Section X North-South VanLearners Monday Eve Session September 9, 2024 Leaders after 5 rounds Average: 30.0 Place Pct Score Pair 1 63.33 38.00 X-3 Alan Atkins - David Rosenberg 2 55.00 33.00 X-5 Brenda MacLean-Longpre - Cindy Chan 3 48.33 29.00 X-2 Alexa Allen - Lesley MacKay 4 47.50 28.50 X-1 Pam Tomlins - Tim Tomlins 5 43.33 26.00 X-6 Vicki Torbett - Myrna Halpenny 6 42.50 25.50 X-4 Linda Collins - Carol Ward Section X East-West VanLearners Monday Eve Session September 9, 2024 Leaders after 5 rounds Average: 30.0 Place Pct Score Pair 1 60.00 36.00 X-6 Johanne Leach - Kathy Armstrong 2 58.33 35.00 X-4 Barbara Spitz - Marlee Sheinin 3 50.00 30.00 X-2 Alex Douglas - Niamh Kelly 4 50.00 30.00 X-3 Jacquie Brown - John Fraser 5 44.17 26.50 X-5 Val Dunsterville - Louise Forsythe 6 37.50 22.50 X-1 Andrew Macneil - Joanne Kent
Congrats to the winners!
Didn't do as well as you hoped? Don't worry; there is a large luck factor in short sessions, so there are increased chances of scores outside the normal range of about 35-65%. Things tend to even out over time, but less time means less even-ing out! The important thing is to have fun and let the learning happen by gaining experience as declarer, defender, and even as dummy, and perhaps by reading a little about the hands below!
Our game results are posted online here at ACBL Live For Clubs, shortly after the main game ends.
The deals tonight are from August 26's open game.
Below is a full-colour screen version of the comments for each hand. This works best if you have kept score and brought your scorecard home with you so you can check your results against the hand records and see where there is room for improvement. You will find that the simple act of writing down the score on each hand (good or bad) serves as a sort of marker inside your memory that helps you recall later what the issues you thought about while playing that hand were. It's much easier to remember if you have taken the few seconds to write in the contract and the score than to rely on getting your results off the internet. Something happens in those few seconds inside our brains and you'll be surprised at how much you can remember later with the help of a well-filled scoresheet. More on this here.
| Board 1 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | 742 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| North | ♥︎ | 532 | None | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | J862 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | J95 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AKJ8 | ♠︎ | QT9653 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | 4 | ♥︎ | AQ9 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | KQ754 | ♦︎ | 93 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 864 | ♣︎ | T3 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | - | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 2 | ♥︎ | KJT876 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 13 | 8 | ♦︎ | AT | NT | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | ||||||
| 17 | ♣︎ | AKQ72 | ♠︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 21 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 5♠︎e | K♣︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎s | A♠︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎s* | A♠︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎e | A♣︎ | = | 420 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎e | A♣︎ | = | 420 | |||||||||||
| Whether or not East opens 2♠︎, both sides will somehow find their major suit fits and bid game, with South likely choosing to bid on over 4♠︎ with the 6-5 distribution. Since 4♠︎ makes, this is a smart decision; unfortunately, ten tricks are the limit for both sides. Even if South crosses to the J♣︎ and leads a heart, East simply ducks and there is no second entry to the dummy to re-take the finesse, and eventually East gets both the A♥︎ and the Q♥︎. How high should one bid on hands like this is the subject of the best selling bridge book of the 1990's, The Law of Total Tricks — which is an interesting Wikipedia article, even if it is not quite correct for this hand, there are 19 total trumps and 20 total tricks! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 2 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | Q86 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| East | ♥︎ | QT753 | North-South | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AK4 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | J5 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | JT72 | ♠︎ | AK3 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | AJ2 | ♥︎ | 9864 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | JT3 | ♦︎ | 8765 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | Q72 | ♣︎ | K3 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | 954 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 12 | ♥︎ | K | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 9 | 10 | ♦︎ | Q92 | NT | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| 9 | ♣︎ | AT9864 | ♠︎ | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 21 combined points | ♦︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 1Ns | 2♠︎ | +2 | 150 | |||||||||||
| 1Ns | 2♠︎ | +1 | 120 | |||||||||||
| 1Ns | 2♠︎ | +1 | 120 | |||||||||||
| 1♥︎n | 8♦︎ | = | 80 | |||||||||||
