EVENT>Wednesday Bridge Club    |SESSION>Wednesday Mor|SECTION> A
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------------------------
DATE>December 6, 2017   |CLUB NO.>185264    | 12/07/2017 08:56
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,---------------------
DIR> Michael Lipp    |RATING>Club Masterpoint (100%, 80%, 70% Open)|MOVEMENT>ONE WINNER
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE>   60.0 |TOP>   5 |MP LIMITS>None/500/200   |CLUB>Mike's Games At The CBC
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS IN STRAT A=12/B=10/C=5                     ,---,-------------------------,------,---------,
-------------------------------------------------|   |           Section       |      |Section  |
No Name                   Name                   |Flt|Rnk-A|Rnk-B|Rnk-C| Score | Pct  |Awards   |
------------------------------------------------- --- ----- ----- ----- ------- ------ ---------
 1 Patrick Lammers        Alex Grim                B    1     1     .     71.90  59.92  1.50(A)
 2 Donald Pollack         Herschell Levine         C    .     4     1     59.30  49.42  0.35(C)
 3 Gerri Heineman         Diana Stuck              B    5     3     .     64.90  54.08  0.44(A)
 4 Natalie Crowe          Darleen Young            C    .     .     .     50.60  42.17
 5 D. Thomas Terwilliger  Ambrish Bansal           A    2     .     .     71.70  59.75  1.13(A)
 6 Reeta Brendamour       Pam Campbell             A    4     .     .     66.10  55.08  0.67(A)
 7 John P LaMacchia       Nancy Hatch              C    .     .     2     52.30  43.58  0.25(C)
 8 Elaine Rothstein       Fran Hamilton            C    .     .     .     46.80  39.00
 9 Susan Stacy Vanstone   Cecilia Kloecker         B    .     .     .     57.80  48.17
10 Barry Wauligman        Joy Singerman            B    3     2     .     68.20  56.83  0.84(A)
11 Kathy Rice             Carol Scovic             C    .     .     .     51.80  43.17
12 Liz Lin                Fred Keyes               B    .     .     .     58.60  48.83

                                          Totals                         720.00

score correction on board 2


                                    **PAIRS**
BOARD     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    10    11    12
  /
   1>   3.70  0.70        3.70  4.30  1.30  0.70  1.30  4.30  3.70        1.30
         140*  100*  ----  140* -100  -140   100* -140  -100   140*  ---- -140

   2>     2-    2-          2-    2-  4.90  4.90    2-  0.10  0.10          2-
        -110* -110*  ---- -110*  110   140  -100*  110   100  -140*  ----  110

   3>   4.90  3.70        0.70  1.30  4.30    2-  4.30    2-  0.70        0.10
         650*  300*  ----   50* -300   -50   100*  -50  -100    50*  ---- -650

   4>   1.30  1.90  0.10  4.90  1.90  4.90        3.70  3.10        0.10  3.10
        -100  -110* -140*  130* -110*  140   ----  100*  110   ---- -130   110

   5>   3.70  3.70  4.90  1.30  1.30  0.10        1.30  3.70        3.70  1.30
         130  -110*  140* -130* -130* -140   ---- -130*  130   ----  130   110

   6>   4.90  1.30  4.30    2-  4.30  0.70        0.10  0.70          2-  3.70
         110  -100*  110*   50*  110* -110   ---- -110* -110   ----  -50   100

   7>         0.70  1.90  0.10  4.30        4.90  1.90  4.30  3.10  0.70  3.10
         ---- -630   600* -100*  630*  ----  100   600*  630* -600  -630  -600

   8>         3.70  3.10  3.10  4.90        1.90  0.10  1.30  4.90  0.10  1.90
         ----  450  -420* -420* -400*  ----  420  -460* -450*  460   400   420

   9>         3.70  3.10  0.10  3.10        4.90  4.90  1.30  0.10  1.90  1.90
         ----  100   650* -200*  650*  ----  200   680* -100* -680  -650  -650

