1. 3NT was by no means comfortable for EW but it crept home at six tables, with all four Oxon declarers successful. Day/Lonsdale were the only defenders to emerge with +50 after declarer made the unsuccessful decision to cash §AK before attacking spades. Dancer/Southcombe’s oppos did not bid game.

3. With §A and four obvious diamonds to lose minimum, most NSs in 3NT had little chance. Against me, East wasted ¨10 prematurely and I was able to unpick the black suits and emerge with nine tricks. All our EWs defended better than this and the ‘A’ team managed to gain 5 IMPs because Day/Lonsdale judged their 25 points well and stayed in 1NT.

Against Noble/Wilkes, the bidding was 1§ - 2ª - 3§ - 4NT - 5ª - 6NT. How South can bid on over 5ª knowing two of the five aces are missing is a bit of a mystery, but still. After the reasonable ª10 lead, South could do little but win in hand and knock out §A. Wilkes (I think) had an unenviable return to find and it’s hard to anticipate that declarer is missing either ace.

If declarer has both red aces and no red king, he only seems to have 11 tricks (although West might be squeezable). With both aces and one king, it’s laydown. If he has ©AKJ and no ¨A, a diamond return is vital. If he has ¨AKx(x) and no ©A, it has to be a heart return. Since that’s more likely than a specific holding of ©AKJ, a heart return looks more logical to me but it’s far from easy.

Day/Lonsdale and the Lintotts’ oppos both looked for slam and baled out in 5ª, going an unlucky one off. Game elsewhere.

Paul’s spade lead was ruffed. East crossed to ©K and found out the bad news in trumps. It looks tempting to force declarer with another spade but Paul opted for a ¨Q switch. In with the next club, Paul cashed ©A and now hit spades. ¨K was ruffed, §A was cashed and the last club locked him in dummy. Alex was able to win ¨J and take the rest.

Paul could place Alex with 7330 including ¨J because declarer had already pitched a diamond from hand. He would hardly do so from ¨Jxxx as that would block the suit. A beautifully crafted 1400. Declarer does better not to play on trumps at all.

Elsewhere, 1ª - (2NT) - ? was a more typical start. Lonsdale opted for a simple 4ª raise and West decided that the colour now justified a 5¨ bid. At pairs, maybe, but there are so few tricks in this hand that I think you’re asking for 800 or 1100. Dummy was better than might have been expected but with the clubs as they are 800 was still the result.

With 14 HCP, ruffing values and such crunching clubs, I prefer double with the South hand, showing the ability to double at least one of their suits. Then, if partner doubles 3¨ you can call 4ª (opposite a 5-card major opening) and it may be clearer what to do over five of a minor. At our table, Goldsmith doubled 2NT, West passed and I just bashed 4ª which Goldsmith did well to leave. Just the game, then. Indeed, it was pretty flat in the ‘B’ team match where all the EWs conceded 620 or 650.

Southcombe/Dancer might have done better, I suspect. North opened 4ª and East came in with 4NT. This seems to have been passed round to North who made the best of a bad job by bidding 5ª. South must double 4NT in my view. The Duttons’ oppos also played in 5ª but I don’t know the sequence.

The only EW to concede less than 620 were Badiani/Cohen against Mason/Odams. Badiani (E) made a restrained overcall of 2§ on the 1st round and South doubled (??). North jumped to 3ª and now Badiani’s 3NT was intended to show clubs and shorter diamonds. South doubled but Cohen declined to call 4¨ and Badiani rescued himself to 4§. South found his third double to end the auction. A spade was led but Badiani read the cards well and declined to touch trumps. Spades appeared to be 3-7.

Trying to keep control by playing on ¨ first, he cashed ¨A (Q dropping). So he switched to hearts and South went in with ©A on the 1st round. Another spade ruffed, cross to ©K, ¨ to 9, K and ruff. South played a heart which Badiani ruffed and when North followed suit he was marked with 7330.

At trick 8 a ¨ was led towards dummy’s 10 but South ruffed in to force Badiani again (he’s now down to KJ) On the next diamond, South chose not to ruff. Now any old non-trump can be played from dummy because South, down to trumps only, must ruff and lead back to §KJ. So Badiani went for just 300 — well played, sir!

6. This was the one set of curtain cards to go missing. Wilkes/Noble made 4ª* with the EW cards while game made four times for NS. Dancer/Southcombe might have made it five but good defence left them one short in 5§.

