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I asked John how he went off in 4♥ on this hand. He was deceived by a wonderful piece of deception by Steve Elvidge. I presume the bidding was probably as above. 

John Cornthwaite tried to cash two clubs, the second ruffed by John. He then advanced the ♦ 10 from hand which Steve ducked smoothly. John now played a ♥ to the Ace and another to Steve's K. He now put John on the spot by switching to a ♠ . John thought he didn't require the finesse so rose with the Ace to repeat the ♦ finesse. Steve won this and cashed his ♠ K for one off. Fabulous!!

John and I seem to reserve our best results for the Joyce Irving Trophy. Thursday was no exception and this slam hand contributed to it. Even if West overcalls the bidding would be similar. There were two crucial decisions to make. The first was my response to John's 2♦ bid. No bid is ideal. 2♥ is an underbid, 3♥ requires a 6th ♥ , 2NT is ok on point count but wrong on distribution. 3♠ as a splinter should promise 4♦ 's and 4♦ goes past 3NT if that is correct contract. That left my selection of 3♦ which is an underbid but leaves me well placed if partner bids again.

John now made the good decision to bypass 3NT with his 4♣ bid. I should just bid 6♦ at this point as I am very good for my bidding to date. There was little in the play and he racked up 12 tricks pretty promptly.

Things had not been going well for Rob and myself and this hand was typical of our evening. We bid the excellent slam with West playing it to protect the club position. However Jane as North followed the advice of cashing an Ace against a suit slam and when she saw Roger's Queen quickly played another to secure a ruff and one off.

Excellent defence by her but either Rob or myself should probably convert to 6NT. Probably West who has the fitting major suit honours. Having said that we were in a 90% slam so felt rather aggrieved at not making it. Again well done to Jane for finding the only lead to defeat it.

Back to my favourite topic today: the flexible double. We even have a "double" helping on the featured hand. Whilst South's 2♦ overcall has a reasonable suit and is good if partner ends up on lead, a takeout double is much better. By consulting partner you have a better chance of finding a decent contract.

Let us now look at my double as East of 2♦ . I could bid either major but double adds an extra string to my bow. Partner can now pass my takeout double, converting it into a penalty double. John wasn't very impressed with his ♦ pips but there was really nowhere else to go. If John were to inconveniently bid 3♣ , I can easily rebid the ♥ 's. Our defence was not perfect but the resultant penalty of 500 was more than enough.

I was South and wanted to show partner two things when the bidding came round to me. I wanted to show ♦ support and my ♥ suit. I contented myself by showing the ♥ 's and Rob supported. Now when Chris bid 4♠ I knew we had a double fit so could confidently take the sacrifice in 5♥ which John doubled.

So why put this hand in? Let us look at East's first bid. Where does this hand want to play? In game in ♠ 's. So don't pussyfoot around, just bid what you feel you can make. This is especially true in competitive situations. Now look at my problem over 4♠ . I certainly won't bid 5♥ and 5♦ may be too expensive at love all. I confess I was glad not to face that problem.

But we may miss a slam you cry. Partner is still there and can bid on if he feels it is appropriate. I must admit I would have probably opened 1NT on the West hand as I would not be too keen to rebid 2♣ with such a poor suit. Now N/S are silenced or if North bids 2♦ East has an easy 4♠ and South has the same problem as above.

Very strong hands are difficult to handle at the best of times but even tougher when an opponent opens in front of you. North has a couple of options on today's hand. An overcall of 1NT shows 15-18, but with two sure stops this is a slight underbid although that would have worked nicely today. The other option is to double and then rebid NT next time which was my preferred route. However John bid 2♥ , uncovering at least an 8 card fit. I raised gently to 3. It is important to remember that I have FORCED partner to bid and there is the possibility of him having the hand he has! He knows I have a powerhouse so he could jump to 3♥ with about 9HCP. He had no problem passing my invitation!!

This is the ideal sequence to reach the excellent club slam. North makes a jump shift to force to game. This is done on three hands types showing 15+ HCP's: a single suited hand: a two suited hand, one of which is partner's and a single suited balanced hand which will rebid NT next. Today's hand is the middle one.

