Auto Pilot

30th September – Board 8: Love All. Dealer West.

	North: S Q 4 H K 10 6 3 2 D 8 C A 10 7 3 2
West: S A K 9 8 H A Q 8 D K Q 10 6 5 C J		East: S 10 6 3 H 7 4 D A 7 4 3 2 C K 9 5
	South: S J 7 5 2 H J 9 5 D J 9 C Q 8 6 4

3NT by East I suppose is the right contract, making easily on a club lead and indeed on any lead if a little care is taken. I was guilty of sloppy bidding and sloppy play too, but somehow managed to escape with a good result.

West	North	East	South
1D	No	2D	No
5D	End

I should have followed a scientific route by bidding 2S at my second turn, following up with 3H, after which partner would probably have tried 3NT, but I cut matters short somewhat by a leap to game in the suit we both seemed to like. North made a devastating lead of a low club, and playing somewhat on autopilot I played low from dummy, thinking that a lead away from an ace against a high level contract was unlikely. South won and rather woodenly returned the suit, but now I could ruff, draw trumps and use the fine impletion in spades to secure a discard for one of dummy’s hearts. Of course if South had returned a heart I would have been forced to take the finesse and finish one down. I should have reasoned that even if North had led a club away from the queen and South had produced the ace at trick one a discard on the king of clubs would be of no use at all. Strangely if you had reached a slam North could have led a heart without doing you any good, because there would still be a loser in both black suits.