EVENT>Monday Night Bridge      |SESSION>Monday Eve   |SECTION> A N-S
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------------------------
DATE>March 13, 2017     |CLUB NO.>185264    | 03/13/2017 22:29
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,---------------------
DIR> Potter Orr      |RATING>Club Masterpoint (100%, 80%, 70% Open)|MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE>   84.0 |TOP>   7 |MP LIMITS>None/500/200   |CLUB>Mike's Games At The CBC
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS IN STRAT A=9/B=8/C=6                       ,---,-------------------------,------,---------,
-------------------------------------------------|   |           Section       |      |Section  |
No Name                   Name                   |Flt|Rnk-A|Rnk-B|Rnk-C| Score | Pct  |Awards   |
------------------------------------------------- --- ----- ----- ----- ------- ------ ---------
 1 Debbie Wiest           Deborah Cummings         A    1     .     .    104.93  62.46  0.90(A)
 2 David Elliott          Carla Runda              C    4     3     2     87.50  52.08  0.32(A)
 3 Joy Singerman          William Cook             C    3     2     1     97.29  57.91  0.45(A)
 4 Richard Magnus         Julian Magnus, Jr        C    .     .     .     71.07  42.30
 5 Liz Lin                Elmer Hubka              B    .     .     .     70.93  42.22
 6 Susan Stacy Vanstone   Martin Gibler            B    2     1     .     97.93  58.29  0.64(B)
 7 Erin Oblinger          Betty Murdock            C    .     .     .     70.43  41.92
 8 Herschell Levine       JoAnne Essig             C    .     .     .     77.50  46.13
 9 Annette Kereiakes      Tom Kereiakes            C    .     .     .     78.43  46.68

                                          Totals                         756.01


                           **PAIRS**
BOARD     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9
  /
   1>     3           6-    6-    1-    5     4     1-    0
        -990   ---- -260  -260 -1010  -510  -520 -1010 -1520

   2>     5           5     7     1     3     1     1     5
          50   ----   50   110  -130  -110  -130  -130    50

   3>   2.93        5.79  0.07  2.93  2.93  2.93    3-  6.93
         100   ----  200  -130   100   100   100   AVE   800

   4>     7     4-          0     1-    4-    1-    4-    4-
         200   100   ---- -170  -120   100  -120   100   100

   5>     2     2           5-    2     4     5-    0     7
        -420  -420   ---- -170  -420  -200  -170  -450   110

   6>     6-    4           2-    6-    2-    0     1     5
         460   200   ----  150   460   150   120   140   430

   7>     0     5     2           2     5     2     5     7
       -1390  -640  -680   ---- -680  -640  -680  -640  -620

   8>     3     3     3           7     3     3     3     3
        -450  -450  -450   ---- -420  -450  -450  -450  -450

   9>     5     2-    7           0     1     2-    5     5
        PASS   -50   110   ---- -130  -100   -50  PASS  PASS

  10>     4     2     6     6           1     6     3     0
         140  -130   200   200   ---- -150   200   100  -600

  11>     6      -    2-     -          7     4     5     2-
         -50  -140  -110  -140   ----  570  -100   -90  -110

  12>     6     7     5      -          3-    3-     -    2
         630   660   620  -200   ----  140   140  -200  -100

  13>     6-    2     5     6-    4           2     0     2
         100  -140  PASS   100  -110   ---- -140  -170  -140

  14>     7     0     5     2-    1           2-    5     5
          50  -500  -150  -200  -400   ---- -200  -150  -150

  15>     3      -    2     5-    4            -    5-    7
         180  -100   170   630   200   ---- -100   630   650

  16>     6     6     2-    2-    2-    6           2-    0
         420   420   -50   -50   -50   420   ----  -50  -150

  17>     5     2     2     6-    2     6-          2     2
        -110  -140  -140    50  -140    50   ---- -140  -140

  18>     6     3     2     1     7     4-          4-    0
          50  -120  -150  -180   100   -90   ----  -90  -430

  19>     5     7     5     1     1     1     3           5
        -100   -50  -100  -620  -620  -620  -150   ---- -100

