Board 14 provided difficult decisions for both North and South this week.

Dlr: East Vul: None	10 9 7 4 3 2  K 6  8 2  J 8 7	Optimum NS 3SX
K 8 6  8 4 3 2  Q 10 7  Q 6 4	W E S T NORTH E A S T 14 SOUTH	Q 5  A Q J 5  J 5 3  A 10 5 2
4   7   14   15	A J  10 9 7  A K 9 6 4  K 9 3	N N - - - 2 - S - - - 2 - E 2 1 1 - 2 W 2 1 1 - 2

East  opens 1NT and South has to choose what to do with their good hand.

With 15 points and a good suit South can see at least 5 tricks in their own hand.  Double looks the right bid, rather than 2 diamonds.

West passes happily, and now North has a dilemma.  Usually you don't take partner out of their double of 1NT, especially when they have the opening lead.  On this occasion, though, North can see that getting 1NT down may be touch and go, but if partner has 15 points there must be a good play for 2 spades.  So rescue. 

The play is tricky.  After East opens with A and another club (best), cash A and K of diamonds and ruff a third.  Now A spades followed by a fourth diamond, discarding a club.  Whichever defender ruffs it is with a winning trump, so you lose 1 club, 2 hearts and 2 trumps.

A plus score for North/South!

Hand of the Week - 4 October Defence Tips

When to win with the Ace of Trumps on the first Trump trick?

Board 10 - Typical Contract 4♥  Opening Lead  ♣ Q

The defence starts with the Bidding. Lets assume you are South and sitting with the following hand:

10 5 3

A 4 2

10 4 2

Q J 10 6

East is Dealer and the Bidding is as follows:

West North East South

                   1♥    Pass

2♦     Pass  2♥    Pass

3♥    Pass  4♥    All pass

South as defender says East has 14 - 15 points or a LTC of 6, with 5 cards in the heart suit. South has 7 points so can expect a maximum of 8 points from partner. South has 3 cards in heart suit, West has 3 cards in heart suit, so partner has probably a maximum of 2 cards in hearts.

South has 1 heart trick and may be able to get 1 or 2 club tricks. South will need a couple of tricks from North to defeat the contract.

South chooses Opening Lead ♣ Q.

Dummy is placed on table. Nothing too revealing. ♣ A is played and north gives encouraging signal of ♣ 9, which indicates North has ♣ K. Declarer then makes the fatal error of not eliminating a loser in clubs by playing ♦ A followed by ♦ Q and discarding losing ♣ . 

Instead Declarer is greedy and plays ♦ 3 to the ♦ K, then plays a low heart,♥ 7.

The South defender has to rise to the challenge, go up with the ♥ Ace, play a club to win 2 club tricks, and 1 spade trick to defeat the contract.

The full hand is below:

Dlr: East Vul: All	A 4 2  6 3  J 8 7 6 5  K 9 7	Optimum EW 4H
J 8 6  J 10 5  A Q 9 3  A 4 2	W E S T NORTH E A S T 10 SOUTH	K Q 9 7  K Q 9 8 7  K  8 5 3
8   12   13   7	10 5 3  A 4 2  10 4 2  Q J 10 6

The traveller for last night is:

Hand of the Week - 13 September Bidding Slams

Bidding slams in a minor suit is often difficult due to two reasons:

       1    players prefer to bid 3NT rather than a game in a minor, thereby not exploring further

       2    often the slam convention will take you above where you can safely escape at the 5 level

Therefore the question has to be asked when do you bid above 3NT and try for a Slam in a Minor. Answer when the combined Losing trick Count is 12 or better. Lets look at Board 13 when the majority of players played in 3NT making 11 tricks.

Dlr: North Vul: All	A J 4 2  10 9 7  7 6 3 2  9 2	Optimum EW 6C
Q  K Q 8 4 2  A J 8  K Q 8 5	W E S T NORTH E A S T 13 SOUTH	K 10 9 8 7 6  A  Q 10  A J 6 4
5   17   14   4	5 3  J 6 5 3  K 9 5 4  10 7 3

East has a 6 1 2 4 shape, remember the saying 6 and 4 Go More, LTC of 6, points 14. Looking for a Spade or Club fit. Can open 1♠  and if Partner responds 1NT can bid 2♣ . If Partner responds 2♣ , what do you bid 2♠  or 4♣ ?

West has a 1 5 3 4 shape, LTC of 5, points 17. Looking for a fit in Hearts or Clubs. Should say to themselves if partner opens, we have  7 + 5  = 12 LTC , therefore possible slam.

The bidding proceeds accordingly

West North East South

         P        1♠    P

2♥     P        2♠    P

3♣     P       4♣    P

The west Bid is Game Forcing and therefore should have sufficient in hand to reach either Game in 3NT, therefore a Diamond stop, or a couple of spades in case partner repeats spades, or 16+ points in case partner has opened on rule of 20 and has a horibble 5 2 4 3 shape.

The East would consider the West bid and appreciate there is a typical  2 5 2 4 (a couple of spades), or a 1 5 3 4, (a diamond stop)or a 2 5 1 5 (a couple of spades) or a 1 5 2 5 (LTC of 6 or better or 16+) . The key aspect is that East has a shapely hand with trumping potential, West has also just said that its hand is shapely with trumping potential. East can trump the hearts and West can trump the Spades. It is worth agreeing the Clubs, since if West has a LTC of 6 or better, there is slam potential.

When East has bid 4♣ , it is easy for West since with its LTC of 5, there is definite slam potential.

Now we have to deal with the Aces!

Does West use Cue Bidding or Cue Bidding & Blackwood. On this occasion West only has 1 Ace and therefore needs partner to have 2 Aces! If partner has only 1 Ace and responds 5♦ , then one is above 5♣  so one safely can't escape!

Cue Bidding allows West to show Diamond Ace and for East to show Heart Ace.

However, since Balckwood will not help and since Cue bidding can't be continued, West now has dilemma do I safely back out and just bid 5♣  or do I risk the 6♣ . What are your thoughts???

Hand of the Week - How to Bid a Slam safely?

Lets look at Board 16. Several pairs thought to themselves, that there is Slam potential, but how can we bid it? A couple of other pairs decided that there was a possibility if partner held either the Club Ace or King, then they bid 6♠ and prayed.

However is there a safe way to bid 6♠ ?

Dlr: West Vul: E/W	A K 10 3  - -  A K 10 7 2  Q J 9 6	Optimum NS 6S
4  K 10 7 4 3 2  J 5 4 3  7 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 16 SOUTH	Q 2  Q 8 6 5  9 8 6  A 10 8 5
17   4   8   11	J 9 8 7 6 5  A J 9  Q  K 4 2	N N 5 5 - 6 4 S 5 5 - 6 4 E - - - - - W - - - - -

North looks at the hand and says 4 0 5 4 shape, Losing trick count of 4, 17 points. The plan will be to open the longest suit ♦ and then probably bid ♠ to show the strength by doing a reverse bid.

North opens the bidding 1♦ 

When South bids 1♠ , showing 6 points, assumed Losing Trick Count of 9, North has a dilemma, how to find out more about South's hand and specifically to find out about the missing Club Ace or King or both? North can't do a Splinter Bid since it does not have  asingleton, and can't Cue bid yet, since there is not a stated agreed suit. North wonders whether by making a Forcing Bid whether the South person will reveal any more information. So North jumps to 3♣ . This is a Jump Shift, which is game forcing, and showing typically 18 / 19 points.

What would South now bid?

South has a choice does it bid 3NT to show the stop in ♥  or does it bid 3♠  to show 6 spades? 

