Free Weekly Instant Tournament - June 1 - Board 7

Board 7
Both sides vulnerable

♠ Q J 6  ♥ --  ♦ Q J 7 2  ♣ A K Q J 9 4

I have six club tricks, half a trick each for my two queen-jacks, and half a trick for the fourth diamond. Seven and half in total, just enough for a jump rebid or a reverse. I open with one club. Partner responds with one heart.

I have a choice between three clubs or two diamonds. Which is better? Three clubs emphasizes the quality of my clubs. Two diamonds has two advantages: (A) It makes it easier to find a diamond fit. If we belong in six diamonds for example, a three-club rebid will make it harder to get there. (B) It allows partner to get a heart rebid off his chest. 

To see how (B) can be an advantage, imagine partner has some hand with long hearts and game interest only if we have a heart fit. If I bid three clubs, partner has a problem. He can pass, potentially missing a heart game, or he can bid three hearts, getting overboard if we don't. Two diamonds solves that problem for him. If I bid two diamonds, he can rebid two hearts. Now when I bid three clubs, he knows I don't have three hearts and he can pass comfortably.

In effect, two diamonds works better because it leaves more room. It is often that case that, when faced with a choice of calls in a constructive auction, you should prefer the cheaper one.

This assumes, however, that we are playing standard methods over reverses: Rebidding your suit is forcing one round but could be a weak hand, and your artificial negative (I prefer two spades in this auction, though some would use two notrump) denies five cards in your suit. The robots, however, play a totally unplayable method, where two notrump is the only bid that lets you stop below game. Any other bid, including rebidding your suit, is game forcing.

If I bid two diamonds and partner is unwilling to bid game, these bizarre methods could give him a headache. He must bid two notrump. Now, since my three club bid is forced with most hands, he has no idea my clubs are this good, or even that I have six of them. I might even have three-card heart support. Partner must pick the right partscore with little information. With club shortness, he will be disinclined to pass. I know clubs is a playable strain opposite a singleton, but he doesn't. He might choose three hearts with a broken six-card suit. He might choose three diamonds with three-one in the minors. 

If, instead, I bid three clubs immediately, he knows my suit is self-sufficient. With no game interest, he will pass. He still has the problem mentioned above: With long hearts and game interest only opposite a fit, he won't know what to do. But there is nothing I can do about that. Choosing to rebid two diamonds will no longer solve that problem for him. 

In short, given the methods foisted upon me, two diamonds might work out better if partner has a good hand. But even then it might not matter. Unless we actually belong in diamonds, three clubs will do just fine. If partner has a bad hand, however, three clubs could be a big winner. Three clubs is surely where we belong if we play a partscore, and it may be hard to reach unless I tell partner my clubs are self-sufficient. Playing sensible methods, I would bid two diamonds. But three clubs looks like the better choice under the circumstances.

I bid three clubs, and partner raises to five. Five of a minor is seldom the right spot at matchpoints. But this hand may be an exception. Partner probably has a singleton in one of the pointed suits, so it's not hard to imagine that five clubs makes and three notrump goes down--or that you have only nine tricks in notrump, so that it makes no difference which game you play. In any event, I have no reason to bid further. I pass, and West leads the ace of spades.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Robot	Robot	Phillip
			1 ♣
Pass	1 ♥	Pass	3 ♣
Pass	5 ♣	(All pass)

I have no idea why partner chose five clubs with a balanced hand and a doubleton club. Three diamonds looks like the obvious call, over which I would bid three notrump. What will happen in three notrump? After a pointed-suit lead, it will probably make at least four. A heart lead might hold it to nine tricks if the diamond finesse is off. But if the diamond finesse is off, I'm going down in five clubs.

In a normal game, this would be a terrible board. But, since we are all playing with the same partner, perhaps it won't be so bad. Anyone who chooses to rebid three clubs will be subjected to the same five club call. So I should have plenty of company in this contract.

My problem now is to avoid a spade ruff if the lead is from ace doubleton. From East's perspective, his partner might be leading from ace third of spades, but he is unlikely to be leading from ace-jack third or ace-queen third, so I must drop the queen and jack of spades on the first two tricks.

At trick one, East encourages with the spade eight, and I drop the jack. West continues with the nine of spades. East takes the king, and I drop the queen. This probably isn't going to work. East has nothing to try to cash. Even if West isn't ruffing, it can't hurt to play another spade. 

Surprisingly, East doesn't play another spade. He shifts to the five of diamonds. I suspect that's a singleton. East is hoping his partner wins the first club and gives him a ruff. 

I play the queen, which holds. Everyone follows to the first club, so I clam. Making five.

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

The shift was indeed from a singleton. My falsecards were unnecessary. East knew his partner didn't have a doubleton spade, since I couldn't have four.

As I predicted, this isn't so bad a result as it would be in a normal game. Plus 600 is worth 43%. Had I bid two diamonds instead of three clubs, partner would raise. I would then bid three notrump, which he would pass. I assume I would make four in that contract, which would have been worth 71%.

But I don't see how this result is my fault. Of all the reasons I considered for choosing one action over the other, the possibility that three clubs would induce partner to spurn three notrump with a good balanced hand and no fit wasn't something I could have anticipated.