1:
?
...............1042
...............10985
...............AKQ102
...............9
K753............................AJ86
KJ3..............................AQ42
974...............................J86
875...............................AJ
...............Q9
...............76
...............53
...............KQ106432
?
East usually opened 1NT and South usually competed in clubs. How South got into the auction depended on the side's agreement. A couple of Easts did not open 1NT - Jim (U) opened 1C and at least one East opened 1D; both those auctions ended in 3H, played once from each side (Erik's response to 1C was a control-showing 1H. 1NT was left in once. North played 2C once after South doubled to show a single-suited hand and left in North's relay to 2C allowing South to show the suit. Some Souths chose or had to bid a direct 3C over 1NT; West might have come in with a double to reopen after P-1NT-X-P; 2C-P-P. Contracts were 1NT E, 2C N, 2H E, 3C S eight times, 3H E twice and 3H W.
?
E-W have five top tricks against clubs if they take them. Pheileen took a sixth trick against a misclick, but the other club contracts had a 3-3-2 split between eight, nine and ten tricks, ten being nearly as unlikely as seven, although 2C N +2 makes a bit more sense. Unable to see the high diamonds, East might well get the cashout wrong. Howard and NJ posted +130 to tie for N-S top.1NT can be held to eight tricks by a diamond lead. Phoebe played 1NT +1, an unlikely result if a diamond is not led. Declarer is inclined to cash out to make the contract and the fortunate dropping of the spade queen gives two overtricks. E-W can take the same nine tricks in hearts as in no-trumps; if North begins with four diamonds the defence can promote a trump trick, but the East hand can discard the club loser on that trick. Hank (B) made 3H for the E-W top but all the other declarers in hearts finished -2. Against Nary declarer ducked the first round of clubs and then finessed in spades later.
?
2C N +2; 3C S +1
3C S = (3)
2H E -2; 3H E -2; 3H W -2
3C S -1 (3)
3C S -2
1NT E +1
3H E =
?
2:
?
...............AK96
...............A103
...............AQ104
...............97
J1073.....................4
8762.......................J94
9.............................KJ73
AQ54......................KJ1062
...............Q852
...............KQ5
...............8652
...............83
?
Looking at only the N-S hands it appears that the object of the deal is for N-S to find a way to reach 4S, although the trap turns into a bullet dodged. A 1NT opening bid from North was left in six times. The North hand really qualifies for upgrading out of the 1NT opening class; Mr Bergen and the one N-S pair to reach 4S would certainly agree. There was a surprising amount of competition; the East hand is well suited to DONT but less so to other conventions. The seven middle contracts were 2H N, 2S S, 3C E four times and 4Cx E.
?
No-trumps, spades and clubs all?could have taken eight tricks. Spades look good but the 4-1 split and the badly placed diamonds make a set of 4S sure, even if declarer is allowed to endplay East in diamonds. Eric posted 2S +1 after the lead of ace and a low club; West was not able to lead the first diamond and a profitable endplay was made. All the 1NT contracts took seven tricks, as declarer's only particular reason to play for 4-1 spades would come from comparing the play in 1NT to how spade contracts would play and looking to take the same number of tricks if at all possible. It also seems likely that some Wests might have led the spade jack, surrendering a trick that declarer returned by taking the diamond finesse.
?
4Cx E -2
2S S +1
1NT N = (6)
3C E -1 (4)
4S S -2
2H N -4
?
3:
?
...............K107652
...............965
...............A
...............KJ10
83...............................Q94
K104...........................A32
K1053.........................J874
Q865...........................A43
...............AJ
...............QJ87
...............Q962
...............972
?
North opened 1S in third position, although 2S seems acceptable as well opposite a passed hand. Two Souths were left in a 1NT response; otherwise North declared in some number of spades: 2S eight times, 3S twice, 4S and 4Sx.
?
With the club queen onside and the hearts not providing a ruff, ten tricks in spades will result if declarer finesses East for the queen and does not lead a club to the king. One declarer somehow only took eight tricks in 2S, but the others all took either nine or ten, ten winning out over nine by a 6-5 margin. There is a tiny advantage before the suit is played in?planning to play West for the queen; declarer cannot cater to Qxxx in either hand without a loser or a singleton queen with West, but playing West for Qx/Qxx also picks up singleton queen with East. However, when one leads a spade from the North hand and East lays low, that singleton queen is already not a possible position. Shoan were joint E-W top defending 4Sx -1 (ted with Ritty's 1NT S -2), likely largely because it was West who doubled. Eugenie finessed East for the queen and made 4S for N-S top.
?
4S N =
2S N +2 (3); 3S +1 (2)
2S N +1 (4)
2S N =
1NT S =
1NT S -2; 4Sx N -1
?
4:
?
...............J86
...............A103
...............K54
...............AK87
A73..........................Q1095
QJ62........................K85
J2.............................Q83
QJ93........................542
...............K42
...............974
...............A10972
...............106
?
For the first and only time all day everyone played the same contract - 1NT N. I did not see whether all fourteen Norths opened 1NT. There is a chance that the auction could have proceeded 1C-1D; 1NT as well.
?
A diamond lead gives declarer a ninth trick; any other lead results theoretically in eight. A spade lead makes eight tricks fairly straightforward. It gets interesting after a heart lead; West gets squeezed on the last diamond but declarer still has to read the situation correctly; leading a low spade from the king would then be required for the eighth trick. The trick count went on a 2-9-3 split, with Stellie and Ritty holding declarer to seven tricks while Gloria, James (S) and George (W) took nine. Gloria had already banked eight of the first ten tricks when West gave her a ninth by leading a club at trick eleven instead of a heart, which would have allowed East to cash out.
?
1NT N +2 (3)
1NTN +1 (9)
1NT N = (2)
?
5:
?
...............Q10764
...............102
...............KJ96
...............AJ
3...........................AKJ82
AKQ865...............J4
83.........................Q752
Q1094...................53
...............95
...............973
...............A104
...............K8762
?
Even if North opens the bidding, after 1S-P-1NT-2H, it's hard to see N-S getting back into the auction, let alone declaring the hand. East may likely move, and then it will be up to E-W to avoid getting too high. Contracts were 2H W thrice, 2Sx N, 2NT E, 3H W thrice, 3NT W and 4H W five times.
?
N-S have four top tricks against heart and it appears that the pair should not need to cash out to take them. But West's clubs are just good enough to be ablet to take ten tricks in hearts against a trump lead, although not a spade lead, as then declarer cannot cash the third spade. Erik, Phyllis (H) and Phoebe all played 4H = to share the E-W top. In the end there was a 5-5 split between nine and ten tricks, with one declarer taking eight. A diamond lead in time holds no-trumps to seven tricks with accurate defence, but George (L) played 3NT W = after a passive heart lead. Randi took the expected six tricks against 2Sx. Larbot and Troward defeated 4H to tie for N-S top.
?
4H W -1 (2)
2H W =
2NT E =
3H W = (3)
2H W +2 (2)
2Sx N -1
3NT W =
4H W = (3)
?
6:
?
...............Q5
...............10532
...............Q
...............KJ7654
AK82........................J10963
A987.........................QJ
72..............................J1053
Q82...........................109
...............74
...............K64
...............AK9864
...............A3
?
This turned out to be a rainbow hand. I thought the auction might be P-1NT-P-3NT; one South did play 3NT. Otherwise we start 1D-X, with perhaps a 2C bid from North, spades from East if North passes and likely more diamonds from South. One North bid 1H over West's double and eventually declared 3H. Two Norths declared 3C, which might be reached in a variety of ways. Spades and diamonds were the most popular denominations, with contracts of 2D S, 2S E thrice, 3D S thrice, 3S E twice and 4D S.
?
3NT S could have seen E-W take the first seven tricks, but George (W) received the opening lead of a low heart. Diamonds did not behave but clubs did and George had stolen the N-S top. Spade contracts could be held to eight tricks via a trump promotion for North's spade queen on a third round of diamonds. Jim (U) took ten tricks; the other four declarers were evenly divided between eight and nine. Howard finished the expected -1 in 2H. Diamond contracts can be held to eight tricks, seven if declarer ends up losing both a trump and three hearts. Cinbot and Ritold defended 3D -2; the other diamond declarers took eight tricks. Clubs yielded seven tricks against a heart lead, eight otherwise.
?
3NT S +1
2D S =
3C N -1; 3D S -1; 3H N -1
3C N -2; 3D S -2 (2); 4D S -2
2S E = (2)
3S E = (2)
2S E +2
?
