1: Quick slam:
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...............82
...............KJ943
...............85
...............J874
K1095..................QJ76
6...........................AQ10
AK2......................Q943
KQ1052................A3
...............A43
...............8752
...............J1076
...............96
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The auction that was going best had a bit of an accident: 1NT-2C; 2S-4H as a splinter but East missed it and passed. 6S is almost a lock on 3-2 trumps and still will make most of the time if the suit splits 4-1. One pair that stopped had the auction 1NT-2C; 2S-3D; 3NT-4S, West temporizing and showing invitational values by delaying the raise to 4S, the auction showing slam interest similar to 1NT-2H; 2S-4S if one plays both Jacoby and Texas transfers. Five auctions ended in 6S; of the four successful slams, three were reached directly via 1NT-2C; 2S-6S while one West went to 4NT and then to 6S when East showed two key cards and the queen of trumps. One pair stopped in 3NT and four in 4S. With five losers, the West hand is good enough to push beyond game, although with a 4-4 fit and possibly iffy trumps stopping low can be reasonable - East's spade jack is a huge card and probably necessary for slam to be a good proposition.
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Except for one declarer who was not yet warmed up and went down in 6S, the slam made easily by establishing the West hand with a ruff of a club. Everyone else in spades took twelve tricks. 3NT took eleven tricks when neither minor behaved. 4H looks as if it ought to finish -2 but declarer got out for -1, saving half a matchpoint.
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4H W -1 vs Jevin; 6S E -1 vs Linces
3NT E +2 vs Gel
4S E +2 vs Vioebe, Heve, Georry and Jonj
6S E = by Ken, Connie, Irene and Harold
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2: E-W game:
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...............QJ
...............1092
...............109653
...............753
983...........................K65
KQ4..........................AJ873
KQ2..........................AJ7
QJ84.........................A6
...............A10742
...............65
...............84
...............K1092
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Every E-W pair reached game, either 4H or 3NT. The final margin was 6-5 favouring the suit game. 3NT was played once by West and four times by East. Even if E-W are playing Puppet Stayman, West's flat hand and 13 HCP suggest that 3NT will likely take the same number of tricks even if East holds a five-card major.
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In a vacuum declarer would like to play the club suit by leading the ace and then up to the queen. But here this risks letting the danger hand (North) gain the lead. A spade switch could then sink 4S or hold declarer to nine tricks in 3NT if declarer cashed out first. Running the club queen if spades have not been played makes declarer sure of ten tricks. There is a chance of an eleventh if South returns the ten or nine of clubs after winning the king; declarer cashes five hearts, three diamonds and the club ace ending in the West hand with three cards remaining:
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9...........................K65
----........................----
----........................----
J8..........................----
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South must blank the spade ace to keep two clubs, either 102 or 92, allowing declarer the option to play a spade, throw South in and finesse in clubs for eleven tricks. A low club return on the second round leaves South with 109 and holds declarer to ten tricks. Ken and Irene took eleven tricks in 4H; Joel took eleven in 3NT (although a spade lead seems likely to get eclarer to cash out for +1).
