1:
?
...............97642
...............AQ65
...............85
...............105
J5.........................AQ10
42.........................K87
1074.....................AKJ2
K98742................AQJ
...............K83
...............J1093
...............Q963
...............63
?
We began with everyone in 3NT E. East generally opened 2C and rebid 2NT; West was not quite strong enough to have good play for slam; make the spade jack the king and 6C E would be quite nice. Even Jerik's auction, starting with 1C, turned out very similar to most: 1C-1D; 2NT-3NT.
?
This is a good example of a defender coming under pressure. Both the spade and diamond finesses lose; a heart lead allows N-S to hold declarer to eleven tricks. Best defence turns out to be for North to duck the heart lead with an encouraging signal. South then avoids trouble and can keep control of both spades and diamonds while retaining a heart with which to reach North. The best declarer can do is cash out ten winners. If North takes the first heart, declarer can come to eleven tricks through either a squeeze or an endplay. Jim and Louise tied for E-W top with twelve tricks. N-S top wet to Gel for holding declarer to nine, despite North's winning the first heart and returning a second. Del planned the discards early and calmly blanked the diamond queen while East came down to the spade ace and the four diamonds. Del's gamble paid off handsomely when East took the diamond finesse. Nine tricks and the N-S top.
?
3NT E =
3NT E +1 (5)
3NT E +2 (6)
3NT E +3 (2)
?
2:
?
...............106
...............Q9
...............K10983
...............QJ62
KQ5.........................A9873
J8752......................A43
74............................QJ6
A104........................53
...............J42
...............K106
...............A52
...............K987
?
I think I probably expected more than three passouts on this hand. East might open light or might be playing Precision. South will only open if N-S open 1NT on a range including eleven-counts. West has ten HCP and a five-card major, although it really is not a good idea to open light in third seat on a poor suit. North has not only the weakest hand at the table but also the discouraging holding of 2-2 majors. The three passouts had an interesting cast of characters: Phoebot-Carthurl, Lark-Heve and Haorge-Anbot. The opening bid was usually 1H by West; contracts were 1S E, 2HW twice, 2S E thrice, 3S E twice, 4Cx S, 4H W and 4S E, East's opening the bidding leading to most of the higher contracts.
?
All contracts took eight tricks double dummy. Paun took the E-W top defending 4Cx -2. Howard made 4S and Erik made 4H; against Erik N-S began with two rounds of diamonds, allowing the club loser to be discarded, then crashed the king and queen on the second round of hearts. Boric were the one defending pair to better par, posting 2H -1 to tie for N-S top with the expected 3S -1 of Pharah and Glotin.
?
2H W -1; 3S E -1 (2)
Passed Out (3)
1S E +1; 2S E = (3)
2H W +2
4H W =; 4S E =
4Cx S -2
?
3:
?
...............52
...............KQ654
...............K764
...............53
73..........................KQ10864
10..........................A32
AQ983..................10
KQ862..................AJ9
...............AJ9
...............J987
...............J52
...............1074
?
It looked as if this might be a fairly simple auction, but North must have come in with a good many 1H overcalls. Left alone, E-W are likely to bid 1D-1S; 2C-2H; 3C-3S; 4S unless East gets ambitious for a slam in clubs (if West can be relied upon to hold 5-5 minors; if West would take the same path with, say, x xxx AKJx Kxxxx, then one might be glad just to find any game that makes). 4S E was played seven times. It seemed reasonably likely to end up there even if North overcalled 1H and South raised to 3H. 3NT E was played four times; I had an account from one West that Eastbot did not repeat the spades after fourth Suit Forcing. The other three contracts were 3S E, 5C E and 5Hx N.
?
