Right out of the gate it is a high-wire act, as East comes in with a perfectly normal 1NT overcall and thanks to partner's Yarborough, walks into a fusillade of red cards! When partner opens and the next player overcalls 1NT, ten points is enough for a penalty double: you may miss game but if you can take the same nine tricks on defense you'll score better. Nine tricks against 1NTx is 500, more than the 3NT will pay non-vulnerable. (If you are vulnerable and they are not the math might not work out as well and you may choose to play in 3NT instead.) South's double of 1NT is for penalties, and once you make a penalty double, all further doubles are for penalty, and letting the opponents play something undoubled is like a biker ordering quiche: just not something you do. South doubles 2♥ for penalties and East gambles that spades will be better. South cannot double this but South's pass of 2♠ is virtually forcing. North can double, and 2♠* becomes the final contract. As it happens, 3NT is almost impossible on a spade lead, but the defenders still have to collect the maximum. South starts with two high clubs and a club ruff, but slips slightly, leading the 4♣ instead of the T♣ at trick three for the club ruff. North reads the 4♣ as a suit preference signal for diamonds over hearts, and not wanting to lead from that diamond holding, switches to a disastrous trump, allowing declarer to escape for only two down and a good score. Down three would be 60% for the defenders, so that lost trick is significant! When you lead expecting a ruff and you have a choice which card to lead for the ruff, choose the highest card when you want a higher suit returned, and the lowest card when you'd prefer the lower of the other two suits. It matters...

RESULT: 2♠*e-2

The third-seat West hand is a 4-3-3-3 12 count and the computers all treat it as a light opener and pass 1♠, but I think I would open a hand like this in first or second chair, so I make what I think is the normal rebid of 1NT and play it there. With the 5-3 spade fit, I will have to make as many tricks in notrump as most make in spades for a good score. I duck the K♥ opening lead hoping North will continue with a second heart to my AJ, but North switches to the Q♣, overtaken by South after I duck in dummy. South switches to the Q♦ and it appears to be a war on three fronts. Two spades, two clubs, a heart and three diamonds make for a good score, since nobody can make nine tricks in spades.

RESULT: 1NTw+1

Don't let the 1♥ overcall prevent you from making your 1NT rebid. If partner has no help in hearts you must play notrump from your side or the opening lead may trap the king. North's 2♦ call is artificial and shows a decent single raise with four trumps. East's 3♣ bid surprisingly ends the auction even though South knows they have a nine-card fit in hearts. On the heart lead and continuation, eleven tricks in clubs are routine: win the heart, pull three rounds of trumps, lead the J♠, guess that spades are 3-3, lose only a diamond and the A♥. A few maniac computers are playing notrump with the North-South cards and outscore us, but +150 is pretty much average.

RESULT: 3♣w+2

I know we are supposed to be playing SAYC but this hand convinced me that you need New Minor Forcing even though it isn't part of the system. North rebids 1NT, promising at least two of each suit and 12-14 points, and South wonders whether North can have five hearts. The 2♣ call (the 'new minor') promises at least 11 points, but is artificial (says nothing at all about clubs) and asks North to describe further. The jump to 3♥ shows 13-14 and three-card support for hearts, making the game an easy one to bid. In standard this hand is shown by a reckless jump to 3♣, which might well get us too high. I play 4♥ like all the rest and blow a trick at the end for another below average score...

RESULT: 4♥n=

North's 1♦ opener is one of those calls that five-card majors forces upon us. East overcalls, South raises, and I decide I have just enough to step in with a 2♥ bid, which is passed out and defeated routinely two tricks when trumps break badly and everything is offside. But at this vulnerability, 100 is not so bad since the opponents can make 110 in diamonds. I wonder what defensive gaffe allowed some declarers to escape for down only one?

RESULT: 2Hw-2

North's raise of South's 1NT response on a singleton is reasonable; 1NT denied four spades, so there is no fit there. The 3♣ call (as opposed to passing 2NT) tends to show an unbalanced and fairly weak hand. I lead a small spade, hoping for partner to have an honour or at least the 9♠, and to my surprise partner's seven forces out the king. I fail to pick up on the clues: this means that declarer has the queen as well, since partner would not try the seven holding the Q97, fearing letting declarer win with the ten if he had it. In with the A♥, I lead a second spade, won in dummy with the ace as declarer follows low. For some reason I continue to believe partner has the king and declarer is out of spades. Declarer cashes two hearts and then leads the Q♦ from dummy which I win with the ace. Already too late, declarer has pitched a diamond loser on the third heart and we can only get three tricks. To beat this I needed to switch to diamonds. Another bad score.

