go back to 4S but no pair got above 4S. Contracts were 3NT S and 4S S eight times.
?
The missing trump jack makes the slam iffy. If South gets a club lead then the fourth heart goes on the diamond king and declarer just has to bring in the spades for one loser. On a different lead, declarer has to choose between the club finesse and ruffing a heart before finishing drawing trumps. Here it happens that either line works; if declarer leads a spade to the king, when the jack drops declarer ruffs the third heart and then will be able to draw trumps even when they prove 3-1, as the low trump will lie with the ace. Renee, Martin, Bob, Jim, Rita and Wendy tied for N-S top taking twelve tricks; two declarers were held to eleven after discarding a club on the diamond king and then drawing all the trumps without getting rid of the heart. Declarer could also take twelve tricks in 3NT but Pauise were luckily able to hold 3NT S to nine tricks for E-W top when declarer did not run dummy's spades.
?
4S S +2 (6)
4S S +1 (2)
3NT S =
?
4:
?
...............3
...............KJ62
...............AKJ86
...............K95
K10764...................AQ952
A.............................987
10752......................----
AJ4.........................Q7632
...............J8
...............Q10543
...............Q943
...............108
?
E-W had a better slam here than N-S did on the previous board but again nobody reached it. What people missed after 1S-X or 1S-2D was that the East hand is good enough for a 4D splinter raise and West has the ideal holding of several low cards opposite the splinter raise. 1S-4D; 4H-5D lets West go to 6S on the superb fit. But not every E-W pair got to game. Seven Wests declared 4S but one played 3S and Jimbot even got to play the hand in 4H S after 1S-X-2S-3H; P-4H.
?
All declarers in spades took twelve tricks. 4H S finished -2. It could have been -3, as East can get three diamond ruffs, but East did not find the underlead of the spade ace. Had 4H been doubled this would have made a difference, but Jimbot were going to be N-S top anyway. Side point on the play in 6S: if trumps split 3-0 declarer should take the club ace on the first round to guard against an offside singleton king. While this is much less likely than Kx onside, making a slam reached with only 20 HCP in the two hands combined is a much higher priority than a potential overtrick.
?
4H S -2
3S W +3
4S W +2 (6)
4Sx W +2
?
5:
?
...............7
...............QJ109
...............10974
...............10982
9862.............................J3
72..................................85
KJ3...............................Q8652
KJ65.............................AQ74
...............AKQ1054
...............AK643
...............A
...............3
?
South held the best hand of the day but four pairs did not even reach game. Two 1S opening bids were left in; despite the potential trouble of showing the two-suited hand if the opponents get the bidding up high quickly the hand is too good to run the risk of being passed out in a one-bid. Two Souths played 2S, possibly after a 2C opening bid. North should make a second bid over 2S. One pair did a little looking and played in 5H S but only Breta was brave enough to make the leap of faith: 2C-3C; 3S-4C; 6S.
?
6S needs 3-3 spades or a doubleton jack and will be down if East?gets a heart ruff. 6H is even better; if E-W do not cash their club winner they don't get it. Jim took all thirteen tricks in 4H to score 7/8. Two Souths in partials took only eleven tricks, giving Schuvid and the Sandies a tie for E-W top.
?
6S S =
4H S +3
4H S +2; 4S S +2; 5H S +1
1S S +5; 2S S +4
1S S +4; 2S S +3
?
6:
?
...............5
...............1062
...............653
...............AK10753
K764............................J32
J94..............................A87
1092............................AK874
Q64.............................92
...............AQ1098
...............KQ53
...............QJ
...............J8
?
If North opens 3C that may end the auction or East may overcall 3D and probably play the hand there. If North passes we begin with P-1D-1S and possibly 1NT from West; it turned out that the only denomination that was never played was diamonds. Contracts were 1S S, 1NT W, 2C N, 2H S five times and 3H S.
?
Club contracts can take nine tricks; there is the chance of a tenth if declarer is allowed a diamond ruff in dummy. Jamie played 2C N +2 for the N-S top. Ritold took their par seven tricks against 1NT W. Both majors are held to eight tricks by the right line of defence but the difficulties of playing with so few trumps meant that at almost all tables in a major contract saw the defence better par; only Martin and Breta posted 2H =. Stindy were E-W top defending 2H -3. Declarer was making the contract for about half the hand, but then ducked a heart at trick seven instead of winning the king, discarded a spade instead of a club or ruffing the next trick and finally ruffed trick ten instead of discarding a spade.