When South bids 3NT, North can now bid 4NT Roman Keycard Blackwood with Clubs as the assumed trump suit. When South answer 2 key cards without the queen, 5♥ , North can now safely bid 6♠ .

If South answers only 1 key card, then North either stops in 5♠  or gambles in 6♠ .

Hand of the Week - Tuesday 16 February - Declarer Play

This is definitely the week for Declarer Play. Various Beginner groups are covering Declarer Play for the first time, a couple of Improver groups are examining Declarer Play in more detail, undertaking a SWOT and deciding which of various options to choose and an Advanced group is examining when to finesse, how to finesse and the optimal timing for  these choices.

Well not only that, we have a feast of hands in the Surrey Sim Pairs when the Declarer Play, optimising the number of tricks is key to doing well. Also you can see the frequency of how often players achived certain contracts and number of tricks, along with the ability of replaying the boards.

Lets look at Board 13 - How many tricks did you make as East West?

By clicking on 13 you will see the frequency and then by clicking on  View DD analysis and replay hand * you can then replay the hand.

What not try and make 13 tricks on board 13?

Can you see how you can bid 6♥  and make 13 tricks?

Lets look at Board 3 - How many tricks did you make as North South?

By clicking on 3 you will see the frequency and then by clicking on  View DD analysis and replay hand * you can then replay the hand.

Can you see how you could bid 4♥  and make 11 tricks

Hand of the Week - Tuesday 2 February - Slam Bidding and Play

There were several slams which were missed on Tuesday evening.

Board 12 was bid by 3 pairs and with a Losing Trick Count of 4 in one hand and 7 in the other and 1 ace missing, the 3 pairs correctly bid 6♠ , making 12 tricks. Combined 31 points.

Board 2 was bid by 1 pair and with a Losing Trick Count of 5 in one hand and 7 in the other, bid 6♥ . Combined 28 points. How do you play this board to make the small slam. How do you play the board to make 13 tricks? A suggested bidding is provided below the hand in the results.

Board 4 slam was not bid. With a Balanced hand of 16 points in one hand and a Losing Trick Count of 7 in the other, the initial indication is that it is difficult to bid. Combined 26 points. How do you play the board to make 12 tricks? Look carefully at the hands and you can see that both hands are strong in that they are all Aces and Kings and not Queens!

Board 6 slam was not bid. With a Losing Trick Count of 5 in one hand and a Losing Trick Count of 7 in the other, the initial indication is that a small slam may be possible. However there is not a fit in any suit and with only 30 points between the hands the players safely stayed in 3NT.

The most difficult Board of the evening is Board 3. One hand has a Losing Trick Count of 5 and the other a Losing Trick Count of 7. Combined points 24. Is a small slam biddable in Spades and how do you play it to make 12 tricks?

The best answers to the various questions will receive a prize at the end of the month.

Hand of the Week - Tuesday 19 January - The difference between a top and a bottom

is not much. It could be one trick, it could be the Opening Lead and it could be a different game contract.

Lets look at Board 19

Dlr: South Vul: E/W	K 10 9 4  8  K Q 3  A J 6 5 4	Optimum NS 4S
7 6  J 3 2  A 9 8 7 6 2  8 7	W E S T NORTH E A S T 19 SOUTH	Q 3 2  Q 6 5 4  5  K Q 9 3 2
13   5   9   13	A J 8 5  A K 10 9 7  J 10 4  10	N N 2 3 4 5 3 S 2 3 4 5 3 E - - - - - W - - - - -

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                           1♥ 

P      2♣      P      2♥      Note South is not strong enough to bid Spades which would be a reverse bid

P      2♠      P      3♠      Note North's bid is a Resonders'Reverse which is Game Forcing. 

P      4♠      All Pass

Lets look at the Traveller. You will see that the Pair who played in 3NT can only make 9 tricks so only score 400. The other pairs who played in 4 ♠ had two different Opening Leads. I would suggest that the best opening lead is 5♦ , and the pair that led the K♣ , helped North to make 11 tricks more easiliy. However it is possible for North to make 11 tricks with the 5♦  lead. How should North make 11 tricks?

The first correct answer drawn will receive a prize at the same time as we announce the Player of the Month for January.

Hand of the Week -5 January -Sim Pairs 

I thought I would show you a hand which very simply illustrates what information is available on the EBU website.

It is also a hand where the majority of you could examine, in terms of how to bid a Small Slam or Grand Slam, how to use Cue Bidding and how to make 13 tricks.

Any questions please ask.

Dealer West  N/S Vul	4 2  A K 8 4  K 9 8 4 3  A 7
K J 10 6  10 7 2  10 7 6 2  9 6		Q 9 8 7 3  9  Q J 5  Q J 8 5
	A 5  Q J 6 5 3  A  K 10 4 3 2

West	North	East	South
Pass	1♦	Pass	1♥
Pass	3♥	Pass	4NT
Pass	5♣	(0	/3)
All Pass

N/S should reach slam and some will at least investigate the grand slam. The auction given is rather agricultural: North is minimum for 3♥ but then South cannot investigate whether there is a second fit for clubs. South decides to keep the auction short and perhaps get a helpful lead: even when the grand slam can be made 6♥+1 should be a good score. The easiest route to thirteen tricks is to ruff two clubs in dummy while being careful about the entries and making sure that an over ruff by the defence will not lose two tricks. On a spade lead, something like: ♠A, ♦A, ♥ to the A, ♦K (discarding ♠5), ♣A, ♣ to the K, ♣ ruff, ♥ to the Q, ♣ ruff, ♦ ruff, ♥J and claim. Dummy has to keep a heart honour to guard against East ruffing a club with ♥10.commentary by Robin Barker

Hide uncommon scores | View DD analysis and replay hand *

N/S Score	Frequency		N/S MPs	E/W MPs	%
2210	6		743.0	5.0	99.33
1460	41		695.7	52.3	93.01
1430	42		612.3	135.7	81.86
720	2		568.0	180.0	75.94
710	68		497.7	250.3	66.54
690	1		428.3	319.7	57.26
680	101		325.7	422.3	43.54
650	66		157.8	590.2	21.10
630	8		83.5	664.5	11.16
620	4		71.4	676.6	9.55
600	1		66.4	681.6	8.88
500	2		63.3	684.7	8.46
450	1		60.3	687.7	8.06
230	1		58.3	689.7	7.79
200	5		52.3	695.7	6.99
150	4		43.2	704.8	5.78
130	1		38.2	709.8	5.11
110	1		36.2	711.8	4.84
100	2		33.2	714.8	4.44
-100	13		18.1	729.9	2.42
-200	3		2.0	746.0	0.27

Hand of the Week - 22 December - The Negative Double (Sputnik)

The Negative double is a very simple way of describing a Resonders Hand after there has been an Overcall by the opposition. Lets look at Board 7.

North opens 1♦  after two passes and then East bids 2♣ . South was going to respond 1♥  to North's 1♦ , but because of the interference South's bid has been taken away. South now can't bid 2♥ because that would be showing 5 cards in the heart suit. So South can bid a X.

This enables North to bid 3♥ , assuming a fit in Hearts and South duly bids to 4♥ . Well done pair 4.

Dlr: South Vul: All	Q 4  A 5 3 2  A K J 9 8 7  3	Optimum NS 4H
A 9 8 2  10 9 6  Q 10 4  10 7 5	W E S T NORTH E A S T 7 SOUTH	J 10 7 5  J 7  5 2  A K Q 8 4
14   6   11   9	K 6 3  K Q 8 4  6 3  J 9 6 2	N N - 5 5 - 3 S - 5 5 - 3 E - - - 1 - W - - - 1 -

Hand of the Week - 8 December - Difficult Declarer Play

How do you choose between various options? The first principle is, it always depends on how many tricks are required. Choose the option which gives you the highest chance of obtaining those tricks, even though the probability may be quite low.

