BRIDGE
Neither vulnerable. West deals.
NORTH
x K 6 2
u Q 10 7 3
v 7 5 4
w K J 3
WEST EAST
x A Q 10 9 7 5 x J 8 4 3
u Void u J 5
v K 10 3 v J 9 8 2
w 10 9 7 4 w Q 8 5
SOUTH
x Void
u A K 9 8 6 4 2
v A Q 6
w A 6 2
The bidding:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
2x Pass 4x 5u
Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Ten of w
There are players who never saw a finesse they did not take. But finessing should be the last resort, not the first.
West opened the bidding with a weak two spades and East increased the ante by preempting with four spades. South had too good a hand to remain silent and entered the fray with five hearts. North, realizing partner was bidding under pressure, did well to pass.
West found the best opening lead of the ten of clubs. Had declarer routinely covered the ten, the jack would have been covered by the queen, losing to the ace. In the long run, declarer could lose two diamonds and a club, since East would gain the lead with the eight of clubs to lead a diamond through South's tenace.
Once the problem of keeping East off lead is isolated, the solution is not that difficult to find. Declarer played low from dummy on the ten of clubs, and ducked in hand as well! West continued with a club, declarer winning in hand with the ace. Trumps were drawn in two rounds, ending in dummy.
Declarer ruffed a spade in hand, crossed to the king of clubs and ruffed another spade. Now dummy was entered with a trump and the king of spades was led. When East followed low, declarer discarded a diamond! West won with the ace but had a choice of losing alternatives. A diamond would be into declarer's ace-queen, and a spade would permit declarer to ruff on the table while discarding the queen of diamonds from hand. Declarer lost only one club and one spade! Well played.
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; 2004, Tribune Media Services