The field had difficulties with the bidding on Board 10 and either opened 4♠ or ended up at the five or even six level in spades missing two aces and a possible ♦K via a different route!

The problem was in the evaluation of the west hand. Brydon felt it was worth a 2♣  opener and Fiona with the ten points sitting east was encouraged and they ended up in 6♠. The slam was swiftly defeated when Andy lead ♣J and John S took his two aces.

Looking at the west cards, to me its the sort of hand you would open an old fashioned Acol 2♠ . Typically a hand with eight playing tricks, so too good for a 1♠ opening and 3♠ rebid or a four level pre-empt,  but still not quite enough  for a strong 2♣. My style on this type of hands is to rebid 3NT  as in the illustrated auction. This sequence is seldom used and far more useful to describe a hand that would have opened an Acol two. The 3NT bid is forcing and the east hand that is not control rich expected to correct to 4♠

Board twelve saw three E/W with a combined thirty one points reach the excellent slam. The winners Clive and Diana bid to 6♥ in the illustrated auction. Diana crucially was the only west to make the jump rebid in hearts and get across the strength of the hand. Easy now for Clive with a powerful hand himself, he bid onto 6♥ and even made a grand slam enquiry with 5NT.

Meanwhile north lead the singleton ♦K, never a good idea unless partner has bid the suit. Still not easy for Diana with the heart suit blocked. On the table she attempted to get back to hand with another diamond but Sandra ruffed and put declarer back on the table with a spade. The only way to hand was with ♠K which she ruffed with ♥K, and now drew the outstanding trumps. Fingers crossed Diana took the club finesse and when that worked a sweaty twelve tricks. Well bid and played

Even so the contract became dependent on the club finesse, could declarer have done better? See answer

Board 17 looked like a fairly straightforward 4♥ contract for N/S with a combined twenty four points and nine card heart fit. The main issue was the reluctance of many souths to describe their values and make an invitational 2NT rebid after the transfer to hearts. This would allow north to bid the good heart game. Not so for Steve, only he bid 2NT after 2♦ and now Colin raised to 4♥ in the the orthodox manner. Well bid them

Meanwhile in the illustrated auction a couple of wests dangerously wandered into the auction after the 2♦ transfer with a 3♣ overcall. Even so, north took a liking to hearts with the good four card support and bid 3♥. Despite this positive action south with the invitational values passed and game missed.. 

See how west has a reasonable hand and it is understandable the desire to take action, but what should wests plan be? See answer.

Board 8 proved problematic in both bidding and play with only three pairs reaching the good 4♥ and none maximising the eleven tricks when not unreasonably north did not lead a trump away from the ♥Q.

In the illustrated auction after opening 1♥ west rebid 2♦ in response to easts 1♠ reply to get across the unbalanced nature of the hand. East with eight points, three card support and a singleton (worth 3 points) is too strong to give simple preference to 2♥.The hand now is worth an invitational raise to 3♥ allowing west with sixteen points to bid onto 4♥.

Meanwhile only Fiona really got to grips with the declarer play and while most declarers drew trumps immediately. Fiona set up ruffing her diamond losers in dummy first. At trick two she played on the suit allowing two ruffs in dummy with the small trumps. See how this play gains extra tricks if you do it before drawing trumps. Very well played.

See how a trump lead and subsequent continuation reduces dummy's ruffing values 

Board twelve was an example of how declarer can use clear thinking and good counting to find the likely location of a missing honour card.

In the illustrated auction Colin opened 1♠ showing a five card suit and east Katherine with a manky five card club suit, poor shape and sitting opposite a passed partner sensibly passed. Meanwhile Stephen with three card spade support along with a good ten points had an easy raise to 3♠ ensuring game was reached.  

Katherine kicked off with ♣A♣K and another club which Robert ruffed and then fired back ♥7. Colin took the ♥A and played two top spades drawing the four outstanding trumps. Now only one thing left to do finesse the ♦Q. But who held it . See how he has two options, and can finesse either east or west. No problems Robert has shown a singleton ♣J and three spades so is known to have nine red cards while east only has six. With this in mind Colin played the percentages, cashed ♦A and ran ♦J successfully finessing ♦Q. The only declarer to find this line and land ten tricks in the vulnerable game, very well played

On Board thirteen everybody made twelve ricks but nobody bid the slam. At most tables east opened 2NT and west responded 3♥ a transfer to spades. Then when east completed the transfer west bid 3NT giving the choice of contracts and if east elected to bid 4♠ west was aware they had the eight card fit.

See how west has eleven points and might think that east would need twenty two for slam to be viable. However once east indicates three spades west knows that there is a very large likely hood that the spade suit is running for five tricks. So slam must now be in the picture. Only Nick was aware of this and made another move, he raised to 5♠. Tom was not enamoured with the twenty points and clicked the pass button.

Not easy but both of them might have done more. Nick with the known likely five spade tricks and Tom with the control rich hand, only twenty points but full of aces and kings, cards ideal for slam contracts!

Board 16 was one where most wests simply opened 1♣ while a couple upgraded and opened 2NT. The 1♣ openers ran into a 2♠ weak jump overcall by north which came back around to west. The winners found the correct action from here and Stephen reopened with a double. This is for take-out and with good spades Colin could pass for penalties. As it was he had a weak hand and bid the five card diamond suit where they played for nine tricks. Well done those two

Meanwhile at one table west opened 2NT and got raised to 3NT. A spade was lead and declarer won it, cashed the diamonds and drifted a couple down. But see the effect of ducking the spade lead and how it breaks communications between the defenders. Now with diamonds 2-2 declarer has two entries to dummy to lead hearts up to ♥KJ8 and enjoy two tricks with the favourable lie in that suit. So along with five diamonds and the pair of black aces there are nine tricks to land the vulnerable game. The lesson from this tale is no matter how unlikely it may be, play for a lie of the cards that will allow you to make the contract!!

On board 21, south was third in hand at unfavourable vulnerability and held a balanced with what looked like a stuffy thirteen points. Most opened opened 1NT and were duly treated with a penalty double by west with their good sixteen points.

Meanwhile the norths with a measly four points knew this was not going to have a happy ending so made a rescue attempt with 2♦. Typically most partnerships play this action as diamonds and a higher ranking suit, so with east holding ♦ AQ102 this too was not going to be a fairy tale. As it was none of the easts made a penalty double and apart from the winners everybody was let off the hook. Jim too bid 2♦, but Irene thought better and reverted back to 2NT rather than locate which major he had. No problem for Carol she doubled again and when the smoke cleared that was -500. Anyway despite this setback they recovered strongly on the last three boards to take the lead.

On board 19 the E/W pairs found themselves defending a range of doubled and undoubled club contracts with varying degrees of success. E/W have five tricks for the taking but mostly only four were taken.

In the illustrated auction Clive opened 1C and Carol with the perfect shape made a take out double. Any way the auction ended up in a sensible 3♣ despite the ten card fit and singleton, there were five losers.

With spades bid on her right Carol lead the ♥A and when Janet played an encouraging ♥9 she continued the suit to ♥K. There were still three more defensive tricks to be enjoyed provided east avoided leading a spade away from her ♠K. The defence stayed on track and that was +50.Nicely defended

Meanwhile at many tables after ♥A was taken a spade switch followed and now only four tricks for E/W. So how does east know to continue a heart. The key is a signal from west and most partnerships have an agreement as what to tell partner after an ace has  been lead. You can play it one of two ways.

1) A high card encourages partner to continue the suit and ergo a low card discourages partner to carry on.

2) Visa versa a low card says you like the suit and a high card says you hate it!

Either way its good to have an agreement and it will help prevent accidents from happening.

Thing improved for E/W on board 2. This time it was they who held lots of spades but a mere eleven card fit and had the opportunity ''to get their money back''.

This time in the illustrated auction east opened a weak 2♥. West with the solid ten card spade suit and useful ♥A responded 6♠ . Well done Polly, John P and Melanie who all bid the excellent slam. Once again the lead was crucial in stopping the overtrick but no one found the club lead and that too was thirteen tricks for west. Well bid those three

The Xmas goulash tournament got off too an even more dynamic start than usual when on board 1 N/S ran into a thirteen card spade fit.

The bidding got high fast and all the souths overcalled easts opening 1♥ bid with a 4♠ overcall. However only in the illustrated auction  did norths John R and Brydon with a pair of aces and a singleton make the well judged decision and immediately raised their partner to 6♠. Fiona got ♣A lead which she ruffed and trumps drawn. The heart disappeared on the diamonds for all thirteen tricks. Great raise those two.

Point of interest: 7♥ by east is a scary defensive prospect. Only a diamond lead by south defeats the grand slam ....would you have found it.

Many declarers came unstuck on board six when after reaching the good 6NT did not count their tricks and went down in a slam there for the taking.

Only Ann M sitting south landed twelve tricks after getting to slam in the illustrated auction. Johns 4NT response was a classical quantitative bid suggesting 6NT if Ann was maximum or pass if minimum. Ann was not sure and passed the buck back to John with a 5NT rebid. Still no problem for John with the long heart suit, he drove onto the six level. Meanwhile Irene was in the east seat and lead ♠3. Declarer can count nine tricks on top, three spades, two hearts and four clubs so needs three more from the diamond suit. Seeing this Ann set about diamonds and when Irene grabbed her ♦A and the suit broke that was three more for declarer taking the total to twelve and +990. Well played Ann.

See how even if diamonds fail to break 3-3 a doubleton or even singleton ♦10 will allow declarer to prevail because the ♦9 in hand now becomes a trick.

Board 21 was a competitive affair with E/W having a big spade fit and N/S the even bigger eleven card diamond fit.

In the illustrated auction the winners reached 5♦ and west lead their singleton ♥K  despite north bidding the suit. Ann had no problem now, she drew trumps and discarded a losing spade on Daphne's winning hearts for twelve tricks. Without the lead she may well have taken the heart finesse to fail by a trick!

Meanwhile Alex also reached the five level but from the west hand in spades and he too was favoured with a singleton king lead but this was ♣K and made his doubled contract. To be fair he would have been forced to play for it anyway.

There is a general rule and that is ''dont lead a singleton king unless partner has bid the suit''.

Board 13 was an exciting one with two auctions resulting in any number of different results. 

Both Anne and Irene opened the south hand 2NT with the excellent nineteen points which closed the auction. Nick was onlead and found the good ♥K lead. See how if he continues the suit Tom can take his ♥A switch to ♦Q and scoop the first nine tricks. Sadly a diamond switch at trick two and it was Irene who enjoyed the next ten tricks. Less so for Anne, she got a spade lead but still eight tricks.

Elsewhere the remaining souths opened 1♣ and when Janet doubled with the west cards Carol clicked the 4♠ button. South doubled but only her ♠A♠K scored and that was a doubled overtrick for -990. 

Meanwhile the two actions I liked were by David and Edward in the illustrated auction. After the takeout double they made a weak pre-emptive raise to 4♣. Their partners Shaun and Jackie bid on to 5♣  but Countdown Andy (west) was not to be kept out and bid 5♦. Shaun doubled and lead his top spades. North signalled hi lo to indicate a doubleton but before giving the ruff Shaun tried to cash a club. Disaster this itself was ruffed, John P took the diamond finesse, drew trumps to land the doubled contract and +750. The swing on the board was enough to take first place and put their opponents in third. Exciting stuff

Board 10 at most tables west made a jump overcall of 3♦, after south opened 1♠. At this vulnerability the action should be sound but only Katherine raised her partner. No messing, she clicked the 5♦ button and when the club finesse worked for Anne that was eleven tricks and a top equal board.

Meanwhile the winners took a route to a different game. Polly with the spade suit stopped and useful cards in diamonds and ♣A had a pot at 3NT. Nick was on lead and fished out ♠K, no problem for Polly she won her ♠A and grabbed nine tricks for +600 and a shared top.

See how the defence can take the first five heart tricks and with Nick on lead holding ♥A♥K it is often a good idea to lead one, ''have a look at dummy'' and watch how partner signals. No problem for Tom, an easy encouraging ♥Q and hopefully the next four tricks . Never mind, know what to do next time .

On Board 10 a couple of norths woke up with the solid eight card diamond suit and had an awkward decision as what action to take when they saw partner open 1NT.

The winners reached a hairy 3NT with the spade suit wide open when Brydon rebid 3NT after Clare correctly made a jump to 3♦ (a strong bid suggesting slam). Luck was with them, west lead a passive heart and Brydon scooped all thirteen tricks for +720.

Meanwhile the third placed pair in the illustrated auction had their say! Anne G too opened 1NT and Katherine did not mess about, bid straight to 5♦. Anne now showed great judgement with the control and trick rich south hand, she clicked the 6♦ button. I like this action, because even if Katherine does not have a spade control the defence will almost certainly need to lead one to defeat the contract. As it turned out Katherine did have a singleton ♠ and after Colin lead ♥J that too was thirteen tricks but +1390. Very nicely bid .

Board 1 was an opportunity for east second in hand non vulnerable to wield out the gambling 3NT convention. This shows a solid minor with no values outside. Wisely no one tried it because as you can see,,,west with three suits guarded could work out partners suit was clubs. The pass would seem normal but after south leads the ♦K the defence can take five tricks before declarer can get their nine.

As it was everybody opened 1C and as in the illustrated auction the bidding came back to east. Most rebid clubs but a couple now bid the 'gambling 3NT' in the real sense despite no spade stop  and when this was passed were hit with a spade lead! Sandra played low, ♠Q scored and the roof fell in or would have had the defence not got into a tangle...still one down. Meanwhile John feeling the ♠A was onside for the take out double played the ♠K and that was nine tricks. Well judged.

