Hand of the day #570
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This conundrum was written by Mark Horton and was originally published in the book Misbid these hands with me - you can find out all about it further down the page.
It is not unusual for a player to run from a doubled contract only to find that it would have been better to stay put. I am North, playing in a Mixed Team event with a world-class partner, when I pick up this magnificent hand, vulnerable against not:
♠2 ♥AKQJT6543 ♦5 ♣AQ
My partner deals and opens 1♦ but any hope of an uncontested auction is immediately dashed when West overcalls 2♠. When I introduce my suit with 3♥, partner rebids 3NT. Unsure how partner would interpret a bid of 4NT at this point (natural, or asking for keycards in hearts or clubs?) I mark time by bidding 4♠. That sees partner bid 4NT, which must be an offer to play there. With no way to ascertain how many controls partner has, I reluctantly conclude matters by jumping to 6♥. At least that was my intention, but now West emerges with a double. Presumably, West is void in diamonds and also has a cashing ace. I can remedy the situation by bidding 6NT, but West doubles that as well, leaving us with this exciting auction:
West leads the ♦K and I can see that partner is not happy.
After West cashes the ♦A at Trick 2, partner claims the rest.
The full deal
Post-Mortem
Looking at ten certain tricks, North might have bid 4NT over 2♠. South would assume that diamonds were agreed, and respond accordingly. The problem with this is that a response of 5♥ would be ambiguous — South could have the two missing aces, or only one of them and the ♦K. Some partnerships play that where no suit has been explicitly agreed, a jump to 4NT becomes old-fashioned Blackwood. That would be an excellent agreement for this deal since if South showed two ‘real’ aces, North could then ask for kings. North should have considered the possibility that West’s double was based on a good holding in diamonds — the actual ♦A K or perhaps ♦A Q. Put me down for a redouble.
In 2007, Horton wrote Misplay These Hands with Me, a deliberate homage to Reese's classic, Play These Hands with Me. The difference was that the declarer in Horton's book always made an error, sometimes obvious, sometimes not so much. This successful book was the basis of a long-running column in the ACBL's Bridge Bulletin, a sequel in 2019, and earlier this year, Misdefend These Hands with Me. Now the same author turns to the topic of bidding, and once again gives the reader a chance to learn from someone else's mistakes. All the deals are taken from top-level play.
