The robots are too trusting

A couple ofweeks ago, I gave Isaac Asimov’s first lawof robotics: “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allowa human being to come to harm.”

Sometimes Iwonder if the robots that play at Bridge Base Online have been similarly programmed. For example, look only at today’sWest hand. Whatwould you lead against South’s contract of seven diamonds?

In the auction, two spades showed 3 ace-king points (2 for an ace and1 for a king). So, North had an ace and a king or three kings. The snagwas that South thought it had to be an ace and a king. So, whenNorth raised diamonds, South, picturing his partner with the spade ace and king-fourth of diamonds, confidently jumped to seven diamonds.

What did the robot lead?

You or Iwould have tabled the spade ace, hoping that itwould win, or, if declarer ruffed, that itwouldn’t cost a critical trick. Here, everythingwould have been fine.

The robot chose the club four! Maybe hewas obeying Asimov’s law, or perhaps he assumed South had to have a spade void to justify his final bid. However, a grateful declarer took the trick, drew two rounds of trumps from hand, cashed the heart ace, ruffed a heart with the diamond

Win at Bridge

king, discarded his spade on the club king, drew East’s last trump and claimed.

Funnily enough, seven diamonds down onewould have been only just under average. Almost all pairs played in six hearts, which failed whenWest took the spade ace and a trump.