bridge

bridge

East-West vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

xJ 9 4 3

u9 5

vJ 7 4

wA 8 6 2

WEST EAST

xQ 10 7 x5

u10 6 uQ J 8 7 4

vK 9 3 vA Q 8 5

wK Q 10 4 3 wJ 7 5

SOUTH

xA K 8 6 2

uA K 3 2

v10 6 2

w9

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1x Pass 2x Pass

3u Pass 4x Pass

Pass Pass

Opening lead: King of w

When adversity strikes, going into a depressed state is not the best way to cope with any problem, including those that crop up at the bridge table. Devote your efforts to fighting back.

After receiving a spade raise, South’s hand is surely worth a game try. Since there is the possibility that North holds four or five hearts and only three spades, we prefer three hearts to the help-suit try of three diamonds. North judged that four-card spade support, a doubleton heart and an ace merited going to game.

With a 2-2 spade split, 10 tricks are cold. Declarer won the first trick with the ace and made the key play of ruffing a club immediately. When the queen of trumps did not drop under the ace-king follow-up, declarer was able to fall back on an alternative approach.

The ace and king of hearts were played off and a third heart was led. If West ruffed, declarer would discard a diamond from dummy and concede only two diamond tricks and a trump. When West discarded a club, declarer ruffed, trumped another club in hand and led his remaining heart. Again, West could not ruff so the last spade in dummy was put to good use. A club was ruffed with declarer’s last trump, and the last three tricks were conceded to the three high diamonds and the queen of spades.

Note that it does not help West to discard two clubs on the hearts. In that event, dummy’s fourth club will set up for a diamond discard from the closed hand.

2011 Tribune Media Services