  10>   3.70  1.30  1.30  0.70        3.70  3.70        0.70  4.30  1.30  4.30
         140* -140  -140  -100*  ----  140*  140*  ---- -100*  100  -140   100

  11>   4.30    2-  0.70  1.30        4.30    2-        0.10  4.90  0.70  3.70
         150* -120  -150   110*  ----  150*  120*  ----   90*  -90  -150  -110

  12>   1.90  3.10  3.10  1.90        1.90  1.90        4.90  0.10  3.10  3.10
         420* -420  -420   420*  ----  420*  420*  ----  480* -480  -420  -420

  13>   4.30        4.30        4.30  4.30    2-  0.70  0.70  0.70    2-  0.70
         650   ----  650   ---- -170* -170*  620  -650*  170  -650* -620*  170

  14>   3.70        4.90        4.90  3.70    2-  0.10  1.30  1.30    2-  0.10
         170   ----  180   ----  150*  100*  120  -180* -100  -170* -120* -150

  15>   4.30        4.30        3.70  3.70  1.30  0.70  1.30  0.70  3.70  1.30
         650   ----  650   ---- -620* -620*  620  -650*  620  -650* -620*  620

  16>     4-     -     -    3     4-    4-     -    2     2     4-    3      -
          90  -150   -90*  -50    90   150*  -90* -110    50*  150*  110* -150

  17>     3-    0     1-    2     3-    0     1-    1     3     5     4     5
        -450  -980   450* -460  -450   -50*  450* -480   460*  980*  480*   50

  18>     4     3     4-     -     -    0     1     2     4-    2     3     5
         630   620  -150*  150   150  -660* -630*  600  -150* -620* -600*  660

  19>     3     0     3     0     2     5     1     5     3     2     2     4
        1440*-1470  1440*  660*-1440  -660   690* 1470* 1440*-1440 -1440  -690

  20>     5     3     0     4     0     1     2     2     2     5     3     3
         200* -110  -100*  140* -200  -140   110*  110*  110*  100  -110  -110

  21>      -    4-    2-    2-    4-    2-    4      -    5     2-    0     1
        -130*  130  -120* -120*  130   120  -100* -130*  100*  120  -100   100

  22>     1     4-    2     1     4-     -     -    1     3     4     4     4
        -120*   50*   90  -120*   50*  -50   -50  -120*  -90*  120   120   120

  23>     0     1-    1     1-    3     3-    2     5     4     3-    5     0
        -600* -130* -130  -130* -100*  130   100   200*  130*  130   600  -200

  24>     4-    3     4     1     4-    2      -    1     1     4      -    4
         420*  140*   50   -50*  420* -140  -420   -50*  -50*   50  -420    50

  25>   1.30  4.90  3.70  3.70    2-  4.90  1.30  0.10          2-  0.10
        -200*  300   -90*  200   110   110*   90  -110   ---- -110* -300*  ----

  26>   0.70  4.30  3.70  4.30  1.30  3.70  1.30  1.30        3.70  0.70
        -100*  100   140*  100  -140   140* -140  -140   ----  140* -100*  ----

  27>   0.70  1.30    2-  4.30  0.10  0.70    2-  4.30        4.90  3.70
        -420* -100    50*  420  -150  -420*  -50   420   ----  150*  100*  ----
Wednesday Bridge Club, Wednesday Mor, December 6, 2017

Wednesday Bridge Club Wednesday Mor Session December 6, 2017
Pair   Wins   Score      Overall Rank      MPs
                         A     B     C
  1    4.00   81.00  B   1     1          0.40(OA) John Ramsay - Julian Magnus, Jr
  9    4.00   72.00  A   2                0.30(OA) Alice Lucas - Nancy Willis
  4    4.00   71.00  C   3     2          0.23(OA) Paul Tyndal - Jim Tewel
  6    5.00   68.00  C   4                0.25(SA) Jeanne Bossart - Sharon Wright
  2    3.00   62.00  C                    0.15(SA) Rod Kaplan - Joe Moravec
  7    3.00   60.00  A                    0.15(SA) Alison Gorski - Michael Lipp
 10    3.00   57.00  A                    0.15(SA) Patrick Hoffman - Steve Messinger
  5    3.00   52.00  A                    0.15(SA) Elmer Hubka - Thomas Deddens
  3    2.00   50.00  C                    0.10(SA) Kayla Springer - Beth Wales
  8    0.00   27.00  B                             Diane Hawkins - Ginny Myers

