NS 4♠; NS 3N; NS 3♥; NS 4♦; NS 3♣; Par +420

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    1♣

Pass    1♥        Pass    1♠

All Pass

N-S did well to play this one in Spades rather than No Trump, and would have done even better if they had reached the very lucky game (in No Trump or in Spades).

Playing in Spades, here is one route to 10 tricks:

            West leads a Diamond, won by Dummy’s Ace (fearing a singleton lead)

            Cash K♣

Declarer has the first 8 tricks (with a good trump still to come), reaching this position:

                                    Dummy

                                    ♠

                                    ♥ QT5

                                    ♦ 54

                                    ♣

            West                                        East

            ♠                                              ♠

            ♥ AJ76                                    ♥ K9

            ♦ 5                                           ♦ KJ8

            ♣                                             ♣

                                    Declarer

                                    ♠ 2

                                    ♥ 8

                                    ♦ Q97

                                    ♣

The ♥10 is finessed, losing to the King.  Now, if East returns a Diamond, the ♦Q is the 10^th trick … and if he returns a Heart, Declarer pitches a Diamond and West is end-played after winning the ♥A.  +170!

W 1N; EW 2♦; NS 1♥; EW 1♣; Par −90

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♥

2♦        Pass    2♥        Dbl

Pass    Pass     3♦        All Pass

-         After West has overcalled 2♦, East can hardly pass with 10 HCP, but, on the other hand, there’s no ideal forward-going bid … not 2NT without a Heart stopper … not 3♣ which might get E-W too high … not 3♦, that’s a bid which would be made with at least one more Diamond, and fewer HCP’s.  So, East tries a cue-bid of 2♥, maybe without much enthusiasm.

-         On to South.  Was her Double a waste of time?  Probably!  The only reason for making this bid would be to encourage Partner to compete to 3♥, and that looks like a highly dangerous suggestion, looking at the vulnerability and all of South’s losers.  That Double’s a bid that would make more sense if the singleton ♣K were put somewhere useful.

Playing in 3♦, Declarer must lose three Hearts, a Diamond and a Spade, and he must drop the singleton ♣K to escape for down one.  Will he know enough to do so?  No, by the time the moment of truth arrives, South will have shown up with ♥AKQ and ♦Q, and that’s enough for many to bid the way that South did.

NS 7♥; NS 7♣; NS 6N; NS 3♠; NS 3♦; Par +1510

West    North   East     South

1♣

Pass    1♥        Pass    2♥

Pass    2NT     Pass    3♥

Pass    4NT     Pass    5♠

Pass    7♥        All Pass

Needless to say, North has her sights set on slam as soon as South opens, and it’s merely a question of which one.  South’s raise to 2♥ could have been made on a 3-card suit, so North wheels out some MinMax machinery:

-         3♣ is 3-card support and a minimum hand

-         3♦ is 3-card support and a maximum hand

-         3♥ is 4-card support and a minimum hand

-         3♠ is 4-card support and a maximum hand.

In this scheme of things, South’s response is obviously 3♥.

Now North tries Roman Key Card and hears “two with”.  That accounts for 10 of the HCP in South’s minimum hand and North boldly bids the grand slam, hoping that South has the ♣Q (or that the Club finesse would work).  Luckily, South does indeed have the ♣Q, and, also luckily, South did not have the fatal mirror distribution of 2=4=3=4.

EW 3♥; EW 2N; EW 2♠; EW 3♣; Par −140

West    North   East     South

1♥        Pass    1NT     Pass

2♥        Pass    2NT     Pass

3NT     All Pass

-        After East’s Forcing 1NT, West might have wished he were playing Flannery.  In the circumstances, his rebid of 2♥ seems reasonable enough.  True, it’s not the promised six cards, but it is a very good suit, and, to us at least, seems less unappetizing than rebidding a two-card minor.

-        After 2♥, East might well have passed (the winning call!), but no doubt liked his Club fillers enough to try for game.  He could have made that try with 2NT or 3♥ and either of those bids is likely to get E-W to 3NT, played from the East side.