Still everybody sitting east missed an opportunity and after norths 1♠ bid should have cue bid 2♠ asking west to bid NT with a spade stop. Now west bids NT and is declarer with the spade lead up to ♠K . No guess here and an easy nine tricks for declarer

Board 18 was a good example on how you can use the Stayman convention after 1NT with an intermediate type hand that would  not to go game unless partners response was optimum.

After east opened 1NT some wests transferred to hearts and when the transfer was completed passed to play in 2H. The alternative action is to use Stayman and if east responds 2♦, now retreat to 2♥. Note a new suit after instigating Stayman is weak and partner is expected to pass. Meanwhile Sian in the illustrated auction, took the excellent view that if she bid Stayman there was the added chance a spade fit might be located too. As it was Melanie bid 2♥ and the nine card heart fit found. Sian not unreasonably upgraded her hand with the singleton diamond and clicked the 4♥ button. A diamond was lead and north took ♦A, followed by a club switch. Declarer can now draw two rounds of trumps and set up the spade suit, on which the losing club discarded on the 4th round. Just losing ♦A, ♠A and ♥Q for a good +420. Very well bid Sian

Board 14 might have come from last weeks Goulash such was the extreme distribution of the deal. 

In the illustrated auction this weeks winners bid to a grand slam after east opened 1♥ and with massive five card support and controls Richard clicked the 7♥  button. This action is slightly speculative but to be fair will very often will land you in a grand slam that has some play as was the case here.  Beryl needed diamonds 2-2 and when the suit broke 3-1 ended up with twelve. Sure you can take the deep diamond finesses and pick up the suit for no losers but this is not a percentage action, so a little unlucky

Meanwhile well done to Anne M, Carol and Stephen who all made the more conservative raise to just 6♥  and take a joint top board.

It was a Goulash charity Tourney in aid of Cancer research when board 22 threw up one of the strongest hands you will ever see.

The auction and wests lead were the same at all six tables something too you will be unlikely to come across again. At every table east pre-empted 3♥ and south with twelve certain tricks overcalled 6♦. The ♥A lead was ruffed, trumps drawn and a club conceded at trick thirteen for a universal score of +920 and an average board. But is there more to the deal than meets the eye and did south miss a trick to make all thirteen to score a top board? Or was the risk too much and best just to settle for a safe twelve tricks. Anyway nobody did but can you spot it in the post mortem.

See answer below to find out

Board 20 proved a difficult one for south after their partners opened 1♦. At most tables west passed, north opened 1♦ and east over-called 1♥. The overwhelming response by south was a raise to 5♦. Only Anne G recognised the huge power of her hand and the value of the heart void. This is because with east bidding the suit it was unlikely partner had too many values in the suit and therefore likely to be elsewhere. With this in mind she clicked the 6♦ button. Katherine did have a wasted ♥A but this was no problem and a straightforward thirteen tricks. Well bid that pair.

Meanwhile in the illustrated auction Daphne opened the west hand a good aggressive 3♣  pre-empt, north doubled for take-out, what action should south take? See answer

Board 17 was one of those hands where you have good support for partner and a strong hand.

The key to bidding these hands accurately is differentiating between a pre-emptive raise and the hand described. In the illustrated deal most wests raised to 4♠ and east unsure of the values, passed. That was three overtricks for +710.

No fears standard methods have a solution to this problem with a jump response in No trumps to a 1 level opening bid. Essentially a reply of 3NT indicates 13-15 points with four card support while 2NT is even stronger suggesting about 15 plus, support and an interest in slam. See how now you can bid it quite easily as shown in the illustrated auction.

2NT = 15 plus, slam try and  good support

4NT = With extra points for the singleton and lots of Kings, perfect for Blackwood.

5S =   Three Aces.

6S =   Should be an easy make!

Well done Stephen and Anne M who both bid it from the west hand after their partners opened 1♠ 

Both their partners were away so Jackie and Anne G made up a scratch partnership. As the evening wore on, things were not going to plan and after a couple of unlucky failed slam attempts a third opportunity came up on board 23.

In the  illustrated auction Anne was south and opened the tidy twenty points 2NT. Meanwhile Jackie holding twelve points herself along with a good six card diamond suit knew there was a slam on for the taking. The only question was it to be in diamonds or no trumps. Usually when there is a long suit like this and no singleton both contracts tend to make the same number of tricks. So with No trumps scoring more than diamonds, Jackie did not mess about and clicked the 6NT button. The  ♥10 was lead and when Anne turned up with the crucial ♦Q that meant the diamond suit ran and all thirteen tricks. Well bid those two, the only pair to reach the six level. 

On board 5 Dowell picked up the super strong south hand with twenty one points only to hear his partner open first in hand a vulnerable weak two in diamonds! This action should represent a good six card suit with more or less two of the top three honours. Still despite only one honour Slammer Stu had an additional card in the suit to compensate. No problem for Dowell he checked for Aces and when Stu showed one that was enough and the 6♦ button was clicked.

Meanwhile west was not convinced and with two top diamond honours doubled. Fearing a bad diamond break Dowell retreated to 6NT and this too received the same treatment. The ♣9 was lead which declarer won in hand, and acutely aware from wests double the unfavourable diamond situation played the  ♦J from hand. West did their best by playing low but so did dummy, he could now continue diamonds establish the suit for twelve tricks. West could have made declarers job a lot harder with ♠J lead...but that for another day.

See how if west had kept quiet  declarer would simply play diamonds from the top hoping for a 2-2 break or failing that a singleton ♦K or ♦Q, and the contract would quietly go one light. This is a sound line but once west doubles the warning bell has rung and the double finesse now becomes apparent. So the lesson from this tale is don't double a slam unless you are %100 certain you have two tricks in your own hand

A particularly unusual situation arose on board 13 when you find yourself holding a strong eight-card suit, only to see your partner opening the bidding in that exact suit. This surprising turn of events happened to Ann M .

John was east and they play the excellent five card spade suit method with a weak NT. So holding four spades opened 1♣, with the intention of rebidding 1NT showing 15-17 balanced. Meanwhile Ann with her eight card support made the sensible raise to 5♣. John was aware that his partner must have long clubs and extreme distribution for this action.

See how his hand is rich in controls (three aces and a king), making it an ideal holding to bid a slam. No problem for John, he clicked the ♣6 button, and with twelve tricks on top, only the overtrick was in question. When the heart finesse succeeded, that was +1390 to the runners-up. Very well bid them!

Board 8 was an excellent slam in any of three denominations, diamonds, spades and no trumps but only one pair reached the six level.

In the illustrated auction Dowell with nine playing tricks in diamonds opened a strong 2♣ and Slammer Stu holding the good spade suit made a positive response with 2♠. Typically apart from 2♦, a new suit reply to 2♣ indicates a five cards with two of the top three honours. North showed his suit rebidding 3♦, while south repeated spades to show six. Dowell now asked for aces and when Slammer Stu's 5♣ said he had none, Dowell preferred the solidity of his diamonds and settled for 6♦. Meanwhile east lead a passive ♦3, so trumps were drawn and with the six spades to enjoy that was all thirteen tricks. Well bid those two.

Board 13 was an excellent vulnerable slam but only one pair achieved the 750 point bonus

In the illustrated auction, Carol held the west hand and with ten playing tricks in spades, correctly opened 2♣, rebid 2♠ followed by 3♠ (effectively setting spades as the trump suit) . Meanwhile East Janet responded with the waiting bid of 2♦, then indicated values with 3♦ before raising to 4♠ .

The stage was set and with a diamond void Carol sensibly preferred the 5♣ cue bid to Blackwood because this would not indicate which ace. Janet crucially by passed diamonds and cue bid 5♥ showing the ♥ A and that was enough! With controls in all the suits the 6♠ button was clicked. The ♠Q came down in two rounds so that was thirteen tricks and all the match points! A very well bid those two

The north hand in board 3 is the type of holding that i have found a new style which works quite successfully. Traditionally after 1♦ you would respond 2♣ and then either rebid 2NT or 3♦ .

I find this approach unnecessary and have made it a part of my system simply to raise directly to 3♦. Normally it indicates four card support (10-11 pts) but works equally well with three cards and no major. Not only does it describe the hand accurately but also pre-emps the opponents. Note: if partner has a weak hand they will also hold five diamonds and can pass

South holds good diamonds and a singleton so worth a go onto game with a 3♥ cue bid. North has both the black suits guarded can now bid 3NT, for an easy nine tricks. Meanwhile Tom who with no major, made an old fashioned 2NT response (11-12 points) effectively the equivalent to 3♦ and Nick raised to 3NT. Well done them

On board 12 East was 'third in hand' to bid and opposite a passed partner most opened a weak two in hearts. This is a sound action because despite a hand which is just about worth an opening bid, with no game likely it puts south under the most pressure as proved the case here.

Everybody sitting south overcalled in diamonds and made nine or ten tricks. See how the hand has sixteen points a likely double heart stop with ♥K♥J sitting over the weak two bidder. Not only that the diamond suit will provide a good source of tricks. So i really like a 2NT overcall, indicating 15-18 points and heart guard. Meanwhile north has eight points and a four card spade suit so can make a move to game. 3♣ Stayman is best and when no fit located, 3NT the final contract.

There is no defence to beat 3NT and typically after a heart lead, ♥A by east and ♥ continuation, simply insert the ♥J. That secures two hearts, six diamonds in the bag and ♣A for nine tricks. A useful vulnerable game for +600.

Board 19 was a good example of why you need to show a bit of caution and dicipline, when pre-empting and competing to a high level at unfavourable vulnerability. In the illustrated auction the runners up exacted a large penalty when the E/W pair pushed the bidding too far and paid a hefty price.

Brydon opened the south hand 1♦ and west made a sensible weak jump overcall with 2♠. Sara with ten points and a singleton spade had an easy 3♦. East with the doubleton spade honour found a raise to 3♠. Meanwhile Brydon made a game try attempt with 4♦ at which point west undid the good work and bid again. Sara aware of the vulnerability was not convinced and clicked the double button. The ♦10 was lead declarer ruffed and played a spade, Brydon won switched to his singleton club received a ruff and when the smoke cleared declarer emerged with seven tricks and a minus 800 penalty.

On Board 21 north had a normal 1NT opener which was passed round to west who naturally doubled for penalties with the nineteen points and four cashing hearts. At most tables east bid and various other contracts reached. 

Meanwhile at Jim's table the double stood and he received ♦2 lead. This looks like seven tricks for him, made up of two spades, two diamonds and three clubs. The general rule is that third person does what they can when playing after dummy, on partners lead and this hand was a good example. West kept his ♦K and played ♦9 'curse of Scotland' card allowing Jim's ♦10 to score. See the effect! Now the ♦K was falling under ♦A and a third diamond trick with ♦Q for the doubled overtrick worth 200 and minus 380.

Bidding in the protective or pass out seat is not a topic that is much discussed and simply the reason being is that its a fairly rare occurrence. Usually partner or RHO take some action first. But on board 22 the situation arose and in the illustrated auction only Jackie's Mum Anja and Ann M found the best bid.

In the protective seat there is no need to pre-empt the opponents since one of them has passed limiting their hand to up to five points. So for this reason the jump overcall takes on a totally different meaning and is used in a constructive sense to show a good hand. Here north had just the tickets a solid  seven card heart suit and singleton. To get across the power of the hand Anja jumped to 3H and with good points along with three card support Jackie was able to raise to 4H. Where there were an easy ten tricks. Nicely bid that pair.

On board 22, North held one of the strongest hands I've seen in a long while, meanwhile, E/W had a thirteen-card diamond fit. Most East players opened with a weak two in diamonds, and West, holding an unusual seven-card support, raised to 4♦ or 5♦. The contracts varied greatly, with only one pair reaching a grand slam. Remarkably, it was an E/W pair that bid to 7♦. Doubled and vulnerable, this contract failed by four tricks for -1100, a good save against 7♥ but not against 6♥ making one overtrick.

The real challenge was deciding what to do with the North hand after a preemptive raise in diamonds. The hand is highly playable in two suits, and you can guarantee twelve tricks provided you can get your partner to bid their longer major. What would be your strategy?

Board 18 saw the whole field reach a solid slam, so the match points were going to be awarded to those pairs that could achieve the overtrick. North held nineteen points and after seeing their partners open 1S everyone clicked the 4NT button to ask for aces  or key cards. When south admitted to one ace or two key cards north drove onto slam. 

Most declarers drew trumps and with 2-2 split it was just a matter of the overtrick. They then took the heart finesse and when this was successful ruffed a couple of clubs in dummy. The ♣Q came tumbling down and ♣J was now a winner. Well done everybody who bid it and the made the overtrick.

Only at one table where the winners clashed with the runners up were things different when Troy declared 6♠ and Diana lead a diamond. Troy inserted the ♦Q. No problem if this lost he could discard a losing heart on the diamonds. However it held so he drew trumps and with the contract assured took a cub finesse for the overtrick. This works when all the cards lie really badly, sadly for Troy it lost and infact with everything well positioned the overtrick went begging. So the board and win went to Clive and Diana.

On Board 21 all the norths made life very difficult for E/W with an untimely 3 level pre-empt in clubs. Most wests jump overcalled 4♠ and that was the end of the auction. The eleven card fit and club void meant no losers and an easy thirteen tricks.

Only the winners found their way to slam when Countdown Andy simply overcalled 3♠ and had no trouble bidding to 6♠ when John raised to game. Although successful this unorthodox approach has a severe risk attached, in that John may have passed 3♠ on different hands leaving Andy languishing in part score.

This problem is hard but probably the best way to deal with the East hand was taken by Anne G. That was as in the illustrated auction and is to double first with the intention of bidding 4♠ later. The strongest of all actions! As is turned out Katherine bid spades first so  Anne followed up with 4NT asking for aces. Sadly there was a misunderstanding concerning the number of aces and slam missed. I have corrected the auction to how it might have gone. Anyway nice try.

