1:
?
...............KQ5432
...............652
...............----
...............AQ62
A8............................J1097
AKQ8.......................943
Q9652......................J107
97.............................KJ5
...............6
...............J107
...............AK843
...............10843
?
Does West enter the auction after 1S-P-1NT? If E-W are playing Equal Level Conversion, then West has quite an acceptable double, being able to bid 2D over a 2C answer without promising extra values. I do not care for a 2D overcall on the weak five-card suit. One West played 2D, but at the other tables North bid 2S, ending the auction seven times. Three Wests played 3D along with one contract each of 3Dx W, 3S N and 3Sx N.
?
A major-suit lead can hold spade contracts to six tricks, but that requires that West play clubs through North instead of taking all the high hearts right off the top; East cannot get two club tricks. One East led a club against 2S (quite a reasonable lead if West has doubled), allowing Doug a make and N-S top; Vicki was one of the Norths in 2S -1 after a diamond lead. Despite the 5-0 trumps, diamond contracts can take nine tricks by force if North does not lead a spade. Alice and Gareth kept their heads and made 3D, although E-W top went to Boric defending 3Sx -3, Boric and Haorge were the only E-W pairs to take their six possible tricks.
?
2S N =
3Dx W -1
3D W -1
2S N -1 (5)
2D W =
2S N -2; 3S N -2
3D W = (2)
3Sx N -3
?
2:
?
...............8
...............QJ864
...............J87
...............KJ106
J62.........................AK943
A93.........................K52
K1054.....................AQ93
A75.........................2
...............Q1075
...............107
...............62
...............Q9843
?
E-W will have an uncontested auction, much of which depends on whether West responds 2D or 1NT, planning to follow with 3S. After a 2D response, two Easts produced a fine auction and put West into the nice 6D after East raised diamonds and then took control. One of those two Wests called me after the game to ask, when two suits have been bid and raised, which should be the key card suit. I was able to reply that a number of pairs agree to count the kings of both suits as a key card. Two Easts made the much less happy choice of 6S for the final contract. One pair attempted slam and stopped in 5S. The pairs who did not go above game played 3NT W and 4S E nine times.
?
This hand is a classic textbook example of when a 4-4 fit plays better than a 5-3 fit in another suit. Played in spades, there is no way to get rid of the heart loser. Played in diamonds, the heart loser will go away on a spade. But accurate play is required. After winning the opening lead, declarer draws trumps in three rounds. Then, when both opponents follow to the first spade, 6D is a sure make; all declarer has to do is lead a low spade from the East hand after the ace. There will be one loser if the suit splits 3-2. If South has the?remaining three spades declarer has four spade tricks; if North has them all the low spade goes to jack and queen; then there is a marked finesse against North's ten-spot. If declarer plays 6S it makes sense to play ace and king or to try running the jack; ace followed by a low spade is sure of a loser unless the queen drops singleton with South, but it is the line that guarantees the suit will come in for one loser against a 4-1 split. (Even if East did not hold the spade nine, low towards the jack would still allow the spades to come in for one loser when North began with a low singleton.) Sadly neither declarer in 6D knew how to play the spades safely, letting Saranne and Jurie off the hook. Declarers in spades usually played in an attempt to make the maximum and tended to finish with ten tricks. Lernot posted 6S E -3 for the N-S top and Anbot held declarer in 4S to nine tricks. The only declarer to take eleven tricks in spades was Sandi, good for the E-W top, with Erik next playing 3NT W +1. Erik was lucky not to receive a club lead, which would have forced him to cash out for nine tricks.
?
6S E -3
6D W -2; 6S E -2
4S E -1; 5S E -1; 6D W -1
4S E = (6)
3NT W +1
4S E +1
?
3:
?
...............QJ1054
...............J102
...............10
...............AK106
K3.......................862
76........................A1093
AJ98653.............742
73........................J54
...............A97
...............KQ84
...............KQ
...............Q982
?
South opened 1NT. The vulnerability kept any competition from West low; diamonds could only produce eight tricks. West perhaps did best of all not entering the auction; that made it more likely that North would offer 3NT as a choice and South would accept. Contracts were 2NT S, 3NT S five times, 4H N, 4S N thrice and 4S S four times.
?
A diamond lead meant that E-W could force seven tricks against no-trumps; Haorge were E-W top defending 3NT -4 when declarer unguarded hearts in both hands on the run of the diamonds. Nancy emerged with seven tricks in 2NT S. 4S took ten tricks every time, losing the two aces and the trump king, and creating a large tie for N-S top.
