Dead Lucky

10th April – Board 19: East/West Game. Dealer South.

Occasionally one stumbles into a contract without much conviction and usually they go disastrously wrong but the hand shown below wasn’t like that at all….

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

West	North	East	South
			No
No	1NT	Dbl	2C
Dbl	2S	No	3C
Dbl	No	3H	No
3NT	End

North/South were on different wavelengths regarding the 2C bid, one intending it to be natural and the other regarding it as Stayman and it did have an impact on matters later. West’s initial double just showed values and his second double was ambiguous but in any event East can hardly be criticised for bidding 3H which inevitably led to 3NT by West. The nine of clubs was led to the king and ace and the jack of clubs was returned which declarer had to win or he would have too many top losers. However all the remaining points had to be in the North hand in a 4-3-4-2 hand pattern – remember the Stayman response – and with the ten of spades obligingly doubleton in the South hand all North could take were his three top tricks. I imagine if North had passed the 2C bid the contract would have petered out in 2S.