The Hard Way

17th July – Board 18: North/South Game. Dealer East.

Preemptive bids often cause havoc to one side or the other – which of course is their intention – and the most horrific results can occur with nobody really doing anything wrong.

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

West	North	East	South
		No	No
3D	3S	No	3NT
End

3D is the easy bid and it would be an offence to North’s amour propre if he remained silent. Double is too risky with the likelihood of partner insisting on hearts, so 3S it is. Now the spotlight falls on South and although it might be right to pass 3S it is hardly a sin to bid 3NT. Of course on a diamond lead declarer will come to eight tricks – hardly a disaster – but if West finds a spade lead in an effort to find an entry to his partner’s hand for a diamond switch, declarer will fail by six tricks, losing 600 the hard way. It would hardly be any consolation to point out that East/West are ‘cold’ for 5D!