7:
?
...............AQ54
...............K5
...............J986
...............1084
KJ107....................82
A874......................J1096
AQ5........................K103
KJ...........................9632
...............963
...............Q32
...............742
...............AQ75
?
Here we had thirteen contracts at the one-level and one contract of 4H W. Jerik played 1NT W after a forcing 1C opening bid; the other two 1NT contracts apparently resulted from a 1NT opening bid, although 1D-P-P-X; 1NT is also possible, though it feels less likely. Two Wests opened 1C on the 4=4=3=2 hand pattern (I hope they Alerted; there was no complaint that either did not) and were left there; a 1D opening bid was left in eight times. The 4H W contract presumably occurred after a bit of competition when West took an aggressive position.
?
4H was just too high; Eubot was joint N-S top for a two-trick set. -1 was possible if declarer used the diamond king for the first heart finesse and then played to ruff the third spade for the second. For the one-level contracts, 1D or 1NT could make, while 1C could have been -1 by force. Troward set 1NT when dummy did not duck on the third round of clubs when North led the eight-spot with South holding Q7 behind East's 96; South did not have an outside entry and would not have scored both clubs. Mattbot even managed 1NT W -2 to tie for top but Erik tied for E-W top in 1NT W =. Shan overperformed by one trick to make 1C. Phyllis (B) tied for E-W top in 1D W +1, while Larbot and Boric overperformed defensively to produce 1D -1.
?
1NT W -2; 4H W -2
1C W -1; 1D W -1 (3); 1NT W -1
1C W =; 1D W = (4)
1D W +1; 1NT W =
?
8:
?
...............97
...............1052
...............KQ94
...............Q864
32...........................AKQ1065
J64.........................AK983
AJ1032...................6
A53.........................7
...............J84
...............Q7
...............875
...............KJ1092
?
East has the playing strength for a 2C opening bid. The downside is that, if South can compete, aggressive pre-emption may deny East the chance to bid both suits. The plus is that a 2C opening bid may make it easier to find a slam. The opening bid was always 1S except for Jim (U)'s 1C forcing, which led to 6NT W. Another auction ended in 7H E. Shoan had the top auction of 1S-1NT; 3H-3NT; 4S-5NT; 6S. Shan nicely realized that his minor aces would be just what partner needed and bid 5NT asking East to pick a slam; Joan chose 6S. The other contracts were 4H E twice and 4S E nine times.
?
Five games contracts saw declarer take only twelve tricks, most likely due to declarer's not dropping the heart queen, the line with the highest chance of success. Sarah made 7H by dropping the queen of trumps, which Erik also dropped in 6NT +1 and Joan in 6S +1. At IMPs declare in 6S or 6H would not take all the tricks because, after one high heart, leading the other top heart would risk losing two hearts when low to the jack would be a safe play for four tricks with one loser, as we saw a couple of weeks ago in the case of a similar hand.
?
4H E +2; 4S E +2 (4)
4S E +3 (6)
6S E +1
6NT W +1
7H E =
?
9:
?
...............Q973
...............107
...............KQ753
...............73
85...........................AK2
K953.......................AJ4
108..........................J942
J9542......................AQ8
...............J1064
...............Q862
...............A6
...............K106
?
After nine contracts of 1D W on Board 7, we had seven 1D E contracts here, surely enough combined for a record. Jerik again had the good luck of the hand's fitting their system, allowing a 1C forcing opening bid followed by 1NT. One other pair also reached 1NT E, possibly after a light takeout double from South. Higher contracts were 2S N, 2NT E thrice (a likely outcome if West responded) and 3C E.
?
1D can be set if West's trumps are drawn and a spade ruff prevented, but that requires a trump lead. Rich was one of the five declarers in 1D = after a different lead (his was a heart); only Larbot and Jaz produced the set. Any higher contract fared better. Joan made 3C and nine tricks were available in no-trumps, although eight were more usual due to nine requiring a backwards finesse in hearts. Louise and Jim (U) tied for E-W top in 1NT +2, likely after a heart lead instead of a spade.
?
2S N =
1D E -1 (2)
1D E = (5)
3C E =
2NT E = (3)
1NT E +2 (2)
?
