HANDS FROM SANDERSTEAD 24/11, 27/11, and 1/12/2017

Sanderstead 24/11

Hand 20. Dealer W: Game all Bidding: N E S W
♠ Q 7 4 P
♥ K 10 9 3 1H P 3C P
♦ A K J 4 3NT P 4NT P
♣ Q 5 6NT
♠ 8 3 2 ♠ J 9 5
♥ J ♥ Q 6 5 4 2
♦ 10 6 5 3 2 ♦ Q 9 7
♣ K 6 4 3 ♣ 10 2
♠ A K 10 6
♥ A 8 7
♦ 8
♣ A J 9 8 7

After a jump shift 3NT rebid by opener might be a try a signing off. 4NT invites a slam if N is good value for the bid. E led ♥4, not recommended after N opened the suit, but it gave North an extra chance as the play went. Let it run to ♥J and ♥K, run ♣Q to ♣K, win ♦2 return with ♦A. Cash all the clubs, noting the fall of ♣10, throwing ♥10-9 and ♦4. ♠A-K-6 to ♠Q, to see if ♠J drops. If ♠J had not appeared, N could lead a heart to the 8, finessing against E’s ♥Q, but here no problem. When I played it again last Friday (it hadn’t been shuffled) the lead was ♠5. I could put dummy’s ♠10 in to ensure the contract.

28/11

Hand 8. Dealer W: 0-0 Bidding: N E S W

♠ 9 3 P
♥ A K Q 7 5 2H 2S 3C 3S
♦ A K Q 10 2 4NT P 5H P
♣ 7 5NT P 6D P
♠ 10 7 6 5 ♠ K Q J 8 2 7D
♥ J 9 4 3 ♥ 10 2
♦ 5 ♦ J 9
♣ J 8 5 3 ♣ 9 6 4 2
♠ A 4
♥ 8 6
♦ 8 7 6 4 3
♣ A K Q 10

Well done Alan and Linda for bidding this. I suspect they agreed trumps below the 7 level. In the suggested auction, E-W should be aggressive early in the bidding, then hope N-S get into the wrong contract with the limited bidding space at their disposal. Here N by bidding 7D relies on S to correct to 7H or 7NT if necessary. 7D is easy to play; 7NT is a bit harder on ♠K lead, but N wins in dummy and cashes diamonds. W can discard 3 ♠s but the last ♦ is a killer: a club sets up S’s ♣10, a heart sets up N’s suit, an AUTOMATIC SQUEEZE, on W, who has 4 hearts and ♣J.

Morals: N’s hand is worth a Strong 2, forcing for one round, E-W should compete early on non-vulnerable, to deprive the enemy of bidding space, but beware of regular doublers: 3S doubled costs 800.

1/12

Hand 19. Dealer S: E-W vul Bidding: N E S W

♠ - 1S P
♥ Q 6 4 3 2 2D P 3C P
♦ A K Q 4 3 2 3H P 3NT P
♣ Q 2 4H P 4NT P
♠ K Q ♠ J 9 6 4 3 2 5D P 6H
♥ 10 7 5 ♥ 9 8
♦ 10 9 8 7 6 ♦ 5
♣ J 8 3 ♣ K 9 5 4
♠ A 10 8 7 5
♥ A K J
♦ J
♣ A 10 7 6

I got away with 6NT on this hand on the lead of ♦10. Easy peasy until the diamonds break 5-1. Win in hand, cash ♥A-K, overtake ♥J with ♥Q, cash ♥6-4 and ♦A-K-Q. And hope for the best. West had to keep a diamond; I guessed right.

6H is a better bet, and made when the slam was not bid. Win the ♦5 lead, cash ♥A-K, ruff ♠5, ruff ♦3 with S’s last trump, ruff ♠7, draw the last trump, and the diamonds are now good.

Bidding: after S has shown at least 16 HCP by calling 3C, N is strong enough to bid above 3NT to show hand shape, 6-5 in diamonds and hearts in this case, and reach 6H, the best contract.

Play: it is important to consider what bad breaks can be overcome safely. Particularly suspect a bad break in the suit first led.