South has a minimum with poor trumps and misfit for North. However once North persists with 4♣ , South can admit to the ♠ Ace and North can bid the ♣ slam. It is a tricky hand which makes by playing a dummy reversal. Aim to ruff two ♦ 's in the South hand. This sets up the ♦ suit but if they break badly then you have a 3-3 ♥ break or squeeze in reserve. This brings the chance of success up to about 80%. 

We will draw a veil over our 80% score for 3♣ + 3!

Above is a suggested sequence to reach the excellent heart slam. East could bid 2♠ , a reverse bid showing extra values. However 3♥ is fine as 7-4 hands nearly always play better in the long suit.

What should West do over 3♥ ? If you want to be scientific then 4♦ is the best bid. You cannot realistically want to play in ♦ 's so it must be a cue bid agreeing ♥ 's. This is all East wants to know so he can check on keycards and bid the ♥ slam with reasonable confidence in spite of missing one keycard. If you don't believe in science then just bid the slam and give away as little information as possible and hope the opponents don't have 2 cashing spades to take.

The slam is excellent, about 75%, making when at least one of the two major suit finesses work.

A comment or two about the bidding to start with today. East is probably best to pass initially. Remember SOS when doubling for takeout. S = shortage in suit bid (maximum 2), O = opening points and S = support for the other suits. East is OK to double 1♦ , but not 1♣. Rob correctly passed over West's 1♠ , then supported ♦ 's at his next term. Now when East competed with 3♠  (it would have been better to bid 2♠ immediately), I brought proceedings to an end by bidding game. 

5 of a minor is unfashionable at pairs but ok probably best when singletons abound as here. I won the ♠ lead with the Acw and drew trumps. When they broke 2-2 I was able to take the club finesse for an over trick. Had they been 3-1 I would have just played Ace and another ♣ to make my game.

Like London buses another hand turns up demonstrating the rule of 1: leave an opponent's boss trump at large whilst you play on crossruff lines. There was a lot of work to do on today's hand to get to this position. Steve's 1NT rebid showed 15-18. My 2♣ was asking him his range and any ♥ support. 2♥ showed a minimum with 3♥ 's and he accepted my game invite.

South started well by leading the ♣ 9. I let it run round to the Ace. An important point on defensive signalling here. North likes the lead with his strong holding so should play either high or low to encourage depending on their signalling methods. Now when South gains the lead with the ♠ Ace he just continues ♣ 's. Now however declarer plays he is unable to make his game. The defence can promote an extra trump trick by playing a 3rd round of ♣ 's.

At our table South won the ♠ Q and switched to a ♦ to partner's Ace. Now I can win the ♦ continuation, cash the A and K of trumps and play the rest of the hand cashing winners and cross ruffing. North can take his ♥ winner whenever he likes but that is the last trick for the defence.

So the message today is to make sure you agree on your defensive signals to help partner find the best continuation when he regains the lead.

When playing this game there are several "rules" that we are supposed to follow. However the most important attribute to have is a logical mind and to think out each problem as it presents itself. Today's defensive problem for South illustrates that principal admirably.

Nick was West and doubled South's 1♣ for takeout rather than bidding his 5 card ♦ suit. This is by far the most superior bid as it brings both majors into play. As East I responded 1♠ , South correctly bid 2♥ , a reverse bid showing extra values opposite a passed hand. Nick now jumped to 3♠ : he has forced me to bid so I may have very little. With my strong club holding I tried 3NT and he passed as he realised that his ♣ Q would bolster my club stop. Although as East I did not have a ♥ stop, I knew that Nick would have due to his takeout double of 1♣ .

South led A and another ♣ . Now it was easy for me to accumulate 9 tricks by knocking out the ♦ Ace. South should have started with the ♥ King to have a look at dummy. The lead of the King asks partner to give count: high - low with 2 or 4, low - high with 1, 3 or 5. North starts a high low so South plays out 3 rounds of ♥ 's to set up his last ♥ and defeat 3NT. Had West turned up with 4 ♥ 's rather than 3, then she could try the ♣ 's instead.