?
4S N = (3); 4S S = (4)
2NT S -1; 4H N -1
3NT S -3 (4)
3NT S -4
?
4:
?
...............10754
...............63
...............J9
...............KQ954
A82........................J3
KQ72......................AJ5
852.........................AKQ10643
A76.........................2
...............KQ96
...............10984
...............7
...............J1083
?
E-W could claim 7NT, but the only plausible way for the contract to be reached seems to be for West to bid hearts on the second round of the auction and for East to ask for key cards in hearts. West shows three key cards and eventually the trump queen, and East can count thirteen winners. East might have tried for slam after counting eight winners, but only five Easts ventured beyond game; West played 3NT eight times and 4H once. East ventured to 6D four times and 6NT once, after the auction 1C-2D; 2H-3D; 3NT-4H; 4NT-5C; 6NT.
?
Gareth was E-W top in 6NT +1. Lernot were N-S top holding declarer to twelve tricks, although, as everyone else took all thirteen tricks, they would have been N-S top anyway.
?
4H W +2
3NT W +4 (8)
6D E +1 (4)
6NT W +1
?
5:
?
...............Q8
...............KQ1082
...............6
...............AQ962
K976..........................A103
765.............................A94
872.............................KJ543
J75..............................83
...............J543
...............J3
...............AQ109
...............K104
?
South has an invitational hand after North opens 1H. If East overcalls 2D, South may reasonably upgrade the hand to a 3NT bid; the heart jack gains value and the diamonds are well placed. Or South might pass 2D planning to pass a reopening double, although the vulnerability goes against that idea. It is also possible to reach 4H, particularly if the auction is uncontested: 1H-1S; 2C-2NT; 3C-3H on the doubleton honour and North likely goes on to 4H. Contracts were 2D E, 2NT S, 3C N, 3D E, 3H N, 3NT S six times and 4H N thrice.
?
N-S top was shared by Gernot and Del, who both posted 3NT S +3, Gernot after a diamond lead and continuation of the suit by East after gaining the lead with the heart ace. 4H made easily, with an overtrick available if East led a minor. 3NT always made. Paul got away with 3D -4 undoubled for a decent score instead of a bottom had he been doubled.
?
3NT S +3 (2)
4H N +1
3NT S +1 (3)
4H N = (2)
3NT S =
3H N +2; 3D E -4
3D E -3
3C N +1
2NT S =
?
6:
?
...............43
...............AQ9
...............Q104
...............Q6543
QJ62..........................87
KJ108........................7432
K87............................J652
K8..............................J97
...............AK1095
...............65
...............A93
...............A102
?
This depended largely on the opening bid. When South opened 1NT game was almost always reached, with contracts of 2NT S and 3NT S seven times. A 1S opening bid usually resulted in a partial: 1NT N twice, 2NT N, 3C N, 3NT N and 4S S; after a 1S opening either partner might take a conservative action and stop below game.
?
3NT had an easy nine tricks with the kind club layout and a tenth could not be prevented if declarer read the endplay situation correctly. Another advantage of the 1NT opening bid is that West might easily lead a spade and allow an eleventh trick, although only Southbot took eleven tricks, while only Andrea from the South side and Gene from the North took the possible ten. 3NT was defeated twice, by Kelice and Garbot. Against Kelice declarer finessed in spades and discarded a club on the hearts. 4S finished -1 against Ruise; a diamond lead in time from West forces a defensive trick in the suit.
?
3NT S +2
3NT N +1; 3NT S +1
3NT S = (3)
1NT N +3
1NT N +2
3C N +1
2NT S -1; 4S S -1
2NT N -2; 3NT S -2 (2)?
?
7:
?
...............AK87
...............A107
...............64
...............AQ93
QJ93.........................106542
542............................Q986
3................................KQ9
108654......................K
...............----
...............KJ3
...............AJ108752
...............J72
?
Undisciplined pre-emptive openers would have had to open the South hand 1D to avoid being left there; it would be a difficult decision for North whether to try for 3NT at matchpoints. As nobody stopped below game I may guess with a little confidence that perhaps there were no 3D opening bids, or a small number. 3NT N was the majority contract, played nine times, along with 3NT S, 4NT S twice, 5D S and 6NT N, reached after the auction 1D-1S; 2D-4NT; 5C-6NT. North might have wanted a third diamond to increase the chance of the suit's providing a strong source of tricks, but it seemed likely that there would be multiple favourable leads East could make.
