East-West vulnerable. North deals.

East-West vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
J 9 3
J
K Q 9 6 2
10 6 4 3
WEST EAST
10 4 8 7 2
Q 10 6 5 9 8 3 2
J 10 8 4 3 A 5
A J K 8 5 2
SOUTH
A K Q 6 5
A K 7 4
7
Q 9 7
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
Pass Pass 1 Pass
2 Pass 4 Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead: Jack of
Defense is the most difficult part of bridge. The defending side sees only half of its assets and has to rely on accurate card-reading to obtain a good result.
The auction was routine. Whether you play four- or five-card majors, the spade raise with the North cards is the only bid that should come into consideration. South might have thought about a help-suit game try of three clubs rather than the aggressive leap to game.
West led the jack of diamonds, covered by the queen and taken with the ace. East shifted to the deuce of clubs and, if West had defended by rote and won the trick with the knave, declarer would have coasted home. However, West realized that whether East held the queen or king, he could hold no other high card. Had West won the trick as cheaply as possible, the contract would have been unbeatable.
Instead, West shot up with the ace of clubs and returned the jack to East's king. A club back from East allowed West to ruff and the defenders had banked the first four tricks.
This 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;2006, Tribune Media Services
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