As an example I give a deal below in which N-S can make 13 tricks with
any suit as trump but only 11 in no trump. There are many solutions but
the one I give is perhaps the most elegant (certainly the most symmetrical).
Can anyone construct a deal in which N-S can take only 10 tricks in NT?
Another possible extension would be to hands where N-S can make a small
slam in any trump suit. Although I have not worked on this, it seems likely
that they could be made to do very poorly in NT.
P.S. If you are interested then I urge you to work on the problem before
looking at the solution below.
-- David desJardins
S: AKQT
H: AKQT
D: AKQT
C: A
S: J987 S: 432
H: J987 H: 432
D: J987 D: 432
C: 6 C: 5432
S: 65
H: 65
D: 65
C: KQJT987
N-S can make 7S, 7H, 7D, or 7C, but only 5 NT.