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4H E = vs Linces, Vioebe, Georry and Jonj
3NT E +1 by Connie, Judy and Harold; 3NT W +1 by Erik
4H E +1 by Ken and Irene
3NT E +2 by Joel
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3: Four doubled contracts:
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...............QJ652
...............87
...............Q92
...............854
A10943................87
109.......................AK632
5...........................K10863
AQ973..................2
...............K
...............QJ54
...............AJ74
...............KJ106
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This hand could have played almost anywhere and there were contracts in all four suits, with four doubled contracts in three different suits. I suspect there were four different opening bids: 1H from Jeff because Jevin play four-card majors, both 1D and 1C as pairs have different ways of treating the 1=4=4=4 and 4=1=4=4 patterns and surely, even with Harold playing E-W, someone opened 1NT, which looks pretty grim just looking at the South hand but works out beautifully here unless West gets scared off by the vulnerability. We were unlucky that South's singleton was in spades, or Gernot would have opened a three-suited 2D; had anyone else been playing that convention without Lernot's proviso that the opener will not be short in spades we could have had a contract of 2NT S (2D-2S; 2NT if North thought that preferable to 3m in a 4-3 fit). Curiously the only suit without a doubled contract was spades, despite spade auctions being likely to feature a reopening double from South which North might leave in. It looks as if E-W get into trouble unless the pair gets rather lucky and can stop in 2M after 1m-1S-P-2H, either West passing 2H or East passing 2S. I'm a little surprised we ended without both sides playing in the same suit. North might play 2S after a 1NT opener if West shows some sort of two-suited hand without specifying spades. Jevin might have found themselves in hearts after a 1H opening had Jeff shown another suit or doubled and Kevin decided in favour of a preference. It's a little harder to see E-W playing in a 5-1 minor with a 5-2 major to which to give preference, but we have seen stranger things. The difficulty with most auctions was just getting too high. Four E-W pairs found themselves at the four-level before they got out. Only two contracts stayed at the two-level, 2H E and 2Cx S, the latter with a responsive or balancing double from East which West was quite happy to leave in.
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Spade contracts are the easiest to predict. After a diamond lead declarer can force eight tricks and even?nine?if South does not switch to the singleton king of trumps (Diamond to jack, heart to king, diamond ruff, heart to ace, club to queen, club ace, club ruff, diamond ruff, club ruffed high and then West has seven tricks banked and two spade winners to come). Jonj posted 4S -4 but Lark's 3S -1 was much more expected. E-W are very near being able to force Geoel's result of 2Cx -3, which seems almost impossible to avoid. Ken, the only declarer to succeed, made 2H E, which, can be forced after a club lead, though perhaps not after a spade. E-W can force at least seven tricks and diamonds and quite likely eight. In the end we had a total of 26 undertricks on the deal; not declaring was the prime objective.
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4Hx E -3 vs Georry
4H E -4 vs Jevin; 4S W -4 vs Jonj
4H E -2 vs Heve
3H E -1 vs Gel; 3S W -1 vs Lark
2H E = by Ken
3C S -3 vs Deoff
3Dx S -2 vs Marudy
2Cx S -3 vs Geoel; 3Dx S -3 vs Ritold
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4: Would N-S steal 3NT?:
?
...............875
...............J6
...............KJ1086
...............954
A104....................QJ932
A108752..............K4
42........................Q953
106.......................J3
...............K6
...............Q93
...............A7
...............AKQ872
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This was not a hand for the faint of heart. A 2H opening bid from West makes it difficult for South to go to 3NT, which may or may not be a good thing. When West passed, a 2S opening bid from East in third seat (which I don't think ever happened but would have been plausible had E-W not been vulnerable) would actually have made 3NT more attractive for South. In fourth seat, I did not see anyone open 2NT, although the hand is begging for it. AKQxxx is easily worth upgrading and the hand has at least positional stoppers in all four suits. Three pairs reached the bold 3NT while the rest played in clubs, primarily 3C but 2C and 4C as well.
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It was a good hand for good defenders. West's luckiest opening lead against clubs is the ace of hearts followed by another. East wins the second heart and switches to spades; E-W can take two hearts, two spades and an overruff of the third heart. After a minor-suit lead declarer can take ten tricks when the diamonds establish, South choosing the ruffing finesse to keep East off lead if it fails.
