Dealer: S Vul: Both
NORTH
♠ AK103
♥ A8
♦ 2
♣ AQ9732
WEST EAST
♠ 92 ♠ 5
♥ 10642 ♥ KQJ9753
♦ K75 ♦ AJ1063
♣ KJ106 ♣ —
SOUTH
♠ QJ8774
♥ —
♦ Q984
♣ 854
Bd 23 from last Monday is a tale of two contracts on a day when no two scores were the same. Only one N/S pair (Hilary Price and Ros Hart) played in what appears to be the par contract of 5S for plus 650. The other spade bidders went too high when they tried 6S and failed by one trick, thus conceding 100.
At the other three tables all E/W pairs played in 5H. John Rose brought home 5H by drawing trumps in two rounds, then finessing diamonds through South, then returning to hand by trumping clubs. North/South’s only winners were North’s two Aces. John earned 850 because North had raised the stakes by doubling the contract. Against accurate defence 5H can be beaten by one trick. Peter Campbell and David Moran achieved this for plus one hundred and second top score North/South. Tony Hinde and Len Don were top scorers for North/South when they doubled East’s bid of 5H and defeated it by three tricks for a score of 800. Declarer’s mistake was to misplay the minor suits (clubs and diamonds).
It turns out that the par score on this deal is 6H. Even if doubled, this will cost only 500, as against the 650 available for North/South’s spades.
Results, Monday, 17/11/25 (5 & 1/2-table Howell): T. Hinde L. Don (59.5) 1; M. Warren B. Warren (58.8) 2; H. Price (58.6) R, Hart 3; N. Collins M. Simpson (58.4) 4; J.Nankervis P. Kelly (56.7) 5.
