Pretty tough hand to start us off here. Partner opens 1♠ and with a strong 5-5 in the minors and a spade void I consider bidding 2♣ instead of the more normal 2♦, since the clubs are a little better, but it seems better to bid the higher of two equal-length suits, especially with a void in partner's, so I choose 2♦ as my natural, game-forcing (in 2/1) response. As I feared, partner is hell-bent on spades and jumps to 3♠ and this creates a new problem, at least in the JACK world: partner is going to interpret my 4♣ rebid as a cuebid, showing the A♣ or a club void, not as a real club suit. I therefore jump to 5♣ and the computer gets the idea and chooses the suit in which we have a real fit. We're in the right contract, but with the trumps breaking 4-1 it is a tough one to make. The first step is the heart opening lead. I assume South has the A♥ (who leads away from an ace against a slam), so I try the J♥ and get lucky there. Back comes a club and I win the ace and lead a small club for a ruff. Now in dummy, I get rid of my heart loser on the A♠ and ruff a spade back to hand, and then I lead the Q♣, on which North plays low. I ruff again, cash the A♦, and my goose is cooked when trumps do not break. To make 6♦, I needed to finesse in clubs at trick two and then play K♦, A♦, and a diamond back to hand to capture the jack. Not easy, and even the computers were unable to succeed most of the time.

McBruce's Result: 6♦w-2, 100 to NS, MY SCORE: 23%.

2♦ or 1♦ as an opening bid with the South hand? I choose 1♦, since a 2♦ bid might make it more difficult to uncover a possible spade fit. Partner responds with a two-over-one 2♣, which is game forcing but natural. Partner does NOT deny a four-card major, but will have more clubs than hearts or spades for this response, so I rebid 2♠ to be sure we don't miss a possible 4-4 fit. Partner rebids 2NT and since we are in a game forcing auction I could simply raise, but I think 3♦ is a more descriptive bid, in case partner has diamond support and a big hand. Partner doesn't: we're in 3NT. When this happens in computer bridge the computer goes for coffee and the human player switches seats and plays as declarer. A low heart is led to West's queen and I count six diamond tricks and two aces: I need one more trick to make 3NT. If I duck the first trick and try finessing the heart return, it could lead to disaster if the A♣ is with West, so I win the A♥, unblock the two diamonds, and lead a club, trying not to look scared. If the ace is offside and they get three club tricks and two more hearts I will be shamed, but my luck is in as East ducks and the K♣ wins. Now it is safe to cash the diamonds and the A♠ for nine tricks, and a strange thing happens: East comes down to Q♠, KT♥, A♣, so a spade puts East in and I win the final trick with the J♥ for a crucial overtrick!

McBruce's Result: 3NTn+1, 630 to NS, MY SCORE: 81%. SO FAR: 52% after 2 boards.

My 2♦ rebid is a REVERSE, a poorly-understood concept by many experienced players. Because responder must go up to the three-level to prefer my first-bid suit, the rebid in a higher suit must show extra values, about an ace more than a minimum opener. But at the same time, I must emphasize that a reverse is still a natural bid; it should always show MORE (not EQUAL) cards in the first-bid suit than the second: with 5-5 and a strong hand I would open 1♦ and plan to jump rebid to 3♣, I would NOT open 1♣ and reverse to 2♦. Reverses are forcing for one round but when partner bids the fourth suit we are forcing to game and 2♠ doesn't necessarily show spades. I rebid my six-card club suit and JACK tells me that the 3♠ call shows a half-stopper. Whatever that may be, I guess KJ-doubleton fills the other half, so I bid 3NT and the auction ends. I win the opening Q♦ lead with the king and see that in order to take a finesse in clubs I need to overtake the J♥ and cash the other high heart first, because I may not have a second dummy entry. So, instead, I cash the A♣ and lead the Q♣ to West's king. West switches to a small spade and East ducks the ace and I am in with the J♠, but spades are now a bit shaky. That J♣ I've left in dummy is blocking the suit, but I jettison it on the A♦ and cash four more clubs, hoping that someone will have discarding problems. No such luck: East is able to keep the A♠ and Q84♥, and wins the last two tricks after I cash the high hearts. But making an overtrick is a good score with half the field making only nine tricks.

McBruce's Result: 3NTs+1, 430 to NS, MY SCORE: 65%. SO FAR: 56.33% after 3 boards.

As West I open 1♦ and partner responds 1♠. South tosses in a pre-emptive 3♥ call (pre-emptive does not always mean 'weak': in this situation with partner having passed and both opponents possibly having strong hands a pre-emptive call can contain reasonable values) and I can choose a penalty double, a 3♠ call, or even a game bid in spades. My decision, JACK says (looking not at the whole deal, but only at the limited info I have at this point) is not optimal, JACK would prefer a penalty double. In 4♠, again the computer goes off for a coffee and I play it as the East hand. And not particularly well, losing two red aces, a second heart, and a second diamond at the end. Three hearts goes for 800 if we defend well, so this is a bad score. Sigh.

