BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. West deals.
NORTH
x A 8 6 2
u K 4 3
v 10 6 2
w 9 8 2
WEST EAST
x K Q J 10 9 7 5 4 x Void
u 10 8 2 u Q J 9 7
v Void v 8 4 3
w Q 6 w K J 10 5 4 3
SOUTH
x 3
u A 6 5
v A K Q J 9 7 5
w A 7
The bidding
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
4x Pass Pass 5v
Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: King of x
Winners can be hard to come by. Nurture them; protect them. It will be worth your while.
West's four-spade preempt in first seat is textbook. South had no idea how many tricks his side could make, but to bid more than five diamonds would have jeopardized a possible game. North was close to a raise, but the ace of spades was unlikely to improve partner's hand enough, so North passed.
West led the king of spades, declarer covered with dummy's ace and East ruffed. In the fullness of time, declarer had to lose a trick in hearts and clubs -- down one.
Had South paused to plan the play before committing himself to the first trick, he might have found the winning line. Since West's opening bid marked him with an eight-card suit, declarer should swap losers by playing low from dummy at the first trick, preserving the ace for later use. Declarer ruffs the spade continuation, draws trumps and crosses to the table with the king of hearts and discards one of his losers on the ace of spades. Making five-odd.
& copy; 2005 Tribune Media Services
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