We settled for 3NT on this hand but Jenny and Peter bid to 6NT and actually made all 13 tricks.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Hi Phil
Jenny (North), opened 1C. Normally you might open 1D, the highest of 2 5 card suits, but she thought it was a strong hand with only 5 losers so her second bid was planned to be 2D, showing a reverse bid of 16 points.
I responded 1S, Jenny then bid 2D, so I got excited, 16 points in north and my 16 points in south, so went straight to 4NT, and got a 5H response, so with all the aces and 32 points, so I thought, I did a Natasha and went straight to 6NT
I guess I was fortunate that KC was in west rather than east!
My 13th trick was using my 2S, as the remaining spades in W and E had been discarded, lucky again!
Cheers
Peter
Sent from my iPad

Only Val and Libby got to 6S and made it. How did the bidding go? Why has no one else bid it or made 12?

APOLOGIES  Complete disorientation. It was not Val and Libby it was Tom and Jill. And that is how it was:

Gill (West) opened 1 spade and rebid 2 hearts over Tom's (East) response of 2 diamonds. Tom (East) now knows that there is at least a 5-4 fit in spades and with 2 singletons (hearts and clubs) and a good 2^nd suit in diamonds decided to test controls with a 4 NT Keycard bid (based on hearts as last suit bid). When West showed 3 keycards, a slam attempt in spades is now irresistible. North made a logical lead of the King of diamonds (although a club lead will take the contract down). Gill took the ace dimonds, drew 2 rounds of trumps and played 3 heart tricks, dropping off the losing 9 of clubs. Then cross ruffing the clubs and diamonds leaving winning diamonds in East's hand. At some point North had to take the winning trump Q spades but that's it. 12 tricks. A bit fortunate with only 22 HCPs between the hands but the shape definitely makes it worth a go.

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Wow, what a way to end the Club's year.

A 4 way tie for top.

After allowing for handicaps we can award the Roxburgh trophy to

Andy and David - congratulations

Natasha wins the slam master trophy - another 7NT bid see right.

Tom tops our averages.

It all starts again with new Competitions next week.

Tom and Gill managed. 2 slams on the 22nd.

This looked like the more complicated of them.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

A very close finish!

after amending the second session for a mis boarding and a mis seating andeliminating our missing pair from the first session the 2 sessions have been combined.

see full results under latest results.

Congratulations to 

Jan Collins & David Ford

Lucy Mellors & Mike Donaldson

deat heat winners on 55.83%

Then came Natasha & Phil 55.42%

Bernie & David 55%

Apologies somewhere in the various amendments we have lost the hands from the second afternoon.

So no hand of the week. 

Well done everybody and your TD! for surviving  2 busy sessions

This was the only slam successfully bid on the 8th.

Knowing Nathasa had 23-24 points it seemed obvious we should go for the slam

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

of course if you bid a slam on every hand you are bound to get lucky sometimes.

we made one out of 3!

Here is another one. Jan and I were the only ones to bid 6S with me going down one, whilst everyone else was in 4S mostly making 12 tricks. How did you play this one?

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Several slams this week. On board 1 I think that was the bidding and Jan made the 6S contract.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com 

I think this was our bidding.

We missed the slam anyway but with Natasha's strong bidding I was tempted.

Christina & Ronda managed to get there.Bidding and making 6C. Well done.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

We missed 2 chances for a grand slam on the 2nd Feb.

This was one 2C showed a balanced 19 points and Natasha went straight to 4H.

David Brown and Jeff bid and made 6H.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsons.net

Natasha drove us to the optimum 6H contract expertly. As long as I have one key card the slam should be on.

On a diamond lead the tricky bit is the play. I have a diamond and a spade loser.

If you play on spades that will be obvious and you will go down.

So after taking out the trumps I took the 4 club tricks discarding JS.

Leading KS I can then trump the Ace.

Still not home, I could have 2 losing diamonds.

Keep going to end with trumps and then lead diamond hoping Mick is down to a diamond winner and a spade to give me the 12th trick with QS which he was. Very lucky indeed.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Lots of slams around this week.

This was N/S best chance.

2 pairs brought home 6 NT. not easy to bid

What happened at your table?

Karen and I did not play this hand

philip@thompsonsonline.net

The bidding at our table was:

P - 1C - P - 1D

P - 2NT - P - 6NT

Natasha

The only slam bid and made on the 12th was this one, Suzi & Chris 6S.

At our table Mick B opened a strong 1NT and that was passed out.

What happened at your table?
philip@thompsonsonline.net

Being north I opened 1H with the idea of jumping to 2S - reverse bid - but when Mick (S) went 1S I immediately jumped to 3S, Mick went to 4S and made 12.

Jill

A couple of slam like hands around on the 5th.

i think this was our bidding on this one. Both hesitating on going for 6C.

Tom and Gill bid this one and the more straightforward one on board 13.

in fact 13 tricks is certain but that was a step too far for everyone.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Congratulations Mike on your 72% result. Magnificent!

