1: No contract over 2H:
?
...............AKJ3
...............Q62
...............A962
...............A5
10864...................Q97
AK73.....................J84
K8.........................J1043
1043......................KJ9
...............52
...............1095
...............Q75
...............Q8762
?
North opened 1D, which was passed around to West. Twice it was left in, but usually West balanced with a double. One East was allowed to bid 1NT but usually North rebid 1NT, which became the contract five times (there may have been a 1NT opening bid on a range including 18). The only higher contracts were 2D N and 2H W.
?
Declarer has a superb layout for 1NT N double dummy - the clubs establish and dummy can even be reached with a diamond - unlikely looking at first sight, but if East leads a diamond (especially the jack) declarer might get it right. Additionally the heart ace-king are both onside. Maybe if East leads a low heart West can play the ace and trick North with a low heart return but West might read a heart as a four-card suit and start with the tops. North can force eight tricks against any lead and nine against a low diamond (with good guessing). Staul defeated 1NT, probably after declarer tried to lead a diamond to the queen and it was captured by the king. Doug took two overtricks when E-W cashed two high hearts instead of running declarer out of entries. Only Jamie took the cold eight tricks of the other 1NT N declarers. Scott had good luck in 1NT E; he could have been -2 quite easily but made the contract when N-S attacked diamonds and avoided the clubs entirely.
?
1NT N +2 by Doug
1NT N +1 by Jamie
1NT N = by Eric and Henry; 2D N = by Don (W)
1D N = vs Helbot and Subot
2H W -1 by Martin
1NT N -1 vs Staul
1NT E = by Scott
?
2: Mostly by East in spade partials:
?
...............Q32
...............K9532
...............A6
...............1092
AJ7........................109864
Q8..........................A6
QJ84......................K1092
KJ83......................64
...............K5
...............J1074
...............753
...............AQ75
?
It looked as if some pairs would leave West in a 1NT rebid but 1NT was never the contract. If West did rebid 1NT East went on to 2S or 2D. West might also have raised to 2S, which could explain in part why 3S E was the majority contract, played six times. Two Wests passed a 1S response and that ended the auction - the other contracts were 2S E and 3D W.
?
3S can always make; N-S can force a diamond ruff or a heart trick but cannot get both, as the diamond ruff must be gone for right away, which uses up the club ace and sets up a discard of the heart loser after a club finesse. Gareth took ten tricks when he received a ruff-and-discard to dispose of his second club after another club had been won in dummy. Ritold and Dorol were able to defeat 3S, while Cinise held 1S to right tricks. Most declarers took the usual nine, just pipping 3D +1.
?
3S E -1 vs Ritold and Dorol
1S E +1 vs Cinise
3D W +1 vs Leighry
1S E +2 by Judy; 2S E +1 by John; 3S E = by Helene, Lin and Susan
3S E +1 by Gareth
?
3: Almost all 2H N:
?
...............KQJ8
...............AJ5
...............Q10
...............A752
A109........................7543
842..........................Q9
A854........................KJ97
J96...........................KQ4
...............62
...............K10763
...............632
...............1083
?
The auction was usually an uncontested 1NT-2D; 2H. One North opened 1C, after which the auction received considerable competition and ended in 3H S.
?
Heart contracts can take nine tricks after a major lead and only eight if E-W get their two club tricks established in time. Eric took ten tricks after E-W began with three rounds of diamonds. Subot, Helbot and Elott held declarer to 2H = after a misguess in hearts.
?
2H N +2 by Eric
2H N +1 by Harold, Kevin, Louise, Henry and Owen; 3H S = by Breta
2H N = vs Subot, Helbo and Elott
?
4: Finally a hand with some games bid:
?
...............QJ5
...............KQJ
...............10652
...............974
K2........................A98763
7...........................9653
J943.....................A8
AKQ862...............J
...............104
...............A10842
...............KQ7
...............1053
?
The auction started 1C-1S; 2C-2S most of the time. Four auctions ended there. West has a reasonable 3S advance, as AQxxxx xxx xx Jx is a favourite to make game. Three Easts went on to 4S. Other contracts were 2NT E, 3C W and 3Hx S.
?