Lets look at Hand 4

I usually look at the traveller first and see what all the pairs bid; 3 a game in ♠ , another 3 a part game in 2♠  and 1 pair in 2♦ . That initially tells me it was difficult to bid!. Then I look at the resuts in terms of number of tricks, in ♠ , anything between 8 and 11 tricks, that tells me the play was not straight forward!

So lets look at the Hands

Dlr: West Vul: All	A Q J 9 4  A 10 6  A Q 8 7  2	Optimum NS 6H
K 3 2  9 3  K 10 6 5  K 10 8 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 4 SOUTH	10 7 5  K 7 5  J 9 3  Q J 9 7
17   9   7   7	8 6  Q J 8 4 2  4 2  A 6 5 4	N N 2 3 6 5 3 S 2 3 6 5 3 E - - - - - W - - - - -

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

Pass 1♠      Pass 1NT

Pass 3♦      Pass  3♠ 

Pass 4♠      all pass

In the bidding the choice players have is does their style allow the partnership to bid a Jump Shift to 3♦ , which is Game Forcing, with a point coiunt of 17 and a LTC of 5. Seems reasonable to me!

Most Openers would lead Q♣ against a 4♠  contract, (top of a near touching sequence.

How do you plan the play to win 10 tricks. Declarer can afford to lose 3 tricks. Count Losers 1♠ , 1♥ , 1♦  and zero ♣ . However there are 3 Finesses to be done but only 1 obvious entry into Dummy.

There is a saying about Finesses, which is if you can't keep on Finessing to capture the missing card then there is no real point in choosing a finesse in that suit.

In ♠ you can only Finesse once, not enough time sto capture the King

In ♥ you can Finesse 3 times but you run the risk of being trumpedif you have not drawn trumps

In ♦ you can successfully Finesse once and then get back to Dummy by playing the Ace and then trumping the 3rd diamond.

It is this third choice in Diamonds which give you the greatest chance of success.

Once you have won the third diamond trick in Dummy, you now also have the opportunity of Finessing in ♥ , by playing the Q♥  towards the the ace. Choosing the Q♥ , gives you a second Finesse, if the Q♥  wins. If East wins with the King (you can now draw trumps) or ducks (you can Finesse again).

Therefore you only lose two tricks to the K♠ and K♥ , making eleven!

Hand of the Week - 1 December - Request by Eddie

Board 7 - Declarer Play - how should you play to make 13 tricks??

Dlr: South Vul: All	10 4 2  K 10  K 7  J 10 6 5 4 3	Optimum EW 7N
9 3  Q 9 4  A J 9 8 3  A Q 9	W E S T NORTH E A S T 7 SOUTH	A K Q J 5  A J 8 5  Q 10  K 7
7   13   20   0	8 7 6  7 6 3 2  6 5 4 2  8 2	N N - - - - - S - - - - - E 4 6 7 7 7 W 4 6 7 7 7

Contract 6NT by West Opening Lead 5♣  and Brenda puts the East Hand down and Eddie says "Thank you partner"

Eddie immediately counts his Winners off the top and sees 4♠ , 1♥ , 1♦  and 3♣  making 9 only 3 more to go.

He thinks that with 7 cards in the Spade suit and 6 cards missing there is a 84% chance that there will be a favorable split (3-3 36% and 4-2 48%) and therefore should get the 5th♠ 

Only two tricks to go.

He thinks that he has to succesfully Finesse either the Heart suit or the Diamond suit or perhaps both. However which suit to choose first? There is only 1 suit where he can Finesse twice toward the Ace which is in Hearts. Unfortunately he can only finesse once towards Ace in Diamonds. Since he needs to win the two additional he chooses the Hearts first.

It is Eddie's lucky day. After K♣ wins first trick, 5 rounds of ♠ s are played, the 7♣ is played to the A♣ . Then 4♥  towards J♥ . When 10♥ is played by North, and the J♥ wins, it means that there are 3 additional tricks in the Heart suit making 13 tricks in total.

In the event that the J♥  lost to the K♥ if it was in the South Hand then Declarer still had the opportunity of finessing the diamonds if necessary.

Hand of the Week - 27 October -  Declarer Play

Are you a good Declarer? Do you obtain the maximum number of tricks possible? how many times were you Declarar on Tuesday evening?

The analysis tells you how many times you were Declarer! The traffic light colours indicate if you obtained a good or bad percentage. However you may have played excellently as Declarer, obtained the maximum number of tricks, but we're playing in an incorrect contract and obtained a bottom. Alternatively you may have bid brilliantly and be the only ones in a game, but failed to make the correct number of tricks, also obtaining a bottom.

A way to improve your Declarer Play is to understand how you played compared to the possible number of makeable" tricks, which are specified in the matrix.

Lets consider Hand 1:

Dlr: North Vul: None A J 8 2 J 6 J 6 4 2 Q J 2 Optimum NS 1N Q 10 9 4 K 8 3 2 Q 7 3 A 9 W E S T NORTH E A S T 1 SOUTH 7 5 3 A Q 4 9 8 5 10 8 7 4   10   11   6   13   K 6 10 9 7 5 A K 10 K 6 5 3   N N 3 3 1 2 2 S 3 3 2 2 2 E - - - - - W - - - - -

Board No 1 None Vul Dealer North Deal: 20151027Green NS EW Bid By Ld Tks +Sc -Sc + - 1 8 2NT S ♦3 7   50 1 11 3 12 1NT S ♠10 7 90   4 8 4 7 1NT N ♠4 8 120   8 4 5 9 1NT S ♠4 8 120   8 4 6 11 1NT S ♥2 6   50 1 11 10 2 1NT S ♥2 10 180   12   14 13 2NT S ♠4 8 120   8 4

There are 8 makeable tricks in NT by South from the matrix.

One would expect from the hands for South to end up in a contract of 1NT. If you look at the Traveller two Souths Pair1 and 14 ended up in 2T since North unneccessarily bid 2NT! (one pair 4 entered the declarer incorrectly)

There is a vast difference of obtaining a Match point score of 12 versus zero, when it is purely dependent on how the Declarer cards are played.

On the opening lead Declarer should count the number of winners off the top: 2♠ , 0♥ ,2♦ and 0♣ s. 4 tricks in total.

Declarer says need another 3 to make the contract of 1NT (or 4 to make the contract of 2NT):

Possible extra ♠ with a finesse. If 4♠ has been led it marks West with Q♠ , therefore successful finesse.

Possible extra ♥ if hearts are led to you and you do not waste J, 10 or 9 ♥ under A, K or Q♥

A definite extra ♦ , since declarer has both J and 10♦ , one of which must win, and then there may be chance of establishing length trick in diamonds

Two definite extra ♣ s, when the Ace of Clubs is forced out.

Therefore there are four extra tricks in total: 1♠ , 0♥ ,1♦  and 2♣ s. Therefore 8 tricks will be made, is there a chance of a 9th trick? Not really, only if Defenders give a trick away!

Hand of the Week - 13 October - Part Score Battle and Defence

The most often hand in bridge is when both pairs are competing for a Part Score. They are very fascinating and challenging, and one trick makes all the difference and therefore the defence has to be good. Also it is an occasion, since at least 3 players are bidding, when there is more information for the defence.