| 1Ns | 2♠︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| Aggressive experts generally open the bidding with two and a half quick tricks, but East's ace-king, king combination is a bit too light for me, especially in first seat, where, by passing, I can observe whether partner can make a peep and make it safer to come in. So East passes, and so do South and West, and North opens 1♥︎. East passes again, since partner was peep-less, and South's best call is 1NT, since 2♣︎ would promise ten highcard points, and while nine is close, three of them are a singleton king! 1NT is passed out and West leads a spade, and the defenders should get four spades, the A♥︎, and the Q♣︎ as South tries to set up the club suit. Once the Q♣︎ is dislodged, South has two diamonds and five clubs for the contract. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 3 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | A6 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| South | ♥︎ | K853 | East-West | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | QT6 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A983 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | Q542 | ♠︎ | K3 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | J97 | ♥︎ | A2 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AK7 | ♦︎ | 85432 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | T74 | ♣︎ | QJ52 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | JT987 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 13 | ♥︎ | QT64 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 10 | 10 | ♦︎ | J9 | NT | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| 7 | ♣︎ | K6 | ♠︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| N-S and E-W each have 20 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 2♥︎s | A♦︎ | +1 | 140 | |||||||||||
| 3♥︎s | A♦︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 2♦︎e | 4♥︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| 1Nn | 2♦︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 1Nn | 8♦︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| South and West pass and North opens 1♣︎ in third seat. East passes and South responds 1♠︎. West passes and North rebids 1NT, which ends the auction. If East manages to find a 1♦︎ overcall of the 1♣︎ opener, South will instead make a negative double (showing both majors after 1♣︎-1♦︎) and the overcall will enable North-South to find their heart fit. Without the 1♦︎ overcall, normal bidding actually conceals the heart fit and a good North player will hope to make enough overtricks in 1NT to beat those in hearts. But here, just getting seven tricks in 1NT is enough of a struggle; North must setup spades or hearts before the defenders set up East's diamonds to succeed. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 4 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | KQ85 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| West | ♥︎ | AK873 | Both | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AJ7 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 3 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | JT932 | ♠︎ | A764 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | QJ2 | ♥︎ | 964 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T4 | ♦︎ | K6 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | Q74 | ♣︎ | J952 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | - | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 17 | ♥︎ | T5 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 6 | 8 | ♦︎ | Q98532 | NT | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 9 | ♣︎ | AKT86 | ♠︎ | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 26 combined points | ♦︎ | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Game | ♣︎ | 10 | 9 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 6♦︎s | J♠︎ | = | 1370 | |||||||||||
| 3Nn | 2♣︎ | +1 | 630 | |||||||||||
| 2Ns | J♠︎ | +2 | 180 | |||||||||||
| 1♥︎n | K♦︎ | +3 | 170 | |||||||||||
| 2Ns | J♠︎ | = | 120 | |||||||||||
| West passes and North opens 1♥︎. East passes and with 6-5 South might just dispense with the "ten points for a 2/1 response" rule and bid 2♦︎. North rebids 2♠︎, showing a very good hand, at least an ace more than a minimum, by rebidding in a higher suit that the opened suit. South rebids 3♣︎ and North now bids 3♦︎, showing a three-suited hand with at least three-card support. South continues to 4♣︎, a cuebid showing first-round control in clubs. 3♠︎ would also be a cuebid, but South figures the club control more important to show. North probably has enough information to try 6♦︎ at this point, which requires only two club ruffs in dummy to set up the South hand with only the K♦︎ to lose. Looks like many A-section pairs got tripped up in the bidding here, ending way too low! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 5 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | Q764 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| North | ♥︎ | KQ943 | North-South | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T63 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 4 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AJ983 | ♠︎ | 5 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | AT | ♥︎ | J876 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | KJ2 | ♦︎ | A54 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | K98 | ♣︎ | QT532 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KT2 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 7 | ♥︎ | 52 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 16 | 7 | ♦︎ | Q987 | NT | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | ||||||