  20>     3-    1     3-    3-    6     7     3-          0
         100  -140   100   100   200   500   100   ---- -730

  21>     4-    7     2     0     2     4-    6           2
         100   140  PASS  -100  PASS   100   110   ---- PASS

  22>     2     0     7     4-    1     4-    4-    4-
        -100  -300   110   100  -170   100   100   100   ----

  23>     4     7     4     1     4     4     0     4
         620   650   620   170   620   620  -100   620   ----

  24>     2     7     5     1     5     3     5     0
        -430   100    50  -460    50  -400    50  -490   ----

  25>           7     0     1-    1-    4-    4-    4-    4-
         ----  450   -50   200   200   420   420   420   420

  26>           2-    2-    5     2-    7     2-    6     0
         ---- -110  -110   100  -110   200  -110   110  -140

  27>           5     7      -    3     3      -    6     3
         ---- -100    50  -140  -110  -110  -140   -80  -110



EVENT>Monday Night Bridge      |SESSION>Monday Eve   |SECTION> A E-W
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------------------------
DATE>March 13, 2017     |CLUB NO.>185264    | 03/13/2017 22:29
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,---------------------
DIR> Potter Orr      |RATING>Club Masterpoint (100%, 80%, 70% Open)|MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE>   84.0 |TOP>   7 |MP LIMITS>None/500/200   |CLUB>Mike's Games At The CBC
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS IN STRAT A=9/B=9/C=4                       ,---,-------------------------,------,---------,
-------------------------------------------------|   |           Section       |      |Section  |
No Name                   Name                   |Flt|Rnk-A|Rnk-B|Rnk-C| Score | Pct  |Awards   |
------------------------------------------------- --- ----- ----- ----- ------- ------ ---------
 1 Robert Roark           Patrick Hoffman          B    4     4     .     89.57  53.32  0.32(A)
 2 Joseph Kammer          Gail Zimmer              C    .     .     2     88.07  52.42  0.20(C)
 3 Judy Barron            Mike Burns               C    3     3     1     92.50  55.06  0.45(A)
 4 Todd Barker            Michelle Barker          B    .     .     .     75.57  44.98
 5 Peggy Jervis           Pat Lindeman             C    .     .     .     80.71  48.04
 6 Doris Kehoe            Lilam Stanley            B    .     .     .     71.50  42.56
 7 Sara Brown             Reggie Moskowitz         C    .     .     .     56.93  33.89
 8 Stephen Felson         Robert Brown             B    2     2     .     98.07  58.38  0.63(A)
 9 Lewis Temples          Potter Orr               B    1     1     .    103.07  61.35  0.90(A)

                                          Totals                         755.99


                           **PAIRS**
BOARD     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9
  /
   1>     4     2           3      -    5-     -    7     5-
         990   510   ----  520   260  1010   260  1520  1010

   2>     2     4           6     2     6     0     2     6
         -50   110   ----  130   -50   130  -110   -50   130

   3>   4.07  4.07        4.07  1.21    3-  6.93  0.07  4.07
        -100  -100   ---- -100  -200   AVE   130  -800  -100

   4>     2-    2-    5-          2-    7     2-    5-    0
        -100  -100   120   ---- -100   170  -100   120  -200

   5>     3     5     1-          7     1-    0     5     5
         200   420   170   ----  450   170  -110   420   420

   6>     4-    3     7           6     4-    2      -     -
        -150  -200  -120   ---- -140  -150  -430  -460  -460

   7>     2     5     5     2           0     5     7     2
         640   680   680   640   ----  620   680  1390   640

   8>     4     4     4     4           4     0     4     4
         450   450   450   450   ----  450   420   450   450

   9>     4-    4-    0     2           2     7     2     6
          50    50  -110  PASS   ---- PASS   130  PASS   100

  10>     1     1     4     1     7           3     6     5
        -200  -200  -100  -200   600   ---- -140   150   130

  11>     3     4-    2     6-    4-          1     0     6-
         100   110    90   140   110   ----   50  -570   140