10:
?
...............KJ6
...............84
...............1084
...............AJ642
98542..................Q1073
AK1065................92
----.......................AKQJ652
1075.....................----
...............A
...............QJ73
...............973
...............KQ983
?
It was a good thing that East did not open with a Gambling 3NT. The auction would have been 3NT-P-4C-P; 4D and the spades would never have gotten into the bidding. It seemed unlikely that spades would be kept out: if South were to overcall 2C West could double and over a pass West would respond 1S. Contracts were all at the three-level or higher: 3C N (West must have responded 1H), 3S E, 4D E, 4S E four times, 4S W, 5Cx N, 5D E, 5Dx E, 5H W and 5S W twice. Not often that e see all four suits declared at the five-level.
?
East can make 5D but with a bit of a trap. If the opening lead is a heart, East must ruff a club and draw trumps, then lead the first spade low from hand. Otherwise, heart, spade, heart means that trumps cannot be drawn and then the second spade led from dummy. This line is superiour to leading the spade queen from hand first for practical reasons (singleton ace or king with South and singleton jack in either hand are equally likely), as a spade lead is not likely from a singleton king, though J, A or AK6 are all quite plausible. Of the three declarers in diamonds only Hank (B) took eleven tricks. There is also a trap in spades, where eleven tricks are also possible. If N-S lead clubs, East must discard two clubs from dummy before starting the trumps; otherwise a second round of clubs locks East out of hand. Eubot were N-S top defending 4S -3 and Geoel posted 4S -2. Two declarers took ten tricks in spades, two took eleven and Louise even managed twelve for the E-W top when North rose with the king on the first spade. This may make up to Louise for the hand from the mid-2000s when Arlene and Fredda bid to 6S missing four trumps including ace and king and Muriel Lipman?crashed honours with Louise. 5H took the expected nine tricks. Clubs by North could have been held to eight tricks; Bob was lucky in 5Cx not to finish -3 and bottom; -2 escaped for a middle score.
?
4S E -3
4S E -2; 5Dx E -1; 5H W -2
3C N -1
4D E =
3S E +1
5Cx N -2
5D E =
4S E =
4S E +1; 4S W +1; 5S W =
5S W +1
?
11:
?
...............76542
...............A3
...............KQ93
...............J9
AJ9........................K3
98752....................K64
J106.......................754
107.........................KQ653
...............Q108
...............QJ10
...............A82
...............A842
?
1C-1S; 1NT from N-S began the auction. 1NT ended the auction eight times. Six Norths went beyond 1NT. 2S N was played twice, along with 2NT S, 3S N twice and 4S N. If North shows invitational values, South can show three spades in a minimum and North can subside as low as possible.
?
A heart lead holds 1NT to seven tricks, largely because the entries are wrong to squeeze out a surprise second club trick. 2S can take nine tricks, as either clubs or hearts can provide a discard for the loser in the other suit. Matt was the only declarer in spades to take ten tricks, while declarers in 1NT S were even divided between taking seven tricks and eight. Tracy was one of the declarers to take eight tricks, which he did when West discarded a spade on the fourth diamond. +120 was the lowest above-average score for N-S. E-W top was Giselaine's, defending 4S N -1.
?
3S N +1
2S N +1; 3S N =
1NT S +1 (4)
2S N =
1NT S = (4)
2NT S -1; 4S N -1
?
12:
?
...............83
...............Q96532
...............QJ
...............862
762............................J10
K74............................8
A73............................98542
AKJ5.........................Q10943
...............AKQ954
...............AJ10
...............K106
...............7
?
1NT from West and then South came in one way or another, usually playing the hand, although a few E-W pairs took the bid. Contracts were 1NTx W, 2S S five times, 3C E, 3S S four times, 4C E, 4C W and 4Sx S, that last after the auction 1NT-P-3D-3S; 4D-P-P-4S; X.
?
Play was mostly straightforward, with only two declarers not taking the double dummy number of tricks. 4S takes ten tricks with east, losing only one club, one diamond and one heart. Matt was allowed an eleventh trick, probably getting to discard all his diamonds on the hearts. Linda was N-S top in 4Sx =. Club contracts had eight tricks and 1NT six; Shan, Harold and Elaine all took the expected number of tricks to score 11/13. Richard was E-W top in 3C E =, although -1 would have done just as well.
