West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass     3♣

Dbl      Pass    3♥        Pass

4♣       Pass    4♥        All Pass

We wouldn’t normally preempt to the 3-level with such a rotten suit and so much defense.  But third seat allows some latitude, it’s a position where boldness often pays dividends.  West felt that he was too good just to bid 3NT so he doubled first, then cue-bid 4♣.  East did not have quite enough to cooperate, so 4♥ was the final contract.

6♥ is not a good contract, but it does make 12 tricks when played from the East side.  Trumps are 3-2, the defense cannot score a Diamond ruff, and the K♣ is on opening lead.  Note that the 4-4 Heart fit plays a trick better than the 5-4 Diamond fit, that long Diamond is needed for the Club pitch.

West    North   East     South

                        3♥        Pass

4♥        4♠       All Pass

East might normally open that hand 2♥, but, being White vs Red, he could not resist spicing things up a little.  As for West, even though he had seen Partner’s preempts before, he decided to apply maximum pressure to North by furthering the preempt.  “Pressure?  What pressure?” was no doubt North’s thought as she bid 4♠.

The play is easy enough.  East leads the K♥, won by Declarer’s Ace.  Declarer cashes a high trump and gets the bad news.  Now comes a Heart ruff, A♣ and K♣, Diamond to the Ace.  Declarer leads a Heart, and ruffs on the board.  West can overruff, but it is with a natural trump trick.  The bottom line is 11 tricks.

West    North   East    South

                                   1♠

Pass    2♠        Dbl     3♣

Pass    4♠        All Pass

North has 4-card support, 9 HCP’s, and a singleton, and that is normally plenty for a game-invitational raise.  But North reasonably downgraded her hand, it had no Aces and no Kings, and the Q♦ was probably a useless card.  Conversely, South upgraded her hand, primarily because of her 6-4 shape, and the good game was reached.

Let’s say that the defense starts out with Diamonds, and Dummy ruffs the second round.  Dummy’s Q♠ wins the next trick, and the remaining trumps are drawn.  The 3-0 trump break has deprived Dummy of its last entry, so Declarer is forced to guess the Clubs correctly, and finesse against West for the Jack.  Making 11 tricks.

West    North   East     South

1♥        Pass    1NT     2♠

Pass     Pass    3♣       3♠

4♣        4♠       All Pass

Balancing the opponents into game is always embarrassing, and that is just what happens here to East.  He can hardly be faulted for coming in with 3♣, and yet this bid turns out disastrously.  North did not think that her hand was worth a 3♠ raise earlier, but the introduction of the enemy Clubs into the auction improves her hand considerably, she can now see at least a 9-card fit, she has no wastage opposite Partner’s Club shortness, and can reasonably assume that her side has some sort of Diamond fit.  Perhaps East should have pushed on to 5♣, but she was reluctant to bid in front of Partner, who might have been waiting to double 4♠.

The play in 4♠ is straightforward, Declarer losing just a Heart and a Diamond.  If E-W wind up in Clubs they’ll lose just three Aces, provided that Declarer takes the precaution of setting up a Diamond ruff before drawing more than one round of trumps.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♦        Pass

1♥       Pass    2♥        Pass

3♣       Pass    3♥       All Pass

Conservative bidding by West manages to keep E-W out of the hopeless game, but we’d expect most pairs to get to game once East has opened that minimum hand.

Did someone say “hopeless game”?  Perhaps not!  It will be far from obvious to North that two Diamonds need to be cashed pronto, she’s more likely to lead Spades, the unbid suit.  Declarer cashes three rounds of Spades, pitching a Diamond from his hand, and now leads a low Diamond from the board:

-       If South hops up with the Ace, and the defense plays three rounds of trumps, Declarer can bring home his contract if he guesses to ruff out North’s solitary K♦.  We’d say that this is an improbable guess for two reasons.  Firstly, it’s somewhat against the odds (Declarer will not attach much significance to the play of the Ace on the first round, it could well be a false card).  Secondly, if the K♦ fails to drop, the Diamond suit is dead and Declarer can manage no more than 8 tricks.

-       If South smoothly plays low, North wins the K♦, again three rounds of trumps are played, and this time Declarer must guess to take the ruffing finesse against South’s A♦.  Declarer should guess this one right based on the previous logic.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♦

Pass    1♠        Pass    2♠

All Pass

We don’t find fault with the N-S auction, even if it did find the 4-3 fit instead of the 5-4 fit.

