Source: In duplicate it’s better to bid one more By Charles H. Goren and Omar Sharif
At rubber bridge, if you are vulnerable and the opponents are not, you should be happy to accept an opposing sacrifice bid that will cost at least 300 points if you cannot be certain of your contract at the next level. At duplicate even 500 is not enough if you can make a game; so it often is right to bid one more rather than accept the sacrifice, even if you cannot be sure of fulfilling your contract.
This hand is from the final session of the Open Pairs event at the 1986 Spring North American Championships in Portland, Oregon.
North-South vulnerable. East deals.
Lead: Jack of club
Sitting North-South were Edith Rosenkranz, of Mexico City, and Jeff Meckstroth, of Columbus, Ohio. Meckstroth’s two-spade jump overcall was of the intermediate variety, showing a good suit and the equivalent of a sound opening bid.
East’s decision to bid five clubs did nothing other than steer his partner to an inferior opening lead after Meckstroth elected to compete rather than double. Declarer won the jack of clubs opening lead with the ace and led the queen, prepared to discard if East didn’t cover. When the king came up, Meckstroth trumped, noting West’s eight.
He drew trumps in three rounds, West discarding a diamond on the third trump, Since East was likely to have 10 cards in the two suits he bid and he already had shown up with three spades, declarer elected to play him for no diamonds. At trick six, therefore, he led the four of diamonds, and when West followed with the three, he called for dummy’s five, which won! The seven of dubs was covered by the ten and ruffed, and a heart went away on the six of clubs. Meckstroth lost only one heart for almost all the matchpoints.