?
4Sx S =
3S S +2
2S S +2 (5); 3S S +1 (3)
1NTx W -1; 4C E -2; 4C W -2
3C E =
?
13:
?
...............A107
...............Q643
...............Q7
...............10865
KQ62.....................J843
K2..........................J85
AJ86......................952
A92........................KQJ
...............95
...............A1097
...............K1043
...............743
?
Again we have an eight-count facing a 1NT opening bid (except for Jerik, who had a 1C opening bid and 1NT rebid with 17 at the low end instead of the high end). Seven 1NT W opening bids were left in. One East bid Stayman and then left West in 2S. The other six contracts involved a game invitation from East, accepted by West, who played 4S twice and 3NT four times (counting Jerik).
?
The layout was on the favourable side for E-W, with both red suits behaving.4S can only be defeated by the lead of the diamond queen, which allows N-S to force a diamond ruff. Declarer may not play the diamonds correctly, though; Geoel defended 4S -1 and Carthurl 2S +1, but Shan made 4S W to score 12/13. E-W top was Erik's in 3NT +1. After a club lead to East and a diamond finesse to North, North returned the other diamond instead of the heart that would have allowed the set. The other 3NT contracts were all defeated. Louise took nine tricks in 1NT for a good score; 1NT +1 was middle.
?
3NT W -2
3NT W -1 (2); 4S W -1
1NT W + 1 (5)
2S W +1
1NT W +2 (2)
4S W =
3NT W +1
?
14:
?
...............A82
...............AQJ98
...............654
...............93
3.............................QJ1054
K1072.....................3?
AQ72......................K1083
KQ85......................A72
...............K976
...............654
...............J9
...............J1064
?
P-P-1D-1H; 1S?to start. Then if South squeezes out a raise 2Hx comes into play as a possible contract or even higher if North is goaded into a higher level. East generally invited but most Wests declined, not liking the position of the heart king and the lack of help in spades. Contracts were 2NT W, 3D W seven times, 3Hx N, 3NT W thrice, 4D W and 5D W.
?
3Hx can be set three tricks by force; Shoan extracted the maximum for the E-W top. 3NT almost makes but, after a lead of the heart queen or jack to the king, declarer has only seven tricks in the minors and then runs out of steam. Erik took ten tricks again in 3NT - after a heart, club and spade, North led the heart ace, the only card in the hand to allow the make. 5D has a lucky make available with Hxx in North's hand and Hxxx in South's. West wins the opening lead and plays the low spade. If North wins, a ruffing finesse through South establishes the suit. If South wins, the ace comes down in two ruffs. Four declarers took ten tricks in diamonds but four took only eight and one took nine. N-S top went to Jonj defending 3NT -2.
?
3NT W -2
3D W -1 (3); 3NT W -1; 5D W -1
3D W =
3D W +1 (3); 4D W -1
2NT W +1
3NT W +1
3Hx N -3
?
15:
?
...............Q853
...............KQ72
...............9832
...............A
64.....................KJ2
63.....................AJ98
Q64..................AJ107
KQ10965..........J3
...............A1097
...............1054
...............K5
...............8742
?
Some?Wests began with 3C, occasionally taken to 3NT by East if the pair tends to be on the Sound side in their pre-empts, although no partner of Bill's would dare bid 3NT after one of his 3C opening bids at favourable. It may not matter much, though, if West passes, as East overcalls 1NT whatever suit North opens. Contracts were 1NT E five times, 2H N, 2NT E, 3C W twice, 3D E and 3NT E four times.
?
Club contracts can take nine tricks by force, although a diamond lead must be won by the ace to prevent N-S's being able to force a diamond ruff. 3NT gets remarkably lucky that the club ace is singleton, but declarer doesn't have enough fast tricks. Rich made 3NT when South discarded a spade on one of the clubs. Cindy and Louise in 1NT did even better after a 1D opening bid from North and a lead of the diamond king from South. N-S top went to Geobot for defending 3D E -2.
?
3D E -2
3NT E -1 (3)
2H N -1
3C W = (2)
1NT E +1 (2); 2NT E =
1NT E +2
1NT E +3
1NT E +4
3NT E =
?
16:
?