Board 14 was one of those hands you dream of. On lead and defending a doubled NT contract knowing that you can take the first eight tricks.

So it happened to the winners in the illustrated auction. East was third placed Anne G and not unreasonably opened 1NT. Stephen was south with the solid seven card diamond suit along with ♠A and doubled for penalties. Meanwhile Clare had seven points, so was not too worried and passed as did Anne. Stephen cashed his tricks and on the second round of diamonds Colin accurately signalled with the ♥2. This is a reverse attitude signal indicating a big card in the suit. No problems for Stephen now, after enjoying his eight tricks he switched to a heart and Colin took the ♥A, for three down and +500.

My philosophy on the E/W hands is after getting penalty doubled in 1NT, you do best to rescue into a suit. Playing the standard escape method west can bid 2♣ indicating that suit and a higher or east can redouble to show an unspecified five card suit. Either way they would have located their good club fit and got out of harms way. Still a bit unlucky to run into nine cashers!

Board 20 was an interesting problem for south when holding a powerful twenty points with what might well be nine playing tricks to boot saw their partner open a weak two in diamonds. Normally you would rely on the diamond suit as a source of tricks to bid 3NT but with the near solid looking club suit themselves, most clicked the 3NT button. Despite a singleton club in dummy the suit broke 3-3, a diamond perforce, ♠A and three heart tricks in the wash souths Polly and Stephen made eleven tricks..

Meanwhile the winners took a different root as in the illustrated auction. John P fancied his chances at slam and launched RKC Blackwood and when Coundown Andy admitted to one key card clicked the 6NT button. Unfortunatelty this contract has little chance and quietly drifted one down. John was a bit unlucky but my preferred choice of slams would be 6♦ (not successful either) because there may be communication problems and crucially you might need the trump suit to ruff clubs good. Still they made it up on the other boards, well done them !

Board six saw E/W hold an eight card spade fit and a combined thirty one points. Crucially, west held a singleton so slam was a possibility.

In the illustrated auction Jim opened the east hand 2NT and Irene transferred to spades. Jim completed the transfer and after 3NT corrected to 4♠.  With three card ♠ support, Irene and could factor in the singleton heart for three extra points. So easily enough for slam, clicked the 6♠ button. No problem for Jim in the play, after the ♣J lead he drew trumps and discarded a losing diamond on the fifth round of clubs for twelve tricks. Well done them along with Sandra and Mairin who too scored +1430.

Meanwhile, see how E/W also have a nine card club fit and in this denomination the spade suit provides two diamond discards for all thirteen tricks in clubs. An extremely difficult grand slam to bid even at the very highest level.

Board 5, E/W held 34 points between them with most bidding a small slam. Tom and Nick did the best of these reaching 6NT as in the illustrated auction. Easily the safest small slam, because there are twelve tricks 'on top' so no danger of an adverse ruff. Something that can happen in a suit contract. Things got better when the ♥J came tumbling down and that was an overtrick for +1020. Other pairs bid to 6♠ which is OK and south lead their singleton ♦8. A little awkward, still everyone managed twelve tricks.

Meanwhile Beryl found her self at the dizzy heights of 7♠ a great contract (only second best to 7NT) and too received the diamond lead. With no entries to dummy she carefully drew trumps ending on the table, so as to enjoy the diamond suit. But that was only twelve tricks when the 5-1 diamond split became apparent, still with ♥J falling her ♥10 was the thirteenth for +1510. Well played Beryl.

See how on any other lead Beryl could have ruffed ♥10 in dummy and then drawn trumps with still a diamond intact in her hand to get across to dummy for the diamond winners.

The modern treatment for a double jump response in a new suit to partners opening bid is to indicate shortage in the said suit and a good fit (splinter). However in the olden days when I first started this action was equivalent to a good pre-emptive opening bid. So it was to my surprise on board 5 when Stephen found this opposite Colins opening 1♥ bid in the illustrated auction. Old school himself Colin had no trouble recognising the double jump as natural and despite a singleton ♦A had three more to add to his collection, so drove onto slam, for a straight forward thirteen tricks. Very nicely bid those two.

A more orthodox approach would be to simply make a two level response in diamonds and do some catching up later after partner has made their rebid. So as at many tables after 

East          West 

1♥         -     2♦                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            2NT/3♣  -     ?

what action should west take? see below for marks out of ten

Board 14 saw some south's make a 3 level overcall in spades after east opened 1D. This action is the equivalent to a pre-emptive 3 level opener and with the good intermediates, non vulnerability, not to mention diamond void south is fine for the bid.

West now had a problem, what would you do?

Board seventeen was a sequel to last weeks hand but this time not such a happy ending for the sacrificing pair. In the illustrated auction at equal non vulnerability, the third placed pair judged the hand well to take advantage of a miss timed sacrifice and achieve a second top score.

Dowell opened 1♠ and south overcalled 2♣. I prefer a pre-emptive action of 3♣ or even 4♣ to get across the length of the suit, general weakness and also apply some pressure on the west hand. Now when the auction came back at the four level, not having fully expressed the hand at the first option felt inclined to bid again at the five level. Slammerstu passed but Dowell with ♠AK and ♦AK opposite a hand that had bid felt 5♣ had no chance and doubled. No problem in the defence, the first five tricks were cashed and that was three down for +500. More than the non vulnerable game with overtricks on offer. Well done Dowell.

Meanwhile Clive and Diana did not get too involved and let runner up Jim declare 4♠ . Diana lead her single ♥J and Jim played low from dummy to Clive's ♥K , he returned the suit to give the ruff. Still eleven tricks but only +450.

The online No fears got off to a blistering start for John and Anne M when on the first board John opened the north hand a weak two in hearts. Most of the time this would not have been an issue for E/W but when Ann with her flat hand blasted with a super aggressive raise to 4H, Dowell fourth in hand had a massive problem. Still there was only one option and that was to double. East was SlammerStu and unsure of the exact meaning of the double elected to pass and hopefully collect a ''plus score'' defending 4♠X.

Meanwhile John R was at the helm in this precarious contract with hardly any points and ''a pancake of a hand'' in dummy. The defence took five tricks and John was in dummy with a club. The rest were his bar the ♥ K so he held his breath and ran ♥Q. With the the field making eleven tricks in 4♠ for 450 to E/W he could not afford to loser another, so when the finesse held that was only minus 300 for a %100 score as opposed to %0 if it lost and minus 500. Well judged Ann.

Board 15 was a part score affair and several declarers were held to eight tricks in 2♥  or even defeated in 3♥ when south found a good switch at trick three. 

In the illustrated auction the third placed pair came across Fiona and Maureen and in a low level competitive auction pushed them up to 3♥. Gordon kicked off with two rounds of diamonds and switched to ♠2 on which Mairin played low and was forced to take Alan's singleton ♠J with her ♠A. Now south could win the trump ace and play ♠K and another giving north a ruff before trumps could be drawn! That was five tricks to the defence and 3♥ defeated. Well done Daphne, Diane and Dowell who too found this devilish defence to hold declarer to eight tricks

The question is did declarer have a counter play? and as you might expect they did. See the effect of playing the ♠Q at trick three now when south gets in with the ♥A they can still give north the ruff but that's the end of that! Declarer can win the continuation draw trumps and discard the losing spade on the third round of clubs!!

Still even this does not work if south finds the spade switch at trick two, now north can receive two ruffs by south taking ♥A immediately, to give the first ruff and then put back on lead again with a diamond return to deliver the second ruff.

Board seventeen had much in common with last weeks slam. E/W had thirty three points between them a five card suit each, all the aces not to mention three kings. In the illustrated auction east denied a major after Stayman followed by a common sense 6NT. 

On  a heart lead declarer could count ten tricks. No problem, something good in diamonds doubleton ♦J or 3-3 would provide a couple, failing that spades 3-3 was an extra trick and if you still needed one more the club finesse. Three chances of making, so at least a 2-1 on shot. But things changed a bit when diamonds broke 5-1 and no extra trick there for the taking. The best option now is to fall back on the double club finesse and run the ♣10. South must cover with the ♣J to dummy's ♣Q and north's ♣K. and now it ''seems'' impossible to read the position and finesse south's ♣8. Very unlucky.

Meanwhile one declarer received ♣5 lead and correctly played low from dummy, so the singleton ♣K took the trick and although not fatal its best practice in this spot to unblock ♣10. This facilitates the repeated finesse of ♣J and when communications got into a tangle, the play came back to haunt declarer. Forced to overtake with a higher club to get to dummy rather than finesse ♣J with ♣2 for the twelfth trick, he too ended up short

Board 22 was an excellent 6♠ which unfortunately got the better of most declarers. In the illustrated auction, i liked John P's bidding. The 2NT response was Baron showing 15+ points, slam interest and a spade fit, next came the good 4♣ cue bid suggesting ♣A! Countdown Andy's 4NT asked for key cards and 5♠ showed two with the trump queen, so an easy 6♠.

Five of the six pairs bid this great 6♠ slam but only David R took the percentage and winning line. See how you can count eleven tricks. Six spades, two hearts, two diamonds and a club, so there is a a requirement for the twelfth. Four declarers won the club lead drew trumps and took the heart finesse but when this failed the contract was doomed.

Meanwhile David saw that he had two bites at the cherry. The 4-4 ♦  fit was the first. If you play two top diamonds and the suit breaks 3-2, just concede the third round to establish a diamond. Should diamonds break 4-1, you can still 'change tack' and fall back on the heart finesse for the twelfth trick. David tested diamonds and when the suit broke 3-2 that was the contract and no need for the heart finesse. Very well played.

Board 5 was a competitive affair in the black suits ending in virtually the entire field defending a 5♣ contract declared by east. Invariably the defence went two ways. One was three rounds of spades, fatal for N/S because this gave declarer a ruff and discard so away went the heart loser for an easy eleven tricks. At the other tables there was a switch at trick three and none of the declarers managed to land their minor suit game. Still the winner Alan felt that despite the favourable defence he got, remarked correctly that he might have been able to set up a diamond trick anyway, to provide the heart discard.  

Katherine got the closest and after two rounds of spades received a heart switch. She drew trumps and played three rounds of diamonds ruffing the the third, but when the suit broke 4-2 she had insufficient entries to dummy and ended up losing a heart. Never mind a bit unlucky.

The key to setting up diamonds is to preserve your entries by ruffing the third round of diamonds before drawing trumps. Now use the ♣A as an entry to ruff the fourth round and thereby establish the suit to provide the crucial discard. Even then there is still a problem, see how dummy's clubs are all very small and bar ♣2 all declarers are very large. This means you must preserve the ♣2 as a way to reach dummy. So for this to work you must use your larger trumps for ruffing and drawing trumps and now you still have ♣2 to enter dummy to enjoy the established diamond.

Board 15 involved all the top three pairs with the tied runners up both bidding small slam. Norths, Carol and David correctly accessed the hand as a 2♣ opening bid. See how its worth nine playing tricks and playable in game opposite most hands. Souths, Janet and Jackie with eleven points settled for the small slam but it was Janet who won the race in the illustrated auction outscoring Jackie by 10 aggregate points with 6NT to 6♥ ! Well done them.

Meanwhile it was winners who created the real action! Only Brydon opened the reasonable eleven pointed south hand 1♠. No stopping Audrey now and when the heart fit was located checked for key cards and bid onto 7♥. That too was an easy thirteen tricks with a tidy claim at trick one when dummy appeared on the screen for 2210, very nicely bid those two.

Board 3 was a particularly hard lead and defensive problem when every East bar one bid to the flawed 5♣ contract. The general theme of the bidding was the same as in the illustrated auction with south on lead. See how the defence have ♦A and two top spades to cash. The problem was that you had to cash them immediately otherwise declarer would discard a loser on the second round of hearts. An example being when Brydon lead ♦Q, Clive covered with the ♦K,  Polly won ♦A and not unreasonably continued the suit. This was ruffed, trumps drawn and a losing spade disappeared. Only Sooty dog (Sheila B) got it right and after taking her ♦A, played ♠A and ♠Q, to be the sole N/S pair to defeat the game. Very well done.

Meanwhile Daphne was the exception E/W and collected all the match points declaring 3NT from the west hand. After ♥J was lead that was over tricks, two hearts and nine clubs for a top board . Nicely done.

Board 15 was an interesting example of how an alternate line might appear slightly safer but could result in less tricks. In the illustrated auction east opened 1♠  and west made the good limit raise to 3♠.  At several tables east with lots of aces and nineteen points took the plunge and clicked the 6♠ button.

South lead ♥K, the declarers won ♥A entered dummy with ♦K, crossed their fingers and took the spade finesse. If this lost south would swiftly cash ♥Q to defeat the slam but when the finesse was successful, trumps were drawn and the losing hearts in dummy discarded on the diamonds for thirteen tricks and +1010. Well done Clive, John, Colin and Audrey for bidding and making the overtrick in 6♠.

Meanwhile the line i would have taken in 6♠ would have been not to take the spade finesse but to cash ♠A and  peel off four rounds of diamonds discarding the three losing hearts in dummy. This approach does not rely on the finesse and will succeed whenever diamonds break 4-4, singleton ♠K offside or other lies of the cards where i can discard the last heart without the fourth diamond being ruffed by the outstanding small trump. 6♠ would have still made but ♠K would have won, so no overtrick and a below average score.

Note: The finesse line is %50. Still working on the probability of the alternate line. A No fears pen if you can work it out!

Board 12 was a hand of two eleven card fits not to mention the two singleton kings, a good recipe for an action packed auction! 5♣ by west was the most common contract making eleven or twelve tricks. A couple of N/S pairs despite the unfavourable vulnerability bid up to 5♠, not a great save when you get doubled down two tricks for minus 500 against 420 in clubs (see the nasty diamond ruff).

Meanwhile the main excitement involved the third placed pair in the illustrated auction. After north opened 1♠, Audrey doubled and Diana made the good pre-emptive raise 3♠. Mairin was now on the hot spot with her 6-5 shape, she could see that north was likely to raise to 4♠ so found the thoughtful 4♥. This is clever bid, see how  it gets her side to a higher scoring denomination than clubs but allows an efficient 5♣ bid should the bidding come back in 4♠. In fact Audrey competed to 5♥ and ''Clive dived'' in with a double. Not unreasonably he lead his singleton club which works well when partner has ♣A but it was dummy who won with the ♣ A,  felling Diana's single ♣ K. Trumps were drawn and the losing singleton ♠K discarded on the sixth round of clubs for all thirteen tricks and an unlikely +850. Well done them.

Boards seven, eight and nine in the third round were all good slams. Great for N/S but less exiting for the E/W pairs facing a barrage of 4NT ace asking bids and six or even seven level contracts. Well Done Anne G and Katherine who bid all three

Board nine was probably the most awkward to reach with a combined thirty points. Andy D and John S in the illustrated auction were the only other pair to find the excellent 6♣ contract. See how 6♥ also makes but is vulnerable to a 4-1 trump break. So although it scores more the safe 6♣ is probably where you want to be.

Board ten was an interesting example of what you might expect from a vulnerable weak two second in hand. Generally a vulnerable weak two should be reasonable and when combined with the second in hand seat be especially sound. The reason is because action in this seat, will not only effect partner but only impact one opponent, given the other one has already passed. Where as when first in hand you pre-empt two opponents

Both Jackie and Finola opened the south hand a weak two in spades. David checked for aces via RKC and when Jackie admitted to one key card bid to slam. Meanwhile Audrey from Aberlour did not waste any time and as in the illustrated auction simply clicked the 6♠ button. Both were aware that given they held such good spades the opener must have a few values outside the suit given the vulnerability and position. Elsewhere John S did not like the quality of his spade suit and elected to pass only to hear Andy D open 2NT. John transferred with 3♥  and when Andy broke the  transfer showing a maximum and good spades, no problems he too drove to 6♠.

No issues in the play, See how you don't need to worry about ♣K (singleton onside) the losing club can be discarded on a heart anyway, so just ♦ A to lose! Well bid those three pairs to collect a tidy +1430 .

Sometimes it happens that a pair can claim to be unlucky on a board and so it happened to Nick and Tom on board 12. In the illustrated auction sitting N/S they had a sound auction after Tom opened 1NT and Nick responded 2♣  Stayman to locate the good 4-4 fit and play in 4♥ .

Clive lead his singleton ♦6 to Diana's ♦Q and declarers ♦A. Tom ran ♥9 from hand to west's ♥10. No problem from here for the defence, the ♦K and another followed for east to ruff. With ♥ A  to come that was three trump tricks and a diamond to the defence for a one trick set and +100 to E/W. Flattish type of board you might think, but there were a series of misclicks and mishaps elsewhere with even 3NT getting home a couple of times despite a club lead. Only Alex from Barbados played 4♥ from south (a vagary of the strong NT).  He too slipped up and went down in 4♥,  despite a non diamond lead to give the unlucky duo a single match point. Never mind there is always next week

Board six was a straight forward hand to bid, as in the illustrated auction. East opened 1NT and west with sixteen points, a good source of tricks in diamonds an easy raise to 3NT. However the problem was in the play.

South lead ♥3 and when north inserted ♥Q east had a problem. To win, or duck a couple of rounds so as to break communications between the defenders. The 4th highest ♥3 suggests south has at most a five card suit since only ♥2 is lower.

i) Ducking twice: Now set up diamonds. This works when north has ♦A and three hearts. See how north no longer has a heart to return and the contract is secure. However if south has ♦A, will now be able to cash the remaining winning hearts for a one trick defeat. 

ii) Win ♥Q with ♥A  at trick one: Should the ♦A be in the south hand, declarers remaining ♥J♥9 are now protected and a continuation from south does no damage. A guess you might think. But see there is an additional chance even if north holds ♦A , they may also hold ♥10 and when hearts are continued declarer can insert ♥9, finessing ♥10 which also stops the suit. 

Conclusion: The 'percentage play' is to win ♥A at trick one, because not only does it give you that additional chance but also the possibility of an extra overtrick especially if the suit breaks 4-4, crucial at match pointed scoring. Well done SlammerStu the only declarer to find this line and make 3NT for an excellent eleven tricks.

Board 8, east held one of those hands where you hold both majors, good shape and some values to see partner open 1NT. As is the norm there is always a wide variety of actions.

1) Use Stayman and when partner bids 2♦ bid  2♠, 3♠, or 4♠. (Note a 2♥ response does not help because you could still likely have a better ♠ fit).

2) Transfer to spades and after partner bids 2♠, pass or raise to 3♠ or 4♠ 

3) A no messing about 4♠  response.

All these actions have their merits. However the great advantage with the third option is that it not only gets you to game but with a hand good in distribution and short on points may well will keep the opponents out of the auction! Meanwhile only the winners Dowell and Stuart bid to 4♠ in the illustrated auction, well done them.

Board 4 was an instructive hand in evaluation. Most norths opened 1♠  and east now had a ''choice'' of actions. A couple overcalled 2♦ but although west could support to 3♦ the auction never really got going while the remainder made a take out double. The advantage of this action is that it brings all the three suits into the game, maximising the chance of locating a fit. 

In the illustrated auction Cecilia raised Sylvia to 2♠ and now Janet freely bid her club suit (if south passes west needs to jump to 3♣ to indicate the extras). Easy now for Carol with her spade void and excellent support to click 5♣ . Meanwhile Sylvia chose to take the sacrifice in 5♠ and here Carols courage left her. The pass button was timidly pressed, when either double or even 6♣ would have worked a treat. Still 5♠ did not play well going three down and with nobody else bidding game +300 scored all the match points!

See how the east hand has great club support, a void not to mention the two red suit tenaces sitting over the opening bid. So powerful that even raising to 6♣ is not an unreasonable shot!

Board 14 was an excellent 6♠ for N/S. The contract was unbeatable if trumps broke 2-2 and failing this had any number of other chances if 3-1. Not least the diamond finesse, along with various elimination plays. The first hurdle to overcome was to bid the slam and Janet and Carol showed how in the illustrated auction. Janet opened 1♠ showing a five card suit and Carol responded with a Baron 2NT bid. This action shows good spade support and 16+ points. The subsequent bids were cue bids indicating the ace or a control in the mentioned suits. When Carol (north) showed the crucial club control with 4♣  and then diamond control with 5♦ Janet (south) confident they were not missing two cashing clubs clicked the 6♠ button. 

West lead ♦5 Janet inserted ♦J and when this held, the third round of the suit provided a discard for the losing club. That was thirteen tricks and a joint top equal board! Very well bid and played those two. 

On board 21, after south opened 1NT the field was divided in their actions. Some wests passed, while other doubled to show penalty values. See how the hand holds three aces and a good suit to lead in hearts and when you combine these it looks like a certain five tricks, so well worth a double. Those wests that did take action were a able to locate their major suit fit and make nine tricks for a good scoring +140.

Meanwhile in the illustrated auction countdown Andy took full advantage when John opened 1NT and west passed. Andy responded 2♣''Garbage Stayman'' with the intention of passing any bid John made. As it was he hit the Jackpot when 2♦ appeared on the screen. This was an easy pass and after a heart lead John emerged with eight tricks for an unlikely +90 Well improvised Andy. 

For the second Tuesday in less than a month one of the hands held four aces and not much else. It was board fourteen and west saw east open 3♣. Most trusted their partners pre-emptive bid for a good suit and clicked the 3NT button. This would have proved no problem had north passed. In-fact only the third placed pair had no intervention and in 3NT, May won the spade lead cashed her ten tricks for an easy +430.

At other tables north was not having any of this and overcalled 4♠. This was an effective action because with only ''the four said aces'' to lose would have gone a quiet one down. As it was it induced a couple of easts to bid 5♣ and with three losers this too could be defeated. See how competing to 4NT would have been the winning action.

Meanwhile the winners and runners up clashed on the board in the illustrated auction and when Jim also responded 3NT to Irene's 3♣, Colin chose to double with Steve passing. No problem for Jim he had the ten tricks on top and +650 but not enough to finish ahead of Steve and Colin.

Board 14 was an action affair where after south opened the excellent 1NT, all the wests jump overcalled to 3♥ or 4♥. Still no problem for norths Joan, John and Carol, they made the good and sensible game bid 5♦ response.

In 5♦ John and Joan won the ♥J lead and drew trumps. Now the problem was to avoid three losers, a heart and two spades The spade suit held good intermediates and provided both honours were not in the west hand declarer could play two repeated finesses through east to keep the spade suit to one loser and land 5♦. No problem for them, well played those two.

Meanwhile in the illustrated auction the winners and runners up ran into each other. Sandra lead ♥J, Carol won ♥A and also drew trumps but now went for blood. Putting Sandra with ♣K for her double of 5♦ she lead a club from hand and finessed. When ♣Q held, she now had a parking space for her losing heart on the ♣A , so away went the heart. A club ruff back to hand to take the double spade finesse,  Mairine took her ♠K, but that was the end of that! The heart return was ruffed, the second spade finesse taken and a doubled overtrick made, very nicely played. A great top board and +650 to Janet and Carol but not enough for them to overtake Sandra and Mairine's huge %70 score!

When north opened 2NT on board 4, south could hardly believe their eyes. Fifteen points, an almost solid six card spade suit with a good club suit on the side. One or two had a rush of blood and clicked the 6♠ button. While others took a slower approach. John Sneddon was south playing with Fiona after meeting up on the partnership desk. John saw that if partner held three aces there would be twelve sure tricks and a certain one more with partners remaining eight points for a guaranteed grand slam. The traditional way to ask for aces after a 2NT opener is to respond 4♣, the Gerber convention. Fiona bid 4NT indicating three aces. Not wanting to risk a grand slam John signed off in 6NT. Still a better score than 6♠.

Meanwhile as in the illustrated auction, third placed Cate and Stuart bid to the spade grand slam. 3♥ was a transfer to spades and 4NT was RKC for spades and when Cate admitted to three key cards with 5♦. Stuart followed up with a 5NT grand slam try and 7♠ reached. No problem in the play with the fifteen tricks on top Well bid them!

Board 23 was a good minor suit game that not all the field got to grips with. When south opened 1♣, west made a simple or weak jump overcall in diamonds. Either action is fine but where the wheels fell off was with the subsequent response by east. The hand has five card diamond support, four aces not to mention a singleton. Easily worth a raise to 5♦, as in the illustrated auction. Well done Clive, John R and Andy who bid the vulnerable game!

However this was not the end of the story, looking at the E/W hands there appear to be three losers. Two hearts and a spade, so was there a way to make. One of the lines is an elimination play and given that south has opened the bidding, its very likely they hold both the ♥K♥Q. Against John S, Fiona lead a spade which was won in hand and now John drew trumps, cashed the ♣A then played the ♠A and another spade. Brydon won his ♠Q in the south hand, but his goose was cooked! Either concede a ''ruff and discard'' or play a heart setting up ♥J. It was the ♥J that became good and that was eleven tricks for a nicely bid and played +600 to John S and Andy D.

Meanwhile, Alex from Barbados took a different line after a club lead. He drew trumps and set about hearts and when the suit broke 3-3, the 4th round provided a discard for the losing spade. Nice one!

See how the unlikely 3NT has an ten tricks on top for an improbable +630.

We often see declarers embarking on a cross ruff to maximise the number of tricks by making their trumps separately, but seldom do we see the defenders achieve this. However on board 16 the rarity happened. At three tables west opened a weak two in hearts and the auction proceeded as in the illustrated hand.

Defending 4♠, west kicked off with ♥A and when declarer dropped ♥K switched to a small club. Jim, Countdown Andy and Ann M. ruffed with their ♠10 and all found the excellent switch of a diamond (not easy leading away from ♦K into the jaws of ♦A♦10). Irene and two of the three Johns also had a void and were able to ruff to return another club for a third ruff. Eventually when the smoke cleared the defence had made all four of their trumps separately and taken the first five tricks, leaving the declarers Jackie, Daphne and the remaining John to wonder what they had done to deserve this! 

Board 9 was a relatively straight forward slam with twelve tricks available in both heart and No trump contracts. There were two main approaches after east opened 1NT. One was to transfer to hearts and  then bid a slam with the result that east was declarer and the other, as in the illustrated auction was simply to respond 6♥ ending with west as declarer. 

The winners and third placed wests, Anne and Colin responded 6♥ to Katherine and Jackie's 1NT opening bid. I prefer this action for two reasons it gives nothing away and significantly the stronger hand becomes declarer. As it turned out south had the ♦A and cashed it a trick one when east declared 6♥. Meanwhile when west was declarer north generally lead a spade, the result was that when the ♣J fell in two rounds the suit played for five tricks, so along with six hearts and two spades, that was thirteen for a valuable overtrick. A bit lucky but probably deserved.

Board 19 saw the field open the north hand a weak two in spades and the east hands overcall 3♣. Some souths competed with 3♠  while others given the favourable vulnerability, piled on the pressure with a raise to 4♠. Only third placed Frances and Slammer Stu with the good support and crucially a singleton ♠ correctly evaluated the hand as worth a raise to 5♣. Even so an unlikely ♦  lead would have allowed the defence to take the first three tricks , unsurprisingly all the souths lead a normal looking ♠2. No problems now for Billy and Dowell, they took ♠ A, drew trumps and discarded three diamonds on the hearts to make their game contract with an overtrick! That was +620 and a shared, top well done them!