Hand 8 - The key to this hand for us is that Gill (west) opened 2 Clubs. We play 2 Clubs as 23 points OR 9 and a bit playing tricks OR about 4 losers with a clear trump suit. In other words,  you are just about a trick short of game in that hand alone. Her hand qualifies with 4 losers and a clear trump suit. I sit opposite that with 13 HCPs and a 7 loser hand. Put those together and slam is clear from the East position. How does Gill discover this? I respond 2 Hearts (showing 8+ points and says take your time to game or more). Gill bids 3 Clubs showing her suit (she probably holds 6 so I am happy with clubs as I hold Queen and another hence a fit). I go 3 Diamonds to show 2nd suit and shape. Gill then went 4 NTs keycard based on clubs as trumps (as the strong hand she has told me what the suit is and I don't argue with that. In this case it is not based on the last suit bid as might normally be the case. Of course, Blackwood and Keycard are very risky in minors as one might get the wrong answer but still be forced to slam anyway.) I bid 5 Spades showing 2 keycards and Queen of clubs. Just what she wanted to hear. Is it 6 or 7 Clubs (or No Trumps?). The obvious weakness is the King Spades which I might not hold and might sit offside, so she does the sensible thing and bids 6 Clubs.

Hand 13 - We got there but probably not the way we should. I think it should go 1 Club by east, 1 heart by west, 2 spades by east ( showing very strong opening hand). We did all that. West now knows the combined point count and should set about the slam investigation in No trumps. What happened, was Gills rebid was actually 3 no trumps which I could have passed, but was more encouraging than 2, so I put it 6 NTs.

Hand 15 - This was another slam attempt. Gill opened a weak 2 hearts showing 6-10 and 6 hearts. Using 2 Ogust 2 NTs I ask her point count. She goes 3 hearts guaranteeing 10 points, (she only had 9!) so I go 6 hearts and we are an ace and 2 kings missing. 1 down and a local enquiry followed!

Cheers Tom and Gill

We settled for 3NT making 12 tricks.

Bernie and Dave went one better with 6D.

How did they get there?

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Hi Phil

As you know we play a strong club(16-19 pts opening).

So I opened 1c and Bernie responded 3d showing game forcing. As I then had 4 key cards with diamonds being trumps I felt duty bound to chase a slam.

My thinking was Bernie could only bid 5c (no aces) or 5d (1 ace which had to be the Ah). If the former I bid 5d if the latter 6d (particularly as Bernie was playing them ). I didn't go 7d due to weak clubs and 6 potential losers.

Having done my bit I left the rest to Bernie and he delivered .

p.s. with no aces up his sleeve lol.

Happy xmas and new year to everyone.

Dave 

This was our penultimate hand.

We had already had a 4NT invitation turned down..

Natasha thought she would give this one a go.

We had an unhelpful diamond lead so we lost to the KD in south and there was no room for error on a diamond continuation.

The slam comes home if you guess the spade finesse correctly.

We ended up with just 11 tricks.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

We were on the wrong side of both the hands of the week this time round.

congratulations to Alan & Philip for this courageous bidding.

Natasha  on lead, chose AH , she could have found me with the K.

As it was 6C comes home after that opening lead.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

 I was S playing against Tom and Gill I opened 3C ( I debated whether it should have been 1C or 4C instead), Jenny responded 5C. Gill lead 5S, and I lost 2H tricks and 1D trick, don’t see how I could avoid it! How did some make 12 tricks, different lead? Peter

Natasha lead AH which gives every opportunity to make 6C. At another time I could have had KH rather than say KS , I could have encouraged on the lead and we would have taken the first 2 tricks.

Such is life.

Phil

You don't often have to deal with 25 points.

 Natasha reasoned that I would have real trouble getting into her hand and took me out to 4H.

As the hearts lie the grand slam is always on but is unlikely.

Dave opened an ultralight 3H with the south hand to which Mick responded with 6NT!

skillfully played to succeed, it can only work to drop the King!

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

I debated between 3NT and 3S as my Nirth rebid, and plumped for the wrong one.

Natasha felt there must be a slam on and went straight to 6NT. Defeated on a heart lead.

it makes on any other lead.

Well done Tom and Gill for spotting the spade fit and bidding and making the 6S Optimus contract.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Oswald Jacoby (top bridge player of transfers fame) famously said, 'People don't spend enough of the bidding space describing their hand and are too keen to rush to what they might think the final contract might be'. We can be tempted to do exactly that here.

North's hand is a two suited hand with 19 HCPs. Opening 1 diamond says that is my longest suit. Rebidding 2 spades over the 1 heart response says spades is my second suit (I hold at least 5 diamonds and 4 spades) and I have at least 19 points. Job done with hand described.

Now just sit back and let South guide the partnership to the best contract. 

Tom 

Most tables spotted that with 34 points East West really ought to end up in a slam.

My partner , with an eye on the SlamMaster trophy, thought that 6 was not enough.

The grand slam all depends on the Spade finesse.

Why is it always wrong?

I did contemplate undervaluing my hand - it really is a poor 23 points, Should have done so.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

.