If N-S play in Spades, they’ll be held to 7 tricks, it’s hard to see how Declarer can manage more than two Diamonds, a Heart, and four trumps.  Playing in Diamonds, 9 tricks are likely, Declarer losing two Clubs and two Spades with normal play.

E-W can make 9 tricks in Hearts, but it’s hard to see how they can get into the auction, all the more so considering the vulnerability.

West    North   East    South

                                   Pass

1♠        Pass   2♣       Pass

2♠        Pass   3NT    Pass

4♥        Pass   4NT    Pass

5♦        Pass    5NT    Pass

6♣       Pass    7NT    All Pass

-        2♠:  2♣ was game-forcing in this partnership’s methods, so there was no need to jump to 3♠ to show extra values.

-          3NT:   Showed 15-17 HCP’s and presumably stops in the unbid suits.

-          4♥:   Now here’s an interesting bid!  Can it be a natural Heart bid?  No, surely not!  If West had 5 Hearts he would have bid the suit earlier, and with less than that there would be no point in introducing the suit naturally at the 4-level.  No, West is making a slam try, but in what suit?  Surely Spades, if he wanted to agree Clubs he could have bid 4♣ (please don’t play this is Gerber!).

-        4NT:  Could this be an attempt to play it in 4NT?  No, we’ve already expressed our affinity for No Trump, but Partner is insisting on Spades anyway.  East has a pleasant surprise for Partner with that Qx of Spades and feels justified in trying Roman Key Card Blackwood.

-          5♦:   Playing 1430 responses, this shows “zero or three”.

-          5NT:  The King Ask.

-       6♣:  This partnership was playing “Specific Kings” (highly recommended) so this shows the K♣.  Note that if this partnership were playing “Number of Kings”, East would show one King, which is useless information, East will have no idea whether Partner has the highly prized K♣, or a far less useful red King.

-         7NT:  East can count 13 tricks, barring awful splits.

As it happens, there is an awful split (in Clubs) which reduces the trick count to 12.  But fortunately (and justly) the Heart finesse gets Declarer back to 13.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♦        Pass    1♠

Pass    1NT     Pass    2♣

Pass    2♠        Pass    4♠

All Pass

2♣ was New Minor Forcing, a method of checking back for a 5-3 major fit after a 1NT rebid by Opener.  South shows at least game-invitational values for that bid.  Two points of interest:

-         Should North bother to show that 3-card Spade support, considering that her hand is square and the trumps are so feeble?  We say “Yes!”, North has already declined once to show 3-card support, it would be perverse to refuse again to show it.

-        Assuming that North is going to admit to Spade support, what is his correct bid?  We would jump to 3♠, showing a maximum hand as well as those 3 Spades.  If North bids only 2♠, South will place her with a minimum and may pass.

Against 4♠ the Q♥ opening lead looks clear enough, attacking one of the unbid suits.  This indeed is the winner for the defense, holding Declarer to 11 tricks.  Were you tempted to lead a trump, in an attempt to cut eliminate any ruffs in Dummy?  Not a good idea!  If Dummy had that sort of hand, perhaps she would have raised Spades immediately.  The fact that she rebid 1NT suggests that she may not have any ruffs coming, and there’s a reasonably high probability that Dummy’s hand is square.

West    North   East     South

            1♦        Pass    1♥

Pass    2♥        All Pass

North raises with 3-card support, a most reasonable thing to do with that hand.  Alas, trumps are 5-1, and it will be hard work to scramble 7 tricks.  Blame the computer on this one.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    1♠        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♠        All Pass

Against 2♠, East cashes AKQ♦, and after that start Declarer will surely guess the Heart suit right, playing for West to have the A♥ and hopefully not the Q♥.  That will be 8 tricks for Declarer.

West    North   East    South

                                   Pass

1♣       Dbl      1♠       Pass

2♣       Dbl      All Pass

Put yourself in the South seat.  LHO has opened one of a suit, Partner has doubled and RHO has bid 1♠.  What does Double here mean?  And also how about 2♠?  East is in a common psyching situation, and there is the possibility that he is trying to pick off our major suit fit.  With that in mind, a common treatment here is:

-         Double shows 4 of their (so-called?) Spade suit.  This bid is unlimited in terms of strength.

-         2♠ shows 5 Spades.  This bid is limited in strength and Partner can pass with nothing extra.

So, should South double here to show 4 Spades?  No, we don’t think so, the hand is weak, but worse is that the Spades are so bad.  So, we would pass here.

