West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    1♦

2♣       Dbl      Pass    2NT

Pass    3♦        All Pass

Some comments on North’s bidding:

-         Despite her splendid support for partner, North looks for the major fit, before supporting the Diamonds.  Business as usual, in other words.

-         North’s Negative Double does not guarantee both majors, unlike the sequence 1♣ (1♦) Dbl, which nowadays does show both majors (there remain but a few pockets of resistance to this treatment).

-        Yes, North’s bidding was quite conservative, we can see some N-S pairs getting too high on this deal.

3♦ is definitely the place to be, but Declarer may neglect to make her contract:

            ♣K won by Declarer’s Ace

            Draw three rounds of trumps

            Run the ♠T to East’s Jack

            Club ruffed in Dummy

Oh dear!  Declarer is stuck in Dummy, added to which there are not enough trumps left to do what needs to be done.  Down at least one.

Declarer must play on Spades at Trick 2, keeping the trumps in reserve for some back and forth:

            ♣K won by Declarer’s Ace

            Finesse the Spade Nine

            Ruff the Club return

            Draw three trumps with the ♦KQJ

            Run the Spade Ten

That’s superior timing, and it’s 9 tricks.

West    North   East     South

                        3♣       Pass

Pass    Pass

That’s not a picture-perfect preempt, but favorable vulnerability has that effect on many of us.  West does the sensible thing and passes, knowing that it’s unlikely that the Clubs will come in and East will have an entry.

Against 3♣, does anyone know what South is supposed to lead?  We thought not.  Let’s say a Spade:

            ♠Q won in hand

            Diamond to the Jack and Ace

            Spade return won by Dummy’s Ace

            Cash ♦K, pitching a Spade

            Finesse the Heart Nine to South’s Queen

That’s 10 tricks, but there are other reasonable lines which will bring in only 9.

3NT is a poor contract, and makes on most defenses, thanks to the lucky Club situation.  But a Spade opening lead and careful defense will beat it.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass

2♦        Pass    2♥        Pass

3♦        All Pass

E-W were playing a 2/1 system, finally stumbling into 3♦.  That won’t be a great success with that 5-0 trump break.  Deep Finesse assures us that 3NT makes from the East side, and we suppose it might, thanks to the ♠AK and ♣J and ♦A all being well-placed.  You wouldn’t want to be there (apart from the fact that it happens to make).

West    North   East     South

1♥        1♠        1NT     Pass

2♦        Pass     2♥       All Pass

Some purists will look at the West hand, wondering where are the HCP’s, where are the Aces, the Tens?  Well, yes, of course, nobody is forcing West to open, but he does have a couple of chunky suits and a singleton.  It’s not a hand completely without merits.

Despite North’s extras.  She doesn’t really have a suitable second call, but perhaps she can punish West’s light opening with some lethal defense:

            Cash Spade Ace

            Spade ruff

            Diamond to the King and Ace

            Spade ruff

            Club to North’s Ace

            ♥A is cashed

            Heart to Dummy’s Ten

Declarer gets rid of one Diamond loser, but is still down two and an ugly -200.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♠        Pass

1NT     Pass    2♥        Pass

3♦        Pass    3♥        Pass

4♥        All Pass

-         When one is dealt a 7-card suit, it is nice to be able to bid it, but many Wests will not have that luxury … not strong enough for 2♦ in a 2/1 system … maybe strong jump shifts or Bergen Raises will rule out 3♦ … 4♦ would be s Splinter.  So, most Wests will be bidding 1NT with this hand.

-         East is almost good enough for a 3♥ rebid, some might say that his 4-loser hand actually is good enough.

-         We’d say that West’s 4♥ was quite optimistic.

The auction cries out for a trump lead (to stop the expected Spade ruffs in Dummy), and Declarer wins that in hand.  The ♦A is unblocked, then a Heart to Dummy’s Jack, ruff a Diamond, draw trumps and lead a Club towards Dummy.  If South is ready for this moment, and plays low smoothly, then it seems likely that Declarer will guess wrong, and that will be down one.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♥        Pass    2♠

All Pass

Playing in 2♠, it’s hard to imagine that Declarer will lose less than 7 tricks for -100.  Even so, that may not be a terrible result for N-S, as E-W can make (a rather lucky) 10 tricks in Diamonds.  Should E-W have competed?  It’s hard to see how, though we understand there are still people roaming the streets who would try DONT with that West hand.  It pains us to acknowledge that this works well on the actual hand.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

1♣       Pass    1♥        Pass

1♠        Pass    1NT     All Pass

The E-W auction was always headed for No Trump, it was just a question of whether East and West would bother to show their 4-card major with those square hands.  Some do, some don’t.  Anyway, they got there eventually.  As for the play, who would dare to predict how things will go?  Not we.  Deep Finesse says 8 tricks, and that seems like a lot until one realizes that the ♣KQ are onside, and the ♠JT are obligingly doubleton, and the defense will blow a trick if they attack Diamonds.  So, 8 tricks it is, and on to the next board.    