Against 3NT, South leads a Spade, which Declarer wins with the King (if he ducks he might get a nasty Diamond shift).  Now the Heart finesse loses and it’s all over, the best that Declarer can manage is down one.  Playing in a cozy contract of 2♥ would have been so much more fun, that makes 8 tricks, maybe 9.

NS 3N; NS 3♥; NS 2♠; NS 3♦; NS 2♣; Par +600

West    North   East     South

            1♥        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♠        Pass    3♣

Pass    3NT     All Pass

There are some might-haves in this auction:

-         North might have opened 2♣, after all it is a 3-loser hand.  The main trouble with that is that a 4-4 Spade fit might get lost.

-         After 1♥, East might have overcalled 1♠ (or 2♠!) considering the vulnerability and his strong preference for a Spade lead.

-         After South’s Forcing 1NT, West might have preempted 3♣, the presumed excuse for this being the favorable vulnerability.  But even that wouldn’t help West here and the result would be a mirthful +800 for N-S.

-         North might have rebid 3♦, but went the cheap route with 2♠, even though her Partner had denied 4 Spades.

On lead against 3NT, West must avoid the disastrous opening lead of a low Club.  That’s 10 easy tricks for Declarer when the red suits behave.  The way to test Declarer’s mettle is for West to start out passively with a Heart.  Dummy’s Hearts are cashed and now Dummy exits with a Spade.  Which one?  Look what happens if Declarer plays a low Spade from Dummy to her Nine and West’s Jack.  Now West cashes the ♣A and Dummy is squeezed!  A Spade cannot be spared (then East’s suit would run), so a Diamond must be shed.  Next, West plays a Spade through and 8 tricks are the limit for Declarer.

Yes, after cashing those Hearts, Declarer can do better.  Fasten your seat-belts, folks, there’s a spectacular play coming up:

                                    Dummy

                                    ♠ KT72

                                    ♥

                                    ♦ AKJ2

                                    ♣

            West                                        East

            ♠ J5                                        ♠ AQ864

            ♥                                              ♥

            ♦ Q74                                      ♦ T9

            ♣ AT7                                     ♣ 8

                                    Declarer

                                    ♠ 93

                                    ♥

                                    ♦ 65

                                    ♣ KQJ9

That’s right, Dummy makes the stunning exit of the ♠K, blocking the suit!  East wins the Ace, exits with a Club and now Dummy can afford to pitch a Spade.  West plays the ♠J which East must overtake.  But that only prolongs the agony, as Dummy wins the third round of Spades, cashes ♦AK and throws in West with a Diamond.  It’s Trick 13 and West is stuck with a Club which provides Declarer’s 9^th trick.  Hands up all those who found this line of play!  It’s double dummy, but maybe just within the realms of possibility if East overcalls 1♠.

EW 4♠; NS 3♥; EW 4♦; EW 3♣; NS 1N; Par −300: NS 5♥x-2

West    North   East     South

                        1♦        1♥

1♠        2♠        Dbl      4♥

4♠        5♥        Dbl     All Pass

North decides she is too good for a preemptive 4♥ so shows a limit raise or better.  When there is a choice of two cue-bids available, it’s usual to play that the cheaper 2♦ cue-bid shows 3-card support and that the more expensive 2♠ cue-bid shows 4+ trump support.  Anyway, the par result is eventually reached.  4♠ makes 10 tricks, and 5♥ is a profitable sacrifice at -300.

NS 7♠; NS 7♣; NS 6N; NS 6♥; S 4♦; N 3♦; Par +2210

West    North   East     South

2♣

Pass    2♦        Pass     2♥

Pass    2NT     Pass    3♠

Pass    4♣       Pass     4NT

Pass    5♦        Pass     5NT

Pass    7♠        All Pass 

-         2♦: Waiting

-         2NT: If N-S are playing 3♣ as a “second negative” then 2NT shows some values.  There’s no rush to support Hearts with honor doubleton, that can wait.

