BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x K 3 2
u 7 4
v J 10 9 8 5 2
w J 6
WEST EAST
x 7 4 x 8 6
u Q 10 8 6 2 u J 9
v 4 3 v K Q 7 6
w K Q 10 9 w 8 5 4 3 2
SOUTH
x A Q J 10 9 5
u A K 5 3
v A
w A 7
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
2w Pass 2v Pass
2x Pass 3x Pass
4NT Pass 5v Pass
5NT Pass 6w Pass
6x Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: King of w
It might seem that there is nothing simpler than ruffing a loser. This deal might disabuse you of that idea.
The bidding is easy enough. After an artificial, game-forcing two-club opener and a waiting response, the rest of the auction was natural. North-South were playing Key-Card Blackwood where the king of trumps counts as an ace, so North's five-diamond response to the ace-ask showed either one or four of the five "aces". South had no problem working out which.
West led the king of clubs to declarer's ace, and it seemed that declarer could ruff two hearts, one high and one low, in dummy and get home. That would all be fine if hearts broke 4-3, but what if the suit split 5-2. A defender might overruff the third heart and declarer would still be faced with a club loser.
The solution was pretty. Declarer won the opening lead with the ace, cashed the ace and king of hearts and continued with a heart but, instead of ruffing, South discarded dummy's remaining club! No matter what the defenders did, this "transfer ruff" permitted South to trump a club low and a heart high, and so limit his losers to one trick in hearts!
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