Meanwhile there is an alternate action after 2♠. See how east has sixteen points, a semi balanced hand and crucially a spade stop with the club suit as a source of tricks, so my choice of action would be to overcall 2NT. This gives partner more options and OK we may not play in clubs but see how there are at least ten tricks available in hearts or No trumps not to mention that west can also double 4♠ and collect +300.

Board 3 saw two good actions achieve two undeserved poor scores.

The first was after Nick opened 1NT in the south seat.  Tom sitting north, appreciating the good seven card diamond suit, favourable vulnerability, not to mention spade void found the excellent 5♦ response. No way the winners Ann and Daphne could find their spade fit now, so Ann doubled. They took their three tricks and collected 100. Great sacrifice but no E/W pairs found their spade fit and solid vulnerable game.

The second was John S and after 2♠ minor suit transfer by north, overcalled 3♠ then doubled 4♦. His partner was a temporary robot and confused by the auction the software took no action and ended up defending 4♦ doubled, -510. Unlucky!!

Meanwhile 5♠ declared by east is unbeatable, especially on a diamond lead. See, no need to ruff, just discard a heart from dummy. Win the continuation, draw trumps and pitch a second heart on ♦K. Now you can still make it when both heart honours are off side

Board seven was a hand of three eight card fits for N/S and with 28 points between them only one pair reached a slam. In the illustrated auction, John P opened 1♠ (1NT fine too) indicating a five card suit and Dowell came in with a sound weak jump overcall of 3♣. Countdown Andy had good support, sixteen points and a void so made the practical shot of 6♠, (no point asking for aces when you hold a void). Dowell was on lead and tried to cash his ♣A, but this was ruffed in dummy. John now just needed the trumps to break 3-2 or failing this a singleton ♠Q or even ♠10 would do the job. Unlucky, the trumps broke 4-1 with ♠5 being the singleton so that was one down  but still not enough to stop them from taking first place with a big score

Its not often you see a 2NT opening bid getting overcalled with a four level pre-empt but on board five every west clicked the 4♥ button after south opened 2NT. This may sound a bit aggressive but see the great eight card suit, void and favourable vulnerability, so not unreasonable.  At most tables north doubled and defeated the contract by two or three tricks to collect a 300 or 500 penalty. Even so 3NT by south has at least ten tricks on a heart lead so a good save against minus 630!

Meanwhile at one table the action differed, as in the illustrated auction. After Dowell opened 2NT and Mairine overcalled 4♥, Slammer Stu not wishing to sell out to a cheap sacrifice competed with 5♣ . Sandra could hardly believe her eyes with a five card club suit herself and doubled. This got passed out and when 'the smoke cleared' Stu emerged with nine tricks and minus 500. Still a bit unlucky but nicely doubled Sandra.

When south rightly upgraded their nice looking 7-4-1-1 shaped hand to a jump rebid  of 3♥  on board six many norths felt there was a potential slam on.

See how north has good three card support with the spades and diamonds controlled, So the only real danger in 6♥  was that the defence had cashing club tricks and most norths did not go beyond 5♥. In the illustrated auction Andy D chose to respond 1♠  (2♣  more orthodox with such a strong hand because you can still bid spades later). John S made the strong jump rebid of 3♥, now Andy checked for aces with 4NT. Even though John only showed one with 5♦,  made the well judged decision that though they were missing one it was unlikely to be both the ♣A♣K or failing this a club shortage would do . Polly was on lead and accurately found the club lead which was good news for her, because this stopped the overtrick when Alecs took his ♣A, however the bad news was despite the field making thirteen tricks, no one else had bid the slam so still no match points. 

For the second week in a row a monster hand turned up. This time the norths held it on board ten. But before they got to bid, south opened a weak two in spades. Jim and Judith had no doubts what to do next and clicked the 6♠ button. With the heart finesse working and 3-3 break that was an easy thirteen tricks for Val and Irene, the top score. Well done them.

Meanwhile Clare also saw Brydon open 2♠  but she took a more scientific approach, as shown in the illustrated auction. The 2NT enquiry and subsequent 4NT R.K.C. Blackwood bid failed to elicit anything extra from Brydon. Naturally, extremely worried about a club lead through her ♣K in 6♠,  she nicely right sided the contract by bidding 6NT. See how the effect of this action is to make her declarer and protects the ♣K. To an extent this worked with the club honours lying over ♣K but south had a void, so no matter. In 6♠ the ♣9 lead was ruffed anyway! Against Clare's 6NT contract, Janet shrewdly cashed her ♣ A and that was twelve tricks 'bound in brass' for 1440 but not enough to beat the 1460, those in 6♠ achieved. Never mind well thought out and a bit unlucky.

When board one appeared on the screen, i wondered if i had inadvertently loaded a set of Goulash boards the hand was so extreme. Looking at the south hand you would think that there were eleven tricks for certain and partner would require very little for a twelfth and a small slam could well be on. 

A couple of south's felt this too and bid the slam. Third placed Daphne opened 2♣ and rebid 6♥, meanwhile Anne G did not 'beat about the bush' and simply opened 6♥ . I quite like their actions because it is extremely unlikely you will be able to find out if partner has the exact cards needed for slam. So not unreasonable to bid it and hope for the best. 

Unfortunately for them partner did have useful cards in diamonds but absolutely no way to get to dummy and enjoy them. In fact things went from bad to worse when all the outstanding trumps were in the east hand and despite what looked like eleven tricks became ten. For Daphne there was still more to come and to add insult to injury the east at her table doubled. Never mind guys a good effort and a bit unlucky.

Board 14 was a distributional affair with twelve tricks available to E/W in either red suit, but it was an awkward one and only a couple of pairs reached game contracts.

The problems were two fold, west's initial response and east's subsequent rebid. Generally east opened 1♥ and after a 1♠ response, east rebid 3♥. This action shows a good hand but not forcing and does not get across the power of the hand held. With eight playing tricks and so much strength opposite a partner with some values, a 4♥ rebid is the most likely action needed. This at the least ensures game is reached.

Even so the west hand has a lot of distribution and despite only eight points the good seven card diamond suit has so much more quality than the poor spade suit it warrants a 2♦ response. The effect of this action is to make east jump rebid to 3♥ forcing. Note: After a 2 level response, a jump rebid is game forcing. As in the illustrated auction with spades out of the picture west can rebid the diamond suit getting across the length and quality. Now with controls in the other suits along with good trump support east can have a pot at 6♦ or even 6♥

Board two was a challenge for E/W and when Anne G was held up in traffic, she missed the first three boards. So a temporary robot was assigned to Ann M until her real life partner logged in. Unfortunately, she forgot that robots play a strong NT and opened the east hand 1NT. The robot (west) with twenty points had no problem with the arithmetic and raised to 7NT, its cousin, software 'deep finesse' might have made the Grand slam but too hard for the rest of us. Still The two Ann's recovered to take third place

Meanwhile everybody else also opened 1NT but their partners knew this was 12-14. Even so only Jackie really got to grips with the deal and as in the illustrated auction responded 2♣ Stayman with both majors. Then when Brydon denied one, she clicked the 6NT button. I like this action because the powerful nature of the hand make it worth more than twenty points, so definitely worth an upgrade. Brydon set up the heart suit and when the defence switched to a diamond meant he had eleven tricks, the successful finesse of ♠K provided the twelfth for 990 and a top board.

Board 22 was a particularly hard defensive problem when almost the whole field found themselves defending a 4♠ contract declared by south. The most common route was as in the illustrated auction where south overcalled easts weak two in hearts with 2♠. North had a good eleven points so raised to 3♠ and game reached.

Invariably west lead their singleton ♥5 on which east took their ace and returned ♥4. West ruffed and 'cashed' their ♣A, but that was the end of that and declarer had the rest. In-fact not taking the ♣A and switching to a diamond does not work either, declarer can run this to ♦J and discard a losing club on the high diamonds after drawing trumps.

Only Clive and John R found the winning defence and after taking ♥A realised they would need two more tricks to go with their ♥A and potential ruff. So rather than give the immediate ruff both switched to ♣Q, declarer covered with ♣K and Diana and Anne won their ♣A and returned ♣4. Clive and John took their ♣J and now played ♥4 to give the ruff. That was four tricks to E/W on the 'burst' and 4♠ defeated ........great stuff guys!

Note: When east plays a heart for west to ruff, the suit preference signal applies. A high heart would suggest play back the higher ranking of the two remaining suits ...ergo a diamond while a low one the lower of the two remaining suit therefore a club.

Board nine had lots of potential for E/W but only new comers Kathryn and Moira bid to the excellent 4♠ contract. Half the wests overcalled south's 1♣ with 1♠ the remaining half passing, relying on east to find an overcall of 1♠ with the east cards. Either way both partners found themselves looking at five card spade support!!

The key to bidding this hand is when your partner indicates a five card suit and you have five cards too, this is no time to hold back and full blown aggression is required. In the latter case west's five card support is good but has not much shape. So opposite a hand that has not opened, a raise to 3♠ with the ten card fit is fine. Even so, east may take the plunge with the diamond void.

Meanwhile In the illustrated auction Countdown Andy got the closest with a jump raise to 3♠ holding the east hand, but in reality this is not enough and a straight forward 4♠ action will get the job done. See how along with five card spade support there is also a diamond void and powerful ♥A♥K holding. This virtually eliminates any chance of losers in the red suits so just a matter of partner taking care of the black suits .

The general advice is don't lead an unsurported ace, find another suit. But occasionally this action pays off especially if you have good length in the said suit and Board 5 was a prime example. After north opened the hand at various levels in spades...1♠, 2♠ and 3♠  (my preference is 1♠, with the hand holding two aces and a good quality suit) many found themselves on lead against 5♣  Superficially this looks likely to make just losing the two aces. But see how the effect of leading ♠ A and then another gives south a ruff!. Well done to Katherine and Brydon who found this fine defence and along with ♦ A were the only two to defeat 5♣ .

Meanwhile despite the heart void Fiona and John R both found themselves declaring 3NT by west. No danger of a spade ruff for them and ten or eleven tricks, for all the match points E/W!

Board 8 was an excellent 4♥ by E/W where on a normal 4th highest club or spade lead ten tricks were easy enough, when the heart suit broke 2-2 and ♥ Q fell. No losers except in diamonds and with the ♦ A sitting over the ♦K three looked unavoidable.

In the illustrated auction the winners bid their way to 4♥ and Diana was at the helm after Clive made an invitational raise to her 2♥ Stayman response with 3♥. No problem for Diana, five hearts and a maximum, so an easy 4♥.

A club was lead, won in hand with ♣A after south played the ♣K. Trumps drawn, then two rounds of spades and a third ruffed. ♣Q and a club ruffed, followed by the fourth spade ruffed. The black suits eliminated, south now only held minor suit cards and Diana played ♦10 towards ♦K and played low when Tom's ♦3 appeared. Nick was south, took ♦Q and all he could do was either cash his ♦A setting up the ♦K or as happened, returned a club. Diana discarded a diamond in hand and ruffed on the table (ruff and discard), to limit her losses to two diamonds. That was eleven tricks and a top equal board. Very well played and definitely worth a No Fears pen.

Board 9 was a good example of how astute declarer play can get you that extra trick and achieve a good score.

The auction at six of the tables started the same with west opening 2NT and east responding 3♥ (a transfer to spades). West completed the transfer and east rebid 3NT indicating five spades and giving west a choice of contracts. Those that bid 4♠ with the good eight card fit received the singleton ♣3 lead, ♣J by south taken with the ♣A and then drew trumps. With ♣K109 over the remaining club honour only Jim found the play of small to the ♣10 to finesse the ♣Q and play the suit for no losers. This is a no cost line and 25% of the time both honours will be in the south hand. Infact had he crossed back to dummy with ♥Q he could have repeated the play setting up a fourth round club winner to discard a diamond and land twelve tricks. Never mind eleven was a top board, well played Jim.

Meanwhile only runner up Nanna did not correct Brydon's 3NT to 4♠. Not unreasonably with the 4-3-3-3 shape, preferring to try her luck in 3NT. The 'theory' here is that you score more in no-trumps contracts than a major when making the same number of tricks, however this action can backfire. Fourth placed Nancy was on lead and not tested, she lead ♦5, Steven grabbed his ♦K to collect the first five tricks and then subsequently one in the wash for a two trick defeat and a top board for them in the other direction (N/S) . Still a bit unlucky Nanna, on a non diamond lead, ten easy tricks for +630 and a top board.

Board 8 was instructive in both bidding and play. N/S have 26 points between them but despite this only one pair made it to game. Auctions were varied when a couple of easts overcalled 1♠ with the unconvincing suit. Even so the key to the hand is for north with the semi balanced 16 points and spades double stopped to rebid 1NT or even 2NT as in the illustrated auction. Now south with eleven points can raise to 3NT.

Only Tom found the NT rebid, so only he had the challenging task of making nine tricks in 3NT. A spade was lead and declarer could count seven tricks and needed to establish two more. Tom went after the diamond suit but the problem with this line is you have to lose the lead twice, east took the ♦K and continued spades, the ♠ suit established and a second diamond (although setting up that suit) allowed east to take ♦A  and five tricks in all before Tom could take his nine.

The solution is to go after hearts for the two additional tricks, because on many lie of the cards you can establish the suit by only losing the lead once. Run ♥Q and if this fails you will need the suit to break 3-3, however it is successful a doubleton ten or nine in either the defenders hands will see you home too, even if there is a 4-2 break, and as here an overtrick to boot..

Board 12 proved a tough one after east overcalled north's 1♣ opener with 1♦ and despite the good nine card club fit only a couple of N/S pairs found their way to the excellent club contract which has eleven tricks.