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Defending 3NT comes down to trust in the opposition and may relate to the auction as well. If South opened 1C and jumped to 3C or 3NT, after a low heart to the king East could have found the crucial spade switch if one trusted South not to be bluffing a heart stopper. (This is actually an advantage of the 2NT opening bid; Bill playing East would find the spade switch on most auctions but if two clones of him were opposing each other Southclone would have opened 2NT and Eastclone would have played South for the ace-king and continued hearts hoping against hope that West held Qxx in clubs because West can only hold two aces if South has opened 2NT on an 18-count.) Lee and Gernot got out quickly with their nine tricks after East continued with a second heart. As Lernot's auction was P-P-P-1C; 1H-P-P-3NT one might have thought East at that table would have found the spade switch. Ritold were E-W top defending 3NT -4 because declarer misclicked on the heart jack from dummy at trick one, establishing the suit for the defence.
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3NT S = by Lee and Gernot
3C S +1 by Larry (Sh), Jane (M) and Del
3C S = by NJ
2C S = vs Conndy
3C S -1 vs Kellys and Randi; 4C S -1 vs Geoel
3NT S -4 vs Ritold
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5: 3NT again:
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...............KJ4
...............AQ32
...............10874
...............82
95..........................A8763
KJ65......................1094
K965......................QJ3
Q64........................103
...............Q102
...............87
...............A2
...............AKJ975
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Here we have another plausible upgrade; South has quite a reasonable 1NT opening bid which appears to have been selected at least once, though probably no more often. After a 1C opening bid it seems that a majority of openers rebid only 2C rather than 3C over a 1H response (I prefer 3C to 2C given the 1C opening bid). 2C was left in five times. One E-W pair found its way into the auction and played 2D W. The two contracts of 2NT N seem off, as South has a clear acceptance of the invitation. 3NT was reached thrice.
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After the normal spade lead, North in 3NT had nine easy tricks and East's discards on the clubs presumably clued declarer in that the heart finesse would succeed. Jeff, declaring 3NT from the South side, reasoned that the finesse was not worth risking and he proved correct - the overtrick would have improved the score from 80% to 90% but a failed finesse could have cost heavily. Club contracts had ten likely tricks. The plausible road to nine would be West leading the doubleton spade, ducked encouragingly by East, with a losing trump finesse followed by a spade to the ace and a ruff. Randi produced this defence for the E-W top.
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3NT N +1 by John and Gene
3NT S = by Jeff
2D W -3 vs Lark; 2NT N +1 by Lianger and Sharon
2C S +2 vs Giselaine, Kellys, Jerik and Owbot
2C S +1 vs Randi
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6: Toss-up slam:
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...............A10
...............KJ10
...............QJ973
...............AK6
QJ942....................753
963.........................A852
6.............................K52
9872.......................J105
...............K86
...............Q74
...............A1084
...............Q43
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With South not opening there was no practical chance of reaching the six-level. Had Jerik been sitting N-S their Big Club system would not have punished a 1D opening but even then if North went looking for slam finding two missing key cards would have dampened enthusiasm. 3NT was reached at ten tables and only 2NT at the eleventh, South declaring more often (six times in all).
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One declarer sadly neglected to knock out the heart aces while the other suits were stopped and took only nine tricks. Another apparently ducked the first spade and could only take eleven tricks. Everyone else took twelve.
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3NT N +3 by Lianger, Vicki, Doug and John; 3NT S +3 by Hank, Larry (Sh), Jeff and Del
3NT S +2 vs Ritold
3NT S = vs Conndy
2NT N +4 vs Owbot
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7: Possible game:
?
...............1092
...............J74
...............102
...............86542
AJ....................K876
AQ10983.........6
A6....................K9854
J107.................K93
...............Q543
...............K52
...............QJ73
...............AQ
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The auction that seems to make the most sense here is 1D-1H-P-1NT; P-3H-P-3NT, bid by Ritold, or 1D-1H-P-1NT; P-3NT, bid by Geoel. West might reasonably double instead of overcalling 1H, depending on where the partnership has set that particular bar. At the tables 1H was left in three times and three Wests rebid only 2H. With 2NT, 3H and 4H each attempted once, that left only two pairs in the nice 3NT.