RESULT: 3C♠+1

After a simple auction, I get to switch seats and be declarer from the North chair, so the computer can rest. (Most programs allow you to declare when you become dummy for extra practice.) On the heart lead I can see nine fairly easy tricks, two spades, three hearts, three clubs, and a diamond, with a possibility of four club tricks if the king is onside. It is, and I make a good score.

RESULT: 3NTn+1

Another basic auction, and another chance for me to take the declaring reins from North as the computer goes for a nap. Some players will tell you not to Stayman with 4-3-3-3 hands, but I don't agree: often the notrump opener can have a doubleton here or there, making the 4-4 fit better in the long run. The J♥ opening lead should be chosen at almost every table, and declarer has one spade, one heart, three clubs and three diamonds, with a possible fourth in diamonds for nine tricks, or a spade finesse. The first step is to duck the opening lead and win the third round of hearts if possible. If this comes down to a finesse, I want at least the chance of finding the player I lose the finesse to without a fourth heart to lead. Once we win the K♦, there is nothing really to do but to test the diamonds, which break, so cash four tricks, run the clubs, then cash the ace of spades and see if something good happens. It won't but nine tricks are there. There's a way for ten: win the second heart after West wins the A♥ at trick one and returns the Q♥, not the third. Run four diamonds and then three clubs ending in the North hand, then lead the third heart. East can win and cash a fourth heart but is now forced to lead away from the K♠!

RESULT: 3NTn=

Of course I was worried that there would be a spade void in the West hand. But it seemed a longshot and if this auction was repeated at other tables I wouldn't be alone in doubling. The ace of spades opening lead held and plus 200 was a good score.

RESULT: 6♥*e-1

Not much to this one, a takeout double, a response, a quick end to the auction, and a simple cross-ruff hand. A club to the ace is led and back comes the Q♠. I win and foresee ruffing three clubs in dummy and two spades in hand. This means I can safely pull two trumps, and they split 2-2 so it is clear sailing. The K♣ falls on the second club ruff so I can park a heart loser on the Q♣, losing only two hearts and the ace of clubs.

RESULT: 2♦s+2

When you have 28-31 points, 3NT is usually the place to play in matchpoints, and overtricks are important. It's late at night when I play this one and I miss this and choose to play 4♠, where I manage only ten tricks for a dead zero. Break time!

RESULT: 4♠e=

Well, it looks like with ten deals left to play we have found the deal of the day. The first question is what to open with West's 6-6 hand. I think 1♠ is best; if you open 1♥ and rebid spades, partner will need to go up a level to prefer your original suit. The auction now takes an unexpected turn, with a 1NT overcall and a penalty double by partner. Looking at all four hands, we can see that this would be a difficult contract, but that North should come to two diamonds, two clubs, and two aces for down one. There is no bridge player in the world, man or machine, that would accept 200 with a 6-6 hand opposite strength by partner. The question is how many hearts to bid now. 4♥, the computers choice, gives up almost any shot at slam, and partner doesn't need much: two aces and three-card support for either suit should be enough. 2♥ is not forcing so not a reasonable option. I opt for 3♥, and partner bids 3NT. This hint of a misfit is enough for South to double when 4♥ is passed around to him. Maybe an immediate 4♥ would have escaped being doubled. North picks a good lead, the Q♦, and I'm in some trouble. If I cover, South wins and I still have a diamond loser. If I duck, North's next move is obvious, since I have shown at least eleven cards in the majors: ace and another heart, hoping to lock me in my hand. I cover and South wins and returns a second diamond. If I ruff, I might make this: diamond ruff, spade ruff, diamond ruff hoping for a 3-3 split, spade ruff, club ruff, and now begin pulling trumps with the king of hearts. They get a diamond, a trump, and a spade, and I'm home. But if diamonds don't break, someone could ruff in with the ace of hearts and lead a second heart before I have ruffed two spades in dummy, which likely leads to two down. If I duck at trick two, even if they remove dummy's trumps, I should be OK for at least nine tricks even if diamonds are 4-2: the defenders will have to break spades, limiting me to one loser in the suit, or play clubs or diamonds, putting me in dummy where a bunch of winners are set up. I opt for the play which assures nine tricks minimum, and sadly diamonds are 3-3, so I had a shot at making it. There is a little bit of company at -100 so I don't get a complete zero. A significant number of tables saw a club lead, making the hand easy: win in dummy and pitch a diamond, lose two spades and a heart. Sometimes you just need a little luck...