?
With ten HCPs, East can count on little help from West and should lead spades and hope for the best. That gives declarer a slight hint that East holds the missing honours in clubs and hearts, or at least especially the heart queen. Without it East's hearts would be all spot cards and that lead would look much the safest rather than risking breaking a suit bid by the dummy. Declarer still had to negotiate the diamonds and finesse on the first round when East played low, but Sarah had little trouble wrapping up her score of +1440. Of the other declarers, however, only Larry and Julie took twelve tricks. South as declarer might have received a heart opening lead, but a club lead would have put declarer to the sternest test. Eleven tricks was the plurality result in the play, occurring five times, but as many declarers fared worse, two taking ten tricks, one nine and two eight, presumably after starting diamonds with the ace from the South hand, giving Marudy and Garbot a tie for E-W top.
?
6NT N =
3NT N +3 (2)
3NT N +2 (2); 3NT S +2; 4NT S +1 (2)
3NT N +1 (2)
3NT N =; 5D S =
3NT N -1 (2)
?
8:
?
...............AK987
...............A
...............96
...............KJ1085
62.......................QJ4
KQ10973............8642
10754..................AJ82
7..........................62
...............1053
...............J5
...............KQ3
...............AQ943
?
N-S did well on this hand to avoid the trap of 6C, where the third round of spades would sound the death knell of the contract. If N-S are allowed an uncontested auction and South opts for a 2C response to 1S, North could go just a little too far, starting with a splinter raise of clubs and then perhaps driving to a slam in one black suit or the other as soon as East confirms a diamond control. But with West usually (if not always) opening 2H, clubs were never played. Even if any Norths made a Leaping Michaels 4C overcall to show a black two-suiter, South still opted for the higher-scoring major game. At least two Norths did come in with a cue-bid or double, as South declared 4S twice, along with 4S N nine times. Other contracts were 2S N, 5S N and 5Hx W on the auction 2H-3H-4H-4S; 5H-X, West violating a bidding principle and taking a free bid after having pre-empted, on nothing more than a decent suit. Whether or not to sacrifice is entirely the decision of East.
?
We had as close to unanimous play results as we were to get all day; eleven declarers in spades took eleven tricks. Jerik set 4S for the E-W top when they received a club ruff and even more help than that. Nanbot were sure of the N-S top even if they had not managed the optimal defence to score both diamonds but picked up their +800 defending 5Hx W -4.
?
5Hx W -4
4S N +1 (8); 4S S +1 (2); 5S N =
2S N +1
4S N -1
?
9:
?
...............AKJ2
...............K654
...............A102
...............52
Q103..................9764
A92....................Q107
J4.......................KQ83
AJ1093...............Q6
...............85
...............J83
...............9765
...............K874
?
Ten of fourteen tables played in 1NT N. One West doubled to show a single-suited hand (dodgy on a five-card suit) and East made quite a nice pass. Another North did not open 1NT and the contract became 1NT W. Another West doubled to show a single-suited hand and passed the relay of 2C. The last table finished in 3C W.
?
1NT N could have been set two tricks by force after the opening lead of a low diamond. There was room for error on both sides. Boric picked up a third (unnecessary) undertrick against 1NTx; declarer passed up the spade finesse and at one point led a heart to the right and nine. Marudy and Lark both defended 1NT -3 undoubled. The likely -2 was posted thrice, four declarers escaped with -1 and Northbot even made 1NT. Rich played 1NT W +2 and was fortunate N-S were not vulnerable, giving him an extra four matchpoints. Paul made 2C E while Heve were N-S top defending 3C -2.
?
3C W -2
1NT N =
1NT N -1 (4)
2C E =
1NT N -2 (3)
1NT N -3 (2); 1NT W +2
1NTx N -3
?
10:
?
...............K92
...............K10964
...............4
...............A743
754..........................1086
QJ7..........................52
Q7653......................AJ98
65............................Q1098
...............AQJ3
...............A83
...............K102
...............KJ2
?
We got everyone to game. Curiously at least four Souths apparently opened 1NT, as they eventually declared 4H. North only declared 4H twice after South opened 1C and rebid 2NT. 3NT S was played seven times - a little surprising, as one would expect North to look for and find the heart fit after 1C-1H; 2NT. The last auction ended in 4S S.