Lets take a simple auction:

West North East South

                   1♠     P

1NT  P        2♦     P

2♠     P        P      P

South has said to themselves during the bidding East has 5 spades 4 Diamonds and probably 2 Hearts and 2 Club cards, and 12 - 15 points. West also has 6 - 9 points and prefers Spades

Souths hand is as follows

K

J 10 8 6 2

8 4

A Q 8 4 2

With this hand South would probably not overcall 2♥ after the opening bid of 1S, since the 3 points in K♠ are not good, and South does not really want a Heart lead. However with the 5 5 shape South bides ones time. When the bidding has reached 2♦ by East, South now knows that both East and West are WEAK and WEAK, therefore I as South would now X, asking partner for best unbid suit! South should have a fit in either Hearts or Clubs and with a LTC of 7, expects North to have at least 6 points and a LTC of 9. North now bids 3♥

The four hands are below and certainly with the bidding as above East then went to 3♠  which was then passed by all.

Dlr: East Vul: N/S	A J 7 4 A 4 3 Q 6 5 3 7 6	Optimum EW 1S
10 9 6 9 7 A J 2 K 10 9 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 2 SOUTH	Q 8 5 3 2 K Q 5 K 10 9 7 J
11   8   11   10	K J 10 8 6 2 8 4 A Q 8 4 2

Now lets look at the defence to a Spade contract by East. Opening Lead is J♥ 

North wins first trick with A♥  leads back 4♥  which is won by East with Q♥ . South now says that the shape of the Declarer hand is 5 Spades 3 Hearts 4 Diamonds 1 Club. So when the singleton club is played by Declarer South wins the trick with the A♣ . Therefore South had a reason for playing high on the first club trick and defeated the contaract of 3♠ 

AS A DEFENDER MAKE IT YOUR MISSION TO DISCOVER THE SHAPE OF DECLARER'S HAND

You can learn alot more about discovering the shape of Declarer's hand on the Defence Play Learning Weekend.

Hands of the Week - 6 October -British Sim Pairs

I will not repeat what is contained in the British Sim Pairs commentary, since the write up of the majority of hands is very good. Mike Swanson provides succinct relevant comments.

What do you bid with the following hand when you are West

A Q J 9 6

A 10 6 4 2

J 3

2

West North East South

         Pass  Pass 1♦

???

It is a situation which is quite common in that you have 2 five card suits. You can show which five card suits in the overcall seat with Michael's cue bid or Ghestem. (See board 24 as well).

I would like to mention Board 16. Mike thinks that "most pairs will score 650 with a few registering -100 in a slam"

Lets look at what our pairs did.

As you can see 3 pairs did not score 650. I would suggest the correct contract is 4♥  and is likely to get a J ♦ opening lead. How do you play the trump ♥ suit, with 9 cards between dummy and declarer and Ace♥ in one hand and Q♥ in the other. This requires Declarer to be able to read the cards and choose the optimal card play based on the specific combination of cards.

If you wish to learn more there are several lessons on the following dates:

16    Oct        Declarer Play - Interpretation of opponents hands - reading the cards

 

23    Oct        Overcalling with 2 five card suits

 

30    Oct        Playing Hands with lots of different doubles

 

6    Nov          Responses to Overcalls including UCB

 

20     Nov        Declarer Play - Optimal Card play

Hand of the Week 29 September - Declarer Play Counting Losers and Counting Winners

It is good to be back in the hot seat, not only starting the lessons and playing on Tuesdays but also writing the Hand of the Week. I mentioned that it is an historic occasion that I managed to do the scoring correctly with Bridgemates, for the first time. It is also an occasion when I needed to go back to basics because I failed to get some simple contracts, since I did not effectively Count my Losers in a Trump contract  or Count my Winners in an NT contract.

Lets look at Hand 1

I was East and I was playing in 3♥  and the Opening lead was K♣

Dlr: North Vul: None	A 10 7 5 4 K J 6 2 Q A 5 4	Optimum NS 5CX
Q 6 3 2 Q 8 4 A 9 8 5 2 6	W E S T NORTH E A S T 1 SOUTH	K 9 A 10 9 7 5 K J 10 7 8 2
14   8   11   7	J 8 3 6 4 3 K Q J 10 9 7 3

Count the Losers:

Spades 1 loser to the Ace as long as I can trump the othe

Hearts 2 losers to the K♥  and J♥

Diamonds 1 loser to the Q♦ but I can try the finesse

Clubs 1 loser ONLY IF I USE THE SHORT SUIT OF TRUMPS IN DUMMY to trump the second club

When i won the lead I made the mistake of drawing Trumps and not playing the club and trumping with the 4♥ . MAKING 8 TRICKS - one down!

Lets look at Hand 20

Lets play in 6NT by West opening lead J♣

Dlr: West Vul: All	9 8 3 J 8 4 3 6 5 4 J 7 2	Optimum EW 6N
A 5 A Q 9 7 6 A Q K 10 4 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 20 SOUTH	K J 10 2 10 5 2 K J A Q 8 6
2   19   14   5	Q 7 6 4 K 10 9 8 7 3 2 9 5

In NT always count your winners which you can win off the top:

Spades 2 Winners

Hearts 1 Winner

Diamonds 2 Winners

Clubs 3 Winners

Total 8 Winners - Where can I win 4 more trick

Spades - there is an additional trick with the J♠  or 10♠ even if one of them loses to the Q♠ . I may be lucky and win with the 4th spade if the opposition discard their 4th spade?

Hearts - there is an additional winner, if the finesse with Q♥  works, and with the 10♥  or 9♥ even if one loses to the J♥ . the Hearts are the long suit so I need to establish Hearts.

Diamonds - no additional winners

Clubs - there is additional winner if the split is 3 and 2 in the defence.

Therefore the strategy for this hand is to play the Hearts and use your Clubs as the entries to the dummy. Win the first trick with the Q♣, play the 2♥  towards the Q♥ , the K♥  falls, and then you can afford to lose to the J♥ as your only loser, and throw away the spades on the long hearts!!

Well done to both Pairs 5 and 6 for bidding and making a small slam.

Hand of the week-Tuesday 25th August - Optimal Card Play

There is usually an Optimal way of playing a specific card combination within a suit. It depends on the number of cards within Declarer and Dummy and it also depends on the values of the cards. If you would like a lesson on all the various combinations then please email me. There is a lesson planned on Optimal Card play in the Autumn on a Friday morning.

Let's  look at one of Tuesday's hands to illustrate Optimal Card Play. Let's assume the contract is 4♠  by South and the A♣ is led.

Dlr: South Vul: All	7 6 5 2 A 8 5 4 3 2 5 Q J	Optimum NS 6S
10 9 8 K 10 Q 10 3 A K 6 5 4	W E S T NORTH E A S T 7 SOUTH	K 3 Q J 9 6 J 4 10 8 7 3 2
7   12   7   14	A Q J 4 7 A K 9 8 7 6 2 9

Can you make 4♠ ? Is there the opportunity of making any extra tricks, without risking your contract?

Count the losers in each suit

♠   1 loser - missing K♠ , but have opportunity of finessing twice, if we can get into dummy twice. Have 8 ♠ s and therefore hoping for a 3 2 split in defence

♥   0 loser - if we have enough trumps to trump the losing ♥ s ? Have 7♥ s and could hope for 3 3 split in defence, but more likely to be 4 2.

♦   0 loser - if we have enough trumps to trump the losing ♦ s? Have 8♦ s and therefore hoping for a 3 2 split in defence. Have opportunity of trumping second or third trick in ♦  and establishing long suit.

♣  1 loser - Will lose to A♣ and can trump the second ♣ trick.

This preliminary analsis must be done before you play your first card. There are not enough trumps to cross trump the two red suits, but it is relatively easy to establish the long diamond suit.

