Friday, March 15th 2013

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Board 14 East Deals None Vul	♠ Q J 7 3 ♥ 9 6 5 ♦ K 9 6 3 ♣ 9 4
♠ 6 5 4 ♥ J 2 ♦ J 2 ♣ Q 10 8 6 5 3	N W E S	♠ 10 9 2 ♥ 8 ♦ A Q 10 7 5 4 ♣ K 7 2
	♠ A K 8 ♥ A K Q 10 7 4 3 ♦ 8 ♣ A J

East opens 2D (weak), if not playing some other gadget. How does South show his monster? With 21 hcp and ten near-solid tricks, South will certainly bid game, but it won't take much from partner for slam. When you were planning to open 2C, the usual procedure is to double, then cue-bid, then show your suit. If you have the agreement that a direct cue-bid at the three level asks for a notrump stopper (more important over a weak two than Michaels for the majors), you might simply cue-bid, then pull to your suit, but I wouldn't try that without prior discusssion. So, South doubles. West would probably have passed if South passed, but over the double West expects N/S have a major suit fit and tries to jam the auction with a diamond raise. Although down three or four doubled is possible few pairs will try for a penalty with a fit and game values. North is too weak to volunteer the three level and 3D is passed back to South. The raise robs South of his planned cue-bid; now he must bid 4H (a bid he would make with an Ace or so less) or cue-bid 4D followed by 5H over partner's likely 4S response. I would not expect many partners to raise to slam with a hand such as North's, so the practical choice for South is between 4H and 6H. This woudl be a good one for an expert bidding panel. Twelve tricks make easily on any lead.

Had South been allowed to open 2C, North would bid 2D (negative, waiting or semi-positive.) South should resist the tempation to jump to 4NT or even jump in his suit to set trumps -- what South needs is information about tricks, not controls -- he has all the controls needed for slam. A possible sequence:

2C-2D; 2H-3H; 3S-4D; now what? Anything but 4H risks going down at the five level; my usual philosophy is that you should not venture beyond game in a major unless you know your side has enuogh for twelve tricks. Bids beyond game are aimed at making sure you do not have two probably losers. All in all, South is still faced with a four-or-six guess, and at matchpoints I'd take the sure plus at 4H.

Board 15 South Deals N-S Vul	♠ 5 4 ♥ Q J 5 4 3 ♦ K J ♣ 8 6 5 4
♠ A 9 6 2 ♥ A 9 6 ♦ A 10 6 ♣ Q J 7	N W E S	♠ K 3 ♥ K 7 2 ♦ Q 7 5 ♣ A K 9 3 2
	♠ Q J 10 8 7 ♥ 10 8 ♦ 9 8 4 3 2 ♣ 10

West opens 1NT (15-17); East counts 30-32 hcp, plus one for the long suit. East may bid a straightforward quantitative 4NT, or show the club suit and slam interest. Once again, don't trot out Gerber or other control-asking gadget here -- tricks before controls! West has a "perfect minimum", three Aces and QJ in your long suit, and slam has no legitimate play.

I've been playing four-suited transfers, either 2S = clubs, 3C = diamonds, or 2NT = clubs, 3C = diamonds; others like 2S = clubs, 2NT = diamonds. With any sort of minor suit transfer, the crucial point is that responder should only show a minor suit when five or six of the minor is a plausible alternative to 3NT -- don't tell the enemy anything extra if you are always planning to play 3NT. A transfer followed by a new suit at the three level should show a singleton while transfer-then-3NT suggests slam -- this leaves room for cue-bidding. On today's hand if East uses the transfer-then 3NT sequence West can hardly have better cards and I would expect to reach 6C. I think if East uses visualization he will see that his cards are too scattered and he should be content with game or possibly a quantitative 4NT. If partner has the skill to make twelve tricks, +490 will probably score well -- but -50 when slam has no play will be a very cold bottom.

On lead against 6NT, North should expect partner to be broke and avoid leading any suit containing high cards. I'd probably try the six of clubs, second high from a bad suit, or perhaps a spade if East showed clubs. As it happened North led the Queen of hearts and I was able to finesse against the Jack after South pitched the ten on the run of clubs. A slam that depends on a finesse (against the King of diamonds) and a defensive error is not one I want to bid!