?
All the 4H contracts took eleven tricks. With 3-3 trumps even 4S had no trouble taking eleven tricks as well. With only one diamond stopper, 3NT could not do any better than ten tricks even with the club finesse. Only one declarer took the club finesse; five declarers cashed out their nine tricks. Randi managed to set 3NT when declarer neither took the club finesse nor cashed out.
?
4H N +1 (2); 4H S +1 (4); 4S S +1
3NT S +1
3NT S = (5)
3NT S -1
?
11:
?
...............Q62
...............A1032
...............J102
...............965
K10.......................9743
KQ5......................94
A63.......................KQ97
AJ832...................KQ4
...............AJ85
...............J876
...............854
...............107
?
We managed to get everyone into 3NT W. Erik opened 1C but Jim's control-showing response was 1H, allowing them to have essentially the same auction as the pairs beginning with 1NT. Even if West upgraded the hand to 1C followed by 2NT nobody finished in any other contract.
?
There was a 7-7 split between taking ten and eleven tricks. That number was seriously on the high side. If North leads either a spade or a heart N-S should have an easy time taking three tricks. The only thing I can think of is that South might have let the first spade go through after a heart lead, but that seems feeble. Gareth was one of the declarers taking eleven tricks, which was managed after North blanked the heart ace on the clubs.
?
3NT W +1 (7)
3NT W +2 (7)
?
12:
?
...............K
...............10985
...............KJ7652
...............Q10
75432......................J86
K..............................AJ6
Q93..........................10
A642........................KJ9753
...............AQ109
...............Q7432
...............A84
...............8
?
We ended with contracts in all four suits and with three different opening bidders. At least one North opened 2D, declaring 3D. At multiple tables East opened 3C in third seat; East ended up declaring 4C twice and 5C, while a fourth table resulted in 4H N. When South opened (I'm not sure if there were any Flannery openings) 1H, three auctions died quietly in 2H S and another three saw competition to 3H S with 4H S twice. The final auction ended in 3S W (did East open 1C?).
?
3S managed to get out for an impressive -1, given the four trump losers. In hearts, declarer manages to hold losers to two on the best line of finessing East for the jack. A surprising number of declarers (three) took eleven tricks, which almost definitely requires the crashing of the trump honours, as, if declarer is allowed to discard North's clubs on spades, West has to be able to give East a ruff in either spades or diamonds. Gernot's +650 was N-S top. Two declarers in hearts took ten tricks, three took nine and Haorge had the best defensive result of holding declarer to eight. It was interesting to see that the two Robots in 4H had different results, but they played them from opposite sides of the table. Paul was one of the 3C openers in third seat at favourable vulnerability; he had an easy time finding the diamond lead against 4H, justifying Don's not sacrificing in 5C despite the favourable vulnerabilty. The Southbot that replaced Nancy received the club ace lead and continuation, posting 4H = in comfort. 3D N finished -1, though one would have expected +1 rather more often. Club contracts all took the expected nine tricks. E-W top was a three-way tie between Paun, Haorge and Randi.
?
4H S +1
4H S =
3H S +2 (2)
2H S +2
2H S +1 (2)
3S W -1; 4C E -1 (2); 5C E -1
3D N -1; 3H S -1; 4H N -1
?
13:
?
...............1064
...............K3
...............Q875
...............AK95
K87........................AJ9
105.........................9864
AJ943....................K6
1043.......................Q762
...............Q632
...............AQJ72
...............102
...............J8
?
How quickly can N-S stop? One North passed and it led to a passout when South froze and the bot replacement didn't open either. Four Souths managed to stop in 1NT N. South never played 2H, but one South was left in a 2C rebid. Next in line were 2NT N and 2NT S(?) twice. Two Souths managed to stop in 3H, leaving three pairs that found themselves all the way in game, 3NT N and 4H S twice.
?
E-W have five top tricks against hearts, although East must break the spades by leading the jack. The defence can pick up a sixth trick, as it takes declarer far too long to get a spade trick going. Against no-trumps, both East and West can lead a jack to start a suit and pick up the first six tricks on the trot. Perhaps not surprisingly, nobody produced the top defence; assuming nobody found the psychic opening lead of the jack, to hold no-trumps to seven tricks East would have to lead a heart and West a heart or club. A heart contract by South also required a club lead. While declarer overperformed, it was not by enough to make game. Lark set 3NT, Ruise and Troward set 4H and Conndy set 2NT N to split the E-W top. Jane, one of four declarers in no-trumps to take nine tricks, received a spade lead and continuation. Andrea even managed 1NT +3 for the N-S top. NJ and Phoebe both posted 3H = to round out the good N-S results.