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If south gets off to the happy lead of a low diamond, 3NT comes down to whether or not declarer gets five heart tricks. Happily South's opening bid gave strong odds in favour of the king's being onside. Evn in an uncontested auction the odds would favour finessing the queen over the ten. Most of the time it will make no difference (or be a toss-up if each defender holds Hxx) but the queen gains when North holds Jx. That finesse allowed either 3NT or 4H to make, although quite a few declarers in hearts lost their way and took fewer than ten tricks.
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4H W -3 vs Linces
3H W -1 vs Georry
2H W = vs Lernot
2NT E = vs Lark
1H W +2 vs Heve and Shane
1H W +3 by Cindy; 2H W +2 by Sandi and Erik
3NT E = by Harold and Joel
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8: One slam attempted:
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...............AK43
...............3
...............AJ10
...............AQ985
J10652.................Q9
A6542..................K87
9...........................KQ87653
63.........................10
...............87
...............QJ109
...............42
...............KJ743
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After 1C from North a 3D overcall from East dialed up the pressure and forced N-S to guess what to do. Some Easts likely overcalled only 1D or 2D and gave N-S more room to find out that 3NT was quite safe; it became the majority contract. Harold was able to push N-S out of the auction entirely with 3D and three pairs found themselves playing in clubs at the levels of four, five and six.
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Harold made 3D, which seems to have required a bit of assistance from N-S. A spade lead give E-W a chance to hold declarer to nine tricks in 3NT; a high diamond lead makes ten likely and John was allowed eleven for the N-S top. The club contracts all took eleven tricks; on any lead but a diamond declarer could have attempted a ruffing finesse in hearts but it would not have succeeded anyway and may have resulted in ten tricks instead of twelve.
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3NT N +2 by John
3NT N +1 by Lianger and George
3NT N = by Mark, Doug, Sharon and Gene; 5C N = by Steve
4C N +1 vs Lourene
6C N -1 vs Jerik
3D E = by Harold
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9: Mainly partials:
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...............KJ874
...............J762
...............K
...............843
95.........................A103
K10.......................Q9543
J98532.................A7
QJ6.......................AK10
...............Q62
...............A7
...............Q1064
...............9752
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Finally we have a hand that is a dubious upgrade due to the so-so heart suit, although I'm sure Mr Bergen would promote it out of the 1NT category with three aces to one queen and two tens to no jacks. 1NT was opened a number of times, likely more than half. Three Wests passed, North leaving the contract in twice and once balancing to show the majors, eventually ending in 2S S, although why West did not compete with 3D I cannot say.?Four Wests got to 3D, I shall hope after North came into the auction and not voluntarily. 3NT was played both by East and by West; 2NT E was played as well.
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If one were to expect 3NT to make from either side, one would think it would make from the East side after a lead other than a spade. South can still find a spade switch if East goes after diamonds. The best chance may be that North somehow discards a heart - again more likely that East makes the hand, but Phyllis made the contract from the West side. Declarers in diamonds should have taken only nine tricks but two took ten, sandwiching the two Easts in 1NT +1. Conndy had six sure tricks against 2S and got a seventh from a trump promotion.
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3NT E -2 vs Lark
2NT E -1 vs Lernot; 3H W -1 vs Shane
3D W = vs Georry and Jevin
1NT E +1 by Irene and Judy
3D W +1 by Rita and Geoff
2S S -3 vs Conndy
3NT W = by Phyllis
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10: Slam with +1:
?
...............K75
...............1095
...............J104
...............A975
9842......................Q10
KJ8643..................Q72
2.............................Q987653
J8...........................10
...............AJ63
...............A
...............AK
...............KQ6432
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If the auction were left uncontested N-S would have an easy enough time reaching 6C. As soon as South shows clubs after a 2C opening bid North should be thinking of slam, ideally raising and then showing the spade control, which will suit South perfectly. The hand has particular advantage for pairs that show controls, as South knows right away that only one king is missing. But many auctions featured interference from E-W, both preventing a 2C opening bid and after it happened, so that N-S were often not at their leisure for an auction like 2C-2D; 3C-4C; 4D-4S; 5H-6C. One North misread who had opened and passed the 2C opening bid, leading E-W to think there had been a Failure to Alert until South confirmed that 2C had been the usual strong and artificial force. In the end only three pairs reached slam (6C twice, along with the aggressive 6NT). Four pairs finished in 3NT, two in 4S and one in 5C.
