At the National Newcomers pairs*, I played with Eve Hatfield at the Manchester heat. Whilst we did respectably, coming 4th in our heat with 58%, we had some extremely bad boards, including one national bottom. Unfortunately, this had occurred just before the hand detailed below was dealt, which may have influenced some of the less rational actions I took during the auction.

* An event our very own Steve Hurst has won. He tells anyone who'll listen that before it became a Simultaneous event it really meant something to win but nobody's falling for it.

Sitting South, I picked up:

	—
	K 4
	J 7 6 5 4 2
	A J 5 4 2

And the auction unfolded as follows:

West	North	East	South
	Eve		Me
3	Pass	4	5
5	Pass	Pass	6
X	XX	6	AP

Well, interesting auction. The opponents land in game via a pre-empt, and I then wander in with my six rubbish diamonds, begging to be abused at the five level. Luckily, my generous opponent decides to bid 5 over it, and all my speculative five-level bidding is for nothing, except that oppo now have to make 11 tricks instead of 10. Or do they? I subsequently decide that being abused at the five level is just too routine, and decide to bid to a club slam. On my own. We can take a look here and ponder the positives and negatives of this. On the plus side, erm, if partner has some cards in one or both minor suits, then this could easily be a good sacrifice against a making 5 contract. On the minus side, I have no idea if 5 was making — if East has the Ace of hearts then partner probably only has to find one trick in her hand and 5 will probably fail. On top of that, even if East-West can make 11 tricks, 6 or 6 could easily be going 3 or 4 down.

West duly cracks my bid, probably because it's poo. Eve, in a flush of excitement, realises that 6XX will be a monster score if it makes and hey — it's a top or a bottom at this point anyway — so redoubles without hesitation [Editorial note: this isn't really true as, if 5 was making for 450 and 6 is only two off, then the redouble will turn a -300 into -600. But this editor would like to point out that playing in redoubled contracts is FUN!]. Anyway, having gotten into a pretty hideous spot, I'm saved again by East, who decides that what he really wants to do at this point is bid 6! I pass with some relief.

The full deal was as below:

None Vuln Dealer W	Q J 9 4 3 Q 10 9 K 10 9 8 7
K 8 3 2 A Q 9 8 7 6 5 8 3 —		A 10 7 6 5 J 10 2 A K Q 6 3
	— K 4 J 7 6 5 4 2 A J 5 4 2

So, where to start? Well, the opening 3 bid, which contains four spades, a void and five losers, looks more like an opening hand that a pre-empt, so this doesn't look like it's the right bid. Although in fairness, he does have a long heart suit. East's hand is probably worth a raise to game, especially if the partnership style favours sound pre-empts. North's passes are, of course, extremely sensible.

We've already considered my diamond bid, so onto West's rebid. He suddenly notices he has a big hand for his bid, but luckily he has no real idea of what his partner might have in terms of shape, support or point count, so it seems like a perfect time to bid 5 — no chance of 5 going off, is there. Eve's pass is exemplary, and East doesn't know what's going on. My 6 is utter toss, as is usual with my club slam bids. But now things get silly. Does West have a double of my contract? Well some might say his club void, lack of quick tricks, and no idea of what's going on could be dissuasive, but I'm not one to judge. Does Eve have a redouble? God only knows what I've promised, but hey why not try for it.

Finally, let's have a look at East's action that ended the auction. Question to be asked here: it there any chance that 6XX might be making? No, it obviously isn't. Is 6 making? Well, with a partner who pre-empted in the auction, it doesn't seem all that likely. So, should East take the guaranteed plus score, almost certainly outscoring any game contract, or should he speculatively have a go at a heart slam?

Eagled eyed observers may note 6 going off about four, even with Eve's useful hand, for erm 1600. [Only four?! —Ed] You may also, however, spot that 6 makes on a finesse [Who would lead a low spade from the North hand? —Ed]. It's good to know that despite being the only pair in a slam, in the whole of the club and perhaps the country (I confess I haven't checked yet), they were also the only pair making just eleven tricks.

How pleasing.