Are Ladies Luck and Judgement both blind?

This board proved to be lucky for some and unlucky for others. It all depended on what the final contract chosen by NS was and how it was defended and played. I will leave it to the reader to decide how to best bid the NS hands. Bidding to the correct contract did not always yield the best match point score, and in many cases bidding to the inferior contract gave NS a great match point score.

Board 23 from Thursday 4/04/2019
Dealer S All Vul

	K8632 9 KQ AKQT8
Q5 K875 A642 J62		J974 T3 JT97 974
	AT AQJ642 853 53

South should open 1H, everyone will agree with that, surely. North bids 1S and South rebids the hearts. Now, 3C from North, I think everyone will agree with that as well. Should South now, because of the good spades albeit only two of them, show support for spades and bid 3S, or just rebid hearts to emphasise the length and quality of the heart suit?

Let’s say South bids 3H. What should North do next? I know a number of Norths would, and in fact did, now bid 3NT. Is that the best bid, or should North be wary of the doubleton diamond and bid 4C? Maybe North is thinking of slam possibilities? With a singleton heart, I would hope not, just the best game will do, though I know some were overboard in a slam.

If North bids 4C, South will of course bid 4S. If North chooses to bid 3NT, what should South do? Is the South hand one that, given the bidding, should leave North to play in 3NT, or is there a better place? Should South bid 4H, or 4S? Bidding 4H still leaves the option with North if North has a void in hearts and a very good 5-5 in the black suits, but bidding 4S definitely finishes the bidding.

I think most readers will know what my attitude is as it relates to No Trump and suit contracts, but what do you think? I would welcome some feedback about what readers think about the bidding and possible outcomes, including the declarer play and defence.

Replay this board by clicking here.