Declarer is lucky to be able to scramble together eight tricks in no-trumps and seven is likely. Three declarers managed to make 3NT, Larry (Sh) after South discarded the spade jack on a club. Jurcia were N-S top defending 3NT -2. Both 4S and 5C have interesting timing considerations. In 4S East wants to ruff hearts right away; otherwise South can draw West's trumps and pick up a heart trick with careful defence. Twelve tricks can be taken in clubs, but only on an off-percentage line. Declarer must establish diamonds with two ruffs, which in this case requires running on the second or third round, pinning South's Jxx. Two low ruffs have a better chance of success, gaining when either opponent holds Kxx. That is not quite enough, though. As West will have to ruff twice in hearts to get everything done, it is necessary to play a spade after a diamond ruff or the spade winner will disappear later. Five of the seven declarers in 4S picked up the overtrick but Gel managed a set. Kunbot were E-W top taking their expected seven tricks for a +1100 against 5Hx -5.
?
3NT E -2
4S E -1
3S E +2
3NT E = (3); 5C E =
4S E=
4S E +1 (5)
5Hx N -5
?
4:
?
...............J1087
...............QJ3
...............Q98
...............AQ10
943.....................AK5
1097654.............8
742.....................J1063
J.........................98763
...............Q62
...............AK2
...............AK5
...............K542
?
N-S found this hand surprisingly difficult. South ought to have a fairly easy time of it; the hand is worth a slam invitation, which North will presumably decline. But nobody played in the contract I expected - 4NT N. That contract could have been reached after either an inverted raise of North's opening bid or a manufactured response of 1D. If North does not open, then we should finish in 3NT S. Contracts were 2NT S, 3NT N twice, 3NT S four times, 4S S, 5C N, 6NT N twice, 6NT S twice and 6NTx S.
?
Multiple Souths went immediately into an asking auction. The 5C contract was an attempt to stop short of slam after the auction 1C-2C; 2NT-4NT; 5C. South presumably intended 4NT as invitational and passed 5C in an attempt to avoid getting too high. Alas the 5-1 trumps proved too much, although at least three matchpoints. Jevin were the only pair to double 6NT, even though the hand with the cashing ace-king was not on lead.
?
3NT N +2 (2); 3NT S +2 (2)
4S S +1
3NT S +1
3NT S =
2NT S +3
5C N -1; 6NT N -1 (2); 6NT S -1 (2)
6NTx S -1
?
5:
?
...............102
...............Q763
...............943
...............KJ96
A3.........................KJ65
AKJ82..................95
AQ62....................KJ87
104.......................875
...............Q9874
...............104
...............105
...............AQ32
?
This looked like a good trap hand - could E-W find 4H or 5D instead of 3NT? Much may depend on whether East responds 1S or 1NT. If E-W play Flannery East may choose 1NT. West is more likely to advance with 2NT after 1H-1NT; 2D-2H (the hand is not quite up to 3D) than after the same auction with a response of 1S. But 1H-1NT; 2D-2H; 2NT-3NT may well come out all right, as South will probably lead a spade. Contracts were 2D W, 2H W, 3NT E four times, 3NT W twice, 4H E, 4H W and 5D W four times. 4H E was the contract for Jerik, whose auction began artificially with a 1C opening bid and 1H response.
?
In 3NT declarer has good luck that clubs split 4-4 but neither major queen drops or sits right for a finesse, nor is there a squeeze. Paul made 3NT E and Shan 3NT W; -1 and -2 both occurred twice, Ibot and Mom tying with Conndy for N-S top. 4H makes easily enough even with the finesse off and the suit 4-2. The ten drops; the only consideration is that, if West must ruff a club right away, the trump finesse must occur on the first round, not the second. Jeff made 4H W for the E-W top. 5D makes if declarer takes a ruffing finesse in hearts after drawing trumps or if declarer draws two trumps and then ruffs out the hearts; trying to take ruffs before drawing trumps doesn't work with the ill-placed shortages. Only Larry (Sh) made 5D, with Conndy posting -2 to tie for N-S top while two pairs posted -1. Phoebot posted its set when declarer finessed the heart jack.?
?