| 10 | ♣︎ | AJ76 | ♠︎ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 23 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 3Ne | 6♣︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 2Ne | 6♣︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | 4♣︎ | = | 110 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | 4♥︎ | +1 | 120 | |||||||||||
| 2Nw | 4♥︎ | +3 | 210 | |||||||||||
| Three passes and West opens 1♠︎ in fourth seat. North passes and East responds 1NT. 1NT over 1♠︎ is often made on a hand with 5-9 points that has considerable distribution, since responder needs ten points to bid a new suit at the two level. South passes and West invites with 2NT, but with only 7 in a response that shows a maximum of 9 East passes and plays 2NT. South leads a small club and North plays the 4. East should overtake with the ten and lead a second club through South! South wins the ace, but East takes the next club trick with the K♣︎ and crosses to the A♦︎ to take two more club tricks! Four clubs, three aces and the K♦︎ make eight tricks, and nine is possible if East finesses the J♦︎ as well! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 6 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | AQ63 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| East | ♥︎ | AJ87 | East-West | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 63 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A93 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | J8 | ♠︎ | K9752 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | Q963 | ♥︎ | T | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | K85 | ♦︎ | QT92 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | T864 | ♣︎ | J72 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | T4 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 15 | ♥︎ | K542 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ♦︎ | AJ74 | NT | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 13 | ♣︎ | KQ5 | ♠︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 28 combined points | ♦︎ | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Game | ♣︎ | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 4♥︎n | 5♠︎ | = | 420 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎n | 5♠︎ | = | 420 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎s | J♠︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎n | 9♦︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 6♥︎n | 2♣︎ | -3 | 150 | |||||||||||
| East passes and South opens 1♦︎. West passes and North responds 1♥︎. No need to do any more, new suits by responder are forcing and North will get a chance to show the strong hand later. East passes and South raises to 2♥︎, showing a minimum opener with (usually) four-card support (sometimes three with some shape). With the small possibility of a raise on only three trumps, North should bid 3NT next and let South choose 3NT or 4♥︎. Most Souths will choose 4♥︎ with four-card support, and be right most of the time. But on this deal, ten tricks are available in each, and neither is easy. In 4♥︎, North needs to take the club tricks and then work on a spade-diamond crossruff which will force out West's extra trumps. Tricky, as you can see from the results in Section A. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 7 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | QJ873 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| South | ♥︎ | A52 | Both | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | K62 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 98 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | K95 | ♠︎ | A4 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | QT9 | ♥︎ | J876 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AQ5 | ♦︎ | 93 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KQJ7 | ♣︎ | 65432 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | T62 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 10 | ♥︎ | K43 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 17 | 5 | ♦︎ | JT874 | NT | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||
| 8 | ♣︎ | AT | ♠︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 22 combined points | ♦︎ | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 1Nw | 7♠︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | 7♠︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| 1♣︎w | 7♠︎ | +1 | 90 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | 7♠︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | 7♠︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| South passes and West opens 1NT, and plays it there after three more passes. North leads the 7♠︎ and right away the contract hinges on West's first decision! If West grabs the ace and plays a club, the A♣︎ appears and West has three winners in hand: but no route to dummy to cash the extra club there. West must play low and win the K♠︎ in hand, then lead the K♣︎. But the defenders have a counter to this: South wins the A♣︎ and immediately returns a second spade, knocking out the entry before clubs are unblocked. West wins, cashes the clubs in hand, and then leads the Q♥︎, hoping to establish the J♥︎ as an entry. North must now make a good play and duck this to South's K♥︎ for a diamond return and eventually East goes one down; if North wins the A♥︎, South will succeed (try it!). | ||||||||||||||
