AL78

You are very good at reading the situation. Partner was indeed 2425. I took her double as penalty so I passed, although I wondered if we could extract enough to compensate for the 3NT or 5♣ game we almost certainly had on. The full deal: [hv=pc=n&s=st8h543dat853cq72&w=sa7haj97d72ckjt95&n=sj6543hkq862dj4c8&e=skq92htdkq96ca643&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1c2c(Michaels)d2hdppp]399|300[/hv] We took +500 out of this although I think on perfect defence +800 is there (double dummy says eight tricks are available in hearts EW). This was worth less than the cold 3NT or 5♣ which a few pairs found and one lucky EW pair had the pleasure of +1100 for defending 4♥X. Everyone else was playing in a club partscore so that was 55% for us which after the start we had I was grateful for.

Game all. 1♣ shows at least four. That defence is one that came to mind as I know an analogous one to the unusual 2NT but didn't fancy cue bidding one of their suits in absence of discussion. I decided to double as I have defence to one of their suits. The auction continues: [hv=pc=n&e=skq92htdkq96ca643&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1c2c(Michaels)d2hdp]133|200[/hv] Your call?

I play 4SF as forcing to game so if partner goes through 4SF followed by supporting my first suit when she could have jumped straight to game, that to me implies a good hand with some slam interest inviting a cue bid sequence.

Swiss pairs playing Acol weak NT: ♠KQ92 ♥T ♦KQ96 ♣A643 LHO passes, partner opens 1♣, RHO overcalls 2♣ (5-5 majors). You haven't discussed a defence to two suited overcalls. Your call?

I've looked at the first round where we lost 19-1 and it was one of the worst examples of getting on the wrong side of bad luck I've seen in a while: Board 1: The opponents have 25 HCP between them and stop in 1NT making +1. Double dummy we can get another trick in defence but it make little difference when most of the field are going off in 3NT. Board 2: We got a good score by pushing opponents to a non-making contract. Board 3: We went off in a slam that was slightly better than 50%. Success depends on finding the heart queen with a nine card fit. Many other declarers were getting a singleton heart switch after cashing a top diamond which solves that problem. How someone ended up in 7NTX-7 is unknown. Board 4: We could have done better by taking another trick and holding it to nine tricks. Either I have to switch to a top club at trick two or partner has to overtake my king, cash a second diamond on which I signal for a club, then lead a club. Having said that even holding to nine tricks would have got us an average minus, the scores were all over the place. Board 5: The opponents bid and make 3NT which should always make but a few people went down. I made it easier for them because I didn't play declarer for ♠QTxx after she denied a four card spade suit in the auction, so her queen didn't fall under my ace and I established it. Board 6: Opponents bid to 5♦ which is cold and only three other pairs find it, with two only reaching 4♦ and the rest allowing NS to play in a major. A why-did-I-bother-to-turn-up round.

Thanks, it would be useful to have that agreement, but what does partner then do with an invitational hand with three card spade support?

I thought of that but thought 3♣ understates the hand a bit, and partner could easily pass when we have 5♣ on. I wanted to make more of a noise than that whilst keeping 3NT as a possibility.

The ten is encouraging (we play HELD).

I need to have a chat with her about when 4NT is Blackwood or quantitative, and maybe a system tweak to make it easier to agree a suit in a game forcing manner whilst leaving space for cue bidding. There are times when playing Acol I feel restricted in the bidding. Looking at it again, after I show two key cards she probably shouldn't be bidding slam, as we are off two top diamonds, two aces, or one of the black aces needs to be knocked out before the diamond losers can go away which leaves us vulnerable to a diamond lead (as what happened).

For info, in Acol or at least the way we play it 3♠ by partner on her second turn would be invitational. I'm never sure on these 6-4 hands whether to rebid the six card suit or show the second suit. I did the latter here because the suit quality wasn't very good.

I'm sorry, I completely neglected to put the dummy down. Lets try that again: [hv=pc=n&n=sj53hq9752dkckq94&e=skqthkj64dj3caj85&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=pp1n(15-17)2d2sp3sppp]266|200[/hv] ♦K, 3, T, 2 Your move?

Acol 3 weak twos, weak NT, Swiss pairs: [hv=pc=n&s=skj8hatd93ckqj875&w=sa4hqj543dk65c943&n=sqt6532hk2dat42ca&e=s97h9876dqj87ct62&d=n&v=b&b=13&a=1sp2cp2dp4n(RCKB%20in%20D)p5hp6sppp]399|300[/hv] Almost everyone else is in 4♠ or 6♠ and on nine out of eleven of those tables a heart was led which allowed declarer to make 12 tricks. Unfortunately we were playing against one of the three pairs who found a diamond lead killing the slam stone dead for the only negative NS score. Partner and I had a discussion on this after the event and we agreed she should have gone slower if she had slam aspirations instead of blasting Blackwood, and I'm not sure if 4NT should be Blackwood here rather than a quantitative slam invite. I thought of something like going through 4SF followed by raising spades if I respond 2♠ or 2NT which should be forcing to game and invites a cue bid from me. Where this ends up I'm not certain as if I cue 4♣, partner cues 4♥, do I sign off in 4♠ because I don't have the extras to justify bidding past game?

