Posted 2006-October-30, 10:33
East's opening bid is good.
S's double is silly. Bid 1N.
West's redouble is very bad. He shows 10+ in standard methods, and he has 8. Worse, he has a void in partner's suit: he really does not want to hear partner bid ♥s again, and he is more likely to rebid ♥ opposite a redouble than a pass.
Pass may seem a bit weird, but the choices are pass or 1♠. I'd bid 1♠, but passing may well work out best. Redouble is silly.
North has a problem. Many pairs play that the pass shows a willingness to defend, but I don't think this hand is that good defensively. Anyway, in an indy, one cannot assume partner is on the same wavelength. So pass or bid 2♦: neither can be criticized.
East's pass is routine: he isn't expecting a void over there.
S's 1N is idiotic: it announces 19+: else he would have overcalled 1N.
West's pass is unavoidable, altho it compounds the error of the redouble. It has to be forcing. We have shown 10+ hcp and partner opened and dummy will be tabling a zero count. No way are they allowed to play 1N on this sequence.
North is off the hook for now, altho he surely suspects that NS should be playing in ♥s. In an indy, it is too risky to bid 2♥.
East's 2♣ is reasonable: he can't stand a ♥ lead against 1N doubled, and partner made a forcing pass.
S's double is the third straight idiotic bid... and they are getting worse each time.
West's pass of 2♣ is his best call so far.
Now N, who previously had been free from serious criticism, made a blunder. There is no way he should bid 2♦: he should pass....or bid 2♥.Which choice he makes depends on his assessment of who has made what mistakes: his hand tells him that at least one player has made at least one serious error.
Having bid 2♦, and got doubled, North made his second blunder by not running to 2♥.
All in all, a dismal performance by everyone, except East who did nothing wrong.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari