Last night John Faben and Phil Moon joined Anna and I for some social bridge. It was a very enjoyable evening, the only disappointment being some gluten free biscuits.
We played a series of Chicago movements and generally bid and played pretty accurately. Featured below is the best hand I got; where of course I overbid:
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First hand vulnerable John opened a Weak Two, with a poor hand but decent Spades. I figured if he had even ♠KQxxxx slam could be good, so launched straight into Blackwood. I then had a vague thought that we might be better in Hearts or Diamonds but it was too late now, and John replied showing one Ace. I then asked for the Queen of trumps, which was denied, so settled for 5♠.
Unfortunately John's only points outside Spades were the fairly useless ♣Q, so this was going to be a struggle.
He got a lead of a low Heart to the ♥A and ♥J return, then drew trumps losing one to the ♠Q. He now needed the rest. Under the pressure of running his trumps West had to discard the ♣K which gave declarer another trick but that was only his tenth (five Spades, one Hearts, two Diamonds, two Clubs). I thought you might be able to make it if you both ruff the Club in dummy and set up Hearts for a Diamond discard, but I'm not sure if you've got the entries for that.
I just put the hand into Bridge Solver (with the exact spot cards above, which might not be accurate), and it confirms that only 10 tricks are available. If you try and set up the Hearts you end up ruffing too many times in your hand, and West gets a long trump trick. So North's exuberant bidding is to blame.
At the end of the evening Anna emerged as the individual winner.
