West    North   East     South

            1♠        Pass    2♠

3♣       Dbl      All Pass

North has what appears to be four defensive tricks and, hoping that Partner can contribute something, she makes a matchpoint Double (that will be North’s explanation if it becomes necessary to write -470 on her score-sheet).  But, no such explanations are required and the number for N-S turns out to be +300.

That should be a good N-S result, even though N-S are but a successful Heart guess away from making 4♠.  But we don’t see many N-S pairs achieving that result.

Those N-S pairs who use Bergen raises may not fare so well on this board.  South will raise to 3♠, West will probably be out of the auction, and N-S will score +170 or +140, depending on their Heart-guessing skills.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♥        1♠       Pass    Pass

Dbl      Pass    Pass    Pass

North’s overcall isn’t that bad, and at least the suit is decent.  But the vulnerability works against N-S, and if E-W decide to go for a penalty, and if they defend well, they’ll get a juicy number:

            Heart to West’s King

            Spade shift to East’s Ace

            Spade continuation

Now the defense has 8 tricks, and a whopping +500 on a part-score hand.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    1♣       3♦        Dbl

Pass    Pass    Pass

3♦ is not such a terrible bid, even at this vulnerability.  But, as on the previous board, the Red against White bidder is in danger of getting punished.  If the bidding goes as shown, the play might go:

            Three rounds of Clubs

            The ♥A and ♠A are cashed

            Then, on the 4^th round of Clubs, Declarer does what?

The winning play is to ruff high, but that only works in one situation, namely when South has the singleton Queen.  Wouldn’t you know it, that’s what South has and ruffing high holds Declarer’s losses to -200 (still not a good result for E-W).  Ruffing that 4^th Club with the Jack, results in down two, and a horrible -500.  However, Declarer might do some counting, and notice that North has shown up with ♠A, ♥A, ♣AKQJ.  That’s 18 HCP, and with the ♦Q she would have 20 HCP, a 2NT opening.  This logic might persuade Declarer to ruff the fourth Club high!

Some N-S pairs might get to 4♥, presumably played from the South side.  Can they make it?  Yes.  Will they?  Probably not.  Here’s the winning line:

            Diamond to East’s King

            Diamond ruffed by Declarer (West disdains the overruff)

            Spade finesse (key play!)

Cash the trump Ace

            West wins the next two trumps

Now, Declarer is home free, able to untangle 10 tricks (three trumps, four Clubs, three Spades).  But, if Declarer neglects to take the early Spade finesse, he’ll stay tangled.

West    North   East     South

1NT     Pass    Pass    Pass

As is often the case, the 1NT contract is complicated to play and also to analyze.  A Club lead works well for the defense, probably leading to a two-trick set … other leads are more helpful to Declarer, and he’ll probably get out for down one.

Some Wests will open 1♥, which is passed around to South.  What’s your choice now:

-        1NT is a possibility, in the balancing seat that shows 11-15 or thereabouts.  Declarer is likely to score 7 tricks with normal play and that may not be such a good N-S result.

-         Pass is the winner, and it’s a bid that’s all the more tempting because the opponents are vulnerable.  That will be a one- or two-trick set.

It’s a messy kind of hand, let’s move on.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1NT     Pass

2NT     All Pass

Opposite a 15-17 1NT opening, some 9-counts are worth taking to game.  But West’s 9-count is not one of them (square, no Tens), so he satisfies himself with a game invitation (gracefully declined).

Against 2NT, South will lead the Heart Two, giving North a choice of plays:

-         If she plays the Nine, it will work out fine on the actual layout, but she will feel rather foolish if Declarer holds ♥Txx!

-         So, North will play the Queen and Declarer will duck that.  North has a second chance to look foolish by continuing the suit (giving Declarer a second Heart trick and 9 tricks altogether).  So, North shifts to a Club, and the defense eventually comes to six tricks.  Down one!

West    North   East     South

                        1♥        2♣

3♣       Pass    4♥        All Pass

West makes a game-invitation, East accepts, and much as Declarer would like to ruff three Clubs in Dummy, it cannot be done.  So, 10 tricks only.

N-S actually have a good save in 5♣, down only two tricks.  But somewhat luckily, we’d say, look at how accommodating the black suits are!

West    North   East    South

                                   Pass

Pass    2♣       Pass    2♦

Pass    3♣       Pass    3♦

Pass    3NT     All Pass

Here’s an auction which nobody will like, one that demonstrates how awkward things can be after 2♣ 2♦, 3♣ (or 3♦).  Witness the auction above:

-         2♣: It’s a little tempting to open this 1♣ and take our chances that it won’t get passed out.  Maybe that’s taking things a bit far, maybe not.

-         2♦:  Generally played as waiting, which is to say that South could have almost any hand at all other than one with a decent suit.

