Event 3 - Match 1 - Board 3

Board 3
Opponents vulnerable

♠ A K J 7 6 2 ♥ 8 ♦ 7 ♣ A J 10 9 5

If I open one spade and partner responds one notrump, I have a problem. This hand isn't good enough to force to game with three clubs, but I could easily miss a game if I rebid only two clubs. Fortunately, I have an Acol two-bid available for precisely this situation  I open two spades, partner responds two notrump (negative), and I bid three clubs. Some play this auction as forcing to three spades, but that doesn't make sense to me. Acol two-bids shouldn't have playability in more than two strains, so why do you a need a forcing three club bid? If three clubs doesn't do your hand justice, bid four clubs.

Over three clubs, partner bids three diamonds. Maybe I'm supposed to pass this. But with a sixth spade and a singleton diamond it seems advisable to bid three spades. Partner bids five diamonds. He must have thought three diamonds was forcing. Or maybe he's just mad at me for not passing three diamonds. Given the original negative response, I can't see how we're going to make this. I pass. LHO, agreeing with my assessment, doubles, ending the auction. West leads the king of hearts.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A K J 7 6 2 ♥ 8 ♦ 7 ♣ A J 10 9 5
	SOUTH Jack ♠ -- ♥ J 10 3 ♦ Q J 10 9 8 5 4 2 ♣ 7 6

West	North	East	South
Jacinta	Phillip	Sophie	Jack
	2 ♠1	Pass	2 NT2
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	3 ♦
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	5 ♦
Pass	Pass	Double	(All pass)
1Acol Strong two
2Negative

What was wrong with four diamonds? Was partner really worried that we would make five if I passed? Perhaps I should have passed three diamonds, but it didn't seem like a good idea at the time.

There isn't much to the play. West finds the obvious diamond shift at trick two, and the opponents cash their hearts. We lose three hearts and two diamonds for down three.

	NORTH Phillip ♠ A K J 7 6 2 ♥ 8 ♦ 7 ♣ A J 10 9 5
WEST Jacinta ♠ 9 5 4 ♥ K Q 9 6 4 2 ♦ K 3 ♣ Q 8		EAST Sophie ♠ Q 10 8 3 ♥ A 7 5 ♦ A 6 ♣ K 4 3 2
	SOUTH Jack ♠ -- ♥ J 10 3 ♦ Q J 10 9 8 5 4 2 ♣ 7 6

Look at that! The diamond shift wasn't quite so obvious as I thought. Nor is it obvious which diamond to lead. There are plenty of three-card holdings East might have where it would be right to lead the king. Jack third, queen-ten third, and ace-jack third come to mind. I guess Jacinta thought her partner was more likely to hold a singleton than to hold three.

Can the opponents make anything? Four hearts goes down on a ruff, but they can make three notrump. In fact, they can make four notrump. So, technically, five diamonds doubled is par. I'll have to point that out when our teammates complain about our result. Actually, this result might not look so bad to them. We benefited from the pre-emptive effect of the Acol two-bid. After a one spade opening, East-West will probably reach four hearts. And, while it does go down, it may be hard for South to sell out. So, even though we should have played four diamonds at our table (or maybe even three), five diamonds doubled is probably a fairly normal result.

When we compare, we discover our teammates defended four spades undoubled, down two. There is no way to find out from Jack what the auction was at the other table, but they must have had some auction that, like ours, prevented West from sticking in a heart overcall. If West bids, surely East, looking at five potential defensive tricks in his own hand and the high probability that his side can make a game, will double four spades.

Maybe North opened four spades. That's about the only way I can imagine his playing there without being doubled. It's also the only way I can imagine his getting out for down two. If West bids hearts, East will lead the heart ace, and declarer will finish down three. After a four-spade opening, however, East will probably lead a club.


Table 1: -500
Table 2: +100

Result on Board 3: -9 imps
Total: -1 imp