...............K1093
...............AJ98
...............542
...............QJ
A8...........................42
K754.......................Q10632
AQ8........................KJ3
K873.......................542
...............QJ765
...............----
...............10976
...............A1096
?
1NT from West, a transfer from East and then does South come in? If South passes and West bids only 2H rather than 3H South has a second chance and may balance with either 2S or a double. Possibly we might have had more N-S pairs declaring than the 10-4 margin favouring E-W; maybe North's good hearts influenced the decision to defend. Contracts were 2H W five times, 3H W four times, 3Hx W and 3S S.
?
Both spades and hearts take eight tricks. Three of the four declarers in spades took ten tricks when E-W did not cash their diamond winners in time. Dane were the only pair defending 3S to go plus. Most declarers in hearts took the expected eight tricks, with two Wests overperforming and two underperforming. Nary and Janda both defended 3H -2 to tie for N-S top with Boric and their 3Hx -1. Sandi and Phyllis (B) were the two declarers to post 2H +1, likely on some version of an endplay, although it requires help from N-S to come about.
?
3H W -2 (2); 3Hx W -1
3S S +1 (3)
2H W -1; 3H W -1 (2)
3S S -1
2H W = (2)
2H W +1 (2)
?
17:
?
...............J10
...............KQJ6
...............AQ6
...............J765
Q95.........................A63
852..........................1073
J1094......................8753
A92..........................KQ8
...............K8742
...............A94
...............K2
...............1043
?
After a whoopsie from one North, we had a passout between Janda and Dane. Yet again it came down to a question of whether a hand on the edge opted to invite game or stop low, this time after 1C-1S; 1NT. 1NT N was left in six times. Some Souths were only slightly more active; 2S S was played twice. The remaining five auctions saw a game invitation with two contracts of 2NT N and three of 3NT N.
?
No-trumps can be held to eight tricks in a bit of an unusual way. Declarer has the timing to establish the spades before E-W have diamonds ready to run. But as soon as the spade queen becomes a winner E-W have five tricks ready to cash. Four pairs extracted the defensive maximum against no-trumps, with Pharah, Shoan and Ritold posting -120 while Haorge were the only pair to defeat 3NT. Spade contracts were also held to eight tricks if E-W cashed their clubs before declarer got in. Jatin took nine tricks after a red-suit lead; Randi were allowed a set, which took a bit of help from declarer given the mirror distribution of the E-W hands. John and Eugenie tied for N-S top in 3NT +1.
?
3NT N +1 (2)
1NT N +3 (2); 2NT N +2
1NT N +2 (2)
2S S +1
1NT N +1 (2); 2NT =
Passed Out
2S S -1; 3NT N -1
?
18:
?
...............J85
...............1042
...............K954
...............876
AK643.................1092
KQ863.................----
Q..........................AJ10632
A9........................J1043
...............Q7
...............AJ975
...............87
...............KQ52
?
Here at least two Wests took a good opportunity they were presented. When East opened 2D and South overcalled 2H without much to spare, West had a fine opportunity to make a penalty double. 2Hx was played twice, but 2H S was left in undoubled four times, a sadly missed opportunity. Higher contracts were 2NT W(!), 3NT W(!!), 4S W five times and 4Sx W, West having a reasonable 2S response if South passes.
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Declarer can force six tricks in hearts (Eric did but to little effect) but usually took five. Randi held declarer to four with two bits of help. Dummy covered the diamond queen at trick two; later in the end position South led the heart ace and gave away another trick when West could have been thrown in. 4S can also make, but is a little tricky, especially if North leads a trump. Declarer wins and leads the diamond queen. North cannot cover (which allows an eleventh trick); after North ducks declarer must be careful to ruff a heart, cross to the club ace, ruff another heart, discard the club nine on the diamond ace, ruff the second club, cash the spade king, then lead a high heart and declarer with eight tricks in the bank is left with two trumps and a high heart against North's one high trump. Eubot were N-S top defending 4Sx -2 but 4S undoubled was only set twice, with Phyllis (B), Phyllis (M) and Shan making 4S to score 10/13 behind Ritold's +800 and Jerik's +500.
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4Sx W -2
4S W -1 (2)
3NT W -1; 4S W -1 (2)
2H S -3 (3)
2H S -4
4S W = (2)
2Hx S -2
2Hx S -3
