Have you ever made a bid based on the assumption that your partner has forgotten your system? It’s not as unreasonable as it might sound. Everyone forgets bits of their system now and again, and if a bid doesn’t make sense to you, that could well be why. Even so, it’s an uncomfortable dilemma: whether to assume your partner has erred and risk a very red face if they haven’t, or trust them at the risk of landing in a ridiculous contract.
It’s a problem even top players sometimes face. During a recent Young Chelsea Super League match, the England international Stefano Tommasini and Sebastian Atisen, one of his regular partners, ended up in a 0-0 fit (see diagram).
Playing what they call an ‘artificial 2♣️ game-force relay system’, Stefano (South) opened a natural 1♦️. Sebastian’s 2♣️ showed any game-forcing hand. 2♥️ was natural, showing an unbalanced hand. 4♣️ was a splinter agreeing diamonds. 4♥️ was a cue-bid, and 5♣️ showed a void. Or did it…? Stefano found it hard to believe that Sebastian had a club void when he did too. It was more plausible, surely, that he had forgotten their system, and that his bids had been natural. And so, instead of bidding 5♦️, he passed! West, Artur Malinowski, wished Sebastian a cheeky good luck as he too passed. The contract went eight down. It wasn’t actually such a bad score, as in the other room Tom Townsend and Thor-Erik Hoftaniska played in 6♦️ redoubled, down one!
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