Tom and Gill bid and made 6S on this one. Think you need the club finesse to work to make it.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This was a bit of a cheeky slam attempt but fortunately the cards lay kindly. Gill (west) opened 1 spade and Tom (east) bid a Jacoby 2NT (game forcing in spades). West responded 3NTs (normally shows 16 - 18 points). East cue bid 4 Hearts (showing the Ace of hearts but not the club or diamond Aces). West bids  5 clubs (through the 4 spade barrier) showing the ace clubs and encouraging partner. With good clubs east just can't resist and bids 6 Spades. Technically, the hands are not strong enough, but 12 tricks are made on the successful club finesse. Rather fortunate but rewarding !

Tom

Thanks to everyone who made the Away Day a great success.

Thanks to Jan for organising with

KEDLESTON PARK GOLF CLUB

And all their staff.

A fine day all round

Always the optimist!

On a heart lead I fancied my chances but I don't think it is possible now.

I realised I need the QS as well as all the clubs and 3 hearts.

check it out but I don't think there is any way of communicating between the hands.

Someone else ended up in 6D* missing the AK of trumps.

what fun we have.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

I fancied my chances of making 4S on a diamond lead.

unfortunately I went for the Spade finesse and then it went pear shaped with two ruffs!
i should have reasoned that with the strange distribution I might be safer to take AS and then lead a second spade.

absolute bottom!

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Surely this must be "Hand of the Week"

I can see one N/S did not enter the score correctly and the E/W pair did not check the score before accepting. I fear, it might be too late for correction.

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

how often do you have 17 points when your partner opens 2NT (20-22)?

Natasha's arithmetic was up to the task. Missing at most a King the bid seemed self evident.

As from 20 September, Wednesday afternoon BBO sessions will join “Oliver Cown” afternoon club, thus hopefully increasing the number of tables at play.

For logging on purposes the session will be know as “Belper and Oliver Cowan Pairs”. The cost will be reduced to BBO$3.50.

This change will not affect the players in any way except that there will be more tables at play. The results will be displayed on the website as usual.

If you have any questions please contact: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Thanks to everyone who took part.

A bit of fun.

Joint winners this year

JEFF RUSHTON & MIKE DONALDSON

Combined results as follows

Tom and Gill were the only ones to bid a slam (6H) on this hand.

What happened on your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

North (Tom), with 24 HCPs opened 2 Clubs. South (Gill) with 8 HCPs and 5 hearts in her longest suit, bid 2 Hearts showing 8+ points and minimum of 5 hearts. This bid forces the partnership to at least game. (If the longest suit had only 4 cards, the hand would be, by definition, balanced and the positive response would have been 2 NTs). North now knows that the partnership had at least 32 points and have an 8 card fit in hearts. North then bid 2 NTs showing a balanced hand and South responded 3 NTs. The only way a slam is not on is if the partnership’s missing 8 points contain both the Ace and King of hearts. A 4 NTs Keycard enquiry confirms that South holds one of them. The only remaining question is - should the contract be 6 Hearts by South or 6NTs by North – both make. The Heart contract felt slightly safer, so I put my partner in 6 Hearts, then sat back, relaxed and watched. It is always essential to relax when your partner is playing a slam !!

Tom

This turned out to be quite an interesting hand.

when Natasha rebid I knew she had 15-16 points giving us a maximum of 24. It all depended on whether we could get my diamonds to come good.

with only one certain side entry I judged it unlikely and passed.

She promptly made 10 tricks, developing 2 side entries.

someone bid 3NT but went off.

What happened at other tables?

philip@thompsonsonline.net p

Not sure this was exactly our bidding. Someone else may remember.

an interesting hand from several points of view.

it needed careful play to make 10 tricks when the 5-0 split in spades was revealed.

The computer says E/W should sacrifice in 5H.

We can pick up next week in the scoring tutorial.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This was a very interesting hand.

The only slam bid and made by Helen and Lynda - 6C making all 13 tricks.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Every other pair passed this hand out!
Helen bid 1NT as South.

I started the defence with AD, getting no positive signal from partner I switched to a low diamond. Bad move, could have felled Helen's queen.

Helen was off and running and ended up with 11 tricks.

she would have had a top with 7 tricks or more.

ah well, we were getting tired.

any comments?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

No slams today, but board 17 was interesting. Few in 3NT, but 4H better, making 12 tricks

Comments to: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

We missed the slam on this hand.

I did wonder about a club slam after Karen's jump in clubs.

she hesitated after my 3NT

Tom and Gill were the only ones who bid it.

what was their bidding?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Whether a slam should be bid on this hand is debatable as it only makes because the King of Hearts can be captured in a finesse. However, Tom (east) opened 1 heart and Gill (west) chose to bid 1 spade (rather than 2 clubs). Tom then showed his 2^nd suit and 19 points by jumping to 3 clubs. Gill showed the club fit and her 10 points by bidding 5 clubs. With this support (a club fit and 9/10 points) Tom's hand, because of its shape, looks much stronger so 6 Clubs was bid. Certainly not a stone wall slam, but why resist the temptation !