Los the forst trick to ace♣ . Then trump the second trick in ♣ s. Play low ♥ to Ace. Play low ♠  to finess. Finesse works. Play A♦ from hand, play low ♦  to trump in dummy and then play low ♠ for second finessewhich captures K♠ , draw last trump and cash winning diamonds.

12 Tricks made with only 21 points. Learn more about Optimal Card Play.

Hand of the week-Tuesday 11th August - The Importance of Basic Bidding = ANSWER

Many thanks for all your suggestions - they varied significantly but every single one helped me to understand the various thought processes that you do have. That in turn helps me to explain the ANSWER in a form which hopefully is relevant to everyone.

Basic Bidding has a fundamental principle of trying to "find a fit in a major suit"

Basic Bidding has a fundamental principle of trying to "bid a Game if there are enough points for a Game, 25 in NT and the Majors" or "invite to a game if there maybe enough points"

LOSING TRICK COUNT has two fundamental principles in that it should only be used "when there is a fit in a suit" and "the hand is unbalanced"

Lets look at North and South again

Dlr: North Vul: All	K J 10 3 K 10 9 K J 7 2 10 4	Optimum NS 4H
A 7 6 5 4 4 3 Q 9 8 6 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 13 SOUTH	8 2 Q 7 6 2 Q 10 5 4 K J 2
11   6   8   15	Q 9 A J 8 5 3 A 9 8 6 A 7	N N - 5 5 2 2 S - 5 5 2 2 E 2 - - - - W 2 - - - -

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

         Pass  Pass 1♥

Pass 1♠      Pass 2♦

Pass 3♥      Pass 4♥

Pass Pass  Pass

The North bids of Pass, 1♠  and then 3♥ shows less than 12 points, 4+ cards in spade and 6 - 11 points, and then 3 cards in the Heart Suit therefore a "fit", 10 or 11 points, or a LTC of 8, and it is an inviation to Game.

Some of you suggested a bid of 2NT for North but this would deny a fit in a Major!

South after the 3♥ bid by North, says with my 15 points added to 10 or 11 or the equivalent strength, gives 25 - 26 points which is sufficient for game. I would accept the invitation to Game in this sitaution with 14 or 15 points

Some Souths were concerned that there was only a LTC of 7. However it is a strong LTC of 7 since it has 3 Aces. There are numerous different considerations which can be used in refining the use of LTC, which I will not go into here, but remember points can still be used to accept an invitation to Game.

Hand of the week-Tuesday 11th August - The Importance of Basic Bidding

We learn Basic Bidding and then we learn additional ways to assess the strength of a hand, such as Losing Trick Count, Playing Tricks, value of intermediary cards and ultimately whether a card is going to win depending on it's position relative to the opponents cards.

However we run the risk of forgetting the importance of Basic Bidding.

Only one pair managed to reach the correct contract and I will be interested, if they actually bid correctly to get there. The other pairs unfortunately did not bid correctly.

On this occasion I am going to ask everyone to email me their answer on how to bid the North and South hands, assuming there is no bidding by East and West.

I will publish the suggested bidding over the weekend, after you have all had the opportunity of looking at the problem.

Dlr: North Vul: All	K J 10 3 K 10 9 K J 7 2 10 4
A 7 6 5 4 4 3 Q 9 8 6 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 13 SOUTH	8 2 Q 7 6 2 Q 10 5 4 K J 2
11   6   8   15	Q 9 A J 8 5 3 A 9 8 6 A 7

Hands of the Week - Tuesday 28th July - Defence Play the Importance of the Opening Lead

There are several hands when the score achieved is mainly dependant on Defence Play and which card has been chosen as the Opening Lead. I must emphasise that you can make a dramatic improvement to your bridge if you understand the principles behind the choice of Opening Lead. I will illustrate what I mean, but whole books are written on Opening Leads. I would like to suggest that you have the opportunity of Improving your Defence Play and learning more about Opening Leads at a Learning Weekend 28/29 November 2015 - DEFENCE PLAY with Laura Porro and Douglas Wright.

Lets look at Hand 13

Dlr: North Vul: All	10 9 8 7 4  7 6  A 7 2  10 9 6	Optimum E 1N
2  Q 5 4 2  Q 5  K Q J 5 4 2	W E S T NORTH E A S T 13 SOUTH	Q 6 5 3  K 9 3  K J 10 6  A 8
4   10   13   13	A K J  A J 10 8  9 8 4 3  7 3

I have specifically not included the number of tricks which should be won by Declarer or by Defence, I would like you to examine the hands and decide on the bidding. Whoever is going to be defence starts to plan the Defence Play very early.

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

         Pass  1NT Pass

As soon as both North and South have passed, they both know that they are likely to be defenders, so South can say to themselves "I may be making an Opening Lead against a NT contract. I have 3 tricks in the South hand, and I ideally would like to win the J♠  and either the J♥ or the 10♥ and I might make a length trick with my long suit of ♥ s or ♦ s."

On a table the Bidding continued with 3 passes

On two tables the Bidding probably continued:

West North East South

         Pass  1NT Pass

2♣    Pass   2♠    Pass

3♣    Pass  Pass Pass  When West bids 3♣  North thinks "I may be making an Opening Lead against a ♣  contract. West may have four ♥ cards, likely to have six ♣ cards and therefore may have two and one in the two remaining suits ♠ and ♦ . I have 1 trick in my hand, and I may obtain another with a ruff of the ♥ s."

On the last two tables East converted the 3♣  bid into a Game by bidding 3NT and therefore South is now on lead, with an understanding of the bidding as discussed.

In addition South may try and assess the length of the suits in partners North Hand and also assess the number of points that may be in North Hand.

If West has one ♠ , North will have five ♠ cards, even if West has two ♠ s, North will have four ♠ cards. Therefore spades is a good defence suit!

However with South's 13 points, it is not likely that North has many points, therefore unlikely to add many tricks. 

Most Souths would choose a ♥ lead, because it is their own long suit, which is also strong. Some Souths would choose a ♦ lead, because it is their long suit and they do not like to lead away from an Ace in ♥ s.  I would like to suggest that the clever South would choose the ♠ suit, which is partner's long suit. 

South has the opportunity of leading Ace♠ , informing partner that South has either A K Q or A K J, when South does not continue with the King North will know it is A K J. North also has opportunity or giving signal to South that they do not have the Q♠ ! Then South has the opportunity of leading J♥ , top of an internal near touching sequence. This is a superb card to lead, since after Declarer wins trick with King, when North leads back a ♥ , it helps to establish the ♥  suit for defence.

So how many tricks should the Defence have kept Declarer to, in NT?

					N
N	-	-	-	1	-
S	-	-	-	1	-
E	3	1	2	-	2
W	3	1	1	-	1

The answer is 8 tricks

How did pairs 3, 8 and 10 get on?

Obviously there are some different principles when leading against a suit contract, but both pairs 1 and 12 could have limited West to 9 tricks when played in 3♣ .

Hands of the Week - Tuesday 21st July - Competitive Bidding and the Strong Double

Only 1 pair is using the Strong Double effectively on Tuesday's hands. What is the Strong Double. Lets look at Board 8 as an example. East makes an Opening bid of 1♣ . South is in the overcall seat with 17 points and a very good Spade suit and a shapely hand. South should not make an overcall in a suit since a 1♠  overcall is showing 8 - 15 points. South is too STRONG to bid 1♠ . (Even those players who use strong jump overcalls 12 - 16 points and 6 cards in the suit, South is once again too STRONG to make a jump overcall to 2♠ ). If South just bids a suit overcall North will stop the bidding since North thinks that there will be a maximum of 22 points between the two hands.