4S is not a favourite to make. Trumps must split 3-2 and the hand with three trumps needs at least three clubs. Or N-S can force dummy to ruff a heart and then clubs must split 3-3. Here, though, both black suits behave and ten tricks roll in. This gave Judy and Scott a tie for top, although Wendric's opponent went wrong. Three declarers in partials scored +170 and Leighry defended 3Hx -2 for above average scores as well.
?
4S E -1 vs Wendric
2NT E = vs Karleta
2S E +1 vs Jamob
3C W +2 vs Ritold
2S E +2 by Helene, Lin and Myrtle
3Hx S -2 vs Mahn
4S E = by Judy and Scott
?
5: Mostly 1NT N:
?
...............AK
...............QJ82
...............J102
...............Q842
J965.......................872
A4...........................10763
AQ98......................K43
753..........................A109
...............Q1043
...............K95
...............765
...............KJ6
?
1C-1S; 1NT was the auction seven times. Kevin played 2H after a 1H opening bid. Two pairs finished in 3NT N after a burst of optimism.
?
Seven tricks is the likely result of 1NT; E-W have six top tricks and there is only little chance North will allow the defence a seventh. Seven tricks was the usual result for declarer in 1NT. 2H N finished a normal -1. Louise and Harold took nine tricks in 3NT and 1NT when E-W avoided the diamonds entirely; Owen played 1NT +2 when West began diamonds in the middle of the hand but led ace and then queen, on which East unblocked the king.
?
3NT N = by Louise
1NT N +2 by Harold and Owen
1NT N = vs Myrne, Marudy, Helbot, Alin and elott
2NT N -1 vs Staul; 3NT N -1 vs Garon
?
6: Game defeated:
?
...............96
...............K107
...............A9432
...............1086
Q543........................KJ108
AQ82.......................----
KJ5..........................1076
95............................AJ7432
...............A72
...............J96543
...............Q8
...............KQ
?
Games were bid on both sides. After P-1H-P-2H; East had action, either via a double or a 3C overcall. All the auctions went at least to 3H, finishing in contracts of 3H S, 3S E thrice, 3S W twice, 4C E, 4Hx S and 4S E twice - I did not see how all the spade contracts played by East occurred but hope that most of them did not occur after a double from West over 1H.
?
E-W have at least five tricks against hearts (Mahn took an irrelevant sixth against 4Hx; Rita took eight tricks in 3H but seven would have scored just as well). The club layout was especially helpful to E-W; 4S can make against any lead but a diamond, which if ducked by North establishes a ruff and that requires East to take a discard too early and allow N-S to attack East's trump holding. Judy in 3S +1 was the one player to take ten tricks in spades; nine were much more the usual result.
?
3S E -2 vs Cinise; 4S E -2 vs Karleta
4C E -1 vs Wendric; 4S E -1 vs Jevin
3H S -1 by Rita
3S E = by Lin; 3S W = by Anne
3S E +1 by Judy; 3S W +1 by Elizabeth
4Hx S -3 vs Mahn
?
7: Mostly 3NT S:
?
...............AJ62
...............932
...............K76
...............983
10984....................Q75
865........................AQ104
1083......................Q542
J106.......................K5
...............K3
...............KJ7
...............AJ9
...............AQ742
?
East might have doubled after 1C-P-1S, which could have led to disaster; if South can make a strength-showing redouble E-W are in serious trouble, with -800 a lucky score. Seven Souths finished in 3NT, with one in 2NT and two in 1NT after a 1NT opening bid owing to miscounting points.
?
A spade lead allows E-W to hold declarer to ten tricks; eleven can be forced otherwise. As often happens declarer has entry trouble, although, after 1C-1S; 2NT-3NT, especially with a double, West likely leads a heart; a heart lead and return remove almost all declarer's issues with entries by giving declarer two heart tricks without having to lead the suit from dummy even once. Eleven tricks were taken seven times. Mahn and Elott held declarer to ten tricks in 3NT (the eleventh trick was of miniscule importance in the partials); Mark led the spade ten while Elott's opponent cashed out for ten tricks.??
?
