Many thanks to everyone!

That was an interesting match.  I think everyone would agree that there was a big difference between Menagerie A last time and Menagerie B this time.  Menagerie A contained top county players, while our opponents tonight were quite good but certainly not scary.  Blewbury won two of the four sessions and winning the match would have been perfectly possible...  but we made some mistakes, so that didn't happen.  (The biggest comedy mistake was perpetrated by me and Stuart.)

Scoreline: 166 vs. 60 IMPs and 16.84 vs. 3.16 VPs.  Blewbury are currently lying 5th out of the seven teams in Wessex League division 1, with two matches still to play.

MENAGERIE B: Philip Boydell + Christopher Whitehouse = +1.26 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: John Guilfoyle + Tony Guilfoyle = +0.83 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: Nicola Sutton + Sandra Claridge = +0.64 IMPs
MENAGERIE B: Helen Lawton Smith + John Slater = +0.21 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Dermot Paddon + Nigel Carter = +0.11 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Mike Brown + Malcolm Cochrane = +0.10 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Hilary Strang + Shirley Moore = -1.57 IMPs
BLEWBURY: Stuart Forsyth + Finn Clark = -1.58 IMPs

Click here for the RealBridge link to all the hands, or here for the Wessex League table.

BOARD 1: -5 IMPs

4♠ by North was bid at three tables and only made once.  (Malcolm knew he'd played the wrong card as soon as he did it at trick two.)

The other table was 5♣x-2 by West for -300, against me and Stuart.  The auction was interesting.  Stuart opened 3♠ and I quietly raised him to 4♠ with my 18-count.  This was passed around to East, who protected with 4NT on ♠ void ♥ QJ9875 ♦ K10 ♣ A10432.  (This obviously wasn't Blackwood from a passed hand, but showed a hand that wanted to compete and had 2+ places to play.  A single-suited hand would simply bid their suit.)  This is imaginative and would have been a masterstroke if 4♠ had been going to make, but unfortunately West held K1096 of trumps and North's got too much work to do in that contract.

BOARD 2: flat

East-West can make 11 tricks in no-trumps or either major.  South has two aces to cash against a slam, but not everyone slapped them down immediately and so sometimes twelve tricks were made.  This doesn't really matter at IMP scoring, though.

BOARD 3: flat

North-South can make game in no-trumps or either red suit, but only as the cards lie.  You'd be pretty nervous if you bid that high on this nondescript combined 22-count.

I'll mention the auction at our table, because I think this gadget could be useful for other people.  I dealt and passed as South with ♠ A10943 ♥ K98 ♦ 9854 ♣ 10.  Stuart opened 1♦ and I jumped to 2♠, showing 5+ spades as well as a diamond fit with partner's suit.  (Unfortunately, Stuart held a singleton spade and the auction died in 3♦.)  Anyway, we play fit-jumps under all circumstances, so for us that's what that bid always means.  Technically, though, I think the bid could also have that meaning even for pairs who'd normally be promising 17+ points for a jump shift...  because South had already passed as dealer!  You thus can't possibly hold 17+ points.

BOARD 4: -16 IMPs

North-South have a combined 26-count, long suits and two very nice hands...  but no one made game.  The computer says that 3NT+1 makes, but the computer knows the club king is doubleton offside and that declarer can set up the suit by ducking a club.  The king falls on the second round.

Back in the real world, though, that's not a play that any human will find.  Blewbury lost IMPs because we had more undertricks than Menagerie.

BOARD 5: +2 IMPs

4♠+2 everywhere, except for a 5♠+2 by Hilary and Shirley.  Two IMPs to Blewbury.  (There's no shame in missing that dodgy slam, because you're missing an ace and the trump king.)

Our table had another interesting auction.  I opened a tactical 1♣ in third seat and John Slater overcalled 1NT on ♠ AJ53 ♥ K5 ♦ AQJ7 ♣ 1086.  It's not a bid that would have occurred to me, but he regards it as normal against pairs who are playing a short club (e.g. Stuart and me).  I can see the argument.  Certainly it worked well for him here.  I think it probably depends on the opponents' system...  there are short clubs and short clubs.  They're not all the same.  Stuart and I only open a short 1♣ if we hold a weak no-trump, so against us the overcall's quite dangerous.  Against the system played by Nigel and Dermot, though, I can definitely see the bid's attractions.  (1♦, 1♥ and 1♠ all promise a five-card suit for them, so they open 1♣ on all kinds of hands and might have only a singleton.)

BOARD 6: -30 IMPs

3NT or 4S+1 was the normal result, but the spades don't break and one table ended in 4♠-1.

BOARD 7: +10 IMPs

2NT-1 or 3NT-1 by North-South was the order of the day.  South has a big fat 18-count...  and dummy is no help whatsoever.