West    North   East     South

1♠        Pass    2♠        3♦

3♠        Pass?  Pass    Pass

-         Some Easts will respond 1NT, not illogical with the square hand and scattered values.  2♠, however, is more preemptive, and also more encouraging than 1♠ 1NT, 2♣ 2♠, which is more often than not a two-card raise.

-         West’s 3♠ was purely competitive, if he’d wanted to invite game he would have bid 3♥.

-         North’s final Pass was somewhat wimpy, perhaps she gave a fleeting thought to 3NT (down a couple on normal play).

Playing in 3♠, Declarer ruffs the second Diamond.  Declarer does best to play ♠A and a Spade towards Dummy.  North ducks that for fear of crashing the Queen in South’s hand, so now Declarer takes the losing Club finesse.  It will all come down to the Heart guess, which is really no guess at all … North will have shown up with both black kings and surely cannot also have the ♥A as well.  So Declarer finesses the ♥J, losing just one trick in each suit.  +140.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♣       1♦

1♥        Pass    2♥        All Pass

-         A Negative Double of 1♦ by West would show both majors (see also Board 1), so West bids 1♥ (1NT would also be tempting)

-         If South is led into temptation, and bids 3♦, West will surely double and that will be down two.

Despite the 5-0 trump break, 2♥ makes without much difficulty.  For example:

            Diamond to the Ace

            ♦Q, covered by ♦K, and ruffed

            ♥A is cashed

            Heart exit won by Declarer

            Club to the Jack and Ace

Declarer makes his remaining 4 trumps separately, and that is enough to get the total up to 8.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♦

3♠        4♥!      4♠        5♥

All Pass

-         West might have bid only 2♠ with that modest suit.

-         North finds herself seriously inconvenienced by the 3♠ preempt, and tries 4♥.  She’s got the values to justify game, but not the suit to insist on 4♥.  But she has to do something and 4♥ is as good a guess as any.

-         East’s 4♠ is a good sacrifice (down two), but South pushes on to 5♥, of course.

In 5♥, Declarer will make 11 or 12 tricks, depending on how she plays the Diamonds:

            ♠A is cashed

            Declarer wins Club shift in Dummy

            Trumps are drawn, ending in hand

            ♣A is cashed

Thanks to a little bit of sleuthing, Declarer now knows that West has (probably) started with seven Spades, along with three Hearts and at least two Clubs.  So the percentage play is to run the Diamond Seven.  12 tricks!

West    North   East     South

                                    2♦

Pass    2NT     Pass    3♣

Pass    3NT     All Pass

-         Of the various different numbers of Diamonds that South might have bid, we’d say that her actual choice of 2♦ was the least distasteful.

-         North’s 2NT was forward-going, let’s say that this pair are playing Feature.

-         The common style is that South is not obliged to show her feature if she is ashamed of the rest of her hand.  South has no reason for such modesty and bids 3♣.

3NT is not a terrible contract, it just needs some Diamond luck, which it doesn’t get on the actual layout.  But there is scope for some defensive bungling:

            ♣K won by Dummy’s Ace, Declarer cleverly unblocking the Jack

            Cross to the ♥A

            Run the ♦T, losing to the Queen

            Win the Spade return (pitching a Diamond)

            Knock out the ♦A

            Duck a Spade to East’s Queen (pitching a Diamond)

            Win the Spade return (pitching a Heart)

Now Declarer leads towards Dummy’s ♣T, and has 9 tricks.  Declarer did well to unblock the ♣J at Trick 1, ensuring an entry in the suit later in the play.  But West stumbled badly when he won the first Diamond.  If he ducks, then the Diamonds will be shut out and Declarer scores just 7 tricks.

West    North   East     South

2♥        Dbl      Pass    2♠

3♣       Dbl      3♥        3♠

All Pass

-         Just as on the previous hand, the opening bidder could have bid various numbers of Diamonds, so it is that on this deal West has a smorgasbord of Heart bids available.  You’ll get votes for 1♥, 2♥, 3♥, and at this vulnerability maybe even 4♥.  Our West is a solid middle-of-the-road citizen, it seems.

