A Grand Mistake

I recently played in the Orlando Regional, and had a fun hand come up that should be a good learning lesson for everyone.

North

KQT9xx

Qx

Kx

xxx

South

Ax

AKJTx

AQ

AKxx

After a 2S opener by North, my partner and I managed to reach 7S by North. On the surface, 7S is a very good contract. All it needs is for the spade jack to fall, and we have a million tricks.

What actually happened was, after we bid 7S, East, who was on lead against 7S, doubled as fast as they could, so happy to have us down in their own hand in 7S. We had bid keycard, so we knew we were not off an ace, so there was some other reason that they have doubled. It had to be a trump trick! Trusting their double, we ran to 7NT, which they again doubled.

The lead was a heart. I won the lead in dummy (North), and immediately lead the ten of spades and when East played low, I finessed! East had Jxxxx of spades. In 7NT, I only needed 4 spade tricks to go along with 5 hearts, 2 diamonds, and 2 clubs. Making 7!

The bridge lesson of this hand is, don't double a slam or grand slam when you are only beating the contract because of your trump trick(s). Not only did the double push us from an un-makeable contract to a makable one, but it also told me how to make it.

The moral of this story can be found in what happened next.

As we scored up 7NX making, the partner of the doubler said, "that was one of the worst bids I've ever seen". This comment in my opinion was a much worse mistake than the original double. The doubler already knows how much their mistake cost, there is absolutely no reason to rub it in their face. Your results will improve, and you will feel better about yourself if you avoid making aggressive comments. Being a good partner is the most important skill in the game. Find a way to lighten the mood, take a break, whatever it takes. Don't pile on to the problem.