1:
?
...............K92
...............1092
...............987
...............AK83
QJ107....................A64
A7..........................QJ84
KJ106....................AQ32
642........................95
...............853
...............K653
...............54
...............QJ107
?
E-W have a possible game that is not particularly good. They have an uncontested auction that starts 1D-1S. East then probably rebids 1NTand West may advance with either 2NT or 3D. One West only rebid 2D, ending the auction. One East raised to 2S, also ending the auction. Two of the other six pairs stopped in 2NT E; half the pairs in the field reached game, 3NT E thrice and 3NT W.
?
E-W get remarkably lucky in the play. The spades split 3-3 with the king onside and the clubs split 4-4. The heart king is even onside if needed. Everyone in no-trumps took the par nine tricks. 2D scored as well as 2NT when declarer took the par eleven tricks. It takes a force in clubs to hold spades to ten tricks. Harbot avoided scoring -170 for a middlish score and were N-S top on -140 when West voluntarily ruffed a club at a time when that made it no longer possible to take ten tricks.
?
2S W +1
2NT E +1 (2); 2D E +3
3NT E = (3); 3NT W =
?
2:
?
...............106
...............Q985
...............A97
...............A986
KQ9732.............J4
74.......................KJ63
62.......................J10853
KJ10...................72
...............A85
...............A102
...............KQ4
...............Q543
?
1NT from South. West likely overcalls 2S, and then North can cue-bid 2S. If N-S play lebensohl this specifically denies a spade stopper. South does not hold four hearts but does have the spade stopper and bids 3NT. Two pairs stopped in 2NT S; one pair stopped in 3H N while the other five pairs played 3NT S.
?
Assuming West leads a spade (the layout is sufficiently kind that it does not matter whether West leads low or high; even the threat of a Bath Coup is not there, as with AJx declarer could win an honour lead and be sure of a second stopper that way) declarer must go down. If East held the club king the contract might make, but an entry to the West hand can be forced in clubs. As declarer is presumably going to try to keep West off lead, South is likely not to take the eight tricks that can be forced, as that would entail finessing hearts through East instead of playing West for the jack. The three results of 3NT S -3 made sense, although 3NT -5 against Gerbot (when declarer missed the last chance to cash the diamonds) for the E-W top was a bit excessive. Leigh Ann was N-S top in 2NT =; Elizabeth also took eight tricks in 3NT to tie Harold's 2NT -1.
?
2NT S =
2NT S -1; 3NT S -1
3H N -3; 3NT S -3 (3)
3NT S -5
?
3:
?
...............65
...............97
...............Q8532
...............A964
8742......................KJ109
QJ865....................43
----.........................AKJ64
K1072....................Q8
...............AQ3
...............AK102
...............1097
...............J53
?
Except for one North left in 1NT, E-W declared at every table. East can come in but may choose to do so with a 2D overcall if North responds 1NT and there is a chance West will leave it there. A double will likely get West to bid hearts, ending either in that suit or with East playing in no-trumps. How to get E-W into spades is a rather tricky question; will West take 1C-P-1D-P; 1H-P-1NT-X as including spade interest? It seems reasonable on that auction to assume East has diamonds; contracts were 1S E, 1NT N, 2D E, 3D E, 3Hx W, 3NT E, 4H W and 4S W.
?
Only spade contracts take more than seven tricks; E-W can take eight tricks in spades by force, as both declarers in spades did. Gareth was top in 1S E +1. Heart contracts could have been held to six tricks by a spade lead or the club ace; diamonds and no-trumps could also have been held to six tricks. Livingston escaped in 3D -2 for an above average score; North needed to ruff a spade at trick seven but discarded a heart instead. N-S top was Leighry's defending 3Hx -2.
?
3Hx W -2
4H W -4
2D E -3; 3NT E -3
3D E -2; 4S W -2
1NT N -2
1S E +1
?
4:
?
...............AK1092
...............2
...............Q874
...............542
QJ43..........................86
J8764.........................K1093
J92.............................AK53
9.................................J83
...............75
...............AQ5
...............106
...............AKQ1076
?