-         Having made a Weak Two, West takes another call, if only to infuriate the purists.  But, it’s not completely out of bounds, considering that West might reasonably bid more on the previous round.

Against 3♠, the defense might think that they are on to a good thing if the play proceeds:

            ♥K overtaken by the Ace

            ♥J overtaken by the Queen

            Heart ruffed by Dummy’s Eight and overruffed

            ♦Q shift, low from Declarer, ruffed by West

But that’s all the defense gets.  That Diamond ruff was a mistake, effectively ruffing one of Declarer’s losers with West’s natural trump trick.  If West refrains from ruffing, the defense eventually comes to 5 tricks.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    1NT

Pass    2♦        Pass    2♥

Pass    3NT     Pass    4♥

All Pass

-         Some pairs have an agreement (we have no idea why) that they super-accept with 2NT, showing a max and (only) 3-card support.  So, if N-S were encumbered by those methods, they had the perfect hand.

-         North’s 9-count is good enough to insist on game, don’t you think?  Look at those splendid major suit intermediates!

With that 4-1 trump break, 4♥ is not an easy contract.  The good news for Declarer is that West has to find an opening lead, and either the ♣A or a low Diamond will make 10 tricks relatively easy.  Now try making 10 tricks if West leads his singleton trump:

            Trump to Dummy’s Ten (East does not cover)

            Diamond finesse loses

            Spade return, finessing the Queen

            ♦A and a Diamond ruff

            ♠A and a Spade ruff

            Diamond ruff

            Club to the King and Ace

Here is the 4-card ending, with West on lead:

                        Dummy

                        ♥ K9

                        ♣ 98

West                                        East

♠ 87                                         ♠

♥                                              ♥ J87

♣ T7                                        ♣ J

                        Declarer

                        ♥ A

                        ♣ Q65

West returns a Spade, Declarer and Dummy both pitch a Club, and Declarer ruffs with the Ace.  Now a Club forces East to ruff, at which point he is end-played in trumps!  10 tricks!

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♠

Pass    2♦        Pass    2♥

Pass    4♥        All Pass

North reasons that 4♥ may play better than 4♠ because (a) her Hearts are so much stronger, (b) if Spades are 4-1, a ruff may be needed to set up the suit.

It’s a really friendly hand, 12 tricks for Declarer.  13, even, if West fails to lead a Club and Declarer is really greedy:

            Win trump lead and draw trumps

            Cash ♠AK

            Finesse ♦Q

            Cash ♠J

            Cash ♦A and ruff a Diamond

            Cash Spades, pitching Clubs, etc

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

3♣       Pass    Pass    Pass

Who could resist throwing in a 3♣ preempt at this vulnerability?  Obviously not West, who plays it there and scores at least 10 tricks.  True, E-W can make 3NT but it’s not a wonderful contract.  Not terrible, though.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♠        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♦        Pass    2♠

All Pass

This is a Forcing NT auction, and it gets N-S to 2♠, where they can scramble 8 tricks (largely thanks to the benevolent Club position).

In a “standard” auction (also in one where the 1NT bid is “semi-forcing”), 1NT might well be the contract, which appears to make only 7 tricks.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    3♣

3♥        Pass    4♥        All Pass

With those two side-suit Kings, that’s a somewhat ugly 3♣ opening by South.  But then again it wouldn’t be much of a 1♣ opening, either.  You choose.

At first glance, it might seem that there is not much to the play to 4♥, with Declarer losing a couple of Spades.  So, 11 tricks all around the room?  Maybe not!  There are a couple of wrinkles, one which Declarer will like, one which he won’t:

-         If North leads the ♠A (he might!) then the play goes: ♠A, ♠Q, Spade ruffed by the King, promoting a trick for North’s ♥J.  Just 10 tricks!

-         If North leads a Club then the play might go: ♣A, ♦A, Heart to the Ace, ♥Q, ♦K, ruff a Club, ♦Q.  Declarer has drawn trumps and eliminated the minors, and now he innocently leads a low Spade towards Dummy.  North knows a cheap trick when she sees one, and plays the Queen.  Oops!  South is forced to win this with her singleton King and now, with just Clubs left, she must concede a ruff and sluff.  12 tricks!  Yes, North was dozing there, on the first round of Spades she must rise majestically with the ♠A, and cash the ♠Q.  It’s called the Crocodile Coup, and it’s a very obvious play to spot, especially after the hand is over.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    1♦        Pass    1♠

Dbl      2♠        All Pass

-         The Rule of 15 says “Add your HCP’s to the number of Spades, if you get 15+, then open the hand in fourth seat.  Well, North doesn’t pass the test, but it’s hard to imagine her passing that hand in any seat.

