No Swing

9th May – Board 12: North/South Vul. Dealer West.

East could approach the treatment of his hand in different ways but ultimately whatever route he chose would most likely make no difference at all.

	North: S 5 4 H A Q 10 4 2 D K 9 3 2 C K 9
West: S Q 10 7 H 9 7 D Q J 10 C Q J 10 6 4		East: S A K J 9 3 2 H none D A 8 6 5 C A 8 7
	South: S 8 5 H K J 8 6 5 3 D 7 4 C 5 3 2

West	North	East	South
No	1H	Dbl	4H
Dbl	No	4S/No?	End

East has a close choice initially between a simple overcall and a double and the latter just about gets my vote in that it leads the way open to finding a possible diamond slam. Against that of course you don’t want to be left playing in 1S….Whatever you do South should pre-empt to 4H and West should double to show some general values. You might think that if East chooses to pass the double an 800 penalty would ensue but it is not as simple as that. Without second sight East will cash his top spades and then be endplayed. 

He will either have to concede a ruff and discard or cash an ace, thus promoting the king of that suit in declarer’s hand. On the other hand if he chooses to bid 4S he will make all thirteen tricks due to both minor suit finesses working. Indeed 6S is a good contract but hard to bid with any degree of certainty. Take away the ten of clubs and the jack of diamonds from West’s hand and the slam is virtually impossible and although bidding has come a long way it is just not that precise. So there you have it – 500 against 510, or no swing.