3NT S +2 by Rita, Jeff, Carol, Wendy and George
3NT S +1 vs Mahn and Elott
2NT S +3 vs Alin
1NT S +3 vs Subot and Helbot
?
8: Almost all 4S N:
?
...............A98764
...............K64
...............K2
...............52
10...........................J5
QJ103.....................2
J93.........................A87654
KQ864...................A1097
...............KQ32
...............A9875
...............Q10
...............J3
?
Whether South opens Flannery or raises a 1S opening to 2S, North cannot reasonably stay out of 4S. At most North might make a Spiral ask after 1H-1S; 2S and go to game after South shows four-card support. One East went to 5D and played there undoubled; one North took a push to 5S.
?
The play amounted to death by duplication. The 2-2 minors in each hand provided three losers and it turned out South held the superfluous major queen. Jamie was allowed ten tricks in spades but everyone else took nine (only seven against Myrne). Leighry had rather good luck to score 8/9 defending 5D -1; normally bidding 5D would have worked beautifully for East.
?
4S N + by Jamie
5D E -1 vs Leighry
4S N -1 vs Subot, Garon, Staul, Marudy, Helbot and Lara
5S N -2 vs Elott
4S N -3 vs Myrne
?
9: Most diamond partials by West:
?
...............10875
...............KQ92
...............A9
...............Q87
KQ3.................J4
4......................J8653
K865432.........Q
A2....................KJ1096
...............A962
...............A107
...............J107
...............543
?
One West passed the hand out; the others all opened and North presumably doubled on the near-opening with a good pattern. Contracts were at the two-level or three-level in diamonds or spades; 2D W twice, 2S S twice, 3D W four times and 3S S.
?
N-S had two aces and two trump tricks against diamond contracts; a club lead allowed an immediate discard if declarer guessed the suit correctly. Other leads could give a chance at ten tricks if the heart ace were left uncashed; diamond declarers were evenly divided between nine tricks and ten. Seven tricks in spades looked usual, but one declarer took six and one only five.
?
Passed Out by Wendric
2S S -1 by Rita
2D W +1 vs Owbot; 3D W = vs Jamob and Geon
2D W +2 by Anne; 3D W +1 by Susan and Hara
2S S -3 vs Marudy; 3S S -3 vs Garon
?
10: Mostly contracts -2 or more:
?
...............J10
...............QJ10872
...............K532
...............J
A4............................KQ853
A96543....................----
9864........................QJ7
7...............................AQ985
...............9762
...............K
...............A10
...............K106432
?
I thought I might see the auction 1S-2C-X, but it seems that any time the auction began 1S-2C either West or North bid hearts. Other than that possibility the auction was hard to predict. Clubs were never trumps, preventing a rainbow hand. We ended with contracts of 2S E, 3D W, 3H N, 3S E twice, 3NT E, 4H W, 4S E twice and 4Sx E.
?
Spades looked like taking eight tricks, with some declarers taking seven and some nine. Jevin were N-S top as the only pair to double. N-S took seven tricks in hearts from either side. Hara made 3D, which probably ought not to have happened. 3NT was the most interesting contract. Against Myrtle the opening lead was a club, allowing a make. John made 3S E after a heart to the ace, two rounds of diamonds and then a club.?
?
4Sx E -2 vs Jevin
4H W -4 vs Dorol
4S E -3 vs Jamob and Geon
3S E -2 vs Cinise
2S E -1 by Lin
3D W = by Hara
3S E = by John
3H N -2 vs Staul
3NT E = by Myrtle
?
11: Possible N-S game:
?
...............2
...............AQJ1086
...............K982
...............QJ
KQ10753.................J96
5..............................K9432
A105........................4
983..........................K765
...............A84
...............7
...............QJ763
...............A1042
?
North opens 1H and South responds 1NT if playing 2/1; West may come in with 2S over either 1NT or 2D. If West remains quiet South invites game and then North chooses a game or a partial. All the contracts at least got to 3H N, which was played once. Higher contracts were 3S W twice, 3NT S, 4H N five times and 5D S.
?