| Board 8 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | J2 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| West | ♥︎ | T752 | None | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 753 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | JT54 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | T97 | ♠︎ | AQ53 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | J84 | ♥︎ | AKQ9 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T64 | ♦︎ | Q98 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A632 | ♣︎ | K9 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | K864 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 2 | ♥︎ | 63 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 5 | 20 | ♦︎ | AKJ2 | NT | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | ||||||
| 13 | ♣︎ | Q87 | ♠︎ | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 25 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Likely Game | ♣︎ | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 3Ne | 4♠︎ | = | 400 | |||||||||||
| 3Ne | 4♠︎ | = | 400 | |||||||||||
| 3Ne | 2♦︎ | = | 400 | |||||||||||
| 3Ne | 2♦︎ | = | 400 | |||||||||||
| 3Ne | 4♠︎ | +1 | 430 | |||||||||||
| West and North pass and East opens 2NT (20-21 balanced). South passes and West raises to 3NT despite only five points, since 20+5 is usually enough to give game a shot. Fourth best from either of South's four-card suits could cost a trick, and spades is less likely to cost, needing only the queen in North's hand to be safe, so most will lead a small spade. This gives declarer two spade tricks, four hearts, and two clubs, and one more needed, which, after the spade lead goes to North's jack and East's queen, can come from spades by leading back a spade at trick two towards dummy's ten! Other leads are similar: East will use the A♣︎ entry to lead a small spade to the queen and king, and the A♠︎ drops North's jack, making the ten good. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 9 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | A7 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| North | ♥︎ | JT865 | East-West | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T43 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A64 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | Q432 | ♠︎ | K965 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | AK7 | ♥︎ | Q94 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AK7 | ♦︎ | Q982 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 732 | ♣︎ | J5 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | JT8 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 9 | ♥︎ | 32 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 16 | 8 | ♦︎ | J65 | NT | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | ||||||
| 7 | ♣︎ | KQT98 | ♠︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 24 combined points | ♦︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Possible Game | ♣︎ | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 1Nw | 6♥︎ | +1 | 120 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | J♥︎ | +2 | 150 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | 6♥︎ | +2 | 150 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | J♥︎ | +2 | 170 | |||||||||||
| 2Nw | 6♥︎ | +2 | 180 | |||||||||||
| Three passes to West, who opens 1NT. North passes and East is OK passing an aceless eight count but also OK to try a Stayman 2♣︎ to see if the pair has a spade fit. South doubles 2♣︎ as a lead directing bid, and West bids 2♠︎. North passes and East raises to 3♠︎: if West has four spades and 17 points, game is quite possible. West should accept, and 4♠︎ depends only on figuring out which opponent has the A♠︎ and leading through that opponent on the first round. Since South doubled clubs and might open with club honours and the A♠︎, West assumes North has the A♠︎ and plays the first spade trick from the West hand. North wins, but South's jack falls on the third round. Section A seems to have been a bit wimpy on this one, passing 1NT at most tables! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 10 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | - | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| East | ♥︎ | J98643 | Both | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | Q8653 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | J2 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AKQ92 | ♠︎ | T764 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | 5 | ♥︎ | QT72 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | K7 | ♦︎ | A | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | AT874 | ♣︎ | KQ96 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | J853 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 4 | ♥︎ | AK | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 16 | 11 | ♦︎ | JT942 | NT | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | ||||||
| 9 | ♣︎ | 53 | ♠︎ | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 27 combined points | ♦︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Game | ♣︎ | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 5♦︎s* | A♣︎ | -2 | 500 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | 6♥︎ | +1 | 650 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | 6♥︎ | +2 | 680 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | 3♦︎ | +2 | 680 | |||||||||||
| 6♠︎w | 9♥︎ | = | 1430 | |||||||||||
