BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x Q 9 2
u A J 9 4 3
v A 10 9
w 10 9
WESTEAST
x K 7 3x J 10 8 6
u 10u K Q 7 5 2
v Q 5v 7 6 4 3
w K J 8 7 5 4 3w Void
SOUTH
x A 5 4
u 8 6
v K J 8 2
w A Q 6 2
The bidding:
SOUTHWESTNORTHEAST
1v3w3uPass
3NTPassPassPass
Opening lead: Ten of u
Bridge is a game of give and take. The auction caused South to go wrong in one suit but highlighted the road to recovery.
West's weak jump in clubs over South's one-diamond opening bid did nothing to steer North-South away from their normal contract, but it did have some repercussions in the play.
West found the best lead of the ten of hearts, covered by the jack and won by East with the queen. East returned a low spade, ducked to West's king, and a spade was returned, won by declarer with the ace. The eight of hearts was led and ducked in dummy, with East refusing the trick.
With West marked with long clubs and, therefore, diamond shortness, declarer cashed the ace of diamonds and ran the ten, losing to West's queen. The spade return was won by dummy's queen, and the nine of diamonds and ace of hearts were cashed, with declarer discarding a club from hand. Banking on the auction, declarer led the ten of clubs, ducking in hand. West won with the jack, but the forced club return allowed declarer to score with three tricks in diamonds and two in each of the other suits.
XThis column is written by Tannah Hirsch and Omar Sharif. For information about Charles Goren's newsletter for bridge players, call (800) 788-1225 or write Goren Bridge Letter, P.O. Box 4410, Chicago, Ill. 60680.
& copy; 2003, Tribune Media Services