?
2C N +2
2H S = (2)
1NT W -1
1S S =
2H S -1 (2)
3H S -2
2H S -3
?
7:
?
...............53
...............87
...............AQ83
...............109632
J86............................A74
KJ53..........................Q9642
K4..............................10752
AKJ8..........................4
...............KQ1092
...............A10
...............J96
...............Q75
?
South opens 1S. Without a stopper West probably avoids a 1NT overcall (just as well, as no-trumps play poorly for E-W). If Equal Level Conversion is the E-W agreement and applies when the doubler then bids a major (with 3=4=4=2 Equal Level Conversion is easy) then West can double without worrying, but some Wests had to pass. The question of the auction was whether E-W would find 4H. This was done only once, as East recognized that the hand was quite good for a non-jump reply to the double and worth continuing. Both East and West had a bit more than the hand might have held. This was almost a Battle of the Majors hand with contracts of 2H E four times, 2S S, 3H E, 3S S and 4H E, but the last contract was 4Cx S on the auction that went uncontested until West doubled the final contract 1S-1NT; 2C-3C; 3S-4C.
?
If South leads a high spade against a heart contract there are conflicting factors. The lead allows declarer to play for one spade loser. This gives declarer a choice between an immediate club finesse, hoping to discard two spades, and playing South for the diamond ace as well as the other high spade. What tips the scale here is South's 1S opening bid and the heart loser, which create a high chance that North can ruff the third spade. This pushes declarer to risk the club finesse at once in 4H, which Kevin made. In 2H or 3H, though, a losing club finesse could result in declarer's taking as few as seven tricks. Of the pairs in partials, only Sandi (D) took ten tricks; the other partials all took nine after declarer was content with discarding one spade first on the second club. Spade contracts can be held to seven tricks, particularly if E-W get their heart trick early, but starting with two clubs and a ruff helps declarer, as it is not necessary to allow the defence a diamond ruff in order to draw trumps - one spade lead from North through East's ace bares it and declarer can lead the second spade low from hand. Jim in 3S avoided the dreaded -200 and escaped for -1 after E-W began with three rounds of clubs. Rita made 2S on the same line, but making 2S was not necessary for a good score. Study could force the E-W top board against 4Cx with a -3 result but picked up an extra undertrick to boost the penalty into four figures.
?
2S S =
3S S -1
2H E +1 (3); 3H E =
2H E +2
4H E =
4Cx S -4
?
8:
?
...............92
...............J6
...............A1063
...............AK764
A7.........................Q1064
K10982.................Q5
KQ8......................J9752
Q95.......................J2
...............KJ853
...............A743
...............4
...............1083
?
This was another four-denomination hand, with all four suits played. It surprised me a little that nobody played in 1NT, which takes only passivity from North, who does not have clear action over 1H and might well leave in 1NT as well on the second round. Spades seemed an unlikely find and diamonds looked tough to get into the auction. Contracts were 2C N, 2S S twice, 3C N twice, 3D W twice and 3H W twice. Apparently West declared diamonds after a 2C overcall and a negative double. I am a little surprised that South played 2S presumably requiring North to pass what many would think to be a forcing bid.
?
Declarer can come to eight tricks in spades with a careful balance of threatening heart ruffs and establishing the clubs. If, however, play goes heart ducked, heart to ace, heart ruffed and overruffed, spade to ace, heart, South then comes to eight tricks with diamond ruffs, telescoping the remaining spade and club losers. Declarer went wrong against both Jevin and Study, finishing in 2S -1. Heart contracts can be held to six tricks but only if South scores two diamond ruffs, possible though even after a spade lead, and there is still the chance of declarer's going wrong by finessing South for the trump jack. Lynn made 3H when N-S were too passive too long; Nary posted 3H -2 to score 6/8. Diamonds can be held to seven tricks, though the defence has an extra step or two because the wrong hand has the original lead; South has to lead a club and North has to find the spade switch. Henry made 3D after N-S began with three rounds of clubs but Marudy posted 3D W -3 for the N-S top. Clubs come to a fairly straightforward nine tricks, trumping two diamonds and losing one trick in each suit unless East finds the sneaky opening lead of the club deuce, after which North needs to play East for queen and ten of spades. Ken took the par nine tricks in 2C for a score of 7/8 but the declarers in 3C finished -1 and -2, +100 scoring 6/8 for Stindy.
?