Cheers Tom

Only one slam bid and made on the 21st.

not very scientific bidding!

hoe should it have gone?
philip@thompsonsonline.net

This hand seems ideal for a splinter if you have agreed to use them .

Over 2H a bid of 4H would surely show enough for a 4S raise , interested in a slam , and having a singleton or void heart . That fits very well with West’s hand and a RKCB enquiry would get a response of 5C ( 0 or 3 ) – must be 3 – surely 6S is now reasonable .

Best wishes - Malcolm

Only one pair bid 6S, but everybody made 12 tricks. WHY?

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Our bidding went
P (East), P, 3D, X (North), P, 3S, P, 4S, P,P,P
South (me) bid 3S to show some strength, and a 6.5 loser hand. N(Jenny) with a fit in S and a 5 loser hand probably ought to have used losing trick count and gone to 6S

Peter

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

On this hand I do not think Peter can lay any of the responsibility for missing a slam on Jenny

If the bidding shown is correct then opposite a double of 3D that can not be passed and you might have to bid 3S with no points at all . To show points a jump to 4S is necessary over which Jenny might progress further . Many would prefer a bid of 4D over the double of 3D which shows a willingness to play in 4H or 4S .  

Best wishes - Malcolm

Comments to: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

I think this was the bidding at our table.

East West should perhaps not bid the slam as it depends on a reasonable Spade split but they should get to game.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

  Morning Phil At our table I (W) passed, Mike (N) went 1H, Mick (E) thought and went 4S.  End of bidding.

Jill

GIll and Tom managed to bid and make 6H on this hand despite the lack of high card points.

how did they do that?

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Gill bid and made 12 tricks on this hand with only 21 points.. It illustrates the power of hand shape. 

South opened 1Heart with 14 HCPs. West doubled.  North, with 6 hearts to the Ace and only 7 HCPs made a pre-emptive jump to 4 Hearts. This was designed snatch the bidding space from the opponents. South knows North is weak but the assured length in hearts suggests a possible shortage in another suit any of which is extremely helpful. A small slam is not guaranteed but now looks distinctly possible from the south position. After further combative bidding from East/West, Gill bid 6 Hearts and made it.

Several slams around on the 2nd June.

We bid this one but went 2 off. Natasha and Alan bid and made it.

The machine says the best contract is 7C!

6Nt should not make.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Check out the latest position after 3 rounds. Under Competitions.

This was our bidding.

knowing that we had all the Aces, at least 3 kings and Q spades (RCKB], I had to choose which slam. 6NT is better than 6S at pairs but I should not have chickened out and just bid 7S!

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

♥ 

David and Bernie managed to find the heart slam here.

 Very tight!

how should it be bid?

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsosnonline.net

Lots of interesting hands on the 12th.

This was one where I think we got the bidding right.

it really did not feel like a no tump hand.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

On this hand everybody made 13 tricks in Spades, but no one arrived at a slam, although one pair got as far as 5S.

How to bid a slam?

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

With 22 HCPs and a balanced hand, South must open 2NTs. North with only 5 points, can only see a combined 25- 27 HCPs (so a slam possibility is not immediately obvious). However, with 5 spades in hand, north bids 3 Hearts to transfer South to 3 Spades. North could then bid a 4 Spades game but with a void in hearts, might prefer to cue bid 4 Hearts, (game forcing and showing first round control - a void or the Ace hearts). This heart information makes South’s hand looks much more attractive. South may elect to skip the 4 spades game bid and go 4 NTs checking for aces. When North responds with no aces, South knows that the heart cue bid shows a void in hearts. South’s hand now looks much more solid with north’s heart control. South may elect to bid 6 Spades.

A slam is still an act of faith, as South does not know exactly what North holds (if both the Q spades and K diamonds are missing, it may be tricky). However, a bid of 6 spades is definitely worth a go!

Tom

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

The score for the first round after NGS adjustment are as follows

12 tricks on offer here, although the spade situation is worrying.

no one tried for the slam

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

One of many extraordinary hands on the 14 April.

How should it be bid. Our opponents bid to 4H but felt frustrated.

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Phil,

I saw the hand from 14^th April. One possibility is that East opens 4NT asking for named Aces.  A 5C response shows no Aces (as after normal Blackwood). 5D, 5H 5S or 6C shows just the Ace in the named suit. 5NT shows 2 Aces.

With the actual hand, 4NT gets a response of 6C. You can make a choice between leaving it there or bidding 6H. On a bad day, you know you’ve got at least 7 clubs between the 2 hand and at least 6 hearts

If, instead, West has no Aces, then after the 5C bid, I’d bid 5H as it scores better.

If West bids 5D having that Ace, then I’d just sign off in 5H

Of course, if partner has an unsuitable hand or there are bad breaks, then none of these contract are safe, but it’s still tempting.

Best wishes

Alan

After a long thought I opened 2NT, as I could not see 2C or 2D, and didn't want to bid 1S in case it was passed. The bidding was as shown, after my 3H Alan bid 3NT and I converted to 4H. But of course 3NT is a better score.

How did it go at your table?

comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com 

Kathy and I got to 4S by South making 12 tricks. Various number of tricks were made by other tables. How should you bid this hand to get to 6S?

