Five slams possible on night

Extraordinary hands on April 17 saw at least five potential slams, none easy to bid or play.  On hand 17, North may go to 3NT showing 19pts after hearing 1H.  With 11pts, might South cue bid or try a cheeky 6NT?  If East leads AH, 6C or 6NT makes.

Hand 27 we'll leave to the experts.  Whether or not East opens 1D, South bids hearts.  With six losers, does West go to 5D?  If South jumped showing six hearts, does North go to 5H, going two or three down?  Might East even try 6D?  Again, this can make if South leads AS.

Trust partner - or close your eyes

Imagine how Jean Hill felt.  She holds eight clubs to AKJ, cannot bid them, and watches while her partner leaves her in 6D, holding just one diamond.  In the top sequence, Michael opens game-forcing 2C, with a 2S response = 7-9 pts.  After Blackwood, diamond replies show one ace and king.  Then Jean, cool as ever, swallows her astonishment as Michael leaves her in 6D, and makes the extra trick to boot.  Wilf sat almost as uncomfortably on solid diamonds after his strong 2D opening.  Chris bids Gerber, then 6C.  Does Wilf switch?  No - and partner makes it.  Bob and Veronica also got to 6D in a contested auction.  More past hands in Results/hands of interest.

A time for Eastern wisdom

After West opens 1, does East jump to 2 with 16pts and support for partner's suit?  West then bids spades at the first available level, leaving East with a problem.  A fourth-suit forcing diamond bid might bring a reluctant heart response from West, leading to 4, or East might simply take a chance and go straight there on his second bid.  Brave when it works.  Perhaps the best second round bid for East is 4, giving his partner a choice of games in the minor or in hearts, even though on other deals it would miss a better NT contract.  Congratulations then to Eve and Glenis, and to Anne and Clive as the only couples to bid and make game.  Both 4 and 5 make, and declarer takes the lot if the defence lead anything but a diamond.

There's brave ... and then there's downright reckless

Well done Bernie and Di - the only couple to bid and make a slam throughout the evening of 17 July.  South might go directly to 4/4, or better to 2NT if playing a system where this guarantees game.  With such encouragement, North with only six losers, and that useful 10, investigates the slam, successfully bid, with good clubs and the K helpfully placed.  The writer of these notes, however, completely forgot the meaning of his partner's 2NT, and miscounted, and went to 6NT.  Six straight  tricks to the opposition - five down!

Dozen doesn't satisfy super slammers

Most partnerships found the small slam after South opened 1.  With Norths sitting on 19 pts, some checked on key cards via 4NT, or may even have risked going directly to 6NT.  But while ordinary mortals seemed happy with this, Wilf and Chris went one better.  Wilf bid a restrained 2, with Chris' 3 showing either 16pts or a 5-5 split.  Recognising strength or long suits opposite his big hand, Wilf proceeded via Blackwood to bid the big one.  A heart lead - logical in the circumstances - ensured the extra trick.  Terrific.

Major conflict:  The extra boards in circulation on 16 October brought out some sparky hands, none more so than this, which offers North-South the option of the spade frying-pan or the heart fire.  If North passes, East opens 1 for South to bid 2, pass, pass, and East's double is left in.  Horrible.  If North then bids spades, EW still win the first six tricks and probably a heart ruff.  If North opens a weak 2, however, the damage might not be quite so great, although EW might make 3 or 4.

74.8%!  Is this a club record?

A phenomenal performance on the night of the anniversary party gave Liz and Jennifer a score of just under 75% - one of the highest in the club's history, and certainly the highest since 2007.

They had only two adverse scores and made all their contracts, including eight tops and four shared tops.  Liz used a technique that she recently taught of identifying losers to discard to help make games when others went one down.

The pair also reached games that others failed to find, as in this hand in which Jennifer opened an inspired 1.  With only 15pts, albeit a strong distributional hand, it might have been hard to show her spades if she had opened 1 and partner had responded 1NT or 2.

Riding a monster:  The high-number deals again produced some of the most testing hands on 23 October with South picking up this fistful on hand 26.  The partnership makes 7NT easily, but pairs will have their own ideas on the best way to reach any slam, whether or not East opens a weak 2. 