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In no-trumps, a low heart lead on which East plays the queen may make declarer feel an urgent need to cash out but West gets squeezed in the majors on the minor winners and will have to discard a spade to allow declarer all thirteen tricks. NJ and Larry (Sh) did take all the tricks in no-trumps; Lianger and Hank took twelve. One declarer only took eleven, suggesting that a spade was discarded from the North hand and then the ace cashed before the king. The two 4S contracts had a trump loser and both took twelve tricks. 6C was always making barring bizarre ruffs and had the overtrick when the spade queen behaved obligingly.
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6NT S +1 by NJ
6C S +1 by Lee and Del
3NT S +4 by Larry (Sh)
3NT N +3 by Lianger; 3NT S +3 by Hank
4S N +2 vs Randi and Geoel
3NT N +2 vs Marudy
5C S +1 vs Jerik
2C S +5 vs Kellys
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11: Second slam with +1:
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...............8
...............Q1075
...............Q6
...............KQ10754
AJ952........................KQ7643
A3..............................K6
A85............................KJ43
986............................A
...............10
...............J9842
...............10972
...............J32
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The two slams were remarkably similar - both had one king missing, were safer in the suit than in 6NT and made the overtrick when a queen was onside and even came down doubleton so that declarer could not go wrong. This one proved much easier to bid, though, with only two pairs stopping in game against six small slams and three grand slams bid knowing that the contract would at worst need a finesse. The difference appears to be that East held all three kings, so that it was clear after East found out that West held the three missing aces that declarer would at worst need a diamond finesse and A or Ax would make the grand slam cold by ruffing. The Easts to reason that way were Joel, Harold and Ken.
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How declarer dropped a trick against Dane I am sure I cannot guess with any confidence. Just possibly declarer ran the diamond jack, hoping that South held the queen so that declarers in 7S would fail? Everyone else took all thirteen tricks as expected.
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4S W +3 vs Lark and Shane
6S W = vs Dane
6S W +1 by Owen, Martin, Erik, Geoff and Cindy
7S W = by Geof, Rita and Phyllis
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12: Four doubled contracts, the sequel:
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...............KQ10842
...............A9
...............K32
...............A5
A965.........................J
Q10752.....................K6
10..............................A9865
J108..........................KQ763
...............73
...............J843
...............QJ74
...............942
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Nobody left in 1S N or indeed even stopped anywhere at the two-level (either seemed plausible if East passed or overcalled 2D after North's 1S opening bid). At least two Easts trotted out the Unusual 2NT, as West declared 3C and 4C (East did the same). It is a little surprising that three Wests played in hearts, 4H twice and 4Hx. Four Norths persisted at least to the three-level, finishing in 3S, 3Sx twice and 4Sx.
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George produced the star declaring of the day, making 4Sx when E-W never got a diamond ruff. Owbot and Deoff tied for E-W top defending 3Sx -2. The three 4H contracts all took eight or seven tricks, all good for the defence. Clubs could have been held to nine tricks by force; one declarer took nine tricks, two ten and one eleven.
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4Sx N = by George
4Hx W -3 vs Dane
4H W -3 vs Jevin
4H W -2 vs Lernot
4C E -1 vs Jonj
3C W = by Sandi
3C E +1 by Joel; 4C W +1 by Martin
3S N -2 vs Lourene
3Sx N -2 vs Owbot and Deoff
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13: Potential balance on a non-fit auction?:
?