A 1D opening bid by East in third seat may keep N-S out of their excellent 3NT contract: P-P-1D-2C; P-2S-P-3C and then what? South was left in 2C twice and 3C thrice, with one North liking the singleton well enough to get the auction up to 5C. Harbot and Elott reached 3NT, both times after an intial pass from East. Their auctions were nearly identical: P-P-P-1C; P-1S-X-2C; 2H-3C-P-3NT for Harbot, from which Elott differed only with a 2S bid from North instead of 3C.
?
After a heart lead, declarer rolled home with ten tricks in 3NT. Declarer could have taken more but had no desire to risk a losing spade finesse with so many top tricks. Clubs could take eleven tricks quite easily, particularly if South went for club ruffs. The six club contracts were evenly divided between ten and eleven tricks for declarer, giving Diarcia the E-W top defending 5C -1.
?
3NT S +1 (2)
2C S +3; 3C S +2 (2)
2C S +2; 3C S +1
5C S -1
?
5:
?
...............AK9
...............54
...............Q108632
...............K8
J108632.................Q
AKJ7.......................Q8
----..........................AK9754
732..........................J965
...............754
...............109632
...............J
...............AQ104
?
North's 1D opening bid could well shut East out of the auction entirely, leading to 1D-1H. If West passes this, North rebids 2D and East gets to defend; how nice. West probably comes in with spades. Contracts were 1S W, 1NT N, 2S W thrice, 3D N and 3S W twice.
?
All denominations played were highly lead-dependent. A spade lead hold no-trumps to six tricks, as done against Leighry. Diamond contracts can be held to seven tricks by a red-suit lead; Karlene escaped with -1 to save four matchpoints. Spade contracts could have been held to seven tricks with a black-suit lead. Only Livingston took exactly seven tricks, knocked into the middle. E-W top was a four-way tie on +140 between George, Lynn, Diane and Renee; declarers against them were all lucky enough for North not to grasp the chance to get off to a lucky club lead.
?
3S W -1
1S W =
1NT N -1; 3D N -1
2S W +1 (3); 3S W =
?
6:
?
...............109
...............QJ853
...............Q10732
...............Q
AKQ7......................853
1064........................K2
KJ............................A654
KJ108......................9653
...............J642
...............A97
...............98
...............A752
?
1NT from West and then North likely competes, although three Norths did not and 1NT W became the final contract. 2D N was played once, suggesting a slight mishap with DONT. 2H was played once by North and once by South; the two contracts to reach the three-level were 3H N and 3NT W.
?
No-trumps happen to have badly arranged hand. North can pick up the heart suit easily enough leading high, but even a low lead is likely to induce declarer to rise with the king. With the clubs likely to be guessed wrong as well, it makes sense that all the no-trumps contracts yielded six tricks to declarer instead of the par seven. Anbot took N-S top defending 3NT W -3. Rekenee took their expected six tricks defending 2D -1. An aggressive forcing defence is much to the purpose against diamonds. Heart contracts can take eight tricks; E-W can take two spades and two diamonds and then promote a trump trick with a third diamond through South. The three heart contracts each took a different number of tricks - seven, eight and nine, with Henry taking N-S top in 2H +1 when E-W missed their trump promotion. Gerbot defended 2H -1 when South lead a spade at trick six for North to have to ruff instead of starting the diamonds.
?
3NT W -3
2H N +1
1NT W -1 (3)
2D N -1; 2H S -1 3D N -1
?
7:
?
...............64
...............AJ4
...............KQ952
...............AQ4
1053.........................QJ982
KQ92........................10875
J6..............................874
9732..........................8
...............AK7
...............63
...............A103
...............KJ1065
?
