Tuesday 12 June 2012

Monday 11 June

Playing N/S with Adrianne we won with a great Butler score of 59.  However most of the hands were for E/W and our score was a lot more to do with opponents missing a slam or going down in a cold game than anything we did. So there are no brilliancies to report.
Here is a lucky board for us which left John Larkin kicking himself.
We don't rebid basic 5 card majors, so I opened 1NT, John passed and Adrianne bid a 2D transfer, Rob came in 3C and I bid 4H. John correctly worked out that Rob will be singleton heart and so probably has spade support.  Anyway if he can't stand it 5C could be on, so John bid 4S.
Adrianne led AH, I gave suit preference with a high heart so she switched to QD covered by King and Ace and I cashed JD and led a third. So we had 3 tricks, John ruffed the diamond and looking at 6 spades cashed King then Ace and so lost a trump. As I annoyingly pointed out to John, missing 18 points and Adrianne showed 6 points with her first 2 cards he should have got that right.

This board had some interest for E/W.  The Glens bid 1H - 1S - 3S - 4S.  Jennifer's 3S wasn't best 4C splinter or just 4S is surely better.
Anyway with just 3 losers 5C is a great sacrifice by us and two N/S pairs are in clubs but I cannot seee any logical way into the bidding.
I led 4H and if I was declarer would find that difficult to interpret. John had no problem though, he won Ace, took QS, AS and led QH.  Adrianne covered, so ruffed.  The hearts aren't coming now, but John switches to a club which I take and exit with a club ruffed in dummy.  JH cashed to throw a diamond and then a diamond led and Adrianne takes AK diamonds for his10 tricks. Double dummy Adrianne can exit with a heart, John can ruff and now has to go across to dummy with a trump to lead another diamond and what if Adrianne plays low?  I must confess I would probably have gone off in this hand on a non-heart lead.  Let's say North leads 3S.  I would immediately play AH, ruff a heart small, then berate myself for the rest of the night for not putting the 10 on.

Everybody missed a slam here.  Two pairs were extremely unfortunate to be in the right slam that didn't make.
Against Walter and Lydia I opened 1S and Walter overcalled 4C. Adrianne doubled.  Originally negative was only up to 3S but I think everyone now bids it to the 4 level as well.  I bid 4H and there I played.  Walter led AC and I saw a great dummy with a near certain 12 tricks as long as hearts are 4-1 at worst. However I soon found out they were 5 -0 and 11 tricks only.  6S is very straightforward presumably you cash AS then go over to dummy planning a finesse, just don't try to over in hearts! East could that make that difficult for you if after AC switch to a diamond to make it look like a possible singleton.

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