| East opens 1♣︎ and South passes; West responds 1♠︎. What should North do with the 6-5 hand? Point counters will say pass. I say 2NT, showing both unbid suits in a shapely hand (at least five of each). East-West will bid up to 4♠︎ and South might just find the 5♦︎ sacrifice that may go for 800, but with East-West cold for 6♠︎, 800 is a bargain! 6♠︎ is easy since after ruffing the second heart, West cashes the A♠︎ and discovers the 4-0 break, but there is still plenty of time to cross to dummy and take a spade finesse. Should East-West get there after the North 2NT overcall? East raises to 3♠︎ and South bids 4♦︎. East could try a cuebid of 5♣︎ and if North passes, East will cuebid 5♦︎ and that will be enough for West to take the plunge! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 11 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | KT74 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| South | ♥︎ | AQ43 | None | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 754 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A7 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AQ | ♠︎ | 98652 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | K98 | ♥︎ | T52 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | JT3 | ♦︎ | K6 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KQ853 | ♣︎ | T96 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | J3 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 13 | ♥︎ | J76 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 15 | 3 | ♦︎ | AQ982 | NT | 7 | 9 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 9 | ♣︎ | J42 | ♠︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 8 | 9 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 22 combined points | ♦︎ | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 1Nw | 3♥︎ | -4 | 200 | |||||||||||
| 3♠︎w | A♣︎ | -4 | 200 | |||||||||||
| 3♦︎s | K♣︎ | +1 | 130 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | A♣︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | 7♦︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| South passes and West opens 1NT. North passes and East bids 2♥︎, a transfer to spades. South passes and West bids 2♠︎, which East passes. West mentally straps himself in for a rough ride and North starts with the A♣︎ and a second club. West wins and leads a small diamond to dummy's king and South's ace. South returns a club and North ruffs. Back comes a second diamond to South's queen and a heart from South through West's K♥︎ sets up a fifth and sixth trick with a spade trick still to come for the defenders. But down two is a good score for East-West, with some pairs in notrump going down even more! Transfers work even when they go down! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 12 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | 4 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| West | ♥︎ | 965 | North-South | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T43 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | AKJT83 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | Q5 | ♠︎ | AT872 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | J742 | ♥︎ | QT3 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | KJ6 | ♦︎ | AQ97 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | Q765 | ♣︎ | 4 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KJ963 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 8 | ♥︎ | AK8 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 9 | 12 | ♦︎ | 852 | NT | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| 11 | ♣︎ | 92 | ♠︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 21 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 1Nw | A♣︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| 1Nw | A♣︎ | = | 90 | |||||||||||
| 3♣︎n | A♠︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 3♣︎n | 3♥︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 2Nw | K♣︎ | = | 120 | |||||||||||
| West passes and at some tables North might try a 3♣︎ opener, which will buy the hand and despite being makeable according to the computer, is not so easy and likely one down. If North instead passes, East opens 1♠︎ and South has no convenient call (pass when they open your suit on your right unless you have some alternate fitting call); West responds 1NT and North could try 2♣︎ or 3♣︎ here, but against 1NT has the prospect of many club tricks, so passes, and 1NT becomes the contract. The smart lead from North is the J♣︎, leaving a club in the South hand to get five more later; with South's AK♥︎ and K♠︎ this will be eight tricks for the defenders and down two! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 13 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | T7632 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| North | ♥︎ | AQ65 | Both | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | Q2 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 73 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | 5 | ♠︎ | AQ4 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | 984 | ♥︎ | K72 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | K976 | ♦︎ | AJ84 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | QJT84 | ♣︎ | K92 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KJ98 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 8 | ♥︎ | JT3 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 6 | 17 | ♦︎ | T53 | NT | 3 | 3 | 9 | 7 | ||||||