Fifteen top tricks but two spade losers — can you find out in time? Goldsmith opened a strong 1§ and was surprised to get a positive. He asked in diamonds and clubs and eventually spades. When I showed ªxx, there was nothing for it but to stop in five of a minor. With 3NT and 6m in trouble, we thought this might be a good score.

The only other pair to reach the "correct" spot were the Duttons’ oppos but there were also a couple of 720s (by Day/Lonsdale and against the Lintotts) and a –1390. You have to feel sorry for Noble/ Wilkes. The sequence against them studiously avoided a spade cue-bid but what would you lead from the West hand? ©Q, I suspect.

Apart from 5m, the next best contract is probably 7m. Day didn’t consider the North hand worth a positive in Precision (or even a 3§ response) so it started 1§ - 1¨ - 3NT. Day emerged belatedly with 4§. Lonsdale tried 4¨ and Day went back to 4NT passed out. A bit lucky, but they’re on a good run lately.

Paul Fearnhead opened 2§ and Alex responded 4§. After 4¨ and 4© cues, 5§ apparently showed extras and Alex went on to 6§. West did well to find the spade lead. Elsewhere, Badiani managed to squeeze in a 3ª bid. Cohen led a spade against 6¨ and the club ruff meant it was +200.

There are too many queens missing for slam to be considered a good prospect and, with West holding ªKQ9 ©9 ¨KQ763 §Q532, no slam had any play.

We were one of the pairs to get too high. Goldsmith opened 1ª and rebid 3§ over 2©. My rebid of 4ª (i.e. DGR) indicated little or no slam interest but Goldsmith found a 5¨ cue all the same. When West doubled this, I redoubled to show 1st round control. Not good news for South, I think, but Goldsmith judged his hand worth another cue-bid of 5©. Now I can read him for 5-3-0-5 or 6-2-0-5 including ©A. Should I sign off in 5ª? I felt it was a 50/50 call and went for the slam. 6ª was doubled by West and Goldsmith did well to get out for one off.

Four pairs managed to stop low enough, two for each side, including the Fearnheads and Day/Lonsdale. The Fearnheads got a 2¨ overcall. Alex doubled that and Paul doubled 3¨. When Alex jumped to 4ª, Paul stayed put. Day/Lonsdale had the same Precision sequence up to 4ª as us but, unlike Goldsmith, Lonsdale did not go on over 4ª. Dancer/Southcombe bid 1ª - 2© - 3§ - 4ª - 6ª. 3§ is pushy enough in Acol but 6ª over four is un peu de trop. The Duttons and the Lintotts were unlucky that their oppos only reached game.

11. 3NT was 430ish at seven tables and once again it was Day/Lonsdale who emerged with the cream cakes. Without intervention, their oppos bypassed the obvious 3NT and alighted instead in 5¨, a 5-1 fit. An easy two off.

East opened a Multi, Goldsmith overcalled 2© and West (for some reason) bid 2ª, the final contract. What should I lead? ©K is an obvious choice but West may eventually be able to ruff hearts in the short hand and I could only over-ruff with natural trump tricks. As we may have the balance of strength, I preferred the ‘safer’ lead of ªQ.

Declarer was able to knock out §A, reach ¨K, discard a diamond and a heart on top clubs and eventually lead a heart from dummy. Goldsmith hopped up with ©A, felling my King, so declarer lost just two trumps and a trick in each of the other suits. He argued that if declarer has the King, dummy’s remaining heart might disappear on an established diamond. I countered that if declarer has ©K, the contract is making anyway, so you should assume not. Anyway, a mess.

Elsewhere, East was more commonly declarer and the natural diamond leads usually established a diamond winner and the chances of crashing the hearts were pretty well eliminated. So 100 or 200 to NS was more common although the Duttons also successfully made 2ª.

15. 4ª had an unavoidable four top losers but most pairs were unable to stop in time. Noble/Wilkes passed the hand out but otherwise only Southcombe/Dancer’s oppos were able to stop low enough.

16. EW have 24 points and chances in 3NT with the diamonds splitting well and ©K well placed. There are three hearts, three diamonds, two clubs and a spade on offer and I can’t see how the defence can prevail. Since we beat 3NT, I really ought to remember what happened, but I’m afraid I can’t.

Elsewhere there was a variety of contracts and Badiani/Cohen made 600 in 3NT, the only other time it was played (I think). All four ‘A team pairs managed a plus as well as three in the ‘B’ team, the biggest of which being Noble/Wilkes’s +300 from defending 1ª*.