2♣ doubled is down one trick, provided that North avoids the disastrous opening lead of a Heart.  The defense cannot be prevented from taking three Clubs, two Hearts and a Diamond.

West    North   East     South

1♦       ??

What is your plan as North?

-         A craven Pass?  No, surely we can do better than that!

-         Bid 2♣ and later double if they agree Diamonds?  We don’t think that our hand is strong enough for that.  Well it might be if 2♦ came back to us, but opponents are not usually that obliging, it’s more likely that they will get to the 3-level in a hurry.

-        Bid 2♣ and then remain silent?  This could work.  But we wish that our Clubs were stronger, and we cannot help but wonder if we have a major suit fit on this hand.

-       Double immediately?  This would be our choice.  Not ideal with only three cards in both majors, but at least we give Partner more options with this bid, and if she has a 5-card major we’ll have done well indeed.  Also, a 4-3 major fit is likely to play well, the Diamond ruffs are coming in the short hand.

So, North doubles and East passes.  What now, South?  2♦ might be interpreted as "pick a major", so perhaps the practical bid is the slight underbid of 3♣ which should get N-S to 5♣ in a hurry.

Considering that East has opened 1♦, the Club slam does not look attractive.  Even so, South has two chances to make 12 tricks.  Her first chance is to ruff out the Diamonds, hoping that they are 4-3 and that the long Diamond provides a pitch.  As it happens the Diamonds do break, so Declarer’s second chance (the highly improbable ruffing finesse in Hearts) is not required.  +620 for N-S.  If N-S end up in 3NT they get an inferior score as only 9 tricks are available with normal defense.

West    North   East     South

            1♠        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♥        Pass    2NT

Pass    3♣       Pass     5♣

All Pass

South had an awkward rebid problem over 2♥, and reasonably chose the descriptive 2NT, something of an overbid, but the least of evils.  North had a good hand but an astonishing lack of Diamonds, so she tried 3♣, just in case 5♣ would be a better contract.  South thought so and leapt to the Club game.

How does 5♣ do?  Here’s a possible line of play:

            A♦ opening lead is ruffed on the board

            Cross to the A♥

            Spade lead won by West’s Ace

            Diamond lead, Dummy pitching a Spade, won by East’s King

            Heart to South’s Jack

            Cross to the A♣

            Cash the K♣

            Cash the K♠ and Q♥, pitching Diamonds from hand

            Ruff a Spade

            Draw the last trump

West    North   East     South

                        1♦         2♣

Dbl      2♠        4♥        5♣

Dbl      Pass    5♥        All Pass

East could have approached her hand in one of two ways:

-         Either, bid the hand as if it is 5-5, opening 1♥ and rebidding Diamonds;

-         Or, open 1♦ planning to reverse into Hearts.

We like the second route, the hand may have only 12 HCP’s but it also has only 4 losers, which is quite enough playing strength for a reverse.  It’s true that West will expect more high-card strength and more defense but he’ll no doubt get the message when East bids Hearts twice.

West’s Negative Double does not guarantee both majors but East bid 4♥ anyway, and then 5♥ when West doubled 5♣.  11 tricks for Declarer.

Any thoughts on South’s bidding in this auction?  Does the word “feeble” come to mind?  Surely South should be preempting this hand once East has opened the bidding.  She could bid a down-the-middle 4♣ after which West doubles (negative) landing in the same 5♥ contract … or she could bid a swashbuckling 5♣ and again West doubles, but this one is for penalty and will be the final contract (down one for a great save against the Heart game).  We are not saying that 5♣ is the right bid just because it works on this deal, but we are saying that 2♣ was the wrong bid.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

1♣       Pass     1♦       1♠

Pass    2♠        3♦       All Pass

Against 3♦, the defense cashes two Spades, and then South shifts to the K♣.  The Ace wins, the Q♦ holds the next trick, trumps are drawn, and Declarer now has a simple choice to make:

-        Either, give up a Club, whereupon Dummy’s Jack will provide a pitch for the potential Heart loser.  Making a certain 10 tricks.

-        Or, attempt to guess the Hearts correctly, hoping that the 13^th Heart will provide a Club pitch.  Making only 9 tricks if the Heart guess is wrong, but potentially 11 tricks with a correct guess.

West    North   East     South

1♣       Pass    1♠        Pass

2NT    All Pass

West decided that his hand was a tad too good for a 1NT opening, with that 17-count and the 5-card suit, so he opened 1♣ and rebid 2NT.  This goes down one, Declarer scoring 4 Clubs and 3 Aces.  Not a bad result considering that N-S can make 9 tricks in Diamonds.