This was a real toughie - balanced hands each with a five-card suit that runs will overperform the combined general values. How can grand slam reasonably be reached??The auction often began 1NT-4NT. Even if South shows the five clubs at that point, there does not seem to be a sensible way to pivot the auction into looking for a grand slam. Eric liked the North hand well enough to respond with Gerber but was not interested in more than 6NT (and could not have found the five-card club suit anyway). Harold was the only South to move over the invitation, recognizing the extra value of the five-card suit. Playing with a Robot, 6NT was a practical choice, although he could have bid either 5C or 6C with Rita, especially at IMP scoring (xx AKx Kxxx AQxx is almost guaranteed to make 6C while 6NT is iffy), to show the five-card suit. It still seems almost impossible to reach the grand slam. At least two pairs did not open 1NT, leading to 3NT N and 5C S; a third pair had a different 1NT range and played 3NT S. The most common contract, 4NT S, was played thrice, while Harold and Wendy declared 6NT.
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Declarer took all thirteen tricks at every table but one; Diarcia gained two matchpoints defending 4NT S +2.
?
6NT S +1 (2)
3NT S +4 (2); 4NT S +3 (2)
4NT S +2
5C S +2
?
8:
?
...............Q8652
...............87
...............AQ10752
...............----
9................................A107
AJ4............................10532
J9843........................K6
Q1096........................J753
...............KJ43
...............KQ96
...............----
...............AK842
?
There were as many N-S pairs in this helpless slam as there were in the good one on Board 7. Assuming North passes, if the response to 1C is 1S, South is worth a 4D splinter raise and North can reasonably advance (looking for AKJx Axxx x Axxx or such) with only the fear that the five-level might be too high; if North does move it might be with 5C and then the side will be lucky to be able to stop in 5S. North declared in spades at every table: 3S, 4S four times, 5S, 6S and 6Sx.
?
Declarer has eleven tricks in spades; there are not enough high trumps to make a difference if North gets to discard the hearts on South's clubs. If either side does better it will be the defence; East may get an overruff or could get to draw South's trumps. Everyone took either ten or eleven tricks with ten prevailing by a 5-3 margin. Jamob, defending 3S +1, held declarer to ten tricks when South discarded a club at trick eight instead of a heart because declarer could not work out which suit would be safe to ruff in hand next.
?
4S N +1 (2); 5S N =
4S N = (2)
3S N +1
6S N -2
6Sx N -2
?
9:
?
...............AQ103
...............3
...............A53
...............KQ1076
KJ852.....................4
A54.........................J1072
107..........................QJ9842
985..........................A4
...............976
...............KQ986
...............K6
...............J32
?
If East comes in with 2D over North's 1C opening bid South may have trouble coming in, although either 2H or a double isn't out of hand. A 1D overcall leads to 1H from South and 1S from West. What North does then anyone knows. Either side could play in spades and N-S might well end up in no-trumps. Clubs seemed likely as well and hearts less so, while E-W seem likely to play in diamonds only if both North and South are rather timid. Contracts were 2Hx S, 2S N twice, 2S W, 2NT N, 3H S and 3NT N twice.
?
3NT makes in a breeze, the only possible trouble being if declarer were to win the first diamond and play hearts before clubs, which almost nobody would do. Ten tricks can be forced. Henry was feeling adventurous and stole a heart trick to take eleven; Harold settled for nine. Nine tricks is par in hearts and again both declarers in the denomination varied, Gerbot defending 3H S -1 while Wendy was N-S top in 2Hx +2. In spades all four contracts resulted in nine tricks for N-S. If East leads ace and another club, or leads diamonds and does not switch to hearts early, declarer has a pretty ten tricks double dummy. A spade lead through West must be covered; West has a natural trump trick by force as well as having a length winner; declarer must telescope them. After six tricks have been played, North must be on lead in the position:
?
...............AQ3
...............3
...............5
...............Q10
KJ52.......................----
A54.........................J1072
----..........................J98
----..........................----
...............97
...............KQ986
...............----
...............----
?