  12>     3-    2     6-    6-    5           1     3-    0
        -140  -620   200   200   100   ---- -630  -140  -660

  13>     2     7      -    5     3      -          5     5
        PASS   170  -100   140   110  -100   ----  140   140

  14>     2     2     4-    2     6     0           7     4-
         150   150   200   150   400   -50   ----  500   200

  15>     5     1-    1-    0     3     4           6-    6-
        -170  -630  -630  -650  -200  -180   ----  100   100

  16>     4-    4-    7     4-    1     1     1           4-
          50    50   150    50  -420  -420  -420   ----   50

  17>     5      -    5     5     2      -    5           5
         140   -50   140   140   110   -50   140   ----  140

  18>     2-    6     7     0     1     2-    4           5
          90   180   430  -100   -50    90   120   ----  150

  19>     6     2     6     2     6     0     4     2
         620   100   620   100   620    50   150   100   ----

  20>     3-    7     1     3-    0     6     3-    3-
        -100   730  -200  -100  -500   140  -100  -100   ----

  21>     7     5     5     2-    2-    0     1     5
         100  PASS  PASS  -100  -100  -140  -110  PASS   ----

  22>           6     5     2-    7     2-    0     2-    2-
         ----  170   100  -100   300  -100  -110  -100  -100

  23>           3     3     3     0     7     3     3     6
         ---- -620  -620  -620  -650   100  -620  -620  -170

  24>           2     5     4     0     2     2     7     6
         ----  -50   430   400  -100   -50   -50   490   460

  25>     5-          2-    0     2-    7     2-    5-    2-
        -200   ---- -420  -450  -420    50  -420  -200  -420

  26>     4-          0     4-    4-    4-    1     2     7
         110   ---- -200   110   110   110  -110  -100   140

  27>     4           4     2     6-    0     1     6-    4
         110   ----  110   100   140   -50    80   140   110
Monday Night Bridge, Monday Eve, March 13, 2017

When the opponents preempt, you sometimes lose the room that you need to have a scientific auction. This was one of those times. E/W take one Spade trick, seven Hearts, four Diamonds, and two Clubs, making eight. What? You're not allowed to make eight!?! Stupid rules. N/S should be allowed to carry a trick over to board #2. Remind me. North will lead the ♠ J.

P.S. It makes nine on a Club finesse.

If you tell E/W that Diamonds are splitting 4-4, they'll bid 3 NT. Don't actually tell them that if you're N/S, I'm just saying that if you did, they'd be in a better contract. E/W lose two Heart tricks and two Diamonds, making three.....er, actually down one, since N/S have a carry-over trick from board #1 (and you thought I forgot). North may lead the ♦ A.

West reverses, and East bids the game. West gives bidding 4 ♥ a passing thought, but given that this is matchpoints, chooses to stay in notrump.

E/W take four Spade tricks, one Diamond, and anywhere between three and six Clubs. South will lead the ♦ 3, and declarer will grab the ♦ A (they don't want a Heart switch). With transportation a bit tight, declarer will probably simply try and grab 11 tricks off the top by playing a small Spade to the ♠ K, ♠ Q, Club back to the ♣ Q, ♠ A, ♠ J, ♣T to the ♣ K. Oops. When North shows out of Clubs, declarer will cash out for down one. Very few declarers will finesse South for the ♣ J on the second round of Clubs. If the declarer at your table takes the finesse and you're South, sit farther back from the table.

North thinks briefly about doubling the final contract, but they've seen how angry their partner gets when they do that, so they don't. E/W lose one Club trick, two Diamonds, a Diamond ruff, and one Heart. If North leads a Heart, declarer should probably refuse to ruff in dummy and discard a small Club instead. South wins with the ♥ A and with nothing better to do plays the ♦ K and another Diamond. North wins with the ♦ A and gives South a Diamond ruff. The ♣ A and a Club end the action as declarer can pull trump and claim (dummy is high).

West's 3 ♠ bid is invitational, and East has the perfect hand to accept. E/W lose one Spade trick, one Heart, and one Diamond, making four. North will lead the ♥ 6.