3D W -3
2C N +1
3H W -2
2S S -1 (2); 3C N -1
3C N -2
3D W =
3H W =
?
9:
?
...............A9864
...............AQ109
...............A10
...............84
K7..........................Q
J32........................K8764
543........................762
QJ1053..................9762
...............J10532
...............5
...............KQJ98
...............AK
?
This slam was reached three times in quite different ways. South has multiple routes via which to explore for slam after North opens 1S. An immediate key card ask is acceptable; the worst that can happen is that North will hold K8764 in trumps, but the suit will come in for one loser 52% of the time (2/3 of the 2-1 splits) and it does not seem possible to find out for certain that 5S is unsafe before going past 4S. One South tried a 4H splinter (the hand is a bit strong for that) and it was left in - oops! A 2/1 2D and a Jacoby raise initiated two of the three successful auctions, which were 1S-2D; 2H-3C; 3S-4NT; 5S-6S, 1S-2NT; 3S-4NT; 5D-6S and the abrupt 1S-6S. The other five declarers played in 4S.
?
All the declarers in spades took twelve tricks. 4H finished -2 instead of -1 but even +1 would not have denied Pauise the E-W top. The successful slam declarers were Rita, Wendy and Mary.
?
6S N = (3)
4S N +2 (5)
4H S -2
?
10:
?
...............J1092
...............87
...............A32
...............AQJ7
Q4...............................A865
AK62...........................QJ10943
J84..............................5
8632............................95
...............K73
...............5
...............KQ10976
...............K104
?
East may avoid opening 2H due to holding four spades, in which case N-S start 1D-1S; then 2D from South if East passes and North is likely to be content with an invitation, presumably passed. A 2H opening bid likely gets raised to 4H by West with N-S possibly reaching 5D if South overcalls and North does not feel like defending. N-S may even play in spades after P-1D-P-1S; 2H and a Support Double; North will be at a bit of a loss if West raises to 3H, not wanting to sell out but having no heart stopper and no clearly known fit. Contracts were 3H E, 4D S thrice, 4Hx E twice, 4S N twice and 5Dx S.
?
Diamond contracts come down to the spade guess. If West leads the top two hearts after East has overcalled declarer should probably get the spades right but it is a tougher guess after a 2H opening bid. Bob made 5Dx for N-S top. Heart contracts come down to the opening lead. David made 4Hx E after a spade lead; any other lead results in Wendric's 4Hx -1 or Steve (Y)'s 3H =. In spades declarer can take nine tricks by giving up on more. If declarer tries to draw trumps for a make the hand loses control quickly and a huge set comes into play. Jim made 4S N when East did not win the third round of spades at trick five; had East won that trick when North and East would have held one trump each heart forces would have resulted to -4, the Sandies' result against 4S after North lost control.
?
5Dx S =
4S N =
4Hx E -1
4D S +1 (2)
4D S =
3H E =
4S N -4
4Hx E =
?
11:
?
...............AQJ9
...............Q5
...............1074
...............AKJ4
62............................K87
A842........................10976
KQ83.......................A5
762...........................Q953
...............10543
...............KJ3
...............J962
...............108
?
1NT by North could have gone around at every table and did so seven times. Two Norths did not open 1NT; South declared 3S at one table and 4S at the other.
?
Spade contracts have five clear losers when the trump finesse fails, and the par result of five tricks gave Leighry E-W top defending 4S -2 and Schuvid 7/8 defending 3S -1. E-W can scramble together six tricks against no-trumps but the natural club lead allows an eighth. Ken was one of four declarers to post +120 after a club lead and an overtrick; Jamie was N-S top in 1NT +2. Jevin and Glynneth held declarer to 1NT = to score 5.5/8.
?
1NT N +2
1NT N +1 (4)
1NT N = (2)
3S S -1
4S S -2
?
12:
?
...............Q3
...............J9
...............K10742
...............K864
J862............................A109754
8652............................4
853..............................AQJ
105...............................Q93
...............K
...............AKQ1073
...............96
...............AJ72
?
P-P-1S-2H. Does West dare come in with a weak 3S? That may well end the auction; South may not want to come in at the four-level. If West and North pass, East will either bid 2S or double; South can continue and then the hand becomes another Battle of the Majors. E-W usually took the bid, with contracts of 2S E, 3H S, 3S E thrice, 4H S and 4S E thrice.
?
