bridge

bridge

Both vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

xJ 10 5

uQ J 9 8 6 4

v5

wA 8 6

WEST EAST

xK Q 4 2 x8 7 6

u5 2 u3

vK Q 10 7 v9 6 4 3 2

wJ 7 4 wK Q 10 3

SOUTH

xA 9 3

uA K 10 7

vA J 8

w9 5 2

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1NT Pass 2v Pass

2u Pass 4u Pass

Pass Pass

Opening lead: King of v

One of the first plays in the Bridge Player’s Dictionary is “Avoidance.” It is a simple concept — keep the danger hand off lead — but comes in some strange guises. Can you spot it here?

North’s two-diamond response to South’s notrump opening was a transfer, and four hearts was reached in quick time — Stayman would have led to the identical contract although there was no guarantee that the strong hand would be declaring. At first glance, it seems that the contract hinges on finding one of the missing spade honors with East — a 75 percent chance — but declarer found a way to increase those odds to a sure-trick line.

West led the king of diamonds, and routine play would be to win, draw trumps and take two spade finesses. As the cards lie, that would lead to down one. Declarer unearthed an avoidance play that guaranteed the contract, as long as West’s opening lead was from the K Q of diamonds.

Despite the singleton in dummy, declarer allowed West to win the first trick! East followed with the deuce, a suit-preference signal because of the singleton, and West duly shifted to a low club. Declarer rose with dummy’s ace, drew trumps in two rounds ending in hand, cashed the ace of diamonds for a club discard and continued with the diamond jack. When West covered with the queen, declarer sluffed dummy’s remaining club rather than ruff.

West’s only safe continuation was a club. Declarer ruffed on the table, came to hand with a heart and trumped another club to eliminate that suit as well. Now the jack of spades was run to West’s queen, and the defender was faced with a choice of ways to concede the contract — either with a ruff-sluff on a diamond return or a lead away from the king of spades into declarer’s combined A 10 tenace.

2011 Tribune Media Services