3NT E -2 (2); 5D W -2
3NT E -1; 3NT W -1; 4H E -1; 5D W -1 (2)
2D W +1
2H W +1
3NT E =; 3NT W =; 5D W =
4H W =
?
6:
?
...............1096
...............7
...............QJ72
...............AKQJ4
Q82..............................A543
Q9542..........................----
8...................................K1096543
10985...........................76
...............KJ7
...............AKJ10863
...............A
...............32
?
For a hand with such good distribution we ended with surprising uniformity of contract, with 4H S played eleven times and 5H S thrice. South might bid 4H over a 2D or 3D opening bid. If South bids hearts at a lower level North likely bids 3NT and South corrects. If East passes N-S may get beyond game after South opens 1H, North responds 2C and South makes a jump rebid in hearts. E-W have the wrong vulnerability for a sacrifice.
?
The play turns out to be remarkably simple. The 5-0 trumps offside will give West two tricks. If West leads a spade South will be held to ten tricks. On any other lead South can discard all three spades on the clubs when West turns up with the perfect length of four cards in the suit. West ruffs the fifth club but that just cancels one of West's trump tricks. It seems likely that very few Easts opened, or else too few declarers went right to the clubs after finding out that hearts were 5-0. Only Cindy, Del and George took eleven tricks to share the N-S top. Ten declarers took ten tricks and one was held to nine, creating a three-way tie for E-W top between Glynneth, Carthurl and Kunbot.
?
4H S +1 (2); 5H S =
4H S = (8)
4H S -1; 5H S -1 (2)
?
7:
?
...............1072
...............J72
...............J
...............AK10872
QJ954......................K8
654...........................AKQ10
9853.........................KQ72
J................................965
...............A63
...............983
...............A1064
...............Q43
?
This hand looks overwhelmingly likely to be played either in 2S E after a 1NT opening bid and a transfer or in 3C N after either a third-hand 3C opening bid or a balance over the transfer. 2S was played six times by East and once more by West, along with 3S W once (if East upgraded the hand the auction could have begun 1D-1S; 2NT and then West found a way to stop in 3S, 3D perhaps being impossible; indeed, 3S W makes more sense than 2S W). North declared 3C twice and 4C twice. I did not see any 3C opening bids but they might have occurred. What does East do over 3C - pass with 17 HCP? bid 3NT without a stopper? double with only two spades (another way to reach 3S W)? overcall 3H on a four-card suit? unplug the computer and let a bot handle the problem? Possibly one East chose the fourth option, as there was one contract of 3H E and that seems the most likely way to get there. The most curious contract was 3D W, but, as that was Jerik, I shall guess the auction to be something like P-P-P-1C; P-1D-2C-2H; P-2S-P-3D. Having shown 17+ HCP, East can pass 2C and West can then bid the spades anyway as a balance, but 2H is the most likely way for East to bid the diamonds later. I would have had admiration for the fighting spirit of any South who, after P-P-3C-P/X, took a shot at 3NT.
?
Play potential was remarkably similar. N-S have eight top tricks and no more in either clubs or no-trumps, and nothing better defending either major than three top tricks and two diamond ruffs. The most interesting contract is 3D, where nine tricks can be forced. Eight tables produced the par number of tricks, giving Troward and Kunbot a tie for E-W top defending 4C -2. Only five of the spade contracts and one club contract varied, with three declarers taking nine tricks while Gareth and Leigh Ann took ten. Gareth was sure of a ninth trick after a low trump opening lead (South can lead any other suit and still hold declarer to eight) and picked up a tenth when N-S did not grab their club trick. Irene was N-S top in 3C =, a result that would have needed less help had trumps split 2-2, making an endplay possible had East kept the spade king too late.
?
3C N =
3H E -1
3C N -1
2S E = (3); 3D W =
2S E +1; 2S W +1; 3S E =
2S E +2 (2)
4C N -2 (2)
?
8:
?
