J 10 5 3
A K 2
10 5 4
8 4 2
K Q 4 2 6 3 A 8 3 2 A K J
![[W - E]](t.gif)
9 8 7 J 10 8 4 9 7 Q 10 9 7
A 6 Q 9 7 5 K Q J 6 6 5 3| 1.
| J 10 5 3 A K 2 10 5 4 8 4 2
| |
| K Q 4 2 6 3 A 8 3 2 A K J
|
| 9 8 7 J 10 8 4 9 7 Q 10 9 7
|
| None Vul | A 6 Q 9 7 5 K Q J 6 6 5 3 |
Shore West 1 NT¹ | North Pass All Pass | Gill East Pass | South Pass |
1 NT by West
Made 1 — EW +90
I'm not really sure why South didn't open 1D, this would have gotten North to lead one, which is necessary to hold 1NT to 6 tricks. Anyway, on a low spade lead with the A popping, Noble just had 7 tricks for 6/11
| 2.
| A J 6 2 A 7 3 2 9 7 5 3 K
| |
| 10 8 4 3 10 9 A K 10 8 4 10 8
|
| Q 7 K J 8 6 5 6 9 6 5 4 2
|
| N-S Vul | K 9 5 Q 4 Q J 2 A Q J 7 3 |
Shore West Pass | North 3
| Gill East 2 All Pass | South 3 |
3 by North
Down 2 — EW +200
What made North bid 3D I'll never know. I led the Q for lack of a better option. Declarer won the A and tried a diamond. Noble won and played back another spade, won by dummy's 9. Declarer crossed to the K and tried another diamond. Noble won and drew trumps, and eventually we got two heart tricks to go with 4 trumps when declarer bared dummy's Q for no reason. +200 was worth 11/11
| 7.
| 5 4 2 K J 10 9 7 5 6 5 J 4
| |
| A K A Q 8 3 J 2 Q 10 9 8 5
|
| J 10 6 3 6 4 K 10 3 A K 6 2
|
| Both Vul | Q 9 8 7 2 A Q 9 8 7 4 7 3 |
Shore West 1 NT¹ Pass 3 43
| North Pass Pass Pass Pass | Gill East 2 ²2 NT³ 3 53 NT | South Pass 2 Pass Pass All Pass |
3 NT by West
Made 3 — EW +600
South got North to lead a diamond, which prevented him from leading a heart into the AQ. South won the AQ and cleared diamonds, but nothing really mattered after the lead. Making only 3 was worth 4-/11.
| 8.
| J 8 5 A J 10 3 10 8 2 K 3 2
| |
| A 9 9 8 7 4 A K 7 5 9 8 7
|
| Q 10 3 K Q 5 2 6 3 A Q 5 4
|
| None Vul | K 7 6 4 2 6 Q J 9 4 J 10 6 |
Shore West 1 NT¹ Dbl | North Pass Pass | Gill East Pass 4
| South 2 ²All Pass |
4 by East
Down 2 — NS +100
I should have invited the first time, but once partner voluntarily made a takeout double of spades, I thought I should bid game. South led a trump and North skied A and instaswitched to the c2. I thought this was probably a stiff given his defense, so I skied A. I tried a spade towards dummy and when West played low, I tried the 9 thinking it was my only chance to make. This led to d2, but the 2nd undertrick was irrelevant since you had to bid and make 4H to get a decent score on the hand. Result: 1/11
| 11.
| 8 5 4 Q 10 7 Q J 10 5 8 7 3
| |
| 9 J 9 5 3 2 A 7 4 3 2 10 5
|
| Q J 10 8 6 4 K 9 A K Q 9 2
|
| None Vul | A K 7 6 3 2 A K 8 6 J 6 4 |
Shore West Pass 2 NT² 3
| North Pass Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 NT¹ 3
| South 1 2 Pass |
3 by West
Made 3 — EW +140
North led a spade and South mistakenly tried to cash the AK, Noble ruffing. He then played a diamond to the K and a diamond to the A. Next came a club to the A and a heart. South won and played a spade, on which noble pitched a diamond. Another trump put South in again, and he played yet another spade. Noble pitched a diamond and ruffed in dummy, but the hand was over. Making 3 was worth 8-/11.
| 12.
