| Board 1 November 19 Play in 1NT |
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Bidding is simple, North opens 1NT which becomes the final contract. East should lead King of Clubs from the broken run KQ1094 and North counts tricks, 3, Ace of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds & Ace of Clubs. However the lead of King of Clubs places East with the Queen and so by Taking Ace of Clubs at trick 1 the J7 of Clubs is protected in dummy. At trick 2 I would lead J Diamonds hoping for split honours, remember split honours has a 75% chance of success, dummy plays 4 and West takes Queen returning 6 of Clubs which East will take with Queen and lead 4 of Clubs to dummy's Jack setting up 2 Club tricks in his had the 10 & 9. North must now lead Queen of Hearts from dummy, West ducks and the Queen wins, next play small Heart from dummy and finesse the Jack and play Ace of Hearts which drops West's King. The Queen of hearts is now set up in dummy. Play 3 of Diamonds, the King appears from East so take Ace in dummy and now 10 Diamonds is a winner. Cash your 10 Diamonds and Queen of Hearts in dummy and exit with a Spade to East's Ace. East will cash 10 9 of Clubs but must then lead a Spade to your Queen, 9 tricks made, 1 Spade, 4 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 2 Clubs.
On the night the board was played 14 times with No Trumps being the contract 11 times and making anywhere between 5 and 10 tricks!
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| Board 15 November 19 Bid boldly |
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The bidding starts quietly with South passing and West opening 1NT. North has a good 2 Heart (3H) bid and East with game values and 6 Diamonds should be bold and bid 5 Diamonds. South can now come to life knowing North has at least 5 Hearts, probably short in Clubs and south with only 1 Spade loser should bid 5 Hearts. What happens now is in the lap of the gods! 5 Spades by East/West will make easily and 6 Spades will make with careful play, but is hard to find. 6 Diamonds will make double dummy but will usually go 1 off, likewise 5 Hearts will make by North as long as North ruffs 3 Diamonds and 1 Spade in dummy before drawing trumps.
On the night the board was played 14 times with very variable results. The best score for North/South was +1190 for 4 Hearts doubled + 2. Best East/West score was +550 for 5 Diamonds doubled making 11 tricks. 9 North/South pairs played in Hearts, 6 of those making a positive score. 5 East/West pairs played in 5 Diamonds scoring 400 or 550 if doubled. |
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| Board 4 November 19 Strong 2S opener leads to slam |
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South has an 8 playing trick hand in Spades, 6 Spades ( number of top honours + number of cards in that suit over 4) and 2 outside Aces. North has 8 points and is therefore positive so bids 3 Hearts (must be at least 5), South rebids Spades showing 6 or more and North with singleton Spade rebids Hearts showing 6. South now realises that discards are available on his Spades as North has not supported and asks for Aces. Finding North with no Aces South settles in 6 Hearts. Unless the Ace of Clubs is led North/South will make all 13 tricks as Norths losing Clubs and Diamond go away on the Spades, declarere does not even need the (winning) Diamond finesse.
On the night the board was played 9 times and no one bid slam, in fact 3 pairs failed to bid game. |
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| Board 21 November 19 A good Spade Slam |
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East not vulnerable is just good enough to open 1 Diamond, but should East pass, West can open 2 Spades with an optomistic 8 playing trick hand in Spades. Either route should, after West has bid 4NT and found East with the missing Ace, reach the excellent contract of 6 Spades. Should East pass then the bidding could go with North/South passing throughout, 2Spades:3 Diamonds:3 Spades:4 Spades: 4NT:5 Diamonds:6 Spades. On the lead of King of Clubs West should ruff a Club at trick 2, draw trumps take the losing Diamond finesse and claim 12 tricks.
On the night the board was played 10 times but only 1 pair bid the slam. 12 tricks usually made. |
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