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No Play -- Board 8: West opens 1D and North likely bids some number of hearts. At our table it was 2H, a reasonable compromise given the crummy suit, but 1H (to allow partner room to bid spades) or 3H (good shape) are also plausible. Over any bid, East doubles (negative, showing spades) and East prefers to rebid notrump with his double stop rather than repeat the moth-eaten diamonds. With 13 hcp opposite an opening bid plus help in hearts, 3NT by East is apt to end the auction, and any North/South pair who bid to 4H deserve their poor score.
A heart lead leaves West no play -- too many points in hearts, no way to shut out North who obviously has a side entry or two given the lack of high cards in his suit. West can minimize the damage by leading a diamond toward dummy, or finessing South for the Jack -- I made the mistake of leading the Queen from hand, blocking the suit.
Can E/W stay out of game? A cautious auction might stop at 2NT (East suspecting the duplication in hearts) and -50 would score above average, but really this is just one of those hands.
28 Highs -- Board 9: South triple counts, yep, 28 hcp, but awkward shape for a 2C opening. Some might open 1C but with this much strength game is likely opposite zero, and you cna't count on the enemy keeping the bidding open for you. North replies 2D (negative or waiting) or a step or "bust" response. I think North should treat this hand as 3 points -- scattered junk, no Ace or King, so I'd recommend a 2D 0-3 step or a 2H bust reply. North can always raise to game despite showing weakness.
After 2D waiting, South might pretend his hand is balanced but that seems overly risky, so the normal rebid is 3C. It's vital to have an agreed "second negative" here, and the most snesible is "cheapest 3 of suit = bust hand". The club bid improves North's Jack, and with a five card major, 3S might be OK, but North still has zero controls and perhaps a 3D second negative is best. South continues with 3H and North can reasonably bid 3NT, suggesting perhaps 3 points and help (not necessarily full stoppers) in spades and diamonds. South can "do the math" and rule out 6NT, so it's either pass or 6C, hoping partner has help or the suit splits 3-3. If North makes a more positive move, such as 3S over 3C, South will surely drive to slam, but all roads are fraught with peril -- any of 4D, 4H or 4NT could be taken as agreeing spades, and while 4C is forcing, it seeems to overstate the suit quality.
An alternate plan is for South to threat the chunky heart suit as 5, rebidding 2H over 2D. North should ignore his spades and raise directly to 4H, a bid that shows a fit and a trick but no first or second round control. This allows South to skip Blackwood, but while South may suspect 6C is a better spot, there's no obvious way to offer partner a choice, and in any case North will prefer the suit where he has greater length. 6H makes on a lucky 3-3 split, but note that Jxx or xxxx support would make 6H a good contract, and 6H could also make if trumps were 4-2 but the Jack drops doubleton.
6NT by South is apt to make since West is unlikely to lead or underlead his Ace, but I'd hate to count on that!. 6C looks like a good contract, requiring trumps no worse than 4-2. If the hearts don't come in, South may be able to ruff out a spade honor or cash his winners and benefit from a defensive error. I don't think South has a genuine squeeze but the defense is not always perfect.
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