BRIDGE

How reliable is your partner? How about you? If she makes a lead-directing double, in the interest of partnership solidarity do you always lead what has been suggested?

Amazingly, East’s modest club-showing double of North’s Stayman response was enough to derail the rest of the auction as North-South somehow managed to “lose” their heart fit while attempting to play in two clubs redoubled – a likely make, probably with an overtrick!

And losing the 4-4 heart fit was actually lucky for the bidders as four hearts would almost certainly go down, likely two tricks, with club ruffs and black-suit winners available to the defenders.

Three notrump also had a potentially fatal defect but, putting his faith in his partner’s double, West led his club despite the evidence available from his opponents’ bidding: both North and South seemed to have some club upholstery to make the double a bit suspect.

Given the club lead and dummy’s play of the eight, East might also have saved the day by grabbing the ace to shift to spades: covering that eight with the nine may have forced the Queen from South but left declarer able to scamper for cover with eight tricks from the red suits.

Curiously, at the other table of this match, North-South had an unmolested auction to the normal four hearts and came to grief after the club lead that West had no trouble finding, double or no double!

Perhaps the real solution to a defensive conundrum like this is to reserve leaddirecting doubles of artificial bids for suits with more trick-taking potential than just an ace.