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Interesting Hands
 
 
  A new suit at the four level buys the contract

Hand 24 Fri aft 21 Apr 2023

I'm not proud of my double of 4H but I felt West had over-reached himself.
You may be able to imagine my surprise at East suddenly bidding 4S.
I doubled "on principle"; partner led the A and 11 tricks rolled in.

I wonder what you would have bid with the East hand over 1 ?

Ah, if only partner had passed out the first round.

 

Last updated : 10th Mar 2024 12:43 GMT
  A new suit at the six level buys the contract

Hand 25 Wed aft 26 Apr 2023

I don't think I've ever seen bidding like this.  I was East.
West's first and final bid of 6 is based on sound logic.
She reasoned I that I must have a good hand as I'd bid 5♣ after 2NT, that I had a spade stop and that I was highly likely to have three hearts to an honour.
Her singleton diamond was also useful.
On a spade lead 13 tricks were made.

A small point: how should North decide on what to lead?
Not a trump or a club on the bidding.
Surely with his KQJ of spades, East must have the Ace.
Hence choose the Q .

Last updated : 9th Feb 2024 18:20 GMT
  Roman Key Card Blackwood after 5NT

Hand 4 Wed aft 12 April 2023

Partner's 5NT shows you have all 5 key cards.
What do you bid now?

Partner must have a strong hand and be at least 5-5 in hearts and diamonds.

Now, what is your partnership agreement on showing Kings after 5NT?
If you show your number of Kings then you will bid 6 to show one (ignoring the King of trumps as you've already shown this)
If you show specific Kings then you will also bid 6  .  If you had no Kings (apart from trumps) you would simply bid 6 .

Here, partner can bid 7 with ease if she knows I have the King of diamonds.  But if she only knows I have one King then which King is it?  Oh dear, 7 was not a success.

My suggestion is that agreeing to show specific Kings will be better for you on more than 50% of occasions.

Last updated : 10th Jan 2024 12:10 GMT
  How to continue?

Hand 13 Wed aft 15 Mar 2023

You lead the A♠ . Partner plays the Queen and declarer the five.
Now what do you do?

By playing the Q♠ partner is promising the J♠  (or he has a singleton)
Hence you should lead a small spade at trick 2.
If you lead the K♠ , declarer can set up the 10♠ for an extra trick.

Last updated : 7th Dec 2023 11:27 GMT
  Should you bid a slam?

Hand 23 Fri aft 10 Mar 2023.  I was North. and this was our first hand.2♣ showed 8 playing tricks or balanced 23-24.
2 relay
I bid 3NT as I could see 9 tricks, even 10 on a diamond lead.

The general wisdom is that if you go past a making 3NT then you might just as well bid 6 of a minor rather than stop in 5 as 5 making and 6 minus 1 will both be poor scores.

However, on this hand I wasn't sure that at other tables many ,if any, N/S's would play in 3NT..

Now, considering 6♣ , unless S has AKQ of spades we are virtually certain to lose a spade trick.  The diamond lead is marked. So, unless S has a void in diamonds we will lose a trick in that suit as well.
Hence I settled for 5♣ .
As it turned our S was void in diamonds so six was made.  Only two pairs bid six and none played in 3NT.  One poor North did play in NT but ended up in 6.  -1 was a bottom.

Last updated : 27th Oct 2023 16:55 BST
  Declarer's best approach and how to defend against it

Hand 14 Tue 21 Feb 2023

North leads the King of spades.

Ten tricks via a dummy reversal looks ok but where can the elevnth come from?
From the bidding, S seems likely to have the Ace of hearts?
Can anything be done?

The only hope is to eliminate the spade suit, draw trumps and throw South in.

After the last spae is ruffed by West this will be the situation.

                                                   N
                                           Q 10 9
                                          ♣ J 10 7

     7 5 2                                                   K 5
 K                                                        J 8   E
    ♣ K 8                                                    ♣ 53

                                                S
                                           ♠ A
                                            A J 
                                           ♣ Q 9

West now leads the K♣ .  Now South has to be aware of the threat of a throw in and must 
discard the Q♣ .
Would you as South have spotted this?

Last updated : 20th Sep 2023 21:44 BST
  What's the best line?

Hand 28 Wed aft 15 Feb 2023

South leads the A , North plays the three.
South switches to the three of clubs. You play low in dummy and North plays the seven.
How will you play?

