Spot the second worst mistake

[Fluffy]

[hv=d=w&v=e&n=sakjxhxxdxcqj10xxx&w=sxxhakqj10dq10xxxca&e=sxxxhxdakxxxck9xx&s=sq109xhxxxxxdjxcxx]399|300|Scoring: IMP

W - N - E - S

1♥-2♥- X -3♠

4♦-ps-4NT-ps

5♠-ps- 6♦-6♠

ps-ps- 7♦-ps

ps-ps[/hv]

 

2♥ showed spades+minor

pass of 6♠ was obviously forcing.

 

No matter how you take it, worst mistake was to lead ♣Q, so what was second worst?

[matmat]

not too fond of keycard holding ♠xxx, but I am going to guess that's not what you're referring to.

 

if you are willing to bid 6♠ later on, why not try 4♠ or 5♠ as your initial action by south... but probably not what you're after either.

 

not too fond of 6♠ being bid AFTER they got to slam rather than testing their agreements immediately over 4NT, but again, I guess that's not what you're referring to...

 

i think the second worst mistake was sitting down NS at this table.

[nige1]

• If East-West know their customers then they can hardly be blamed for bidding and making a grand-slam.
  
• A purist might still quibble at West's pass (grand-slam try) over 6♠ and East's greedy 7♦.
  
• If South is aware of North's leading skills, then his 6♠ bid is asking for trouble
  unless he is prepared to folllow through with 7♠
  
• In an attempt to prevent his ethical partner from finding an imaginative lead, a modern expert South might hesitate over 7♦ ;)
  

[Codo]

For E/W the pass of 6 Spade was the biggest mistake.

And 4 NT was horrible too. I don't have so many extras, so 5 Diamond had been more then enough.

 

For N/S: I hate 2 Heart (or are you allow to have a 4/6 hand?), I hate 6 Spade and I hate the lead.

[ArtK78]

I hate virtually everything about this hand.

 

:D

 

Really, ranking the mistakes is quite a job. The LAST mistake, and the one that forgave all the bidding mistakes by EW, was the lead of the ♣Q. That was the biggest mistake in terms of the score.

 

Probably the biggest blunder in the bidding for EW was the forcing pass of 6♠. This guarantees first round control of spades (and may have influenced North's unfortunate choice of lead).

 

I understand the RKCB bid by East. East no doubt assumed that the opponents had at least 9 spades between them so partner had to have one or none.

 

Despite the forcing pass, East should not bid the grand. EW is missing a key card, and the forcing pass, while guaranteeing first round control of spades, does not guarantee a void. If West has the (presumably singleton) ♠A, then EW is off a cashing ace. One does not bid grand slams on speculation.