Board 16 West Deals E-W Vul	♠ Q J 10 8 2 ♥ Q 10 6 ♦ 9 4 3 ♣ J 4
♠ K 5 3 ♥ 3 ♦ K Q 6 5 2 ♣ A 10 8 3	N W E S	♠ 9 6 4 ♥ A K J 7 2 ♦ A J ♣ K 6 2
	♠ A 7 ♥ 9 8 5 4 ♦ 10 8 7 ♣ Q 9 7 5

West opens 1D. East has 16 hcp and a fine suit; should he invite slam? Picture opener with, say, x Qxxx KQxxx Axx and slam may be a laydown. East's hand would look good for a strong jump shift except that East might have to rebid notrump with no spade stopper. 1D-1H; 2C-2S (artificial, forcing to game) would be the popular sequence. West rebids 2NT to show his spade stopper and deny three-card heart support. East makes the practical bid of 3NT since no fit has appeared.

North leads the top of his spade sequence; South overtakes with the Ace and returns the seven. West counts ten fast winners if diamonds are not 5-0. A reasonable line would be to win the second spade, clear the Ace-Jack of diamonds, then the King-Ace of clubs, keeping the heart suit as a threat. Now cash three more diamonds, pitching a spade, heart and club from dummy. This leaves West with a small spade, small heart, and the 10-8 of clubs opposite AKJ7 in hearts. Did anyone pitch hearts or clubs? South actually needs to keep all four of his hearts plus a club -- impossible with only four cards left! So, South surely pitched a heart. A bold finesse may win matchpoints and is safer than it looks -- even if it loses, South may have to lead a heart back in to dummy. If both North and South pitched hearts, playing the AK may work.

Board 24 West Deals None Vul	♠ A J 7 ♥ K 5 ♦ 10 8 6 ♣ K J 8 6 5
♠ Q 9 5 3 ♥ 10 9 7 6 ♦ 9 7 2 ♣ 7 4	N W E S	♠ 8 6 4 ♥ J 4 3 2 ♦ A Q 3 ♣ 10 3 2
	♠ K 10 2 ♥ A Q 8 ♦ K J 5 4 ♣ A Q 9

North opens 1C and South probably bids Blackwood at some point and then 6NT when North shows an Ace. However, a flat 19 opposite a minimum 12 adds up to only 31 hcp -- too light for 6NT, and South's flat shape with scattered honors doesn't look right for a suit contract. A good treatment suggested by the late theorist Marshal Miles would be a forcing 2NT response followed by a 4NT quantitative invitation; North should pass that. These days, most play 2NT as only 11-12, so South must make a forcing bid and hope to get a chance to raise notrump later. A simple 1D response is forcing; North rebids 1NT; and South invites slam with 4NT. Twelve tricks can be made by finessing twice in diaonds. That's a 25% shot, plus the chance East leads a spade and you need only one finesse in diamonds. Not good odds, and there is little that skill can contribute: when you run the clubs, East wil not throw away his diamonds.

Folks, Charles Goren declared that slam requires 33 points. With a five card suit and three Aces, 32 is fine. But I don't get bidding slam on 30 or 31 hcp unless you have a nine-card fit or a useful singleton or some other source of extra tricks (such as a six-card suit.)

Board 25 North Deals E-W Vul	♠ K 7 5 2 ♥ A ♦ A 10 ♣ K Q 9 7 6 5
♠ Q 10 9 ♥ J 10 7 4 2 ♦ K 8 7 3 ♣ 8	N W E S	♠ J ♥ K 8 3 ♦ Q J 9 6 5 2 ♣ J 10 2
	♠ A 8 6 4 3 ♥ Q 9 6 5 ♦ 4 ♣ A 4 3