| K 7 5 A 8 5 9 7 3 K J 7 3
| |
| A 9 6 2 6 4 2 J 8 4 Q 10 8
|
| Q J 4 Q J 9 7 3 K 6 5 9 6
|
| N-S Vul | 10 8 3 K 10 A Q 10 2 A 5 4 2 |
Shore West Pass Pass All Pass | North Pass Dbl | Gill East 2 Pass | South Pass 2 NT |
2 NT by South
Made 4 — NS +180
I almost got away in 2H undoubled. Anyway, unfortunately it was right to lead a spade here and not a heart. After that, declarer has an easy time making 180. Unfortunately, only two pairs found their game, and so we only got 5/11 because some tables held a NT contract to 9 tricks.
| 13.
| 10 3 Q 8 4 2 6 Q 9 8 7 6 4
| |
| 9 8 7 6 A 10 6 5 K 9 4 2 A
|
| 5 4 2 7 Q J 10 8 7 J 10 3 2
|
| Both Vul | A K Q J K J 9 3 A 5 3 K 5 |
Shore West Pass Pass | North Pass 3 4
| Gill East Pass Pass All Pass | South 2 NT 3 |
4 by South
Made 4 — NS +620
The opponents reached an untouchable 4H here. Noble chose to lead the A, and upon seeing my 2 (negative for spades), switched to a safe s9. Declarer played the J, which Noble won and exited with another spade. Declarer cashed the K and then played the K. If Noble ruffs, declarer wins the return, draws his last trump and ruffs one diamond and pitches the other on the Q. If he pitches, declarer just draws trumps and loses a diamond. Unfortunately a number of tables contrived to go down in 4H and we got 3-/11.
| 14.
| K Q 10 10 9 2 J 10 7 4 9 7 2
| |
| 6 5 4 A K 8 6 4 5 Q 6 5 4
|
| J 9 2 Q 7 K Q 9 8 6 J 10 3
|
| None Vul | A 8 7 3 J 5 3 A 3 2 A K 8 |
Shore West All Pass | North | Gill East Pass | South 1 NT |
1 NT by South
Made 1 — NS +90
Noble chose not to interfere over their NT with me being a passed hand (thus denying a balanced 10-count since we play 10-12 NTs at all white). This turned out to be wrong. 2H is only -1, and 1N makes. Another crappy score: 1-/11.
| 15.
| 7 6 9 8 2 A J 6 5 4 7 5 3
| |
| K Q 5 3 2 A 3 K 2 A Q 6 4
|
| 10 8 10 6 4 Q 9 7 3 J 10 8 2
|
| N-S Vul | A J 9 4 K Q J 7 5 10 8 K 9 |
Shore West Dbl 2
| North 2 All Pass | Gill East Pass | South 1 Pass |
2 by West
Made 3 — EW +140
For some reason which we'll never know, North led a trump not a heart. This went to the 8, 9 and K. Noble led the K, which north again took for a reason we'll never know. He led back a heart to the J and A. Noble now crossed to the Q, and led the J, not covered. Noble now guessed the the K was bare and played a spade, on which South flew A. There was still a trump and a heart to lose, but this was still making 3 for 7/11 matchpoints.
| 16.
| A K J 10 7 10 8 6 3 9 A K 5
| |
| 4 A J 7 5 2 10 8 5 Q J 10 6
|
| Q 9 6 5 2 4 K J 7 2 9 7 3
|
| E-W Vul | 8 3 K Q 9 A Q 6 4 3 8 4 2 |
Shore West Pass Dbl All Pass | North 1 2 ?
| Gill East Pass Pass | South 1 NT 3 ? |
3 by South
Made 3 — NS +110
Ugh this board is sick. In fairness, we should have gone for our lives in 2DX if they were remotely competent. North has an automatic XX at his 2nd call. Anyway, they fixed us later by not bidding game and stumbling into a 5-1 fit that happened to make. Noble led his stiff spade and declarer went up in order to draw 3 rounds of trumps via the finesse. I should have cashed my last trump, but didn't. If I wasn't going to do that, I certainly should have won the 3rd diamond with the K not the J. Overall, I defended pretty terribly! I switched to my heart to the K and A, but nothing matters. Declarer has 3 diamonds, 1 heart, 3 spades, and 2 clubs. 1/11 MPs.
| 17.
