Playing E/W with Gerry managed to come first with 63%. Gerry managed to play most of our hands, in fact I only played two hands all night which probably explains the good score.
Two interesting ones against Raymond and Alec.
On the first, Raymond opens the South hand 1H, Alec bids 1S and Raymond bids 2D. Well what do you do with 6 running spades and a 14 count opposite an opening hand? Alec bid a non-forcing 3S and Raymond couldn't pass fast enough.
Gerry finds the best lead of a club, taken in dummy. Alec tries a heart but the King goes to the Ace and Gerry plays another club to the King. Alec draws trump and exits with a club. I win the queen and play a heart for our 5th trick and 1 down. Will this be a bad score? Although South won't open you would expect at other tables something like:
1S - 2H - 3S - 3N - (4S) Against 3N what does West lead? A diamond or a club and that is 9 tricks, and JH will also concede the game despite even if East leads diamonds through twice. So it could be a good score, but many Norrths will bid 4S and then our score is poor. As it happens most are in 2S making, two in 4S one off and just one in 3NT. We got 17 out of 22.
Not so good in the next one:
After 3 passes Raymond opened the South hand 3NT. Alec with 3 small spades passed. I am not particulalry suspicious obviously we can all have a 10 count and this is feasible, though 4th in hand Raymond could easily have something outside.
Anyway it is surely best to lay down an Ace against a gambolling 3NT and that is what I did. AD, dropping Raymond's King. I have to try a spade now, Raymond wins his Ace and claims 10 tricks. Only a QH lead could have defeated this.
Only 3 out of 22 this time, nearly all Souths are in 2C or 3C.
How does Alec do it? Stays out of game in the previous hand, leaves 3NT in with nothing in spades.
A poorish score on this board against Joan and Cathy.
Cathy passed as South and I opened 1S. Joan came in 2D and Gerry doubled with his 4 hearts. Not to be put off, Cathy bids 4H. I don't want to go in to a long pause and make life difficult for partner, but with the stop bid I can briefly think and decide that partner knows I have a heart shortage and certainly 5 spades so I pass. Gerry doubles and I unfortunately lead QS. Away goes Cathy's diamond loser. Now a spade ruff, Gerry showing something in clubs. Cathy now leads 9C from hand. I don't want to take the Ace as I have no trump to lead so this goes to Gerry's Queen. However rather than Ace and another Gerry plays a small heart. Cathy wins and leads 3C which takes my Ace and is ruffed. Cathy just loses 2 hearts and 2 clubs. If Gerry had played Ace and another hearts Cathy could still make 9 and win the brilliancy prize by playing 3C to my Ace and losing 3 clubs and 1 heart. Not the best defence, but of course 4S makes, bit of a disaster really.
I followed this up with a poor defence against Joan's 3NT for another bad score. I won't tell you about all our tops because they were all on the hands played by Gerry.
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