-         3♠: Natural

-        4♣: This has to be a cue-bid in support of Spades, Responder cannot introduce a new suit at the 4-level expecting it to be a possible place to play.

-         5♦: No Key Cards

NS 5N; NS 4♥; NS 2♠; NS 3♦; EW 1♣; Par +460

West    North   East     South

3♣       Pass    4♣       4♥

Pass    Pass    Pass

Like many preemptive bids, East’s 4♣ turns out to be wrong in theory but right in practice.  Wrong in theory because, if doubled, it goes for -500 which is more than the N-S game.  But right in practice because it pushes N-S into the inferior game of 4♥.  Not that 4♥ doesn’t make, but the place to be is 3NT, making 11 tricks.

If East is asleep at the switch and passes 3♣, then South will bid just 3♥, and now North has an obvious 3NT call (and also an obvious Double if East belatedly tries 4♣).  Preempting works!

NS 3N; NS 4♣; NS 2♠; NS 3♦; NS 1♥; Par +400

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♥        Dbl

1♠        Pass    2♦        Pass

2♥        Dbl      2♠        Dbl

All Pass

After South’s first Double, North was planning to make a Penalty Pass, hoping that her Heart length and South’s high-card strength would be enough to set 1♥ and get the magic +200.  Spot on, 1♥ doubled is indeed down one!  But West gets in the way with his 1♠ bid, after which North gets a chance to double 2♥ instead!  Even better, that would be +500 for N-S.  East knows a doomed contract when he sees it and bails out to 2♠.  But, it’s out of the frying pan into the fire, that one has 800 written all over it!

South made a good Double of 2♠.  She has a moderate trump holding, but she had some extras and concluded that E-W were likely in a 5-2 fit.  How so?  Well, East might have raised Spades earlier with three, West might have rebid 2♠ with 6.

P.S  Sure, N-S can make a 22-point 3NT, but nobody will bid it.  Will they?

EW 4♥; EW 3N; EW 2♠; EW 2♣; EW 1♦; Par −620

West    North   East     South

                        1NT     Pass

2♣        Pass    2♥       Pass

4♥        All Pass

Against 4♥ South might lead the ♠9, not so much in the hope of getting a ruff, but because it is the lead least likely to blow a trick for the defense.  It won’t be obvious to Declarer whether South has led a singleton or a doubleton or top of nothing.  Declarer will no doubt draw trumps and is down for sure if he misguesses the ♥Q (probably down two, in fact).  Let’s say that he guesses right (he may not!).  Trumps are drawn, Spades cashed and when the Club finesse loses it’s down one.  Can 4♥ be made?  Yes, but only double dummy, by dropping the stiff ♦A and subsequently leading towards the ♦Q.

EW 3N; EW 3♠; EW 3♣; EW 2♦; NS 1♥; Par −400

West    North   East     South

Pass

Pass    Pass    1NT     All Pass

With the Clubs coming home and the Heart finesse working, Declarer makes no fewer than 9 tricks in 1NT.  But some N-S pairs will dive into the auction, perhaps with North making a death-defying balancing DONT bid of 2♣, showing Clubs (well, sort of) and another suit.  Now South tries 2♦ and North shows her other so-called suit with 2♥.  This is destined to go down one, but West might chirp in with a so-called suit of his own, bidding 2♠.  The precarious 4-3 Spade fit plays well, scoring 9 tricks no less, but even so that will be second-best to the E-W pairs who were left undisturbed in 1NT.  So, one way or the other, the kamikaze DONT balance gets a good board!

NS 5♦; NS 5♣; NS 1N; EW 1♠; EW 1♥; Par +600

West    North   East     South

2♠        Pass    4♠        Dbl

All Pass

South’s Double showed values, and was not specifically for penalty or for takeout.  It’s hard to blame North for passing the Double with that ordinary-looking hand, but the fact of the matter is that 4♠ doubled escapes for -500 while N-S can make +600 in 5♣ or 5♦.