Acol, 3 weak twos, weak NT, Swiss pairs: [hv=pc=n&s=st8hk84dk654caqj3&w=s72haqj976dat2c72&n=saq9653hdqj8ck986&e=skj4ht532d973ct54&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1sp2c2h3hp3nppp]399|300[/hv] I was North. I bid 3♥ thinking at the time it should show a good hand with club support but realised after it could just be fishing for 3NT and partner will bid 3NT with a single stopper and a balanced hand. I wanted a way of fishing for either 3NT, 4♠ or 5♣ but I couldn't think of a way of doing it in a forcing way. Needless to say two down was a joint bottom as most of the field are in 4♠. What should I have done?

Swiss pairs playing Acol weak NT, 3 weak twos: [hv=pc=n&n=sj53hq9752dkckq94&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=pp1n(15-17)2d2sp3sppp]133|200[/hv] You lead the ♦K which holds. What do you play at trick two?

I've just played in the local club Swiss pairs which turned out be a very strange event from our perspective. Six rounds, six boards per round, a refreshment break after round 3. Partner and I had an appalling first half losing two out of the three rounds 19-1, one of those against a pair who appeared to have little clue about the game (although what does that say about our ability lol). In the second half we won all our matches and finished with the ascendancy prize. I would like to go back and have a look at the hands where we did badly to assess whether or not it was our sub-optimal play that was the primary cause. I can't really post 20 hands on here to invite expert comment so need to look at them myself. Could anyone give any advice on techniques/thinking methods on how to objectively go back and analyse the awful hands with the aim of looking at what we are doing wrong, because the amount of battering we got is too much to be dismissed as bad luck or being fixed in my estimation. No good pair would be languishing third from bottom in an eleven table Swiss movement at the halfway point.

It is very close between pass and 5♥, either could be right. Given the opponent's bidding it is unlikely partner has wasted values in spades and if they have a 10 card fit, we probably have a double fit. As it happens you have a triple fit but are unlucky partner's heart suit is so poor and the club finesse fails. I wouldn't beat yourself up over your decision to bid on.

I would interpret the second double as optional, value showing, it's our hand, we cannot let them play in anything undoubled.

It looks like one of those awkward right in the middle hands but vulnerable at IMPS I would bid 3NT based on the cooperating honor cards and ♣T9 backing up the queen.

The trump king can be as important as any ace for the purpose of deciding whether or not slam is on, and knowing about the trump queen can make the difference between a small and a grand slam. If you play the 5NT followup as asking for specific kings that can give you better information on how well the two hands gel and can make the difference between judging whether to bid a small or grand slam. AIUI, if a suit hasn't been agreed, 4NT is often treated as quantitative, or it will be implicitly agreeing a suit that has been bid strongly by one of the partnership. Having said all that I don't think it matters much for average club players if at all what flavour of Blackwood you play. In my experience it comes up once or twice a year and when it does come up, it won't always matter what version you are playing, you'll get to the same contract.

I would have opened 3NT, but in the absence of gambling 3NT, I would open at least 3♣.

I was thinking 2♥ is forcing so it seems like a waste of bidding space to leap to 3♥ to also force and be natural, although I can see it is playable for it to show 5-5 and strong, or a splinter warning to stay out of 3NT with inadequate cover in the suit or the start of slam investigation.

I am a bit late to this thread and am not in the same league as others who have commented, but I was thinking of first responding 1♠, then when partner rebids diamonds, splinter with 3♥. I'm thinking a diamond slam is in the picture if partner doesn't have heart wastage.

The joy of matchpoint scoring, getting rewarded for poor bidding ending up in a poor contract which happens to score better thanks to a specific layout of the cards. This is one reason I prefer teams.

Double dummy says nine tricks are the limit.

There is a spade loser, a heart loser and two club losers. Assuming the defence cash a spade at trick one, South needs to dispose of two small hearts in their hand. One heart can be thrown on the third diamond thanks to the 3-3 break but I don't see how South can get another heart away on one of dummy's established small diamonds without East being able to ruff low. South only has one entry to dummy so if they play ♦KAQ throwing a heart, on a fourth round of diamonds East ruffs low and South if they overruff eventually has to give West a heart trick.