There are several "numbers " rules in bridge. Today's hand illustrates the rule of 1. This states that if there is a boss trump outstanding then leave it at large and cash outside winners and/or play on cross ruff lines. The bidding should be routine to reach the excellent game on minimal values. Sadly only two pairs managed it. Rob started with the top hearts which Catherine ruffed. Next a small club to the jack establishes the K and Q for a spade discard. Whatever I exit with declarer wins, cashes the top hearts, throws the losing spade on a club winner and proceeds to cash the black suit winners, ruffling the two losers with dummy's remaining two trumps, and ruffling diamonds in hand.

North can ruff in whenever he likes but is unable to draw two trumps for one which would restrict declarer's winners. Lay the cards out to see how it works.

Slam hands again today: this time for N/S. West started with a gold standard weak 2. Normally this makes it tough for the opponents but not this time. As North I had an easy 3♣ overcall. Chris has a good hand and bid her hand naturally with 3♦ rather than 3NT. This must be forcing and it improved my hand tremendously. I only need Chris to have A to 5 or 6 in ♦ 's and the ♥ Ace to make 6♦  cold. So I wheeled out the old Romam Key Card B/W and we ended in the cold ♦ slam.

After a ♥ to the A there were an easy 12 tricks.

  Four slam hands to choose from for E/W today. John and I got two right of which this is the pick. My East hand is too strong for a simple 1♣ opening. There are 9 certain tricks opposite a singleton. We then both bid our suits twice. Then 4♦ ,4♥ ,5♥ ,5♠ were all cue bids. John could visualise my hand precisely so bid the top ranking contract of 7NT.

Note there was no rush to bid slam or Blackwood, we slowly bid our hands as we both knew we were in a GAME FORCING sequence. The grand slam is about an 85% proposition. Spades 3-2 or 4-1 with a singleton J is about 75%. If that fails you can fall back on a 3-3 club break, just over a third of the remaining 25%.

Sno the message today is when you open 2♣ , have the confidence in each other to take it steadily to gather more information.

Forgive me today as I am going to have a bit of a rant re overcalls! Bridge is a competitive game and it is important to get into the bidding and disrupt the opponents if possible. However there is a limit!

There are two criteria to use in order to decide whether it is a good idea to overcall. The rule of 8: add the length of your suit to the number of honours in it and you can overcall to make that number of tricks. So A,J,4,3,2 is ok at the 1 level but not the 2 level. The rule of 4. Take the number of cards in a suit and subtract 4: you can overcall at that level. So a 5 card suit at the 1 level but a 6 card suit at the 2 level.

We start with hand 7. East is probably too weak to overcall but at least there is a 6 card suit. 5♦ is a good sacrifice against 4♠ so the rule seems to work. 

East's overcall does not fit either of the over calling rules. Just pass and let the opponents get on with it. You may have 11 HCP's but it is an awful hand. 4♣ x got its just desserts!

East's overcall does not fit the criteria for an overcall so should pass. You have good defensive prospects in ♠ 's anyway. West was bullied into bidding 5♥ which North was happy to double.

Here North did not overcall the moth eaten ♣ suit. Again he has good defensive properties, the hand looks a misfit so pass. South's 2♦ again does not fit the criteria for an overcall. A balanced hand and a moderate 5 card suit and vulnerable! If South passes West will probably bid 2♦ anyway! 

Anyway ranting over, I feel a lot better now!

West's game force of 3♥ is reserved for 3 specific hand types with a view to higher ambitions. It shows a powerful single suited hand: a two suited hand, one of the suits promising opener's suit or single suited with a balanced hand. West has the middle one today.

East makes his natural rebid of 3NT showing a strong balanced hand and West completes the picture by going back to ♠ 's. Eas can now take control. All of a sudden the Q,J of ♥ 's have increased in value following West's ♥ bid.

East uses RKCBLACKWOOD to confirm all the keycards are present then 5NT asks for specific kings (there are only 3, as the trump K has already been counted. The 6♥ promises the ♥ K or the other two. Very neat, now East can take a punt at the Grand Slam. 4♠'s, 5♥ 's, 2♦ ruffs and 2 minor suit Aces brings the total to 13.

Back to basics today. No E/W reached the best contract of 3NT on this hand. The bidding sequence shown is the correct way the Han d should be bid. West's rebid of 2NT shows a balanced 17-18 HCP. Normally rebidding NT at lowest level shows 15-16 HCP, however after partner has made a simple raise restricting his HCP to 6-9, the 2NT rebid is stronger and I would pass with 15-16 balanced. What does East bid after West's 2NT? Although East has 4 trumps, he has a 4333 shape but 8HCP's so bidding 3NT here is superior rather than going back to spades.