Despite the 5-1 trump split, 4H cannot be defeated. East gets two trump tricks and West the diamond ace. One diamond ruff does the defence no good. If East leads a spade North can be forced to ruff two spades and have fewer trumps than East, but by then East will be out of spades and unable to reach West's spades once in with the last trump. When 4H was defeated declarer was too afraid of a second diamond ruff to finesse in clubs. Jamie and Don (W) made 4H. Rita made 5D. Wendy was N-S top in 3NT S +1, a lucky result as East did not encourage over West's spade lead.
?
3NT S +1 by Wendy
4H N = by Jamie and Don (W)
5D S = by Rita
3H N +1 by Louise
3S W -1 by Susan and Hara
4H N -1 vs Mahn, Myrne and Helbot
?
12: Double game swing:
?
...............J8642
...............J74
...............9
...............Q965
AQ975........................103
----..............................865
AKJ542......................Q1087
K7...............................8432
...............K
...............AKQ10932
...............63
...............AJ10
?
Some auctions were slower than others but none finished below game. South might just bid 4H over West's 1D passed around. West is likely to bid 4S over that. Contracts were 4H S twice, 4Hx S, 5D W thrice, 5Dx W, 5H S twice and 6Dx W, the last contract reached via 1S-P-P-4H; 5D-5H-6D-X. (Opening 1S with the West hand is grim.)
?
5D makes; 6D seems to have play but the 5-1 spades are just enough, as declarer has to draw two trumps and North's spade spots are just good enough. 4H makes as long as West avoids giving away a trick on opening lead. Owen was N-S top in 4Hx +1; Anne was E-W top in 5Dx =.?
?
4Hx S +1 by Owen
4H S = by Carol and George
6Dx W -1 vs Ritold
5H S -1 vs Mahn and Garon
5D W = by Al, Paul and Helene
5Dx W = by Anne
?
13: E-W missing the right contract:
?
...............KJ8632
...............J5
...............75
...............A93
10..........................Q74
A109......................K432
K963......................AQJ8
KQJ105..................74
...............A95
...............Q876
...............1042
...............862
?
North opens 2S. Maybe South raises to 3S. If not, West reopens (likely with a double) and then we see if E-W can reach the top spot of 5D. Nobody did. Spades were never trumps, spoiling the chance of a rainbow hand. Contracts were 3C W, 3H E, 3NT E twice, 3NT W, 4D E twice, 4H E, 5C W and 6D E.
?
5D makes in comfort as the clubs establish and the only care required is not to draw trumps early if West is forced in spades. 3NT should have been two or three down but Scott was allowed eleven tricks. North got in with club ace and missed the chance to return the spade jack for the big score. Jamob defended 3NT W -3, more likely after a low spade lead on which declarer thought it better to try the queen and hope North was underleading AKxxxx than duck.
?
3NT W -3 vs Jamob
3C W -1 vs Dorol; 3H E -1 vs Leighry; 3NT E -1 vs Wendric; 4H E -1 vs Ritold; 5C W -1 vs Geon; 6D E -1 vs Owbot
4D E +1 by John and Gareth
3NT E +2 by Scott
?
14: Half passouts:
?
...............109
...............AJ32
...............A84
...............Q942
53.........................KQ764
10976...................KQ5
QJ52....................1063
A87......................J6
...............AJ82
...............84
...............K97
...............K1053
?
Four Easts opened 1S light, resulting in contracts of 1NT W, 2S E, 2Sx E and 3D E. Eric was the only one of the six Norths given the chance to open 1C in fourth seat, resulting in 1NT S.
?
As N-S went plus at every table where the bidding was opened, passing out tied for E-W top. 2Sx E -2 gave Geon the N-S top. Wendy in 1NT S +2 was the only declarer making any contract. Nine tricks could have been forced as N-S had a highly favourable layout.
?
2Sx E -2 vs Geon
1NT S +2 by Wendy; 3D E -3 vs Jevin
1NT W -2 vs Dorol; 2S E -2 vs Jamob
Passed Out by Alin, Elott, Garon, Marudy and Helbot
?
15: Ill-fated slam:
?
...............853
...............98632
...............53
...............Q105
Q1072....................A
KJ75......................AQ104
AJ..........................K9642
KJ7........................A32
...............KJ964
...............----
...............Q1087
...............9864
?
