Sunday, July 31st 2011

Right-click here for hands. I've never seen so many big hands!

Board 2: South opens 1NT (15-17), West may overcall 2D -- only 7 hcp but a good suit and favorable vulnerability -- might interfere with their Stayman or transfeer auction. Many players like "stolen bid" doubles (dbl here = hearts, 2H = spades) but experts universally reject those -- double is more useful for penalty or takeout or "cards". Instead, North can cue-bid 3D as Stayman (forcing to game); East doubles for a lead (showing the Ace or King in partner's suit), and South bids 3S. North is light on points and has no Aces, but with both opps showing values in diamonds maybe opener doesn't have a lot there. North counts 5 losers (AK in spades and clubs, A of hearts); any 4 of those cards would total only 14 or 15 hcp, so a slam try is warranted. 4D suggests the shortage and South, with 4 key cards, should id the salm, perhaps after a keycard auction. With trumps splitting 2-2, declarer has 5 long spades, 4 hearts, a club and two more trumps in hand for an easy 12 tricks; he can try the club finesse or pitch a club and try to ruff out the King, but 12 is the limit today.

Board 5: North could justify an opening 1S bid, but with only 10 hcp and no Aces, a preempt looks best. With 8 solid spades I'd open 4S despite the unfavorable vulnerability. East doubles and West may as well try to beat 4S as bid somethign at the five level. 4S should be down 2 tricks but only one E/W pair managed that. 6C makes but I can't see a reasoanble way to bid it.

With his wealth of high cards, East should probably lead his Ace of trumps, getting a look at dummmy and protecting his assets against a fluke ruff in dummy. The defense should collect the obvious 5 tricks for +500. When declarer leads the King of hearts, East should grab the Ace and lead a club -- if you've cashed the AK of diamonds, there aren't enough side cards left in preemptor's hand to worry you might be leading into the AQ.

Board 6: East has 22 hcp, but 4315 is an awkward shape if you start with a strong 2C. east shold either open 1C, planning to jump shift later in spades, or open 2C, planning to rebid in notrump (treating the stiff Ace as equivalent to a doubleton.) I'd open 1C, and that might well end the auction. North may balance (1D or perhaps a double) but with less than 9 hcp, I usually pass a standard 1 bid out since opener is generally loaded, if not quite this strong! Over 1D East may be temepted to jump to 2S, but partner's pass should give pause -- you only need a trick for game, but partner may well be broke. I'd double 1D, planning to bid 1S over partner's likely 1H. South may raise to 2D but not if he's seen partner bid this way before. West bids 2C, East should bid 2S as planned. West may as well bid 2NT -- partner is showing a monster and West does have diamonds stopped. East raises to 3NT. North leads a diamond and West can hope to make the hand by knocking out the Ace of clubs and finessing in spades -- no luck today, but not a bad shot.

If East opens 2C, West makes a negative or waiting bid, East rebids 2NT and West raises to game. South's best lead is also a diamond, however, and the result should be the same. With no Stayman from West, South may guess to lead a heart, instead, sllowing East to make. I'd say the hearts are too poor to try that.

Board 9: Unless South opens light, West opens 1S in 4th seat, East responds 1NT, and West either invites with 2NT (this suggests 17-18 hcp) or just blasts 3NT. East should accept the invitation, so the result here is the same. South has no attractive lead and declarer is apt to make 11 tricks on anything other than a club lead.

Board 10: Vulnerable, should East pass or open 3C? Well, they're vulnerable as well and 3127 shape tends to play better than 2227 and those club spots look good -- by this time it's obvious you were thinking, might as well bid (which leaves everyone guessing what your problem was) as pass (which makes it obvious you almost had a bid.) Over 3C, I'm sure many Souths bid only 3H but you need so little from partner I think 4H is better. 3H does leave more room to bid show the diamonds but you are unlikely to be able to desribe this hand accurately.

West has relatively poor 5332 shape, but apparently E/W have 12 clubs! The "Law of Total Tricks" would suggest bidding 6C, but that may just stampede them into 6H and you know one of them is void in clubs. 5C is the practical bid, and if they guess to bid slam, let it go -- they'll guess wrong another time.