The play is interesting too. Win the ♥ lead in dummy and take a club finesse. Win the ♥ continuation in hand and play A then Q of ♠ . North clears ♥ 's but you repeat the club finesse to make 3 tricks in ♠ ,♥ and ♣ 's.

Good defending is a very important aspect of the game, especially as you are defending twice as often as declaring. Tonight there was a lot of defending to be done as E/W, together with a number of tough decisions. John and I found an unusual way of scoring 600 on this hand. 

John opened a maximum weak 2 in ♦ 's, North made a marginal overcall followed by a marginal 3NT by South. With a handy ♠ holding John did well to lead the ♠ Q rather than his ♦ suit which would have given declarer 8 tricks. I won the ♠ Ace and switched to the ♦ 5 to the 6, 9 and Ace. South unblocked his top clubs, and that was it. He exited with a ♠ , which John won with the J. He then cashed the ♥ K, ♥ to my A, a ♦ return and the rest of the tricks were his!

3NT minus 6 for 600, a pretty rare score especially as N/S really did little wrong.

Gary played this hand nicely to chalk up his vulnerable game although I missed a chance to defeat it. I belatedly bid 3♦ forgetting that 2♦ is natural over 1NT when playing with Chris. I led the ♣ 7 which Gary won on the table. He then cashed the A, then the K of ♥ , then played a ♠ to the K and Chris's A. She played her singleton ♦ and after cashing 2 ♦ winners  I found myself end played!  If I play a ♦ he can play the 8 which Chris ruffs but he overruffs and throws a ♠ on the winning ♦ J. If I play a ♠ he can let it run round to his 10.

The winning defence is to cash only 1 ♦ , then give Chris a ruff. Now however he plays he only has 9 tricks.

The power of a 6 card minor is examined today. I was South and bid and rebid my ♣ suit. John made the excellent raise to 3♣ . He can be fairly confident I have a 6 card suit so hopes to run 6 ♣ club tricks, his ♥ ace makes 7 which just leaves 2 extra tricks for me to find. With my maximum opener, good 6 card suit and the lead coming round to my ♦ king I felt justified in trying 3NT.

A small ♦ lead from West gave me my 9 th trick so I ran for home and didn't risk the ♥ finesse.

Only North had a balanced hand today and duly opened 1NT. Proceedings accelerated thereafter. East's intervention was rather feeble with an 8 card suit.  When deciding at what level to compete, use Fulton' rule of 4! No one else has seemed to use this rule so I have claimed it for my own. Take 4 away from the length of your suit and you should preempt to that level. So here, East has an 8 card suit, subtract 4 leaving 4, so you can preempt at the 4 level. This rule works well for over calls, weak 2's and preempt. So East does best to bid 4♦ , South still bids 4♠ , but it is easier for West now to bid 5♦ . As South I would still have bid 5♠  though. Even so I think West should compete with 5♦ , having 3 card support, a fine suit and a singleton in South's suit.

There was nothing in the play and everyone made 12 tricks in ♠ 's. A couple of E/W's were allowed to play in 5♦ .

A couple of interesting bidding points today. I was East and opened 1♥ . John has a good 9 count with a good suit so can change the suit at the 2 level. He can use the rule of 14: add your HCP's to the number of cards in your long suit, here 5. If it comes to 14 then you can bid at the 2 level. If it comes to less than that then you have to respond 1NT, the "dustbin " bid.

I now bid 3♣ , a high level reverse, promising 15+ HCP's and game forcing. John bid 3♠ , 4th suit forcing, asking me to bid 3NT if I had a ♠ stop. I retreated to 4♦ to show some ♦ support and he signed off in 5♣ . However I felt I had enough to bid the slam. And so it proved when the ♦ K was onside.