McBruce's Result: 4♠e-1, 100 to NS, MY SCORE: 6%. SO FAR: 43.75% after 4 boards.

I throw in an overcall and North cuebids my suit twice. The first cuebid shows support for South's diamonds and a good hand. The second one sounds like "please confirm you have a spade stopper; if not, there are other potential spots for us (hearts maybe?)." I read too much into this and choose to lead a heart, hoping to find partner with something in the suit. A spade lead gives us five tricks; even if declarer takes all four heart tricks by finessing through me twice, the limit for declarer if I start with a low spade (or ace-king and a third) is one spade, four hearts, and three diamonds, as long as partner holds on tightly to his diamond stopper. Leading a heart leads to an easy nine tricks and a bad score. Oops.

McBruce's Result: 3NTs=, 600 to NS, MY SCORE: 12%. SO FAR: 37.40% after 5 boards.

Partner's 2NT promises four-card support and an opening hand or better opposite my 18 count, so we need a good reason to stay OUT of slam with this kind of power. After the Jacoby 2NT, a rebid at the three level in a new suit shows a singleton, and four of the agreed suit is a minimum opener without a short suit. Stronger hands like mine bid 3NT or 3 of the suit, 3 of the suit being the strongest call. With a flat 18 I opt for the weaker 3NT rebid, which shows no shortness, but a few extras over a minimum. Cuebids follow and we get to a slam which is cold if the heart or the club finesse works. I win the Q♦ opening lead and play the K♠ and West discards a club, so I need to be careful with spades breaking 4-0. I switch to a club and the finesse loses, into the hand with the three remaining trumps. Back comes a club and I win in dummy, cash the A♦, and ruff a diamond with the ace of spades. I lead the Q♥ and run it, and when it wins I am home; I pull three more trumps and my hand is high. Whew!

McBruce's Result: 6♠=, 980 to NS, MY SCORE: 60%. SO FAR: 41.17% after 6 boards.

1NT is 15-17 (still an announceable call in ACBL games) and 2♦ is a transfer to hearts. Partner's double of the transfer response is for takeout (even potentially into diamonds, the transfer suit, if that's what I have). What I have is not very much, so I have an easy pass of 3♥ and they bid game; partner starts with the Q♦. I play the 8♦ to let partner know I have an even number (partner knows I have nothing and this cannot be an encouraging signal). Declarer wins the ace and ruffs a diamond, then ducks a heart to partner's jack.Partner returns a second heart and trumps are pulled. Declarer continues with a diamond ruff and a club to the king and partner's ace. I play the 8♣ on this trick to encourage and partner returns the ten of clubs to declarer's queen. There is no way around two spade losers for declarer and we are +100 for a great score, few bidding as high as this computer pair.

McBruce's Result: 4♥n-1, 100 to EW, MY SCORE: 98%. SO FAR: 49.29% after 7 boards.

Partner opens 1♦ in third seat, and South bids 1♠ in front of me. It looks like a 1NT rebid, but we may have a 4-4 heart fit and a negative double is the tool that uncovers it. North's 2♦ call is a spade raise, but the important call is partner's 3♦ bid, which reveals that the initial 1♦ call was a full opener (not a shaded third-seat special) and promising a real diamond suit. This makes 3NT a good bet with my hand, and North leads a small spade, the five. If I can avoid a heart switch when I dislodge the A♦, I make eleven tricks; should I duck the first trick? Better to win the ace now and make them guess as soon as possible, before signals can be sent. I win the A♠ and lead a diamond to the jack. It wins, and a second diamond is taken by South, whose electrons buzz for a few microseconds before returning the .... Q♠! Eleven tricks is a great score! If I duck the first trick in both hands, North continues with the 5♠ (not the deuce, which implies strength in the suit) at trick two, and South will know, when in with the A♦, that North would start with the deuce from ♠K52 and likely choose a heart as the only logical continuation.

McBruce's Result: 3NTw+2, 460 to EW, MY SCORE: 97%. SO FAR: 55.25% after 8 boards.

Most of the computers also bid this 28-point slam. The 11-14 1NT rebid is never made on a singleton in partner's suit, so we have a spade fit, and I use a convention called New Minor Forcing to keep the auction from dying early. 2♦ denies three-card support for spades and shows a minimum of 11 or 12, but I think my hand is better than its 16 points and launch an ace-asking sequence, ending in slam. Sadly, partner has wasted values: if either red king was the Q♠ instead, 6♠ would be a favourite on 27 points! But on this layout the result in 6♠ is preordained, and all I can say is thank goodness the other computer tables felt as optimistic as I did.

