Both vulnerable. West deals.

Both vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xK 10 9 8 3

u7 6 4 2

vQ 3

wA 3

WEST EAST

xJ 4 xQ 7 5 2

u10 5 uJ 9 3

vA K J 5 v10 7 6 2

wK J 9 5 4 w10 8

SOUTH

xA 6

uA K Q 8

v9 8 4

wQ 7 6 2

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

1w Pass Pass Dbl

Pass 1x Pass 1NT

Pass 2w Pass 2u

Pass 4u Pass Pass

Pass

Opening lead: King of v

Sometimes, you can place all the missing cards with a high degree of accuracy. This deal is a good example.

We would have preferred an opening bid of one diamond with the West hand, preparing a rebid of two clubs. A side benefit would have been that declarer would not have obtained an exact count of the hand but would have had to rely on an inferential count. These days, most players would have overcalled one spade with the North hand, but North-South still found the way to the best contract.

West led the king of diamonds, East following with the seven, and continued with the ace and jack, East playing the 2-6 and declarer ruffing the third round on the table. Obviously, it would be risky to try to ruff clubs in dummy — East was surely short in the suit and would overruff — so declarer would have to set up spade winners to take care of his club losers.

South’s first move was to cash all three of his trump winners, West discarding a club on the third round. Since West had opted to open with by far the weaker of his two minors, he obviously held five cards in the suit, hence West’s distribution had to be 2-2-4-5. Declarer now cashed the ace of spades, crossed to the king and, relieved that he had dropped an honor on the second round, ran the ten of spades for a ruffing finesse — four hearts bid and made.

If West had shown up with a singleton heart, he would have held three spades and the suit would have been established with a ruff. But what if West held three hearts and only one spade?

The contract would then have depended on West holding an honor. Once that card was picked up, declarer would have continued with a ruffing finesse for the outstanding honor.

2008 Tribune Media Services