At pairs it can be difficult to decide between 3NT and 5 or 6 of a minor as 3NT will obviously score better than 5 of a minor. First question for South is which minor to bid. With 5-5 it is always best to bid the higher one first, whether opener or responder. Think of a "high 5". As North Chris correctly supported my diamonds. She guarantees a 5 card heart suit as she has not bid NT on the second round. Now my choice is between NT and a minor game or slam. As a general rule, if you have a singleton in partner's first suit it is better to look for the minor suit game or slam. I decided that if Chris had 2 keycards I would have a pot at 6♦ . When she duly delivered them I was happy to bid the slam. Had she only got one then I would have subsided in 5♦ . The slam needed one of two finesses to work: 75%: pretty good odds.

An interesting point for those keen on the losing trick count. South has only 5 losers (AJ10 counts as only 1), added to North's 7 for an opening bid makes 12, subtract from 18 leaving 6 suggesting that a slam could be on.

A point of interest in the bidding, then the play on today's hand. Chris over called Steve's opener with 1♠ . I bid Steve's suit. This is an unassuming cue bid. It shows a high card raise in ♠ 's to at least the 2 level. This allows a jump to the 3 level to show a weaker hand with 4 trumps and about 5-9 points. This takes the bidding space away from the opponents. My East hand only just qualifies for this bid. Rather than just competing with 2♠ , Chris should probably just bid game with her distributional hand or make a trial bid with 3♣. We did get to 4♠ and Alan correctly doubled. He has 4 trumps, an Ace and partner has bid strongly. He needs to protect a potential +130 in 4♦ .

He led a trump. To make the contract, Chris needs to establish her 2nd suit. So she won the lead on the dummy and played the ♣ Q. Steve won and cashed the ♦ A, then played a ♥ . Whatever Alan now does he cannot prevent Chris from establishing her ♣ suit. She just has to ruff one ♣ on the dummy then come back to hand with a ♥ ruff, draw the trumps and enjoy her ♣ 's for 10 tricks. 

Some more useful system today, the splinter bid. John's 3♠ is a double jump so has no meaning in real life so is used to show a powerful hand with a singleton ♠ , 4 card ♦ support and a good hand as he is prepared to play at the 4 level opposite a potential 6 count.

My hand is huge as I have the ♠ A, the ♣ and ♦ kings and a 5th trump. I cue bid 4♣  and John closed proceedings with his jump to slam. I think he should used Roman KC Blackwood and then when he finds me with 3, he could bid the grand slam. With everything behaving there were no problems making 13 tricks.

After my predicted bridge demise this week on face book following Chris and Lynda's splendid win last night, I thought it appropriate to feature a hand where they combined well to achieve a top.

Lynda started with the ♥ 9, which removes any potential ruff in dummy. Daphne advanced the ♦ knave, taken perforce by Chris. She returned a ♠ which Lynda won with the A and gave Chris a ♦ ruff. She now cashed the ♠ K to hold declarer to 9 tricks. As it turns out, all the other pairs were in game and allowed to make.

I led a ♣ which Sue won and played the ♦ J. John won and returned a ♥ , so that was 12 tricks. I suggested he holds up the A for a round. He said he tried but couldn't find another ♦ in his hand!

A fascinating hand as if he returns a ♠ I win the A and have to work out declarer's shape. After reversing into ♠ 's, she then jumped to 4♥ . I should now get it right and play John for a singleton ♦ . It looks like she is 4621 shape as she played a low ♣ from dummy at trick 1. However she has a chance to muddy the waters by trying the ♣ 10 at trick 1. If John has the J, he will play it but I will be unsure whether Sue is 4612 or 4621. As the ♣ suit is dead, it doesn't cost, although on the actual hand it makes no difference.

Today we see a bid which is rarely used: the redouble. I was East and would have made a balanced trial bid of 2NT showing 17-18 HCP and a balanced hand. However Nick felt that he should compete and doubled. I redoubled which basically says I think they are in trouble. With a maximum and only 3 ♠ 's Chris should double 3♣ . Then I would certainly double 3♦ . However having embarked on that path I should have doubled anyway which would net us 800 at least.

Another 6-6 hand today. When a double fit occurs it is imperative to keep bidding and declare the final contract. On today's hand N/S can make 12 tricks in a red suit contract and E/W can make 11 tricks in a black suit contract.

We were allowed to declare 5♠ x which made in comfort. Could our opponents have done any better? At North's last turn he is aware of the double fit so I think he should bid one more "for the road".

A short but lively auction to the par spot. North preempts to the limit and West bids hearts to East's delight.

