East-West vulnerable. West deals.

East-West vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xK Q J 10 7

uA Q 3

vA K

wJ 9 5

WEST EAST

xA 6 5 x3

uJ 10 6 2 uK 9

v9 8 vJ 10 7 5 4 3 2

w8 7 6 4 wK 10 2

SOUTH

x9 8 4 2

u8 7 5 4

vQ 6

wA Q 3

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

Pass 1w 2v Pass

Pass Dbl Pass 2x

Pass 4x Pass Pass

Pass

Opening lead: Nine of v

Some hands dealt at the table are perfect lesson hands. This deal from the trials to select the two U.S. teams for last year’s Bermuda Bowl contract was one such case.

North’s one-club opening bid was forcing (17+ points) and the rest of the auction was natural, starting with East’s pre-emptive jump overcall, North’s balancing double (for takeout) and South’s two-spade response. As a result, the weak hand was playing the spade game.

West led a diamond, won in dummy perforce. The contract depended on winning one of two finesses, and it seemed that it was bound to fail. However the declarer, Alan Sontag, proved that there was more than one way to take a finesse!

Declarer continued with the king of trumps, take with the ace by West, who shifted to the jack of hearts. If West held the king, there was no hurry to finesse with the queen; instead, declarer rose with the ace, cashed the remaining diamond winner and drew trumps ending in hand. Now it was time to lead a heart to the queen and king, and Sontag’s technique paid off. Down to nothing but minor-suit cards, East was faced with a Hobson’s choice: lead a diamond and yield a ruff-sluff, or play a club and allow declarer to avoid a loser in that suit by running it to the jack and then finessing the queen. Either way, another of declarer’s losers would vanish and the contract was home.

Sontag’s technique now paid off. Out of major-suit cards, East was forced to concede a ruff-sluff, declarer’s second heart loser vanished and the contract was home.

2010 Tribune Media Services