Therefore this is a perfect Hand to use the Double. North must respond to the Double and then when South ignores North's response and South just bids its own suit, North knows South must have 16+ points and at least a 5 card Spade suit.

North will support the Spade bid for 1 round and then with South LTC of 5 bid to game.

Dlr: West Vul: None	K 7 4 K 10 J 7 6 2 10 8 7 2	Optimum NS 4S
8 5 3 2 6 4 2 10 8 5 Q 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 8 SOUTH	- - Q 9 7 5 A 9 4 3 A K J 9 4
7   2   14   17	A Q J 10 9 6 A J 8 3 K Q 6	N N - 1 1 5 1 S - 1 1 5 1 E 1 - - - - W 1 - - - -

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

Pass Pass 1♣     X

Pass 1♦     1♥     1♠

Pass 2♠     Pass 4♠

Pass Pass Pass

Lets look at another Hand from Tuesday. Board 19. North opens 1♦  and East is too strong to bid a suit overcall. (There are conventions which specifically show 2 five card suits in the overcall seat. We will cover those conventions in the Advanced Autumn lessons on a Friday) In the absence of having a specific convention all players can use the Strong Double. East would plan to X, see what point count response West provides and which suit is provided. If West bids clubs, East would bid spades, ignoring the clubs and showing 16+ points and forcing West to bid again, and can also show Hearts as second suit

However on this occasion West responds 1♥  showing 0 - 8 points and at least 4 cards in the Heart suit. East now has to show that it has a Strong Hand and invitation to game. East in the basic Acol system could jump to 3♥ , inviting partner to go to game if at the top of the range, which partner should accept and bid 4♥ .

South Vul: E/W	A K 5 4 - - J 9 8 7 6 4 K J 9	Optimum NS 5DX
10 K J 7 2 Q 10 3 2 8 6 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 19 SOUTH	Q 9 7 6 2 A Q 8 6 4 K A Q
12   6   17   5	J 8 3 10 9 5 3 A 5 10 7 4 2	N N - 2 - - - S - 2 - - - E 1 - 4 1 2 W 1 - 4 1 2

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                           Pass

Pass 1♦      X      Pass

1♥     Pass 3♥     Pass

4♥     Pass Pass Pass

Hands of the Week - Tuesday 7th July - The importance of bidding and making a Game in Teams / IMP scoring

On Tuesday evening there were 6 hands which illustrated the importance of bidding and making a game especially when Teams / IMP scoring is used.

These hands are 1, 5, 8, 10, 18 and 21

For more information on Cross-IMPs see www.ebu.co.uk/newsletters/?id=16&page=5

Cross-IMPs simply scores each result in IMPs against all the other results in the field, and then takes the average of them.

Board 1 - Well done Pair 1, you were the only Pair to bid and make a game.

Therefore on this occasion Pair 1 score of 420 minus 170, gives a difference of 250 and a positive IMP score of 6 (twice). 420 minus 140 gives a difference of 280 and a positive IMP score of 7. The average is 6.33333

On board 5 only one pair bid and made a game. Well done Pair 2.

Therefore on this occasion Pair 2 score of 400 plus 150, gives a difference of 550 and a positive IMP score of 11. 400 plus 100 gives a difference of 500 and a positive IMP score of 11. 400 plus 50 gives a difference of 450 and a positive IMP score of 10.  Therefore the average IMP score is 10.666666.

On board 8 only one pair bid and made a game. Pair 8.

420 minus 100 equals 320 = 8 IMPs

420 minus 50 equals 370 = 9 IMPs

420 plus 170 equals 590 = 11 IMPs

Resulting in 9.33333 IMPs

On board 10 West easily bid 4♥  and one North overcalled 5♣  and another North Doubled!

The 5♣ stopped West bidding and making a game. The Doubled allowed West to make a doubled game. On another table 4♥  was not made. Hopefully each Pair can now compare their score with the other 3, produce 3 IMP values and take the average to come up with the final result. I will do it for Pair 8

-100 plus 790 equals 690 = 12 IMPs

-100 plus 620 equals 520 = 11 IMPs

-100 minus 100 equals -200 = -5 IMPS

Average is 6 IMPS

Well done Pair 5, you were the only pair to bid and make a game in 4♠ , resulting in a massive 13 IMPs

Well done Pair 7 you were the only pair bidding and making a game in 3NT, however since the other East West pairs also obtained part game scores, your 6.7IMPs was not as great as the previous hand.

Any questions please ask

Tuesday 23rd June - How to bid Hand 3 a small slam

This hand has been requested by Amanda to discuss the bidding of this hand

Dlr: South Vul: E/W	J Q Q J 7 5 4 2 J 10 9 6 4	Optimum NS 7CX,NS 7DX
10 9 7 6 2 A K 9 7 2 3 K 8	W E S T NORTH E A S T 3 SOUTH	A Q 5 4 3 J 10 8 6 4 A K 9 - -
7   10   14   9	K 8 5 3 10 8 6 A Q 7 5 3 2	N N 2 2 - - - S 2 2 - - - E - - 6 6 3 W - - 6 6 3

The principles are the same no matter what hand you have been dealt. The important aspect is fo everyone to assess the shape and strength of their hand and then to ask what do you need from your partners hand. to make a game or a slam. By asking the last part you are starting to think about your Partners hand and what bidding technique you will use to find out more information.

Dealer South

2 2 3 6 Shape, Unbalanced, LTC of 7, 9 points can respond to partners opening bid and can make a Weak Jump Overcall in Clubs if opposition bid.

West

5 5 1 2 Shape, "5 5 Go Live", LTC of 6, 10 points can open on the Rule of 20 1♠  and can show 2♥  if partner bids 1NT, 2♣  or 2♦  etc. If there is a fit in the majors, need partner to have a LTC of 8 for a Game and a LTC of 6 for a small slam.

North

1 1 6 5 Shape, LTC of 7, only 7 points but excellent distributional strength with a LTC of 7.

East

5 5 3 0 Shape, LTC of 5, 14 points, only need my partner to open and to have a fit in Spades of Hearts and there is slam potential.

Suggested Bidding

South West North East

Pass 1♠      Pass  2♥

The crucial thought process by East is as follows, as soon as West opens 1♠ , East says we have small slam potential in Spades. I would like to find out the shape and strength of the West hand, since if it is strong we may have a Grand Slam. I will also need to find out if West has a first or second round control in Hearts, Ace or void, King or singleton respectively, to safely bid 6♠ , or one just bids on LTC!

Therefore by bidding a new suit 2♥ , shows 5 cards in the Hearts and forces West to describe the hand.

Suggested Bidding continues

South West North East

Pass  1♠     Pass  2♥

4♣

South very sensible knows that West and East are likely to be in at least a game and therefore can safely bid a Weak Jump Overcall, which is also lead directional. It looks like Rebecca cleverly bid this and managed to end up in an excellent 5♣ contract for a top score. I expect the majority of South's at this stage Passed allowing West East a easy route to a slam. Now lets assume South Passed:

Suggested Bidding continues

South West North East

Pass  1♠      Pass  2♥

Pass  4♥     Pass  4NT

When West bids 4♥ , East knows there are at least 4 Spades and 3 Hearts in West and either 16 points or a LTC of 6. There is a double fit in the majors. East still needs to know about the Ace and King of Hearts and now if using Roman Key Card Blackwood can find out. An answer of 2 Key Cards is sufficient to try a small slam. If the answer was 1 Key Card, which may have been the Ace Clubs, I would have stopped at 5♠ .

The really fascinating aspect about this hand is that if South had bid 4♣  as suggested, North could have bid 5♣ , bidding to the level of fit, and when West / East succesfully bid to a small slam in 6♠ , North south can sacrifice if 7♣ for a better score!

