Stratford upon Avon Bridge For All Club
 
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24th Oct 2016 06:28 BST
 
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May 2010 Hands
May 19th Board 4. 1NT but who by?
The bidding should be simple, after 2 Passes East will open 1NT which will be the final contract. South will lead a Heart to North's King and declarers Ace who returns a Spade. With the Ace of Spades in South's hand East should make 3 Spades, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 1 Club for +120. However 2 Eaast's must have passed that hand allowing South to open 1NT which would be passed out. On a probable low Spade lead if Jack of Spades is played from dummy this will win and a small Club led to the King, West can take the Ace whenever but South will make 4 Clubs, 1 Diamond 1 Heart & 2 Spades 8 tricks, -120 to North/South. Funny game.
On the night the board wasa played 7 times, No Trumps by East/West made 7 to 9 tricks 5 times, and No Trumps by North/South  made 8 or 9 tricks twice!

Lesson: Always open 1NT with balanced 12-14 points.
May 19th Board 15 How high in Diamonds
South has a good 1D opening bid, West with 6 Spades & 9 points overcalls 1S, North has 7 points, though Queen of Diamonds is wasted, will raise to 2 Diamonds and East will raise the overcall to 2 Spades. Where to now South? South now knows that North has 4 Diamonds, no losers in that suit and no more than 2 spades. South should jump raise to 4 Diamonds which will probably be passed out. Should South bid only 3 Diamonds West will raise to 3 Spades! This may force North to bid 4 Diamonds, at this point South could bid 5 Diamonds, a brave bid.

5 Diamonds makes with ease losing 1 Spade & 1 Heart whilst East/West can make only 8 tricks in Spades. On the night the Board was played 7 times, 5 times by East/West in Spades 7, 8 or 9 tricks. Only 2 North/ South pairs were in Diamonds making 11 or 12 tricks.

Lesson: Bid up South with a good hand and a known 6:4 trump fit.
Board 9 May 12th A variety of contracts played
West has a good 5:5 hand in Hearts & Clubs but void in Diamonds. 3NT by East should show a Diamond guard. On the likely lead of a Diamond North will take the Ace and return the Jack taken by East's King. Declarer will now make 10 tricks, 1 Spade, 3 Hearts, 1 Diamond & 5 Clubs for 630.

On the night the hand was played 11 times with 3 pairs bidding and making 3 No Trumps. Those in Hearts usually went down. 5 Clubs will also make comfortably and will make 12 tricks if North leads the Ace of Diamonds at trick 1.

Lesson: West by your jump to 3 Clubs your partner should know that you have a good hand, probably 5:5, so let him play in No trumps.
Board 22 May 12th Believe your partner
When South opens 1Heart, North with an opening hand should be looking for game and by the bidding shows his Spades, Clubs & by inference bidding 3NT something in Diamonds. South should just insist on his Heart suit and so 4 Hearts should be the final contract. West will probably lead a Club or Diamond. This should immediatly be taken by whichever Ace, and Ace & King of Clubs played discarding a Diamond. Next lead 8 of Spades to the Jack to loose to West's Ace. The defenders are now powerless and should now only take Ace of Spades, Ace of Hearts and 1 Diamond making 10 tricks for South.

On the night the hand was played 11 times and nobody bid and made 4 Hearts! Those who bid part score in Hearts, 4 pairs, made between 6 and 11 tricks. The remainder were in either Spades or No Trumps both doomed to failure.

Lesson: 1H, 2H, 3H by South shows a weak hand with at least 6, hopefully good, Hearts. Let South play in the major.
Board 11 May 5th Overcall their 1NT
South as Dealer has an unexiting 13 points so will open 1NT. West can use the Landy Conventionand bid 2 Clubs. This promises at least 10 points & 9 cards in the majors. It asks partner to bid their best major and East duly obliges with 2 Spades passed out. (Should East have had same number in Hearts & Spades East would bid 2 Diamonds saying "you choose".) With careful play West should make 8 tricks in Spades.
On the night this board was played 6 times with only 1 East/West in 2 Spades. 1NT usually made 8  or 9 tricks for 120/150 (as long as South leads a Club at trick 2 to set up a further 3 tricks in that suit). So 2 Spades, even 1 off for 100, was a good score for East/West.
Lesson: Always try to overcall their 1NT opening bid with an unbalanced hand.
Board 14 May 5 Why you should bid 3NT
East with 12 points opens 1NT, South has 6 Spades but only 3 points so passes, West also has12 points and a 5 card (Club) suit so with a known combined point count of 24 should bid 3NT. South will lead 5 Spades taken with the Ace in East's hand and King of Clubs is played and when North is in with Ace of Clubs he cannot lead a Spade, a Heart does not look good so tries a Diamond which runs to West's Queen so East/West make 4 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, 2 Spades and 1 Hea rt = 9 tricks. After an invitational raise to 2NT by West one bold North bid 3Diamonds, passed out, and made 9 tricks for an outstanding top.
On the night the Board was played 7 times, 1 pair bid 3NT making 400, 5 other pairs were in 2NT making 9 or 10 tricks and as explained above 1 North/South made 9 tricks in Diamonds.
Lesson: Bid 3NT with a known 24 count and a 5 card suit.
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