...............43
...............AQ75
...............64
...............109753
J652...............................AQ109
J983...............................1062
J9...................................K2
Q62................................AK84
...............K87
...............K4
...............AQ108753
...............J
?
The results of these auctions were either fairly tame or quite wild. Eight auctions ended tamely in 2D S or 3D S. But the other six auctions produced four doubled contracts, each in a different denomination, and both sides declaring in one suit. The auction began quietly enough with a 1NT opening bid from East, after which South will show a single-suited hand with diamonds in one way or another. One South doubled 1NT and the double was left in; whether N-S were on the same page or not I cannot guess. Five Souths played quietly in 2D. One South played 2Dx, E-W not being on the same page about balancing/takeout doubles. One East played 3C - perhaps after a 1C opening bid instead of 1NT? 3D was played thrice, twice by South and once by North (likely after a 2C overcall after 1NT to show a single-suited hand and a relay to 2D). One West played 3H, again likely after competition from East. Two auctions got a bit out of hand, one on each side, ending in 4Sx E and 6Hx N.
?
With the spades and diamonds behaving, N-S can make 3NT or take the first ten tricks against 1NTx E in the red suits. Kevin received the opening lead of a low diamond to the jack. Had he been in 1NT undoubled he might have cashed out for -2, as -100 may well turn out to be a good score. But -300 was a different prospect. He finessed in spades, and even when the finesse lost there was the chance that South would switch to a club and allow a make. South continued with the ace of diamonds and disaster loomed, but then, after the diamonds were run, South missed the heart switch and Kevin escaped with -1 and -100 after all, saving 11.5 matchpoints, making a difference of just under 5% in the overall score. In diamonds declarer can take eleven tricks but only Cindy did. Unless E-W lead trumps, which solves one of declarer's problems by taking the trump finesse for her, if E-W lead a club the discard of a spade loser is a mirage. After, say, a club lead and heart switch, taking a discard on the third heart will leave declarer unable to take finesses in both spades and diamonds. Winning the heart lead with the queen for a spade lead works, as, without trump leads, ruffing the third spade will be the entry for the diamond finesse. E-W could take seven tricks in either black suit but Ritold were allowed to post 3C -4 for a good score. The top scores were 4Sx E -4 and 6Hx N -5. Phyllis scored 12/13 playing 2Dx S +1.
?
4Sx E -4
2Dx S +1
3C E -4
3H W -3
2D S +3; 3D S +2
2D S +2 (3); 3D S +1
2D S +1; 3D S =
1NTx E -1
6Hx N -5
?
9:
?
...............AJ9875
...............J85
...............J87
...............3
Q103.......................4
AK3........................Q72
K5...........................A1043
K9865.....................A10742
...............K62
...............10964
...............Q962
...............QJ
?
North opens 2S, which ended the auction at one table, West feeling disinclined to a balance. 2S-P-3S shuts up West and became the contract five times, but there was still the chance of a balance from East. 3NT W became the contract four times, walking directly into the trap. Could E-W find 6C? Had West gotten to open 1NT, just maybe. Given an uncontested auction, Minor Suit Stayman might get them there if they played the convention. The other four contracts were 4C W, 5C E, 5C W and one pair in slam, but 6NT W.
?
This hand reminds me of a hand from 1991 when Pat Rooney and Jean Pyne had a top board defending 3NT -2 when everyone else played 6NT -1 on 32 HCP combined when a finesse loses. Against 6NT nobody made the risky lead away from K10xxxx in diamonds. In 3NT after a diamond lead declarer only had eight top tricks and took a losing finesse, leading to -2. Here 6NT finished -1 after North presumably led the spade ace and then a spade to the king. A low spade lead gave N-S the first six tricks. Haorge and Jurcia posted 3NT -2 to tie for N-S top, but two Norths were scared away from a spade lead, allowing Larry (Sh) and Andrea to take ten tricks and tie for E-W top. The club contracts all took twelve tricks. All the N-S spade contracts finished -2, all the declarers in 3S doing one trick better than par.