RESULT: 4♥*w-1

Rixi Marcus, a prominent figure in the early days of bridge in Europe, had a maxim which featured in all her writings: "bid boldly, play safe." She'd have approved of this deal. Partner rebids hearts and I decide to upgrade slightly: theoretically the jump to 3♠ shows first-round control. When partner promises a diamond control, I bid boldly, smashing into the heart slam with as much force as the invasion of Austria by Hitler's forces in 1938, an event which forced Rixi Marcus, already a bridge celebrity in Vienna, to play safe and bolt to England, where she would remain for the rest of her life. In 6♥ I have to play safe! Partner has for some reason rebid a five-card suit and the trump suit is a key weakness which I must find a way to play for one loser. (Once again the computer has fled the table to leave me to switch seats and declare the slam I have launched into.) The spade lead is won in dummy and I decide to play ace and another trump and try to guess the position. My clue comes when North plays the six of trumps on the ace, then plays the three on the next trick. A high-low in trumps usually indicates three trumps with the possibility of a ruff. With K63 North would not be looking for a ruff with a natural trump trick. And if North is trying to fool me with 63 doubleton, it matters not since no play will succeed. I play the ten and South wins the king. Back comes a spade and I breathe a little easier when North follows. We're not quite done yet, since the Q♥ is still out there and I cannot draw it until I am sure I have enough tricks and entries to the West hand. I lead the ten of clubs and South plays the queen. I am fairly sure that North has the Q♥, so if the Q♣ is singleton, I should be able to lead clubs through North until he ruffs in, overruffing and returning to dummy with a spade ruff. This works and I bring home a very nice score. I wonder what Rixi would do at this stage. She was known to be a spirited post-mortem expert, and would find serious fault in East's 2♥ rebid. After a 2/1 call (even if the 2/1 bid is not forcing to game as it is in modern systems), a 2♠ rebid is not a reverse and must be the better call. We won't get to slam, but the reward is still good for making twelve tricks.

RESULT: 6♥e=

The 3♦ call is a conventional raise of spades showing a bit more than a raise to 2♠. (Cuebids are not alertable in the ACBL unless their meaning is deemed highly unusual or unexpected; using cuebids to increase the number of ways to raise partner's suit is quite common.) My 2♦ overcal does lose the heart suit, but as you can see from the distribution, that is a good thing! With a nine card spade fit, East should have no trouble making this by simply using the well-known maxim and playing for a 2-2 trump split, losing two diamonds and a heart. In our case the computer won the club switch at trick three with the ace and tried to ruff a club: overruffed by South, but now declarer can ruff two hearts in dummy before pulling the last trump. 18 computers found a way to go down, which is a frustrating mystery.

RESULT: 4♠e=

After the type of auction that sends married couples to their divorce lawyers, we get the predictable result. My 1♥ opener, hoping for a raise or a 1♠ response, may have been an overbid, but bidding that anemic club suit four times is utterly inane especially when the computer player gets to walk away and make me play it! Better to start with a 2♦ response and then bid clubs later. We might get out in 3♦ and score at least some matchpoints. East's decision to bid on over 3♥, when the writing was on the wall that this was downtown Misfit City, was the prime cause of this disaster. Sometimes you just have to park the car and hope the ticket you get will be affordable.

RESULT: 5♣*e-4

North rebids 2♥ showing six or more hearts but no extra strength. What's the best rebid for South? 3NT? 4♥? Some forcing call to elicit more info? Let's eliminate that last one; if there is a game here it may be dependant on the opening lead, so the less information we give the opponents, the better, so the choice is between 3NT and 4♥. Mentees will tend to choose 4♥ so that their mentors can play it, but what is the best choice in theory. Well, JACK can answer this question, by dealing the remaining 39 cards repeatedly until it finds a distribution that agrees with the auction so far (six or more hearts and about 12-15 points in North, no hand worth competing with in West or East), then test both contracts. 1000 random hands matching the auction so far say that 3NT will score +366 on average (400 for making, -50 a trick for going down), while 4♥ scores +387 on average. Fairly close and when I ran the simulation nine more times (10,000 total random hands) 4♥ was +366.4, 3NT was ++357.3. I would guess that 3NT would be the choice if we had the K♠ and the Q♣ instead of the two jacks, since this would put us close to that 28-30 range where 3NT usually is better. The play in 4♥ is fairly straightforward, losing two trumps and a spade, but when West wins the A♥ and switches to a spade to East's ace, we can later take a ruffing finesse against West's K♠, allowing us to pitch a club from the North hand, making the club finesse unnecessary. (It always seems to be a working finesse when I find a way to avoid taking it...)

