1) E opens 2S, or perhaps a modern 1S, but N-S can make game in NT, and even take 10 tricks by finessing W for both club honors, but this is dangerous; any EW bidding to 4S will probably be -300 for a good score.

2) This is a hand where it doesn't pay to bid much, because no one can make much of anything - a frisky 3D bid in 3rd seat by W MIGHT come home with 9 tricks, but that is NOT to be recommended with such a weak suit; passing or bidding 1D, then 2D seems more reasonable.

 

3) Any E whose partner reverses should recognize the power of his aces, and 6D should be reached, although it won't be at most tables; even 6H makes without a spade lead.

 

4) S, if he hears 3H-P-4H, should double, and any N bidding 5D will score 600; I would be mighty tempted to try 4S with the N hand though, with disastrous consequences.

 

5) Hard to imagine anyone reaching anything but 4H; those W's who get to pitch their diamonds on the long spades will get excellent scores.

 

6) 4S is a rather poor contract, but it does happen to make due to the friendly lie of the cards - those who get there were probably pushed by E-W!

 

7) Although S has a very nice 5-5 black hand, he better not bid much, because partner has nothing useful for him; E-W will do well to reach 3N, recognizing the soft values and double stoppers have little to recommend for suit play.

 

 8) 3N by N will be a popular contract, and the whole board depends on how clever E-W are at trick one!

 

9) Although slam is a bit lucky to make, fortune favors the bold here, as frequently happens, and all slams come in; notice the correct diamond play is the one that works, because it wins against stiff king in EITHER hand, whereas running the queen wins only against the lone J in North's hand.

 

10) A classic part-score struggle, where N-S can make 2S, but E-W can compete to 3D to push them higher - SOMEONE will probably score 670 here, and it might even happen in BOTH directions, with careless defense!

 

11) E's eyes will light up when W opens the bidding, and when he finds SA and HQ in W's hand, 7 can easily be reached, and W should make sure it's 7N, with his diamonds.

 

12) The unfavorable vulnerability here prevents N-S from a profitable save, and 5C should be the most popular spot!

 

13) S will have dreams of a grand if he hears 1S from N, but the heart wastage will cool him off, and even 6 will take a bit of care to bring home.

 

14) Slam here appears to hinge on "guessing" the SQ, but there is not a real guess, because any Qxxx can be conveniently picked up if it lies with S.  This hand is another example of how important it is to cash aces against slams at matchpoints!

 

15) It's not really possible to find a club lead against S's spade contract, and 200 will be a popular result for N-S, 650 if they overbid wildly!

 

16) 4H is my choice for W's opening, but whether W opens 1H or 4H, slam should be reached, and the HK onside and diamonds 3-3 make 7 easy

17) After N opens 1C, S will surely compete as high as necessary to buy the contract, and 10 tricks are easy; if E-W bid more than that they should be penalized heavily!

 18) E should open 3S, giving S a problem with his big hand; 4C is enough, and N will love his support - bidding 6C right away seems like a reasonable shot, and works well.  W must be careful not to double this!

 

19) Well, 10 tricks are easy in NT for E-W - EXCEPT diamonds are 4-0, which limits the tricks to 7 with their 28 HCP.  Any E-W wandering into 5D will get a good, but probably undeserved, score.

 

20) Al Roth would be spinning in his grave at the thought of opening the W hand, but most people today would, and 4S is a reasonable contract, making because of the diamond Queen  - see hand 14!

 

21) Slam makes here with the spade QJ coming in, but only someone who saw the hand records before the game would bid it, and we're in Florida!  680 will be the virtually universal result.

 

22) Another very lucky N-S layout makes 11 tricks in spades, but hard to bid.  If S opens 1D and hears 1S from N, he should bid only 3S, not 4.  Some Souths might find themselves in 1D - not happily!

 

23) If S opens 1D, N-S lose the higher-scoring heart suit; opening 1H, planning to rebid diamonds, leads to +140 and a great score!  E better not bid more than 3C - even there he can go for 200.

24) No matter how the bidding starts, someone will have to make a decision at the 5-level; E-W do well to save in 5D, and N-S do well to push on to 5S!  Few E-W pairs will bid on to 6D and guess trumps for -300.

25) E will usually declare 4S, and a trump lead is necessary to hold him to 10 tricks; this should be obvious, especially if E shows diamonds along the way.

26) Although this is technically North-South's hand, they must be very careful to take more than 4 tricks if E declares hearts, and even in spades they must get heart ruffs quickly.

27) Again we have a doubleton QJ that allows slam to make - along with the 3-3 spade split!  This set has truly favored very bold bidders.

28) Another lucky slam, but this one may go down with a heart misguess after W opens 2S.  With 2 rounds of spades at the go, best play is to get to dummy and run the H10 first to cater to Qxxx in E, which of course fails.

29) After E opens 1H and S either bids 1S or not, the question is whether E-W can stay within their means - at many tables the answer to this could be "No!"

30) E will usually declare 3N after N has bid hearts; N then comes under pressure on the run of the clubs.  Those Easts who take 4 spade tricks will get near-tops!

31) Personally, I would open the N hand a third-seat 1NT, get raised to 3, and score at least 600 on the lead of either major - DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!

32) Even though N does NOT have a jump-shift, many will rebid 2S after 1C-1H, and get  too high.  A better auction is 1C-1H-1S-2H-2N-3H-P; this will make without a spade lead, for a fine score.

33) Poor E!  He has a hand probably too good to open 1NT, yet he can't beat N in 3NT!!  Notice this is yet another hand where a doubleton honor combo compresses the defensive capacity.

34) If S, rather than open a 3-card diamond suit, shades a point and opens 1NT, N will raise to 3, and a spade lead gives S 9 tricks.  E should actually DOUBLE 1N-3N, and hope this gets W off to a heart lead! (Also he hopes a heart lead will beat 3NT!)

35) Anything could happen here, including N opening 1H in 3rd seat and discouraging E from entering the auction; those N-S pairs will do best who can double E in some number of hearts.

36) In keeping with the set, we end with a silly grand that comes home, ONLY needing 3-3 diamonds, 2-2 clubs and two kings onside - I make it about 3%.  Obviously, getting to 6C will be worth most of the matchpoints though.