Free Weekly Instant Tournament - December 1 - Board 2

Board 2
Our side vulnerable

♠ Q 4 3  ♥ 6 5  ♦ A Q 7 6  ♣ A Q 7 5

RHO passes, and I bid one diamond. LHO overcalls with one heart, partner bids one spade, and RHO raises to two hearts. I double, showing three-card spade support, and partner goes on to four spades. RHO leads the heart ten.

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

West	North	East	South
Robot	Phillip	Robot	Robot
Pass	1 ♦	1 ♥	1 ♠
2 ♥	Double	Pass	4 ♠
(All pass)

I have one heart loser and a potential loser in each minor. I should be making this, so it's a question of overtricks.

East wins trick one with the heart king. He then lays down the heart ace. I ruff, and West follows with the eight. It appears West began with queen-ten-nine-eight; West, with ace-king-jack sixth.

What is the best play in the club suit? I suspect some declarers will lead low, guarding against a stiff king onside. That's an error. While this does pick up a stiff king onside, it loses to a stiff eight or nine offside, which is twice as likely. Leading the jack is correct.

If I lead the jack and West plays low, how confident will I be that the club king is offside? Fairly confident, I think. The robots cover any time it might gain and can't cost double dummy. From West's point of view I might have jack-empty third, so he must cover. Of course, I wouldn't lead the jack with jack-empty third, but the robots don't know that.

If West plays low, then, I can rise with the ace and draw trumps. If trumps are two-two, I can play a club, endplaying East if he began with king doubleton. Should I try endplaying East if he follows only to one trump? This works if East is 1-6-4-2. But I will suffer a club ruff if he began with 1-6-3-3. No need to worry about that now. I'll decide when the time comes.

First I need to make sure trumps aren't four-zero. I cash the ace of spades--eight--three--deuce. 

No four-zero trump break. I lead the jack of clubs, and West covers with the king. I take the ace, and East follows with the four. The diamond king is surely offside. West would have bid two hearts, not one, with ace-king-jack sixth of hearts and nothing on the side. So my only problem now is how to avoid a club loser if clubs are four-one.

Is there anything I can do? Suppose East is 2-6-4-1. I can draw one more round of trumps, then test clubs. If they don't break, I can lead the diamond nine and pass it, hoping East has king-jack-ten fourth. He will then be endplayed and will have to allow me to dispose of my club loser.

I cash the spade queen. East pitches the heart seven. East doesn't rate to have two black singletons, so clubs are probably splitting. Too bad. I hate it when you are in a normal contract and suits break. Its hard to get a good board when careless play suffices.

I draw the last trump, run clubs, and take a losing diamond finesse. Making five. This should be flat.

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

It's not flat. Plus 650 is worth 79%!

The reason this is a good result is that quite a few players bid two spades over two hearts, which is supposed to show four-card support. 

Why does this matter? because the opponents have a good save in five hearts. Apparently East is disinclined to save after a support double for fear we are in an eight-card fit and trumps are breaking four-one. When he expects dummy to have four spades, he is happy to save. 

This suggests an interesting tactic. Could it sometimes be right to psyche a support double--to double with four trumps (when you know partner has five), hoping to entice the opponents into under-competing? I can hardly wait to try this out. If one of you beats me to it, be sure to let me know how it works out. 

I suspect the two-spade bidders didn't even realize that support doubles were on in this auction. Since partner's one spade bid promises five, they reasoned, why do I need a support double?

While there is some logic to this argument, I prefer support doubles here for several reasons:

(1) I dislike making exceptions. Double is support in most auctions after a one-heart or one-spade response. If you don't play them here, it would be easy to forget.

(2) Even when partner has five spades, it can helpful for him to know whether you have three-card or four-card support. If the opponents bid on, it might help him decide whether to compete. And it can help him in a constructive auction as well. The difference between three- and four-card support can be important if partner is contemplating a slam.

(3) I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think responder's one spade bid promises five. There are hands with only four spades where a negative double can prove awkward. Such hands may be rare after a one diamond opening, since you can make a negative double and correct clubs to diamonds. But they are fairly common after a one club opening. If you double without diamond support after one club--one heart, you need to be prepared to correct diamonds to clubs a level higher.

Originally, negative doubles were conceived of as take-out doubles. Somewhere along the way, players started treating them as replacements for bidding the unbid major. So one of a minor--one heart--double, we were told, showed four spades and said nothing about the unbid minor.

I never bought into that idea. One diamond--pass--one spade can be a four-card suit after all. Why should the one heart overcall change anything? To my mind, negative doubles show support for both unbid suits or the ability to handle the auction. If that means you must sometimes bid one spade over a one-heart overcall with only four spades, so be it. I don't see what the problem is.