| 7 4 3 Q 10 9 2 — Q J 10 9 8 6
| |
| Q J 9 6 K 8 6 5 4 A Q 2 2
|
| K 8 A 7 3 K J A K 7 5 4 3
|
| None Vul | A 10 5 2 J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 — |
Shore West 3 NT | North Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 ¹
| South 3 |
3 NT by West
Made 4 — EW +430
South's conservatism paid off here, since many pairs are going for a number in 4DX. North led the Q, and Noble won the A, discovering the bad news there. He played a low spade to the Q, then ducked a heart to South's J. South cashed the A, then played a diamond. Noble then cashed the A and K, and the J, then put North on play with the last heart, forcing him to lead a club and give the rest of the tricks. Unfortunately, 6 tables are going for numbers here, so we only got 2-/11.
| 18.
| K 9 6 2 K 5 4 3 A 6 5 4 3 —
| |
| Q 8 5 A J 7 6 10 8 J 10 6 5
|
| 7 4 3 9 2 K J 9 K 9 7 4 3
|
| N-S Vul | A J 10 Q 10 8 Q 7 2 A Q 8 2 |
Shore West Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 2 NT | Gill East Pass Pass Pass | South 1 NT¹ 2 3 NT |
3 NT by South
Made 3 — NS +600
North has sort of a bidding decision, although I think it's clear he should bid 3D and force game. No matter what he was going to land in 3NT. Noble led a heart to the 3, 9, and T. Declarer played a diamond to the A and another diamond, which I won with the K, Noble not Smith echoing. I chose to play back a heart anyway, and this proved to be a good decision, since declarer decided to cash out his 9 winners for a poor score. We got 9-/11.
| 19.
| 9 8 6 9 6 2 K 7 5 4 K 9 8
| |
| A J 10 5 7 5 6 3 2 A 7 6 2
|
| K 7 A K Q 8 4 3 J 10 9 Q 4
|
| E-W Vul | Q 4 3 2 J 10 A Q 8 J 10 5 3 |
Shore West 2 ²2 3 NT | North Pass Pass Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 NT¹ 2 3 ³
| South Pass Pass Pass |
3 NT by East
Made 5 — EW +660
I decided that no rebid really fit the East hand, so I opened 1N. This is a bit of an underbid, but the other options sucked worse. Over 2S, I could have bid 3H to show 5 hearts, but I decided that concealing my hearts was more valuable. North led the T, which I think supposedly was 0/2 higher, but they weren't really very forthcoming. At this point I could have gone up and cashed out my 9, but I decide that even if South won, it was way more likely he would continue a club or switch to hearts rather than diamonds. He did, in fact switch to the h9, and I ran a whole lot of winners, at which point north made it painfully obvious he held the Q, so I even took the practice finesse, which was worth 0 extra matchpoints. This earned us 10/11.
| 20.
| 7 4 A K 3 K Q 9 6 K 8 7 4
| |
| A K 6 9 7 5 2 J 3 2 Q 6 3
|
| Q 10 8 3 2 J 6 4 10 7 4 9 2
|
| Both Vul | J 9 5 Q 10 8 A 8 5 A J 10 5 |
Shore West Pass All Pass | North 1 NT | Gill East Pass | South 3 NT |
3 NT by North
Down 1 — EW +100
Not much to this one - I led a spade and we took the first 5, after which declarer claimed. Dead average 5-/11 after one table let it make, and another somehow beat it 2.
| 21.
| K J 8 7 6 5 7 2 K Q 10 5 3 —
| |
| 3 2 A 3 8 7 6 K Q J 8 7 3
|
| Q 4 Q J 9 6 5 4 A 4 A 5 4
|
| N-S Vul | A 10 9 K 10 8 J 9 2 10 9 6 2 |
Shore West 1 NT 4
| North Pass Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 2
| South Pass Pass |
4 by East
Down 2 — NS +100
A very good player decided to keep his mouth shut on the North cards, although I'm not entirely sure why. Even with the HK onsides they are still cold for game in spades. South found the club lead and they took their 5 obvious tricks (2 spades, 2 club ruffs and a trump). Annoyingly, this was a dead average - some tables were making game in hearts (I guess North bid spades and South led them). Very few tables got to the spade game. 5-/11, oh well. Silly me for expecting a good score for talking the opponents out of their game.
| 22.