North opens 1C, East jumps to 2D and South bids 2S. Despite the adverse vulnerability West should compete with 3D -- if partner is down several tricks they likely have slam (probably in clubs.) North shows spade support and slam interest with a 4D cue-bid. South counts seven or eight losers; the two Aces, short diamonds and partial fit for clubs are encouraging, but how strong is partner's bidding? I think South had little to spare for his 2S call and 4S at this point is wise. North can view his 4-6 hand as for a dummy reversal; with a nine card fit he can be optimisitic. His hand counts four losers and he can expect partner to provide thre cover cards, so slam looks reasonable. Visualizing partner might have AQxxx xxxx xx Ax and grand slam would be a near laydown. Playing simple Blackwwod North bids 4NT, South replies 5H, and North confirms all the Aces with 5NT. South shows zero Kings and North retreats to 6S, uncertain whether the trumps are good enough for the grand. Playing RCKB, South again replies 5H, but this denies the trump Queen and North goes straight to 6S. South should not try to ruff anything in dummy -- simply play the A-K of trumps and start running the clubs. West ruffs the second club but that's the only trick for the defense.

An inexperienced declarer might win the opening heart lead, cash the King and Ace of trumps, ruff a heart, cross back to hand with a club and ruff another heart. This leaves no trumps in dummy but the lucky fall of the King of hearts saves the day. Give East one more heart and West, say, a club; now declarer has no trumps left in dummy and a losing heart in his hand. When he tries belatedly to run the clubs, West ruffs the third round and the defense scores the King of hearts. When dummy appears with 4-6 shape, avoid ruffing! Your first plan should be to set up dummy's hand, ruffing in your own hand if necessary; the fourth trump in dummy will provide the crucial late entry for you to cash the remaining cards in the long suit. Only when you've considered and rejected the dummy reversal should you view dummy's short suits as more useful than the glaringly obvious long suit. Of course, the defense may try to force dummy to ruff so declarer may need to be flexible, but I see so many good contracts go down when declarer needlessly ruffs in a 4-6 dummy early in the hand.

Monday, March 11th 2013

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Board 3 South Deals E-W Vul	♠ A 9 7 6 4 ♥ J 8 6 4 3 ♦ 5 ♣ J 5
♠ K J 5 ♥ K 10 ♦ A K Q 8 7 6 ♣ K 6	N W E S	♠ 10 8 2 ♥ A 9 7 ♦ 10 4 3 ♣ A Q 7 4
	♠ Q 3 ♥ Q 5 2 ♦ J 9 2 ♣ 10 9 8 3 2

West has a semi-balanced 19 with strong diamonds and three side Kings. West should want to play the hand in notrump, either upgrading the hand to a 2NT opening or starting with 1D and planning a 3NT rebid if partner responds. A (non-forcing) rebid of three diamonds would not do justice to this hand, and you certainly want the lead coming up to those Kings.

In either case, East is a bit short of slam values: 10+20 = 30, or 8 tricks + 3 = 11. An opening spade lead or succesful guess by declarer yields 12 tricks, but this isn’t a clear slam hand.

Board 8 West Deals None Vul	♠ 8 6 5 ♥ K J 2 ♦ 8 6 ♣ A Q 9 8 5
♠ 7 2 ♥ A Q 10 9 6 3 ♦ 7 3 ♣ 7 6 3	N W E S	♠ A Q J 9 3 ♥ 8 ♦ K J 10 5 4 ♣ K 10
	♠ K 10 4 ♥ 7 5 4 ♦ A Q 9 2 ♣ J 4 2

Board 8: West opens 2H and that ought to end the auction! Sure, East has a fine opening bid, but partner has below opening bid strength. When partner announces a relatively weak hand with length opposite your singleton, pass smoothly. Mel Calchimaro suggests a “Rule of 17” opposite a weak two – add your high card points and length in partner’s suit; if the total is less than 17, pass. Today’s East counts 14+1 heart; there is no fit and little luck. Add any Queen to East’s hand and he can try 2S, forcing; partner may have three-card support. But when West rebids 3H East should pass that. You need a “Mel” 19 or 20 to force to game opposite a minimum weak two. Also, shortness in partner’s suit generally suggests making that trumps, unless you can count nine tricks at notrump with little help from partner. Sure, partner may have an extra trump loser, but the fifth and sixth cards in his suit will be useful as trumps and useless at any other contract.

Quiz time: partner opens 2H and you have AKxx x AKxx AKxx. What do you bid? If you can count on partner for a reasonable suit, bid 4H. If not, ask for more information with 2NT; but 3NT will be hopeless unless partner has values outside of hearts. For those playing Ogust, bid 3NT opposite any “poor suit” response and 4H opposite any good suit.