Three possible slams in one round:  Have pity for Jean and Eileen who sat out boards 19-21, with three potential slams at the table.  Here's the one against them, with extreme distribution where East-West will be pleased to end in the major.

Was it something I said?  The chairman doesn’t expect people to take much notice of what he says, so why should it be different when he suggested players bid more slams?  With just three weeks before Slammer of the Year is decided, Colin light-heartedly urged members to go for the big ones. "Look out for some high-wire bidding," this website had said.

By an extraordinary coincidence, however, there followed an exceptional night on 4 December, with 14 slams bid and made, including three grand slams – more than during the whole of 2009 until then.  Sadly for East-Wests, 13 of them were by the other side, with the poor consolation that as shufflers for the majority of hands they will have provided them for the opposition.

Here are three of them.  Board 16 produced two grand and six small slams, whereas the small slam on Board 18 was harder to find.  With Wilf and Chris playing two grand slams in the night (and Chris writing on Board 25 "as instructed by Colin), they are now some way ahead on the Slammers ladder: Wilf 22, Chris 17, Roger 14, Di 13.

Western powers:  Intriguing consecutive hands for West on 11 December.  On 22, partner opens 1H, but with only five points what does West do?  In fact, the contract seems likely to finish in spades, and with only seven losers, West might go directly to 4S, which makes easily.  Fortune favours ...

Hand 23 offers several dilemmas.  After 1H-2D-2H-pass, does West go for game?  An option might be 3C, a trial bid, after which partner with two club losers and 6pts would sign off in 3H.  Many would be in 4H nevertheless.  North leads A and K and avoids following with A which would concede game.  West must now prevent two club losers.  Best seems to be to lead 10 and play 4 from hand, hoping Q is in South.

Same but different:  E-W hold 34pts on hands 17 and 22, but bidding is likely to proceed along separate paths.  East probably opens with his or her strongest bid, say 2, after which those partners who show a point count are rewarded.  With 11 points, West can bid 3, showing 10-12.  With a minimum of 33, East goes straight to 6NT, scoring marginally better than the 6 reached if West bids his major.  On hand 22, only Jean and Michael achieved 7NT, after Michael opened 1NT.  Jean bid 4NT as Blackwood, and would have bid a club slam if partner had shown only one ace.  Another possibility is to find the spade fit via Stayman on the way to the same destination.

It never rains but ...  Pity Peter and Margaret, Hilary and Daniel.  Two weeks ago they sat East-West and saw 13 slams bid by North-South.  So better luck as North or South on the last night of the year?  Sadly not, as East-West made all 14.  On hand 3, West opens 1NT, and East may go to 4NT asking partner to bid 6NT if maximum.  On Hand 13, East can discover after cue bidding or Blackwood that partner has one ace, and must then trust luck for 6.

North-South slam:  Also on 22 january - only 29 HCP, but missing just one K, Bob and Veronica, Chris and Wilf found and made 6NT.  With more than 28 pts, it may be that no trumps will often be more rewarding even than the major fit.

East-West slams:  Well done Pauline and Michael, Eve and Glenis who reached 6 on hand 2 on 22 January.  If East opens 1 and South intervenes with a cheeky 1 or even 2, it's harder to find the major unless West bids hearts or a negative double.  6NT also makes, as does 7.  In clubs, it's easy to bottle out, having reached the small slam. 

On hand 23, only Jenny and Richard found the spade slam, via Gerber, 1D - 1S - 2D - 4C - 4S - 5C - 5D - 6S, an example where the convention seems to have the advantage over cue bids or Blackwood.

OK - you try it:  The writer of these notes offers no opinion whatever on this hand - the only big one of the night on February 26th, as he managed to score some 450 points fewer than the next lowest score!  Blame Howard who opened in West with a cheeky weak 2.  A wiser head, Jenny, suggests North doubles, South responds 4 after East raises to 4, then a spade slam is reached after North's 4NT Blackwood enquiry.  Other reached a surprising 6NT on only 30pts.