North now leads a heart to ten, queen and ace (or nine and ace if East ducks), E-W's second trick. It does not help West to duck; spade to jack and queen is followed by a diamond ruff which West must overruff and then a spade back concedes an overtrick, the low heart lets South's heart queen score followed by a heart ruff and the high spade and the heart ace will see West being given a club ruff and then have to give either North or South the fulfilling trick. If after winning the heart ace West returns a second heart, dummy takes two hearts and leads another, North overruffs West and then the diamond ruff and overruff leave West on lead at trick twelve with K2 in spades to North's A3. Returning a low spade lets declarer win in dummy, take two more spades, then turn to clubs, endplaying West into leading into South's hearts. West can try a high spade to North, followed by a diamond ruff and overruff, leaving the pretty four-card ending:
?
...............Q3
...............----
...............----
...............Q10
52...........................----
54...........................107
----..........................J9
----..........................----
...............----
...............Q986
...............----
...............----
?
West can lead a spade, allowing declarer to draw trumps and take the clubs, or a heart, allowing two heart winners and then a heart through at trick twelve.
?
Note the significance of the spade trey and deuce.
?
2Hx S +2
3NT N +2
2S W -4; 3NT N =
2NT N +1
2S N +1
2S N =
3H S -1
?
?
10:
?
...............J103
...............A
...............J10972
...............A752
AKQ......................9754
J765......................KQ1082
A5..........................Q8
Q1084....................J9
...............862
...............943
...............K643
...............K63
?
1NT from West and then it seems unlikely that North can do anything to get into the auction but DONT, which does not materially cramp East's style and may induce East to devalue the vlub queen and settle for a heart partial. Left to their own devices E-W likely reach 4H via a transfer and then either preacceptance by West or an invitation by East. Contracts were 2H W twice, 4D N and 4H W five times.
?
4H largely depends on whether the defender holding the diamond king makes the opening lead, which in this layout is not the case. The whole hand comes down to whether North leads a diamond before the heart ace is knocked out, or at least would do so at IMP play. If North opts for the spade lead instead of the diamond, West wins and plays one round of hearts. North wins the ace and, paying attention to South's signal, shifts to the diamond. Now West can play a second round of trumps in case the suit splits 2-2, which t does not. Will West then have the nerves requires to clear the spades before drawing the last trump? That must be done; otherwise there is no entry to the long spade except to waste West's last trump, which ruins the purpose of discarding West's diamond on the thirteenth spade. Bob was the only declarer to make 4H. At least one declarer had the chance but declined it, fearing that the difference between -2 and -1 was greater at matchpoints than the difference between -1 and =. Gerbot took the expected five tricks to score 6/7 defending 4D -2. 4H finished -1 four times, while in 2H Livingston took ten tricks and George took nine.
?
4H W -1 (4)
2H W +1
2H W +2
4D N -2
4H W =
?
11:
?
...............63
...............1097
...............654
...............A8752
Q1094...................AJ872
Q86.......................AJ3
2............................10873
QJ943...................10
...............K5
...............K542
...............AKQJ9
...............K6
?
While South has a natural enough 1D opening bid and 2H reverse, upgrading on the solid diamonds to a 2NT opening has its merits, especially with potentially vulnerable Kx doubletons. Two Souths declared 3NT, at least one after the auction 2NT-3NT. Three 1D opening bids were passed around, a little strange of East with a decent suit and near-opening values. One South rebid 1NT over a balance and was left there, a bit timid of West. The last two contracts were 2S E and 3S E.
?
No game could make by force, but both sides were close. The E-W assets blend so well that a minor-suit lead is required to hold a spade contract to nine tricks. Ken took nine tricks in 3S while John was E-W top playing 2S +2. 3NT is defeated by a spade lead but on any other lead declarer can lead to the heart king and eventually come to a ninth trick. Harold received a club lead. A low club lead probably has to be won in dummy for an immediate heart lead, but the queen lead makes it easier for declarer when East drops the ten-spot. Nine tricks was the par in diamonds, although only Judy took that many tricks, the other declarers in 1D taking eight.
?
3NT S +1
3NT S =
1NT S +1
1D S +2
1D S +1 (2)
3S E =
2S E +2
?
12:
?
