Difficult 1st board.
North has an easy 1♥ opener
East will pass
South has a difficult decision. In an ideal world he would like to bid 2♦ and then rebid his ♠ s to show his shape. In duplicate will he want to play a game contract in a minor - No! Also his hand is borderline for forcing and a 4/4 contract is often better than a 5/3 contract, as you can use the 5 card suit to thorugh losers away.
So if South bids 2♦, West will bid 3♣
South will not like the length opposite his shortage, but with game values he could bid 3♠ (pointless as North has probably denied 4♠ s with the bidding), 3NT showing ♠ stop and going for a duplicate winning bid, or the safe 4♥
If South bids 1♠ North will bid either 2NT (shape not good but shows HCPs) or shows shape with 2 ♣ (a bit strong) or 3♣ a bit weak.
Over 2NT South will bid 3NT - the winning contract, or 4♥ over a ♣ bid.
Those bidding 5♦ that makes will get a bottom!
|