Board 9 provided an interesting contest in the bidding.  Perhaps the vulnerability should have been the deciding factor determining how high E/W were willing to bid?

If E/W play a Weak NT then East will open 1D.  With 4315 distribution and a seven-loser hand South will Double.  What should West do?  With excellent Diamond support it seems natural to bid, but with only 4 Hcp how high should West venture?  N/S might well be able to make a game contract, but as they are non-vulnerable they will only make something like +420.  If N/S can make game then E/W are likely to be defeated in any Diamond contract.  West should look at her major-suit holdings.  She has six losers there and South’s Double suggests that any major-suit honours in East’s hand are in danger of being beaten by South.  If E/W are even two off Doubled then they will score -500 and do worse than other E/W pairs who defend against, maybe, 4S.  So West should probably bid only 2D.  If the vulnerability were reversed then it would make sense for West to bid 3D.  This should not be taken as a strong bid.  If West bids Diamonds at any level than North is likely to Double.  She reckons that her partnership has the majority of the strength, but would like her partner to choose a trump suit.  Alternatively with the two top Spades North will happy if South converts her Double into a penalty Double by Passing.  Following the first suggested bidding sequence, South will bid 3C.  She has two defensive tricks only and cannot guarantee that 2D will be defeated.  Given the vulnerability the final contract should probably be 3C played by South.  N/S can make 5C but with losers in Clubs and Diamonds they need the Spades to break 3-3 or to pick up the JS in order to generate a discard for a Heart loser, so probably 5C is too ambitious.

Interestingly, if E/W are playing a Strong NT system and N/S are playing Multi-Landy (meaning that South doesn’t have an overcall after the 1NT opening bid) then the final contract is likely to be 1NT by East.  Playing in NT E/W have six easy tricks but N/S should make the other seven.

On Board 22 at thirteen out of fourteen tables North played in a NT contract.  At seven of these tables North made nine or ten tricks.  At five tables North was one off in 3NT.  At my table (I was declarer) North only managed to make seven tricks in 3NT.  The app says than nine tricks can be made.  What did I do wrong?

The first bidding sequence occurred at my table.  The second is a route to 3NT if N/S are playing a Strong NT system.

At almost every table where North played in NT East led a Club.  How should North plan the play in order to make nine tricks?  There are three certain Spade tricks and three tricks can be made in Hearts.  Clubs will provide one trick and the AD is a trick.  This adds up to eight tricks.  Where can the ninth trick come from?  It is possible but perhaps unlikely that Hearts will provide a fourth trick.  It would be necessary for West to hold the KH and to have no more than three Hearts.  Then the KH could be picked up by taking two finesses.  Spades seem to be a likelier source of the additional trick as if they divide 3-3 or if the JS is with East then four Spade tricks can be made.  Extra tricks can certainly be developed in Diamonds but the problem with Diamonds is that two tricks will have to be lost before extra tricks can be developed and by this time E/W will have established enough Club tricks to defeat the contract.

Looking at the actual layout it is easy to see that North can prevail by simply playing the AH and another Heart and by playing for the Spades to break 3-3.  This is because the Clubs break 4-4, so E/W will only be able to make three Club tricks plus the KH.  If the Clubs break 5-3 then nine tricks will be possible only if North can make four tricks in Spades and in Hearts, in which case North will actually make ten tricks.  But if the Heart finesse fails and the Clubs are 5-3 then E/W will make four Clubs and the KH.

The mistake I made was to play on Diamonds.  It seemed natural to try to develop the suit in which the combined hands held eight cards, but I didn’t think through the play of the hand properly.  At my table the lead was the 9C.  I took this as top of nothing when in fact it was fourth highest.  If the 9C had been the top of a three-card suit then West would have held five Clubs and by playing on Diamonds I would have lost at least six tricks, four Clubs and two Diamonds.  In the event, although the Clubs were 4-4, I still lost six tricks, two Diamonds, three Clubs and the KH.

Luck plays a big part in the game of bridge.  The first two hands in this week’s commentary illustrate this.

Board 13 looked like a Pass Out hand.  Often on such a hand the player who opens the bidding in the fourth seat gets a poor result.  Here it was possible for West to get lucky.