West has to lead a diamond to hold hearts to ten tricks with the well-behaving clubs. In spades East can enter dummy twice in trumps for the diamond finesses and come to nine tricks that way. Rita and Jim took the top two N-S scores in 4H +1 and 3H +2, Jim after a spade lead. All the spade contracts yielded declarer exactly nine tricks.
?
4H S +1
3H S +2
4S E -1 (3)
2S E +1; 3S E = (3)
?
13:
?
...............A1032
...............64
...............87542
...............65
J87.......................Q4
J108752...............AK
J6.........................AK1093
103.......................AJ82
...............K965
...............Q93
...............Q
...............KQ974
?
Does East open 2C or 2NT? 2NT won by a 6-3 margin. One East opened 2C and passed a 2D response and one West left 3NT E in but otherwise West had to choose between 3H and 4H after a transfer. 4H won out by a 4-3 margin. One West presumably made a double negative response of 2H and later declared 3H but East declared at the other tables except for the one contract of 2D W.
?
N-S set 4H if they establish their club trick right away and cash their three black winners as soon as South scores the heart queen. Steve (Y) took ten Gareth took eleven tricks in 4H; David took eleven in 3H but most declarers in hearts took nine tricks and Rekenee held declarer to eight, possible if North leads a club and East starts diamonds after two rounds of trumps before losing the queen. With no further entry to dummy it was necessary to lose the trump queen first. Declarer in 2D can take nine tricks but the intimidating 5-1 trump split and perhaps the shock to West of having to declare 2D led to -1 against Marudy. 3NT looks grim but East's diamond spots are enough to make the contract when the queen drops singleton, a happy save for Marcia in 3NT =.
?
2D W -1; 3H W -1; 4H E -1 (2)
3H E = (3)
3H E +2
4H E +1
?
14:
?
...............Q952
...............AK98
...............K104
...............63
AK1074..................J6
J102.......................Q5
A32........................QJ865
A4..........................QJ75
...............83
...............7643
...............97
...............K10982
?
West opens either 1S or 1NT. Two Easts disliked the quacky hand so much that the opening bids ended the auction but usually East responded and the hand finished in some number of no-trumps from one side or the other. Contracts were 1S W, 1NT W, 2NT E, 3NT E and 3NT W five times, West always accepting an invitation and East declining once, accepting once.
?
The 4-4 hearts prove to be West's saving grace in 3NT. Declarer establishes diamonds for four tricks, although, if North ducks the first diamond, declarer needs to take the club finesse and then switch over to spades if the club queen holds. If entries were more evenly divided and declarer had only to establish either spades or diamonds, it could be worth leading the spade jack, planning to overtake if South ducked, as South would be highly likely to cover except from Qxxx. East declaring usually had the benefit of a club lead. Paul tried the spade finesse first as West, allowing -1, but North ducked the first finesse and Paul was able to switch to diamonds, eventually collecting ten tricks and E-W top. Nary scored 7/8 defending 1S W +2 and Owbot 6/8 defending 1NT W +3. Ritold and Jimbot defeated 3NT after West went after spades first; four declarers in no-trumps took nine tricks.
?
3NT W -1 (2)
1S W +2
2NT E +1
1NT W +3
3NT E =; 3NT W = (2)
3NT W +1
?
15:
?
...............AK73
...............AK
...............AK6
...............Q952
J965.......................84
QJ10.......................87532
74...........................QJ103
AK63......................87
...............Q102
...............964
...............9852
...............J104
?
North opens 2C and follows with 2NT. Does South go to game? By a 5-3 margin South did go on. The ninth contract was 4NT S; South responded 2NT, channeling the good old days of Goren, and North invited slam.
?
Declarer's can force ten tricks if South gains the lead in clubs. The line would not be found at the table, but running the spade ten first succeeds. West covers, North wins and then South is reentered with the spade queen, dropping East's eight, to set up a Restricted Choice third-round finesse against the nine. A club lead from East is required to prevent this; otherwise North can cash the red winners and endplay West with the first club; the one heart West can cash is not enough. Jamie took eleven tricks for the N-S top after East underled the diamond sequence but only two Norths in 2NT took ten tricks. Nine tricks was the usual result; E-W top went to Diarcia for defending 4NT S -3.
?
3NT N +2
3NT N = (4)
2NT N +2 (2)
2NT N +1
4NT S -3
?
16:
?
...............KQJ5
...............J84
...............K63
...............KQ6
8...............................A9643
Q9............................A76532
AQJ754....................92
8752.........................----
...............1072
...............K10
...............108
...............AJ10943
?
