North-South vulnerable. South deals.

North-South vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

xQ 7 5

uA J 3

vQ J 4

wK J 10 2

WEST EAST

xJ 10 4 x9 8 6 3 2

u8 2 u9 6 5

vA 8 5 2 v7

wA 9 6 3 wQ 8 7 4

SOUTH

xA K

uK Q 10 7 4

vK 10 9 6 3

w5

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1u Pass 2NT Pass

3v Pass 3u Pass

4u Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: ?

Man has been blessed with five senses. Using just two of them properly can earn rich rewards at the bridge table.

The auction was normal. North’s two no trump showed a balanced 13-15 points and, after South rebid in diamonds and North gave preference, the heart game was reached.

From the bidding, West deduced that South was quite likely to hold five diamonds to suggest an 11-trick contract. North almost surely held three diamonds since, with only two diamonds and three hearts, the two no trump response was unlikely. So West hit upon the excellent opening lead of the ace of diamonds, then continued with the deuce for East to ruff. Listening to the auction had paid off.

Now it was East’s turn. Obviously West had a choice of diamonds, so the deuce was lead-directing, suggesting an entry in the lower-ranking of the remaining two suits — in this case clubs. So East duly shifted to a club. West grabbed his ace and gave partner another diamond ruff, and the contract was set before declarer even had a chance to play. This time, looking at partner’s card resulted in the winning defense.

Although three no trump was unbeatable, four hearts was a normal contract and a strong favorite to succeed.

2009 Tribune Media Services