I Fought the Law

None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: A

	wzheng 10 9 5 Q 10 9 7 3 6 5 3 7 3
xylene A K 5 K 10 9 8 4 2 J 10 5 2		deeper J 7 4 3 2 A 8 6 4 2 A 7 4
	Maestro K Q 8 6 J Q J A K Q 9 8 6

West 2 Pass Dbl

North Pass Pass Pass

East Pass Pass 3 Pass

South 1 3 4 Pass

STCPs™ must never bid the same hand twice. Experts, however, may bid the same hand as often as they like.

Gee, South, kicks things off today with a first-hand 1C opener. West overcalls a “weak” 2D, which has the advantage of showing her actual six diamonds and the disadvantage of understating her hand by about an ace and a queen. 2D is passed back to Gee, who holds seven probable offensive tricks and not much defense and makes a reasonable 3C bid. This in turn rolls around to East. She holds two sure defensive tricks and knows clubs are breaking badly. The Law of Total Tricks says to pass in such situations, and that’s what I would do. East wisely chooses 3D instead, giving Gee another chance to bid.

The “Law” is another one of those petty rules that experts can safely ignore. North rates to have two clubs, three diamonds — if East had three she would probably raise immediately — and a defensive trick or two, which means 3D is likely down. In fact 3D makes, even on the best defense of a trump lead and continuation, because of the miraculous trump layout and the fact that E/W bid their hands…eccentrically, let’s say. Sensing the impending danger of -110, Gee once again puts his inimitable table feel to work and bids 4C.

West doubles. The normal result is down 3, but we reach it by an unexpected route. West chooses the worst possible lead of the SA, selling out the spade position for the sake of a ruff with her natural trump trick. She shifts to D10; East goes up with the DA and returns a spade. Gee now makes the key play, shrewdly inserting the SK. Although this is not a zero percent play — it wins in the unlikely event that West led the ace holding the jack — there is, in Gee’s defense, no zero play available. In any case West ruffs, cashes the DK, and leads a third round of diamonds, which Gee ruffs.

Gee can now pull the rest of the trump but with no entry to dummy he must concede another spade and we’re back, again, to down 3.

Ah, Gee! Ah, humanity!