| 7 4 3 2 3 2 A 5 3 2 10 7 5
| |
| K 8 Q 8 K 8 6 4 J 9 4 3 2
|
| A A K 10 7 6 4 9 7 A K Q 8
|
| E-W Vul | Q J 10 9 6 5 J 9 5 Q J 10 6 |
Shore West 3 ²
| North 4
| Gill East 1 ¹7
| South 2 All Pass |
7 by East
Made 7 — EW +2140
South led the Q and I wrapped it up when hearts proved to be 3-2. Over 4S I really did't need much from partner to make the granny. The ace of diamonds and 12 other cards make it pretty darn good, which is nowhere near a GF response. Really the opponents did not do well. When South didn't lead the A, and North hadn't doubled the grand to say "don't lead a spade," I figured it was on the floor! Anyway, North SHOULD have doubled and South should have led a non-spade anyway. Clearly I didn't have a spade loser for my jump to grand. Not shockingly this was worth all the matchpoints - 11/11
| 23.
| K J K 4 2 Q J 9 8 4 2 8 5
| |
| Q 7 J 7 5 3 A K 10 9 7 6 3
|
| A 10 6 5 4 3 10 K 10 6 5 J 4
|
| Both Vul | 9 8 2 A Q 9 8 6 3 A 7 Q 2 |
Shore West 2 3
| North 2 4 ²
| Gill East 2 4
| South 1 3 ¹All Pass |
4 by East
Made 4 — EW +620
I was pretty sure that the North thought 3H was invitational, and bid game for that reason - I just thought it was too likely that either we would make 4S or they would make 4H. I didn't know partner had raised on only 2 spades, and unfortuantely, both 4H and 4S were slated for doom. Fortunately, the opponents' defense was about as good as their bidding. South cashed the A, then the A, then played another heart. At this point, I was pretty sure that North had the K, since South had shown up with both red aces, but what I really needed was the J in a doubleton. So, I played the J to the A (South thinking for an eternity before playing low), and led the Q. This was a mistake - I should just lead low to the Q. Anyway, North covered the Q and I played a low spade to the bare J. North can beat me now by playing a club, but he wasn't up to the task. 11/11 matchpoints.
| 24.
| A Q 8 4 5 A K 6 4 3 J 10 5
| |
| J 5 A K 10 9 7 2 K Q 9 4 3
|
| K 10 9 6 9 8 Q 10 8 5 A 7 2
|
| None Vul | 7 3 2 Q J 7 6 4 3 2 J 8 6 |
Shore West 1 ¹All Pass | North Dbl? | Gill East 1 ²
| South 3 |
3 by South
Down 2 — EW +100
The opponents definitely dodged one - North made a terrible bid, doubling with a singleton heart. South has an automatic 4H bid at all white, which would have been doubled. I really did want to reopen with a double as East over 3H, but I just didn't think I was strong enough. Luckily, 3H seems to have been the field contract, as +100 was very common and a few got only +50. 6/11 matchpoints.
| 25.
| A 8 6 6 J 10 9 7 6 5 3 6 3
| |
| K J 2 A J 10 Q 4 K J 7 4 2
|
| 9 7 5 4 3 8 3 8 2 A Q 9 5
|
| E-W Vul | Q 10 K Q 9 7 5 4 2 A K 10 8 |
Shore West All Pass | North 3
| Gill East Pass | South 4 |
4 by South
Down 1 — EW +50
Noble had to guess from which KJ to lead here and he guessed wrong - his spade lead blew a trick. After that, we took our tricks for +50 and a good score (8/11), presumably because many Norths didn't preempt and then they were table to stop much lower.
| 26.
| 9 7 4 3 A J 10 9 6 Q 8 10 7
| |
| K Q 8 K 7 5 2 10 9 3 Q 9 4
|
| A J 10 8 3 K 7 6 4 A J 6 5
|
| Both Vul | 6 5 2 Q 4 A J 5 2 K 8 3 2 |
Shore West 2 ²3 NT? | North Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 NT¹ 2 NT³ | South Pass Pass |
3 NT by East
Down 3 — NS +300
We did not bid this very well. I decided to upgrade the East hand because of the AJT. Probably this had already lost us the board, but still Noble should have just passed 2N. We accept invitations aggressively at matchpoints, so raising to game was not a good decision. They led the d2 (4th best) and I knew I would need a lot of luck. I played the T, forcing the Q and I won with the K and immediately played back a diamond, since the only holding on which I could build a trick was if RHO had the Q8 doubleton. This worked (yay!), but everything else did not and I ended up -300. I could have gotten -200, but I played for -100 by going up with the HK. This proved to be a good decision, since -200 wasn't worth any more matchpoints than -300. 1/11, yuck.