...............4
...............AQ9732
...............AK972
...............4
92............................AKJ1085
J10864....................5
3..............................104
K9753......................J1062
...............Q763
...............K
...............QJ865
...............AQ8
?
Can N-S find their nice diamond slam? It seems likely. After P=1H-2S-3D, North should expect to have reasonable play for slam opposite any hand with an ace. South is likely to hold the heart king if the hand contains only one ace, and if not at worst 6D may need the heart finesse. North can reasonably go directly into an asking sequence. But 6D was reached only once. One pair stopped in 4D; the other contracts were all games, 3NT S twice, 4H N twice, 5D N and 5D S. The winning auction was Harbot's: P-1H-2S-3D; 3S-4D-P-5D; P-6D. North was probably already committed to slam after the 3D response.
?
Twelve tricks in diamonds and ten tricks in hearts were easy (declarer in 4D dropped a trick against Mahn but they were going to be E-W top anyway. 3NT can be held to nine tricks if East wins the spade lead and switches to a club. One East continued spades and allowed Judy a valuable tenth trick; she scored 6/7 while Geobot scored 6/7 for defending 3NT S =.
?
6D S =
3NT S +1
4H N = (2); 5D S +1 (2)
3NT S =
4D N +1
?
13:
?
...............J105
...............Q932
...............Q
...............J10874
AKQ3........................98742
A1075........................J
J86............................752
K3.............................A932
...............6
...............K864
...............AK10943
...............Q6
?
What does West do after South's 1D opening bid? Some passed, some doubled; at least one West bid 1NT. N-s had a couple of placid auctions ending in 2H N and 3H N. The remaining contracts were in spades - 2S E twice, 3S E twice, 3S W and 4S W. 4S has an ideal fit but still needs a little help; Livbot arrived in 4S after a bit of a violation; P-P-1D-1NT; P-2H-P-4S.
?
For once all eight tables took the par number of tricks - ten in spades and eight in hearts. This was mildly surprising, as taking ten tricks in hearts looks likely to require ruffing three hearts in the East hand. The diamond blockage prevents N-S from a trump promotion. South can overtake the queen and give North a third-round ruff but then declarer can draw trumps. If South ducks the diamond queen declarer can ruff three hearts.
?
2H N =
3H N -1
2S E +2 (3); 3S E +1 (2)
4S W =
?
14:
?
...............2
...............AQ75
...............Q109542
...............QJ
AK104.......................J8765
9832..........................K64
J87.............................3
75...............................10983
...............Q93
...............J10
...............AK6
...............AK642
?
Another good 6D for N-S; can it be reached? South opens 1NT and maybe North bids diamonds after Stayman. A couple of Souths showed support for diamonds; those two auctions ended in 5D S while the others finished in 3NT S.
?
At any form of scoring 6D is the best contract; it requires trumps no worse than 3-1 and clubs no worse than 4-2, making over three-fourths of the time. At matchpoints 3NT has about an even chance of making when declared by South, as there is a 48% chance that the ace and king will be in the same hand, as is the case here. Two declarers forgot to count their winners in 3NT; after West led a top spade and switched to a heart, those declarers finessed, allowing Mahn and Geobot to tie for E-W top on +100 for 3NT -2. Diarcia were also allowed to win the heart king against 5D, but the effect was less calamitous. The other pair in 5D took their twelve tricks to score 3/7. The other 3NT contracts all came down to a question of how many spades West would cash. Lynn scored 3/7 as the only West to cash both high spades. Breta and Harold took twelve tricks after a spade lead and then a switch; Andy took all thirteen; either west led a low spade or East unguarded the hearts (if it was a claim involving a miscount of tricks, unfortunately I never saw it).
?
3NT S +4
3NT S +3 (2)
3NT S +2
5D S +1
5D S =
3NT S -2 (2)
?
15:
?
...............K6
...............K532
...............QJ9
...............Q852
A984........................J107532
43.............................108
K872.........................A543
J94............................3
...............Q
...............AQJ97
...............106
...............AK1076
?
