Dealer: S Vul: Both
NORTH
♠ Q4
♥ A10954
♦ Q102
♣ K108
WEST EAST
♠ AK1097 ♠ J53
♥ 2 ♥ J6
♦ 98 ♦ A76
♣ AJ965 ♣ Q7432
SOUTH
♠ 852
♥ KQ873
♦ KJ543
♣ —
Board 23 last Friday was one of those where every player joins in the auction. South could have opened the bidding, but all left it to West, who would have had no hesitation in bidding 1S. North has a clear overcall of 2H but East would have joined in with 2S. It was at this point that North/South dominated the auction. At three of the four tables North became declarer in 4H. The play was straightforward: draw trumps as soon as possible, concede two spades and the Ace of diamonds, then claim the rest of the tricks.
At the fourth table there was a different story. Apparently intended as a sacrifice, John Nankervis and Leanne (overall winners) won the auction with 4S. They could afford to lose no more than three tricks. With West as declarer, North led the Ace of hearts, which won, and then had to decide what to lead next. The winning choice would have been a small club, but who can blame North for not wanting to lead away from the King – or for continuing with a heart? A heart could be trumped by West, but there remained a potential loser for declarer in the other three suits. The winning play, found by West was to play the two top spades, dropping North’s Queen. North’s last trump was removed and John (declarer) turned his attention to clubs. However they were played, North would win with the King. Declarer still had to concede a diamond, but had lost only three tricks and so made the necessary ten tricks. Even a small loss would have been a top score in the East/West column, as at the other tables North/South scored 620. It was bad luck for the North/South pair to have had that bid made against them and no one else.
Results: Monday, 16/09/24 (4-table Howell): P. Kelly J. Nankervis (60.7) 1; N. Collins M. Simpson (60.1) 2; T. Hinde L. Don (50.0) 3. Friday, 20/09/24 (4-table Howell): J. Nankervis L. Munson (62.5) 1; R. Hart N. McGinness (60.7) 2; C. Duggan B. Reid (53.0) 3.