East was rock-bottom minimum (maybe lower) for his response of 1♠.  He might reasonably have passes, and now N-S certainly will find their Diamond fit.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♦        Pass

1♥        Pass    2NT    Pass

3NT     All Pass

For the second straight hand we have a balanced hand with 17 HCP’s, one which some players will upgrade as being too good for a 1NT opening.  We are not so sure about this one, all those Aces and Kings look very pretty, but there is a marked absence of Tens and a rather poor 5-card suit.

But, either way, we’d expect East to declare 3NT, and for South to lead a Club.  Which Club?  The normal lead against No trump with that holding is a low one, which is most unfortunate for the defense.  Declarer will win Dummy’s Ten, play the A♦ and finesse a Diamond (safety play), cash the K♦, and concede a Diamond to North.  A Club comes back, the last Diamond is cashed, then a third round of Clubs.  At this point, we are in a 5-card ending, and South must keep all her Hearts and the A♠, leaving no room for any Clubs.  Now, Declarer leads a low Spade, felling the South’s solitary Ace, and the K♠ becomes the 11^th trick.

The way for the defense to hold Declarer to 9 tricks is an opening Spade lead.

West    North   East     South

                        1NT     All Pass

Do you like that 1NT opening with the East hand, supposedly showing 15-17 HCP’s.  We can already hear the objections:

-         Only 14 HCP’s.  True, but East does have a 5-card suit and some useful fillers.

-       East has a 5-card major.  Some players don’t like that practice, especially when the major is strong.  Well, opening 1NT does solve some rebid problems, but conversely, Spade fits can get lost.

Anyway, our own personal choice is 1NT.  How does this work out in practice?  Very well, or very badly, depending on the opening lead.

-       If South leads a Heart (presumably the Ten), Declarer will take his K♥, cash 5 Spades, and concede the rest for down one and a great board when one considers that N-S have 9 tricks in Hearts.

-         If a minor suit is led, the spectacular success will belong to N-S as they scoop up 3 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, and 4 Hearts for down 3, and a top score of +150.

If East chooses to open 1♠, North will balance with a Double, and N-S will find their Heart fit, probably ending up with 9 tricks and the “normal” result of +140.

West    North   East    South

                                   Pass

Pass    Pass    1NT    All Pass  

North leads a Club and Declarer has a rather fortunate six tricks when the A♠ and K♥ are well-placed.  +100 for N-S.

Anyone for a 2♣ DONT bid (showing Clubs and another suit) with the South hand?  A trifle bold, perhaps, but these DONTsters have never seen a two-suiter they did not like, especially when non-vulnerable.  2♣ will buy the contract ... making 8 tricks if West leads a Spade for +90 ... down one otherwise for -50.  Either way, it's a bad board for N-S.

It's worth remembering that not just our vulnerability that matters when we compete over their 1NT, their vulnerability is also a consideration, all the more so when we are competing with a minor suit.  For 2♣ to succeed, South needed help from Partner, and perhaps that help would be enough to beat 1NT on defense.  If that is the case a Club contract needs to score 9 tricks to beat 1NT down one vulnerable.  To put it simply, there should be less of an imperative to interfere with a vulnerable 1NT than there is when they are non-vulnerable.

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    2NT     Pass

3♦        Pass    3♥        Pass

3NT    All Pass

Let’s say that South starts out with a low Diamond, to North’s King and Declarer’s Ace.  Normal play in Hearts is to lay down the Ace and then finesse against South for the Queen, and that works for 5 more tricks.  Declarer can now count 10 top tricks and, on the run of the Hearts, will watch the South’s discards with great interest.  South must avoid pitching a low Club, that would be a giveaway (or a great bluff!), so she’ll probably throw a Diamond first (if it’s the Two, Declarer will have a count on that suit), then a Spade, and finally another Diamond.  North does best to pitch anything but Clubs.  Not very helpful defense, but the odds will slightly favor finessing North for the Q♣, so let us say that Declarer leads a Club to the Ten, which wins.  That’s 11 tricks, and the 12^th is set up by knocking out the Q♦.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    Pass