For those of you who play DONT (Disturbing Opponent's No-Trump), that works fine in the direct seat after a strong 1 NT opening, but it doesn't work quite so well in the balancing seat. In the balancing (pass-out) seat, you'd like to have a penalty double, and DONT doesn't have one. It's reasonable to play that bids in the balancing seat are natural (i.e., if you bid Hearts, you actually have Hearts. Crazy isn't it?).

E/W lose one Heart trick, two Spades, and one Diamond, making three. South will lead the ♠ A (asking for attitude) and probably continue Spades at trick two.

As if one example of natural bids in the balancing seat weren't enough, here's another. Odd.

N/S lose one Club trick, two Diamonds, and three Hearts, down one. East may lead the ♣ K. Declarer will win in their hand and lead a small Heart. West will win and lead a trump. Declarer will go up with the ♠ K and lead the ♥ K to East's ♥ A. If East returns a Spade, they'll lose their natural trump trick. If East doesn't return a Spade, then declarer will be able to ruff a Heart (dropping the ♥ Q). Dang.

It's more likely that East will return a trump, since their partner could easily have the ♠ J. Back in with the ♠ J, declarer will finish pulling trump and exit with a small Heart to West's ♥ Q. West will cash the ♣ J, and if East forgets to overtake with the ♣ Q, N/S will make two. Why is that? Well, West will be out of everything but Diamonds, and Diamonds is a frozen suit. If West leads a small Diamond, declarer simply inserts the ♦T and East has to play the ♦ A making North's ♦ K good. If West leads the ♦ Q , declarer obviously covers and again, N/S make two. If East overtakes the ♣ J, they can exit with their fourth Heart to put declarer back in their hand. Declarer doesn't want to play the Diamond suit either, but they have no choice. Nice defense!

Wouldn't you open the South hand 4 ♣ not vulnerable? Didn't you? Wouldn't you raise to game with the North hand? Didn't you? #sad

N/S lose one Spade trick and two Hearts, down one......if West leads a major. If West chooses the "safe" ♦ 7 lead (MUD and beer card), N/S make seven. Heh.

West's hand gets a bit better when N/S claim length in Diamonds (i.e., they picture the singleton Diamond in partner's hand). E/W lose two Spade tricks and one Heart, making four. North will lead the ♦ 3.

Why is West's takeout double "Pick a major" on this hand? Think about South's 1 NT bid over 1 ♦. South is denying a four-card major, and the auction 1 ♦ - 1 NT almost always guarantees 4+ Clubs in responder's hand. There you go.

Although N/S can technically make 3 NT or 5 ♣, is declarer really going to drop the singleton ♣ K offside on this auction? Not unless they peek. N/S lose one Heart trick, one Diamond, and one Club, making four. South's slow Spade loser will go away on the ♦ K. If West leads a trump, declarer might get the Club suit right. A small Spade or even the ♥ J (Away from the ♥ A? Horrors!!!) are better.

If you're South, make sure you're ready to pass in tempo (i.e., smoothly) when your RHO opens 1 ♦. Don't sit there fidgeting for what seems like forever and then pass. That's a no-no. Also don't ask "Could East's Diamonds be as short as one? Or zero?"

E/W lose three Spade tricks, one Heart, and one Diamond, making two. North will lead the ♦T, covered by the ♦ J and ♦ K. South will switch to the ♥ 2 at the second trick, declarer will duck, and the ♥ J will win. North will return a small trump to South's ♠ K, and South will exit with another Heart. Declarer will win the ♥ A, ruff a Heart with the ♠ J, play a Club to the ♣ K, and ruff their last Heart with dummy's ♠ Q. North's ♠ A and ♠ 8 will be the last two tricks for the defense.