?
3NT W -2 (2)
6NT W -1
2S N -2; 3S N -2 (5)
4C W +2
5C E +1; 5C W +1
3NT W +1 (2)
?
10:
?
...............AK103
...............Q8
...............653
...............QJ65
Q6...........................J984
AK53.......................1064
KQ87.......................104
K94..........................A1073
...............752
...............J972
...............AJ92
...............82
?
We just missed having another sweep of contract and declarer across the board. West opened 1NT and the auction ended. Erik varied, as their 1NT opening range does not go to 17; their auction was P-P-1C-P; 1D-P-1H-1S.
?
Par in 1NT W was eight tricks for declarer. An opening lead of the club queen lets declarer force a ninth trick. The table results were five tricks once, six tricks once, seven tricks twice, eight tricks seven times and nine tricks twice. Jeff and Shan took nine tricks, Shan after South led a third spade when in, allowing dummy's fourth spade to take a trick that would not have happened. A spade contract would have been held to five tricks by a diamond lead or even a low trump but Surabhi escaped for -1 and 9/13 matchpoints.
?
1NT W -2
1NT W -1
1NT W = (2)
1S N -1
1NT W +1 (7)
1NT W +2 (2)
?
11:
?
...............K93
...............A98
...............K1086
...............1085
86542.....................10
762.........................J43
73...........................AQ542
K72........................Q964
...............AQJ7
...............KQ105
...............J9
...............AJ3
?
We got everyone into the same contract, but not from the same side of the table. Sarah, Mark and Gene were the three declarers from the North side, probably responding 1NT to South's 1C opening bid. At the other tables South either opened 1NT on a range going to 18 or rebid 2NT after 1C-1D. Everyone reached 3NT without incident.
?
The play was quite simple. With the hearts behaving declarer had eight tricks in the majors and could always establish two winners in diamonds for a potential eleven tricks. The hand can switch to a club after winning the first diamond, but, if North declared after a diamond lead, West would have to return a diamond after winning the king of clubs. It was easier to find the club switch when South declared, besides which the natural lead was a diamond after 1C-1NT; 2NT-3NT. Sarah and Gene took eleven tricks from the North side, Cindy from the South. Kunbot and Glynneth were allowed a fourth trick on defence to tie for E-W top.
?
3NT N +2 (2); 3NT S +2
3NT N +1; 3NT S +1 (8)
3NT S = (2)
?
12:
?
...............10972
...............Q7
...............Q84
...............AQ104
K64...........................J853
AJ54.........................986
9762.........................AJ
83.............................9765
...............AQ
...............K1032
...............K1053
...............KJ2
?
This time we got everyone into 3NT S, presumably after some form of Stayman. Even the pair playing a weak 1NT opening arrived in 3NT S. Although a 1NT opening often leads to a less revealing auction leading to 3NT than when the auction starts with 1m, here the weak-1NT-opening auction will likely be 1D-1S; 1NT-3NT, about as revealing as 1NT-2C; 2H-3NT.
?
The play looked as if there could be a wide range of results. It was tricky for both sides. That ten declarers took exactly nine tricks seems about right. Par was nine tricks after a minor lead, ten after a major, although it helps for the first diamond to be led from dummy. Louff were E-W top posting 3NT -2 and Kunbot second with 3NT -1; ten tricks were taken as declarer by George and Jatin, Jatin after a diamond lead and return (East had to switch to a spade).?
?
3NT S +1 (2)
3NT S = (10)
3NT S -1
3NT S -2
?
13:
?
...............AJ53
...............----
...............QJ107652
...............K2
872............................K96
J97632......................85
A................................K93
A86............................J10543
...............Q104
...............AKQ104
...............84
...............Q97
?
North has the values to open 1D, after which South really ought to get to game. Eleven games and three partials seems a little on the low side. One South rebid 2H and was left there; two other Souths left North in 3D. The contract was usually the expected 3NT S, which was played nine times, along with 4S N and 5D N.