1NT     Pass    2♣       Pass

2♠        Pass    3NT    All Pass

North leads a Club, and thanks to the kindly Spade break, Declarer has 9 easy tricks (5 Spades, 2 Diamonds, 2 Clubs).  On the lie of the cards there is little chance of overtricks, but that won’t stop Declarer from trying.  He’ll win the opening lead with the Jack (hoping that South will place him with KJT), and then try to duck a Diamond into the South hand.  This is the best play for 9 tricks, as Diamonds will be in reserve if the Spades fail to split 3-3.  And, it’s also the best chance of sneaking a couple of overtricks, Declarer’s hope is that the defense will fail to cash their Hearts in time.  But, it’s to no avail, the Diamonds don’t split and Declarer has to rely on the Spade break just to make his contract.  So, at the end of the day, a likely flat board.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♥        Pass    2♥       Pass

4♥       All Pass

A nice simple auction, but N-S get their Spade ruff and hold Declarer to 10 tricks.

As East, would you have responded 1♠ instead of raising Hearts?  It's reasonable enough, but it still won't get E-W to the (luckier, not better) 4♠ contract (making 11 tricks).  Now the auction will probably be: 1♥ 1♠, 3♥ 4♥.

West    North   East    South

                                   Pass

Pass    Pass    Pass

Our computer apologizes for this one.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♣       1♥        Pass

2♦        Pass    3♥        Pass

4♥       All Pass

West decided that his hand was a tad too good to pass Partner’s overcall, notwithstanding the lack of a Heart fit, so she bid 2♦, keeping the bidding alive in case Partner had a strong overcall.  As it happened, East did have a little extra and the auction lurched into a shaky 4♥ contract.

4♥ needs some luck and gets it.  The A♣ is predictably onside and trumps are fortuitously 3-3, meaning that Declarer can afford to lose the Diamond finesse and still make 10 tricks.  Best defense is an opening Spade lead, or a Club to North’s Ace and a Spade shift.  With that start Declarer needs one more piece of good luck, and that is a 3-3 Diamond break, allowing him to get the Spade loser away before losing the trump trick:

            Club opening lead to North’s Ace

            Q♠ shift won by Declarer

            Q♦ is run around to North’s King

            Spade continuation won on the board

            Two Diamonds are cashed, pitching a Spade

Now Declarer plays on trumps, making 10 tricks.

West    North   East     South

            1♠        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♣       Pass    2♥

All Pass

Against 2♥, West does not have an attractive lead, and may try a passive Spade, covered by the King and East’s Ace.  Now the only defense to hold Declarer to 8 tricks is a low Club to West’s King, and a Club back to the Ace.  East continues with a 3^rd round of Clubs, and as Declarer has no useful pitches she hopefully ruffs with the Nine, which wins the trick.  Next, a Heart to Dummy’s Queen, but Declarer cannot get back to her hand to draw the rest of the trumps.  East will get in with the A♦, and a 4^th round of Clubs promotes a trump trick for the defense, and 5 tricks in all.  Nice shift by East at Trick 2!

If West follows the dictum "If you cannot find an attractive opening lead, why not try a tricky lead?” then he might underlead the A♦.  This lead works rather well, it allows the defense to get its Diamond ruff for the same 5 defensive tricks.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♠

2♠        3♠        Pass    4♠

All Pass

West’s 2♠ was Michaels, showing Hearts and a minor, and North’s 3♠ was competitive, showing something less than a game-invitational raise.  We’d say that North was pretty much maximum for her bid.  With two Kings, 4 trumps, and a singleton, it looks awfully close to a 3♥ bid.  Not that it matters, South has enough to go to game.  10 easy tricks.

West    North   East     South

                                    1♥

Pass    1♠        Pass    2♠

Dbl      3♠        All Pass

-        West has a pretty fair hand, but over 1♥ he has nothing useful to say, clearly Double is out of the question with that singleton Spade.

-        At her second turn, South could bid 2♣, but prefers to give Partner a 3-card raise.  Bidding 2♠ has some benefits: it limits the hand, there are ruffs in the short hand, and it’s more preemptive than 2♣.

-        After 2♠, West can double, he has both the unbid suits and a decent hand, and he also knows that if he doesn’t do something, it’s highly unlikely that East can get into the auction. 

-       Next, we move into the North seat.  She has no aspirations for game, but she’s prepared to compete to 3♠ eventually, so why not do it right away?  Yes, 3♠ is purely a competitive effort, if she wanted to try for game she would have to find a different bid (new suit or Redouble). 