One thing that puzzles me is how many players do not recognize 6-2 as a fine trump suit and 6-1 as playable. Everyone is eager to find a 5-3 fit, but 6-2 is generally stronger and 6-1 merely requires deducting a point or two.

Board 11 South Deals None Vul	♠ A K 9 8 ♥ 6 ♦ K 9 3 ♣ K Q 8 5 2
♠ 6 3 2 ♥ K J 4 3 ♦ Q J 8 7 ♣ 9 3	N W E S	♠ Q J 10 7 ♥ 10 9 8 7 2 ♦ 6 5 2 ♣ 6
	♠ 5 4 ♥ A Q 5 ♦ A 10 4 ♣ A J 10 7 4

South opens 1NT and North responds 2C, Stayman. South replies 2D to deny a major; North,  with a five loser hand, visualizes slam in clubs unless partner has precisely 3-3-5-2 shape, or two aces are missing. After a Stayman or transfer bid, it is standard and vital to play 3 of a new suit as forcing, to allow exploration on hands such as these. North rebids 3C, catching South with five-card support. But “game before slam” still applies; North’s bid was game-forcing but the goal is usually 3NT, not five or six of a minor. South bids 3H as a notrump probe; this may cover responder’s short suit and allow him to bid 3NT. (South has already denied four hearts so this bid cannot be mistaken for a real suit.) Now the bidding gets murky – North would like to confirm a club fit and check on Aces; how to proceed? I think North can safely assume a fit – with that 3-3-5-2 shape, South would probably have bid 3D over 3C. But would 4NT be ace-asking or a quantitative slam invitation? It’s easy to construct hands that would prefer either interpretation, and few partnerships have clear agreements. I suggest that you decide when Gerber applies; 4NT should never be Blackwood when a Gerber 4C bid was available. And then agree that all doubtful cases are Blackwood when no Gerber bid is available, or agree that notrump over notrump is always quantitative. I usually restrict Gerber to Jump Over Notrump Only ("JONTO", Gerber is a 4C bid if and only if partner's last bid was 1NT or 2NT) or Jump After Notrump Only ("JANTO", as above but also jumps to 4C after opener replies to a Stayman inquiry.)

Under any such agreement Gerber won't be an option here (no jump), so North can jump to 4NT, confident partner will respond with Aces or perhaps club key-cards. With no clear agreement, I think North should still try 4NT on the basis that partner will be more likely to bid slam with a club fit and/or two Aces than otherwise, and if partner passes 4NT may be high enough.

South shows 3 Aces; North may settle for 6C or aim for grand slam with 5NT. That confirms all the Aces or all five key cards plus the Queen, but North cannot really count 13 tricks even if partner has clubs, three Aces and a King; and there may be only 11 tricks at notrump, so any response to 5NT other than 6C may land the partnership too high. Reflecting that this isn’t an easy slam to bid, I think 6C is enough. Although there is some sort of squeeze to make 13 tricks, I would expect declarer pull trumps, ruff two spades in dummy and try the losing heart finesse. With only 10 or 11 tricks available in notrump on a black-suit lead, +920 scored 11 out of 12 matchpoints.

Board 17 North Deals None Vul	♠ 8 2 ♥ J 9 8 5 2 ♦ K J 7 ♣ 7 6 4
♠ A K Q 4 ♥ K ♦ 10 3 ♣ A K J 10 5 3	N W E S	♠ J 10 3 ♥ A 10 6 4 3 ♦ 5 2 ♣ Q 9 2
	♠ 9 7 6 5 ♥ Q 7 ♦ A Q 9 8 6 4 ♣ 8

In first or second seat South should be reluctant to open a weak two with a side four-card major; I might break the rule with a stronger suit but AQ empty is not a suit that “must be bid.” I third seat, however, I would open 2D, leaning more toward preemption opposite a passed hand. If 2D has been assigned some other meaning, South might try a light 1D or an aggressive 3D; I would certainly hate to pass.

Two diamonds gives West a serious problem – 3C does not do justice to the hand, 4C (strong over a weak bid) risks buring a spade fit, and doubling invites partner to leap in hearts. I try to avoid doubling with a singleton in an unbid suit, especially a major, but here that looks like the least evil choice. North raises (preemptively) to 3D; now East has a problem – he’d like to bid hearts but 7 hcp is a bit thin to volunteer the three level. The fifth heart tips the balance and East tries 3H. South has nothing further to say; West shows his powerhouse with 4C or 5C. In a partnership where it is clearly understood that double-then-bid shows a powerful hand 4C is best in case partner can support spades – though the responder to a takeout double should generally bid spades before hearts. East, with good support and a side Ace, raises to game (and should be wondering if there’s a slam.) The defense collects two diamond tricks. As it happens, spades also makes 11 tricks with the solid 4-3 fit and doubleton club in dummy.

Board 32 West Deals E-W Vul	♠ J 6 5 3 ♥ K Q 10 6 5 ♦ 10 ♣ K Q 4
♠ 8 7 2 ♥ 8 3 ♦ K 9 7 3 2 ♣ A 7 2	N W E S	♠ A Q 9 ♥ J 9 2 ♦ 8 5 ♣ 10 8 6 5 3
	♠ K 10 4 ♥ A 7 4 ♦ A Q J 6 4 ♣ J 9

South opens 1NT. North should use Stayman, not a transfer, planning to raise either major to game; when South replies 2D, North jumps in hearts to show game values and 4-5 shape. (Smolen bidders jump in the shorter major, gaining a transfer effect, but this is not a terribly important gadget.) South raises to 4H. East can picture South with two or three spades, three hearts, four or five diamonds, and two to four clubs; giving the opponents 24-26 hcp, partner rates to have about 7-9. I’d lead a trump since dummy may have ruffing values in two suits and we may be able to lead trumps two or three times; a diamond lead might gain a defensive ruff but risks establishing discards for declarer.

North wins the trump lead with his ten and immediately runs the ten of diamonds. If this loses, West cannot profitably attack spades, and declarer collects five trumps, three diamonds and two clubs for +420. As it happens, the spades lie favorably and a ruffing finesse in diamonds can set up 11 tricks, but that looks riskier than the straight finesse. Declarer takes the finesse early, keeping a high trump in dummy as an entry.

Sunday, March 3rd 2013

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Board 3 South Deals E-W Vul	♠ 10 3 2 ♥ 10 8 ♦ J 10 7 5 ♣ 10 9 4 3
♠ A J 8 4 ♥ A 3 ♦ A Q 9 3 ♣ A 6 5	N W E S	♠ K 7 5 ♥ Q J 9 7 6 ♦ K ♣ K Q 8 7
	♠ Q 9 6 ♥ K 5 4 2 ♦ 8 6 4 2 ♣ J 2

 West could upgrade to 20 hcp for the four Aces, but the hand has great slam potential in diamonds and it can be difficult to reach minor suit slams after the space-eating 2NT opening. After 1D-1H, West jump shifts to 2S, creating a game force. I hear some people describe such as jumps as "at least 17 points"; where did that come from? Regardless of high card strength, the bid is game-forcing opposite a presumed six "points", not necessarily all in high cards, so it indicates a hand worth 20 or more. East adds his 14 hcp, or 13 deducting for no Ace; partner must have some Aces for his jump so slam chances look bright. Best move is to rebid 2NT; this shows club values and gives partner maximum room to clarify his shape. Opener would bid 3C with 4-1-4-4 or 4-0-5-4 shape; 3D with 4-6; 3H with 4-3-4-2 or 4-3-5-1; 3S with 5-6; otherwise 3NT, as on today's layout. This balanced rebid suggests opener has at least 19 hcp for the jump shift -- a balanced 18 should simply rebid 1S in case partner's response was on the light side. So, East can reasonably raise to 6NT in standard methods. If partner is known to be frisky with his jump shifts, East can invite with a quantitative 4NT. As a raise of notrump and following his own notrump rebid, this should not be mistaken for any sort of Blackwood. West should certainly accept.

South can assume partner is virtually broke, and should not risk leading from an honor; I'd try the six of diamonds, second high from a poor four-card suit. East wins and counts 2 fast spades, 3 diamonds, 3 clubs, and at least 2 hearts with a probable loser. Hearts may provide up to four tricks (enough for slam), spades and clubs have extra chances, and there are squeeze possibilities in every suit. Best is a low heart to the Ace, then back toward the Queen, hoping to catch a stiff King, Kx(x) with North, or to smother 10x(x) in either hand. North's ten on the second round brings home the slam.