West must take care at trick 1. Some declarers ruffed low so when they got to dummy there was no second entry to repeat the spade finesse. It is important to ruff the club with the 8 or 9 to preserve the 2 as a late entry to dummy.

In 5 it is best to cash the A of spades first to protect against a singleton J or K or doubleton KJ. In 6 you take the finesse of the Q, then repeat it when the J falls under the Q. As long as you have preserved the heart 2 in hand!

Most pairs ended up in 5♣ off one although one E/W pair made 4♥ , one made 4♠ and one N/S pair made 5♣ with 3 inescapable losers (?). Four of either major can be defeated by a ♦ ruff. In 4♠ N/S must lead diamonds but in 4♥ they get a second chance to switch to a ♦ after taking the first round of trumps. The interesting part at our table was the bidding. Many pairs play the gambolling 3NT opening bid as showing a solid minor suit with nothing outside. Third in hand one is allowed a little licence so Nick opened 3NT with the North hand. I was East and had no idea whether this was making or not, I had no Ace to cash to have a look around and so being non-vulnerable against vulnerable, decided to bid 4♥ .Even 3 down doubled would show a profit if 3NT was making. If South bids 4NT I have to assume they have a ♥ stop and lead a top♠ , otherwise 10 tricks roll in.In the end South bid 5♣ which drifted the inevitable one off.

There seem to have been a lot of 4441 distributions lately. The important thing to ensure is that you always have a rebid so the recommended opening with a singleton ♥ is 1♦ . Bernard decided to open 1♠ presumably because of his weak ♦ suit and the intention of rebidding 2NT if I responded 2♥ . My hand is strong for a splinter but I reasoned that, if partner could not cue bid one of the red suits, a slam was unlikely and we could stop in 4♠ . 4NT was RKCB and 5♥ promised K♠ and A♣ but denied Q♠ . The fortunate trump layout meant that declarer made all 13 tricks. Well done to Julia/Roger and Liz/Bernard who also bid the slam. I have not enquired into their bidding sequences!

Gerry conned me into making a phantom save on today's hand. He was South and I was West. The hand also tests your Blackwood responses after interference. We use a system called DOPI and ROPI! Easy to remember: double is none or 3 keycards, pass is 1 or 4.

Strictly speaking Gerry should probably double 5♥ as he knows they have 2 keycards missing. However he knew I would probably take the save which I did. He bid it quickly rather than agonising over his decision which I might have got right if he takes a long time. My reasoning was that even if 6♦ went off it would be a good save against the pairs who were allowed to play in 5♦ . And so it proved as we got an average for 6♠ doubled minus 2.

Back to another rare bird today, the criss cross squeeze! John's 2♦ is 3rd suit forcing in this sequence so we reached the routine NT game. South led the ♦ 3 and I played low from dummy and North won with the J and returned a ♥ . South won and continued. I took a ♦ finesse and then cashed all my winners. On the last ♣ South has to discard from ♠ K,8 and ♦ K,10. Dummy reduces to ♠ Q,10 and ♦ A, East has ♠ A and ♦ 9,6.

If South throws a ♦ I cash the A dropping the K, leaving East high, if he throws a ♠ I cash the ♠ A then back to the ♦ A to cash the ♠ Q. All very pretty: lay the cards out with 4 left to see how it works.

East has a problem with his opening bid. Even playing strong 2's it is not ideal, neither is it good enough for a 2♣ opening. I think opening one and hope there is further bidding is the best approach which how Rob started. 

I responded 1NT, the "dustbin" response. No support for partner, not strong enough to change the suit at the 2 level (10 HCP or a good 9 HCP). So I was left with 1NT. The hand has great promise if partner bids one of my long suits. 

Rob forced to game and I showed preference for ♠ 's although I only have 2. Rob then raised to game.

On the ♥ K lead he won, cashed the ♣ A, then 2 top ♦ 's , ruff a diamond, cash the KQ of♣ 's, throwing ♥ 's, ruff a ♥  to hand and then play his last ♦ which South ruffed high but he still emerged with 10 tricks. Only a 5-2 fit but West was worth at least 3 tricks.

The moral is don't be frightened of responding with less than 6HCP.