West has 11 Hcp and, in the fourth seat after three Passes, in my opinion, should Pass.  Using the Bhcp evaluation system she has 19 Bhcp which is enough for a Weak NT opening bid (which should show 18-21 Bhcp), but the Diamond holding is poor.

Certainly if you are going to open the bidding then 1NT must be better than 1S.  The reason for this is that you have to consider your rebid.  If you open 1S and partner responds 1NT then you can Pass.  But what if partner bids at the two-level?  Here East has 10 Hcp and will very likely bid 2C or 2D if you open 1S.  What can you rebid?  You will have to Pass and partner may be playing 2C in a 4-3 fit or 2D in a 4-2 fit?  2C might play well, but 2D might not!

What will happen if as West you play in 1NT?  The app says that the contract can be defeated but this is where you are likely to get lucky.  On any lead except a Diamond West can make seven tricks.  On a Diamond lead West can make two Diamonds and four Clubs but when she tries to make the extra trick in one of the major suits she will find her luck has run out.  Having started the Diamonds at the first trick, N/S will be able to establish the suit and take enough tricks to set the contract.  The thing is, how many Norths will lead a Diamond on this hand?

The Wests who chose to Pass scored 40%.  Those who bid scored on average 54%.  So on this hand fortune favoured the brave!

Last week I looked at a hand where the result seemed to depend on the basic system that one side used, either Weak NT with four-card majors or Strong NT with five-card majors.  Board 23 was another interesting example of this form of luck.

Playing a Weak NT and four-card major system, East will open 1NT and that will be the final contract.  At ten out of eleven tables East played in 1NT, making seven, eight or nine tricks.

If E/W are playing a Strong NT and five-card major system, then East will open 1C which will be announces as “Could be short”.  This bid sometimes denies a four-card Diamond suit, in which case West may choose to respond 1NT rather than 1D.  On the other hand, with five Diamonds, West may choose to bid 1D.  (Normally a 1C bid either shows natural Clubs or denies five Diamonds as well as a five-card major.  If you open 1C as as short as two then a 1D opening bid is used to show either five Diamonds or a 4441 shape with a singleton outside Diamonds.  If you open 1C as as short as one then you use the 1C bid to show all 4441 hands.  In either case, four Diamonds is a common holding. 1NT by responder shows at least four or five Clubs as to bid 2C requires six.)

So the final contract will be 1NT, but it might be played by East or by West.  If West plays in 1NT then it is possible that the contract will be defeated.  If North makes the natural lead of a low Heart then straightway N/S will have established five Heart tricks.  If N/S lead a Spade before they lose the lead for the first time then declarer will be held to six tricks.  I was North at the one table where West was the declarer.  I recall being surprised when my partner led a Spade to trick two after winning trick one with the JH.  A little later she won the KD and led a Heart.  I was now able to defeat the contract by cashing my Hearts and by then leading a Spade.  So my Player of the week this week is my own partner, Annette McAvoy.

Board 7 was this week’s slam that got away.  E/W can make 6H but no one bid the slam.  With East so lacking in controls and with West only having a doubleton Heart, it seems difficult to bid the slam, but maybe not impossible.

In the bidding West will show a strong NT opening hand, by either opening INT or rebidding NT.  East will show a powerful Heart suit.  If West realises that East has a six-card Heart suit and a six-loser hand then East can bid 6H.  Once an eight-card trump fit has been found then the Losing Trick Count can be used.  East and West each have six-loser hands.  As 18 – (6 + 6) = 6, 6H should be making.

Suppose E/W are playing a Weak NT and four-card major system.  West will open 1S and rebid 2NT after East’s 2H response.  If East then rebids 3H, she must be showing a strong Heart suit.  With 10+ Hcp in the East hand and 15+ Hcp in the West hand, E/W are clearly going to game at least.  Maybe West can do the LTC calculation suggested above and make a slam try by bidding 4NT, a RKCB enquiry agreeing Hearts as trumps?  If West does bid 4NT then East will show her two key cards plus the QH and West will bid 6H.

If E/W are playing a Strong NT and five-card major system, then West will open 1NT and East can make a slam try by bidding 3H.  West can reason as above and reach the slam via RKCB.

On Board 1 East had a 2C opener.  The only realistic game contract was 3NT, which always made and which the app says should make.  But against the best defence it needed careful play by the declarer.

Against 3NT South might lead a Spade or a Club.  With a Club lead the contract is easily made.  Declarer wins in hand, leads a low Heart (giving an entry to dummy) and takes a Diamond finesse.  The contract is made with an overtrick, losing two Diamonds and a Heart

If a Spade is led the play is more complicated.  North has to be given the lead three times and as far as possible she will lead Spades each time she is on lead.  This means that North will lead Spades twice.  If declarer wins the second Spade trick in dummy then she will go one down, losing three Spades and either two Diamonds or a Heart and a Diamond.  Instead declarer needs to let the defence win the second Spade trick so that North will have no more Spades the next time she is on lead.  Now the contract is made exactly for the loss of one Spade, one heart and two Diamonds.

Board 6 showed the Weak NT at its best.

Playing a Weak NT, East opens 1NT which is likely to be the final contract.

If E/W are playing five-card majors and a strong NT then East is likely to open 1D, which gives N/S the chance to get into the auction.  Despite having only a doubleton Spade South might Double in which case the final contract might be 2H played by North.  Maybe N/S would even reach 4H, which can be made.  Indeed the two N/S pairs who played in a Heart contract both made ten tricks.

If South is mindful of her poor Spades she might elect to Pass, in which case North should Double.  This is a case of making a protective bid, the point being that North should be aware that partner might have Passed with opening Hcp but without an appropriate hand for either a Double or an overcall.

The two N/S pairs who played in Hearts both played in 2H and each scored 65%, giving E/W 35%.  Eight E/W pairs played in 1NT, all going off.  But they scored on average 51%.  So this hand seems to have been a victory for the Weak NT.

Was Board 13 this week’s slam that got away?  N/S could make twelve tricks in Hearts or Clubs and one N/S pair successfully bid and made 6H.  But was it a good slam to be in?

North opens 1H.  With five losers, the hand is not quite strong enough to open 2C.  South responds 3H.  This bid shows four-card Heart support and an eight loser hand.  (With a seven-loser hand, four Hearts and a singleton Diamond, South would bid 4D, a Splinter Bid.)  North should now sign off in 4H.  She expects partner to have eight losers and she has a five-loser hand.  This suggests that eleven tricks can be made with Hearts as trumps as 18 – (8 + 5) = 5.  But it is possible that partner holds two key cards plus another useful card such as the KD or the QS, so maybe a slam try is justifiable?  If North bids 4NT then partner will show one key card only.  This makes it unlikely that twelve tricks can be made and North should sign off in 5H.  If partner’s key card is the AS then both the top two Hearts will be missing!

How will the play go?  If all the cards are poorly placed from declarer’s point of view then even 5H might fail, losing two Spades and the KH.  As the cards actually lie 6H makes, as the KH can be picked up and the AS is onside.  But at Pairs scoring I feel this is not a slam to bid.  So although one pair bid and made 6H, my Players of the Week are the one N/S pair who investigated a slam but decided it was prudent to play in 5H, Sean Moruzzi and Cynthia Allen.

On Board 4 N/S had a fairly easy slam to bid.  Only six out of fourteen pairs found the slam, so the five pairs who bid and made 6H got a decent score.  Four scored 81% for making 6H+1 and one scored 62% for making 6H=.  But the real winners were the one pair who scored 100% for making 6NT+1.

I played the hand as West.  At the table my bidding differed from the sequence shown in the diagram.  On the second round of bidding I bid 3H.  The trouble with this bid is that it could be Passed by East.  3D, a new at the three-level, has the advantage of being a game force.  I was fortunate that may partner raised me to 4H and I then bid 4NT, RKCB.  Partner responded 5H showing two key cards and I bid 6H.  At pairs 6NT is a superior contract, as, assuming that the same number of tricks are available in both denominations, 6NT earns the extra 10 points.  My Player of the Week is the one West player who bid 6NT, Ben Thomas.

On Board 16 N/S probably could have achieved a good result by sacrificing at the seven-level.

If N/S put up a barrage then it is very hard for E/W to find their best contract.  In my suggested bidding sequence, after East’s Take-Out Double, West should be thinking that a slam will be possible, as she has a five-loser hand with support for both the major suits, which are indicated by partner’s bidding.  So West’s 6D bid should show first-round control of Diamonds and support for both majors.  East bids 6S with some confidence.  South should now consider that 6S is likely to make.  The vulnerability is favourable for a sacrifice.  The Losing Trick Count suggests that N/S can make ten tricks in Diamonds, as a three-level pre-empt is usually based on a seven-loser hand, South also has seven losers and 18 – (7 + 7) = 4.  7DX-3 will give N/S a score of -500, which will beat any N/S pairs who allow E/W to play in and make a major-suit small slam or even a major-suit game.

As it happens E/W can make 7H or 7S, but only because of the favourable position of the KC.  It would be a brave East or West who bid the grand slam.

On Board 18 E/W could make game in NT, Hearts or Spades but only seven out of fourteen pairs bid game with six pairs successful in their contracts.

The key question here is what does East do after partner’s 2S rebid?  Let us assume that E/W play Reverses.  A Reverse is defined as a bid that forces partner to bid at the three-level in order to give preference to partner’s first-bid suit.  Here after East bids 2S, East might bid 3H to show preference for Hearts.  It is true that East has more Spades than Hearts, but West has shown five Hearts and four Spades and it is normal for East to prefer the 5-2 fit over the 4-3 fit.

A Reverse shows a strong hand with 16+ Hcp.  It must be a strong hand as partner may be being forced to bid at the three-level.  On this hand East has 9 Hcp, which suggests that the partnership is just about in the game zone.  East has a choice of bids, either 3H showing preference or 3NT, saying that she cannot really support either of partner’s suits but that she does have strength in both the unbid suits and also that she is at the top of the range for her 1NT bid.

I feel that East’s best bid with this hand is 3NT.  As it happens the app says that 3NT makes exactly, but that 4H makes and that 4S makes with an overtrick.  So 4S is the best contract.  But this might not work so well if the Spades were divided 4-2.

How would you defend with these cards: ♠ 7432 ♥ KT964 ♦ - ♣ KQ86?  Your left hand opponent opened the bidding with 3D, your partner Passed and your right hand opponent bid 3NT, which became the final contract.  You decide to lead a Heart and choose the TH, the top of an interior sequence.  Dummy goes down with ♠ 9 ♥ J832 ♦ KQT5432 ♣ 4.  The first trick is won with declarer’s QH, partner playing the 5H.  Declarer leads a Diamond to dummy’s QD, which is won by partner’s AD.  Partner leads back the TC, which is covered by declarer’s JC, and you win with the QC.  What next?

You could lead a Spade, a second Heart or a second Club.  The Spades don’t look attractive as any honours partner might have are sitting under declarer’s hand and partner cannot have very strong Spade suit or she would have led the suit when in with the AD.  What about Hearts?  You play reverse attitude signals (“High Hate Low Like”) and the 5H was the lowest outstanding Heart, so maybe partner was encouraging Hearts?  But wait!  It is certain that declarer holds the AH or partner would have played it to the first trick.  The only Heart missing is the 7H.  If partner started with the 7H as well as the 5H then she would have played it to the first trick, to discourage a Heart continuation.  So partner started with a singleton Heart.  In any case, since declarer started with the AH and the QH, declarer can win the first two Heart tricks and still have a Heart stop in form of the JH in dummy.  So don’t continue Hearts.  This leaves the Club suit.  Partner chose to lead a Club to trick three and you hold a good four-card Club suit.  Continue Clubs, leading the KC to trick four.  This defeats the contract as, assuming that declarer holds up the AC, you will win the KC and set up a further two Club tricks in partner’s hand; and partner has another entry in the guarded JD.

Meanwhile, what about North’s defending?  North has played the AD on the first round.  If North has two Diamonds then that makes sense, as declarer has four Diamonds and holding up the AD would not help.  But if North has three Diamonds then so does declarer, in which case North could block the Diamonds by holding up the AD until the third round of the suit.

This was the whole hand: