Both vulnerable. East deals.

Both vulnerable. East deals.

NORTH

xA J 10

u10 3

vK 7 4 2

w10 8 7 6

WEST EAST

xQ 8 7 4 xK 6 5 3

uK J 6 5 uA Q 8 7 4 2

vQ 10 9 5 vJ 3

w4 w9

SOUTH

x9 2

u9

vA 8 6

wA K Q J 5 3 2

The bidding:

EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH

Pass 1w Pass 1v

1u 3w 3u 4w

Pass 5w Pass Pass

Pass

Opening lead: Five of u

This is another deal from Eddie Kantar’s excellent “Thinking Bridge” series, designed for players who are anxious to improve their game.

“As East, you have an awkward hand. It is usually not a good idea to open a weak two-bid with a side four-card major and the hand isn’t strong enough to open one heart. After North’s one diamond response, you might try bidding two hearts now! Why now? If you think about it, a delayed two-heart jump overcall should show six hearts and four spades, the reason for not opening two hearts in the first place.

“East does best to win the ace of hearts and continue the suit. As South, you have two lines of play available. You can play three rounds of diamonds and hope they break 3-3 [36 percent]. If they do, dummy’s long diamond provides a resting place for your losing spade. Alternatively, you can take two spade finesses. If West has one or both spade honors [75 percent], you can set up a spade trick for a diamond discard. The double spade finesse is more than twice as likely to produce the extra trick you need, so that is by far the better line of play.

“It is nice to know a little about suit distributions. If you have seven cards in a suit between your hand and dummy, you can expect a 3-3 distribution about one-third of the time, a 4-2 break close to 50 percent of the time. If you need one of the two finesses to succeed, you can expect one of them to work about 75 percent of the time. Of course the bidding and previous plays must be considered, but those percentages are important to know.”

To learn more about Eddie Kantar’s instructional series, go to www.kantarbridge.com.

2008 Tribune Media Services