-         3♣:  Yes, Clubs.

-         3♦:  Many of those pairs who are of the “waiting” persuasion, use the cheaper minor (3♣ or 3♦, depending on how the auction has started), to show a “second negative”.  That’s a strange term, as the first bid was “waiting” and not necessarily a “first negative”.  So, South did not have a natural 3♦ bid available, but bid 3♦ anyway, for want of a good alternative.

-         3NT:  North has run out of sensible bids, and hopes for the best.

We hope you enjoyed this auction.

Against 3NT, East will lead a Spade, hopefully a low one.  If that is the case, the defense gets the first three tricks, Declarer has the rest.

Yes, indeed, 6♣ makes.  Before you start kicking yourself (or Partner) for missing it, bear in mind that it requires a 3-3 Club break.  It also requires a squeeze of some sort, the most likely one being: Spade to the Ace, win the return, rattle of the Hearts and Clubs, and squeeze East in Spades and Diamonds.  That wasn’t too difficult, now see if you can make 6♣ against the astonishing opening lead of a low Diamond: win the Ace, draw trumps, lose a Spade, rattle off the winners for the same squeeze.  All highly improbable, but fun, anyway.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♣       Pass    2NT

Pass    3NT     All Pass

South disdains to bid her 5-card Diamond suit, and that’s not a bad matchpoint tactic.  Why burden the opponents with information which might help them find the right opening lead?

Anyway, against 3NT by South, West will lead a Heart, Declarer will count 8 tricks, and will immediately play on Diamonds looking for more, ending up with 10 tricks.  If East is the opening leader, a Spade is likely to be forthcoming, as will be only 9 tricks.

West    North   East     South

            1♣       Pass    1NT

Dbl      2♣       Pass    Pass

2♠        Pass    Pass    3♣

3♠        All Pass

-         West’s first bid was a Takeout Double, the hand being, in West’s judgment, too good for a Spade overcall.

-         North’s 2♣ bid merely showed extra Clubs, not extra points.

-         West’s 2♠ (after doubling first) shows the aforementioned very good hand, and his 3♠ was purely competitive.

Playing in Spades, West can count 8 top tricks, and that’s all he’ll get, unless the defense is kind enough to help out.  As for N-S, they can make a surprising 10 tricks in Clubs, with the aid of a couple of finesses and some luck in Diamonds.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    3♣

Pass    3NT     All Pass

3♣ is not such a bad idea, there’s some decent shape and a half-decent suit.  North bids the obvious 3NT, and that contract is destined to be a spectacular failure or disaster:

-         If East’s opening lead is a Heart, the defense scores four Hearts and two Aces, for down two.

-         If East’s opening lead is a Spade, Declarer wins, plays on Diamonds, and scores an overtrick.

Was it clear-cut for East to find the winning Heart lead instead of the losing Spade lead?  Not really, though there is a school of thought which leads the suit in which they do not hold the Ace, the idea being that having set up (in this case) the Hearts, the ♠A is available as an entry.

West    North   East     South

                                    2NT

Pass    3♦        Pass    3♥

Pass    3NT     Pass    4♥

All Pass

With trumps breaking, Declarer has 9 tricks, and can get a 10^th from the Club finesse.  She can even get an 11^th by finessing the Diamond Seven, but that’s a little far-fetched (or is it?).

And 3NT?  Same 10 tricks, so well done those South players who elected to play in 3NT despite the 5-3 Heart fit.

West    North   East     South

1NT     Pass    2♣       Pass

2♦        All Pass

With a weak hand and Club shortness, East tries the old trick of using Stayman and then passing whatever West responds.  2♦ has all the makings of down one, as would 1NT.

West    North   East     South

            1NT     Pass    ??

South cannot pull the same trick that East used on the previous board, but she can try a different Stayman trick.  She bids 2♣ and ...

-         If North responds 2♥ or 2♠, South passes, happy to have found what is likely to be a better contract.

-        If North responds 2♦, South bids 2♥ (known as Garbage Stayman), saying to Partner “Let’s play in your better major”.

This works out rather well … 2♥ is good for 8 tricks … but there are only 7 in 1NT.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♥

Pass    1♠        Pass    2NT

Pass    6NT     All Pass

South decides that her hand is too good for a 15-17 1NT, so she upgrades, getting her side to 6NT.  This is a contract which can be made but often won’t be.  West leads a Diamond, and Declarer can count 9 top tricks.  The extra tricks can come from Hearts and/or Spades, and the obvious line of play is to win the first trick in Dummy and play a Heart to the King.  West smoothly ducks this, and Declarer will get back to Dummy and play another Heart.  That’s curtains, down one.

