Staying with the program

One of the best and most memorable bits of bridge advice I've ever received came from my own dear wife, Kim.  At the time, I thought I was the one that was supposed to be doling out the advice, but that's another story.

"Stay with the program," was what she said.  I had wimped out in the run up to a slam (or possibly I passed a forcing bid, the details have been blissfully erased from my memory).  But I have never forgotten the advice.

Here's an example of what I mean.  Names have been omitted but my partner understands that he didn't stay with the program on this occasion!

His hand was ♠AK86 ♥Q8 ♦A98532 ♣7, red on white at matchpoints and LHO had dealt and passed.  I opened 1NT (12-14) and partner (with hand shown) bid 2♦ (game-forcing Stayman).  I rebid 2NT (no four-card major and no five-card minor).  Partner bid 3♦.  I now bid 3♥.  This bid implicitly accepts diamonds as the trump suit (unless of course we later elect to play in NT) and shows a heart control, and by extension some interest in slam.  It was at this point that partner dropped the ball and bid 3NT.  Either of 3♠ or 4♦ ("minorwood") would have got us to the lay-down 6♦.  Instead, we languished in a contract that was destined to go down 1.  However, I was so discombobulated at missing the slam that I forgot I wasn't even in a ♦ contract at all and so "cross-ruffed" my way to down 3.

The moral of the story is this.  If you make a bid that invites a slam (or game) and then partner makes a forward-going bid, even if his hand is limited, it's your duty to cooperate.  You cannot wimp out.  In other words...

Stay with the program!