System Note:  Suppose that the vulnerability prompts North to try game at the five-level.  Should she just bid 5♣, her longest suit?  No, it’s better to play that 4NT here shows a two-suiter (not necessarily both minors, could be Hearts and a minor).  This useful treatment greatly improves the chances of finding the best fit, although on this hand it makes no difference.

EW 5N; EW 5♠; EW 5♦; EW 1♥; EW 1♣; Par −660

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    Pass

2♣       Pass    2♦        Pass

2♠        Pass    3♠       Pass

4NT     Pass    5♥       Pass

5NT     Pass    5♠       Pass

6♠        All Pass

Another long-winded slam auction, though it’s simple enough:

-         North’s 3♠ is more slam-encouraging than 4♠ (the Principle of Fast Arrival).

-         West launches into Roman Key Card and gets a response of “two without”

-         West’s 5NT is the Specific King Ask and 5♠ denies a side-suit King.

-         So, West settles for 6♥, confidently expecting +1430 or +1460, depending on the fate of the Heart finesse.

Wrong!  Unless North leads a suicidal low Heart, or a dangerous low Diamond, 6♥ cannot be made.  Talk about unlucky!  Declarer could handle the 5-0 trumps, but could not also overcome the 4-1 Diamonds, and the offside ♥K and the offside ♣K.  Dummy’s Ace wins the opening Club lead, and Declarer, in search of the all-important overtrick, unaware that all hell is about to break loose, takes the Heart finesse.  That loses, a Club comes back and is ruffed by Declarer.  Now, when North shows out on the first round of trumps, Declarer is entitled to say “Oops!”, as his attempt for an overtrick has caused him to lose trump control.  He may well say a lot more than just “Oops” when the Diamonds are also unobliging and he goes down no fewer than 3 tricks!

NS 3♠; NS 1N; EW 1♥; EW 1♦; NS 1♣; Par +140

West    North   East     South

                        1NT     2♠

All Pass

Playing DONT, South has various ways to show a Spade one-suiter:

-         Preemptive 3♠

-         Competitive 2♠

-         Constructive hand by doubling and then bidding 2♠

This hand is clearly competitive only and that knowledge warns North not to make a game try with her 11 HCP.

Playing in 2♠, it looks like 8 tricks in real life, but Deep Finesse says that 9 tricks are possible.  Appropriately, making 9 tricks does indeed involve some deep finessing, playing East for AQ8x.

NS 5♠; EW 3♥; NS 4♦; NS 3♣; NS 1N; Par +500: EW 6♥x-3

West    North   East     South

Pass

2♥        4♠        6♥!      Dbl

All Pass

After 2♥,  North has these options:

-         4♦ (Leaping Michaels) showing Spades and Diamonds, at least 5-5.  Given the disparity in the two suits this is quite a distortion (but will work terrifically well when South has a Diamond fit and a good hand).

-         Double, and then 3♠ after South bids Clubs.  This shows a good hand, but is not forcing.

-        3♠, showing a good hand, and a good suit and not quite enough for game.  The trouble with this bid is that Partner could have a Yarborough with a Diamond fit and game will be cold.

-        As there’s no ideal way to describe the hand, perhaps booting out 4♠ is the best option, putting East under pressure.  “What pressure?” says East as he bids 6♥ directly!  And, why not, he would surely have bid that when N-S push on to 5♠, so why not do so immediately and crowd their auction?

After 6♥, is South allowed to bid 6♠?  Not without a really good reason.  North’s 4♠ told South that she thinks slam is unlikely opposite a passed hand, and it would take a remarkable South hand to ignore that warning.  The South hand doesn’t quite qualify for “remarkable” though it is rather fine.  Is this a Forcing Pass situation?  Surely not, North’s 4♠ bid could be almost anything, she’s opposite a passed hand, White vs Red, and has great latitude.  So, South doubles 6♥, showing at least something.

The bottom line is that 6♥ doubled is down three for a fine sacrifice.  N-S can count themselves lucky that they did not push on to slam, as 6♠ is down one when the Clubs break 5-2.