East has no reason to mess around with XYZ or Fourth-Suit Forcing on this auction--those bids are used when responder either needs additional information from their partner or needs to share more information with their partner short of game. Neither of those is true on this hand.

E/W take four Heart tricks, four Spades, one Diamond, and one Club, making four....unless South finds the lead of the ♦ 6 (or a safe Heart or Spade lead). That's not gonna happen.

South will probably lead the ♦ J. North will win with the ♦ K and return a Diamond to the ♦ 7 (beer card) and ♦T. South can't afford to cash the ♦ A, or E/W will quickly make four, so they'll probably exit with the ♥ 8. Declarer will win in dummy and finesse against North's supposed ♠ K. When that works, and the ♠ K falls on the third round, declarer can afford to play the ♦ Q to South's ♦ A and the ♦ 9 will be declarer's tenth trick.

South would love to play in 6 ♣, but they can picture the Spade lead rocketing through their flimsy ♠ K4 to West's ♠ AQ on opening lead. They try 3 ♠ (Western Cue) to see if North happens to have the ♠ A or ♠ Q. When West doubles again and North passes, South takes one more shot with a natural 4 NT (inviting 6 NT), but North has bid their hand and passes. North might even try to bid 3 NT over 4 NT hoping that East accidentally accepts.

N/S take four Heart tricks, two Diamonds, and five Clubs, making five. If West leads the ♠ A or any Spade, N/S will make six. West should lead something that's not a Spade.

E/W lose one Diamond trick and one Club, making five. North will lead the ♦ 5.

See boards #1 and #2 for a conversation about natural overcalls of 1 NT in the balancing seat.

E/W lose two Spade tricks, one Heart, and one Club, making three. South may lead the ♦ J. Declarer will win with dummy's ♦ K and run the ♠ 9. In with the ♠ Q, South will cash the ♠ A, ♣ A, ♥ A, and exit with a Heart (i.e., they're in a hurry to go get snacks).

East has no pressing reason to rebid 1 ♠--their hand is flat. E/W take three Spade tricks, two Hearts, two Diamonds, and one Club, making two. South may lead the ♠ 9 looking for their partner's non-existent Spade suit.

East bids 5 ♦ fully expecting to make. If their partner wasn't already a passed hand, they might try a double first, but where else do they expect to play the hand? West figures that if their partner can take 11 tricks in Diamonds, their hand has to offer an additional trick. Never put down a dummy that you're overly proud of--that means you didn't bid enough.

E/W lose one Club trick, making six. South will lead the ♥ 2 (fourth best from an honor).

Don't blast 4 ♠ with the North hand after 1 ♠ - 2 ♥--that shows a preemptive hand! The North hand is not preemptive. Remember, a cuebid is the only way to show a REALLY GOOD raise for your partner's suit in a competitive auction (i.e., one where both sides are bidding). A splinter bid also works, but sometimes you don't have a singleton or void, so there.

N/S lose one Heart trick, one Diamond, and one Club. West may lead the ♣ 4. East will hop with the ♣ A (dropping the stiff ♣ K) and return the ♥ 6. If West leads anything else, N/S will make five when North's Hearts go away on declarer's Diamonds. Heh.

Now, please don't email me to say "Hey stupid. If West leads the ♣ Q, ♣ 9, or ♣ 7, N/S won't make five!!!"

When your RHO opens and you have a monster hand (i.e., one that would have opened 2 ♣ or 2 NT if left to it's own devices), start with a takeout double and then cuebid opener's suit at your next turn.

N/S take four Spade tricks, two Hearts, three Diamonds, and two Clubs, making five. West may lead the ♥T. Missing only 12 HCP, it's pretty obvious how to play this one.

N/S lose one Spade trick and two Diamonds, making four. East may lead the ♦T.

E/W lose three Spade tricks and one Diamond, making three. North may lead the ♠ A and continue Spades.