?
1NT N +3
1NT N +2 (2); 2NT S +1 (2)
3H S = (2)
1NT N +1
2C S =
Passed Out
2NT N -1; 3NT N -1; 4H S -1 (2)
?
14:
?
...............AKQ10987
...............10
...............107
...............K42
32...............................J64
KQ75..........................9862
AJ86432....................5
----..............................Q9865
...............5
...............AJ43
...............KQ9
...............AJ1073
?
We start with 1C from South and some numbr of diamonds from West, followed by some number of spades from North, likely at the minimum level. The usual landing spot was 4S N, played ten times. One North allowed South to play 3NT, two Norths either tried for slam or took a push to 5S and one West sacrificed in 5Dx.
?
At first sight it looks as if N-S may have missed a slam, but even 4S N can be set by force if East has the inspiration to lead a club. Randi and Cbot posted the best E-W result of 4S -2 after a diamond lead when East was allowed an overruff on the third round of diamonds, allowing West to get a second club ruff. Nobody actually took nine tricks. Kelice and Lark defended 5S -1 and Garbot 4S =. Laurie should have been N-S top in 3NT S +2, avoiding all the ruffs. It was surprising how most of the spade declarers took more than ten tricks, with five declarers taking eleven and two twelve, Andrea after a diamond lead to the ace but a spade switch. As East's diamond spot was the five, West made a clear error, as East would not have led the five-spot from either 105 or 75. N-S top was Dane's defending 5Dx -4; they were sure of at least -3.
?
5Dx W -4
4S N +2 (2)
3NT S +2
4S N +1 (5)
4S N =
5S N -1 (2)
4S N -2 (2)
?
15:
?
...............Q5
...............J9854
...............KQ96
...............J10
A4.......................KJ10972
Q102...................A3
A7........................J8
AK8764...............Q95
...............863
...............K76
...............105432
...............32
?
E-W have an excellent 6C if they can find it; nobody did, although 1C-1S; 3C might induce East to start a look for a club slam. Even 7C after a heart lead is probably better than 6S after a diamond lead. A surprisingly large number of Wests declared, one in 3NT but the rest in spades after, presumably, a 1NT opening bid, for which the hand is rather too good. However the auction started East repeated spades and spades were trumps thirteen times. Contracts were 3S E, 3NT W, 4S E thrice, 4S W four times, 6S E four times and 6S W. Garbot had the longest auction: P-1C-1H-1S; P-3C-P-3S; P-4S-P-4NT; P-5C-P-5D; P-6S.
?
7C on any lead but a heart is a huge favourite and even the heart lead does not reduce the chance of success to much lower than 60%. 6S against a diamond lead or a heart about half the time becomes a five-or-seven proposition, bringing in all the tricks if the trumps behave and eleven otherwise, but the overall chance of success is only about 36%. But here the spades lie beautifully and everyone took all thirteen tricks except in 3NT against Heve when declarer in 3NT ducked a diamond lead, a costly move that never rated to accomplish much.
?
3S E +4
3NT W +3
4S E +3 (3); 4S W +3 (4)
6S E +1 (4); 6S W +1
?
16:
?
...............Q82
...............KQ863
...............97
...............Q73
A6............................K953
J105.........................972
AJ643......................K5
AK9..........................J1084
...............J1074
...............A4
...............Q1082
...............865
?
Would we get everyone to play 1NT W? Not quite. 1NT W was played ten times. One North interfered and played 2H; other contracts were 2NT W and 3NT W twice, but it seems unlikely that the higher contracts resulted from West's upgrading the hand to 1D followed by 2NT, as a 1D opening bid allows an easy 1H overcall, which ought to keep E-W from rebidding no-trumps.
?
Against no-trumps N-S can run five heart tricks off the top, but that sets up a double squeeze if declarer guesses the layout. A spade lead allows the defence to set up their sixth winner before the squeeze is ready to operate. But as West had no particular reason to play for the squeeze, 1NT W = was the most common result, posted seven times. Don took eight tricks in 1NT; Rich and Martin took nine, Rich after a diamond lead when N-S never took their hearts at all. The higher no-trumps contracts also yielded seven tricks to declarer. Gene scored 10/13 playing 2H -1.