N/S play that a 3 ♣ response to a 1 NT opener is Five-Card Stayman. This is slightly better than playing 3 ♣ as Puppet Stayman, as it hides opener's major-suit shape when responder isn't interested in finding a 4-4 fit.

N/S will lose one Spade trick and one Diamond, making five. East will lead the ♠T, and declarer will play low from dummy. West will win the ♠ K and continue Spades, declarer winning with the ♠ Q. The ♥ Q is next covered by the ♥ K and ♥ A. The ♦ J is played from the table, and declarer takes the ♦ Q with the ♦ A. Declarer can now give up a trick to the ♦ K and claim.

When East's first response shows 10+ HCP and 5+ Clubs, West knows that they will play the hand in either 6 ♣ or 7 ♣. There's no reason to jump around in an auction such as this one, as long as you can continue to make forcing bids. 3 ♦ is a good way to start. When East is unable to show a Diamond stopper for 3 NT, they elect to show their doubleton Heart. This makes West's hand insanely good, since a Diamond stopper in partner's hand would have been a wasted value. 5 ♦ is next as Exclusion Keycard Blackwood for Hearts (asking for keycards and requiring that partner exclude any keycards they hold in Diamonds). East shows two keycards without the ♥ Q, and West bids the grand in Clubs. One thing to note--you aren't required to ask for keycards in the suit you eventually end up in (i.e., the director won't come over and pummel you).

South will lead the ♦ 6 (MUD), and the hand is over quickly. Declarer ruffs in dummy, pulls trump in two rounds, ruffs the Heart suit good, and claims. Very nice.

E/W lose one Club trick and one Diamond, making five. North will lead the ♥T. How should declarer decide which finesse to take? Well, take a look at the Heart suit. If the ♥ Q is in the South hand (which it is likely to be on the lead), the only way for the defenders to turn it into a trick is to knock out the ♥ A and ♥ K. In other words, the Heart loser is a slow loser. The Club loser is obviously a fast loser, and the Diamond loser is sort of slow. Is there a way for declarer to get rid of the Heart loser? Sure! Knock out the ♣ A and pitch the Heart on the ♣ Q. Easy peasy. Is there a way to get rid of the Diamond loser? Well, yes if North has ♦ K2, but that's not the case here.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Oops. It's hard to fault East for their raise to 5 ♦, since partner seems to have a monster hand on the auction. E/W lose one Spade trick, one Heart, and one Club, down one. North will lead the ♠ 4 or the ♣ K.

North choose to open light in third seat--a reasonable decision with a nice four-card Diamond suit to bid over partner's expected 1 NT response. N/S lose one Diamond trick, two Clubs, and one Spade, making three. East will lead the ♠ K and switch to the ♣ 5 at trick two.

This is a tough one. South doesn't have a hand good enough to open 2 ♣, and they're tempted to rebid 4 ♥ over partner's 1 ♠ bid, but it can't hurt to "invent" a 3 ♦ jump shift on the way to 4 ♥. What's North supposed to bid after partner shows a four-loser game-forcing hand with Diamonds? 6 ♦ seems reasonable.

N/S lose one Diamond trick, making six. East will lead the ♠ K, declarer winning in hand with the ♠ A. ♦ A comes next followed by ♣ A, ♣ 3 to the ♣ Q in dummy, and the ♣ K pitching a Spade from the closed hand. Now a Spade ruff, ♥ AK pitching dummy's last two Spades, and a Diamond towards the ♦ Q. When Diamonds behave, the hand is over. What fun!

West's hand is NOT a four-card limit raise. Besides being totally flat (4333), West has nine losers--one more than you should have for a limit raise. East, with an eight-loser hand themselves, has an easy 3 ♠ sign-off.

E/W lose one Heart trick, two Diamonds, and two Clubs, down one. Clubs and Diamonds are both frozen suits. South will lead the ♥ J, declarer winning in dummy with the ♥ A. Trumps are pulled in two rounds ending in dummy, and declarer will probably play the ♦ J, North ducking. South should win the ♦ A, and play the ♥T and a third Heart. Declarer will ruff in their hand and play a Club towards the ♣ K, South playing low. Nothing matters after this, since declarer has to lose two Clubs and another Diamond.

