REBECCA ROOD'S MAILBAG...............

Dear Rebecca ,

The other night my partner and I scored an amazing top against two very experienced players.
With both sides vulnerable , my partner sitting East opened a weak 2S. South passed , and so did I , holding K10x....Qx....AJ1oxx ....Qxx . However North , who clearly wasn't the type of person to let opponents get away with a cheap contract ,  felt obliged to double.
So what did my partner do ?  He proceeded to bid 3S !!  ( Apparently , he had 7 spades all along ). South , sitting there with a few values of his own , made a responsive double , which I passed.....and so did North !! As it happened the 3S contract made with two overtricks for a stunning +1130.
Therefore , I have 2 questions to ask : (i) was my partner's bidding magnificent or insane ?
and (ii) who else at the table may have sinned ?

Yours HBJ


Dear Howard ,

In my book it is a cardinal sin for a player to raise his own pre-empt, especially when vulnerable. If his distribution warranted a weak 3S opener , then that is what he should have bid. Therefore the adjective I would use to describe his bidding is  " CRIMINAL " .
As for your pass, that too was criminal. I grant you your 12 points wasn't the best in the world , but with a fit in trumps and a decent 5 card diamond suit you should at least stick in a 3S bid , or better still make the regulation 2NT enquiry bid.
With regards to North mis-reading his partner's responsive double what else can I say other than criminal. Clearly duplicate bridge in your neck of the wood bears no resemblance to the honest kind I was first introduced to in the good old days, when players knew what they were doing and always remembered what was on their system cards.

Yours gobsmacked as usual Rebecca