A Costly Decision

	A J 8 6 2
	J 10 4
	6 3 2
	A 5
	K
	7 3
	J 10 8 5 4
	K Q 7 4 2				Vul: E-W

West	North	East	South
Pass	Pass	1 NT	2 NT
Pass	3 NT	Dbl	Redbl
All	pass

I dunno. North and South were both advanced players here. Actually, I made the same (unusual) two no over a spade bid on my right. Fortunately my partner was a novice and properly bid 3 diamonds, going down one for a better than average score (the opps can make an easy 2 hearts, some making 3).

It's fairly well accepted that though good computer chess programs can be devised, no one has yet produced a smashingly good bridge program. I once speculated on the differences between bridge and chess, and aside from the obvious -- in bridge you work with a partner, in chess you don't, in bridge the opponents' holding is hidden, while in chess it is open -- I decided that one of the salient differences between the two games is that bridge requires a lot of common sense, while chess does not. Intelligence, yes, or more specifically, a grasp of the potential of each piece, oh my yes, but good old-fashioned horse sense, no. I cannot see that that is part of chess.

Here it seemed to me that both North and South had lost their common sense. Does North think his partner is advertising a hand strong enough for two no in the face of a one no bid on his right? Would South not be more inclined to double and go for 7 tricks rather than contract for 8? And if there are 8 for the good guys, would not a double of East's one no bring a higher score than making a partial? And would not nine (at that vulnerability) be more than game? Nor is it clear why North wouldn't think of exploring for a better contract in spades, even if we can see it would have been a lost cause.

But South has to use a little common sense, too. His partner missed the convention the first time around. Does South think the redouble would wake him up? And that is particularly germane here, where South can bid 4 clubs, hoping his partner will at last remember what the 2 no bid means, possibily hitting his partner with his best minor, possibly escaping a double. Needless to say, the redouble moved an unfortunate misunderstanding into a disaster.