Trump Echo

Pass

As pointed out above, "mechanical error" is not in the rules. The rule (from the language) has nothing to do with whether the error was mechanical (although it's implied). The test seems to be "pause for thought", regardless of whether the error was an inadvertent error or a logic error. And if that's true, the Director would have to have been there watching the play to judge properly.

I tend to agree with Denny above, assuming the Director is competent. Apparently a mechanical mistake is one where player wanted to (for example) play a low Diamond but instead led an adjacent Club from his hand. So the question is whether that is the case. It sounds like he meant to lead the Diamonds. After the hand was over, the Director must have determined that was the case. Diamonds were meant to be led. The club lead was a mistake, similar to a mis-click online. Hence, Director awarded the hand to Declarer. It makes sense to me assuming the Director judged correctly.

My old Goren book says open 1 Club with your hand. And that would be true if you had a very strong hand as well. It is the lone exception to the higher ranking five-card suit rule. But if you had a "reverse" strength hand, you'd open with the Spades, intending to bid a "high reverse" in Clubs next. Of course, as others have said, this is an older, classic, and maybe out-dated strategy. Regardless of how you play, obviously the most important thing is good communication with your partner.

http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?bbo=y&lin=pn|South,West,North,East|st%7C%7Cmd%7C2S79THD2356789C49T%2CS346QH579AD4C278J%2CS25JKAH2TDTJKAC5Q%2C%7Crh%7C%7Cah%7CBoard%208%7Csv%7Co%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C1S%7Cmb%7C2H%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C3D%7Cmb%7C3H%7Cmb%7C4D%7Cmb%7C4H%7Cmb%7Cd%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cpc%7CST%7Cpc%7CSQ%7Cpc%7CSK%7Cpc%7CS8%7Cpc%7CDK%7Cpc%7CDQ%7Cpc%7CD2%7Cpc%7CD4%7Cpc%7CSA%7Cpc%7CH3%7Cpc%7CS7%7Cpc%7CS3%7Cpc%7CCA%7Cpc%7CC4%7Cpc%7CC2%7Cpc%7CC5%7Cpc%7CCK%7Cpc%7CC9%7Cpc%7CC7%7Cpc%7CCQ%7Cpc%7CH4%7Cpc%7CD3%7Cpc%7CHA%7Cpc%7CH2%7Cpc%7CS4%7Cpc%7CS5%7Cpc%7CH6%7Cpc%7CS9%7Cpc%7CHJ%7Cpc%7CD5%7Cpc%7CH5%7Cpc%7CHT%7Cpc%7CC3%7Cpc%7CCT%7Cpc%7CCJ%7Cpc%7CDT%7Cpc%7CS6%7Cpc%7CSJ%7Cpc%7CH8%7Cpc%7CD6%7Cpc%7CC6%7Cpc%7CD7%7Cpc%7CC8%7Cpc%7CS2%7Cpc%7CH9%7Cpc%7CDJ%7Cpc%7CHQ%7Cpc%7CD8%7Cpc%7CHK%7Cpc%7CD9%7Cpc%7CH7%7Cpc%7CDA%7C IMPs. I am playing South. Thinking about it now, maybe a better second round call by me would have been 5 Diamonds (an advance sacrifice), rather than just 4 Diamonds. But that's not our disagreement. Our disagreement lies with my partner's (North's) double. Although I was prepared to bid 5 Diamonds, my partner doubled for penalty on the free bid after the ops bid game. I felt I should respect her double, so I passed. The ops took an overtrick and we went down 8 IMPs. She says I should have taken her out of the double due to our superfit which compromises her Diamond quick tricks. I say she should have not counted more than one trick in Diamonds because of my supporting bid and should not have doubled with her hand. In my view, her double combined with her strong second bid without help showed me at least 3 tricks in other suits - and also I thought she might have some length in Hearts since I was void. So I felt I should respect her free-bid double and pass. Opinions please?

If the "expert" wants to complain, he needs to put up a better argument. There is nothing wrong with responding with "4 points" provided you have distribution values. Pass - some systems expect to see 109x minimum with a direct raise and you have no alternative. You will support on the next round if you get the chance. Raise - you have plenty of strength for a direct raise thanks to distribution. 1 NT - you play forcing NT and plan to support Spades next. Arguments can be made for/against all these calls. The correct call depends on your system and your style.

I agree. I'd have overcalled 2 Clubs on the first round.

I'm going with Bill.

In the system my partner and I share, East would plan from the start to support the Hearts. His first call is 1 NT, forcing, and his second call is 2 Hearts, showing either full support and a weak hand, or light support and a slightly better hand. East's bid is 2 Hearts.

Yes.

I'd go with 4♥

I'd see 4♠ as a cue bid showing mild slam interest. I'd answer 5 Clubs. With a weak opening hand, I'd retreat to 5 Hearts, but that's not the case here.

My regular partner and I would have found 6 Hearts, although we'd have bid it a little differently, so I think it's a good bid. But obviously, making would depend on the lay of the cards.

If I had South's hand, I would value it with extra strength over a bare bones opening hand due to its hard values. I would therefore bid 3 Spades on the second round, a constructive and descriptive bid after partner's strong response. South is to blame.

I'd bid 3 NT.

Yeah I guess we're old-fashioned. I'd pass the opening too. If I did open, I'd pass the 2 Spades with my weak hand. If my partner has game-going points, I'd expect him to bid again, and I'd then support the Hearts.

It appears the hcps are about equal between the partnerships. I'd pass the first round as you did. I'd be tempted to bid 4 Clubs on the next round, but I'd probably temper that and bid 3 Clubs instead, expecting the ops to bid an aggressive 3 Hearts based on vulnerability. In other words, I'd bid like you did. I assume my partner will pass and the ops will raise on balance. Next I'd bid the 4 Spades. Not 3. This is aggressive but it is too likely the auction will die at 3 Spades and we may have game.

Assign the blame? That's easy. It's my partner's fault!

3♦

Yes. Yes.

When looking at "Hand and Results" / "Recent Hands" the current hand does not stay "lit" on the left side, causing you to lose your place on the list. This is new as of today. If I click it twice it seems better. But I prefer the way it was (yesterday). Thanks

Yes.

Pass.

Answering the OP... Obviously it helps to be playing with your regular partner. South would see the slam in Clubs right away due to the positive response and the self supporting Clubs. The odds of taking 7 with Hearts to the AJ10 is small seeing as how North has already promised honors in Diamonds. So we would end up slamming in Clubs. South would call 4 Clubs forcing (this would not set clubs) but we would end up at 6 Clubs at the very least. We would likely miss the grand slam. I do see the advantage of responder passing the first round though. It does increase the odds of finding 7.

4 Hearts for me, but I'm not an expert B-)