West has had easier hands to bid. A double by them at their first opportunity would be for penalty--unwise given the number of Diamonds they're holding. They make a forcing bid to buy time, and when East rebids their suit, they opt to show their Spade suit. One thing to note on an auction such as this one if you're East. Do NOT pass 4 ♠ if you hold a singleton or void in Spades. West could have bid 4 ♠ over 2 ♥ if they wanted to play in 4 ♠ opposite any hand. West has to have tolerance for Diamonds on this hand, so bid 5 ♦ if you're short in Spades.

If North finds the lead of the ♣ Q, E/W will make four. More likely they'll lead their partner's suit, and E/W will make five losing a trick in each round suit.

When you open one of a suit, and you plan to rebid 2 NT to show a balanced or semi-balanced hand with 18-19 HCP, don't forget to make a support double/redouble along the way if appropriate. Your support double is obviously forcing and not-so-obviously unlimited. Make a note of West's double--when you're a past hand, and you want to show the two unbid suits, use a double to show 5+ cards in the higher ranking suit and a Sandwich NT bid to show four cards in the higher ranking suit and 5+ cards in the lower ranking suit. When you're not a past hand, a double shows an opening hand, and your Sandwich NT bid simply denies an opening hand.

N/S lose one Diamond trick and one Club, making five. West's best lead is a trump, and declarer will win and knock out the ♦ A. West can continue trumps or Diamonds, but declarer will win and play out all the trumps, pitching two Spades from dummy. With seven cards to go, South will hold ♠ Q7 ♦ KQ ♣T85, West will hold ♠ KJ9 ♦T6 ♣ Q4, dummy holds ♠ A8 ♦ 7 ♣ AK72, and East holds ♦ 982 ♣ J963. When declarer leads a Club, West has to jettison their ♣ Q, or South will win in dummy with the ♣ K, pull two rounds of Diamonds, and endplay West with the ♣ Q to force a lead away from the ♠ KJ9. If West plays the ♣ Q on the ♣ 5, declarer will win in dummy with the ♣ K, and cash the ♠ A. If East plays a Club on the ♠ A, declarer can simply duck a Club to East and claim the rest. If East discards a Diamond, declarer will pull the remaining Diamonds, and duck a Club to East. East will have to play away from ♣ 93 into dummy's ♣ K7. Nicely played!

When opener reverses, responder is forced to take another bid. If they merely repeat their first suit at the two level or bid 2 NT, the pair may be able to stop short of game. Any other rebid by responder creates a game force.

N/S lose two Spade tricks, one Heart, and a Spade ruff, down one. 3 NT would have been a superior contract (obviously), but you can't fault N/S for playing in their nine-card Heart fit (you could if that's the way you roll).

At first glance, it seems like East has to find the magic lead of a Spade away from their ♠ A, but that's not exactly the case. If they lead the ♦T, declarer will win in hand and lay down the ♥ K. West wins and immediately shifts to the ♠ K. When that holds, they'll continue Spades, and partner shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out what to play at trick five (hint: it's a Spade).

E/W lose one Diamond trick, two Hearts, and two Spades, making two. South should lead the ♣ K.

E/W take two Spade tricks, two Hearts, three Diamonds, and one Club, making two. North will lead a Spade, and South will simply cover whichever card is played from dummy. It does declarer no good to duck, so they'll win trick one, and knock out the ♦ A. The defense will continue Spades, knocking out declarer's last stopper. The key play now is for declarer to play a Heart to dummy's ♥ Q. South has to win the ♥ A and continue Spades, but the defense will never get a Club trick. If declarer mistakenly goes after Clubs first (or at all), N/S will get one Heart, three Spades, one Club, and one Diamond. Oops.

N/S have an easy 4 ♠ sacrifice on the vulnerability, even if declarer gets the Spades wrong (which they will). N/S lose lose one Club trick, one Spade, two Hearts, and two Diamonds, down three doubled for –500. Since 4 ♥ is rolling for +620, N/S are still happy. East will probably lead the ♣ J or the ♥T. If it's a Club lead, West will win, cash the ♥ K and ♥ A and play a third Heart (i.e., they want declarer in dummy to take the ill-advised Spade hook).