19. The ‘B’ team’s best board. Precision’s 1§ opening yields its biggest gains on the rare occasions when the oppos are firmly in the driving seat but don’t realise it. After Goldsmith opened 1§ with the South hand, West had no very descriptive bid. He tried 1©, I passed and East raised to 2©. Goldsmith bid a mere 3¨ and West went to 4©. I was just as uncertain whose hand it was so I passed 4© and Goldsmith judged well to go on to 5¨, the final contract.

After a heart lead, the defence switched to the wrong black suit and §J was easily established for a spade discard — 400 to the good guys, overkill really.

Day/Lonsdale also gained a bit from the 1§ factor. West overcalled 4© and the two sides traded bids up to 6¨ which was doubled and just two off. As it turns out, the heart pips are such that EW can’t actually make 6© but most EWs got a more substantial plus than that.

Both the Duttons and Noble/Wilkes scored a bull’s eye 850 with 5©*. The Lintotts were undoubled for +680 while the Fearnheads successfully saved in 6¨, as did Badiani/Cohen’s oppos.

20. A routine 620. We alone "beat" 4ª but the truth is that declarer butchered it.

21. 400-450 for EW in NT or ©.

22. NS have three losers in 4ª if hearts are led but on any other lead, 480 was a stroll, as scored by all the Leics NSs and ourselves. Southcombe/Dancer got two overtricks in 4ª* but Day/Lonsdale were held to 420. The one NS pair to miss out were the Fearnheads who didn’t bid spades and defended 3© quietly for +100 (11 IMPS out).

Hard to say what’s best. 6¨ is superior to 6§ largely as a heart lead may not be automatic. With diamonds splitting and North holding §K642, 7¨ is unstoppable but hardly biddable.

But with just 29 points, 6¨ on a 4-4 fit is far from a cakewalk bidding-wise. At our table, West opened 1NT and a Baron sequence revealed the 4-4 diamond fit. East stretched to Blackwood and West owned up to just two of the five aces (!!). East settled for 6¨ and made 1390.

All the other EWs languished in NT or 5 of a minor, scoring between 600 and 720, with the exception of Southcombe/Dancer’s oppos who went 1NT - 4§ - 4ª - 6§. No, on 2nd thoughts, I don’t think I’m going to give them any credit at all; that is desperate but it got them 1370. Huh.

24. Scores of 90-180 for EW in NT or ¨.

25. 4ª and 5¨ made easily for NS. 6¨ would have been a little over 50% but no one bid it.

26. NS’s 4© was a simple affair — either the club finesse worked or it didn’t. It didn’t, but at red all the NSs were correct to go for it. Those who stopped out (the Fearnheads and Badiani/Cohen’s oppos) might be considered a little fortunate.

Goldsmith opened 1© and I was about to respond 3NT when West came in with 2© showing the blacks. I doubled to show values and 3-card support. East bid 2ª, South passed and West jumped to 4ª. I doubled.

First I had a good try at leading ª7 until it was pointed out that it was Goldsmith on lead. I think a spade lead stands out on his hand on that auction but he led ¨3 to my Ace. A heart return looked mandatory to avoid dummy’s heart loser disappearing on ¨K but I wasn’t sure who should be on lead at trick 3. So I led ©K. Partner declined to overtake so I was left on play. It had to be a spade, but which one?. Envisaging a 3-4-5-1 shape in the East hand, I felt the priority was to limit declarer to a maximum of one club ruff. If I led a low spade, declarer could win with the Jack, say, and cross-ruff the clubs good.

28. Stretching to 4ª wasn’t a good idea. After the three unavoidable Aces off the top (or even if they weren’t cashed) there was a heart suit of Axxx opposite Qxx to play for no losers and no suits to be established for discards. Here those who stopped short, including Badiani/Cohen and the Duttons, deserve their plus.

29. Like 17, four small pluses for each side, and four for EW, four for NS, so anyone’s guess. The Lintotts’ 110 in 2© was best. ‘A’ team +5, ‘B’ team –5.

31. EW might squeeze home in 2© but with points 20/20, some NSs gained a small plus by defending.

32. 2¨ + 1 was about par for NS who got seven modest pluses. The trend-buckers were Day/Lonsdale who made 2ª on a 4-3 fit — K1062 opposite Q43. Even with the Jack badly placed, this trump suit played for one loser because the defence insisted on leading it three times and they split 3-3. Lonsdale said thanks (probably literally, knowing him) and cashed his five club winners!