Rescue bidding

It's part of the delightful nature of bridge that sometimes the bidding goes awry. There is simply too much information to be able to always communicate unambiguously.

When there's a little slip in bidding communication, though, there's often a way to nudge the auction at least partway back on track. In this hand, where I sat South and partnered with a very nice beginner, North bid 2C, forgetting that 2C was earmarked for the Stayman convention, an inquiry about my majors. That was an error, but one that could have been amended.

South	West	North	East
1NT	Pass	2	Pass
2	Pass	Pass	Pass

North

 x

 x x

 Q x x x

 K Q x x x x

South

 K Q J x

 A J x

 K J

 x x x x

When you see that the bidding has gone off track, it's easy to get flustered and just try to bail out in the lowest contract possible, as North did here by passing my spade bid. But when there's an opportunity to rectify the situation rather than abnegate, it's best to seize that opportunity, which may land you in a contract that, if not optimal, is at least better than one you'd otherwise get into. In this case, a rebid of 3C by North would have indicated to me that my partner genuinely liked the club suit. I might have also concluded that her Stayman bid meant she had four hearts, but I wasn't likely to support that regardless.

As it happened, we only went down one trick, undoubled; but making a contract in clubs would have been preferable.