Meanwhile the winners sat E/W and stole the auction in a 3♦ contract when (not alone) south took no action after Janet overcalled 1♦ and Carol supported. The souths that did bid were Daphne with a 2♣ raise, while Clare made a negative double (typically shows 4-4 in the majors) and Phillip found the orthodox 1♥ response. All these bids have their merits and despite the balanced nature of the hand, it does contains an ace and king both good cards and after partner opens 1♣ is definitely worth some kind of bid. Still, even if nothing stands out just because you are unsure what to do, pass is not an option.

After Daphne's raise Anne found herself in 4♣  making the overtrick  while Brydon drove to 4♠ (4-3 fit)  after Clare's negative double, a charitable defence followed and this got home for a lucky +620.

Board one was one of those rare occasions when the whole field achieved the same score. Namely 2♠ or 3♠ making ten tricks. 4♠ is an excellent contract but despite the eleven card fit was not reached.

The key to bidding game is norths initial response to south's 1♠ opening bid. At some tables west with the perfect shape made a take out double even so north only raised to 2♠ and with the semi balanced thirteen points south not unreasonably either passed or competed to 3♠ when east bid 3♣ .

North only has seven points but the hand has significant distributional vales.1) The ♦ A and ♠ K are very good cards better than queens and jacks. 2) The hand is semi balanced and the two doubletons give the hand greater strength. 3) The five card spade support also means you have a minimum ten card fit.

Factor all these together and the hand becomes worth an invitational raise to 3♠. No problem for south now and a shot at game to the unbeatable 4♠. 

Roles were reversed on Board 19 when north correctly penalty doubled wests 1NT with the good 16 points. Normally it is the partner of the 1NT opener that does the rescue manoeuvre but here the tables were turned and it was the partner of the doubler that needed to save the day. Both Clare and Irene saw the double ticket appear on the screen and when Nanna and Jim cards hit the table, both went on to made overtricks for weird scores of +380 and +580. So the question arises, should south have taken any action? 

The general rule is that if partner doubles a 1NT opening and your hand is very weak, best bid your long suit and hope you end up in a better spot. Even if this is not successful at least you don't concede a doubled contract. So with only two points, a 2♦ bid is called for. Despite the 5-1 fit this does not play too badly but more than likely west will bid hearts. Still you are not defending 1NT doubled.

Meanwhile Countdown Andy overcalled 1NT with a 'Landy 2♣' showing the majors. When John competed with 2♠ after 2♦ from east, there was no stopping and 4♠ was reached. Amazingly this can be made but not easy, still John emerged with nine tricks, nice try!

Board 5 was an unbeatable small slam but did have Grand slam potential. Most of the field bid to 6♥ and with the ♣ K favourably placed thirteen tricks were there for the taking. When their partners opened 1♥  Hazel, Mairin, Diana and Steve with nineteen points responded 1♠ and after checking for aces bid nicely onto 6♥ .

Meanwhile, Dowell in the illustrated auction had a 'sniff' at the Grand slam. Once Stu had confirmed that they held all the aces with 5♥, Dowell made the grand slam try of 5NT. Assuming east held the ♥K either minor suit king would mean he could count thirteen tricks. As it was the 6♦ response only showed one so Dowell signed off in 6♥. Still well thought out.

Even so being in a small slam should not detract declarer from making all thirteen tricks and both Brydon and Slammer Stu maximised their score by achieving this. Assuming a passive spade or trump lead, the best approach is to draw trumps ending on the table and discard the two losing diamonds and a club on the spades. Now return to hand and run ♣J and when this is successful, claim all the tricks.

Since i had written the commentary on this evenings hands, was looking forward to seeing how close it was to the actual actions and results at the various tables. Board 12 was one i had a keen eye on and seeing how many pairs would reach the excellent 6♠ contract.

North has a good 2NT opener and south a shapely hand ideal for the Stayman convention. Norths 3♠ was a nice surprise and south with eleven points, good trumps plus a singleton is definitely worth a raise to 6♠. Both 4th placed Jackie and 6th placed Diana found this sequence as shown in the illustrated auction to reach the spade slam. Now it was up to their partners David and Clive to land the contract and reap the reward. David took the losing spade finesse but set up clubs for his twelfth trick while Clive played ♠A♠K and although he too eventually lost to the ♠Q had plenty of spare trump tricks to also achieve +1430. A very well bid and played those two pairs.

Meanwhile the only other south to have a go at slam bid an immediate quantitative 4NT response. You can see why, if North had a maximum 22 points, 6NT should be OK. Even so better would be try Stayman first and if north bids 3♦ or 3♥, now bid the invitational 4NT. As it was north passed 4NT and with no trump tricks to ruff with scrambled home to make exactly.

Board eleven was an excellent slam but only two pairs bid to the six level. The general rule i advise, is that a strong hand opposite a strong hand is a suggestion that there is a slam and this deal was a good example.

The key to finding it is east's initial response to west's 1♦ opener. With seven likely heart tricks and ♦K outside the hand may prove hard to describe if you respond 1♥, so i quite like an immediate jump shift response of 2♥ to get across the playing strength. West also has a strong hand and now slam should become apparent.

In the illustrated auction Andy D elected to show the strong heart suit by a direct leap to 4♥. John S accurately read the action and proceeded to ask for aces with 4NT.  Andy showed one and 6♥ reached. Meanwhile Jackie and David were the only other pair to bid slam when Jackie (west) showed excellent judgement and upgraded her '♠AQ' with a jump rebid of 2NT (18-19pts), after south overcalled 1♠. No stopping David now and he too bid 6♥. Nicely done those two pairs.

For the second week in a row board 23 set an awkward problem . At most tables south opened a sound weak two in in hearts and west with the extreme 6-5 in the minors had a decision as to what action to take. A couple made a take out double and one ended playing 4♠, not a success in the seven card fit. Meanwhile a couple even passed to await further developments. Unfortunately for them none was forth coming and 2♥ became the final contract. In fact no E/W pairs found their way to the good 5♣ contract with many defending heart part scores, a comfortable make for N/S.

It was only third placed John P who was on the right track and he overcalled 2NT (thinking this was the unusual variety showing the minors). Andy correctly interpreted the bid as a strong and natural,  indicating 15-18 points with a stop in hearts. Andy now showed his five card spade suit and too ended  in 4S. 

The solution is for John P is to overcall 4NT. This is not asking east how many aces but a variant of the unusual 2NT overcall and indicates extreme distribution and length in both minors. East with longer clubs can convert to 5♣. Eleven tricks are there provided declarer ruffs the third round of diamonds, thereby establishing the suit before drawing trumps.

 Note: John would have been correct in his action had south opened at the one level but after a two level pre-empt the bid becomes natural.

Board 22 was a great example of how a Michaels cue bid would have helped west after south opened a pre-emptive 3♣. See how with 5-5 in the majors there is no clear course of action. A take out double is not ideal and if east has three card support for one of the majors but not the other, which one to call is guess work. The solution is a direct cue bid of 4♣ as in the illustrated auction. This action indicates at least 5-5 in the majors and ensures the best fit is located.

At one table when When Irene opened 3♣ fourth placed Jackie guessed to overcall 4♥ and ruffed Jim's ♣ A lead. She then drew three rounds of trumps and set about spades. Jim ruffed in with his master trump and cashed ♦A. But that was that and declarer had the remaining tricks! Nicely done Jackie but better to play Michaels cue bids and reach the sounder 4♠ contract.

Board 10 was one where E/W had ten easy tricks in hearts. Meanwhile N/S could muster nine tricks in either black suit, so had a great opportunity for a sacrifice against the heart game.

At most tables east opened 1♥ and despite the 3♣ overcall from south went on to play in 4♥ . But at three tables north bid on, Beryl bravely to 5♣ while Clive tried 4♠ . Both contracts made the nine tricks but undoubled, so just a small minus compared to the -620 incurred by the rest of the field!

It was Mairin and Sandra who got the best of it in the illustrated auction. When Nanna opened a very top heavy weak 2♥  the whole dynamics of the auction changed. Mairin overcalled 3♣ and Sandra raised to 5♣. John R was west and not realising the defensive strength of Nannas super good weak two thought that it was his side sacrificing and bid 5♥. No problems for the defence, ♣A was lead followed by a spade switch for the only N/S plus score on the board. Unlucky Nanna and John, well done this weeks winners.

Board 11 was a good example of why direct and aggressive bids are an effective way of winning the board and getting to the right contract. At virtually all the tables west overcalled the 1♠ opener with 2♥ giving north the opportunity to support spades. Only good fortune allowed a few to reach 4♥, because they had a second bite at the cherry and got the chance to bid hearts again. A couple were pushed to the four level and then allowed to play there.

Meanwhile Anne G knew what to do with the hand. The solid seven card suit and spade void at 'equal vulnerability' warranted a 4♥ overcall. This action, both got her to game and kept N/S out of the auction. See how nine tricks are there in spade contracts, a cheap sacrifice against 4♥ and 4♠ hard to find after a four level overcall. Great bid Anne.

Board 5 saw north pick up a good eight card spade suit with two aces on the side. The suit itself is not quite solid but the 'stuffing' make it worth seven playing tricks more or less and with the two aces you can assign the hand worth about nine playing tricks. Opening 1♠ or even 2♣ is fine but a 4♠ opener would be more typical of this hand minus the outside aces.

Only two pairs bid 6♠ one of them last weeks winners in the illustrated auction. Sandra opened at the one level and then jump rebid to the four level. Mairin reading Sandra for the type of hand she had (not quite good enough for a 2♣ opener but too good to jump rebid 3♠) checked for aces. Sandra admitted to three and Mairin bid the slam. No problem in the play Tom lead ♥5 won in dummy, ♠2 from the table meant no decision on how best to tackle the trump suit when the ♠ J appeared. That was twelve tricks. Meanwhile the only other pair to bid slam were more direct. Colin opened 1♠ and when John R responded 2♦, Colin did not 'beat about the bush' and clicked the 6♠ button . That too was twelve tricks for +1430, well bid both pairs.

An interesting point in the play had the ♠J not appeared but a small one.  Since you can afford one loser in the suit one, there are two options i) Play ♠A and another protecting against a singleton ♠K or ♠J in east and also making when the suit breaks 2-2. ii) Finesse and play ♠Q, protecting against ♠KJX onside.  Not much in the two lines, both about 2-1 on shots, but taking the finesse is a slightly better chance.

Board 20 was an interesting example of how declarer can maximise their number of tricks by looking at the smaller cards and using them as entries to enjoy an established suit in dummy. The auctions were varied. Everybody opened 1♣  with the west hand but with no defence and a hand that looks like a very good weak two i prefer a pre-emptive 3♣. Any way bar one pair everybody ended up in 4♥ or 5♥.

All the wests lead a top club and switched to a diamond. Declarer has eleven tricks, eight hearts, ♦ A and ♠ A♠K. The key to making a twelfth trick is by ruffing the spade suit good and for declarer to do this needs entries to dummy. See how dummy's heart pips are bigger than the two outstanding in the defenders and you can use them as entries. By all means draw one round of trumps and then ruff a spade ''high'' keeping your small trumps in hand intact to cross over back to dummy to ruff a second spade. With one trump left in dummy declarer can cross back to cash the remaining top spade, when east follows with ♠Q, the ♠J is now a winner for the twelfth trick. Well done Janet and Polly who both made twelve tricks.

The action came early on in board 3. A deal that would not stand out in the Xmas Goulash tourney! E/W have any number of tricks but many pairs found it hard to bid the slam, with only a couple reaching the small slam. The most popular opening action by west was 3♦ but in reality the solid eight card suit warrants a 4♦ opener.

Only Polly and Alec got the measure of the deal as shown in the illustrated auction. After Polly opened 4♦, Alec with his 'massive holding' seven club tricks and two aces, could visualise the type of hand he was sitting opposite. He checked they were not missing the trump ace with 4NT, Blackwood. Polly confirmed holding the case ace with 5♦ and it was reasonable to assume that the rest of the suit was good. Even missing the ♦K partner would have at least the ♦Q so on a finesse at worst, Alec clicked the 7♦ button. When dummy appeared on the screen Polly could count eight diamonds, seven clubs and a pair of aces, that came to seventeen tricks! But you cant make overtricks in a grand slam. Well done those two, nicely bid.

Board 23 was a good example of why you can sometimes make lots of tricks with not necessarily a great number of points. Despite only twenty seven between them N/S have an easy twelve tricks in spades. The key to this is the heart suit, see how norths singleton sits opposite souths four rags. What this means is that although there are no points only one trick can be lost or in other words the defenders have ten points but only one trick. Now all the remaining points are concentrated in the other three of declarers suits, ensuring no losers there.

Only at one table was 6♠  bid and this against the winners Katherine and Anne. In the illustrated auction Countdown Andy held the north hand and opened 1♠ and when John raised to 3♠ felt positive about chances of making slam. The hand has good shape and slam suitable cards, not to mention the nine card trump fit. After 4NT (RKC Blackwood) John showed one key card with 5♦ so  Andy bid 6♠. Ann found the good ♥2 lead to Katherines ♥ A but this was only enough to stop the overtrick. Still well bid and played all round.

Its not often that you see thirty nine points shared between two hands but this happened on board 23 where south and east were the beneficiaries. Bar one accident, everybody saw 4♠ declared by east for an easy ten tricks.

The main route was south opening 1♦, followed by most easts bidding directly to 4♠. But at one table John and Walter had a stroke of good fortune when John opened 1♦. East failed to notice the bid and 'opened/overcalled 2♣' to show the balanced 24 points. Unfortunately west was not 'clairvoyant ' (just Clare) and took it as a natural overcall. After the smoke cleared, the final contract was 5♠X, defeated by one trick. A top board for the runners up but unlucky for the excellent Clare.