Counting their blessings:  It doesn't happen often that the defence doesn't win a single trick all night on a particular hand, but that was the case with hand 24 on 9 April.  Surprisingly, Jenny and Richard were the only pair to bid the slam, after Jenny jumped to show 16 points, and her partner with 17 could count on the necessary 33 for 6NT.  Those solid spades and clubs meant they didn't even need the heart finesse.

Deliver us from temptation:  Only Clive and Anne were brave enough to bid 6 on this hand with only 23 points - and were rewarded with the only slam made on April 16.  With exceptional distribution, East might open a strong two.  South can make life difficult with a pre-emptive 4, but any encouragement from partner would encourage opener to seek the slam.  In fact, only 5 looks possible unless South is tempted into leading A at trick one - as several did.

With both holding 17 points, and seeing partner jump bid, Wynne and Gill, Bernie and Di reached 6NT on hand 20 on May 7, with the extra trick available from friendly distribution.  See also results/hands of interest.

Which is best - north south east or west?  It's a curiosity when one hand, played only six times, finds each of the players as declarer, and even more so when the contract is in four different denominations.  On hand 23 on 18 June, bidders settled for 1 by North, 2 by East, 3 in West, 3 by North. and 3NT by both East and South!  It gets interesting if East doubles after North opens.

Science or guesswork?  How to reach the 6 slam on this massive west hand?  All made 12 tricks, but none bid it!  Hard to see how West can discover that East has K.  Some will open a game force 2, and curiously those partners who show a stepped point count would bid 2 in response, so East's eyes would pop on seeing dummy.

Thanks however to our guest guru who suggested two possible sequences ncluding 2 - 3 (min AK or 8+pts) - 3 - 4 - 4NT (Blackwood) - 5 (one ace or keycard) - 6 worth a go.  A more sophisticated route might be to open 4NT asking for specific aces, ie 5 = 0 aces, 5 = A, 5 = A, 5 = A, 5NT = two aces, 6 = A, which avoids the opposition bidding a long suit.  It's normally used for a Grand Slam try, so check your agreement with partner to avoid heart attacks or law suits, she advises.

No opposition, no excuses:  With an open road, no rival bids, declarers should find their way to slams here.  On hand 6, on 2 July, North can hardly believe his/her luck when partner opens 1.  Systems vary, but with controls in all suits, a small slam should be on.  On hand 26, the 22-point West is surprised partner opens at all, and may on that basis simply bid 6NT, and will probably make the lot.  Simplicity works, as Germany proved with England.

Choose your major: Sadly no traveller for hand 8 of 9 July, on which many made 12 tricks, but none bid the slam.  Instead the highly distributional hand 14, where the bidding might go: 1, 3, pass, 4.  East holds 12 points, but only 3/4 losers and non-vulnerable can afford 4, and 5 over the lay-down 5, leaving partner to choose between the majors.

Heart palpitations:  East picked up one of the hands of the year on 16 July, with nine solid hearts and an outside ace, yet no-one successfully bid the slam.  If East opens 2 or 2 to show 10 tricks or 23pts, partner holding two aces would have known the slam was on, and could simply wait to be told the suit.  Any East opening 1 or 2, and hearing any bid at all from partner, might want to look at a slam via Gerber, Blackwood or cue bids, and having found all aces could bid 6NT.  For those who don't play any of the above, with ten certain tricks, and a partner response showing at least six points, East could simply plunge in with a 6 second bid.

Aces set up slam:  Only 30 points but with all aces, Jenny boldly bid 6NT.  Holding 17 points, it is always a joy to hear partner open, and after a 4 Gerber, boldness was rewarded with both K and Q perfectly behaved.  For past hands, see Results/hands of interest.

Two testers: From 6 August, when slams were made but not bid, here are two of the trickier hands that went close.  Easts playing Michael's cue bid might offer 2 after the 1 opening bid on hand 5, to show hearts and a minor.  West will probably respond 4, but what then?  East can hardly expect the near-perfect fit opposite that assured 12 tricks.

On hand 19, West will be surprised to go down heavily in a higher spade contract, while an enterprising North-South can probably make 4, and a brilliant declarer can make an extra trick, as Eileen showed with a flourish.

See also: Results / hands of interest.