-         If N-S are playing Support Doubles, they probably play Support Redoubles, too, in which case North’s 2♠ guarantees 4-card support.

-         East did well not to bid 3♣, that gets doubled and goes for 300.

In 2♠, we don’t know how the defense will plan their campaign.  But we do know what Declarer will do, she’ll play on Diamonds early, and score 9 tricks.

West    North   East     South

                                    1NT

Pass    2♣       Pass    2♥

All Pass

-         Opening 1NT with a singleton honor may be frowned upon by some, but here it seems eminently reasonable, and a better start to the auction than opening 1♦, planning to rebid 2♣ if North responds 1♠.  And, of course, bidding 1NT limits the hand, and has preemptive value against the vulnerable opponents.  Yes, it’s a bid with much to recommend it.  As it happens, 1NT steals the pot, keeping E-W out of their making 2♠ contract.

-         North decides to look for a major suit fit … if South had responded 2♦, then North would bid 2♥ (Garbage Stayman) saying “Let’s play in 2♥ or 2♠, you choose”.  As it happens, North strikes it rich, finding a 4-4 Heart fit.

Declarer won’t make her contract but she can get out for down one of two, which should be a good result. 

West    North   East     South

Pass    1NT     Pass    3NT

All Pass

South might have tried for slam, perhaps she should have done.  But most pairs do not have good methods for this type of hand.  Do you?  Minor suit transfers are a good start … also Minorwood or Redwood (aka Kickback).  OK, we know, we punted on the bidding, but wait until you see our coverage of the play …

Against 3NT, East leads the Diamond Five.  The obvious and sensible matchpoint line is to win the first Diamond, cross to hand and take the Club finesse.  When that fails it is down one, but at least Declarer can be reassured by the thought that the slam bidders also went down.

If you are wondering why Deep Finesse makes 9 tricks in No Trump, it’s because he finds this double dummy line:

            Duck a Diamond

            Win the Diamond continuation

            Cash the ♣A

            Cash the ♠AQ

            Exit a Diamond

East wins the trick, cashes the remaining Diamonds and is end-played in Hearts!  Not a real-life line of play, of course.

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♣       Pass

3NT     All Pass

What we see above is not exactly a scientific auction.  But it’s uninformative to the opponents and that’s not a bad thing.  After that crude auction, our uninformed North will surely lead a Spade and Declarer will rattle off a surprising 12 tricks for a top board.

If E-W go and get all scientific, this might happen:

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♣       Pass

1♦        Pass    1♠        Pass

3NT     All Pass

Now, North consults her road map and leads a Heart.  9 tricks only.

Unblocking Note:

The defense must take care not to block the Heart suit … either North leads the Jack (not a bad idea from that holding, where possible blockage is ringing alarm bells) … or, if North leads a low Heart, South must insert the Nine.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♦

Pass    1♠        Pass    2♠

All Pass

That’s not the most appealing raise to 2♠, but 1NT looks like no great shakes, either.  And 2♠ has the added blessing of making it more difficult for E-W to get in the auction.

If North declares in Spades, things are complicated.  To start with, East is obliged to find an opening lead, let’s say a Club.  West wins and returns a trump to East’s Ace, then another trump.  Over to the ♦A, then another Club, and a third round of trumps stops the ruff in Dummy.  No matter, Declarer double hooks the Heart, and has 10 well-earned (and lucky) tricks.

Back to the Bidding:

Suppose that South rebids 1NT.  What does North do?  She’s not good enough to invite game (via New Minor Forcing), so it’s a choice between passing 1NT and bidding 2♠.  Our vote goes to 2♠, the suit is so good.  On the actual hand, 1NT plays rather well (9 tricks), but consider how bleak the prospects would be if the ♠A were tripleton.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    Pass    1♦        1♥

2♦        Pass    3NT     All Pass

Inverted Minors are generally not played in competition but, even so, most Wests will have a preemptive 3♦ available.  That’s not ideal with an outside Ace, so West bids just 2♦.  East charges into 3NT, and South has to find a lead:

-         If South leads a Heart it will probably be a low one, Dummy plays the Jack, and with the Diamonds 2-2 there are 10 tricks.

-         On other leads, Deep Finesse also makes 10 tricks, and we are sure that you did too, perhaps by finessing in Clubs before playing on Spades.