Meanwhile in the illustrated auction it was 'the robot' playing with Brydon that much amusement was had, when the software opened the south hand a 15-17 no trump. Countdown Andy held East and good at the 'numbers game' had a complete read of the deal. With twenty four points in hand could calculate that north and west shared at most a jack between them. He went for a penalty double which was passed by the robot, a good call because this is at worst two down. Brydon could have passed for a second top but made a 'rescue attempt' with 2♥ also -500, but only rescued his opponents. Andy now had a second chance and had seen enough, he clicked the 4♠  button to get back in step with the rest of the field to collect 620. 

Never mind Goulash, you get unusual hands on regular deals.

Board eleven was a great example of trusting your partner. At many tables after south opened 1NT west overcalled 2♣. This is the Landy convention showing both majors and a 2♦ response by east is conventional, it asks partner to bid their longer major. Particularly useful when holding equal length because it enables the best fit to be located. Even so some easts with the good card seven card diamond suit bid 2♦ and after 2♥ bid 3♦. West got the message and passed. Both the John and Andy partnerships bid in this fashion to reach 3♦. The favourable lie of the major honours meant nine tricks was the outcome for +110 and a top board. Well bid those two pairs.

Meanwhile at two tables in the illustrated auction, east tried a different approach and after partners conventional 2♣ knowing that 2♦ did not show diamonds sensibly jumped to 3♦ hoping that this too would get the message across. In a situation like this when you have shown two specific suits and partner goes well out of their way to avoid playing either you must give them the benefit of the doubt. Sadly neither wests believed their partner and removed to 3♥, a contract that does not play well and resulted in a two trick defeat. Never mind a saying spurned but a lesson learned.

Board 12 could have been a stray from last weeks Goulash tourney with E/W holding very distributional hands.

This weeks winners bid nicely to 6♠  in the illustrated auction. Carol has almost eight playing tricks in spades and after Janet's response made a jump rebid of 3♠ to get across the strength of the hand. ♥A♥K and ♦A♦K were strong holdings and further investigation was warranted. Janet asked for key cards with 4NT and when Carol showed three, clicked the 6♠ button. A trump was lead and Carol drew trump then took the heart finesse. No problem when this lost to ♥Q, the suit was established and +1430. Well bid those two.

Board 7 was a typical Goulash deal where both sides could make high level contracts. In fact with the favourable heart finesse N/S are cold for 7♦ .

On the illustrated auction Hazel and Norma achieved a top board when after John and Walter bid to 6♠. Hazel nailed it  and took ''the sacrifice'' in 7♥. As it turned out 7♥ could only be beaten if John found an unlikely diamond lead, see how Walter can ruff. Still John did well to bid onto 7♠ a contract doomed to fail with the A♥ loser, not to mention on a club lead too, giving south a ruff at trick 1. Still a lot better than conceding the probable minus 2210!!

But it was the in the play in spade contracts where every declarer did not optimise the number of tricks, that the damage was done. The void in diamonds and singleton heart meant only one loser in the red suits. So just a matter of managing the club suit. Most of the time there would be no story, but this was a Goulash event where bad breaks and freak distributions are rife. So care needed to be taken and catering for a 4-0 club split was crucial. This can be done by cashing a top honour in the west hand and now which ever way the 4-0 split 'materialised', appropriate action could be taken and ♣J finessed. Unfortunately everybody took the ♣ A first and no way out to avoid a club loser. Eleven tricks was the outcome and several 6♠ slams defeated. Never mind it was a good lesson on a classic 'safety play'.

Board 23 provided a universal play problem for east. On this rare occasion the whole field were either in a partial club contract with a couple of E/W pairs reaching 5♣. On the illustrated auction Brydon with the very powerful and distributional hand overcalled 5♣. This is the correct action, both getting to game and pre-empting the opposition in one bid.

Meanwhile everybody received a spade lead, taken with ♠A. Declarer can see three losers, two hearts and one spade. The spade can be discarded on dummy's ♦A, but how to get there?

The only possibility is dummy's third club and after ♣A♣K the ♣10 becomes an entry on which to reach 'the table' to take the crucial discard. Still this was not the end of the story, declarer now had to hope hearts split 3-3. Good play was rewarded and the 4th heart became a winner for the eleventh trick. Well done Janet, Clare and Walter who too found this line to land eleven tricks.

Post mortem: See how if the ♣Q was 'singleton' the hand becomes a lot easier and the ♣10 entry totally apparent. Not only that, the third club in dummy can now be used to ruff declarers 4th heart and 5♣ is 'a gimme'.

Board seventeen caused any amount of problems for a number of wests after south made a pre-emptive 3♠ overcall and frequently game, not to mention slam was missed.

On the illustrated auction Colin held the west hand and ran into Irish Maggie sitting south, who made the good pre-emptive jump overcall of 3♠ . With twelve points, passing is not really an option and the five-card heart suit looks a little risky to introduce at the four level. Colin solved the problem by clicking the double button. Generally, it is best to play double of an overcall, for take-out with appropriate values because it offers more flexibility than if it were for penalties. As it was game was reached but not the excellent slam. 

The question is what action should east take with the very powerful three suited hand after the 'negative double' and ensure slam is reached. A good way to make partner bid their best suit is to cue bid the opponent's suit, here with 4♠. No problem now for west, 5♥ response and east can raise to 6♥. Not easy, but if you think about it, west is unlikely to have much in spades so must hold 'stuff' in the red suits, making slam a great prospect.

Board six was a sequel to last week's hand but this time it was twenty-one points opposite a 1NT opener. The winners had no problem and when Colin opened the weak NT hand, Stephen with the good twenty-one points clicked the 6NT button. After a ♠J lead Colin set about the club suit and when Nanna took her ♣ A that was twelve tricks and a top equal board.

Meanwhile at one table after east opened 1NT, west 'wheeled' out the rarely used Gerber convention. This is a direct response of 4♣ to a 1NT or 2NT opener and asks partner how many aces they have. Unfortunately, east got into a muddle with the Blackwood convention and responded 4♥ indicating one ace (5♥ after Blackwood shows two aces). West thinking, they were missing two aces signed off in 4NT and that was two overtricks.

See how West got the maths wrong with twenty-one points in hand and twelve in partners. The total of thirty-three points meant they could not be missing two aces and ergo no need for the Gerber convention in the first place. Never mind it's a long time since I have seen Gerber in action, definitely a blast from the past.

The Gerber convention was devised by the Swiss pair William Konigsberger and Win Nye in 1936. John Gerber of Texas introduced it to North America in 1938 and got its name (Wiki). Like the Blackwood convention it asks for aces but uses 4♣ instead. Gerber is best applied after no-trump openings and for this reason rarely makes an appearance since the 4NT quantitative slam invite is far more frequent.

The cards did not lie well on Board 13 and infact it was a deal where its better to play from the weaker of the two hands!

A few easts were distracted by the solid looking heart suit and opened 1♥. This ended up with them playing in suit contracts resulting in a couple of positive scores. But typically, most easts with the balanced 20 points opened a more orthodox 2NT. Not unreasonably west with the good eleven points and 5-5 in the minors felt they were worth a little more than a raise to 3NT and bid 4NT. This is a quantitative bid and asks partner to pass with a minimum and push on to 6NT with a maximum. East with the minimum passed. South lead ♠ 4 and with north holding the ♠ AQ over the doubleton ♠K the defence took the first four tricks. See how if south leads ♠10 the defence can prevent spades from becoming blocked and take the first five tricks!

Meanwhile Anne and Daphne found their way to an unlikely 4♥ contract and after a diamond lead emerged with eleven tricks and second top. Board 13 not so unlucky for them.

Board 6 presented any number of problems for the field. Despite twenty-seven points between them only one N/S pair reached the excellent 3NT contract.

The main stumbling block was the choice of rebid by south and with 5-4 shape most elected to rebid 2♣ after opening 1♦. Subsequently it proved very problematic to get the overall strength of the hand across and game was missed.

Only the winners really got to grips with the deal and Daphne gave Ann the message with a strong jump rebid of 3♣. Ann with ten points and the unbid suit spades guarded could now click the 3NT button. Meanwhile 4th placed Colin was on lead and normally you would lead the unbid suit, but Colin had a solid looking suit of his own and not unreasonably tried the ♣Q. Unfortunately, this gave Ann time to set up a heart trick along with nine she had. Still with no one else bidding game, the overtrick was irrelevant and as they say a 'bottom board is a bottom board'.

In reality, with seventeen points and essentially a balanced sort of hand south is far better off rebidding 1NT indicating 15-17 points. Not only does this describe the strength but also keeps the bidding low, allowing many avenues along which to explore to the best contract.

Sometimes you hold one of those very strong hands where you face a bid and a raise. East encountered this problem on board 3 and had to make a decision, double for takeout or bid a suit. Many not unreasonably doubled but when south bid 3♠ or 4♠, the unfavourable vulnerability ended with them getting pushed off the hand to collect a small plus defeating these contracts. 

On the illustrated auctions Nick and Brydon elected to over call 3♦. South still bid onto 4♠ but neither Irish Maggie or Tom were fazed and with good four card support along with the singleton ♣ clicked the 5♦ button. Still one south did not believe the bidding and duly doubled with her two aces. Only the ace of trumps scored and with her heart trick lost in 'the wash' that was an overtrick, plus 950 to Mags and Brydon. Meanwhile Tom and Nick were undoubled but still a second top board, well bid those two pairs.

Board 3 was a good example of why you need to express your values after partner has made a takeout double. At every table south opened a weak two in hearts and most wests with the ideal distribution made a takeout double. Even so many easts with the excellent eleven points bid just 3♦ and that was the final contract.

Only fourth placed Janet appreciated the need to show the quality of her hand and with the nice looking six card diamond suit made a jump to 4♦. Now holding four card support and a singleton Carol raised to 5♦. When the spade finesse worked that was twelve tricks and +620. Well bid those two! The general rule is that if you have more than a minimum hand (10+ points} and partner has made a take-out double you need to make a jump bid to get across the value of the hand.

Board 20 illustrated the need to take decisive action over the opponents pre-empt and also why once you have pre-empted you must not bid again (save unless partner forces you to do so).

Most wests opened a sound 3♦ and with the solid club suit, two singletons, along with great hearts norths, Katherine and Clive found the good 5C overcall. Both received a diamond lead and were careful to ruff the diamond continuation with a high trump in hand to prevent east from overruffing with ♣8. That was eleven tricks, well done those two.

Meanwhile the winners had a spot of luck. Beryl overcalled 4♣ and probably regretted her action when she saw Richard pass. Fortunately for her, west came to the 'rescue' and bid again with 4♦ . This gave Beryl a second bite at the cherry🍒. The 5♣ button was clicked and that too was eleven tricks for +600!

It is generally accepted there is a never to be broken rule: that is, once you have pre-empted you must not bid again unless forced to do so by partner. The philosophy is, that the initial pre-empt you have selected will give a problem and once the opponents have decided what action to take there is nothing left to do. Bidding again only gives them the chance to reassess and as above get it right at the second attempt. Infact 4♦ doubled is no picnic either and on best defence goes four light for -1100!

It was early on in the tournament when on board 3 E/W found themselves with 26 points, an eight-card spade fit and a useful singleton but bar one pair everybody played in part score😢.

In the illustrated auction south opened 1♥ and west overcalled 1♠. Despite ten good points and sitting opposite a partner who had made a vulnerable overcall only Tom found the 1NT response. This action is stronger than the 1NT reply to an opening bid and indicates 9-11 points with usually a doubleton in the over-callers suit. West with the shapely 16 points and a good six card suit can now jump to 3♠, offering partner a choice of game contracts, namely 3NT or 4♠. East with the high honour doubleton spade has a sound raise to 4♠. The favourable diamond position gives a comfortable eleven tricks for +650🤩!

Quite often it's a good idea to have a pot at 3NT when you hold a running minor and board 19 was a good example. With seven solid looking clubs. the ♥A and partner indicating some points a ninth trick looked likely and three souths had a shot at 3NT.

The two Andy and John partnerships bid to 3NT in the illustrated auction, both Johns were declarer and received a heart lead. Although there were now lots of tricks available the blockage in the heart suit meant that they could not be enjoyed. Quite often you can induce a misdefence by running your long suit and hope the defenders get into a tangle and this is what happened here. On the run of the clubs west must make four discards and the key to a successful defence is to dispose of one diamond and all the hearts. Now when declarer leads a diamond west can play the ♦J allowing east to win and play through a spade to cash three spade tricks. Still a difficult defence not found at either table!

Board 9 saw games made by both N/S pairs and an E/W pair. Most N/S pairs bid to 4H as in the illustrated auction. Despite the 6-5 shape and potential weakness of the auction no west was prepared to take any action. Only the 3rd placed pair John and Walter found their way to 5♦ after south elected to pass north's weak two. 5♦ is easy enough draw rumps and ruff the club suit good for eleven tricks and +600.

Meanwhile those east's defending 4♥ lead their singleton ♣8. West took the ♣ A and returned the suit to give east the ruff. The ♦ A was cashed and with the spade finesse working and ♥Q coming down that was the end of that, only three tricks for the defence and +420 for N/S. But see how after taking the first ruff west can under lead their ♦A to put west in again and receive a second club ruff. This is where 'the suit preference signal' comes in and a couple of wests did return ♣ 3, their lowest indicating an entry in the lowest ranking of the two remaining suits, ergo diamonds. East now has to trust partner and return a low diamond to partners ♦K, receive another ♣ ruff to defeat the contract.

In the days before PC's and online bridge, it was considered risky to take a pre-emptive action when holding an outside four card major because you might miss 4♥ ​​​​​​or 4♠. But in more recent times attitudes have changed and you often see people opening a weak two or weak three bid with a four-card major on the side. However, this is not the case when you hold an outside five-card major as on board six where half the easts opened a weak two in diamonds. The effect was that the excellent nine card heart fit was not located, and the vulnerable game missed.

