Right-click here for hands. Good turnout, 14.5 tables for the final "Sectional Tournament at Clubs" game.
Board 1: A somewhat awkward hand for East : 20 hcp (high card points) but unbalanced with no major suit. Some Easts may treat the hand as balanced with that stiff Ace, but it will be easier to reach a minor suit slam if one exists with a simple 1C opening. West replies with an "up-the-line" 1H, and East rebids 2D, forcing. Why is this non-jump rebid forcing? East's cannot count on any diamond length or extra heart lenght from partner and so cannot expect partner to pass 2D with a minimum. East's "reverse" is equal in terms of strength to rebidding 2NT or 3C. The modern style is to treat opener's reverse as forcing to at least 2NT; opener typcailly needs at least 17 hcp and 4-5 length in his suits; possibly fewer high cards with better playing strength. (Note to Kennedy club bidders: the auction begins 1C-1D (one or both 4 card majors) but East's 2D rebid has the same sense as in standard; East has a strong but unblanced hand with no four-card major, and the failure to open 1D suggests 4 diamonds and 5+ clubs.)
Over 2D, West can support clubs or rebid in notrump. With a near minimum response, balanced shape, and no worries about the unbid suit (spades) West should aim for notrump; if not playing lebensohl in this sequence 2NT seems a good description. There is no point in "showing" the spade suit, opener would not skip a 4 card major to rebid in a minor. East raises to 3NT. If East were uncertain that partner would recognize 2D as forcing, the practical bidding would be 1C-1H-3NT, but this will often miss an excellent heart fit or minor suit slam. Today, 3NT is the spot.
Either North or South is apt to lead a spade, East wins and has some work to do for 9 tricks. A heart honor holds the trick, and South covers the second heart, captured by West's Ace. A club to the Queen wins, but there is no entry to repeat the finesse so East cashes the Ace and concedes a club to North. North expects 25 or so hcp from E/W, and has 7 in his own hand; South should have something like 6-9 points , and has shown nothing in spades or clubs. Subtrat the King of hearts and that leaves 3-6 points in diamonds, and probalby 4 of them since East opened 1C rather than 1D. North shifts to the 9 of diamonds -- a low diamond risks blocking the suit while the Jack might suggest J10. East finesses, South wins but is uncertain who holds what in diamonds; a spade exit is likely. When North wins and swithces back to the Jack of diamonds, South can read North for J9x. East takes the Ace and cashes his club winners. South must keep his diamonds and so pitches his remaining spades before parting with one diamond. East makes 9 tricks but is forced to concede a diamond at the end.
Board 3: Some South's may open 2S but the relatively empty suit and Kxxx in the other major argue for pass. West may open 3D if he forgets to check the vulnerability. Assuming two passes, North opens 1C, planning to rebid 3NT over partner's expected 1S response. But it is East who overcalls in spades. Inexperienced Souths will undoubtedly huddle or even ask a highly inappropriate question "is that 1S bid natural?" There are 8 spades out, no reason to assume it is anything but natural. South could bid 1NT (8 hcp, spade stopper) or make a negative double to show the heart suit, but an experienced player will pass with little apparent thought - a sound practice when they bid your longest suit. East may leap to 3D, weak in competition; North has 8 tricks not counting the hearts and can afford to bid 3H. East may consider competing in diamonds but his defense is poor and why push them into game? Competing over 3H or 3S is one of the most common errors made by advancing players. Regardless, South is delighted to raise to 4H, expecting a massive crossruff. If East or West bid again they'll deserve their -500.
East leads the top of his spades sequence (safer than diamonds, especially if East passed originally.) North pitches his diamond loser on the Ace and, with plenty of club tricks, leads a low heart toward the Jack. Assuming West ducks East wins and tries the King of diamonds. North wins, leads another trump, and makes 10 or 11 tricks depending on his guess.
If East opens 3D, North should overcall 3NT with 8 fast tricks in his own hand. South must pass rather than assume this shows a balanced hand. North grabs 9 fast tricks on the likely spade lead, but an East who trusts partner's vulnerable preempt may try the King of diamonds and leave declarer with no reentry to his hand. North may as well win and cash his club winners; the spade void is hidden and either defender may make the mistake of keeping a spade and yileding the ninth trick at the end.
Board 7: South opens 1S and North replies 2H in standard methods or 1NT playing 2/1 game force, planning in either case to follow an invitational spade raise. (Those who do not require four trumps for an immediate limit raise may respond 3S directly.) Over 2H, South rebids a game-forcing 3D -- if 2H itself wasn't game-forcing, a new suit by opener at the three level shows extra values and creates a game force. North shows 3 card support with 3S, and South re-evaluates: half a spade loser, one heart loser, a club loser, and three diamond losers -- the fifth one is a likely winner but with only 3 trumps opposite South cannot count on the fourth diamond setting up or being able to ruff it in dummy. So, about 5.5 losers; partner's bidding suggest 10-11 hcp, which translates to 3 or 4 high card winners. This illustrates the value in requiring 4 trumps for a strong raise even in a five-card major style -- with 4 trumps opposite, the diamnd suit would be easy to establish. Slam seems overly optimistic on partner's limited bidding, and any values in hearts will not fit well with South's hand. South should give up on slam and simply bid 4S.
Playing 2/1 Game Force, North isn't worth 2H but insterad bids a forcing 1NT. South has a pwoerful hand but is somewhere on the border between a non-forcing 2D and game-forcing 3D. Over 2D, North jumps to 3S, a "delayed limit raise" promising game-invitational values but only 3 trumps. South's calculation is much the same as the standard sequence and again 4S is the prudent bid.
If South bids a pushy 3D, North may get over-excited: 11 hcp and a fit when all he promised was 6 and no fit. A good agreement to have here is that 3S still shows the limit raise hand; North can bid 3NT or show a heart suit with only a doubleton spade. This allows North to show his values and then respect South's sign-off at 4S. Two pairs reached impossible slams, probably over-valuing the 5-5 shape. Note that Balckwood or RKCB is of no use here: N/S have all 5 key cards plus the queen of trumps, but the queston to ask before launching into 4NT is "do we have 12 tricks?"
On a club lead, South overtakes dummy's King to retain flexibility, and counts 5 spades, a heart, a diamond and three clubs for 10 sure tricks. The fourth and fifth diamond may also be winners. If diamonds are 3-3, some pairs may be making slam, so even at matchpoints it is sensible to play safe for 10 tricks: pull trumps and concede a low diamond. Win any return, play Ace and another diamond. South loses three diamond tricks on this plan for an average score; best play for 11 tricks would be Ace and another diamond early, then ruff a diamond high, pull trumps and concede a second diamond.
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