Although very strong hands are rare it is always a good idea to be able to bid them confidently and not to rush them. 2♣ is a game force unless you rebid 2NT and this is how John started the auction and it then followed a more or less natural route. John's 3♠ was "fishing " for 3NT. I naturally raised to 4♠ and then John bid what he thought he could make. He only needs the ♦ King to 5 to give him a shot at game.

There was nothing in the play but disappointing to see only one other bidding the slam.

I was going to go back to basics after my excitement of a dentist's coup last week. I changed my mind when a crocodile coup turned up this week! Another rare beast having only come across one other in live play over the past 50 years!

So here goes. I was West and when the bidding had escalated to 4♠ I unwisely thought that it was a big double fit hand and took the push to the 5 level. Although dummy was powerful it looked like one off and we were looking at 3 off in 4♠ doubled for a top. But change the ♠ and ♦ kings and now it is right to bid on. Well done to Roger and Jane for pushing us to the 5 level. Roger led a ♠ , I won, drew trumps and played a ♣ to the K and A. Roger played another ♠ on which I threw a ♦ , then played a ♣ to the Q, ruffed a ♣ to hand and excited with a small ♦ . Roger played the J so Jane had to win with the Q and give me a ruff and discard for my contract. 

Now we come to the crocodile bit. Roger must rise with the KING, opening the jaws of the crocodile swallowing Jane's Q! Now I must go one off. Very difficult, especially if you have never seen the coup before.

First of all, congratulations to a splendid B team performance on Friday, thrashing the A team 19-1. Hopefully they can continue that form and gain enough VP's to avoid relegation.

After Tuesday's chance of a clever defence I managed to miss one of bridge's rarities, a dentist's coup! As South Daphne led a ♣ against my 4♠ . I won and played a ♥ to the K and A. Daphne continued hearts and Mike ruffed. He then played a ♣ which I ruffed in dummy, ruffed a ♥ back to hand, Mike forcing a high ♠ from me by ruffling with the 7. I now played a ♠ to the Q, Daphne did well by ducking. Mike showed out so I now have a complete count, he has 2♠ ,1♥ and 8♣ 's, Daphne having shown out on 2nd round of ♣ 's. He has 2♦ 's and Daphne has 3. I ruffed a ♥ to hand and played a top spade which Daphne won and now she played a small ♦ . Now Took 3 rounds of ♦ 's but couldn't get back to hand without promoting Daphne's ♠ 9. Here comes the dentist bit, cash the 3♦ 's before coming off the table with a heart ruff. Now Daphne cannot lock me on the table with a ♦ and doesn't get the trump promotion!

When she exited with the small ♦ I can still make it by running it round to my hand, draw her last ♠ then enjoy the ♦ 's. However she can prevent that by exiting with J! Now I can get back to hand with the 10 to draw her last trump but cannot get to my diamond winner to discard my last ♣ !

You really need to lay the hand out to fully appreciate the beauty of it all. However had I just exited with ♠ Q when on the table I would have made in comfort!

Every now and then a hand appears when you can do something very clever. Usually you only work it out in the pub afterwards although the clues were there to find it at the table. As usual I missed my chance on today's hand.

As West I had a tough opening lead. Anything could be right so I thought I would start with the ♦ Ace to have a look at dummy. Correct decision! Partner played the heart 6, throwing away from a suit we weren't keen on.  The killer switch?

Declarer is obviously well stocked in the majors. There is just room for him to have the ♣ Ace. If so then I should switch to the ♣ 9, covered and won, ♣ back to my K followed another low ♣ . Declarer has to now guess between playing the 10 or the 7. I rather woodenly played a ♥ so that was 10 tricks to Bernard P. Ah well, maybe next time!

Today we revisit our flexible friend, the take out double. As West I over called 2♣ , giving North a problem. North bid 2♥ which propelled them to the wrong game.

See how easy the hand is when North doubles, showing the majors. Now when South competes with 3♠ , North has an easy raise to game. Note East's contribution, poor points but 5 card support, which takes away South's natural 2♠ rebid. Always raise with minimum values even with a weak hand like hers when partner over calls. It takes away the bidding space and 3♣ makes in comfort.