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♦        Pass    1♠

Pass    1NT     Pass    3♠

All Pass

This looks like a normal enough auction.  True, South does have an 11-count with that nice 6-4 shape, but an invitational 3♠ rebid seems enough.  As it happens, 4♠ makes, thanks to the fortunate Spade situation (onside King and 3-2 break).  Also, although North’s opening suit was Diamonds, it turns out that she has virtually no wastage in the suit opposite South’s singleton.  That makes Spades play well, and is bad news for the part-score languishers.

West    North   East     South

            2♠        ??

Well, well, well!  Any good suggestions for East?

-         6NT?  That could work well if South promises to lead a Spade, and if both the minor suits come in, or if West has a little bit of stuff.  A lot to hope for, don’t you think?

-         5NT?  Surely (which is always a dangerous word in undiscussed auctions) this says “Pick a minor”.  Then again, if you reversed East’s red suits, surely you would expect 5NT to mean that you had a huge two-suiter, not necessarily just in the minors.

-         4NT?  What does this mean?  It could be for the minors … or it could be Blackwood.  When did you last discuss this auction with Partner?

-         4♠?  Some play that this shows a really good minor two-suiter (with 4NT relegated for duty with minor two-suiters which are merely rather good).

-         6♦?  We confess that this looks like the practical choice, unless you are on extremely safe ground on one of the aforementioned alternatives.

6NT is the winner, even though, if East bids it and South leads a Heart, Declarer will take one look at Dummy and want to throw up.  But all is (undeservedly?) well when North has just one Heart and cannot return the suit when in with the ♠A.

West    North   East     South

                        1♦        Pass

2♦        4♥        All Pass

-        West is not strong enough for a 2♣ bid, so he raises Partner.  And if E-W are playing Inverted Minors?  Maybe 2♦ still isn’t a bad idea, even though it is a slight overbid.

-         North could have made a two-suited bid (perhaps 4♦?) but when the discrepancy in the suit-lengths is two cards, it’s generally better to bid the long suit, treating the hand as a one-suiter.

4♥ was not an unreasonable bid, but it is a lousy contract.  East leads a high Club, and Declarer will end up two down (unless she takes a really inspired view in trumps).

West    North   East     South

                                    1♣

Dbl?    2♣?     3♠        All Pass

-         West’s Double was a tad light, let’s attribute that to the perfect shape and the splendid intermediates. 

-         North’s 2♣ will not be appreciated by those with a disregard for Queens and Jacks and 9-loser hands.

-         East’s jump to 3♠ shows invitational values.

The defense to 3♠ will probably start: Diamond, Diamond, Diamond ruff.  Declarer cannot afford to draw trumps and then guess Hearts wrong (he’ll still have a Diamond loser), so after ruffing that Diamond he might try a low Heart, putting South on the griddle:

-         If South smoothly plays low, Declarer will no doubt guess the Hearts wrong, but can still scamper to 9 tricks on a cross-ruff

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    1NT!

Pass    2♥        Pass    2♠

All Pass

It’s always a pleasant feeling when a slightly-out-of-the-mainstream-bid-which-we-happen-to-like actually works out well.  South may have 18 HCP’s, and may be playing a 15-17 1NT, but it’s worth considering a downgrade with this hand, one which is seriously square and tragically Ten-less.  A 1NT opening gets N-S to a most manageable contract of 2♠, which should make an overtrick.

And if South opens 1♣, planning to rebid 2NT, showing 18-19?  That lets the E-W Diamonds into the auction.  Now things aren’t so comfortable for N-S, and they might let themselves get outbid by the 10-card E-W Diamond fit.  3♦ down one will not be a great board for N-S.

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass

2♠        All Pass

We don’t see N-S getting into this auction, but we do see E-W racking up 8 or 9 tricks in 2♠.

West    North   East     South

                                    Pass

Pass    Pass    1♣       Dbl

1♠        Pass    3♣       Pass

5♣?     All Pass

That’s quite a 5♣ bid by West, one that is crowned by success when 11 tricks roll in.  We doubt that East would have taken this to game if West had merely invited with 4♣.

And, of course, 3NT also makes, though it is an inferior contract (needs Diamonds to be 4-4).

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♥        Pass    2♣

Pass    2♥        Pass    3♣

Pass    3♠        Pass    3NT

Pass    4♥        All Pass

North has a terrific hand, though it’s not improved by repeated Club bids from South.  North was always planning to play the hand in Hearts, and tried to demonstrate that by bidding 3♠ and then pulling to 4♥.  That was a pretty strong auction by North, but South remained unimpressed.

N-S did well to stay out of slam, both of them holding back because of their lack of help in partner’s suit.