The crucial question is whether or not to take the trump finesse.
South's switch to the three of clubs suggests a singleton.  However, looking at dummy, it appears that South would be likely to switch to a club and the two of clubs is still missing.
There's no right answer.  As it happens the winning line is to cash the Ace of trumps and lead another spade.  South now cannot ruff a club.

Looking at all four hands, can you see how N/S can defeat 4 spades regardless of how declarer plays?

Last updated : 23rd Aug 2023 10:49 BST
  A slam too far?

Hand 9 Wed aft 8 Feb 2023

Some explanation of the bidding is probably needed.
South didn't think 3 would make but in her entusiasm pulled out the double card rather than the Pass card.
4NT was RKC Blackwood. 5 showed 2 "Aces" without the Queen of trumps.
North had a blind spot and bid 6 .
The lead was the 9♣ .

North now had to see if could untangle the pickle as he couldn't take the diamond finesse and he looked like losing 2 clubs and a heart.
Try and construct East's hand.  
You play low to the in dummy to the first trick and West plays the 10.

What can East have for this vulnerable 3 overcall?
From the lead she almost has a singleton club.
7 or 8 diamonds?
Your only hope is that East has QJx of hearts and that you can eliminate her black cards. force her to trump and then have to lead a diamond.lead.
For this to work, East must have at least two spades.
So cash the King and then the Ace of hearts followed by the jack and Ace of spades
Now lead the King of spades.  As it happens East has the 10 but after the next lead of the King of spades East is stuck.

3 doubled would have given us +1800.
Oh well, +980 scored well.

Last updated : 26th Jul 2023 21:11 BST
  How best to describe your hand?

Wed aft 1 Feb 2023 Hand 15

There are several possibilities.  Which will you choose?

 

I assume you are using Michaels cue bids so 2 and 2 are all possibe.
You don't have enough points to double.
1♠ is also a possibility but this isn't likely to upset N/S's bidding.

I suggest this is the ideal opportunity to use the Unusual 2 NT.
I suspect most players automatically associate this bid with having both minors.  Here 2NT can't be 20-22 pts so it must be unusual.  It can only be unusual by having the two black suits.

After 2NT South bid 4 .

Now look at West's hand.  Thi, frankly, is lousy.  However, the vulnerability is favourable so 5♣ dblrd can afford to go 3 off as 4 is virtually certain to make.
West counts likely losers in clubs: 3 in the red suits, 3 or four probably in the black suits.
So there is a reasonable chance that 5♣ dbled will only be -3.

Further, bidding 5♣ gives N/S a guess.  Should they double or bid onto 5 ?
This added consideration confirmed West's choice of 5♣ .

Last updated : 8th Jul 2023 11:52 BST
  Double dummy for a change

Hand 21 Mon aft 20 Jan 2023

Hone your card playing technique.

The contract is 6 by East and the lead is a small diamond.

Win the K .
What you mustn't do is to lead a trump at trick 2 as N will play the Ace and lead a trump.
Instead, cash the AK♣ , the AK♠ , fuff a spade, cash the A discarding a spade.
Now East only has trumps left.  Lead dummy's last trump .......

Last updated : 19th Jun 2023 22:41 BST
  Using two of the best conventions

Hand 20 Tue aft 20 Dec 2022.

This was the bidding at my table.
Basic system - ACOL.
2NT is Jacoby.
3 clubs: better than minimum and shows a club suit.
3 hearts: shows a control, almost certainly the Ace.
4 hearts: second round control in Hearts.
4NT RKC Blackwood with 5 clubs = 0 or 3.

What do you bid now?

You should bid 5 spades.  
But I haven't got the Queen of trumps I hear you say!
Partner has twice shown he has five spades; first when he bids 3 clubs and then when he bids 3 spades.
Hence you know you have 10 spades between you and so only a 3-0 trump break might cause you problems.

Let's revisit the auction and see how it can be improved.

 N     S
1♠    2NT
3♣    3 
3♠     4
4NT   5♠ 
6♠     Pass

4  is preferable to 4 as this shows second round control in diamonds which is likely to be much more useful information to North than 4 .

Last updated : 21st May 2023 11:35 BST
  Will you be first or fourth?

Hand 5 Tue aft 20 Dec 2022

This is your penultimate board.  You are currently second and, not that you know it, the bid you are about to make will determine if you come first or fourth.

While you sat out in this session you discussed redoubles with partner.  You agreed that all redoubles (apart from over 7NT) would be SOS takeouts.  On this hand, North took some time before passing, reasoning that with a 7 card heart suit he could hardly be expected to have another suit worth bidding.