If East tries running the Queen of hearts, South should not cover -- the bidding tells him that there is little hope of promoting anything for partner, and simply ducking insures the King cannot be captured. If East had QJ109x, running the Queen would be correct. Three of nine pairs bid and made slam; someone apparently passed opener's jump -- I doubt they'll do that again!

Board 9 North Deals E-W Vul	♠ 7 ♥ K 8 4 ♦ 9 8 4 3 ♣ K J 5 3 2
♠ K Q 2 ♥ A Q J 6 ♦ K 6 2 ♣ Q 8 6	N W E S	♠ A J 10 5 ♥ 3 2 ♦ A 10 7 5 ♣ 10 9 7
	♠ 9 8 6 4 3 ♥ 10 9 7 5 ♦ Q J ♣ A 4

No slam here; every West player landed in 3NT and failed on the normal club lead. With only seven fast winners, declarer should aim to keep more than one threat for an eighth trick: pitch a heart and a diamond from each hand. After cashing the setting trick North exits with a spade or diamond. West cashes the King of diamonds; when South drops the Queen or Jack, the odds are 2-1 he did not start with both, so a diamond finesse offers good odds. But declarer may as well cash his spades first, playing off the KQ in hand first to avoid blocking the suit. He can pitch another heart on the fourth spade. North must find three red-suit discards, and West should watch those carefully. Let's say North pitches two diamonds and one heart. Declarer can play for the drop in one suit and then finesse in the other; I wouldn't cash out for down two. Although the diamond finesse offers better odds, so does playing for the drop in that suit. Guessing correctly (or a defensive error) ties for a top at down one.

Board 15 South Deals N-S Vul	♠ 7 5 ♥ K 8 4 2 ♦ 8 5 ♣ K Q 6 5 2
♠ K 6 4 3 2 ♥ J 10 5 ♦ K ♣ J 8 4 3	N W E S	♠ Q 10 8 ♥ Q 9 7 6 3 ♦ 9 6 4 3 ♣ 10
	♠ A J 9 ♥ A ♦ A Q J 10 7 2 ♣ A 9 7

South might open 2C if his long suit were a major, but with diamonds game is unlikely if partner passes 1D. A 1S response would be awkward, but over North's expected 1H South can simply leap to 3NT, suggesting a long suit as a source of tricks. Over a 1S response I'd manufacture a 3C jump shift, hoping to reach 3NT, 4S or five of a minor. (The direct 3NT leap would not be be safe on the expected heart lead.)

North suspects slam may be possible, especially if partner fits clubs; but 3NT typically suggests 7 or 8 running tricks and anything beyond 3NT could be risky. West leads his fourth-best spade, East plays the Queen and South wins, leaving the J9 as a partial guard. To keep East off lead, declarer crosses to dummy with a club and leads a diamond to his Queen. If West persists with spades declarer finishes with 12 tricks; a heart shift into North's empty suit will probably hold him to +660. +660 or better scores well as several pairs missed game: 1D-1H; 3D, North passing for lack of a spade stopper and doubts about the five level. South is clearly to strong for any non-forcing, non-game rebid.

Several Norths played 3NT; perhaps South manufactured a 2S jump shift: 1D-1H; 2S-2NT-3NT. Fudging a major suit is always risky but responder should be aware that opener has limited choices for forcing rebids. Responder should never jump-raise opener's reverse or jump-shifted second suit; say responder had KQxx Kxxx xx xxx and the bidding starts 1D-1H; 2S. The 2S bid is game-forcing, so responder need simply raise to 3S. If opener now bids 3NT or 4D or 4H, responder should suspect the jump was into a manufactured suit and avoid insisting on spades as trumps.

With North as declarer it is not automatic for East to lead a spade, and certainly unlikely if South jumped in that suit. East may avoid leading one of the bid suits (hearts and diamonds) and so may try his singleton club, hoping partner has some length there and entries. This gives declarer time to set up the fifth club for +690; one declarer appears to have dropped the King of diamonds, but I don't see any reason for that play at matchpoints.