Does North act over a 2D opening bid from West? Does East? If they both pass, does South? 2D never went around. If West passes North is headed to 3NT if the hand does not get downgraded for lack of aces. After 1NT and a bid from East showing the majors N-S reach 3NT (not really a good contract due to ack of fast tricks outside of clubs but one South really has to undertake if North opens 1NT) if South can show a heart stopper as North has the spade stopper. Contracts were 2Sx N, 3D W twice, 3NT N thrice, 4C N and 4C S twice.
?
The 6-2 red suits allow 3NT to make. A diamond lead to queen or jack can be ducked; a heart lead can be won with the king. If a heart lead is won by West's queen, however, declarer fails. Because of this 3NT failed every time in practice; Study and Pauise tied for E-W top defending 3NT N -2. Against Study North unblocked the hearts by discarding one on a club. Aggressive defence starting with hearts will set 2S but Karlene was allowed to make 2Sx. Lynn was allowed to make 3D W after a spade lead instead of the necessary trump. A diamond or spade lead holds club contracts to eight tricks but all three declarers in 4C escaped for -1.
?
2Sx N =
3D W -1
3NT N -1; 4C N -1; 4C S -1 (2)
3NT N -2 (2)
3D W =
?
17:
?
...............103
...............AKQ4
...............1087
...............8762
A96......................Q872
109762.................53
5...........................KQ432
A953.....................J4
...............KJ54
...............J8
...............AJ96
...............KQ10
?
1NT from South in third position. West gets into trouble interfering, especially if the partnership agreement requires 2H to show hearts and a minor, at least if N-S have a penalty double option. E-W have nowhere in particular to go after 2H is doubled and N-S should easily collect a penalty that outscores making game. If West passes 1NT, North at the tables opted to invite game with 2NT, although I would not have been shocked to see any North carry on to 3NT. 2NT S was played six times. One contract was 1NT S, which makes little sense; either North passed with 9 HCP and the strong four-card suit or South opened 1D and rebid 1NT instead of 1S after a 1H response. After a 1D opening bid from South South declared 2D and 2S.
?
The layout is exceptionally kind to N-S, making nine tricks possible in no-trumps, with three diamond tricks easily established with one lead from North and the club jack dropping doubleton to establish the ten-spot. Declarer has to decide between numerous lines, though; only Renee and Jim took their nine tricks in 2NT +1. Two declarers made the contract (joined by Martin in 1NT +1); Jevin and Diarcia both defended 2NT -1. Against Jevin declarer was nearly home but, when Jeff cashed the thirteenth heart at trick eleven, South discarded the good club instead of the diamond or the spade and Jeff's last two cards were both good. Declarer in 2S S took the par eight tricks; Schuvid bettered par by two tricks to post 2D S -1 and tie Jevin and Diarcia for E-W top.
?
2NT S +1 (2)
1NT S +1; 2NT S = (2)
2S S =
2D S -1; 2NT S -1 (2)
?
18:
?
...............J4
...............AJ9632
...............Q1052
...............10
AQ83........................K1097
KQ5..........................84
64.............................A97
A953.........................QJ86
...............652
...............107
...............KJ83
...............K742
?
1NT from West often drew an overcall from North. If E-W had solid agreements they would have arrived in 4S after a Stayman sequence. 4S W was played five times. At one table East declared 4S. At the other three tables West played 3NT twice. The E-W pair at the last table did not have solid agreements and paid for it. East made a negative double of North's 2H overcall; West took the double for penalty and passed it.
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When the club ten drops singleton, E-W have an easy eleven tricks in 4S. Cindy, Lynn and Schu matched par but the other three declarers in 4S lazily dropped a trick. Without the eight-spot and nine-spot in clubs the correct play would be to start with the ace and lead twice towards the queen-jack, but here there was no reason not to run an honour; if it loses and the hearts do not provide a discard declarer can still guess which defender might still hold 10xx in clubs. Against 3NT a diamond lead establishes the suit and makes declarer a little lucky that the clubs behave so well. Nine tricks are par in 3NT but declarer likely receives a heart lead and does better. Jeff and Sandy (K) posted 3NT W +1 after a heart lead. 2Hx can be set, as E-W can always force a diamond ruff, but with everyone else making game there was no difference between the par score of +200 and the actual -670 E-W scored against Eric in the matchpoints.
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2Hx N =
4S E =; 4S W = (2)
3NT W +1 (2)
4S W +1 (3)
