Wednesday 7th February

Didn't do very well playing E/W at St Andrew Club with an arrow switch on the last round came in the middle with 51%.

I opened West 1H and Ian overcalled 1S.  Presumably their Michaels isn't allowed here and if you overcall 2D you are unlikely ever to get spades into the picture.
So what should Gerry bid? 4H is wrong, we play that with weak hands.  We have Bergen raises available, but a limit raise does not describe this hand.  I suppose the options are 3S, 4D or 2C.  3S would be much better than 4D but Gerry chose to show his values first (never a bad idea in bidding) and bid 2C.  Bob bid 4S knowing their 10 card fit.
I don't think we are getting too many match points for defending but don't see any other option but to double.  Gerry now bid 5H leaving me perplexed.  He cannot have just three hearts, he would always leave the double in.  So why didn't he give me a limit raise?  I reckoned on good clubs and good heart support but decided I would be guessing too much and chickened out of 6H.  As it happens it depends on a finesse but the KC is onside and the slam would have been an easy make.



After two passes third in hand bids have a lot of leeway, so here am I with 7 clubs but 4 spades and just enough to open 1C.  However that gives the opponents too much room to find their better red suit fit, so I chose 3C.
North passed and Gerry thought seriously about 3NT.  If there are 7 club tricks he has two Aces and the hearts stopped.  However we have misused minor suit pre-empts third in hand too often.  Even vulnerable he cannot depend on me having 7 clubs never mind the AK and so he passed.  Pity. 
North led a diamond to my Ace, I played AS and ducked a spade to North's Jack.  North now played a club to Jack and King.  I ruffed a spade with the QC felling the King.  I ruffed a diamond back, drew trumps and conceded a heart for 11 tricks.

Gerry got us a good score on this hand.  I went with the flow and opened 1H.  Gerry bid 1S and I bid 2D.  Gerry now bid 2NT and I passed.  South made the obvious club lead to Q and Ace. North returned a club to Gerry's 10.  Gerry now unblocked AK of spades and exited with a small diamond to South's Q. Now defence is very difficult and everyone, like South here would  want to continue clubs to set up the fourth.  However that is a  mistake, that gets the defence one more trick.  If South had switched to a heart he would set up two tricks for the defence (why with 5 in dummy is Declarer not touching them?). So a club came back, Gerry ducked another diamond, South cashed his club and that was the end of the defence, two diamonds and a club.