McBruce's Result: 6♠-1, 50 to EW, MY SCORE: 47%. SO FAR: 54.33% after 9 boards.

Two and a half quick tricks is the normal test for borderline openers, and this hand has only two quick tricks, but the JT♦ and the T♠ are not counted in quick tricks, so I upgrade and open the South hand, something not done at any of the other tables. After the game forcing 2♦ response, my first thought is to bid 5♦, but I decide to bid 2♠ to see what partner will do next. Partner jumps to 3NT and I decide to check on aces, since I can bail out in 5♦ if partner has only one. Partner has two aces and we're in 6♦, and when East chooses a club everything is easy; win, pull trumps, play two more clubs pitching a heart, finesse in spades, claim! Lucky me. (Not so lucky on #9, so it has evened out.)

McBruce's Result: 6♦n=, 1390 to NS, MY SCORE: 100%. SO FAR: 58.90% after 10 boards.

I open another light 1♠ in second seat and partner bids 1NT. In the 2/1 system this is forcing for one round, since many hands in the 10-12 range cannot make a game-forcing two-level response in a new suit, so the 1NT response to 1♠ or 1♥ is overloaded with many decent hands. This approach changes the meanings of many rebids, and my 2♣ rebid is natural but might be only a three-card suit. Partner's 2♠ call is a signoff and North smells a rat and realizes that a double would be for takeout, so balances with a 2NT call. A heart lead might get us five tricks (unless North ducks twice), but the normal spade lead is a disaster, as declarer wraps up ten tricks for a top!

McBruce's Result: 2NTn+2, 180 to NS, MY SCORE: 0%. SO FAR: 53.55% after 11 boards.

Oddly enough, the auction ended at 1♠ at fifty computer tables, but when a human opens 1♠ with the South hand, the computer East balances with 1NT! I bid 2♠ and make eight tricks on a club lead, eventually losing two spade honours and a club ruff, plus the ace of hearts and a club. In 1♠ some of the computers seem to have lost interest and allowed a ninth trick somehow. Grrrrr.....

McBruce's Result: 2♠=, 120 to NS, MY SCORE: 35%. SO FAR: 52.00% after 12 boards.

It is good bridge to raise a weak two with any decent hand with three trumps, especially when the fourth player has not already passed. You will keep opponents out of good spots more often than you go down one. East leads a small trump and I go quickly wrong, winning the king and ducking a spade to ensure I get a spade ruff in dummy. That part is fine, but after the opponents win the spade and return a second spade, I win the ace, and get the notion that East cannot have the J♥ having chosen one for the opening lead, and this third spade might just be overruffed by West. So I ruff the third spade high and finesse the T♥ on the following trick. This loses to the J♥ needlessly and I make one less than about half the field. With the points split 20-20, spades cannot possibly be 6-2 or someone would surely have bid them in the auction. Mea culpa!

McBruce's Result: 3♥n=, 140 to NS, MY SCORE: 48%. SO FAR: 51.69% after 13 boards.

Tough hand to bid after the 2♦ opener; in the McBruce 2/1 system a 2NT response asks the quality of the opener. 2♠ is forcing and after the 3♦ call I assumed partner had something in clubs, because, well, what else is there beyond the QJ♦ to make up the 2♦ opener. The club lead sunk the contract with the diamonds hopelessly blocked, but after the spade finesse lost and three clubs followed, North for some unknown reason pitched away the Q♥ on my winners, allowing the contract to make: but this was still a bad score with other tables defending even worse, or getting to better contracts!

McBruce's Result: 3NTw=, 400 to EW, MY SCORE: 7%. SO FAR: 48.50% after 14 boards.

A simple auction gets us to 1NT and West leads the K♦, 7, 4, 2. See a problem? Not as declarer, as West. East should know that West has the queen with the king opening lead (or perhaps it is king from ace-king) and should encourage with the ten, not the discouraging four. West decides to switch to the K♠ and suddenly declarer (me) has seven tricks instead of six. I win the spade and lead a second spade and it is all over. Seven tricks are worth 77% while down one would be only 27%.

McBruce's Result: 1NTs=, 90 to NS, MY SCORE: 77%. SO FAR: 50.40% after 15 boards.

My overcall is more of a lead director than a serious attempt to buy the contract and when North declares 3NT, it works well. East leads a small spade and I win the queen. To me this looks like declarer has the A♠ and I look to clubs for more tricks, leading the T♣ to the queen in dummy. Completely by accident I have taken out the only entry to dummy outside diamonds, which are blocked by declarer's singleton ace. Declarer plays a diamond to the ace and tries a trick, playing the king of clubs and a small one to my jack. Unsure what to do, I try the K♥, and it wins; so does the Q♥. Now it is clear what to do: lead a diamond to dummy and wait: eventually partner will get to win his A♥ and we will set this a trick. Partner surprises me by having not just the A♥, but the A♠ and a third spade as well! Down three is a near top for us!

