Daily Bridge Club

More from Ireland

Here’s another deal from my session at Dublin’s Regent Bridge Club during my summer sojourn to Ireland.

I was North. When West, a passed hand, overcalled one spade, I chose a negative double, East raised preemptively to three spades, and two passes followed. I doubled for penalty, but South treated my call as one of those modern “Do something, partner” doubles; she tried four hearts.

West led a spade, and East won and returned a spade. Declarer threw a diamond and won a diamond shift with dummy’s ace, as East’s king fell. After discarding her last diamond on the queen of spades, declarer had to guess in trumps. FLIMSY

A hand such as K J 9 7 5, 9 6, Q 7 6 5, J 4 would have been quite a flimsy overcall for West, and if East had A 6 4 3, K J 8, K, 10 8 7 6 2 he might have bid differently. Hence, declarer might well decline a finesse with the queen and instead lead the ace and a low trump.

Alas, my partner chose the play that appealed to her: low to her queen. She lost two trumps to go down.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ Q 10 2 ♥ 10 4 ♦ A9432 ♣ A 9 5. After three passes, your partner opens one heart, and the next player bids one spade. When I held this hand in today’s deal, I doubled (negative). Do you agree?

ANSWER: My double suggested length in the unbid suits. I could instead have bid 1NT, but with a “slow” spade stopper, two aces and the ten of hearts, I judged that call to be an underbid. The only option I considered was a jump to 2NT. West dealer N-S vulnerable