North must do something -- 5H or double? Well, double is usually the expert choice in those bidding contests, retaining the flexibiity to blame partner for whatver happens next :). Anyway, that's my choice. South pulls this to 5D with his 1660 shape. Back to North -- 5H or 6H? Two big cards and fits for both of partner's suits, but it is not clear North has more than the usual 7 hcp partner counts on over a preempt. 5H making 6 looks normal.

Board 11: South should pass his ratty 11 count -- be sure to deduct a point for no aces and/or the stiff Queen before you decide this is a Rule of 20 bid or Goren 13 count. West has 20 hcp and a good 5 card spade suit; 2NT is the usual bid these days. You won't miss game opening 1S but it will often wrong-side the notrump. However, partner is likely to have 3 card support so it is not clear to me 2NT is best -- it sure crowds the auction. North considers preempting 3H on his 6-4 shape, but the "empty" suit should convince him to pass. East has just enough to respond 1NT and West raises to game. If West opens 2NT, East raises to game. South has no good lead -- no point in leading spades when West is known to have 5 -- and perhaps tries a low club, won in dummy (West.) With hearts wide open and no play for 9 tricks, East should cross to his hand with a diamond, finesse the club, and cash out for down two. If North is on lead the defense takes 6 fast heart tricks and declarer is apt to have trouble deciding what to keep.
Board 15: After a pass, West looks at a prime 21 count, excellent 5152 shape, and good spot cards in diamonds. Two-suited hands can be awkward to handle if you open 2C -- you can't stop below game since every new suit by opener is forcing. My choice was 1S, but when partner raised I leaped to 4NT (RKCB) and bid slam over the 5D reply (1 or 4 key cards.) Maybe too ambitious -- the trump King is worth only half a trick and nothing else is useful. However, the opening lead was the Queen of diamonds and later I guessed to play the leader for QJ rather than Q singleton.

If West opens 2C, East could bid 2NT if that shows a natural, balanced 8-10 count. West bids 3S and East raises to game, content with having shown values and a fit. 4NT leads to 6S as before. Playing step responses, East bids 2S (7-9 hcp) and steals the hand! Playing 2H as a bust, East responds 2D (4+ hcp, waiting, or at least one Ace or King, depending on style) and then raises West's 2S to 3S. All roads lead to slam, and the bad luck of finding responder with such poor cards is balanced by the lucky QJ drop, though a reasonable declarer might play South for QJ and try to finesse twice.

Board 23: South opens a clear-cut 2C (22 hcp and an obvious notrump rebid) and North bids 2D, waiting, 2NT (steps, 10-12), 2NT natural (8-10), or 3NT (10-12, playing 2H as a bust and 2NT as a heart positive.) 6NT is likely on the combined 32 count, but 2C-3NT- pass or 2C-2NT-3NT-4NT pass would be reasonable auctions -- it usually takes 33 hcp to have good play for 6NT.

West has a tough lead -- neither cashing nor undeerleading the Ace of spades is attactive against 6NT. I'd lead a club hoping not to blow a trick, which appears to work. South drives out the Ace of spades, setting up 2 tricks and "rectifying the count" as if for a squeeze, although no squeeze is possible with only one threat suit (diamonds). West exits safely with a club or spade and South cashes his clubs, spades, and finally hearts. East must keep at least three diamonds to beat the slam.

Board 28: West opens 2C with 21 hcp and a good 6 card suit. East replies 2D (waiting, or waiting 4+) or 2H (steps, 4-6) and West should rebid 2NT, aiming for the more likely notrump game rather than 5C or 6C. East transfers to hearts (3D Jacoby or 4D Texas) and bids (or passes) game. North has little expectation of ruffing a club, but prefers the singleton lead to underleading any of his high cards into the big hand. Declarer wins in East and leads the Jack of hearts, South takes his Ace perforce and returns a club, but the defense collects only one more trick whether North ruffs or discards. A spade lead, as it happens, would've held declarer to 10 tricks.