All conventions can be confusing

Cornelia Otis Skinner, an actress and author who died in 1979, said, “One learns in life to keep silent and draw one’s own confusions.”

Some bidding conventions cause confusions, not always for the users but sometimes for the opponents. In today’s deal, look at the South hand. North opens one diamond, and East overcalls two diamonds, a Michaels Cue-bid showing at least 5-5 in the majors. What should South do?

A popular method in this situation is unusual versus unusual. The lower cuebid (here, two hearts) shows a good hand in the lower-ranking of the other two suits (clubs); and the higher cue-bid (two spades) promises good values in diamonds. To bid three clubs would be nonforcing, and to raise to three diamonds would indicate a respectable single raise.

That doesn’t necessarily solve South’s problem. I think a good compromise is two no-trump. Then who knows how many spades West would bid?

In three no-trump, declarer needs to run one minor or the other. He plays off dummy’s clubs. The queen drops, but singleton, not doubleton. Declarer crosses to the diamond king, cashes the club jack, then plays a diamond to dummy’s jack. (West is more likely to have queen-third than East queen-doubleton.) When the finesse works, South claims 10 tricks.

In five clubs (perhaps reached after West jumps to four spades), a heart to the ace and a heart ruff cost West his natural trump trick. Declarer wins West’s spade exit with his ace, cashes dummy’s clubs, plays a diamond to the king, draws West’s last trump and claims 11 tricks: one spade, two hearts, two diamonds and six clubs.