Sunday A

Board 16 West Deals E-W Vul	♠ K 6 ♥ — ♦ A K Q J 7 6 4 ♣ K 8 7 4
♠ 7 5 4 3 ♥ K 9 8 5 4 3 ♦ 10 2 ♣ Q	N W E S	♠ A Q J 9 8 ♥ Q J 7 ♦ 3 ♣ 10 9 6 3
	♠ 10 2 ♥ A 10 6 2 ♦ 9 8 5 ♣ A J 5 2

North opens 1D, East overcalls 1S and South doubles (negative) to show hearts. West should raise preemptively to 3S; an invitational hand could redouble or cue-bid or perhaps 2NT as an extension of the Jordan convention (same logic, redouble = balanced with strength, don't need 2NT as a natural bid, but don't try this without explicit discussion and agreement beforehand.)

North must guess; with 8 tricks on the likely spade lead I'd gamble 3NT, which likely ends the bidding -- East should not risk 4S vulnerable. On lead, East expects the long diamonds and Kx(x) in spades; he may try a low club, hoping declarer will come up a trick short without the free spade finesse. North counts ten fast winners; West must be kept off lead, so it seems right to try the Jack of clubs at trick one rather than winning the Ace or King and testing the clubs later. Unfortunately West's singleton is the Queen (it could as easily have been the ten or nine) so there is no immediate gain in clubs. North will cash winners but careful defense may hold declarer to +430. That's better than many pairs managed, languishing in a minor-suit partial or a mere +400 at 5D. Hamman's Rule (paraphrased): When 3NT might be right, don't make a bid that excludes that possibility. Against 3NT, two Easts appear to have led the normal-looking Queen of spades and failed to guard clubs, allowing declarer to run all the tricks.

Board 27 South Deals None Vul	♠ K Q 7 6 3 2 ♥ A ♦ A 9 3 ♣ A 10 2
♠ 9 8 ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ Q 6 2 ♣ K J 5 4 3	N W E S	♠ J ♥ 8 7 5 4 3 2 ♦ K 10 7 4 ♣ Q 9
	♠ A 10 5 4 ♥ K Q J ♦ J 8 5 ♣ 8 7 6

North opens a hefty 1S and South shows a limit raise, either with a simple jump to 3S or using 2C as the passed-hand Reverse Fit Drury convention. That's a nice gadget but not crucial and oh so easy to forget -- put this way down on your list of things to add to your card. Over 3S North counts five losers; the invitational jump suggests 3.5 cover cards -- a simple raise ranges from around 1.5 to 3, while with four likely tricks responder should force to game. (An opening bid tends to have seven losers, so 7-4 = 3, or ten winners.) So, slam is possible but not too likely. North can take at it with a 4C control cue-bid -- clearly a slam try since it commits the side to the four level and the jump raise leaves no doubt about which suit will be trumps. South cooperates with a 4H control bid; this suggests duplication of values and North's 4S ends the bidding. You should have several such "slam interest" auctions which end at game for every hand that actually bids six.

If anyone does play Reverse Fit Drury, the N/S auction proceeds pass-1S; 2C (Alert! -- limit raise or better.) Have you discussed opener's rebids after this point? The usual agreements are that 4S is to play; 2S shows less than an opening bid (light opening after partner has passed); while 2D confirms opening bid values but generally rejects the game invitation. Although both bids aim to stop at 2S, the distinction can be important if the opponents decide to compete. Meanwhile, today's hand can jump to 3S as a slam invitation. Note how an incomplete agreement can leave N/S in worse shape than without the gadget -- what can North bid if he isn't certain what bids are forcing? Many gadgets sound simple when first explained, but hidden dangers appear when you have a hand out of the ordinary. Aim to be thoroughly familiar with basic methods before you load up on gadgets -- good bidding is much more about good judgment than complex agreements.

Absent any slam suggestion East should try a low diamond, hoping to catch some help from partner; on the stronger sequence leading from the worthless hearts is safer, hoping not to pickle an honor in partner's presumably weak hand. Declarer takes 11 tricks on any lead for a near-flat board -- one pair over-reached to 6NT; perhaps North thought this was a 2C opening, or just got over-eager after the jump raise.