On this second of 4 "Diamonds to Gold" Deals from Denmark, I thought Christmas had come in August. With both sides vulnerable, I held:
865
--
AKQ853
10964.
I didn't have a weak 2 bid available in my system (this hand might be too good anyway), so I opened 1. LHO Doubled and my partner, David Berkowitz jumped to 4. Not 4 as one would expect (my void), but 4! How interesting.
I wondered how many hearts the opponents would bid and in turn, if I would go on to 5 or even 6 spades as a sacrifice (or maybe even to make). RHO bid 4NT for takeout. What should I do?
Rather than a direct 5, I decided to pass and await developments. The developments were shocking. LHO (the takeout doubler) bid 5, some sort of cue-bid, I supposed. David passed and RHO passed! They were in 5! Should I double? No way--I didn't want to chase them into hearts. This was the full deal:
Vul:Both Dlr: East
-- Q973 J942 KJ532
KQJ1042 KJ1086 -- 87
865 -- AKQ853 10964
A973 A542 1076 AQ
West
North
East
South
1
Double
4
4NT
Pass
5
Pass
Pass
Pass
No, 5 was not a cue-bid. I suppose South thought his partner had minors and chose the 3-card suit. North had no reason to remove it. David led the K and declarer played well to hold it to down 3, 300. This was actually not such a good result for us. Many tables in the event (including our teammates) went for a much bigger number (4X down 1100 by our teammates).
Next time I suppose I should double instead of looking the gift horse in the mouth.