| 9 | ♣︎ | A65 | ♠︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 23 combined points | ♦︎ | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 3♣︎e | J♥︎ | +1 | 130 | |||||||||||
| 1Ne | J♥︎ | +3 | 180 | |||||||||||
| 1Ne | 8♠︎ | +4 | 210 | |||||||||||
| 1Ne | 8♠︎ | +4 | 210 | |||||||||||
| 1Ne | 8♠︎ | +4 | 210 | |||||||||||
| North passes and East opens 1NT. Everyone passes and East groans. I could never figure out why this reaction is so universal. 1NT passed out is always going to be repeated at most tables, all you need to do is play the hand as well as the others to get a decent score; if it goes down three at your table other tables will face the same difficulties. Be confident! Sometimes that gets you an extra trick or two: a declarer who looks at dummy like it is a hated dish alerts the defenders that there is a defense that will kill, let's find it. Here there is no problem, South leads a fourth-best spade and East knocks out the A♣︎ and makes ten or eleven tricks without too much trouble. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 14 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | 6 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| East | ♥︎ | AJ92 | None | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AT82 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 9642 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | QT742 | ♠︎ | A853 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | - | ♥︎ | KQ6 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | KQJ9 | ♦︎ | 7653 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KT85 | ♣︎ | J3 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KJ9 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 9 | ♥︎ | T87543 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 11 | 10 | ♦︎ | 4 | NT | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | ||||||
| 10 | ♣︎ | AQ7 | ♠︎ | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 21 combined points | ♦︎ | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | A♥︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | 4♣︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎s | K♦︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎s* | K♦︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎s* | K♦︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| East and South pass and West opens 1♠︎. North makes a takeout double, a bit lighter than South might expect perhaps. East bids 3♠︎, inviting game if West has a good opener. South bids 4♥︎ and West converts to 4♠︎ based mostly on the heart void. North needs to pass here, having overbid the first time with the 9-point takeout double. What will South do? Most players will bid 5♥︎ with the South hand, feeling that the spade honours are capturable and there is little defense to 4♠︎. In reality, 4♠︎ goes down even on the catastrophic A♥︎ lead and 5♥︎ has no way to make. A lot of bidding for a hand in which one side has 21 points and the other 19. Major suit fits tend to have that effect.... | ||||||||||||||
| Board 15 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | Q4 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| South | ♥︎ | 83 | North-South | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | T93 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KQJT75 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AT72 | ♠︎ | KJ8 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | QJ64 | ♥︎ | AT972 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 4 | ♦︎ | AK765 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | A964 | ♣︎ | - | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | 9653 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 8 | ♥︎ | K5 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 11 | 15 | ♦︎ | QJ82 | NT | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | ||||||
| 6 | ♣︎ | 832 | ♠︎ | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 1 | 1 | 12 | 12 | ||||||||||
| E-W have 26 combined points | ♦︎ | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Game | ♣︎ | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 4♠︎e | Q♦︎ | -1 | 50 | |||||||||||
| 3♣︎n | A♦︎ | -3 | 300 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎w | K♣︎ | +2 | 480 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎e | 3♠︎ | +2 | 480 | |||||||||||
| 6♥︎e | 6♠︎ | = | 980 | |||||||||||
| South passes and West opens 1♣︎. North is surprised, but must realize that 2♣︎ is a cuebid promising spades and hearts, and jumping to 3♣︎ with a hand this weak could be asking for trouble. North thus passes and East responds 1♦︎. With a strong enough hand to open, there is no need to bypass diamonds to bid majors, responder will get more chances later. South passes and West rebids 1♥︎. Now North can try 2♣︎ to make life a bit harder for East-West, but the 1♥︎ rebid is enough for East to launch a slam try with 4NT. West responds 5♥︎ (two aces) and East bids 6♥︎. The only loser in 6♥︎ is the offside K♥︎. Nice auction by East-West! | ||||||||||||||