In the illustrated auction easts Polly and Ann opened 1♦, this action is fine despite only ten points because the great hand shape makes up for it. Meanwhile Trish showed good discipline and passed, also fine, either way 4♥ was reached. Even so at two tables north lead their singleton ♦8 and when declarer played low south had the opportunity to take ♦K and return the suit for a ruff, the ♣Q continuation would now collect two more tricks to upset the apple cart and defeat the contract. South can see ten diamond cards so norths lead must be a singleton because if it was a doubleton declarer themselves would have the singleton and ergo not take the finesse. Anyway, when south switched that was game back on!

See how declarer can always make 4♥ provided they win the ♦A immediately, draw trumps and now play a second diamond to establish the suit.

Board 8 was a missed slam for all the N/S pairs apart from Diana and Clive. In the illustrated hand Clive made a strong jump rebid to 3♥ (16-18 points and a good six card suit) and with a strong hand herself slam looked a good prospect, so after checking for aces Diana bid 6NT. The general rule is that a strong hand opposite a strong hand indicates there is a slam on.

Meanwhile Diana received a spade lead and cashed ten tricks leaving hearts until last. West had discarded one so in the endgame declarer played ♥ A ♥K and when the ♥Q did not appear that was twelve tricks. The alternate play of taking the heart finesses would have been successful for the overtrick, still a top board anyway and well bid those two.

On board 3 many E/W pairs stole the auction with their twelve-card diamond fit from N/S who themselves had an eleven-card spade fit not to mention a nine-card heart fit on the side. 5♦ only had 3 losers ♣ A and ♥A♥K but spades or hearts were a different matter. Double fits often generate many more tricks than the combined points would suggest and here was a good example. Despite only half the points, the 2-2 heart break gave N/S thirteen tricks and In the Illustrated auction only Anne G and Tom bid onto the five level after west's 5♦, well-judged those two. The minor suit game is only one down and a cheap save against either N/S major suit game!

Meanwhile John P elected to open the south hand a weak two in spades. This is not a thing of beauty given the suit quality, anyway it had the desired effect when in a very competitive auction Countdown Andy drove to 6♠ for 1010 and a top board! What action should south take?

Board 12 was a competitive affair in the red suits when both sides had eleven card fits in their respective suits.

In the illustrated auction Jim opened 1♣ and Irish Maggie made the top-heavy weak jump overcall of 2♦, but even so the singleton ♥K was not really of much worth, so the action was not unreasonable. The uptick was it did make it easy for John R to compete to 5♦ and force the auction to the five level.

Meanwhile onlead, John kicked off with ♦K and accurately switched to ♣7. Irene now needed two of three things to go for her and only lose to one of the three remaining kings. She finessed losing to the ♣ K, this was OK because a spade could now be discarded on one of established top clubs and now no need to take the spade finesse. But there was still the matter of ♥K and the general rule is with an eleven-card fit play for the drop, so when the ♥A was played and ♥K appeared that was eleven tricks. Nicely done everyone.

Board nine was an example of how it sometimes happens that the defenders have five tricks to take against 3NT in a suit they have lead, only to find it gets blocked and declarer makes a seemingly impossible 3NT.

In the illustated auction, after north opened 1NT, four souths with the good diamond suit and ♠A 'kicker' had a pot at 3NT. At two tables Sandra and Countdown Andy lead a top heart and continued with the ♥3 to partners ♥Q. When south showed out on the third round both Sandra and Andy carefully let west hold the trick ensuring the suit did not get blocked. Now could grab the fourth round with their remaining top heart guaranteeing they were still on lead to enjoy the fifth and setting heart trick. Nicely defended those two!

Meanwhile at the two other tables east not unreasonably lead their 4th highest ♥3 and west took the ♥Q to return ♥ 4, (north following with a revealing ♥10 then ♥J), east won the ♥K and fatally played ♥A. Now west was sunk no matter what card they played were forced to win the fourth round, leaving east languishing with the settting trick but not on lead to take it. A relieved declarer won the continuation, to cash the remaining nine tricks and land an unlikely 3NT.

East does have a solution. When ♥10 ♥J appear east can see declarer is void and west started with four hearts, so needs to continue a small heart at trick 3. Now with the top heart retained, is in a position to win the fourth round to ensure they are on lead to take the fifth and setting heart trick.

Board 8 was a hand where slams in either major were great prospects and the fourth placed pair found a good auction to reach one of them.

East has twenty points but the dreaded 4-4-4-1 shape however the singleton is an ace and don't mind an opening bid of 2NT (20-22). Partner has Stayman and transfers available, so the major suit fit can easily be located. In fact east has an ideal hand to break a major suit transfer with four card support and singleton ♣ A!

Meanwhile Lindsay opened 1♥ and now Trish had to make a decision. Either show the five card spade suit or raise hearts. Usually its best to raise partner in this spot but the question was to what level. The singleton was a Queen so Trish went for the value of a singleton worth about 3 points and found the excellent raise to 3♥ (9-11 points). No problems now for Lindsay, she had a singleton too but hers was better and asked for Aces with 4NT. Trish admitted to one and 6♥ was the next bid to appear on the screen. Nick lead his singleton ♠5 but no luck Tom did not have the ♠A and no ruff. Lindsay won ♠K with ♠A and crossed to ♥A, then finessed ♥Q losing to south (bashing down ♥A♥K, better because this eliminates the danger of running into a ruff if the finesse fails). Still that was twelve tricks and a top board, very well bid those two.

Board 18 was an example of how a singleton lead can provide the defence with an extra trick which was crucial to the out come of the board. As it was everybody bid to various diamond contracts with nobody fancying 3NT (the singleton ♥A not ideal) despite there being nine tricks, with diamonds favourable. The scoresheet had the field split into two, those declarers that made ten tricks and those that made eleven which was was solely dependent on the card west lead..

In the illustrated auction John R with the 18 points and the good diamond fit made the practical shot of 5♦ after Irish Maggie raised to 2♦. Nanna elected to lead ♥K taken with ♥A. John drew trumps and lead clubs from dummy towards his ♣Q. With ♣A♣K favourably placed that was eleven tricks, nicely done and game made.

Meanwhile at three other tables Billy, Tilly and Nick lead their singleton ♣J. Now their respective partners took their ♣A♣K and played a third round of the suit, giving the ruff to hold declarer to ten tricks. Well judged lead those three. 

I saw the above on the chat after board 9 and how true it was! East has a very powerful hand with nine playing tricks. An opening of either 1♦ or even a strong 2♣ is fine.  As in the illustrated auction south overcalled 1♠ and now the spotlight was on west. Many passed leaving their partners to languish in a diamond part score (west has eight good points and is too strong to not take any action). Nobody made a penalty double, and if you play that style, this gets you rich quick with a possible 500 penalty. 1NT too is is fine and promises a guard in the opponents spade suit. Now east with nine tricks and the other two suits guarded has an easy raise to 3NT.

3NT is a breeze, ten tricks on top with an eleventh available by setting up a club trick for 460. Meanwhile those in 5♦ scored only 420 despite making twelve ticks. So always something to consider when you have a running minor suit that 3NT is an option rather than five of a minor.

Board six was an action packed hand after west found themselves third in hand vulnerable with a good eight card suit and four card side suit. My choice would be to open this 4♦ at the unfavourable vulnerability and would likely keep N/S out of the auction.

At four tables west declared diamond contracts and north was on lead with a choice of three aces to leador maybe a passive trump. Mairin had the best of it when declaring 5♦ she received the lead of ♥A. No problem now, she ruffed in hand crossed to dummy and pitched her singleton ♠K on the established ♥K. Trumps were drawn and clubs established just losing ♣A and ♣K for eleven tricks and plus 600.

Meanwhile at the three other tables north found the killing lead of the ♣A. Against Walter in the illustrated auction Polly was north and continued with ♣7. Alecs took his ♣K and smartly played back the suit to give Polly a ruff. The only south to do this and along with the ♠A. That was two down for plus 500, nicely defended!

On board six everybody opened the west hand 1NT but not all easts responded in similar unanimity!

Half the easts passed 1NT and in defence all the norths kicked off with ♣ A. On the lead of an ace south can signal, a low card is encouraging so now north should continue with a small club putting south in with ♣Q allowing the defence to scoop the first five club tricks. A tough defence but also the same effect of an initial ♣ 10 would have had.

Meanwhile several easts did not like the look of their unbalanced hands and two removed to diamonds via a 2♠ transfer. The problem with this action is that you end up playing at the three level with no guarantee of a fit because its conceivable that opener only has a doubleton diamond. Even so 3♦ ended up not a bad spot and the key to success is ruffing the two losing hearts with wests diamonds making six trumps tricks along with three major suit winners.

But it was Sandra and Lindsay who found the excellent 2♣ Stayman response. Its a classic rescue manoeuvre and the bid i would make, because whatever partner responds you are happy with and can pass. If it is 2♥ you hit the jackpot 4-4 major fit and 2♦ is also fine (partner has no major so a good chance of three diamonds) and even a 2♠  is OK, despite a possible seven card fit. See how you can use dummy's thee little spades to ruff club losers and generate extra tricks. All three responses lead to a satisfactory conclusion and avoid the precarious 1NT contract!

Rule of thumb signalling to partner: On the lead of an ace give attitude (hi = discourage, lo = encourage) and on the lead of a king give count (hi lo = even number).

Board 8 was a good example of how a defensive cross ruff can minimise the number of tricks declarer makes. At most tables west declared a part score in spades and every north lead their singleton ♦7, taken with the ♦A and although many souths returned a diamond for north to ruff, wheels fell off and declarers emerged with nine or ten tricks.

After the illustrated auction Brydon lead his singleton ♦ Steve gave him the ruff with ♦5 but then they tried to cash clubs. Irene ruffed the second round, drew trumps for one down and plus 100.

Meanwhile Ann lead ♥A against 3♠ to have a look at dummy. She then switched to ♦7 which Daphne took with the ♦A and accurately returned ♦10. See how she had other diamonds to return and the unnecesarily high diamond is a suit preference signal for Ann to return the higher ranking of the two remaining suits, ergo a heart. Daphne was able to ruff the ♥ and return another ♦ for a third defensive ruff. The ♣A came next and that was the first six tricks, three trumps and three aces!So 3♠ minus two and a joint top board. Great defence and well played those two. 

Note: When you are giving partner a ruff the card you play can indicate which of the two outstanding suits you would like partner to return.

A high card = the higher ranking suit.     A low card = the lower ranking suit.

Board 11 presented north with an nasty problem with probably no right answer after west pre-empted to 3♣. Holding a massive 25 points there are a variety of actions available.

You can make a take out double, but then what do you do if partner bids spades or worse diamonds? Maybe raise to 4S and play a 4-3 fit, sadly the 5-1 spade break meant there is not a happy ending to this action.  Alternatively you could rebid 3NT if partner bids 3♦.

Some bid to 4♥ but when a club was lead and the return got ruffed the defence then cashed ♠A and another spade which also got ruffed. Again declarer was defeated  losing the first four tricks.

Meanwhile three norths with the tenuous ♣K♣Q doubleton ​stop tried 3NT. This looks a bit scary but when partners only two points are the ♥Q with the ♥10 kicker, that fills up the ♥ suit for nine plus tricks on any lead. A tough one and well done to Margaret, Lindsay and Mike for making the bid and achieving a great score on the board.

On Board 19 south held a monster of a hand  and twelve tricks look good in clubs if partner has reasonable club support.

So the key to bidding slam was for north to support clubs once south had shown a very strong hand with the suit. But at two tables north elected to show the manky five card spade suit and although the higher scoring major suit game was reached neither souths, worrying about a club and diamond loser bid onto 6♠. Meanwhile at two other tables E/W came into the auction making life difficult for N/S.

Only the runners up and fourth placed pair got to grips with the hand, ironically the two John and Andy partnerships! It was both Andy's that raised their respective John's club bid after the illustrated auction. It is the action i would take, given with a very strong hand partner is more interested in hearing that you have support and where your values are rather than a weak five card suit. With only one loser outside the trump suit neither Johns had any problem raising to 6♣! There was even an overtrick for John P who avoided a diamond lead and was able to discard the ♦ loser on 5th round of spades. Very nicely bid those two pairs. 

Sometimes it happens that you hold a good suit but one of the opponents bid it before you get the chance. The general rule is that if it is the opener you stay quiet and let the opposition get on with things. But if it is the responder the situation is far less clear. The reason for this is because the requirements to open the bidding are far greater than a simple response, which can be quite weak and based on a four cards.

Board 3 was a prime example and both Carol and Katherine found themselves in this situation on the illustrated auction. The general rule is that a bid of responders suit is natural but unless you are familiar with this things can be awkward. Carol doubled then jumped to 3♥ hearts and Janet got the message. Meanwhile, Katherine bid 3♥ immediatly. Both were excellent choices of action. Given the unfavourable vulnerabily and precarious nature of the bids, must indicate a solid six or seven card suit with some values. Anne and Janet despite the heart void have useful values ♠K and ♣A sitting over declarer and are worth a raise to 4♥ . Still a very hard one which i suspect not many would find.

Ten tricks in hearts are fairly straight forward, simply draw trumps and set up spades for a club discard and therefore no need to take the losing club finesse.

Board 11 proved a challenge and only two N/S pairs really got to grips with it.  

South has sixteen points with an essentially balanced hand and as in the illustrated auction Anne opened 1♥ and rebid 2NT (15-17) after the 2♣ response. Katherine was north and could count seventeen points in her hand, but needing 33-34 points made a quantatative 4NT bid, requesting partner bid slam with a maximum and pass with a minimum. Anne had the sixteen but a solid five card heart suit to boot, ♥KQJ104, so added an additional point and accepted the invitation with a raise to 6NT.