So, what do you bid?  Pass, Four hearts, Double or Five diamonds?

Either of four hearts or double would have done.

Four hearts can be defeated but this requires a double dummy defence.  Three spades is likely to fail by two tricks- this depends on the lead and how declarer plans the play.
South should reason that -140, +50 or even +100 are unlikely to be good scores so one of double or four hearts needs to be chosen.

Last updated : 6th May 2023 19:37 BST
  How to look for a slam

Hand 25 Wed aft 9 Nov 2022

I am indebted to Espen Erichsen for this.

You've got a good hand but what has partner got?

A jump to 3♠ looks to value the hand.  If partner is minimum he will pass, otherwise he will bid 4♠ .
But what if partner has a good hand?
Here's Espen's explanation.

2 would be forcing and showing 16+ points.
3 would be a splinter, agreeing spades, showing a good hand with a singleton diamond.
4 would be a splinter, agreeing spades, showing a good hand and a diamond void.

Hence here you should bid 3 .  Partner should get excited and you will likely end in 6♠ .

Last updated : 13th Apr 2023 10:58 BST
  An unusual hand

Hand 2 Fri eve teams 28 Oct 2022
I am indebted to Stephen Pierce for drawing my attention to this hand.
An unusual hand to say the least!

One West bid 5♣ .  The bidding continued 

  N     E      S        W
5♠      P      P        6♣ 
6♠     Dble  P       P
P
Contract made

My observation on this is that West having felt his hand was only worth 5♣ should then pass.

At the other table  West bid 6♣ .  The bidding continued

  N     E      S        W
6♠      P      P        7♣ 
7♠     Dble  P       P
P
Contract -1

My observation here about West's club rebid is different.  He would hardly go to seven initially so bidding one more is not unreasonable.
East double I suggest is unwise.  Yes he knows 7♠ is bound to go down but would 7NT?
I wonder if North thought of bidding 7NT?

Last updated : 23rd Mar 2023 19:34 GMT
  What to do at trick 2?

Hand 1 Tue aft 26 Oct 2022.

You lead the K .
a) East plays the two and South the seven.
b) East plays the ten and South the seven.
Now what do you lead in each case?

Every West continued with a diamond presumably reckoning that partner held the AJ over the Q.

The lesson here should be to stop and count.  The 3 bid should be showing a 7 card suit.  Counting the suit indicates declarer's seven is a singleton.
Hence in a) and b) you should switch to the A and then lead another heart.

Last updated : 11th Mar 2023 19:11 GMT
  Take the money or bid on?

Hand 6 Wed aft 26  Oct 2022.

I was West and playing 5 card majors so when partner bids 2 hearts I know she has six of them.
5 clubs showed three of the top 5 key cards including the King of hearts.
The field looks quite strong so I expect most pairs to get to 6 hearts.
My guess is 7 diamonds is only going 5 off which would score less than 6 hearts making.
Should I take the likely +1300 which wil beat all those who only bid game, double 5 diamonds, or should I bid 7 hearts?

What would you do?

I decided that most E/Ws would be in 6 hearts in which case +1300 would be just as much a bottom as going 1 down in 7 hearts.
So I bid 7 hearts.
S led the 7 of spades which E read as a singleton and with trumps dividing 2-2 she could draw them ending in dummy take the marked ruffing finesse in spades, cash the A , ruff a diamond and run the spades to claim 13 tricks.

On seeing the other scores I was interested to see that my analysis was wrong.  +1300 would have been a top as only 2 pairs had bid 6 and neither made it.  The only pair to make 12 tricks had stopped in 4 .

Last updated : 27th Feb 2023 20:29 GMT
  When should you lead away from a King?

Hand 1 Tue aft 25 Oct 2022

I didn'y playthis hand but was interested to look at the result.
I expect the bidding was something like that show.

You cash the first two spade tricks with N and E following.
Now, what do you lead?

You should lead your smallest club.
You can see declarer making 7 diamond tricks.
If partner has the K he will make surely make it at some stage.
If declarer has it then he will make all the rest of the tricks unless you take any club tricks.
If partner has the A♣ then great; yoy'll likely get 2 more tricks.
If he has the Q♣  and K then you should get 1 more trick.

Last updated : 15th Feb 2023 21:52 GMT
  What are the likely contracts and how will you decide?