?
3NT comes down to whether West does or doesn't lead a club in time. An opening club lead is deadly; North has to win the trick with the king and West can even play ace and another club at once if declarer starts the diamonds right away. West may even be able to lead a club after the diamond ace is out. If the spade king has been taken or established then E-W will cash five tricks in high cards before N-S can cash the diamonds. Only two declarers in 3NT succeeded; Del took nine tricks and Eric ten. When clubs were established early enough for East to run the fourth and fifth cards of the suit, -3 even came into the picture, giving Puan and Jevin a tie for E-W top. They tied with Kunbot, who defended 4S -3. Par in spades was nine tricks for declarer, but, on receiving a heart lead, North took the short-term view and discarded three clubs on the top hearts. East ruffed the third heart and North was very short of tricks, finishing with only seven. Mark and Irene both made 3D to score 10.5/13.
?
3NT S +1
3NT S =
3D S = (2)
3NT S -1 (4); 5D N -1
2H S -2; 3NT S -2
3NT S -3 (2); 4S N -3
?
14:
?
...............AQ542
...............Q4
...............AJ8
...............Q83
J9.........................1076
AKJ2....................108
KQ9762................1054
10.........................K7654
...............K43
...............97653
...............3
...............AJ92
?
Except for one West who opened 1NT (the board was adjusted to give N-S an average-plus after North in particular read West for a proper distribution and dropped a couple of tricks), West opened 1D and then North overcalled either 1S or 1NT. A 1NT overcall led to a contract of 2H N twice. Two Wests pushed on and eventually played 3D and 4D; the other contracts were all in spades declared by North: 3S seven times and 4S twice.
?
4S makes in relative comfort even if East gets a trump trick with a promotion on the third round of hearts. Irene and Gene made 4S to tie for N-S top. The 3S contracts were spread out with trick counts, one declarer taking seven tricks and two each taking eight, nine and ten, Paun taking the E-W top defending 3S -2 when declarer won the diamond lead, ruffed a diamond and then led a low club away from the ace. Both diamond contracts took the expected eight tricks resulting in good declaring scores for -1 and -2. Heart contracts could not come to ten tricks if E-W led a club early enough; had a round of clubs been played declarer would not have had the entries to hand to draw trumps and West would have scored the deuce. Harold took ten tricks in 2H while Larbot held declarer to nine.
?
4S N = (2)
2H N +2; 3S N +1 (2)
2H N +1; 3S N = (2)
Average+/Average
4D W -2
3D W -1
3S N -1 (2)
3S N -2
?
15:
?
...............Q52
...............K43
...............A873
...............K96
K4...........................A8
Q.............................J1098765
KQ1065...................J2
A10542....................QJ
...............J109763
...............A2
...............94
...............873
?
If South does not open 2S, West opens 1D, East responds 1H and the most likely outcome of the auction seems to be 2H E or 3H E. East played eight times in hearts: 2H thrice, 3H twice and 4H thrice. After a 2S opening bid from South West usually came in and thrice declared 3NT, once after making a 2NT overcall for the minors that East raised to 3NT, which does not make a great deal of sense however East took 2NT. A 2S opening bid raised to 3S twice kept East silent and ended the auction. The singular one-off contract was 3C W.
?
Against hearts South has two chances to lead a club and hold declarer to nine tricks. This never happened against 4H, with Paul, Kevin and Louise all taking ten tricks. 3NT fluctuated wildly. Par was -2, duly recorded by Mom. Lark defending bounced between = and -2 as play progressed; after West persisted in clubs instead of starting diamonds -4 was in play and the end result was -5. Carl finished on the plus side of the fluctuations and took ten tricks for the E-W top. Only one of the heart partials saw declarer taking ten tricks; the rest took nine.?
?
3NT W -5
3NT W -2
3S S -1 (2)
3C W +1
2H E +1 (2); 3H E = (2)
2H E +2
4H E = (3)
3NT W +1
?