Experts usually play that a 5 NT bid on auctions such as this one is Pick a Slam. West doesn't have room to investigate whether their partner has three or more Hearts, so they bid 5 NT as a general "Hey, which slam would you like to be in?". East has no reason not to play in Hearts, since Spades are either 1-1 or 2-0. If they're 2-0, then South can't lead one or West is void.

South will lead their stiff ♠ 7, and North will win trick one with the ♠ A. With nothing better to do at trick two, North may exit with their stiff Heart. Declarer will win in their hand and take a few moments to contemplate the rest of the hand. With 11 top tricks (five Hearts, two Spades, one Diamond, and three Clubs), declarer needs to find one more trick. If Clubs split 3-3, declarer's ♣ 8 will be their 12th trick, but that's only a 36% chance (less with Spades splitting 7-1). There will be a squeeze if the person holding ♣ Jxxx also holds ♦ Kx, but again, if anybody has that holding it will be South. Why is that? Well, North has seven Spades and one Heart. How can they hold four Clubs and two Diamonds? Unless I'm extra drunk, that seems to be 14 cards.

Since the squeeze operates only against South, it makes more sense to pull trump in four rounds, lead a Club to the ♣ K, cash the ♠ K and ♠ Q pitching Diamonds (South's also pitches two Diamonds), and lead a small Club to dummy's ♣T. When that works, the slam rolls home.

N/S take two Club tricks, four Diamonds, three Spades, and one Heart.....as long as East doesn't find a small Heart lead. If they do lead a Heart, E/W take three Hearts and the ♣ A. If they don't, declarer will be able to scramble for 10 tricks. What did you lead?

E/W take three Spade tricks, four Hearts, two Clubs, and five Diamonds, making seven. North may lead a Spade. Declarer wins in their hand and immediately takes the Heart hook. When that works, they'll direct their attention to setting up the Diamonds. When that works (the ♦ Q drops under the ♦ K), they'll claim.

NOTE: If North overcalls 1 ♠, declarer will have an easier time dropping the doubleton ♦ Q (i.e., they're missing only eight HCP). That said, there's no reason for North to overcall with a minimum hand and such a pitiful suit.

E/W lose three Diamond tricks, making four. South's best lead is a Heart (i.e., every other lead immediately costs a trick). Declarer will win in their hand with the ♥ K, lead the ♠ J, covered by the ♠ K and ♠ A, and exit with a small trump to the ♦T. South will win the ♦ J, cash the ♦ K, and exit with another Heart. Declarer will win with the ♥ A in dummy, pitching a Club from their hand, and ruff a Heart. To take 10 tricks, declarer now has to give North their ♦ A. North's best exit is the ♣T, but declarer can hop with the ♣ A and finesse South for the ♠T. When Spades split 3-3, declarer can pitch their three losing Clubs on dummy's Spades.

If West leads a small Diamond ("Fourth from my longest and strongest, partner"), and East blindly grabs the ♦ A and returns a Diamond ("Return your partner's suit, partner"), N/S will take five Club tricks, two Diamonds, one Heart, and one Spade, making three. Um, that's not so good for E/W. Better would be for West to lead the ♠ A and continue Spades at trick two. On that defense, N/S take one Spade, one Heart, and five Clubs. Let's see.....1 + 1 + 5 is....carry the 8....divide by 37.....um, 7! Nine tricks is more than seven tricks.

Don't defend based on stale maxims. Think at the table!

North's spot cards are terrible, so they decide that 2 NT is the place to play. If this were a team game (IMPs), North would bid 3 NT.

N/S take four Club tricks, three Diamonds, and one Spade, making two. East will lead the ♥ Q.

East has no reason to bid 3 ♦ the first time through, but when the auction dies in 3 ♣ they muster up the courage to enter the auction.

E/W lose one Spade trick, one Heart, and one Diamond, making four. South may lead the ♣ 3. Once North is known to have either the ♣ Q or ♣ K (i.e., South didn't lead the ♣ K from ♣ KQ), South is guaranteed to have the ♥ A and is a strong favorite to have the ♥ Q as well.

