[han]

[The title should be "third session" instead, could someone edit that?]

I didn't play well on the first day and we only barely qualified. Here are some hands from the second afternoon, we are again west.

1. ♠KQ987♥2♦KQ104♣985, S dealer, unfavorable.

p - 1H
1S - 2C
??

2. ♠K62♥KQ87♦KQ42♣Q10, N dealer, unfavorable, passed to me.

a. What do you open?

b. Say you open 1D. It now goes:

1D - (1S) - 2S - (p)
??

3. My partner's hand: A7 QJ10765 Q103 A4, E dealer, both.

1H - (Dbl) - 2D* - (3S)
??

2D showed a good raise: at least 8 pts and 3 hearts.

4. ♠A10973♥63♦A♣A10965, E dealer, both

2D - (p) - ??

[han]

1. I passed, darn. My worst call of the tournament.

2. So I thought this hand called for a downgrade and when LHO overcalled spades it sure didn't get any better. I bid only 2NT but partner raised to 3NT with ♠A3 ♥103 ♦J9863 ♣AJ96. The 1S bidder had both red aces so 3NT went down 1. An average result but we came close to a top..

3. Well, this was one of the gadgets that we shouldn't have played. My partner remembered that 2D showed hearts but he alerted it as a single raise with the ace or king of hearts. I had ♠K5♥A84♦K76542♣86 and we passed out 3S making while we could make 4H, ouch!

4. I passed. LHO bid 4H which went down 2 (I should have doubled!). Partner had ♠QJ54♥J5♦KQJ654♣2 so we can actually make 5S. Not a good score.