There is a winning line in 6NT, we’ve being trying to persuade ourselves that it makes sense:

            Win the Diamond in Dummy

            Heart to the King (maybe West’s duck is not-so-smooth)

            Cash the Clubs (West pitching Diamonds, Declarer a Heart)

            Finesse the Spade Ten

            Cash the ♠A

            Cross to Dummy with a Diamond

            Cash the ♠A

Declarer is home free when the ♠Q drops, and if it hadn’t done so, then she would have had to rely on the finesse in Hearts.  That line only really makes sense if you can trust the body language from West’s duck.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    1NT     2♦       All Pass

East’s 2♦ was DONT and 10 tricks are made.  North did well (or luckily) not to compete to 2♠, that’s an 800 number.

It appears that E-W can make 9 tricks in 3NT, but we cannot see many pairs bidding it on their combined 23-count (it’s West’s major suit Tens that make game possible).  All it needs is 3-2 in Diamonds (or singleton Jack).

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    Pass    1NT

All Pass

South has some good reasons to open her 4-5 hand 1NT:

-         If she opens 1♣ and North bids 1♠ then South will not have a good rebid (not good enough for a reverse into 2♥)

-         The opponents are vulnerable, that will make it more dangerous for them to step into the auction.

-         The doubleton ♠K might need protection from the opening lead.

Playing in 1NT, it looks like 7 tricks for Declarer.

West    North   East     South

            1♠        Pass    2♠

Pass    3♣       Pass    4♠

All Pass

On the previous board South opened 1NT holding 4 Hearts and 5 Clubs and had reasons to open 1NT.  Here it is North who is 5-4, but she opens 1♠ because (a) it’s a nice 5-card major, (b) there is no rebid problem, (c) there is no special reason to play NT from the North side.

South’s 10-count is not so wonderful, what with that square shape and all those Queens, so she bids a modest 2♠, then accepts the game invitation.

4♠ is a decent enough contract, but gets done in by the 4-1 trump break.  In fact, Declarer must be careful not to go down two, as in this line of play:

            Heart to the Ace

            Three rounds of trumps

            Play on Clubs

Sadly, Clubs are 4-2 and Declarer does indeed go down two.  The line for down one?  Declarer can give herself an extra chance by playing on Diamonds before Clubs.  She finesses the Diamond Nine, and later uses the Clubs as an entry to the Diamond winner.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♦        1♠        2♦        3♠

All Pass

Holding 5-card support and a singleton, opposite an overcall, a preemptive 4♠ might be the choice for some South players.  But maybe 3♠ (preemptive) is plenty, considering that the vulnerability is unfavorable, and the Diamond honors are under the Diamond bidder.  3♠ is high enough, there’s a loser in each suit.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    Pass    1♦        Pass

1♠       Pass    2♠        All Pass

It’s true, 4♠ makes 11 tricks but, in a show of solidarity for E-W's unsuccessful auction, let’s note that they have that no-wastage Club fit, that the ♥K is onside, likewise the ♦A.  Should West have bid more?  Maybe, but he can reasonably argue that he has an appalling holding in Partner’s Diamonds and a mere 7-count.  A reasonable game-try at IMPs, perhaps, less appealing at matchpoints.

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    1NT     Pass

3NT     All Pass

Nowadays, the standard No Trump lead from KQT9 is the Queen, telling Partner to drop the Jack if she has it.  So here, against 3NT, South leads the ♥Q, and North plays the Five.  What does that mean?  Well, of course, it denies the Jack, added to which it is a count signal, in this case showing an odd number.

Over to Declarer.  He can count 8 top tricks and he will read the opening lead as being from ♥KQT9.  If he ducks, South will be unable to continue the suit without giving up a trick … but ducking will also expose Declarer to the dangers of a Spade shift.  Added to that dilemma, Declarer must decide where to seek the 9^th trick (Spades or Diamonds?).  Our guess would be to win Trick 1 with the ♥A and play off four rounds of Clubs, ending in hand.  North shows out on the first round of Clubs, and will probably pitch a Heart, two Diamonds and a Spade … South will pitch a Spade.  If N-S are really tricky, they will mix up their signals, North discouraging Diamonds, and South discouraging Spades.  Now Declarer must guess whether to play a Spade or a Diamond, and he might well guess wrong, reasoning that if he takes the Diamond finesse and it loses he can still get out for down one … but if he plays a Spade and is wrong, he will be down at least a couple.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1NT     Pass

??

This deal completes our trilogy on “Strange Ways to Use Stayman” (see also Boards 12 and 13).

West does not really have a game-invitational hand, it may be an 8-count, but it’s not a good one (no Tens for starters).  So, it would be quite reasonable for West to pass 1NT.  But, alternatively, he might use Stayman, with this novel plan in mind:

-        If East rebids 2♥ then West will pass, delirious in the knowledge that he has improved the contract.

-         If East rebids 2♠, the delirium will be muted (if such a thing is possible), but at least it looks as if the 4-3 Spade fit will play well, with a ruff or two in the short hand.