Hand 19 Tue aft 11 Oct 2022

As W has opened and you have an opening hand you know you want to be in game.
How are you going to find out?

Any rebid of diamonds wouldn't be forcing so, unless you're prepared to punt six, this isn't sensible.
3NT by you looks safe as you're virtually certain to have at least 9 tricks between you.
So, can you investigate for a slam?
I suggest staring with fourth suit forcing asking partner to describe her hand. So, bid 2 hearts whereupon West will bid 3 clubs.  In addition to telling you she has is probably 5-4 in clubs and spades, she is indicating she hasn't a heart stop.  This must increase the chances that her points are in the black suits.

Now, if you're playing Blackwood, you can simply bid 4NT, find partner has 2 Aces and bid 6 diamonds.
But what if you're playing RKCB?  How do you get partner to realise that diamonds will be the trump suit?
The answer is simple.  You have the AKQ of diamonds and the King of clubs.
So bid 4NT and get partner to respond on the basis oc clubs being the trump suit (as it's the last bid suit).
You get the pleasant response that partner has 2 Aces and the Queen of clubs.

If partner is void in diamonds you migt be losing 2 tricks but the chances of 6 diamonds look pretty good.  
One pair ended in 5 diamonds.  I think East should realise that 3NT is virtually certain to make and therefore bid "one for the road" as 6 diamonds minus one will be almost as bad as 5 diamonds making.
If you're really bold you could try 6NT. 

I didn'y play this hand but was interested to see that only two pairs out of thirteen bid a slam, one of whom ended in 6 clubs.

Last updated : 2nd Feb 2023 11:05 GMT
  An international tip

Hand 3 Wed aft 5 Oct 2022.
The bidding shown is a likely auction by good club players.
This didn't happen at my table where it was just our luck to have Espen Erichsen as North.
E/W were playing 5 card majors so this sequence is straightforward.  If playing standard Acol I would expect the same auction.
Note when reading what follows that N/S were also playing 5 card majors.

Espen explained afterwards that all internationals know how to bid and play the cards so he to look for that little extra to gain an advantage.
On this hand he opened 1 spade!
I was East and having played against him before, had a strong suspicion this was a third in hand weak bid.  I doubled and South, Helen Erichsen, raised to 2 spades.
West and North passed. What do I do now?  I have a strong feeling we can make 4 hearts but with only five hearts to the AK I'm not sure.  Hence I bid 3 hearts which was passed out. 4 hearts makes so Espen's bid succeeded.

It's worth looking at how West should reason after his partner's 3 heart bid.
a) N has opened 3rd in hand, S has raised to 2 spades and N has passed. East doubled on the first round and has now bid 3 hearts vulnerable v non-vulnerable.  To bid like this he must have something like 18 points and a good 5 card suit or slightly fewer points and a reasonable 6 card suit.
b) So far, by passing twice West has shown nothing.  If he has a bad hand then he should pass.  However, he has 7 points and three hearts to the Jack.  This is so much better than he has already shown that he should bid 4 hearts.

Last updated : 16th Jan 2023 16:28 GMT
  How best to respond to an overcall

Hand 1 Wed aft 5 Oct 2022.

I am indebted to Espen Erichsen for the analysis of this hand.
Espen was North and his wife, Helen was South.
Both pairs were playing 5 card majors and a strong NT.
What should West bid?

West reckoned (rightly) that N/S could make 4 spades.  So, in line with current theory he chose to bounce the bidding by calling 4 hearts.  This didn't phase Espen who promptly bid  and made 4 spades.  Did any other bid for West occur to you?
In the post mortem (at the end of the session), Espen indicated that West should bid 4 diamonds!
This is a splinter bid showing heart support and, crucially, a diamond void.
Espen indicated this would have put him off bidding 4 spades and prompting him to pass in the expectation his partner would bid 4 spades.  This latter point maybe ok for internationals but is almost certainly beyond us average club players.

The next thing to consider is how E/W would defend if West had bid 4 diamonds and North then been allowed to play in 4 spades.
Firstly, East must realise that a diamond lead is required.  A "normal" lead would be 2nd highest.  However here, East should indicate which suit he wants returned after West ruffs.  Hence he should lead his lowest diamond asking West to return a club.  On this defence 4 spades is down one.

Last updated : 6th Jan 2023 10:32 GMT
  Analyse the bidding

Hand 5 Wed aft 7 Sep 2022

How much of the other 3 hands can you deduce from the bidding?
What will you lead?