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Our bidding went 1D by S, 2H by N, 3C, then 3NT by N. A 3C lead from E enabled us to make 12 tricks, although I’m not sure we should have been allowed to!
If the bidding had been 1D - 1H - 2C (showing weakish hand), - 2S (is this 4th suit forcing), then a spade fit would be found, so S would bid  3S or possibly 4S, then N could bid 4NT, and with all aces found would then bid 6S.
I prefer the 3NT route although clearly there aren’t enough points to consider 6NT!
Peter

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Here is another suggestion: 1D; 1H, 1S, 4NT (RKCB), 5S and 6S

♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

On this hand Gill and I bid and made 7 spades. The bidding went as you suggested it might.

            South                                 North             

            1 Diamond                                       1 Heart 

            1 Spade (showing min 5/4 shape)           4 No Trump    (0314 keycard)

            5 Spades  (shows 2 Aces and Q spades )       7 Spades

The logic for going to 7 Spades is that, viewed from north (Tom's hand), the bidding shows that we have at least a 4/4 fit in spades with AKQJ  and only 2 potential losers - the queen of hearts and the 2 clubs. The south keycard response shows 2 aces and queen spades (10 points) which means south (Gill)  must have at least another 2 points - a queen or more. It seems reasonable to have a go at 7 spades.

Gill played the hand by forcing out the queen hearts before drawing all the trumps, as the delayed trump tricks act as entries back into the north hand to cash all the heart winners. The losing club is dropped onto the king of diamonds.

Cheers Tom

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulations to Terry & Gwent this year's Roxburgh Trophy winners.

Beating John & Jim 2nd and David & Bernie 3rd

NGS Adjusted Results:

1    6  Terry Morgan & Gwent Paylor              +54.38      -10.80      +65.18
   2   14  John Marooney & Jim Kent                 +61.11       -3.53      +64.64
   3   17  David Tyers & Bernie Pedley              +62.50       +0.01      +62.49
   4    7  Mick Buckley & Adrie Box                 +52.81       -8.48      +61.29
   5   11  Judy Clarke & Jennifer Matkin            +48.26      -12.56      +60.82
   6    4  Jennifer & Peter Arnott                  +52.50       -7.23      +59.73
   7    2  Jean Wilson & Liz Hague                  +59.38        N/A       +59.38
   8   19  Tom & Gill Doggett                       +61.81       +2.89      +58.92
   9    3  Val Pugh & Judy Reynolds                 +48.13      -10.67      +58.80
  10    1  David Hartland & Andy Jowett             +49.06       -8.89      +57.95
  11   10  Kathy Fairweather & Natasha Romaine      +52.81       -2.79      +55.60
  12   20  Lynda Jetten & Jeff Rushton              +51.74        N/A       +51.74
  13   16  Rhona Oakes & Jim Copson                 +53.47       +1.88      +51.59
  14   13  Mick Hepworth & Jill Sykes               +51.04       +1.08      +49.96
  15    8  Mike Donaldson & Lucy Mellors            +45.31       -1.64      +46.95
  16    9  Julie Groves & Anne Sellors              +37.50       -9.42      +46.92
  17   18  Alan Holden & John Hopkinson             +40.63       -5.79      +46.42
  18   12  Barrie & Sue Dixon                       +36.46        N/A       +36.46
  19   15  Alan Walters & Martin Atkinson-Zahm      +30.90       +2.36      +28.54
 

We missed the slam here.

a lot of hesitation from both of us.

I think I should have explored over 3S with 4NT

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Friday March 17

Congratulations to Bernie & David this years Pairs winners.

Beating Phil & Natasha 2nd and Tom & Gill 3rd

2C is our strongest bid. Gwent and Terry ended in 3S* - 1. Philip and Alan got to 4H for top board.

Comments: natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

Congratulations to Kathy and Andrew this years winners of the Challenge Trophy based on the results of the first Friday in each month.

Second place was John and Phil with Peter and Jenny in third.

A new Competition will start in April

Two pairs found the slam here, 6S , always difficult to bid when a void is involved.

how did they do it?

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This was an interesting hand.

Natasha opened 1D (playing 5 card majors) over Alan's double I thought I should be semi preemptive hence the 3D.This bid denies 4H or 4S. I didn't like Natasha's 3NT so my 4D pushed Natasha into 5 (lucky she hadn't bid on 3 diamonds which she could have.) in the end we made 12 tricks.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This looks like an interesting hand.

Several tables failed to find the north south game.

Assuming North does not open then East should get in the way with a weak 2 heart bid.

South should double.

When the bid gets round to North they need to remember South must have 15-16 points and they must jump to indicate a game going hand.

4D perhaps. South then has a difficult choice, 4S might work and would left by North. Knowing 4S might make is it asking  lot to instead bid 6D with the diamond fit and singleton heart ?  It probably is.

No one found that and 5D scores worse than 4S.

What  happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This was an interesting hand from the afternoon session.

my bidding as east showed exactly 19 points balanced.

I could see Natasha contemplating going further but we didn't.

only 2 tables made 12 tricks.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

With only 29 points and having no aces I can understand West not looking for a slam but you could still look for a spade fit  ( can understand some reluctance  with 29 points ) by bidding 2C , 2D , 2NT , 3H ( transfer ) , 3S , 3NT , 4S , after which best technique should lead to 13 tricks .

Play AH , KH , ruff a heart ,  KS ( dropping QS ) , play 3 more top spades , play AD , QD ( revealing singleton with South ) , finesse 10D , KD ( discarding a club  ) , AC , ruff a club .

Best wishes – Malcolm

An interesting hand from last night.

One table found 6C the other stopped at 5C.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

And one from the afternoon.

This was our bidding. Playing East the slam looked cast iron.

Unfortunately 2 pairs went off on a diamond lead!

one pair bid the slam and made all 13 tricks!

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

This looks like an interesting hand.

The computer says you can't make 6D but that did not stop David and Julie.

One other pair also made 12 tricks but did not bid it.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

.

Natasha opened a gambling 3NT. I expected a running 7 card minor and an external cover but probably 2 uncovered suits.

what to do?

I left it and we got clobbered with the hearts.

could have been okay if Natasha had the AH not AS!
Jenny and Peter managed to find 6C also using a gambling 3NT.

one other pair bid 6C but they didn't make it.

What happened at your table?
philip@thompsonsonline.net

 I opened 3NT (gambling 3NT), which Tom (N)recognised and passed.
Jenny scratched her head for a while, then bid 4H, which I took as a positive bid!
Jill understandably passed. Having decided that I was going to play in at least 5C, I bid 4NT (ordinary Blackwood). If I got a 5C then I’d leave it there, but anything else I’d go to 6C. Back came 5D (1 ace), so it had to be 6C
After a heart lead, it was straight forward.
I was lucky, Jenny said afterwards that her 4H was meant to be transfer to S!
Peter

Sent from my iPad

This was an interesting hand from last night.

we got a bottom with the bidding shown after winning all 13 tricks.

Andrews 2D showed 18 plus points so I was aware we might be missing a slam, perhaps I should have bid 6C in the hope that Andrew had one of the major aces.

the other tables played in 3NT making 11 tricks - how?

and 2S doubled by East giving a 800 penalty. such is life.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

At our table East, the dealer, opened a Lucas 2S showing at least 5 spades and 5 of another suit, with about 6-10 points, probably in the higher range as vulnerable. Malcolm, my partner, as South, doubled.  This came round to me as North.  I certainly thought 6C was a possibility, but didn’t think I could bid it with certainty.  Game, 5C or 3NT, would score 400+.  Whereas with the Oppos doubled I thought we could take 2S at least 2 off, scoring a minimum of 500, as vulnerable, so I passed. In practice it went 3 off for 800. Oppos might console themselves that it’s a good save against the making 6C.

Regards

Alan
 

The perils of the Lucas Two shine brightly here. It might be a good save against 6C but that's only true if the oppos get there. The fact is that the two other tables didn't even without a weak interference opening. 

With your hand, after Andrew's 4C, I don't think anyone could blame you for either shooting 6C or going via 4NT just to see if you could go the extra step. Given you know you're shy on points I think I'd have gone straight to 6C because, even if you get the right response showing a full set of Aces, there's bound to be some potentially critical Ks and Qs missing.

As it is the grand in NT is solid and north even has the luxury of winning any lead and playing AC first which finds the void, making the club finesse absolutely risk free.

Great hand....

Cheers

Richard

Friday 16 December afternoon f2f 

Come and join us for pre-playing glass of fizz and mince pies at 1.00 pm

The dealing machine had a hiccup! For the evening boards so no hand analysis.

This board comes from the afternoon session.

Would you have got to 6C (fairly safe) like Tom and Gill or 6NT ( a little risky) by Mick and Anne.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

I got something right for once.

When Natasha doubled our opponents 3D I seemed to have a clear choice between 4S and 6S.

Surely Natasha must have at least 2 aces. With a void Blackwood was likely to be no help so I took a punt?

the play seemed straightforward. After taking AC defender refrained from trying his AD wisely.

after taking out trumps dummy's other club can disappear on the spare heart and cross trumping does the rest.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

I agree with your reasoning Phil.The void in diamonds makes your hand massive unless partner has the ace of diamonds which is of no use. You could be unlucky when east has AQ of clubs. But all in all a well considered punt of 6S.

I think if we were going well with a good score I would settle for 4S expecting to get near average. But if things were not going too well I would try 6S.

John S

I was lured into an attempt at a slam on this hand. 32 points albeit with an ace missing.

In some ways i prefer it with an Ace missing we must have nerly all the other points. But try as I may there ended up as no play here for 6NT as several other coupes found.

I thought there should be a squeeze play if the clubs don't split but I did not find it and the machie suggests it dos not exist against best defence.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

How many points do you need to make 6NT?

Natahsa quite rightly in my mind turned down my invitation with 12 in her hand and my 18ish bid for 4NT

Yet 6NT can make.

Should I have explored a major fit and then gone for the perhaps safer 6 Spades?

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

No slams last night.

In this hand our opponents decided to play in NT which didn't fair well.

The par score should be 5S, playing for just one loser in spades.

2 pairs managed to pick up 12 tricks which seems strange.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

You mentioned about 2 pairs making 12 tricks in NT, so I had a look at the 2 hands

In both cases the contract was 3NT by W and N, not unreasonably, led a small spade. This ran round to the 10 and the Q.  West is now guaranteed 11 tricks. West now played the clubs and North took the A on the 3^rd round. Now what to lead? Nothing looks good, but North mustn’t lead  a spade, which is what they did. It gives W an extra spade trick and guarantees 12 tricks with the diamonds breaking.

What is N hoping for by leading the spade a 2^nd time? Presumably, they don’t expect partner to hold the A of spades. So the only way leading the spade could gain is if W started with just AQ doubleton, so the A now falls on the 2^nd lead of spades. Not likely, but possible.
 

Regards

Alan

Board 26

This interested me. I was East. At our table the bidding went

E             S             W           N

1D          1S           2D          2S

3D          3H          4D          4S

All pass

The Ace of diamonds was led, declarer ruffed and drew trumps.  We eventually made 3 club tricks, but declarer made 10 tricks as did everyone in spades.  Those going to 5D over 4S (or 4H) made a save, even if doubled it was only 500 against 620. I didn’t think any more about the 10 tricks made until I saw double dummy said they should only make 9 tricks in spades, though 10 in hearts. Where did we go wrong? If partner leads a club, we take the first 3 tricks. If I lead the 4^th club, while dummy can ruff partner can ruff higher with the 10 in front. So one off. To persuade partner to lead a club, perhaps I should bid 3C rather than 3D, but that might look like a game try and I’m not that strong.

So you could argue we were right not  to bid over 4S as it goes off. but we weren’t able to get the defence so should bid 5D

Regards

Alan

This looks a fairly straightforward slam hand but not everyone bid it.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Board 25

The play is straightforward in the slam, just knock out the Ace of spades.

The bidding at our table went

2C (ACOL 2C)      2H (positive with hearts)

2NT (23/24pts)   4NT (quantitative)           

6NT

After my 2NT I think partner should jump straight to 6NT, as he knows we have at least 34 points between the 2 hands (11 points plus useful 10s)

While I have my minimum number of points (23), I have the 5^th club, it was the last round, and there’s always the slam master competition to think of 😊.

Some responders might want to have a 5 card suit and /or 1½ quick tricks to bid 2 hearts, in which case they could bid 2NT. You would need to agree what strength the 2NT response showed.  I normally expect 9-12 points, but some might play it weaker. So the bidding might go 2C 2NT 6NT, or at least 2C 2NT 4NT 6NT

Should you have some sort of systemic bidding after 2C 2NT? You certainly don’t want to play transfers after that as it would mean the weaker hand becomes declarer.

Regards

Alan

Just one hand a candidate for a slam last night. But only one pair bid nd made it, and one pair didn't make it.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Our initial sequence was: 1S from Alan, 3H from me (strong), 3S. I was always going to search for the slam but there was an interesting oppos intervention of 4C which immediately improved my hand even further. Thus, 4NT from me drawing the response of 5D (showing one key card). 

Given that we were likely to be missing the AD (rather than the AS) and with my KD being exposed I was planning to put Alan back to 5S. However my right hand oppo doubled 5D, marking the position of the missing Ace and putting it in the right place. Now everything looks like the slam is pretty nailed on and so it proved. 

The AD was led followed by a H. Alan set up the Hs so as to discard his losers rather than risk the Club finesse which was all but certain to win but you never know. Well done partner. 

Cheers
Richard

One of the 2 possible slams around last night.

Our 5H doubled would have been a good sacrifice if more people had bid the club slam.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Phil

You had the opportunity to pass 5C so bidding 5H was never going to be a good sacrifice – in fact it was possibly going to push them in to bidding 6C and with careful play even 7C can make.

Malcolm

Too true!

Only one slam bid and made this week.

I was sitting with the stonker  of a hand as East but was stymied by a 1C bid by North. We didn't even manage to bid game.

Malcolm and Andrew got to 6D. 

How did things go at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

At our table, Alan also opened 1C which I think is fair enough. I’d like to think my pre-emptive raise to 3C after a 1D overcall got in the opposition’s way a bit but I’m not sure it really should. After W and N passed, East jumped to 4D but, sadly for our oppos, that’s where it all ended. 
Personally, I like the double you bid after you got a 1C opening since you might even find a H fit. Looking at the hands, game looks as though it should be the minimum objective but you never can tell at this game….

Richard

Just 2 slams bid and made last night.

This was the more challenging, especially as I was the one that overbid it (just a bit!)

The 4NT felt like a bit of a stretch but I counted a bit more for the singleton (although it might be in partners suit)

Even with one key card missing 5H passed felt like a wimp bid.

Ok 6H bid and I could sense partners disapproval. 

The only play seemed to be to take 2 club ruffs from dummy ( the last club could drop on dummy's KD) and then to play the hearts for one loser.