This hand has been requested by Eddie to show how to bid the Slam. It is Hand 10 and the question is what thought process do you need to have to be able to bid a Small Slam and whether one can bid a Grand Slam. Two different Small Slam contracts were bid but no one bid a Grand Slam.

Dlr: East Vul: All	K 10 7 6 5 4 2 A K J A 8 6	Optimum NS 7N
Q J 8 3 J 6 Q 7 5 4 2 5 4	W E S T NORTH E A S T 10 SOUTH	9 10 9 3 9 6 3 Q 10 9 7 3 2
15   6   2   17	A K Q 8 7 5 4 2 A 10 8 K J	N N 4 4 7 5 7 S 4 4 7 5 7 E - - - - - W - - - - -

As always both South and North should assess the strength of their hand:

South

Shape 1 7 3 2, Unbalanced, Losing Trick Count of 4, point count of 17. Not enough Playing tricks to open a strong bid. Only need a Losing Trick Count of 8 from partner to consider a small slam, or Losing Trick of 7 to consider a Grand Slam. With 7 cards in a suit one assumes there is a fit in ♥ s. Need to find out whether North has Ace ♥ , King ♦  and Ace ♣ !

North

Shape 7 1 2 3 Unbalanced, Losing Trick Count of 5, point count of 15. Only need a Losing Trick from South of 7 to consider a small slam!!

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                   Pass 1♥

Pass 2♠      Pass 4NT

Pass 5♣     Pass 5NT

Pass 6♦      Pass 7NT

Pass Pass  Pass

(the 2♠ is showing 6+ spades, 16+ points, guaranteed game and slam potential. 4NT RKCB)

(the 5♣ is showing 0 or 3 Key Cards, therefore 3)

( the reason for bidding 7NT and not 7♥ is that if there is a 4 1 split in Hearts you will be defeated in both contracts so you might as well bid 7NT!)

or if North choses to simply bid 1♠ after 1♥ , then South thinks, well we have sufficient strength to reach 5♥ , even if my partner North is missing 2 Aces, so I can afford to bid 4NT!

West North East South

                   Pass 1♥

Pass 1♠      Pass 4NT

Pass 5♣      Pass 5NT

Pass 6♦      Pass 7NT

Pass Pass  Pass

(the 4NT RKCB)

(after 5♣ this is where I got cold feet since technically my partner could have had 0 Key Cards and I just gambled and bid 6♥ )

If one uses simple Blackwood one would still reach the Grand Slam, since there were no Aces or Kings missing and with a 3 2 split in the hearts 7NT makes.

Hand of the Week - Tuesday 2nd June - Declarer Play in No Trumps

There were half a dozen or more NT contracts and the play of which determined the rankings of the pairs for the overall evening. The techniques for playing in NT contracts are similar whether one is playing in 1NT, 3NT or 6NT. I have chosen a NT contract for each Declarer seat, and I will also comment on some Defence Play to NT.

Hand 2 West Pair 11 Contract 1NT. Count tricks off the top 1♠ 1♥ 0♦ and 3♣ . There are 4 more possible tricks in ♠ s, if the finesse of the King is successful. This is the only way to make the contract of 1NT and when played makes 9 tricks.

Hand 3 West Contract 1NT. Well played all Declarers, the defence after an Opening Lead of 6♠ by North, Soouth needs to switch to the ♥ s to defeat the contract!

Hand 8 South Contract 3NT.

Dlr: West Vul: None	J 10 9 8 7 A K 7 6 A 9 7 4	Optimum NS 3N
4 3 Q J 8 2 10 5 4 K 8 3 2	W E S T NORTH E A S T 8 SOUTH	A Q 5 2 10 5 3 Q J 8 7 J 5
12   6   10   12	K 6 9 4 K 6 3 2 A Q 10 9 6	N N 3 2 2 3 3 S 3 2 2 3 3 E - - - - - W - - - - -

South Counts winners off the top. 0♠ 2♥ 2♦ 1♣ . 5 in total need 4 more. In ♠  there are a definite 3 more even if King loses to Ace and Jack loses to Queen. In♣ may get 1 or 2 more depending on how finess is done and result of finesse!

Therefore South, when opening lead is 2♥ , wins first trick with K♥ , and then plays J♠ , with the intention of running with it. When it is covered with Q♠  K♠  covers and wins. South then plays 6♠  to establish spade suit by drawing out the Ace. East would then play 10♥ . South now has the 9 tricks. South should not now try the finesse in clubs, which could jeopardise the contract if West had 5 hearts to start with.. Well done Pairs 2, 7 & 12 for making 9 tricks or more.

Hand 18 East Contract 6NT

Dlr: East Vul: N/S	4 3 Q 10 6 3 J 10 9 K Q 9 4	Optimum EW 6N
J 8 K 5 2 K 4 A J 10 6 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 18 SOUTH	A K Q 2 A J 9 4 A Q 7 5 7
8   12   20   0	10 9 7 6 5 8 7 8 6 3 2 8 2	N N - - - - - S - - - - - E 5 6 6 5 6 W 5 6 6 5 6

East counts winners off the top 4♠ 2♥ 3♦ 1♣ , total of 10, needs 2 more. There is a possible additional ♥ if the finesse is successful, and there is a possible additional club if the King or Queen of Clubs falls under the Ace. Very unlikely.

Therefore try to set up a Squeeze. South has long spades and therefore North has short spades, therefore North will have to discard on the master spades. The finess in Hearts has to be taken so play to K♥  which wins, finesse the J♥ , which wins, play the four master spades. Then play the 3 master diamonds and you have squueezed North and they are only left with clubs. Play 7♣  to the J♣  and no matter what North does you have your 12th trick.

Hand 21 East Contract 3NT

Dlr: North Vul: N/S	9 6 3 Q J 7 3 2 8 7 5 K 7	Optimum E 3N
10 7 10 4 K 10 3 A Q J 10 9 6	W E S T NORTH E A S T 21 SOUTH	K Q 2 A K 6 5 A Q J 8 3 2
6   10   19   5	A J 8 5 4 9 8 9 6 4 2 5 4	N N - - - - - S - - - - - E 5 2 2 2 5 W 5 2 2 1 2

East count the winners off the top. 0♠ 2♥ 3♦ 1♣  total of 6 need 3 more. 1 definite additional trick in ♠ and 4 definite additional tricks in ♣ . The THREAT is the weakness in Spades. The Opening lead is 5♠ . Always analyse meaning of Opening Lead. 4th highest from longest suit with at least one honour. could be from 4 cards or 5 cards or 6 cards. Therefore plan to hold up the King and Queen of Spades for one round, to try and eliminate the spades from the North hand. Since you need to hold up the King and Queen of spades for one round there is no harm in playing the 10♠ on the first trick!!! When the 10♠ wins , come over to hand so that a club finsse can be played. It loses to the King but Declarer can now win 11 tricks. Well done pair 14.

Finally one for North

Hand 12 North contract 1NT

Dlr: West Vul: N/S	K J 8 K 10 8 3 K Q 6 5 K 5	Optimum EW 3SX
A Q 10 2 A 2 A 7 3 2 A 10 7	W E S T NORTH E A S T 12 SOUTH	9 5 4 3 Q 9 5 4 10 9 4 3 2
15   18   2   5	7 6 J 7 6 J 8 4 Q J 9 8 6	N N 1 1 1 - 2 S 1 1 1 - 2 E - - - 2 - W - - - 2 -

North count the winners off the top. 0♠ 0♥ 0♦ 0♣  total zero, need to find 7 additional tricks! Examine longest suits. 7 in 3 suits. the 5 2 split in clubs is the most promising for extra tricks. However entry cards to the dummy is the issue. However if clubs can be established there are 4♣ s, 2♦ 1♥  and there might be some in ♠ s if one can play low to high from dummy to hand or if the opposition play the spades.

