Free Weekly Instant Tournament - November 3 - Board 5

Board 5
Our side vulnerable

♠ K 6  ♥ A 2  ♦ A Q 10 5 3  ♣ Q J 4 2

Partner passes, and RHO opens one spade. I bid one notrump. LHO doubles--pass--pass back to me.

After an opening bid and a one-notrump overcall, the opponents are well placed to judge their defensive prospects. So it's usually wrong to sit. And with only a single spade stopper and two possible trump suits, now is not time to make an exception. The robots play "system on" after a double, with redouble showing a long minor (a method I don't care for). So partner probably has a balanced hand. That means two diamonds rates to be a playable spot.

Still, it's wrong to bid two diamonds right away, since we might have a club fit. It would be a shame to bid two diamonds, get doubled, then see dummy hit with two diamonds and four clubs. I need to bring clubs into the picture somehow. But how?

The obvious solution is to redouble. But the tooltip shows the robots play this as natural. I can't imagine why I would ever want to redouble for play in this auction, but those are the methods I'm stuck with. Given I can't redouble, the next best choice is simply to bid two clubs. If the opponents let me play there undoubled, I'm happy even if it's not our best strain. Any port in a storm. Of course, that probably won't happen. If no one can double two clubs, then they will probably bid something. Either way, I'm off the hook.

If they do double, I'll run to two diamonds. I can't be sure diamonds is a better spot than clubs. Partner still might have four clubs for all I know. But I'm no worse off than if I had bid two diamonds right away. I gave myself an extra chance and it didn't pan out.

This is an important principle to follow in an auction where you may be in trouble: Never bypass a potentially playable spot. If you think you know where you belong and it is higher-ranking than other possible spots, you have plenty of time to get there. It doesn't hurt to try other contracts on the way and see if the opponents let you off the hook.

I have heard some object to this approach by saying it may get the opponents into a "doubling rhythm." Bidding two clubs, then running to diamonds may induce them to double two diamonds with a hand where they would let you escape if you bid it right away.

Hogwash! Competent opponents don't get into "doubling rhythms." They are looking at the same cards whether you bid two diamonds right away or get there after bidding clubs first. If they have a double of two diamonds, they will double. If they don't, they won't.

True, incompetent opponents may base their doubles on emotions rather than on the cards they are looking at. But I'm not worried about such opponents. If they double two diamonds when they don't have a double, there is no particular reason to believe they are making the right decision. There is a clear advantage in bidding clubs en route to two diamonds. I'm not going to give up that advantage for fear the opponents will do something foolish and it will work out in their favor.

Having said that, does the fact that I am playing with a robot change anything? Who knows what partner will think is going on if I bid two clubs, then run to two diamonds? Will he take me back to three clubs with two-three in the minors? Let's hope not.

I bid two clubs, and LHO doubles. Partner bids two hearts. Partner's auction makes no sense. He can't have five hearts, else he would have transferred on the previous round. So why is he running from two clubs doubled to a four-card suit? He must have a stiff club. But with 4-4-4-1, why not run to two diamonds? Or why not take advantage of the fact that we play Stayman after the double and bid that? Maybe he's 5-4-3-1. That's the only pattern I can think of where this sequence makes any sense. If we get doubled here, should I back my judgment and run to two spades?

Fortunately I don't have to make that decision. RHO comes to the rescue and bids two spades himself. Everyone passes and I have to find a lead.

RHO's reluctance to give his partner a chance to double two hearts suggests a singleton heart. So LHO rates to have six of them. That means leading partner's suit is out. Leading partner's presumed shortness, clubs, looks better. Leading an honor is usually wrong when partner is short. so I choose the deuce of clubs..

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

West	North	East	South
Phillip	Robot	Robot	Robot
		Pass	1 ♠
1 NT	Double	Pass	Pass
2 ♣	Double	2 ♥	2 ♠
(All pass)

Dummy has six hearts as expected. Although he also has a spade, so apparently partner has only four of them. Is he actually 4-4-4-1? Or did he run from two clubs with 4-4-3-2? That makes no sense either. With a doubleton club, he should pass. I will run myself if I don't have five clubs.

Declarer plays the club eight from dummy, and partner plays the nine. Declarer wins with the ace and leads the ten of hearts.

It must be right to win this and lead the club queen. Perhaps partner can ruff out the king and lead a diamond to my ace. Then I can cash the club jack and lead another club for partner to overruff dummy.

I play the ace, and partner follows with the four. Now queen of clubs--king--six--four. So partner is 4-4-3-2. I can still give him a club ruff when I get in with the spade king.

Declarer leads the seven of spades from dummy--deuce--five. I win the king and cash the jack of clubs. Partner pitches the diamond deuce. I play another club. Partner doesn't ruff it. He pitches another diamond, allowing declarer to win the trick with the club five. Apparently he has a natural trump trick.

In time we score the spade jack and the diamond ace. Making two.

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

Minus 110 is worth 79%.

If we were playing natural advances instead of "system on" after the double, partner should bid two diamonds, ostensibly to play. Then, if doubled, he can redouble to show the next two higher suits. We should escape after that start. I will pass two diamonds, and LHO will, or should, bid two hearts.

I didn't even comment on the one notrump overcall, since it struck me as routine. But it was actually an unpopular choice. Some doubled, a strange decision with a doubleton heart. But the most popular choice was two diamonds. That seems misguided to me. Not only is your diamond suit below par for a vulnerable two-level overcall. But also your likeliest game is three notrump. A one-notrump overcall makes it easier to get there than a two-diamond overcall.

Only three people were faced with the decision I was with how to handle the double of one notrump. Two sat it out and went for 500 and 800.

One ran to two diamonds. North doubled. Again, East ran to two hearts, which makes even less sense after two diamonds than after two clubs. This time, however, South passed. (Perhaps he bid when his partner doubled clubs because he thought the club fit increased their offensive potential.) When two hearts was passed around to North, he passed it out and collected 400. Presumably he was afraid his partner would pull if he doubled, and defending, even undoubled, had to be better than declaring.

So bidding two clubs did turn out to be the best way of handling the double. Although, since neither partner nor the opponents took sensible actions in any scenario, I can't claim this board proves anything.