Some North players will double a second time, and they'll regret it. E/W lose one Diamond trick, one Club, and two Spades, making three. North's best lead is a trump, declarer wins in hand with the ♠ A when South splits their honors. The ♦ 3 is next, and North will probably grab their ♦ K, although it doesn't matter. The ♣ K is probably going to hit the table, declarer winning in hand, Diamond to the ♦ Q, Heart ruff, ♦ A pitching a Club, Club ruff in dummy, Heart ruff in hand, Club ruff in dummy, Heart ruff in hand, and punt. South's last three cards are ♠ KT6, and declarer's hopes of stealing a tenth trick are zilch.

Once responder has redoubled in an auction such as this one, their side is in what is called a "forcing auction." What does that mean? It means that the opponents will not be allowed to play the contract, and if they do, they'll play it doubled. With that agreement, North could have passed over West's 1 ♦ "self rescue" confident that partner would not pass as well. As it is, 1 ♦ doubled would be worth only +100 on the vulnerability, so North is wise to take another bid.

N/S take three Spade tricks, two Hearts, one Diamond, and two Clubs, making two. West may lead the ♠ K or the ♣ 7.

When East shows a four-card Spade suit, West can re-evaluate their hand and take one more bid. E/W lose two Spade tricks and a Club, making four. North will probably lead the ♣ 9, ducked by declarer, and won with South's ♣ Q. A Diamond comes back, declarer winning with the ♦ A and immediately taking a finesse in Hearts. When the ♥ J holds (it does North no good to cover), declarer can ruff a Diamond in dummy, play the ♥ A and ♣ A pitching Clubs, ruff a Heart low, and ruff their third Diamond in dummy. South will get their two high Spades, but that's it for the defense. Nicely played!

N/S lose two Heart tricks and one Club, making four. West may lead the ♣ J, and East should fire back a Heart at trick two.

When you create a game force in a 2/1 auction, an XYZ auction, or a 4th-Suit Forcing auction, you should not pass until game is reached OR you reach four of a minor on a misfit hand where 3 NT is unplayable (as it is here). There's no reason to be required to bid on to five of a minor (one away from slam?) when it simply isn't going to make.

E/W lose two Spade tricks and one Club, making four. North will lead the ♠ A on the auction and continue Spades when they see dummy.

N/S lose two Diamond tricks, making five. Even if West doesn't lead a Diamond, declarer can never get more than one pitch on the Clubs. Let's assume a Heart lead. Declarer wins with the ♥ A and immediately plays a small Club to the ♣ K and a Club back to the ♣ A. Now a Club ruff with a high trump (West shows out), ♠ Q, ♠ 7 to the ♠ A (West has no Spades), Club ruff, and now a small Spade to the ♠T. Declarer can pitch the ♥ Q on the good Club, but the two Diamond losers aren't going anywhere.

East knows that the hand will play better in a major, and rather than choose one on their own, they bid 2 ♣ to ask their partner's opinion. If West had responded 2 ♦, East would have bid 2 ♠ to show 5-4 in the majors.

E/W lose one Diamond trick, two Clubs, and two Hearts, making two. North will lead the ♦ 2 (low from three to an honor).

E/W lose one Spade trick, one Club, one Heart, and one Diamond, making three. South may lead the ♥ 4.

West is going to lead the ♠ A and take the first four tricks. As long as they hold on to their ♥ K (with a friend), they'll take a fifth trick and hold N/S to making two. The Club finesse is a practice finesse--if it wins, N/S takes the same number of tricks that they would have taken if they hadn't taken the finesse at all. Assuming trick five is a Diamond, declarer should cash the ♦ Q and ♦ J and play a small Heart towards dummy. West will grab the ♥ K, and the hand is over.

Oops. N/S lose one Spade trick and two Clubs, down one doubled for –200. West may lead the ♠ A and continue with a second Spade.