On to the play of the hand in 3♠.  East leads his singleton Club, and West plays the King, then the Ace, and gives Partner a ruff.  Or, does he play Ace, then King?  Or does it even matter?  Yes, it matters!  The standard play in this third-seat situation is to play the King then the Ace, and making that standard play carries no particular message, it’s business as usual.  But, when third seat plays abnormally, playing the high card first, there are suit preference connotations.  The message is “I have a high card in Hearts”, the higher ranking suit (eliminating Spades which are trumps, and Clubs which is the suit being played).  And the definition of a high card?  In this situation, surely the Ace or the King.

Armed with this knowledge, East should feel confident underleading his A♥ to Partner’s King, getting the second ruff and setting 3♠ one trick.  Pretty neat stuff, eh?  Perhaps, and we wish that we could report that this is the only way to beat the contract.  But it’s not, the defense will still prevail if East cashes the A♥ and continues Hearts.  The defense does not get its second ruff in this case, but even so there is no way for Declarer to scrape up 9 tricks and it’s down one anyway.  So, only style points are being awarded for that nifty suit preference signaling and the subsequent underlead.

How do E-W fare in a Diamond contract?  Rather well, it will be 9 or 10 tricks for Declarer, probably the latter.  The only way for the defense to get that 4^th trick is through a Heart ruff, and it’s far from obvious that this will happen in real life.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♣       Pass    1♠

Pass    1NT     Pass    2♦

Pass    2♥        Pass    4♥

All Pass

After that New Minor sequence, East leads a Diamond, knocking out a valuable Dummy entry.  Declarer’s plan is to set up the Spades, and that must be done immediately, before drawing trumps.

            Win the Diamond lead in Dummy

            Lose the Spade finesse

            Win Diamond continuation

            Spade to the Ace

            Heart to the Ace

            Ruff a Spade with the Nine

            Draw trumps with the AQ♥

With both majors behaving, that’s 11 tricks.  But, if Declarer had drawn trumps prematurely, it would have been impossible to set up the Spades and enjoy them.

West    North   East     South

            1♣       1NT     Pass

3NT     All Pass

Yes, East could make a Takeout Double, but 1NT seems more to the point, it's the right point-count and there are two stops in their suit.

Playing in 3NT, East has 10 top tricks.  Can he wangle any extras?  Not if North is even half awake.  Declarer will try to set up a Spade trick before the defense can establish their Heart trick, but surely, looking at all those Diamonds on the board, North will see through that hollow ploy, and will plonk down the K♥ as soon as she wins her first Spade trick.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♣

1♠        Dbl      Rdbl    1NT

All Pass

What does North’s Redouble mean?  It shows some values, that’s for sure, and for those who like the Rosenkranz Double (we are not great fans ourselves) it would show a Spade raise with one of the top three honors.  Anyway, 1NT by South is a likely final contract, and although it looks like an unappetizing spot when looking at the N-S hands alone, it turns out to play rather well ... look at the obliging Hearts, the accommodating T♦, and the friendly QJ♠!  Maybe as many as 8 tricks will be scrounged up by Declarer.

West    North   East     South

                                    1♠

2♣       Pass    2♠        3♥

Pass    3♠        4♣       4♠

Dbl      All Pass

Exuberant bidding by South, maybe excessively so!  But 4♠ can actually be made.  Say that West leads Clubs and Declarer ruffs the second round.  Now, AK♠, over to the J♠, and run the Heart Eight.  Whether East covers or not, there are 10 tricks.

West    North   East     South

1♠        2♣       2♥        3♣

4♠        All Pass

West has 8 Spades and only 11 HCP’s, but we could not bring ourselves to preempt with 4♠ on this hand, surely 1♠ is the way to go.  But when East shows some values with that 2♥ bid, it makes sense for West to jump to 4♠.

How does 4♠ do?  Now there’s a good question.  Here are some possibilities:

-        North leads a Club.  This is not good for the defense!  The Q♣ wins the trick, next is a Club to the Ace.  Declarer will play on Spades next, North winning her King.  Obviously a Diamond shift is called for, and Declarer should duck the first round, reasoning that North is more likely to be doubleton than singleton as she did not lead the suit originally.  Good thinking!  Now it’s 10 tricks.  If Declarer had made the mistake of winning the first Diamond trick, he would then lose another Spade to North, which would be followed by a Diamond to South’s King, after which a third Diamond would give the defense a trump promotion and their 4^th trick.

-        North leads a Diamond.  We cannot think why she would, but it’s likely to be a big winner on the actual hand!  Declarer will win the first round (fearing a singleton), start drawing trumps, but the trump promotion will set the contract.