EW 2♠; EW 2♥; W 1N; NS 2♦; NS 2♣; Par −100: NS 3♣x-1; NS 3♦x-1

West    North   East     South

Pass    1♦        1♠        Pass

2♠        All Pass

Would you use Michaels with the East hand?  Some partnerships avoid Michaels with the intermediate hands, preferring to use the convention only with weak or strong hands.  Not that it matters on this deal.  Depending on their Michaels preference, E-W will declare 2♠ from the East side or 2♥ from the West side.  Both contracts make 8 tricks with no reason to expect more or less.

NS 5♠; NS 5♣; EW 2♦; Par +450

West    North   East     South

            Pass     3♦        Dbl

4♦        4♠        All Pass

West did well not to bid 5♦ on this board, that’s a contract which is doubled and down one too many.  But there will be many other layouts where 5♦ is most definitely the winning bid (for example, any East hand where the ♣A is with South and East has at least two Clubs).  So, well done by those Wests who guessed right this time.  

Declarer makes 11 tricks in 4♠ without breaking a sweat.

EW 4♦; NS 2♥; S 1N; EW 2♣; NS 1♠; Par −130

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♦

2♣       Dbl      3♣       All Pass

With 3-3 in the minors, most players prefer to open 1♣, but there’s no need to be dogmatic about this when the Diamonds are so much stronger.  Here, opening 1♦ has the incidental benefit of picking off the E-W 9-card fit, with the result that they end up in the inferior 8-card Club fit.  With the aid of a double hook in Clubs there are no fewer than 10 tricks available in Diamonds, but good defense beats 3♣:

            The defense cashed two Diamonds

            Diamond ruff

            ♥K shift is won by Dummy’s Ace

            Club lead and South must split her honors!

            Declarer leads the ♠K and South must duck!

Now Declarer cannot reach the board for another Club finesse and the defense gets 5 tricks.  How did South know that she could afford to duck the ♠K?  Could it not have been a singleton?  No, North will have been careful to give a count signal on the ♠K lead, showing an odd number and making things crystal clear.

NS 3N; NS 3♥; NS 2♠; NS 1♦; NS 1♣; Par +400

EW 4♥; EW 2N; N 2♠; W 3♦; W 3♣; E 2♦; E 2♣; S 1♠; Par −500: N 4♠x-2

West    North   East     South

1♣       1♠        2♦        Pass

2NT     Pass    3NT    All Pass

It’s easy to imagine most E-W pairs ending up in the hopeless 3NT.  North leads her 4^th best Spade, won by Declarer’s King.  The Hearts are cashed and North must find 4 pitches … two Clubs can be spared … then a Diamond … but finally North must part with a Spade winner.  Now Declarer plays a Club and North takes her winners for down one.

EW 4♣; EW 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 3♦; Par −130

NS 3♠; NS 4♣; NS 1N; EW 1♥; EW 1♦; Par +140

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    Pass

To call this auction “absolutely riveting” would be an overbid, but it does have some points of interest.  North has an obvious 4^th seat Pass and our question is “Which of the other three hands would you have opened?”

-         Would you open the East hand?  Hey, East has 12 HCP, why not?  Well, those square 12-counts don’t play so well, and it does credit to the Rule of 20 that this would not be considered an opening bid.  Also, the hand is Aceless.

-         Would you open the South hand?  This one is only a 10-count and it also fails the Rule of 20 test.  But only just, and there are some compensating plus points … we have the Spades … and a good suit (we’d love it to be led if West ends up as Declarer) … and a singleton … and some fillers … and the vulnerability is in our favor.  Come on, South, let’s open 1♠ here!

-         Would you open the West hand?  Many (perhaps most) would open this 10-count 1♥ in third seat (no doubt fortified by having Drury on their card).  Is that really such a good idea?  The E-W vulnerability works against a part-score skirmish (anyone for -200?) … the Heart suit is hardly a good lead-director … most of West’s HCP strength is in a doubleton suit … and the shape is unexciting.

The above analysis works well in practice:

-         If East opens his garbage 12-count, his side may end up in 3♥ down two for the dreaded -200.

-         If East sagely passes, and South opens, then N-S will probably end up in a Spade part-score for +140.

