Analysis of Hands from June 12, 2005
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Hand 1
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    S AKQ975
    H K4
    D 64
    C 532

S 86         S J10
H AQ108732   H J95
D 2          D J1093
C J109       C KQ64

    S 432
    H 6
    D AKQ875
    C A87

Dealer: N
Vulnerable: N/S

Bidding
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N  E  S  W
1S P  2D 3H
3S P  4N P
5S P  6S P
P  P

North and South's initial bids are standard. West, with 7 hearts and favorable vulnerability
has a clear pre-emptive 3H bid. With the solid spade suit, North has an easy 3S.
Even though South has only 13 HCP, with heart shortness, solid diamonds, and control of clubs,
slam is likely because if North has solid spades, it is easy to count 12 tricks.
North bids Roman key card Blackwood.  With South's response showing 2 key cards plus 
the Q of spades (most likely AKQ of spades), it is easy to bid slam.

Play
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Opening lead: Heart 5

West wins the heart ace and shifts to the club jack. Assuming spades break no worse than 3-1,
the only concern is if managing entries to dummy if diamonds don't break 3-2. North wins the
club ace, and clears trump in 2 rounds. Next comes the AKQ of diamonds. When diamonds fail to
break 3-2, North can still ruff a diamond, and ruff the K of hearts as an entry back to dummy.
North should not cash the heart king prior to testing diamonds.

Hand 2
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    S 98
    H A84
    D Q10873
    C K104

S AJ2        S KQ6543
H 973        H 1065
D AJ5        D K64
C Q862       C A

    S 107
    H KQJ2
    D 92
    C J9753

Dealer: N
Vulnerable: E/W

Bidding
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N  E  S  W
P  1S P  2N
P  3S P  4S
P  P  P

West has no perfect response to East's 1 spade opening. With a
balanced opening hand, 2N appeals to me, but the lack of a heart
stopper is problematical. Another possibile response is 2C, planning to
bid 4S at your next turn (or perhaps 3N if East bids 2H). Note that even though
West has spade support, no direct raise is possible (3S shows 10-12 points
with 4 spades, and 3NT shows an opening hand with 4 spades).

On this hand, since East rebids spades (showing 6), West is comfortable bidding 4S.

Play
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Opening lead: Heart K

Declarer loses the first 3 heart tricks and cannot afford to lose any more tricks.
The only other possible loser is a diamond if the finesse loses. However, rather than
simply relying on a 50-50 chance, West should try to improve the odds by hoping to set
up the club Q. Therefore, West should play the club A, cross to the spade A, ruff a club,
cross to the spade J, and ruff another club. Today is West's lucky day, as the club K
falls on the 3rd round, and West can pitch the losing diamond on the club Q.