Stretch to compete

A reader sent today’s deal, asking whether her partner’s bidding was justified.

“She opened one diamond as North,” my fan writes. “Our 1NT opening shows 16 to 18 points. East overcalled one heart, and I responded one spade. When West jumped to three hearts, preemptive, my partner bid three spades and I bid game. When I saw dummy, I was appalled. I thought she had a much better hand to support me at the three level.”

Against four spades, West took the Q-J of hearts and shifted to the nine of clubs: five, three, king. South drew trumps and tried a diamond finesse with dummy’s jack.

“East won and returned a diamond,” my fan writes. “When the diamonds broke 4-2 and East had the queen of clubs, I went down. Four spades was a decent contract — because I had five good spades and a side king. Was my partner’s bid of three spades correct?”

Opposing preempts often force you to stretch to support your partner and avoid being shut out of the auction. I would have bid three spades as North with no guilty feelings.

In fact, South should make four spades. After South takes the king of clubs, she leads a diamond to dummy’s ace, then draws trumps and leads a diamond to the queen. When East wins, he is end-played: He must concede a ruff-sluff or lead a club from the queen.

South would also be safe if diamonds broke 3-3. And if the queen of diamonds won — if West had the king — South could return to her hand with a trump and lead a third diamond toward the jack to get a club discard.