East-West vulnerable. East deals.

East-West vulnerable. East deals.
NORTH
A K 9 8 3
Q 8
8 6 2
A K Q
WEST EAST
Q 4 J 7 5
A 9 7 6 2 J 10 3
Q 10 K J 5
9 6 4 3 10 8 5 2
SOUTH
10 6 2
K 5 4
A 9 7 4 3
J 7
The bidding:
EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH
Pass Pass Pass 1
Pass 2 Pass 3
Pass 3NT Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead: Six of
"How often does the Rule of 11 crop up?" asks a reader. More often than you might think. Here's an example from the Life Master Pairs of a few years ago. Sitting East-West were Bruce Ferguson and Brenda Keller, respectively.
Most players treat North's three spades as pre-emptive, showing a minimum opening bid with little in the way of defense. At this table, however, it was being played as invitational, and South thought that a nine-trick contract might prove easier than the suit game. North could always correct to four spades with a distributional hand.
Against three no trump West led her fourth-best heart and declarer called for dummy's queen. East applied the Rule, deducting the spot led -- six -- from 11 to show that the other three hands held five cards higher than the six-spot.
Two were in dummy and East held two, leaving declarer with only one, so East unblocked the jack.
To come to nine tricks declarer needed to set up spades. Best was probably to lead a low spade from dummy -- to defeat the contract East would have to rise with the jack -- but South tried cashing the king.
He got no second chance: West dumped her queen and now East had to gain the lead, and the ten of hearts return ensured a one-trick set.
Note that careful defense would defeat four spades as well.
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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