...............65
...............A10764
...............1063
...............J73
94.............................AK1073
QJ95.........................32
975............................J82
AK82.........................Q65
...............QJ82
...............K8
...............AKQ4
...............1094
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The auction was almost universally P-P-1NT-P; 2D-P-2H. Two Easts came in with 2S in the balancing position; one East was left in while the other 2S bid pushed N-S to 3H.
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Against hearts, E-W can take five top tricks and get?two trump tricks by force; declarer cannot quite pull off a trump coup given West's fourth club. Lee, Phoebe and Hank were all allowed to make 2H, which seems a bit excessive; -1 is possible with slightly inexact defence. Five pairs held declarer in hearts to six tricks, giving Randi E-W top for 3H -3. Being left in 2S worked out poorly for declarer. N-S also had five top tricks and two trump winners to come; +200 gave Linces the N-S top.
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2S E -2 vs Linces
2H S = by Lee, Phoebe and Hank
2H S -1 by Jeff and Del
2H S -2 vs Marudy, Ritold, Kellys and Deoff
2H S -3 vs Randi
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14: Mostly 3NT:
?
...............95
...............K94
...............Q9754
...............K107
Q8763..................1042
Q76......................J1053
KJ103...................----
J...........................A96532
...............AKJ
...............A82
...............A862
...............Q84
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North usually raised South's 1D opening bid (West may have helped this along with a spade overcall); South then bid no-trumps and was put into game. Contracts were 3D S, 3S W, 3NT N, 3NT S seven times and 5D S.
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Bill would have been in his element here, as a heart lead gives E-W a strong chance to defeat 3NT. Declarer can easily go wrong and establish the diamonds with the suit's two losers before switching over to clubs. A spade lead lets declarer force a make come what may, and makes an overtrick possible if the heart switch is not found. Lee, Jeff and NJ shared the N-S top in 3NT S +1; the other 3NT contracts all took nine tricks. 5D failed by one trick on the bad break, btu better-splitting trumps would not have been much help, as if 5D makes 3NT should make at least one overtrick. The partials were both below average for N-S.
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3NT S =1 by Lee, Jeff and NJ
3NT N = by George; 3NT S = by Phoebe, Hank, Jane (T) and Del
3D S +1 vs Conndy
3S W -2 by Geoff
5D S -1 vs Ritold
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15: Choice of games:
?
...............AQ103
...............J862
...............A5
...............J83
K74..........................62
KQ753.....................A109
K3............................J106
AQ7.........................K10542
...............J985
...............4
...............Q98742
...............96
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West opens either 1H or 1NT. 1H likely finishes in 4H, 1NT in either 3NT or 4H depending on whether the pair has Puppet Stayman available. One West was left in 1NT and one South finished in 2Sx; leaving in a 1NT opening bid is too little from East. West also played in 2H and 3H, 2H likely being too little from West. Game contracts were 3NT W thrice, 4H W twice, 4Hx W and 5H W. 5H came after a bidding misunderstanding; West thought that East had two aces but bid 4NT to double check.
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At least West's playing the hand right-sided the contract, as South never got in to lead a spade through. 3NT gave declarer nine tricks every time; it was a little unlucky for declarer that North never led a heart, especially if the suit was never bid naturally. The heart games all made on the number, Erik pulling off a good save in 5H.
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2H W +1 vs Jonj; 3H W +1 vs Shane
2Sx S -1 by Del
1NT W +4 vs Dane
3NT W = by Cindy, Geof and Rita
4H W = by Owen
4H W +1 by Louise; 5H W = by Erik
4Hx W = by Geoff
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16: 1100 Club entry:
?
...............K8765
...............4
...............J85
...............AQ82
A1092....................QJ3
6.............................Q98532
A10764...................Q3
654.........................73
...............4
...............AKJ107
...............K92
...............KJ109
?