Blewbury's 10 IMPs came from Nigel and Dermot.  Nigel opened the system bid of 1♣ as South, Dermot passed with ♣ A9653 and absolutely nothing else and East protected with 1♥.  I actually think that's an underbid.  You can add a king in the protective seat, so East's too strong for a direct overcall with an adjusted 18-count and should start with a double.

Anyway, Nigel quite liked this and passed to see what would happen.  Dummy put down three jacks and the contract drifted one off vulnerable.

BOARD 8: flat

East-West can make 2NT or 3 in either major.

BOARD 9: +2 IMPs

East-West can make an easy 3NT.  One Menagerie declarer dropped an overtrick.

BOARD 10: +2 IMPs

North-South's turn to pick up an easy game, in no-trumps or either black suit.

BOARD 11: -4 IMPs

North-South can make a spade part-score, but the Menagerie East-West against us bid 4♥-2 (not vulnerable).  To get a good score, Stuart and I needed to double this...  but even in hindsight, I don't think that's possible.  I'd opened a Weak Two and Stuart only holds three kings.

I was the only South to choose that opening, interestingly, with everyone else in my seat choosing to open 1♠.  I can see the attraction.  I did consider it.  In the system I play with Stuart, I still think 2♠ is the correct opening...  but a 1♠ opening is clearly more effective on this deal.  It steals the auction and shuts out East-West, while in contrast a Weak Two encourages the opponents to compete.  Something to think about there.  Opening at the one level is often effective for that kind of tactical reason.

BOARD 12: -7 IMPs

The mirror of Board 7.  Again, Nigel and Dermot left the opponents in 1♥-1...  but this was less successful here, because North-South can make game in either spades or no-trumps.  (No one bid it, though.  It needs luck and I was happy to be in only 3♠ when Stuart put down his dummy.)

I have a lot of sympathy for Nigel's pass with the South cards.  The alternatives (double, 1NT) are both fairly ugly and Stuart wouldn't have made my bid of 1NT.  When it comes around to North, though, I think a protective 1♠ overcall looks clear.  You've got quite a nice adjusted 12-count (nine in high cards and as usual adding a king in the protective seat).

BOARD 13: +20 IMPs

Blewbury went plus on all four tables, for our best board of the match.  3♦ by East (Hilary and Shirley), 3♠-1 by North (against Mike and Malcolm) and 4♦-1 at the other two tables.

BOARD 14: -17 IMPs

One Menagerie North-South made 3NT, while the other tables scored 3NT-2, 3NT-3 and 2♣+1.

What's more, there's nothing wrong with the defence (from Hilary and Shirley).  The contract fails played by South on a heart lead, but succeeds by North when East has nothing to indicate a heart lead.  (The auction went 1NT 2NT 3NT.)  Hilary's actual spade lead looks completely normal to me.

That said, though, this is a deal where a tactical heart bid from East would have been imaginative and successful.  You're in third seat, holding ♠ 1094 ♥ AQ1053 ♦ J642 ♣ 10.  Partner's passed and you hold a seven-count.  The opponents are as likely as not to have game values between them, so even a middling  penalty might well still gain IMPs.  Any opening bid on your hand would be a lie, be it 1♥ (you don't have the points) or 2♥ (you don't have the length).  Nonetheless, a heart bid of some kind would be highly effective on this hand, either by making it harder for the opposition to get their act together or just by telling partner what to lead!

1♥ or 2♥ would both definitely be an exaggeration, though, and could go badly wrong if partner gets carried away and you're unlucky.  I won't say that either is better than the other.  2♥ is the lesser lie (and you have a second suit, which improves the hand), but 1♥ is more likely to lead the opponents astray and stop them bidding game (see earlier discussion).  You could either call it a psyche or an, er, advance overcall.

BOARD 15: -2 IMPs

4♥ everywhere, with one or two overtricks.

BOARD 16: +18 IMPs

3NT by North-South is the correct contract, for +400.

2♠x-3 vulnerable by East-West for -800 is definitely not the correct contract, but Stuart and I were grateful.  Stuart started with our two-way 2♦ opening (either 18-19 balanced or garbage with a major) and East chose the wrong time to make an aggressive 2♠ overcall.  Firstly, he was facing a passed partner.  Secondly, the vulnerability was against him.

BOARD 17: +2 IMPs

A challenging 4♥ contract for East-West.  Two declarers went off, while two made an overtrick.  (Congratulations to Mike and Malcolm.)  The winning line is to say to yourself "I've got a wonderful side-suit (clubs) so let's draw trumps immediately so that I can get on with running it".

BOARD 18: flat

5♣+1 at all tables.  Unless you're an England international, I don't think slam's biddable.

South held ♠ void ♥ 1084 ♦ J85 ♣ AKQJ876, while North held ♠ J1065 ♥ 9 ♦ AKQ32 ♣ 943.  Also, South can diagnose partner's heart shortage because you have three in your hand and the opponents are bidding hearts like billy-oh.  The key to the hand, though, is that North's points are all where you want them (a big diamond suit) instead of sitting there uselessly in spades.  You also don't know about the three-card club support.