16:
?
...............9832
...............K64
...............Q7
...............KQ42
4..........................QJ765
AQJ753...............102
K42.....................J106
976......................AJ10
...............AK10
...............98
...............A9853
...............853
?
West opened 2H, ending the auction seven times. Half the Souths balanced. Double led to 2S N and 3S N. 3D ended the auction twice, while also leading to 3NT N twice and 4D S.
?
N-S have a fighting chance of defeating 2H. If South leads a low diamond before trumps are drawn, a misguess from declarer allows North a diamond ruff. At the tables this never occurred, with four declarers taking the par eight tricks and three making an overtrick. All the N-S contracts failed, with a four-way tie for N-S top between Mark, Connie, Ruth and Gloria for scoring -100 - Mark in 2S, Gloria in 3D, Connie in 3S and Ruth in 4D, Connie and Ruth taking the par number of tricks. Jerik bettered par by two tricks defending 3D -3. 3NT N was never in with a chance despite the good luck in the spades. Troward posted the par -3; Heve were E-W top posting -4 for +200 when North, after finally winning the heart king, led the diamond queen instead of a spade.
?
2S N -2; 3D S -2; 3S N -2; 4D S -2
2H W = (4)
2H W +1 (3)
3D S -3; 3NT N -3
3NT N -4
?
17:
?
...............K42
...............KJ7
...............J9753
...............K3
QJ10965..................A873
54.............................96
AK............................Q62
QJ6..........................A1054
...............----
...............AQ10832
...............1084
...............9872
?
South opened in third seat and the object for N-S was to keep E-W out of 4S. It seems that the most effective sequence would be P-P-2H-2S; 3H, over which East has to guess between 3S and 4S and West might take a conservative view over 3S and pass. A 3H opening bid will elicit 3S from West, which East will raise. If North passes 2H or South chooses any lower call, East gets to show a limit raise and West should accept. The final margin was 9-5 in favour of 4S over 3S.
?
With both finesses in the black suits working, declarer had eleven tricks available in spades. Conndy were N-S top when West erroneously played for the drop in spades with ten trumps. Eleven declarers took the expected eleven tricks. Two Norths did not lead a heart. This allowed Erik a twelfth trick. Kunal took all thirteen when South discarded a club and allowed a second discard.
?
3S W +2 (5)
4S W =
4S W +1 (6)
4S W +2
4S W +3
?
18:
?
...............A5
...............KQJ4
...............AK94
...............1032
Q3...........................9874
A653.......................987
Q8762.....................103
74............................AK96
...............KJ1062
...............102
...............J5
...............QJ85
?
We closed with yet another hand on which nearly everyone opened 1NT. 1NT ended the auction once. One contract was 2S S after some different opening bid. Otherwise, though, North transferred into 2S. Four Souths passed 2S. The rest bid 2NT; one North passed and seven carried on to 3NT.
?
Ten tricks are available in no-trumps if the spade queen is dropped offside. Even losing the finesse declarer should still come to nine tricks, as E-W cannot establish a fifth trick anywhere. Declarer should be able to reach dummy with a club. If a club has been played early by E-W declarer can switch tack, establishing the three heart winners in hand to go with two clubs and the four top tricks in spades and diamonds. After a low club lead Bob knocked out the heart ace, finishing with eleven tricks when East switched to a diamond, although the cost was only one matchpoint (only two of the other Souths in 3NT made an overtrick. Carthurl were E-W top for setting 3NT. Of the other seven no-trumps contracts, four took nine tricks and three took ten. Spade contracts could have been held to nine tricks with a club ruff or a losing trump finesse; four of the five spade contracts took nine tricks and one took ten.?
?
3NT N +2
3NT N +1 (2)
3NT N = (3)
2NT N +2
2S N +2
1NT N +2
2S N +1 (3); 2S S +1
3NT N -1
