Well, we lost that one thoroughly! Here's the RealBridge link if you want to play through the hands again.
MENAGERIE B: Christopher Whitehouse & Philip Boydell = 2.13 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: Tony Guilfoyle & John Guilfoyle = 1.82 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: John Slater & Colin Wilson = 1.50 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: Simon Husband & Jennifer Barb = 1.19 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Finn Clark & Stuart Forsyth = -0.65 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Mike Allen & Shirley Moore = -1.14 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Dermot Paddon & Diane Bell = -2.18 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Malcolm Cochrane & Mike Brown = -2.67 IMPs
BOARD 1 = -12 IMPs
Stuart and I ended up in a dreadful 3NT-5. I opened 1C as North, the opponents jumped to 3D and Stuart bid a frisky negative double. I tried 3NT and came a cropper. (For what it's worth, I didn't bid the 4-4 spade fit because in no-trumps I expected a diamond lead into my AQ and hoped that that might make the nine-trick game easier. I was wrong and it wasn't.)
A Menagerie North-South bought the contract our way in 3S. Their auction started with the same first two bids, but South passed with his flat six-count and waited for a reopening double from North. I think I prefer that auction. This was a good result for that pair (3S-1) compared with nine or ten tricks in diamonds for East-West.
BOARD 2 = -22 IMPs
3NT+3 at three tables. The good news is that Dermot and Diane bid 6NT, but unfortunately they went two off. Dermot was kicking himself afterwards. If you play it through, the important bit is to rise with the heart king on the opening lead in order to attack clubs from the right side. If you play low automatically, the hand becomes surprisingly difficult.
BOARD 3 = -10 IMPs
Stuart and I played this one in 4C-1. I misplayed trumps and should have make it. Everyone else was playing spades the other way, with Shirley and Mike unfortunately getting pushed up to 5S-1. (The other two boards were quiet 3S contracts.)
BOARD 4 = flat
3NT or 4H everywhere. I found an eccentric line as declarer that created more opportunities to go down, but the defence missed the chances I gave them.
BOARD 5 = -11 IMPs
5D-1 from Diane and Dermot, with the other tables all in part-score. I see East's temptation given North's club intervention and I have some sympathy, but the problem is that you'll need a lot of help from partner given your Jxx in both majors.
BOARD 6 = -23 IMPs
Another Blewbury slam went off, with Mike and Malcolm being the unlucky pair this time. Again, I have sympathy, since South has 18 with a good five-card suit while North has a very respectable 12-count... but it's a 30-point slam and you don't quite have enough firepower to overcome the defence's well-placed assets. Swap the East-West hands, though, and 6NT is unstoppable.
North-South have a club fit and 6C can't be beaten, despite the 4-1 trump break, but you'd be nervous if partner put you there. North-South have A1094 opposite Q852 in the suit.
BOARD 7 = -28 IMPs
3NT went off at three tables and was made once. The successful declarer opened 1D, but got a diamond lead anyway and now could set up his five-card suit for one loser.
The most aggressive lead is the spade ten, which is what happened at our table and defeated 3NT by two tricks. There is, though, a brilliant play for declarer to make the contract even then, which is to play low from dummy! The lead makes it likely that South has K974 of spades sitting over dummy's AQJ85 and so you're looking at two spade losers. Acting on that hypothesis, concede one of your two losers at trick one by presenting to North, being more comfortable with that hand on lead. It's a heart from South that'll scare you.
Obviously, if South then continues with another spade, that sets up dummy's five-card suit.
BOARD 8 = -8 IMPs
No-trumps plays better from the West seat. Those two declarers made a comfortable 3NT and 3NT+1, while the East declarers made 1NT and 3NT-3. Your diamond suit is Ax opposite Qx. If North leads a diamond, you score your queen. If South leads one, your back's against the wall and the only way of making the contract is to drop the bare club king offside (which no human being will do).
BOARD 9 = -12 IMPs
East-West played in 3NT-1, 5C-1, 2S-1 and 2H+1. Fascinating deal. You'd never guess they're all the same board!
The most colourful result was 2S-1 on a 5-0 fit, reached via 1S 2H 2S. Looking again in hindsight, either West could have opened 1NT (making the auction easy) or East could have downgraded for the void in partner's suit and responded a pessimistic 1NT, giving West room to bid his second suit (clubs).
However, the successful Menagerie auction was a comedy misunderstanding from Colin Wilson and John Slater. East opened 1H on his 0544 ten-count (as did I), West replied 1S, East said 2C and West said 2H, incorrectly alerting it as fourth suit forcing. Whoops. Presumably he'd meant to bid 2D. East then passed... which made them the only East-West pair to go plus.
BOARD 10 = -52 IMPs
Menagerie's two North-Souths both played this in 3NT and made it exactly, although Simon Husband opened the South hand 1NT against Stuart and me with a small singleton diamond. Unfortunately, Blewbury's declarers played it in 2C+1 and 5Cx-3.
In fairness, it's not a straightforward hand, especially if East-West interfere. (West is 5-5 in the majors and might make a two-suited bid, as Stuart did at our table.) What's the best auction? When South opens the bidding, North must clearly drive to game, but it's not obvious how to continue after 1C 1D 1H. A continuation of 1S would be natural, so 2S is the fourth-suit forcing option and I can't see anything obviously better. That'll reach 3NT, anyway. 3C feels like an underbid. I have a lot of sympathy for Mike and Shirley's 5Cx-3 and it's a perfectly good contract... until the trumps break 5-0 offside. That's just horrible luck.
BOARD 11 = -15 IMPs
Again, every table played in a different denomination. 2H by North, 2S-1 by South, 1NT-2 by North and 3C making the other way. Result: three plus scores for Menagerie.
BOARD 12 = 12 IMPs
At last, a good hand for Blewbury! Stuart and I bid 3NT+1 when the other tables stopped in part-score. (Stuart opened a strong 1NT and I held chunky intermediates and long suits with aces. It seemed like an obvious teams bid to me.)
BOARD 13 = -26 IMPs
A part-score hand with four plus scores to Menagerie. West holds a 17-count with AKQJ82 of clubs, so it looks normal to come in with that.
BOARD 14 = -40 IMPs
Menagerie made two games in 4S while Blewbury went off twice in 5S-1. What's all-important is that North-South need to compete to 5H... which, what's more, is unbeatable! You have an eleven-card heart fit with a spade void in the South hand and a singleton club in the North hand. The defence only make two small diamonds. Personally, if I'd been sitting South (five hearts and a void) and my partner had bid 2H in that competitive auction, I'd have jumped immediately to 5H. No, not four. You know the opponents will bid 4S and that you're going to bid 5H over it, so save time and make the opponents guess at the five level. (You're confident that 4S will make and that 5H will be at least a good save against it. You have a four-count and partner's heart suit will be worthless in a spade contract.)
BOARD 15 = 48 IMPs
Blewbury made four plus scores. Menagerie declared two 5Dx-2 contracts as East-West, then played 3NT-3 and 4H-3 as North-South. I understand the temptation to blast 5D as East-West at favourable vulnerability on their ten-card diamond fit, but the sacrifice is only good if North-South are making game. They can, as it happens, but only in 5C (which no one mentioned). 3NT-3 is absurd. 4H-3 is more sensible, but declarer didn't play it to best advantage.
BOARD 16 = -2 IMPs
Ten easy tricks are available in 3NT or 4H. The points are only 14 opposite 9, but North and South both have good suits.
One Menagerie pair bid and made 3NT. Blewbury's two North-Souths stopped in part-score (2NT+2 and 3H)... but then Stuart and I found ourselves defending a slightly clumsy 4D and managed to defeat it. (Declarer misguessed the trump position.)
BOARD 17 = 2 IMPs
Everyone's in 4H, but Shirley and Mike managed an overtrick.
BOARD 18 = 26 IMPs
Everyone's in game, making 11 tricks... except when Mike and Malcolm took 100 from 5S-1. (Stuart and I should have achieved the same result, but unfortunately Stuart interpreted my diamond 2 at trick one as suit preference when he led the ace. He likes his suit preference signals and thought this was a clear-cut situation... but I couldn't be sure that he had four-card support on the auction and the vulnerability. Also, this isn't a hand where the defence needs to get busy.)
BOARD 19 = -6 IMPs
1NT everywhere, making variously 6, 7, 8 and 9 tricks. A bits-and-pieces hand.
BOARD 20 = 10 IMPs
North, South, East and West were all declarer once and every contract failed. The hand's quite wild, actually, with North being 6-5 in the reds and South being 5-5 in the blacks. The points are almost 20-20. Blewbury collected two 200s and only conceded two 100s.
BOARD 21 = flat
3NT or 5D. Doesn't make much difference at IMPs... but Stuart and I had a chance to defeat 3NT. Stuart had to guess at trick 12 and had missed declarer's diamond discard on the fourth round of spades.
BOARD 22 = flat
2D+2 or 3D+1 everywhere.
BOARD 23 = -50 IMPs
Stuart and I played in 6D-1, with Stuart perhaps aiming for a swing. The defenders cashed the club AK, but it's a contract that had needed South's J874 club suit to come in for only one loser.
What's more, we also suffered 5D-2 when declarer clicked on the wrong card. It happens to us all, especially at the end of a tough match.
BOARD 24 = -20 IMPs
Tony and John Guilfoyle bid a hairy 6S and made it because the club king was onside.
So, in short, we got pulverised... in the first half. We were competitive in the second half, at least until those last two boards. Besides, we know from experience that Division 1 is challenging. Many thanks to everyone and good luck for the next evening match on Monday 16 November! (We've got two more daytime matches this week, though.)
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