Two Easts opened 2H in third seat, North balanced with a double, and South had the happiest pass of the day. West might have considered pulling the double, but it's hard to say that 2S clearly does any better. It might manage a trick or two more. At the other tables one auction went P-P-P-1H; P-1S-P-1NT (I made a face while typing that); another South stopped in 3C. The remaining N-S pairs all arrived in 3NT, with South declaring over North by a 4-3 margin.
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2Hx was never getting out for less than game, especially at the vulnerability. Jevin posted -4 for a lovely +1100; Gel posted -3 for second and +800. 3NT was defeated twice by Marudy and Geoel, but the set could never have been forced given the diamond layout. The other declarers in 3NT all took nine tricks.
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2Hx E -4 vs Jevin
2Hx E -3 vs Gel
3NT N = by Lianger and Sharon; 3NT S = by Lee, NJ and Gernot
3C S +2 vs Owbot
1NT S = vs Lourene
3NT N -1 vs Marudy; 3NT S -1 vs Geoel
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17: Mostly 3NT:
?
...............Q2
...............J102
...............8742
...............KQ108
J63...........................K109854
Q973........................K65
K103.........................J9
976...........................32
...............A7
...............A84
...............AQ65
...............AJ54
?
The goal here was either to stay out of 3NT or at least reach it from the North side. If East passes South opens 1m and North gets to respond 1NT. If East opens 2S, 3NT N might be reached if South doubles, North bids 3C showing decent values and South cue-bids 3S to right-side the contract if North holds a partial stopper. In the end 3NT was played seven times, five times by South, along with 3S E, 4C N, 5C N and 5D S.
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Even if North declares 3NT and receives a spade lead 3NT should still be defeated. The best chance of a make would be for East to discard a heart on the clubs, letting declarer pick up two tricks in the suit. Otherwise as long as East does not discard a heart or cover the lead of the jack, 3NT is defeated. 3NT S is likely to be two down after a spade lead, although a heart lead and a diamond discard from West may well allow ten tricks, the result posted by NJ. How George took ten tricks as North I cannot say, unless the hand played out essentially the same way after a heart lead and continuation. E-W top was a four-way tie between Deoff, Conndy and Ritold against 3NT S -2 along with Owbot against 5D S -2.
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3NT N +1 by George; 3NT S +1 by NJ
4C N = by Gene
3S E -2 vs Heve
3NT N -1 vs Randi; 3NT S -1 vs Jerik; 5C N -1 vs Marudy
3NT S -2 vs Deoff, Conndy and Ritold; 5D S -2 vs Owbot
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18: Wild finishing hand but it rather fizzled:
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...............K9832
...............AK1098652
...............----
...............----
J1065..............................Q7
Q73..................................J4
A4....................................KQ1065
10832..............................KQ95
...............A4
...............----
...............J98732
...............AJ764
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One would think that a hand with a 5=8=0=0 hand pattern could end up anywhere but the hand fizzled pretty strongly. East opened 1D, which kept South from entering the auction, and then West responded 1S, which just left North to decide how high to go in hearts and how quickly to get there. In the end seven Norths played 4H, usually bid directly. The four other contracts were 3H N twice, 3S N and 5Cx S.
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5Cx S -4 was (shockingly) Not a Success, except of course for Geoel who finished with a score of +1100. 3S took nine tricks. Heart contracts looked set for ten tricks, but Easts' natural impulse to lead partner's suit gave declarer a chance for an eleventh trick - win the spade queen with the ace, discard a spade on the club and then lead the second spade, finessing if West ducks. If East ruffs the second spade, it does no harm, as declarer would have lost those spades anyway, and if East ruffs from a longer trump holding declarer gains a trick. Kevin and John took eleven tricks to tie for N-S top.
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4H N +1 by Kevin and John
4H N = by Lianger, Mark, George, Doug and Sharon
3H N +1 vs Conndy and Randi
3S N = vs Kellys
5Cx S -4 vs Geoel
