bridge

May 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

bridge

Both vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

xJ 6 3

uJ 10

vQ 10 9 6 5 2

wJ 2

WEST EAST

xK 9 4 xQ 2

uQ 6 4 2 uK 9 5 3

vJ 7 vA K 4 3

w8 7 6 5 w9 4 3

SOUTH

xA 10 8 7 5

uA 8 7

wA K Q 10

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1x Pass 2x Dbl

4x Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Two of u

North’s raise to two spades was more a tribute to his partner’s skill as declarer than an accurate evaluation of his holding. South proved him to be right. Can you land 10 tricks at spades after you receive the lead of a low heart?

West led a low heart to the king and ace. Declarer took three rounds of clubs, discarding a heart from dummy, and then ruffed a heart on the table. He returned to hand with a trump to the ace and ruffed his remaining heart. South now needed to get to hand to draw trumps.

The bidding suggested that East was likely to be short in spades, and a diamond ruff was the only possible entry. Also, West had to be kept off lead since, if he gained the lead, there was the possibility that he could give partner a club ruff and then score his high trump for the setting trick.

Armed with that picture of the hand, the solution to declarer’s problem was simple — he led the queen of diamonds from dummy!

As expected, East held both top diamonds. In with the king, he could do declarer no harm. No matter which red suit East returned, declarer would ruff and lead a trump, and the king of spades was declarer’s only other loser.

2010 Tribune Media Services