RESULT: 4♥n=

Partner's 1♦ response and his raise to 2♥ makes my hand much better and I am confident in the heart game. The Q♠ opening lead means South has the king and I can play the sut for one loser, but is there another danger? The Q♠ cannot be singleton, South would likely open almost any hand in third seat with any hand containing ♠KT952, but North may have Qx♠ and be looking for a ruff. I win the ace and lead the ten of trumps; South covers with the queen and I win in hand. If I continue with another trump it may well be won by North and a spade to South's king will be followed by a spade ruff. Time for plan B: I play four rounds of clubs, pitching two spades from dummy! North ruffs the fourth round, but can no longer get a spade ruff. I lose a club ruff, the K♥, and the ace of diamonds. This seems like a good escape, but somehow the field contains a fair number of tables making overtricks. What else is new...

RESULT: 4Hw=

I'm out on a limb here, having opened 1♣ while all of the computers were opening 1♦ on that anemic suit. Partner's negative double is a bit strange and if his intent is to show a very good raise, it is lost on me because his double should show hearts and diamonds, nether of which are helpful. I park it in 3♣ and take a below average score, since 5♣ makes two times out of three: the defenders must grab two diamonds and then wait for an overruff.

RESULT: 3Cw+2

This zero looks like a teachable moment, and is a mistake I have been making too often in the few chances I get to play, so let's go through it and see if you catch it. The West hand can be opened 1NT, but it is an awfully strong 17, and there is a danger that partner might pass 1NT with useful hands in the 5-7 point range, so I open 1♣ and rebid 2NT, showing 18-19, which is more in keeping with the true value of the hand. We get to 3NT anyhow and the opening lead is the 6♠. By ducking this I ensure two stoppers in spades, which should be enough to establish the clubs, so I duck and South wins the K♠. It seems logical, but my analysis crashes when South switches to the Q♦. Lesson: don't duck the opening lead if there is a chance they may find a more lethal suit to lead. The diamond isn't lethal, I still make 3NT, but it may as well be. By simply taking the A♠ at trick one, and running the T♣, my second spade stopper is protected if the finesse loses. When South plays the Q♣, I win in hand, play the ace of hearts and another to dummy, then finesse again in clubs. North wins but cannot hurt me, and ten tricks or more and almost certain.

RESULT: 3NTw=

Finally, a decision that differs from the computers that gains! I choose 1NT as my opening bid and this prevents North-South from finding their heart fit. We take our five obvious tricks and all the matchpoints!

RESULT: 2Ds=

Another lost opportunity here. Let's discuss the bidding first. Reverses are difficult concepts for many newer players. The idea is that whenever opener rebids a suit higher than his opening bid suit (after responder bids his own suit at the one level), it shows two things: 1) about an ace more than a minimum opening bid, because you may find yourself at the three level if partner has to prefer the first suit with a minimum, and 2) more (not equal) cards in the first-bid suit than the second (with 5-5 you would begin with the higher suit and jump shift with extra strength). So the 2♥ call shows about 17+, a heart suit, and a longer diamond suit. I continue with the 3♣ fourth-suit forcing call so that partner can declare notrump with the strong hand concealed, and partner converts to 3NT and leaves me to play it. This turns out to be a mistake since I waste little time in botching things up. The T♣ is led and I cover with the jack and capture West's queen with the king. The 8♣ is the obvious return but I miss it, instead opting for a small diamond, which might have been good if the diamond finesse failed, but when it makes I have given up on multiple overtricks and the result is a bad score. These computers are tough, tough opponents. (Or maybe I'm just wilting in the heat...)

RESULT: 3NTn+1

Most of the computers chose to go on over North's 19+ game raise. But nobody found the best solution: instead of Blackwood and a guess, I should have tried a 5♣ cuebid. This should show a first round control in clubs but we're fibbing a bit here because our real agenda is to see if partner can cuebid diamonds. (Yes, I know partner opened diamonds, but as we discovered, this is not the same as being able to cuebid a control in diamonds....) When partner continues with 5♠, we pass and take all the matchpoints!

RESULT: 6♠-1