It looked as if all roads would lead to 4H and this time it was the case. 1H-3H; 4H was probably the most popular auction. If South got ambitious and bid 4C or 3S over 3H, North's return to 4H would presumably deny a diamond control and keep South from advancing beyond that.
?
The 5-3 ratio in the outcomes was a bit high. It's not as if West had to find the opening lead of a diamond away from the king. A club lead can reveal the importance of the diamond shift when in with the ace of spades. Leigh Ann, one of the five declarers in 4H +1, received a low spade lead. The other four declarers making the overtrick probably received trump leads and then West didn't know what to return when in. There was danger after a club lead in trying to slip through a spade before leading trumps, as West could give East a club ruff.
?
4H S +1 (5)
4H S = (3)
?
16:
?
...............J42
...............KJ5432
...............63
...............A5
876...........................K95
A106.........................87
A98...........................KQJ754
J1032........................Q4
...............AQ103
...............Q9
...............102
...............K9876
?
Probably 2H from North, and then maybe 3D from East; perhaps 3H from South over 3D. 2H ended the auction four times and 3D twice. One South went to 3H over 3D; West competed to 4D and North channeled the late Inge-Maria Bellis and bid 4H. One North never entered the auction at all and let West play 1NT.
?
No-trumps and diamonds both take seven tricks in what seemed a sufficiently straightforward way, but nobody did. Karleta were allowed to set 1NT W three tricks when declarer didn't cash out, scoring 6/7. At red vulnerability, East in 3D could have scored below average had N-S defended correctly. Both Gareth and George escaped for -1. Against Gareth North led a club at trick four, when it was necessary to lead the spade jack to pick up the three available tricks. Finishing -1 instead of -2 saved quite a few matchpoints given the four 2H contracts. Everyone in hearts took ten tricks when the spades behaved, giving Wendric the N-S top.
?
4H N =
2H N +2 (4)
1NT W -3
3D E -1 (3)
?
17:
?
...............95
...............J10865
...............KQJ104
...............J
QJ107643...........8
----......................943
76........................852
AQ62..................K98743
...............AK2
...............AKQ72
...............A93
...............105
?
This one comes down almost entirely to competition. Whether South opens 1H, 2NT or even 2C, West is coming in, probably with 4S, although one might consider being content with 3S over 2NT. This may be particularly effective over 2C. Unless North comes up with a creative 4NT and South catches it it likely gets passed around to a double from South; can North move then? Contracts were 3NT S, 4H N twice, 4Sx W twice and 5H S thrice.
?
Judy had the great escape. Not only did she receive a spade lead against 3NT but West also clung grimly to the club ace, allowing the spade deuce to win the thirteenth trick for the N-S top, while twelve tricks would have been below average. Four of the five declarers in heart games took all the tricks; only Renee found the club opening lead. Taking the bid in 4Sx won the board for E-W. N-S could take five tricks if the set up the club ruff off the top. Mark finished -1 and Diane even managed an overtrick for the E-W top when N-S resolutely avoided leading diamonds.
?
3NT S +4
4H N +3 (2); 5H N +2 (2)
5H S +1
4Sx W -1
4Sx W +1
?
18:
?
...............KJ
...............762
...............J108654
...............109
A10543...................76
J10..........................KQ54
KQ7.........................A3
865..........................KQJ43
...............Q982
...............A983
...............92
...............A72
?
Does East open 1NT? If not, the player will regret not doing so when West responds 1S to 1C. A 1NT opening bid leads to 3NT quickly. 1C-1S is uncertain. If East overbids with 2H, we reach 3NT easily. 2C may get West to move; 1NT may well not. Contracts were 1NT E, 3NT E six times and 3NT W.
?
Nine tricks were par; N-S can manage two spade tricks and the two aces, or perhaps get declarer into a slightly sticky situation over entries to the East hand. Trick output was on a 3-2-3 split between nine, ten and eleven tricks. Ten tricks suggested South's taking the club ace too soon but finding the spade switch to at least manage the middle result.
?
1NT E +4
3NT E = (3)
3NT E +1; 3NT W +1
3NT E +2 (2)