-         If it goes two passes to West and he opens 1♥ he may well end up in 3♥ down two, as per the above.

Well, we seem to have beaten that one to death, the bottom line is that South has a decent hand but East and West do not!

EW 3♠; EW 2N; NS 1♣; Par −140

West    North   East     South

1♣

Pass    1♥        1♠        Dbl

2♥       Pass     2♠        All Pass

East doesn’t have much of a vulnerable overcall, but it’s good enough for most of us.  South then showed 3-card Heart support with a Support Double and West found himself in the same position as North was back on Board 6.  He wanted to show game-invitational values in Spades and had a choice of two cue-bids.  As before, it’s a common treatment for the cheaper cue-bid to show 3-card support and the higher cue-bid to show 4-card support.

How do you play that suit combination in Spades?  If E-W had the Nine as well then the percentage play for just one loser (weighing in at 76%) is to finesse on the first round, and then again on the second round if the first finesse loses.  But, here, in the absence of that Nine, best play for one loser (at 66%) is to cash the ♠A first.  Not that is matters on this deal, both lines work and 9 tricks are made.

NS 5N; NS 5♠; NS 3♥; NS 4♦; NS 4♣; Par +460

West    North   East     South

Pass    1NT     Pass    3NT

All Pass

South reasonably decided that her hand was not quite good enough for a slam invitation, and she further declined to look for the 4-4 Spade fit, reasoning that with such a wealth of high cards 11 tricks might be possible without any ruffs.  Well, on this hand she happened to be spot-on when it was 11 tricks in Spades or No Trump.  But the slam is a decent proposition, requiring only a successful Heart finesse, so bad luck for the aggressive pairs that got there.

NS 5♥; NS 4N; NS 5♦; NS 3♠; NS 3♣; Par +450

W 3N; W 2♥; E 1N; W 1♠; E 1♥; NS 1♦; Par −600

West    North   East     South

                        1♥        3♦

Dbl      All Pass

You may disagree, but we don’t see anything so terrible about that 3♦ bid (look at all those fillers and the singleton!).  However, we don’t think much of West’s Negative Double, it’s a tad on the light side and Pass is an obvious alternative.  Either way, North (with one of the best hands she has held all day) has nothing to say, and nor does East.  So, it’s 3♦, maybe doubled, maybe not, down 2 tricks for a miserable -200 or a really depressing -500.  We often remind our readers that it pays to preempt (see also Board 8).  But sometimes it doesn’t!

NS 3♠; EW 2♥; NS 3♦; EW 1♣; Par +140

West    North   East     South

1♦

1♥       Dbl      2♥        2♠

Pass    Pass    3♥        Pass

Pass    3♠        All Pass

When 3♥ gets back to North, she might try some Total Trick logic.

-         E-W have a 9-card Heart fit and N-S have an 8-card Spade fit

-         That’s 17 total trumps, so, according to the Law, there are likely to be 17 total tricks.

-         If E-W can make 9 tricks in Hearts then 3♠ is down one and worth bidding (even if doubled).

-         If E-W can make only 8 tricks in Hearts, then 3♠ can make and should be bid.

How does this analysis stand up, who can make what?

The Play in Hearts: West will wriggle for a while before submitting to his fate.  The wriggling will consist of a vain attempt to end-play South … Spades led, third round ruffed, lose the ♦A, win the Diamond return, Club finesse, ♥A, Diamond ruff.  Declarer hopes that South is forced to win the Heart (perhaps having forgotten to unblock the King on the first round), but that is not to be, and Declarer is down one.

The Play in Spades:  As we just saw, West managed only 8 tricks in Hearts, so the Law suggests that South should have 9 tricks in Spades.  Does she?  West starts with ♥A and another Heart … then three rounds of trumps … now the ♦J is run around to East, who is end-played!  East’s second Diamond honor is doomed (as Declarer is missing the Nine and assuming that Declarer goes with the odds), so the double dummy defense is to exit a Diamond.  Declarer cashes the Diamonds, ending on the board, then leads a Club inserting the Ten.  West wins the Queen and now it’s his turn to be end-played.  Phew!  9 tricks.  This time the Law does indeed hold true.

