Bridge - The Scotsman 14/03/13

ON this deal from the Junior Camrose aggressive English bidding pushed Yvonne Wiseman into a thin game. The four-card overcall was intended to put her off playing no-trump, but she was not deterred by lack of stopper quality.

Her 2NT rebid showed 15+ points and was forcing – brother Ralph could either pull to 3C or raise to game, and he chose the aggressive course. East led his heart, and it was essential not to duck: West could switch to spades and beat the game. Going for broke, Yvonne won ace of hearts, cashed top diamonds, and played ace and another club, happy to see East’s queen. +630 looked a solid result, but she probably expected no more than a flat board. In the other room North opened a strong no-trump, and Philip Morrison doubled, showing a four-card major with a longer minor. South’s 2S was likely intended as a transfer to clubs, but North did not read it that way. (Convention Cards must be submitted in advance to let partnerships prepare for conventions they are not accustomed to.)

2S did not play well. West led king of hearts to ace, and declarer cashed two clubs and two diamonds. When he tried to cash the queen of diamonds, West ruffed and switched to trump, sadly not the jack. East played three rounds, giving declarer an undeserved sixth trick with queen, but that was still two down and a 13 imp gain.

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