West opened 1NT, immediately putting East in mind of slam. One West opened 1C and the auction ended in 4H E. Everyone else went to slam one way or another. Some Easts even found the club king specifically rather than the spade king and tried grand slam. Contracts were 4H E, 6H E twice, 6H W, 6NT W thrice and 7H W thrice.
?
Despite the 5-0 trumps 6H W can make double dummy. Declarer takes the diamond finesse, trumps two spades in the East hand, draws trumps, crosses to the club ace and then leads the diamond king when North is down to the thirteenth trump and the club Q10. Nobody was able to guess that layout; indeed everyone went down. 6NT could have escaped for -1 but never did. Scott in 4H E -1 tied John's 6H E -1 and Hara's 6H W -1 for E-W top. Best N-S result was Leighry's 6NT W -4.
?
6NT W -4 vs Leighry
6H W -3 vs Geon; 7H W -3 vs Jamob and Cinise
6NT W -2 by Anne and Martin; 7H W -2 by Al
4H E -1 by Scott; 6H E -1 by John; 6H W -1 by Hara
?
16: Unlucky sacrifice:
?
...............432
...............K7
...............9765
...............KQ86
J105.........................AKQ9
983...........................AJ1052
J3.............................A
AJ1042.....................753
...............876
...............Q64
...............KQ10842
...............9
?
One East was left in a 1H opening bid and two Easts only invited game after a single raise and/or competition and finished in 3H. 4H E was played five times; two N-S pairs took the plunge in 5Dx.
?
Sadly for N-S, E-W had six top tricks against 5Dx. Lara managed a seventh for +1100 and the E-W top. Hearts had an easy ten tricks, although Geon were allowed to hold declarer to nine.
?
4H E -1 vs Geon
1H E +3 vs Karleta; 3H E +1 vs Cinise and Leighry
4H E = by Helene, John, Myrtle and Judy
5Dx S -4 vs Elott
5Dx S -5 vs Lara
?
17: E-W heart game:
?
...............K108532
...............J
...............43
...............J763
----...........................Q96
A942........................KQ875
1052.........................KQ98
AK9854....................10
...............AJ74
...............1063
...............AJ76
...............Q2
?
Two N-S pairs were able to steal the auction in 3S; East had to overcall 2S with 3H in order to take the bid and then West would likely get the auction up at least to the five-level. The most interesting contract was Jevin's 4NT N, perhaps a misclick or perhaps an attempt to keep E-W from bidding 4NT. Contracts were 3S N twice, 3NT E, 4C W 4H E, 4H W, 4S N, 4NT N and 5H E twice.
?
Declarer can take twelve tricks in hearts unless West is forced to ruff a spade at once. This kills the re-entry to dummy in case declarer wants to draw trumps and then establish clubs with a ruffing finesse. Owbot were N-S top defending 3NT E -3. Kevin took the same seven tricks in 4NT N -3. Spades could have taken nine tricks and Jamie did. E-W top was shared by Susan and Elizabeth on +450 taking eleven tricks in hearts.?
?
3NT E -3 vs Owbot
3S N = by Jamie
5H E -1 by Harold
3S N -1 by Eric
4S N -2 by Henry
4C W = by Anne
4H N -3 vs Alin
4H E = by Linda
4H W +1 by Elizabeth; 5H E = by Susan
?
18: Most powerful hand of the set:
?
...............AJ1042
...............954
...............Q3
...............842
983...............................KQ75
K76...............................AQ108
J98................................A
J653..............................AKQ7
...............6
...............J32
...............K1076542
...............109
?
East had 24 HCP and a 4-4-4-1 pattern. One 1C opening bid was left in; South did not compete at red vulnerability. Everyone else reached one of a choice of games: 3NT E five times, 4H E twice, 4NT E and 5C E.
?
Games made across the board. Karleta allowed an overtrick in 5C when they could have managed a spade ruff, but it made no difference as every pair in 3NT E took ten or eleven tricks and 4H E took eleven each time.
?
1C E +4 vs Dorol
5C E +1 vs Karleta
3NT E +1 vs Jamob, Jevin and Leighry
4H E +1 by Helene and Susan
3NT E +2 by John and Myrtle; 4NT E +1 by Steven
