[Winstonm]

Scoring: IMP

East/West pass throughout.

1♦ 1♠
2♣ 2♥
3♣ 4♣
4♥ 4N
5♥ 5N
6♠ 7♣
p

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Clubs were 3/2 but the spade J was fifth so no cigar. Who did too much? How about rating these bids:

4N
5N
6S
7C

[Echognome]

Given that the grand slam was around 70%, I would say you bid it well. There is always that 30% of the time it goes down, but that's what they would call a "bad beat" in poker. All you can do is try to get to the right contract on the combined cards and the percentages will make you a winner in the long run.

In my last team match, we had

♠AQT ♥Qxx ♦KTxx ♣xxx

opposite

♠xx ♥AKJTxx ♦AJx ♣Ax

We bid to the normal 4♥ contract. Our opponents decided my hand was an 8 playing tricks in hearts hand and couldn't keep her partner out of slam. Teammates lead a club. She guess diamonds (which were Qxx opposite xxx) and then got to take the spade finesse for an overtick which also worked.

[kenrexford]

It is somewhat difficult to assess the bidding without an understanding of exactly what was meant by your calls. I believe I understand, however, and would suggest that the final bid was the only possible error, 6NT being perhaps the right call.

1D-P-1S-P-2C was apparently all natural and fine. (Ideally, this hand is opened 2D, as an intermediate minor two-suiter, but that is another pet issue...)

2H was apparently GF and artificial, and 3C logical after this.

Ideally, this auction should allow Responder to either set diamonds as trumps (3D) or start cuebidding (3H+) to agree clubs, but this may not have been plausible. So, 4C, slammish with fit.

4H, I assume, is RKCB for clubs, as heart is repeated and the responses are "right." 4H should logically also deny two top diamonds (4D), as telling is probably best below the ace-ask, when possible.

4NT to 4H seems like (1 or ) 4, a "right" response. 5H specific king ask? 5NT showing the heart King (and not the spade)? All seems "right."

Now, assuming 6NT to be viable, 6S seems like a decent call, if it shows the missing spade King, asking for the grand if spades are now solidified (AQJx).

7C seems off, for two reasons. First, spades are NOT solidified, and diamonds do not feature two top honors (needed if Opener's failure to cuebid 4D denied two top diamonds). However, 7C is not unreasonable IF Opener is expected to have Kxxxx in diamonds OR if gambling that the Jack of spades can be dropped.

Thus, no real problem except bad luck...

However, the auction happens to be nicer if Responder, way back, can agree clubs by cuebidding. After 3C:

3H = heart control
3S = one top spade honor
4C = two top club honors
4H = RKCB, not two top diamonds
4NT = same
5H = same
5NT = same

At this point, the prior cues relieves Opener of any need to cuebid 6S as a grand try, as (1) 5H was probably already a grand try in your methods and (2) the spade King is already shown. This auction is slightly better, perhaps, to yield the same issue for Responder -- how lucky does he feel???

[han]

Seems like a good grand and you bid it well. The auction that Ben and I had at the other table to 6C was far worse, but to win short team matches you don't need to be good, you need to be lucky.

[mike777]

Rub of the Green .

Better luck next time.

Old saying by Barry Crane who believed strongly in only bidding grand slams at MP or short team games if he could count 13 tricks off the top.

I see most if not almost all on BBO disagree with this.

I could find out I was missing the K of D and have no idea about the Q of spades and give up. .

[Free]

Good grand, unlucky distributions. Don't worry about this one...

[Fluffy]

Bidding seems perfect to me.

[FrancesHinden]

Single dummy it's not such a great contract on a diamond lead (seems to need roughly clubs 3-2 and spades 4-3 unless you play for the DK to have been underled).

But luckily they probably won't find one, and then it's a huge contract (even after spades were 5-1 you were still making if East had 5 spades and the DK).

Without seeing the rest of your bridge I can't be certain, but I bet there are more important things to worry about that staying out of grand on this hand.