Remember that doubles of suits are for take out, doubles of no trumps are for penalty. If you remember that you won't go far wrong. If you do happen to have a genuine penalty double of an overcall, then either bid notrumps at the appropriate level or pass expecting partner to reopen with a takeout double if short in over callers suit. A case of having your cake and eating it!

A good way to finish the year is with a Grand Slam. Chris and I bid to 6NT but the bidding sequence illustrated shows how you can reach the grand. East should start with 1♦ : although there are 22 HCP it is unsuitable for a 2♣ or 2NT opener. Once West responds then a jump to 2♠  shows a game force. Now I think West should jump to 4♦ to say I have huge ♦ support and slam interest. East can cue bid the ♥ K then West bids RKCBlackwood. East now shows 4 keycards and 2 kings. West can now comfortably bid the grand in NT. East's heart cue should show a top card when bid in partner's suit and not shortage.

Well done to Ann and Eddie, Brian and Alan who both bid the grand in diamonds.

A very Merry Christmas to all club members and looking forward to seeing you all again in the New Year.

A useful bidding tool and basic play techniques are the order of the day today.  Chris over called as West and I bid South's suit. This is an unassuming cue bid. It says I have a good raise of ♥ 's and 10+ high card points. Chris has a very sound overcall so bid game. 3♥ is probably enough but I would have added the 4th as I have more than a minimum. 

Tessa found the good lead of the ♠ 10 which Chris duly won on the dummy.  Two basic suit play techniques can be applied now.  1. When playing a suit contract always look for the a short suit in the dummy (or the hand with the shorter trumps). Compare that with the number of losers in the opposite hand.  Here both minor suits have double tons with length opposite (West has 3♦ 's and 4♣ 's) so aim to frump those losers in the dummy before drawing trumps.

2. Lead from low cards towards high cards aiming to take a finesse or double finesse as here as in the ♣ suit. Here you are only missing the ♣ K and Q. So advance the ♣ 9 and duck it if South plays low. If it loses to North and a ♦ comes back win the A and repeat the ♣ finesse. This gives you a 75% of winning 2 tricks there. If as here South will probably cover the ♣ 9 so you win and play a ♣ back to the 8 to establish the ♣ J,10. You can throw a ♦ from dummy on a winning ♣ or you may still have to give up a ♦ and ruff your losing ♦ on the dummy before attempting to draw trumps.

The important thing is to make a plan to ruff losers on the dummy BEFORE drawing trumps by attacking the side suits first and trying to take a finesse in those side suits if possible.

The race for the Scratch Cup is now entering its last week. Today's hand helped to bring John and myself dead level with Julia and Roger. I am unable to play on Thursday so Julia and Roger only have to score more 57.5% to win outright.

Once John rebid 3♣ showing a high level reverse we were in a game forcing sequence. I emphasised my ♦ suit, then John jumped to 4♠ . My raise to 5♠ suggests a worry about the unbid suit. I was pretty sure John would have some sort of heart control. He confirmed that with the excellent bid of 6♥ . He has accepted my slam invitation and inviting me to bid the grand slam if suitable. With the source of tricks in ♦ 's, I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation much to the chagrin of the David's!

There was nothing in the play so we chalked up 1510.

Plenty of slam hands to choose from today. I have chosen this one which demonstrates the advantage of Roman Key Card Blackwood (RKCB) rather than ordinary Blackwood. West kicks off with a gold standard pre-empt. North has a minimum overcall but I think you must compete. South can now roll out RKCB and find 2 key cards and the trump Q. South can now count 6 spade tricks, 2 hearts, 4 diamonds and 1 club so should go for the NT Grand Slam. Sadly noone hit the bulls eye but well done to John and Gerry, Frank and Phil who bid the Grand.

Two points of interest today. I opened 1NT as West. Although a semi balanced hand 1NT is preferable to 1♦ . When opening one of a suit you need to be prepared for a rebid. If partner bids 2♣ you have to rebid the anaemic ♦ suit. With the two double tons headed by an honour 1NT is far superior. It made John's bid much easier. Often when bidding a slam it is a good idea to bid what you think you can make without imparting information to the opponents so that they can make the killing lead. Even if he is missing AK of ♠ there is only a 25% chance that opening leader has them both. If he has one of them he may be reluctant to lead to lead that suit. 

However as here there were no problems as West had the ♠ ace so 12 tricks were easy.