| Board 16 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | 7 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| West | ♥︎ | AK542 | East-West | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AK64 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | Q74 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | AT64 | ♠︎ | Q985 | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | 976 | ♥︎ | JT | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 75 | ♦︎ | JT8 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | T962 | ♣︎ | KJ53 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KJ32 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 16 | ♥︎ | Q83 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 4 | 8 | ♦︎ | Q932 | NT | 11 | 10 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 12 | ♣︎ | A8 | ♠︎ | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 28 combined points | ♦︎ | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Game | ♣︎ | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 3Nn | 4♠︎ | +2 | 460 | |||||||||||
| 5♥︎n | J♥︎ | = | 450 | |||||||||||
| 3Ns | 6♥︎ | +1 | 430 | |||||||||||
| 4♥︎n | J♥︎ | = | 420 | |||||||||||
| 5♦︎s | T♣︎ | = | 400 | |||||||||||
| West passes and North opens 1♥︎. East passes (a bit light for a takeout double, especially aceless), and South responds 1♠︎, knowing that a heart fit exists but not wanting to make a non-forcing raise yet. West passes and North's rebid is 2♦︎. East passes again and South bids 3♣︎, the only forcing bid remainiing, the fourth suit. North bids 3NT to indicate a club stopper and South has options: 4♥︎ and play there, which would be most players choice, or a 4♦︎ call that should be forcing and a slam invite. When a player bids four of a minor over 3NT to show a fit or cuebid, it is usually a slam try. But many players do not recognize this in the heat of battle and 4♦︎ making six is seldom a good score. North should raise 4♦︎ to 6♦︎ and it makes easily, outscoring pairs in 4♥︎. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 17 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | 98 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| North | ♥︎ | A95 | None | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | QJ963 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KQ8 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | 76532 | ♠︎ | AQJ | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | Q76432 | ♥︎ | T8 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | - | ♦︎ | AKT54 | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 64 | ♣︎ | A95 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | KT4 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 12 | ♥︎ | KJ | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 2 | 18 | ♦︎ | 872 | NT | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| 8 | ♣︎ | JT732 | ♠︎ | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||
| N-S and E-W each have 20 combined points | ♦︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 2Ne | 3♣︎ | -5 | 250 | |||||||||||
| 2Ns | 3♠︎ | = | 120 | |||||||||||
| 4♠︎w | K♣︎ | -2 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 2♥︎w | K♣︎ | = | 110 | |||||||||||
| 3♥︎w | K♣︎ | = | 140 | |||||||||||
| Quite the section A scoreslip here; seldom do you see both sides trying to make 2NT! North opens 1♦︎ and East doubles. South passes and West bids 1♥︎. North passes and East bids 1NT. A takeout double followed by a 1NT bid shows a balanced hand too strong for a 1NT overcall, so East is showing 18-19 points here. South passes again and West now bids 2♠︎, which seems to show 4-5 or 4-6 or even 5-6 in the majors. With equal length in hearts and spades West would bid spades first. East should therefore prefer hearts and resist the urge to bid notrump: West's hand is shapely for this auction. A heart contract is a struggle, but nothing compared to the struggle in notrump after a club lead. | ||||||||||||||
| Board 18 | ||||||||||||||
| NORTH | ||||||||||||||
| Dealer: | ♠︎ | K7 | Vulnerable: | |||||||||||
| East | ♥︎ | KQ5 | North-South | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | AT64 | |||||||||||||
| ♣︎ | KT32 | |||||||||||||
| WEST | EAST | |||||||||||||
| ♠︎ | T98654 | ♠︎ | AQJ | |||||||||||
| ♥︎ | A4 | ♥︎ | 9732 | |||||||||||
| ♦︎ | 987 | ♦︎ | Q | |||||||||||
| ♣︎ | 84 | ♣︎ | AQ765 | |||||||||||
| SOUTH | Available | |||||||||||||
| HCP: | ♠︎ | 32 | Tricks: | |||||||||||
| 15 | ♥︎ | JT86 | N | S | E | W | ||||||||
| 4 | 15 | ♦︎ | KJ532 | NT | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| 6 | ♣︎ | J9 | ♠︎ | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | |||||||
| ♥︎ | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||
| N-S have 21 combined points | ♦︎ | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
| Suitable Level: Partscore | ♣︎ | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
| Contract | Lead | Result | N-S Score | E-W Score | ||||||||||
| 3♦︎s | 8♣︎ | -1 | 100 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | K♥︎ | +2 | 170 | |||||||||||
| 3♠︎w | K♥︎ | +1 | 170 | |||||||||||
| 1♠︎w | Q♥︎ | +3 | 170 | |||||||||||
| 2♠︎w | A♦︎ | +2 | 170 | |||||||||||
| East opens 1♣︎ and South passes. West passes as well and North bids 1NT. In the passout seat the 1NT overcall shows not 15-17 but about 11-15, so North is maximum for this call. East passes and South does as well, and West comes in with a 2♠︎ bid, knowing that partner heard the pass of 1♣︎ and will realize this cannot show much strength. 2♠︎ is the final bid of the auction and North leads the K♥︎. West takes the A♥︎ and finesses the J♠︎. With no entry back to hand to repeat the finesse, the A♠︎ is next, and North drops the K♠︎. West continues with a heart and later ruffs a heart in hand to take the club finesse as well, in the end losing only one heart and two diamonds. Not sure how the computer managed eleven tricks; a squeeze perhaps? | ||||||||||||||