Your opponents are good players.

What is this 2♠ bid?  It can't be fourth suit forcing so must be showing a four card spade suit.  Hence North's shape must be either 4-4-1-4 or 4-4-0-5.
South does not have a four card major and is therefore likely to have a 5 or even 6 card diamond suit.
By bidding 1NT, South is showing 6-9 pts.  Further, he is likely to hold either the K or Q ♠ .  The King would seem to be a little likely.
By jumping to 3NT, South is most likely to have 9pts.
You hold QJ10 of diamonds. If South has the K or QJ ♠ he can't have both the A and K of diamonds as this would give him 10 points.
N/S sound as though they have 25 - 26 pts between them so partner should have 5-7 pts.  Hence it looks highly likely he has one of the top two diamond honours.

Hence you should lead Q .

Now look at East's hand.  What should he play to trick 1?
Answer:  low.

Now look at South's hand.  What should he play?
Answer:  low.

When West continues with the J , East should now play the Ace and return a diamond.
With this defence, declarer will be held to 9 tricks.  Anything else, including a spade lead will give him 10 tricks.
You can use the Play it Again feature to plat this hand through.

Last updated : 26th Dec 2022 11:09 GMT
  Should this contract make?

Hand 13 Mon eve 29 Aug 2022

Mark Mortimer suggested I look at this hand with the view of seeing how to make 6NT.
When I looked at it, I rapidly decided it was more a case of how to defeat it.

I wasn't given the bidding but what is shown is highly likely.
2NT = 20-22pts
3♣ is 5 card Stayman
3 shows at least one 4 card suit
3 shows 4 hearts
3♠ shows 4 spades (and denies 4 hearts)

A common lead was the two of hearts so assume you led this.  West plays the ten and declarer the Ace.
Declarer cashes four diamond tricks ending in his hand and shows he had the Ace, King and Jack.
He now leads a small spade towards dummy.  Do you win this trick with your King?

If you do, how will you defend the rest of the hand?
If you don't, why not?

 

Counting points, once declarer shows he has the J you know the maximum West can have is one point (the J♠).
You can see declarer has two potential losers, a spade and a club.  How can he make 6NT? The answer can only be by a squeeze,
To make a squeeze work he must rectify the count ie. lose one trick early in the play.  You see you are holding all the key cards.
You can also see that declarer will make three spade tricks whether or not you you take your King now.

Hence you should duck.  If you take your King now you will be squeezed.
If you don't, declarer might still make his contract as defending won't be easy.
You might need to consider dropping your King of spades under his Ace hoping that partner has the Jack and then lead a club to break up the squeeze.
I suggest you use the "Play it Again" feature to explore how the squeeze develops if you play your King of spades
and what might happen if you don't.

Last updated : 15th Dec 2022 12:12 GMT
  The Ups and Downs of Bridge

Hand 17 Wed aft 24 August 2022

I was West.  Bidding 3 is debatable and when North doubled I was fearful that this would be passed out for a bad score.
When South bid 5♣ and this was passed out I was hopeful that N/S had either missed a slam or 3NT which should score better than 5♣ .

Ah, the slings and arrows of misfortune.  The old adage of "8 ever, 9 never"  struck with a vengeance.  All Norths in 3NT played for the drop in clubs and so, from expecting a good score, I ended up with a bottom.

I don't know if any other East's bid 3 , but if they did I would suggest that North should reckon that East is more likely to hold clubs and should therefore take the finesse.

Last updated : 4th Dec 2022 15:28 GMT
  Plan the play

Hand 18 Wed 17 Aug 2022

East led the four of hearts and your King beats East's 10.  Plan the play.

Given the lead you can see 9 tricks but can you do any better?
The only chance, and it's not even 50%, is to hope you can set up the Queen of diamonds.
So, cash the Ace of diamonds, croos to dummy with a trump, ruff a diamond, cross to dummy with another trump and ruff another diamond.  As luck has it, the King falls.
All you have to do now is to cross to dummy and cash the Diamond Queen.

But did your plan include preserving the two of clubs in your hand?  If you did, then you can get to dummy by leading this card and the three of clubs is your third entry!

Last updated : 10th Nov 2022 12:58 GMT
  Finding the right contract

Hand 7 Mon aft 22 Aug 2022

At this stage, what do you think is likely to be the best contract?
What do you bid?