-         If East rebids 2♦ all is not necessarily lost.  Now West bids 2NT, a slight overbid, and hopes that this does not get his side too high.

We are delighted to report that this plan works well, and that E-W have 9 tricks in Hearts, but only 7 in No Trump.

West    North   East     South

                        1♠        Pass

2NT     Pass    3♥        Pass

4♠        All Pass

An old-fashioned Jacoby 2NT auction gets E-W to the obvious 4♠.  And an obvious 10 tricks.

West    North   East     South

                                    1♥

Pass    1NT     2♥        2♠

4♠        Dbl      All Pass

An interesting auction:

-         North’s 1NT was forcing, part of the N-S 2/1 system.

-         2♥ was Michaels (still on in this situation).

-         South could have rebid 3♥, but that’s a bid that might be made on a relatively weak hand and good Hearts (competitive, in other words) … she could have bid 4♥, but that would be a bit much … so she bids 2♠, showing a good hand (but not game-forcing).

If E-W sacrifice in 4♠, it’s doubled down one (but careful play is required, those Diamonds must be attacked ASAP).  Mind you, making 4♥ is no picnic, Declarer must play East for short Clubs (from the bidding) and run the ♣J on the first round.

West    North   East     South

1♦        Pass    Pass    Dbl

2♦        2♠        3♦        All Pass

3♦ is down two, and it may seem that the N-S auction was somewhat feeble, seeing as they can make 4♠.  But it’s a very lucky 10 tricks, requiring the onside ♥A, a successful Club guess, and playing the Spades for one loser.  Here’s how North ekes out 10 tricks, playing in Spades:

            Defense cashes two Diamonds

            Dummy ruffs the third Diamond

            Spade to West’s Ace

            Another Diamond ruffed in Dummy

            Cash the ♠K

            Finesse the Club Ten

            Draw trumps

            Win the Heart finesse, etc.

West    North   East     South

            1♥        2♣       Pass

2♥        Pass    3♥        Pass

3NT     All Pass

West could have bid his Diamonds, we suppose, but as the general goal was to get to 3NT, he probably thought “Why bother?”

Anyway, 3NT by West is a good place to be, and if North leads her Heart suit, it will be an even better place: win the ♥Q, knock out the ♦A, and score 11 tricks (12 if North does not cash the ♠A pronto).

However, an opening Spade lead will make Declarer distinctly nervous.  He’ll finesse the Jack losing to South’s Queen, win the Heart shift with Dummy’s Ace, knock out the ♦A and escape with 9 tricks.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    1♥        Pass    1NT

All Pass

N-S can make 9 tricks here, all South has to do is guess the Clubs and the Spades.  The Spade guess looks unlikely, we predict 8 tricks at most tables.

West    North   East     South

                                    2♠

Pass    ??

North might well pass here.  Then again, she does have a pretty decent hand, so let’s assume that she decides to make a game-try (planning to play in Spades).  There are various methods whereby 2NT is artificial, asking Opener about her hand.  These include:

-         Feature: Asks Opener to show a side-suit Ace or King (nice and simple, and it is always permissible for Opener to withhold that feature with a poor hand).

-         Ogust: There are various flavors, please follow the earlier link

West    North   East     South

1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass

2♥        Pass    3♠        All Pass

West has a nice 11-count with 5-4 in the majors, no good reason not to open that.  Then a Forcing NT auction propels E-W to 3♠, will they make it?  The short answer is, yes.  The longer answer is that Declarer scrapes up 9 tricks provided that he can avoid a Heart loser.  North will be on opening lead against 3♠ and has no good choice.  She’ll try the ♣A, but all that does is set up a pitch for one of Declarer’s Heart losers (the other one gets ruffed).  So, no need for the Heart finesse (which works, anyway).

West    North   East     South

            1♣       Pass    1♥

Pass    1♠        Pass    Pass

Pass

These low-level contracts can be hard to analyze comprehensively, so many twists and turns.  Can we just say 7 tricks, maybe 8?

West    North   East     South

                        1♣       Pass

Pass    Dbl      Pass    1♠

Pass    2♥        Pass    4♥

All Pass

North’s sequence is strong and South has enough to go to game.

Against 4♥ it will seem like the most natural thing in the world for East to lead a high Club.  But now, Dummy can score two Club ruffs, and that’s 12 altogether.  To hold Declarer to 11 tricks, East must lead a trump immediately (and another when in with the Club), and that seems unlikely.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    Pass    1NT     Pass

??

West has no aspirations for game, but might well try Stayman, anyway, planning to bid 2♥ (Garbage Stayman, see also Board 13), if East responds 2♦.  That will work out well, find the 4-4 Heart fit and 9 tricks.  1NT is a less happy contract, weighing in at a puny 7 tricks.