| 29.
| K J 6 5 4 2 10 9 8 7 Q 4 2
| |
| Q J 3 A 10 A Q 2 J 10 9 8 3
|
| 9 8 4 2 Q 9 7 3 6 4 A K 6
|
| Both Vul | A 10 7 6 5 K 8 K J 5 3 7 5 |
Shore West 2
| North Pass Pass | Gill East Pass 3
| South 1 All Pass |
3 by West
Made 3 — EW +110
Noble decided to overcall 2C on his hand. He wasn't very happy with this decision in retrospect - I think it's close. The length in spades argues for passing, but he does have 14 and good club spots. Unfortunately, the opponents would have gone for -200 if he had passed in probably 2D, and as it was, clubs wasn't even our top-scoring spot. If my hand had been slightly stronger I could have made a limit raise - maybe I would have at IMPs, simply because partner won't visualise his suit as running if he has Qxxxx(x) or something. 3NT turns out to be cold here. This was a poor score, 2-/11.
| 30.
| K J 3 10 8 4 A 10 8 7 Q 7 2
| |
| Q 7 4 A J 7 2 9 6 5 3 2 8
|
| A 8 5 K Q 9 6 3 Q 4 K 5 4
|
| None Vul | 10 9 6 2 5 K J A J 10 9 6 3 |
Shore West 3
| North All Pass | Gill East 1
| South 3 ? |
3 by East
Down 1 — NS +50
I had to open 1H since we play 10-12 NTs at all white MPs. I really don't think much of South's 3C bid. I think it's an automatic 2C overcall - AJT9 is worth 6, and so you have more than enough strength, and you really don't want to deter your partner from bidding 2S if he has them. As for my bidding, even though I had a maximum 1H opener, I thought it was obvious to not bid game with my hand, as it's balanced and the K is almost certainly worth less than full value. There wasn't much to the play. South led the T, and continued spades when he got in with the clubs, so I lost the obvious 5 tricks. This was a pretty good score - 7/11.
| 33.
| A Q J 9 7 6 10 8 7 2 Q 9 7
| |
| 6 5 A K Q 10 5 A K J 10 6 2
|
| 10 9 8 7 4 3 J 4 3 J 6 5 5
|
| None Vul | K 2 8 2 K Q 9 4 3 A 8 4 3 |
Shore West Dbl 4
| North Pass 1 NT All Pass | Gill East Pass 3
| South 1 Pass |
4 by West
Down 1 — NS +50
I think the bidding followed a semi-normal path. I think I would have just bid 1H with the West cards, but double is certainly reasonable. North led a trump, and Noble should just win in the dummy and play a club. Whether south goes up or not, the contract is making. He decided to win in hand and play on spades, which didn't work so well. -50 was an avg- (4/11).
| 34.
| K 5 4 3 10 9 5 10 9 10 9 6 4
| |
| Q J 10 9 K 7 A Q J 8 K 7 2
|
| A 6 2 A J 6 2 K 6 4 3 A 8
|
| N-S Vul | 8 7 Q 8 4 3 7 5 2 Q J 5 3 |
Shore West 1 ²3 (4)4 (5)6 NT | North Pass Pass Pass All Pass | Gill East 1 ¹1 NT³ 3 NT 6
| South Pass Pass Pass Pass |
6 NT by East
Down 1 — NS +50
My 3N showed a very min 1C opener. When Noble bid again, it looked like 6D was going to be the money contract. Noble chose to bid 6N because he had 16 and unless I had exactly 16 we had 33. This turned out to be a good decision, as the field was in 6N making, so 6D wouldn't have been worth all that much. I got a spade lead, not covered. I hooked the spade again, and when it won, I decided to test the hearts by taking a finesse. When this lost, I basically unblocked my hearts and spades and hoped for a squeeze, but nothing materialized and they pitched accurately. I think my line was poor - probably running 4 diamonds right away is better, forcing them to pitch before they know anything. The field was making so this was a bad score - 1/11.