No trump, no problem:  While the fainter-hearted were content to let North-South go down after a pre-emptive opening by North, Di playing East boldly doubled, expecting South to bid up with points, or if not, to find a fit with partner, or to hear a 3 response leading to 3NT.  With spades duly bid, the contract made 3NT +2, a clear top.

Wham, bam, but no slam:  Only one successfully bid slam on August 20, by Liz and Jennifer, but alas no curtain cards to mark the achievements, so instead this example where Wilf quickly disposed of opponents Maggie and Colin.  Chris was called away as director and by the time he returned, all 13 cards lay downwards in a heap facing the same way.  With K lying down for the finesse as obediently as Charles I awaiting execution, 7NT is assured, even if North has to return for a second finesse on the 10.  Wilf scored a merited top with 3NT+4, but can the slam be bid?  One to puzzle over.

Slam kings find another:  While new Bredon partnerships Hilary and Jennifer, Wynne and Helen led the N-S and E-W scores on Anniversary Party night, hand of the night belonged to Anne and Clive, the only pair to bid and make 6 here.

East opens 1.  West also has an opening hand and great distribution.  With either hand likely to jump, the slam was worth investigating.  They duly made 6 +1.  Not necessarily enough points for 6NT, but with all Aces and Kings held, and long albeit weak clubs, 6NT also makes, with Q onside for the 13th trick.

The masterly contract kept Anne and Clive in the lead for Slammer of the Year, with 7pts, just ahead of Maggie, Colin and Wilf, followed closely by Chris and others.

Only five losers show way to slam:  Full marks to Chris R. for spotting the power of his South holding on 3 September after partner Gayle opened 1.  East will overcall 1 or 2, but Chris recognised the distributional strength of a hand with only five losers.  Q may be an extra half-loser, but partner probably holds A, making the Jack good.  After 4NT Roman Key Card from South, a 5 reply opened the way for South to bid 6.  Others made 12 tricks, but no-one else found the slam.

Length not strength:  Singletons and a void boosted NS holdings in these 1 October hands, both of which can make small slams.  On hand 14, South opens 1, and partner may jump or confirm game via 2NT or 3NT.  Well done Chris and Wilf who bid the slam.  Hand 21 is trickier for NS if a troublesome East opens 2, but North will surely bid hearts over partner's diamonds.  With the A likely to be on South's right, 6 is perhaps worth a punt by aspiring Slammers of the Year, who would be duly rewarded.

Court shorts: Some lively hands on 1 October offered slam opportunities thanks to shortages and long suits, rather than sackfuls of points.  Only Roger and Ann bid 6 here, although all other EW combinations made 12 tricks in hearts.  Perhaps surprisingly, the heart contract was always played by East, although Wests playing a weak 1NT might open 1 expecting to bid NT next.  As NS, Pat and Rita bid an enterprising 5, going down two doubled, for a clear top of -300.

For two more potential slam hands from 1 October, makeable on only 24 and 28 points, see below.

Science or intuition?  Opener North looks at one of the highest point-counting hands for weeks, but the very balanced shape by no means assures a slam.  So high marks to Sheila and Muriel, Chris and Wilf for bidding one here.  Most will open 2, with the response depending on partnership agreements.  South can probably indicate 8+HCP, and may convert 2NT or 3NT to 4.  With all aces in hand, North may raise to 6, or with a combined 32 HCP trust to luck with 6NT.

Minor miracle:  We are taught to prefer NT to minor contracts, but this hand on 15 October show how import a solid minor can be.  After East opens 1, partner may repond 2.  What then?  The club fit enhances East's hand to a value of 16pts, so 4 is a possible response.  West can recognise a likely 32pt value, so 6 or 6NT is possible after a 4NT enquiry, and trusting to a little luck. 

Girls' night out:  Well done Margaret for her triumph on a merry-go-round evening on 15 October to win the Autumn Individual Cup, donated by Hilary.  She bid boldly all night and underlined her success as South on this hand, where partner Wynne led the way toward the night's only slam in 6.  There's always a challenge with new partners, so after 1, 1, 3NT, did Wynne's 4NT mean Blackwood or a punt at 6NT?  Margaret wisely showed two aces, and Wynne bid the club slam.

See another potential slam below.