AceS On briDge

“When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.”

— John Ruskin

Today’s deal from the North American Bridge Championship in Toronto last summer is more about the auction, and less about the play of the hand. North and South were a mixed pair, with a handful of world titles between them, but they goofed here.

With nobody vulnerable, as South you open one diamond in fourth seat, and partner responds one heart.

Do you bid one spade or one notrump now? I don’t feel strongly, but my choice would be one notrump or pass rather than one spade; to each his own.

At the table, South bid one spade, which was passed around to RHO, who bid one no-trump. You pass (hoping your partner can double), but North balances with two diamonds. It has taken a long time to get to the two-level; what are your thoughts now?

You know a lot about partner’s hand. He clearly doesn’t have four spades (he would compete again to two spades) or four diamonds (he would have bid two diamonds at his previous turn), and he surely doesn’t have a club stopper, or he would have rebid one no-trump over one spade.

So your partner holds something like 3=5=3=2 or 3=4=3=3, and it is therefore clear to correct two diamonds to two hearts now. If you play in the 4-3 heart fit, you can see that you will be taking ruffs in the short hand — and hearts scores more than diamonds.

Partner had exactly what you’d expect: a 3=5=3=2 pattern with 7 HCP. Two hearts is cold with careful play; two diamonds will lose an additional trump trick, even if you locate the queen.