McBruce's Result: 3NTn-3, 150 to EW, MY SCORE: 98%. SO FAR: 53.38% after 16 boards.

A Stayman auction after a minimum 1NT opener gets me to 2NT and North leads a fourth-best 2♥, so hearts are probably 4-4 (maybe 5-3, but if so there is nothing I can do about it). Opponents take and follow to the first four heart tricks, and I pitch two clubs from dummy and a diamond from my hand. I have seven top tricks and I need one of the four-card suits to provide an eighth trick. South leads a club to dummy's queen at trick five and I duck a spade but make the rest for eight tricks. Bad move: I should have abandoned spades, where there was no chance to make two tricks, and played the king and ace of diamonds. With the T♦ appearing in the South hand on the second trick, I can now switch to clubs, discover the 3-3 break, win the fourth club in hand, and then lead a diamond to dummy, guessing whether to finesse for an overtrick or take the eighth trick and hope diamonds are also 3-3. Making only eight tricks is worth only 6%, an overtrick is 51%!

McBruce's Result: 2NTw=, 120 to EW, MY SCORE: 6%. SO FAR: 50.59% after 17 boards.

The 3NT rebid shows a good hand with six or more diamonds and 3NT seems the best spot. South leads the A♥ and another and I unblock the K♣ at trick three and then lead the ace of diamonds. Glass breaks as North shows out and I'm suddenly in trouble. North rates to have the J♠ in this layout, but the only way to finesse against it is to play a spade to hand and a spade back, locking me in dummy! Panic sets in and I can't count tricks: I have two diamonds, two clubs, two hearts, and three spades, so I should just take them. Instead I play the nine of spades and duck it when South plays low, hoping for South to have ♠J7. This is not a success and I go down one for another unnecessary bad score. Arrgh!

McBruce's Result: 3NTe-1, 50 to NS, MY SCORE: 24%. SO FAR: 49.11% after 18 boards.

A maximum notrump, a Stayman 2♣ asking about four-card majors, a 2♥ response raised to game, and a routine twelve tricks on a spade lead. I win the ace and lead the J♥ and South follows low. I think with the Q♥ South would cover, so I play the ace and the king; no luck. With three pitches coming on the spades I will be able to pitch two diamonds and a club, leaving only one ruff in both hands to make the rest, so I pull the last trump and claim. At least I read the trump position correctly.

McBruce's Result: 4Hw+2, 680 to NS/EW, MY SCORE: 57%. SO FAR: 49.53% after 19 boards.

Well, I'm guessing I bid more than you did on this diabolical deal. 6♦ is cold since the location of the Q♠ is virtually telegraphed by the auction, but no other tables got so high. Surely it has to be better to show two suits with 2NT than to bid one suit at my first turn, and surely if partner prefers my far-better suit at the three-level it is reasonable to bid one more for the road. As for the 6♥ bid, I can only defend myself by noting that partner came to life yet again with a 5♥ bid when pass was an option with any bad hand, and 6♦ was about to make. Sometimes the demons at the Bureau of Pseudorandom Numbers appear to be having a joke on us bridge players for their own amusement.

McBruce's Result: 6♥*n-3, 800 to EW, MY SCORE: 2%. SO FAR: 47.15% after 20 boards.

The double of 1NT shows a single-suited hand and partner is forced to bid 2♣ so that it can be passed if the single-suit is clubs, or the actual suit can then be revealed. Most tables had the same auction up until the mystery suit South held was revealed: only five tables opted for a penalty double of the computer declarers, but they had no trouble doubling a human and extracting as much as they could!

McBruce's Result: 2S*s-1, 200 to EW, MY SCORE: 0%. SO FAR: 44.90% after 21 boards.

I open a light 1♣ expecting to rebid 1♠ over 1♥ and pass anything else, and partner bids 1NT, ending the auction. I take the East seat and get a heart lead won in dummy with the singleton king. Clubs appear to be the best source of tricks, and perhaps another entry to the East hand, so I lead low to the ace and a club back toward the QT. When South plays the king I am careful to play the ten, having noted the nine from South on the first trick and realizing that I may need an entry back to the East hand with the fourth round of clubs. South returns a heart and I have seven tricks: three hearts, three clubs, and the ace of diamonds. And .... it's an average round after taking a bottom on the first one!

McBruce's Result: 1NTe=, 90 to EW, MY FINAL SCORE: 100%. SO FAR: 47.41% after 22 boards.