Hand of the Week

By Nick - Posted on 05 May 2017

More like Hand of the Year!

Its Wednesday night Board 5 and I'm sitting West. I pick up my cards and sort them to see this :
♠ AKQJT98763
♢ 2
♣ 7,4

That's right 10 spades - only missing the 2,4 & 5
I'm thinking 4 ♠ is a lay down bid when my partner opens the bidding with 3 NT!
That gets my brain cells panicking and my heart rate up. That is the Gambling 3NT bid. She is promising a long solid minor suit with little or nothing in the way of off suits.
I figure that no matter which minor it is I can cross to her hand and discard my three little ♢ and ♣.

So I bid 7 ♠ and watch my partner's jaw drop.

Bad move on my part. The opposition quickly double and lead a diamond. My partner lays down ♡ 9864, ♢ 75 ♣ AKQJ953 and I am 1 light for a bottom board. Any other lead and the contract makes.

What I should have done is thought about what lead I might get. I do not know which minor my partner has. If she has ♢ and I get a ♣ lead I lose 2 trick. Or if she has ♣ and they lead a ♢ then a lose 1. On the other hand a ♡ lead lets the contract make.

4 ♠ is the safe bid and unstoppable. As it happens 6 ♠ makes and some people got a ♡ lead and made all 13 tricks.

Less haste and more thought would have paid off here.

Interestingly N/S can make 6 ♡ or 5 ♢

The full deal is here