When partner opens one of a major, you respond 3 ♦ (a Bergen Raise showing 7-9 HCP and four or more cards in partner's major), and partner tries to sign off at the three level, feel free to bid game if you have a fifth trump or a singleton or void somewhere. You'll make game right around 57% of the time with that holding opposite an attempted sign-off. Compare that to the 32% of the time you'll make game with exactly four trump and no shortness. 32% is somewhat less than 57%.

E/W lose four tricks (yeah, that's all the analysis you get on this one). North will lead a card....probably the ♣ 4. If declarer tries to ruff two Clubs, they'll lose two trump tricks.

West borrows a King in the balancing seat and starts with a double. East (after deducting a King to reduce their hand to seven HCP) responds 1 ♥. West shows their Spade suit, and East's hand is still worth a raise. That's all the encouragement West needs, and the reasonable game is reached.

E/W lose two Club tricks, one Spade, and one Heart, down one. North will lead the ♣ K (asking for count) and continue with the ♣ A and ♣ J. Declarer will ruff the third Club, play a Heart to the ♥ A, and lead a Spade to the ♠T and ♠ K. North has nothing better to do than exit with a Diamond. Declarer can win this in dummy and take a successful finesse in Spades, but they have no way to return to dummy to take the Heart hook. Alas.

Make a note of West's "correction" to 2 ♥. If E/W were playing a "weak notrump" where a 1 NT opening shows 12-14 HCP, how would West bid the hand? Wouldn't they bid 2 ♦ as a transfer to 2 ♥ and then pass? Of course they would. This auction is essentially the same thing.

E/W lose two Spade tricks, one Heart, and one Diamond, making three. North may lead the ♦ A (asking for attitude) and switch to the ♠T at trick two.

North invites with 3 ♥ and South says nope. N/S lose one Spade trick, one Heart, and one Club, making four. West may lead a trump.

N/S take two Spade tricks, four Diamonds, two Hearts, and one Club, making three. East may lead a small Spade, and West will win with the ♠ K when declarer ducks. West has no reason not to exit with a Spade to dummy's stiff ♠ A--East may have the ♠ Q and a side entry. In with the ♠ A, declarer should cash the ♦ A (i.e., they know that Diamonds are 5-0 or 4-1), and lead the ♦ 7 (beer card) towards the closed hand. West will play the ♦ 8, and the ♦ 9 will win. A small Heart is led towards dummy, and East may hop with the ♥ K and continue with a Spade to declarer's ♠ Q. The ♥ 9 to the ♥ Q allows declarer to again take the marked finesse in Diamonds, and West will grab their ♦ K and exit with a Heart to declarer's ♥ A, but declarer still has two winning Diamonds and the ♣ A to cash. Nicely played!

North's hand has zero value in a Diamond contract, so they rebid their Hearts. Smart move.

N/S lose one Spade trick, one Heart, one Club, and a Diamond ruff, making three. East will lead the ♠ K. Declarer will win in dummy with the ♠ A and put a second Spade on the table. West will hop with the ♠T to play back a trump, but declarer will grab the ♥ A and ruff their losing Spade with dummy's last trump. With no easy way back to their hand, declarer will probably play the ♦ A (dropping the ♦ K) and continue with the ♦ Q, ruffed by East with the ♥ 7. As long as declarer guesses correctly in Clubs, they'll make three.

N/S lose three Diamond tricks and one Club, making three. East may lead the ♣ 3 (low from an honor in partner's suit).

E/W lose one Heart trick, making six. South will lead the ♠ K. Since South is more likely to be short in Clubs, the correct way to play the Club suit is small from the closed hand towards the ♣ A in dummy. When South shows out, declarer will go up with the ♣ A, lead a small Club to the ♣ J, cash the ♦ A and ♦ K, ruff a Diamond with the ♣ 7, ruff a Spade, and ruff their last Diamond with the ♣T. Another Spade ruff allows declarer to pull North's last trump and lead a Heart towards dummy's ♥ K for an overtrick (declarer's last three cards are the ♥ 65 ♣ 9).

