Board #5 did us in at the Simsbury Bridge Club on the night of the big party, November 20, 2013. I sat north and dealt; we were vulnerable. I had a hand that was just barely worth opening.

♠ A 10 x x   ♥ A K J x    ♦ 10 x    ♣ x x xLHO bid 2♠. I was familiar with her style. Even though she was at favorable vulnerability, she could be counted on for at least two of the three missing spade honors.

The good thing about her interference was that it removed most of the likelihood that I would find myself declaring a club contract. What I hoped for was a double from partner. It did not happen.

My partner faced a difficult decision. Normally, he would not consider bidding a new suit with only seven points, but these sparkling diamonds dazzled him:

♠ x   ♥ x x x   ♦ A Q J x x x x    ♣ x xHe bid 3♦. Can you blame him?

RHO passed. I expected my partner to have ten or so points and a very good diamond suit. There was not much left for him in hearts or spades. I therefore figured him for either a super-solid diamond suit or a stopper in clubs. In either case 3NT looked feasible, and that is what I bid. My ace (and king and jack) in the hole was the fact that my strength was in the unbid suit.

LHO led ♠K. I said a little prayer that she would not switch to a club and held up my ace. As I hoped, she switched to a low heart. I should have played the ♥A to encourage a second heart lead, but I selected the jack instead.

I only had three top tricks outside of diamonds, so there was no avoiding the diamond finesse. I rated it as no better than a 10 percent chance. Sure enough, on trick number three RHO captured my ten with her king. If she had held three diamonds and held up for one round, I would have already been beaten. Now it depended on what she decided to lead.

Unfortunately for us, she picked the only card that would beat the contract, the ♣A, which dropped her partner’s singleton king, thereby clearing the way for six more club tricks. Of course, if LHO had held the ♦K instead of the ♣K, I would have been a hero, and we would have won the event. If RHO had led any other club, LHO would have won the king, and a lead from any other suit assures the contract (and an overtrick).

In the post mortem I wondered aloud how the bidding should have gone. Should partner have passed? Should I have passed on the second round with my minimum opener? I searched the Internet for guidance, and I found . . . nothing. I could not find a single article that provided guidelines for how to deal with a weak jump overcall by the opponents.

I think that I deserved most of the blame. If partner had held a game-going hand, he could have bid 3♠. I probably should have taken his bid as invitational and passed. 3♦ was our best spot.