The Full Deal
We would open the bidding with the North cards, but not everyone would agree.
At the table, South’s two heart overcall did shut West out, and East-West did have a spade fit (although with a 5-0 split). On this layout, declarer should make five trump tricks (start by cashing the Ace and King), Ace of spades, and Ace-King of clubs for eight tricks but, at the table, South didn’t get the best defense and ended with nine tricks and a 72% score (eight tricks would have scored 60%). Most EW pairs had positive scores above 100, so buying the contract for two hearts was a win for NS.
Bonus from Val: Most players consider making a jump overcall only with hands that are weak in high cards, but I have found that making jump overcalls on stronger hands often is the winning choice, especially when partner is a passed hand. We have that agreement in our partnership, and we include a note on our convention card explaining that jump overcalls are variable , often are 8-12 HCP, and sometimes are 13+ HCP. Deal C004.
To explore alternative lines of play and defense, use this link: https://tinyurl.com/xj74xxa
Overcalls are covered in Chapter 3 of Real World Bridge 4: Competitive Bidding Part One. This discussion includes decisions about whether to overcall high or low.