We somehow got a top score on this hand even though we did practically nothing right.
Board #1
North dealer
Neither side vulnerable
| | North
♠ 10
♥ 3
♦ K 8 6 5 4 3
♣ A 10 9 7 3
| | West
♠ A J 9 6 4
♥ A 10 9 2
♦ A 7 2
♣ 4
| | East
♠ K 7
♥ K Q J 8 7 6 5
♦ 9
♣ J 8 2
| | | South
♠ Q 8 5 3 2
♥ 4
♦ Q J 10
♣ K Q 6 5
| |
|
| | | | |
| South | West | North | East |
| | P | 3♥ |
| 3♠ | P | P | P |
I held East's cards. North decided to pass*, probably in hopes of bidding the Unusual Notrump in the second round. I would have been sorely tempted to bid 2♦ with those six diamonds in the first seat. Yes, the club suit would be lost, but the most disruptive preempts are in the first seat before either opponent gets to bid.
My hand met the Rule of 20, but it has almost no value on defense. So, I decided to open 3♥. This was probably a mistake, but it was neither the last one nor the worst one of the short auction.
South bid 3♠. To me this hand is at least two honors away from being considered for a three-level overcall. If I do not have a hand that is at least one trick stonger than an opener, I do not even think about overcalling at the three-level in the direct seat. Also, the suit is pitiful.
West passed. I did not ask him why, but he probably remember that I sometimes preempt with really weak hands when not vulnerable, and South had made a pretty strong bid. West's spades were indeed better than his hearts, but the LAW says...
At any rate, North and I quickly passed, and we played the ridiculous contract of 3♠, which went down four, on a hand in which East-West can easily make 6♥. If I had opened 1♥, West should, regardless of what South does, bid 4♣, a splinter showing minimal game-going values, four-card support, and shortness in clubs. When I see the 4♣ card on the table, all of a sudden my very marginal hand has only four possible losers. Blackwood will disclose that West can cover three of them with aces. So, we should easily find the 6♥ contract, which is cold. At least it certainly looks cold. However, one East-West team had a -50 score.
I would love to know what happened at the other tables.
* If North had decided to open 2♦, the bidding would have been very different. I would have overcalled 2♥, and West would probably have looked for a slam.