This was a gentle bridge event so two pairs played in 6 .  The other three Wests probably couldn't believe that East could possibly have a stronger suit than his hearts so converted to hearts.
I know at least one East used ordinary Blackwood and discovered that partner had 2 Aces.  Unless diamonds break 4-0, 12 tricks are cold.

If you're playing RKCB then 4NT by East should received the reply of 5♠ showing 2 Aces and the Queen of trumps - which must be hearts.  This means East knows there's a probable heart loser and should settle for 6NT.

Last updated : 26th Oct 2022 23:27 BST
  A weak 2 scores well

Hand 9 Mon aft 10 Jan 2022

Such favourable vulnerability indicates this hand to be a text book opener of a weak 2 .  This should, at the very least, cause problems for the opponents.

Oh well, as the title of this item suggests, a good score was achieved,  The only problem was that it was the opponents who got it.
Best declarer play can achieve -1100.  In fact it went for -1400.

Last updated : 17th Oct 2022 16:15 BST
  Deductions from the bidding

Hand 19 Wed aft 17 Aug 2022

This was the bidding at my table.

2 was the multi showing one of a) weak two in a major, b) strong two in a minor or c) balanced 25+ points.
Additional considerations; South asked West what she understood by the 2NT bid.  The response was she wasn't sure; it could be showing both minors but thereagain....
After advice from the director it was left as "no partnership agreement".
After a long thought West bid 3NT.
After an even longer thought North bid 4 spades.

What deductions can East draw from this auction and what should he bid?

Given the N/S bids, South must have a weak two in hearts and North must have a lot of spades; but does she have a strong or a weak hand?
Clues
1. North took a long time to bid 4 spades, hence she's likely to be weak.
2. Holding a long spade suit, North knows South is extremely unlikely to have a weak two in spades, but given West's pass, there is a distinct chance that South has one of the stronger variants so she must simply make the relay bid of 2 hearts.
3. Partner has bid 3NT so, having passed originally, should be holding 8-11 points.
4. This means you and partner have 26-29 between you.  South should have 5-9 so North has 2-9.  Hence North is confirmed to have a weak hand which must be a minimum of 7 cards and, given you hold the Ace and King of spades, is highly likely to be 8 cards.
5.  At any other vulnerability, a double would be the obvious choice.  Here, you're vulnerable and they are not.  If North has an 8 card suit then she will make 6 trump tricks and only needs one more from partner to make 7 and thus score -500.
6. Hence you should bid 4NT.  Needless to say, I doubled.  Oh well.

Now, let's consider the more likely situation of an opening weak 2 by South.
West should pass. North should realise that they have a maximum of 12 points between them so 3NT will be a stroll in the park for E/W as they're bound to have stops in the majors and will have at least one ninor suit to run.  Hence I think North should bid 4♠ .  This makes it almost impossible for East to do anything else but double as he doesn't know how strong North is.

At one table, over 2 , West doubled and North bid 3♠ .  East doubled and that was that.

At another, N/S weren't playing weak twos and don't seem to play weak jump overcalls either.  The bidding started

   South   East  North   West
    Pass     1     Pass     1 
    Pass     2♣     Pass
and rapidly reached 6NT for a top.

I really think weak two openers and weak jump overcalls should be taught as early as possible as they are so much now a part of everyday bridge.
My next featured hand will be an example of how a big score can be obtained using a weak two opener.

 

Last updated : 7th Oct 2022 18:57 BST
  Making deductions

Hand 19 Wed aft 10 Aug 2022

Qu 1. What do you bid now?  Pass, 3 spades or something else?

Qu 2. Assuming you Pass, what deductions can you make about N and E's hands?
So what will you lead and how do you expect to continue the defence?

Qu. 1   N passed your double so it's virtually certain he hasn't got a four card major.  Further. it's likely he has a good club suit, probably 4 cards which, given his opening bid suggests he has a 5 card diamond suit.  Hence this only leaves 4 cards for him in the majors.  Surely he must have a minimum of 12 points and four winners in the minors.  You have 2 winners in spades so 2NT should go off.  3 spades might make but doesn't look very promising.

Qu. 2  If you passed 2NT what do you lead?  The chance N has the Queen of spades is remote; you expect E to have three or four to the Queen.  E/W will have all the heart tricks so it's either a club or a diamond.  As N is likely to have more diamonds than clubs the two of diamonds looks the best lead.  (If you use the Play it Again feature you will find that it is.)

Last updated : 21st Sep 2022 22:21 BST