At that point dummy had K9 and I had QTxx so it was lead 9 from dummy and let it run.

Just for once it worked.

Not really suggesting it was a good slam to bid.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Phil,

You played board 21 well against us.

It’s difficult for my partner, but he can make it harder for you after winning the Ace of hearts by leading the Q of clubs.  You have to ruff with the K, so you can no longer draw my Jack of trumps by force and you haven’t got another heart in dummy to take the finesse.

However, you can still make the slam.  One line after winning the K of hearts would be to play AK diamonds, throwing a BIG spade, ruffing the 3^rd round of diamonds with the 7, then playing the big spade from hand and then a small spade to the J.  You’re now left in dummy with 2 diamonds and just the Q, 10 of hearts in your hand When you lead a diamond, I’m forced to place the J or 4 of hearts so you just play Q or 10 as necessary, which brings home the slam.

Well done

Regards

Alan

Just to say I don't think I would have found that play!

Phil

FRIDAY 30th SEPTEMBER

The THOMPSON TROPHY for MIXED PAIRS was played online.

Congratulations to Iris White and Tim Hallam our new holders.

Unusually every table bid a slam on Board 17.

This one was a bit more mixed, but Kathryn and John were in no mood to mess around on this hand. 13 tricks made.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Amazing only one pair found this cast iron grand slam.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Phil

You may care to show the bidding used to reach 7NT which will confuse many – 2C ( game go )  , 3C ( 13-15pts ) , 4NT , 6NT , 7S , 7NT.

Malcolm

Hi Phil,

We had a bit of a disaster on the 7NT bidding. We need to implement a full RKCB.

The actual bidding:

2C long solid suit or 23+ at least 8 tricks

3C 13-15 pts I have 6 tricks so already thinking of 7NT

Theo then bid 4NT and I am stuck because there no agreed suit to show K of

I bid 6NT because we must be able to make it

Theo bid 7S because he knows I probably have the missing aces for 6NT

I bid 7NT because Theo must have 8 solid tricks and I have 5+ depending on H split

What should have happened;

2C

3C

3S showing long solid suit type hand

4NT asking for key cards with spades as trumps

5C  3 key cards AK spades A clubs

5D cheapest non-spade suit asking for Q spades (we don't play this yet but probably will)

6C  Q spades and K clubs (full RKCB)

7NT must be on with 6+ spades to AKQ, all the aces and my H suit

Sometimes when things go wrong you have to wing it.

Terry

Sent from Mail for Windows

No slams last night.

This looks like an interesting hand.

North / South have good majors making 2 or 3 spades or hearts.

At most tables East/West found the club fit and bid , probably thinking they were making a sacrifice. As it is 5 clubs is cold although no one bid that high.

What happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

The only slam bid and made last night - by our subs.

Natsha despite knowing we had precisely 32 points bailed out of our slam sequence her 5S asking me to bid 5NT sign off.

You could argue that knowing 4 of the 8 points missing is an ace may help making 6NT. Anyway she was right because I only managed 11 tricks.

The machine says 6NT will always make but I think that needs some very lucky guessing on the part of declarer.

What happened at your table?

Philip@thompsonsonline.net

Against us Oppos bid to 3NT making 11 tricks, losing the A and J of diamonds. Playing the “normal” way, these are the tricks you’re going to lose.  As double dummy says, you can make the slam – by leading the 10 of diamonds from the North hand. You either run it or, if covered by the jack, play the King. The 9 of diamonds falls on the 2^nd round leaving you good, apart from the Ace of diamonds.

What happened at the table where slam was made?  Declarer led the 5 of diamonds from the North hand, so should be going down, but East hopped up with Ace rather than playing small. Thus allowing declarer to draw all the remaining diamonds with K & Q.

Regards

Alan

Check out the latest Challenge Trophy positions after the 6th round on September 2.

It gets interesting from here on as those who have 6 results can start discarding their worst results

Variety of contracts. Interesting. That was the bidding at our table. 7D - 1

How did the biidding go at your table?

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 

I hold my hands up and say my bidding was either weird or, being charitable, a little ‘off centre’. For that reason I won’t describe it since it’s not even worthy of discussion.
Suffice to say Malcolm expertly steered us to the excellent spot of 6D, despite the puzzles of mis-direction I set him. Well done partner.

Cheers
Richard

natasha.romaine@btinternet.com

No slams bid last night.

The results were all over the place on this hand.

It is not often you get 3NT bid both ways on the same hand!

I kept very quiet on this hand as south as our opponents motored on to 4S. Then the double! A step too far for them.

what happened at your table?

philip@thompsonsonline.net

Richard opened a weak 2 in spades (some people don’t like opening a weak two if they’ve got the other major instead, but we don’t let it stop us).

I had a nice hand but didn’t think there was quite enough for game opposite a maximum, so passed, which was just as well. The spade break came as a nasty shock. Fortunately, the Queen of hearts was onside, and partner had enough entries to take the finesse twice.  So, 2 spades just scraped in.  This gave us 64% on the board – not a massive score but OK
Alan