South has the option of competing in diamonds, admittedly, which might perhaps change the mathematics...  but Stuart made a negative double because he's got four spades.  That looks unimpeachable to me, since it's often winning tactics to look for a spade fit in competitive auctions.

BOARD 19: flat

North played the hand at all four tables and went off everywhere.  2♥-1, 1NT-2, 1NT-2 and 1NT-3.

BOARD 20: -2 IMPs

3NT-2 and 4♥-2 at two tables, but there was also 3♥ (making) and a cheeky but unlucky North-South stealing the hand in 2♠-1 the other way.

BOARD 21: -52 IMPs

The most outrageous board.

Both Menagerie North-Souths bid and made the obvious, unbreakable 4♠.

One Menagerie East-West found an excellent sacrifice in 5♣-1.  The auction's interesting.  Helen Lawton Smith opened 1♣, Nigel made a Michaels-like overcall to show the majors (being actually 6511), John Slater doubled and Dermot jumped straight to 4♠.  This was passed back around to John Slater, who now made an interesting bid...  4NT.  This can't be Blackwood, obviously.  No one's looking for slam here.  It's another indeterminate noise saying "two places to play, partner" and it got them an excellent result.  (It's actually even more dramatic than that, because declarer misplayed the hand and should have made an overtrick.  Instead of crossing to dummy in hearts to take the losing diamond finesse, just bash out diamonds from the top while you still have a heart stop.  As it happens, the king drops singleton offside.)

The fourth table was high comedy.  Philip Boydell opened 1♣ and I overcalled 2♦ (Michaels-like to show the majors because we'd have played 1♣ 2♣ as natural).  You might remember Stuart and I had had a Michaels-like catastrophe in our last Wessex League match with that 1♣ 2♣ overcall.  We'd had a system discussion after that and this was the outcome...  but this was the first time we'd used it in anger.  Well, a nice, juicy disaster is just what you need to lodge a system point in your head.  Stuart will remember it next time!

This would have been even funnier if other East-Wests had bid and made 6♦.  (They can make a slam in either minor if you guess to drop the diamond king offside, as just discussed.)  "Why did you stop in 2♦?"  "That wasn't us, it was the opponents sitting the other way..."

BOARD 22: -4 IMPs

In contrast, a quiet board.  North-South can make 11 tricks in either black suit.  Everyone bid game, but it's a question of which denomination you choose.

BOARD 23: -27 IMPs

Philip Boydell and Christopher Whitehouse bid the cast-iron 6♠ against us.  No other East-Wests found that, alas, so that was a vulnerable slam swing.  Their auction was 1♥ 1♠ 2NT (18-19 balanced) 3♣ (a forcing noise) 3NT (sorry, partner, I don't have a third spade) 6♠ (I've got AKQ973, a side suit in diamonds and a couple of queens opposite your 18-19, so what the hell).  That looks correct to me, except that I think most people would say 3♦ instead of 3♣.  If East only bids 4♠ instead of 6♠, this would be perfectly consistent with a middling 6241 hand of, say, eight points or so.  West's already shown his hand with almost mathematical precision and has a mandatory pass.  On this particular auction, East has to take control.

BOARD 24: +4 IMPs

All East-Wests stopped in game, even though 7♠ and 7♥ are unbreakable.  Is it biddable?  East has a rock-crushing 5530 18-count and will probably open 1♠.  Our opponents opened a crazy-looking 1♥, but this got them off to a great start because they're playing five-card majors and partner could raise on three-card support.  Opener then splintered with 4♣, showing a singleton (actually a void) and a monster hand.  West cue-bid with 4♦, which is good news for declarer, but they continued with a third pointless cue-bid and petered out in 5♥.  Personally, I think cue-bids are overrated and overused.  You can tell partner about your aces and singletons, yes, but much more valuable here would have been telling West about your lovely diamond suit.

Even with hindsight, though, I can't see a route to slam that I like.  I hate the 1♥ opening because you'll often miss a spade fit, but it struck gold here and presumably you're planning to show your strength with a 2♠ reverse.  Had the plan then been to continue with a 3♠ rebid?  For me and Stuart, this would show at least a 6-5 hand...  but with all that strength and a void, would it be so bad to bulldoze your way to a dodgy 5-2 major-suit game?  You're certainly in no hurry to become dummy in 3NT.  The more I think about it, the more I see the upsides in our opponents' choice of opening.

In contrast, the textbook start of opening 1♠ and rebidding 3♥ will make it impossible to find your heart fit below the four level, by which point it's probably too late.

Anyway, that's that.  Thanks again to everyone!  Our next Wessex League match will be on Monday 27 January.