N/S lose two Heart tricks, two Spade tricks, and a trump "uppercut." What's an uppercut? Does it hurt? Well, yes it often does. An uppercut is another word for a trump promotion--forcing declarer to ruff a trick higher than they want to, so the defense gets a trump trick when they otherwise would not.

West will lead the ♥ K (asking for count) and switch to the ♠ 3 at trick two. After cashing the ♠ K and ♠ A, East will return the ♥ J to West's ♥ Q, and West will play the ♥ A. Declarer has to ruff with the ♣ K, or East's ♣ J will be an immediate fifth trick for the defense. Even if declarer does ruff high, E//W's combined ♣T and ♣ J will always generate a trick. Try it!

It's hard for West to appreciate the value of their void in partner's first bid suit. I have sympathy for them.

E/W lose one Spade trick and two Hearts, making four. South will lead the ♥ A and continue with the ♥ K at trick two. A small Diamond is next. Declarer will win in dummy with the ♦ K and lead the ♠T. If North covers, declarer will win with the ♠ A and duck a Spade to South's ♠ Q. South may exit with a Diamond to dummy's ♦ A, but declarer can lead the ♥ J for a ruffing finesse against North. After ruffing the ♥ Q low, declarer will pull the last trump with the ♠ J, cash the ♣ A and ♣ K (pitching dummy's losing Diamonds), ruff a Club with dummy's last trump, and cash the ♥T and ♥ 8. Nicely played!

A 2 ♣ overcall of a 1 ♣ opening is Michaels. That said, there's no reason that 4 ♣ over 1 ♣ can't be used as Michaels as well, since there's no natural meaning to a 4 ♣ overcall of a 1 ♣ opening. North wants to play in game opposite any hand. With 6-6 in the majors, there's no pressing reason for North to choose which major to play in--they want to play in their partner's longer major. South thinks that they don't have a "longer major" (silly South) so South bids their five-card Diamond suit. North is having none of that and corrects to Hearts.

N/S lose two Spade tricks, making five. East will lead a trump. Declarer will win, cash the ♠ A, and ruff a Spade with dummy's last trump (noting the fall of East's ♠ K). The ♦ A and a Diamond ruff (declarer noting the fall of West's ♦ K) are followed by three more high Hearts, declarer pitching two Diamonds and a Club from dummy. The ♠ J is next, West winning with the ♠ Q. If West tries to cash their ♣ A, declarer will ruff with their last trump and put West back in with the ♠T. West, with nothing left but Clubs would have to lead a Club to dummy's ♣ K and the ♦ J would be declarer's 11th trick. If West simply cashes their other high Spade instead, declarer's hand is good. Nicely played!

N/S lose one Club trick, making six. West will lead the ♣ A and continue with the ♣ Q at trick two. Declarer will ruff in their hand, cash the ♥ A, and ruff a Heart. The ♦ J is next, and when the ♦ K proves to be onside, the hand is essentially over (declarer needs Spades to be no worse than 4-2).

I get axed all the time "How do you decide which hand is the master hand?" This board is a good example for this question. If you look at the South hand as the master hand, you're thinking "How do I pull trump and still ruff all those stupid Hearts?" If you look at the North hand as the master hand, you think "It looks like I'll have to ruff one Club and one Spade, and as long as Spades are no worse than 4-2 I'm making six! Isn't Bridge easy?" That's how to tell.

N/S lose one Spade trick, three Hearts, one Diamond, and one Club, down one on perfect defense. East has to lead a Spade at trick one (unlikely), and declarer will win in their hand with the ♠ J. A small Heart is next, and West will win (overtaking their partner's ♥ K if necessary) to lead a second Spade. It doesn't matter whether declarer hops with the ♠ A or ducks it to East's ♠ K, they won't be able to ruff a Heart. Stupid trump leads.....