The sneaky thing to do is when Opening Lead is a spade, which is suit bid by West, win spade trick and then play K♦  to tempt the Ace out to provide an entry into dummy with the J♦ . Once you have the entry, play K♣ and draw out Ace♣ .

Remember when you can't see where you are going to get your tricks from: PLAY LONG SUITS and usually play low to high to maximise tricks.

Hands of the Week - Tuesday 26th - Did you miss a Small Slam

There were 5 hands on Tuesday evening, where 12 tricks can be made by Declarer. The question is can a Small Slam be bid on those 5 hands? (3, 5, 8, 14 and 15)

There were 2 small slams bid by Amanda & Nick Board 8 and Rebecca & Roger Board 14. Well done. There were some small slams bid but Declarer did not make the 12 tricks:

R & R      Board 5

P & B      Board 15

I also saw some slam enquiries with 4NT but players stopped at the 5 level. There was also a Grand Slam bid, but making 12 tricks (15) should the bidding have stopped at the small slam?

Were there any opportunities to sacrifice at the 6 level and stop a slam score?

Dlr: South Vul: E/W	K J 5 K J 9 8 - - A 8 6 5 4 2	Optimum NS 6H
7 6 4 A 10 5 A J 10 9 6 2 Q	W E S T NORTH E A S T 3 SOUTH	10 9 3 7 4 K Q 8 5 3 J 7 3
12   11   6   11	A Q 8 2 Q 6 3 2 7 4 K 10 9	N N 6 - 6 5 - S 6 - 6 5 - E - 2 - - - W - 2 - -

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                            Pass

1♦     X        2♦     3♥

Pass 4♥      Pass Pass

Pass

It is not possible to bid a small slam with Board 3. Even if North overcalled 2♣  and South used an Unassuming Cue Bid one would still only reach 5♣ .

Dlr: North Vul: N/S	10 7 3 J 3 10 5 4 3 10 9 4 3	Optimum EW 6N
A Q 8 Q 7 6 5 K Q 2 A K J	W E S T NORTH E A S T 5 SOUTH	9 2 K 10 9 8 A J 8 6 Q 7 5
1   21   10   8	K J 6 5 4 A 4 2 9 7 8 6 2	N N - - - - - S - - - - - E 5 6 6 3 6 W 5 6 6 3 6

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

         Pass  Pass Pass

2NT  Pass  3♣      Pass

3♥     Pass  4NT   Pass

5♥     Pass  6♥      Pass

Pass Pass

No matter what system of bidding is used East will know that West has a balanced hand with either 20 - 22 points, or 21 - 22 points. East should use Stayman to see if there is a fit in Hearts, since East has some weakness in Spades. All East will find out is that there are either 30 - 32 points, or 31 - 32 points between them, with an 8 card fit in Hearts and with 1 Ace missing. The small slam is likely to depend on the finesse of 1 King, so it is worth bidding. Well done R & R for bidding, play?

West Vul: None	Q 5 K A K Q J 6 A K J 4 2	Optimum NS 6H
J 9 8 7 6 9 5 2 5 4 10 5 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 8 SOUTH	A K 4 3 2 J 8 3 10 9 8 7 6
23   1   8   8	10 A Q 10 7 6 4 7 3 2 Q 9 8	N N 6 6 6 1 2 S 6 6 6 1 2 E - - - - - W - - - - -

Suggested bidding

This is a good example of Opening with the strongest bid to show 23+ points and for the Responder to show a positive response with 8+ points, good old fashion Strong 2♣ with a 2♥ response. If playing Benji one will benefit from knowing that there is a specific non relay response to a 2 opening, when one has 6 cards in the suit and 2 out of the top 3 honours! Therefore the bidding would be 2♦ with a 3♥ response! I will show 2 illustrations of suggested bidding

West North East South

Pass 2♣     Pass 2♥

Pass 3♦     Pass 3♥

Pass 4♣     Pass 4♦

Pass                        It is at this bid that North has a difficult quandary. Does North sign off in 5♦  or show something in Hearts? North can't really go to 4NT since there is not first or second round control in Spades. I will leave you with the same quandary!

The other suggested bidding sequence using Benji is

West North East South

Pass 2♦      Pass 3♥

Pass 4♥     Pass 4NT

Paaa 5♥    Pass 6♥   (if play RKCB the response to 4NT would be 5♣ showing 3 Key Cards)

The wonderful aspect about this board is that there were 5 different contracts and 1 small slam in Clubs, which only Amanda and Nick can explaing how they got there!!

This now brings us on to Board 14, always difficult when both have a long suit. However the essence is always to assess the strength of the hands before the bidding starts.

East Unbalanced 2 2 3 6 shape, 18 points LTC of 5, yes will open 1♣  and jump to 3♣

West Unbalanced 3 6 1 3 shape, 13 points LTC of 6, yes can open and will respond strongly

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                   1♣    Pass

1♥     Pass  3♣                  after East's bid of 3♣ , West thinks we have a 6 3 fit in clubs and a combined LTC of 12, a minimum combined point count of 29, therefore a possible small slam in clubs as long as we are not missing 2 Aces. West also thinks that unfortunately Blackwood will not really help since if East has only 1 Ace we have to go to 6♣  anyway. So most players would just bid 6♣ . If West decideds to bid the Hearts again and bids 3♥ , East bids 4♥  and then we use Blackwood and go to 6♥ . Well done R & R.

 Finally Board  15

Dlr: South Vul: N/S	A J 9 5 A 10 7 2 10 8 5 4 2	Optimum NS 6H
8 4 2 Q 6 3 J 7 Q 10 9 7 3	W E S T NORTH E A S T 15 SOUTH	K Q 10 7 6 3 J 4 Q 9 J 8 6
9   5   9   17	- - K 9 8 5 A K 6 3 2 A K 5 4	N N 3 6 6 3 5 S 3 6 6 2 5 E - - - - - W - - - - -

Once again important to assess strength of hands before the bidding starts:

South Unbalanced   0 4 5 4 shape, 17 points, LTC of 4 (very strong) intend to bid all 3 suits until there is a fit and end up in game at least. If partner shows a LTC of 8, we have the potential of being in a small slam.

North Unbalanced   4 4 4 1 shape, 9 points, LTC of 8, can respond and show the Hearts before the Spades (bid the Hearts when 4 4 in the majors)

Suggested Bidding

West North East South

                            1♦

Pass 1♥      Pass 3♣          After North's 1♥ , South wants to know more about   North's hand, either 3♣ can be used which is game forcing or 4NT

Pass 4♦      Pass 4NT         After North's 4♦ , South knows there is a double fit in the red suits, and therefore bids 4NT

Pass 5♥      Pass 6♥          There is insufficient information to risk the small slam bonus so do not bid grand slam!

Pass Pass  Pass

Well bid P & B, play?

Hand of the Week 12th May - Responding to a Double

Dlr: South Vul: All	4 3 Q 9 7 5 4 8 5 2 J 8 4	Optimum E 4S
A J 6 5 10 Q J 7 4 A Q 9 2	W E S T NORTH E A S T 7 SOUTH	K 10 9 8 J 6 2 A 10 9 6 7 5
3   14   8   15	Q 7 2 A K 8 3 K 3 K 10 6 3	N N - - 1 - - S - - 1 - - E 1 4 - 5 1 W 1 4 - 4 1