EW 3♠; EW 3♣; EW 1N; EW 1♥; EW 1♦; Par −140

West    North   East     South

1♦        1NT     Pass    Pass

Dbl      Pass    2♣       Pass

2♠        All Pass

A difficult, and somewhat lucky, auction for E-W as they stumble into a reasonable spot.  The play is hard to predict.  Deep Finesse says that E-W can make 9 tricks in both Spades and Clubs, but that looks like quite a tall order, we’re predicting 8 tricks more often than not.

EW 6N; EW 6♦; EW 6♣; EW 4♠; EW 3♥; Par −1440

West    North   East     South

            Pass    2♣       Pass

2♦        Pass    2NT     Pass

3♣       Pass    3♦        Pass

6NT     All Pass 

Regardless of whether E-W’s opening 2NT of 20-21 or 20-22, the East hand is too good and worth starting out with 2♣.  That gets E-W to 6NT in a hurry, and Declarer can claim 12 tricks as soon as Dummy comes down.

EW 4♦; W 2N; W 2♠; E 1N; E 1♠; NS 1♥; W 1♣; Par −130

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♦        Dbl      1♥        1♠

2♦        All Pass

This auction fizzles out when N-S are unable to find a fit, leaving West to enjoy the placid waters of 2♦.  It’s possible to make 9 tricks in this contract but with “correct” play 8 tricks are more likely.  North starts out with Clubs, Declarer ruffs the second round, crosses to the ♦A and finesses the ♦J.  After trumps have been drawn, Declarer plays the ♠K which is won by South’s Ace.  The Club return is ruffed, then the ♥Q is taken by North’s Ace.  North must exit with a Heart and, when Dummy wins that, it’s decision time in Spades.  Declarer will know from the bidding that South started with 4 Spades and North with 3.  As one of South’s Spades was the Ace, both defenders have 3 small Spades and it’s even money which one has the all-important Ten.  Good guessers score 10 tricks, the rest of us have to make do with just 9.

NS 5♠; NS 4N; NS 4♥; NS 4♦; NS 3♣; Par +650

West    North   East     South

1♦

Pass    1♠        Pass    2♣

Pass    3NT     All Pass

Who likes South’s 1♦ opening bid?  Looks fine to us, it passes the Rule of 20, nothing is wasted and there’s a convenient rebid.  As for North, she saw no reason to mess around with Fourth Suit Forcing and went straight to 3NT at her second turn. 

Against 3NT, East has an obvious ♥Q opening lead.  Declarer ducks (in case Hearts are 5-2), wins the second round, and plays on Spades.  When the ♠Q comes down on the second round, Declarer has 9 tricks and moves into overtrick mode.  It turns out that there is no wrong guess in the Diamond suit and Declarer notches up 10 tricks.

NS 6N; NS 6♠; NS 4♥; NS 2♦; NS 1♣; Par +990

West    North   East     South

Pass    1NT     Pass    2♥

Pass    2NT     Pass    3♥

Pass    3♠        Pass    4♠

All Pass

Every few months we put in a plug for our favorite method of super-accepting Jacoby transfers, and it appears to be that time again.  After the 2♥ transfer, when Opener has 4 of Partner’s Spades, the suggested method goes as follows:

-         Opener may decline to make a super-accept if she has a truly rotten hand.  “Rotten” is characterized more by square shape and quackiness than it is by HCP.

-         Opener bids 2NT with a good hand and 4 Spades (now 3♥ is a “re-transfer”)

-         Opener bids 3♠ with a middle-of-the-road hand and 4 Spades.

The benefit of this method (other than being really easy to remember) is that it doesn’t offer the defenders any gratuitous information about Opener’s hand.  For example, with the North hand, after 1NT 2♥, some would rebid 3♦ showing a doubleton.  Not a good method in our view, that information is of interest to Responder 1% of the time, but is of interest to the defenders all of the time.