?
3NT W -2 (2)
2NT W -1
2H N -1
1NT W = (7)
1NT W +1
1NT W +1 (2)
?
17:
?
...............Q8753
...............Q10752
...............----
...............974
J94........................----
A4..........................KJ96
1054.......................AQ9862
Q10652..................K83
...............AK1062
...............83
...............KJ73
...............AJ
?
After P-1D-1S, whatever West did North was likely to raise to 4S, which became the contract seven times. Two auctions ended in 3S S. E-W went higher five times, not unusual given East's distribution, with contracts of 5C W, 5D E and 5Dx E thrice. How E-W ended up in 5C is one of those things I regret missing, my best guesses being that East bid 4NT over 4S as a multi-suit takeout or that South overcalled 1NT instead of 1S, over which West might have thrown in a bid of 2C.
?
Looking at either pair of declaring hands alone might lead one to suspect a possible double game swing, but both games should fail. 5D does fairly well to be only one trick down, given the nasty trump split. A second undertrick looks quite possible, but West's trump spots are just good enough to keep South from scoring an easy ruff and, even if East ruffs down to fewer trumps than South has, South never quite gets all the trumps that seem to be coming. Everyone in diamonds took ten tricks. While it is usually advantageous to take ruffs in the hand with shorter trumps, 5C did not play?quite so well. Declarer cannot juggle all the balls in the air - getting the diamonds ready while keeping a trump in dummy to control the spades and drawing trumps if necessary when the time comes. The best chance of a tenth trick would be if North were to let a diamond go through to East's ace. 4S looks to have decent chances seeing two hands, but declarer cannot draw trumps with four diamond losers to ruff. A diamond lead lets declarer make a loser-on-loser play, reducing the number of ruffs needed in the North hand to three. this would bring about a make if trumps were 2-1, but they aren't. If declarer could hold off having to take any ruffs before playing the third heart a make would be possible but the usual problem is that the third heart pushed through before trumps are drawn promotes a trump trick for West. The most plausible make would be for E-W to go for that promotion too early - starting with three rounds of hearts lets South discard the club loser, draw trumps in two rounds and make the contract with two high spades, six ruffs, the club ace and North's last heart. Lark managed a two-trick set of 4S but -1 was the usual result, posted four times. NJ and Andrea made the contract, Andrea when West trumped a trick East was going to win, costing E-W the trump promotion that would have followed.
?
4S S = (2)
3S S +1
3S S =
5C W -2; 5Dx E -1 (3)
5D E -1
4S S -1 (4)
4S S -2
?
18:
?
...............3
...............9543
...............732
...............KQ832
K97652.................AJ108
QJ62.....................7
J5..........................Q1064
4............................10976
...............Q4
...............AK108
...............AK98
...............AJ5
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We saw multiple cases of Last Board Syndrome here. South usually opened 2NT, perhaps not always, as one West ended up declaring the hand in 4S undoubled (and it is much easier to visualize P-1D-2S than P-2NT-3S). One South presumably opened either 1C or 2C, as 5C S was the final contract. 4H S was reached only seven times and 3NT S a surprisingly high five times, which I cannot help but think must have been due to this being the last board of the game.
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Tracy scored 7/13 playing 4S W -1. Was Justice served? The reader will have to be the judge. Looking at only the N-S hands, one might well be surprised to see that 3NT made three times of the five. Gernot and Del took nine tricks - either E-W blocked the spades or the suit was not led and declarer had a grateful cashout. Lauire took ten tricks, suggesting the lead of a low heart. Haorge managed to take their six spade tricks for -2 and the E-W top. The most perplexing result is 3NT -1. Either declarer was given a reprieve but left a winner stranded or E-W set 3NT off the top and West had a mouse slip on the last spade. 4H looks as if declarer will wrap up an easy eleven tricks but the 4-1 hearts allow a set. Two rounds of spades right away cut declarer off from the club suit; West waits until the third round to take the first ruff. Even if South has taken out the high diamonds West can still prevail because East has two diamond winners, for which West can exchange the second trump trick if need be. The endings are rather pretty. 4H was defeated by Carthurl, Kelice and Marudy, made by Jatin, Dianne, Andrea and Nancy; given the complexity of the position both endings seem reasonable.
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3NT S +1
4H S = (4)
3NT S = (2)
4S W -1
3NT S -1; 4H S -1 (3); 5C S -1
3NT S -2
