bridge

bridge

East-West vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xA 4

uA J 10 2

vK 9 4

wJ 7 6 5

WEST EAST

xQ J 10 8 6 x9 5 3

uK 4 u9 8 7 3

vJ 3 2 vQ 8 7 6

wK Q 10 w9 3

SOUTH

xK 7 2

uQ 6 5

vA 10 5

wA 8 4 2

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

1x Dbl Pass 3NT

Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Queen of x

Here’s another deal from Eddie Kantar’s award-winning series “Thinking Bridge,” designed for players eager to improve their play.

“Your jump to three no trump shows an opening bid, usually 12-16 high-card points, with at least one stop in the opponent’s suit.

“When they are in the bidding, it really helps to add your high-card points to partner’s (26) telling you how many they have (14). As the opening bidder figures to have at least 12, East must be looking at a queen at most. East cannot have two jacks. Why? Because dummy has two jacks and West must have the spade jack (for his opening lead).

“The critical heart holdings in the West hand are the singleton and doubleton king. If West has three hearts to the king, you cannot go wrong no matter which heart is led, and if West has four hearts to the king, you cannot go right as long as West covers the queen. The way to cater to the stiff king or doubleton king is to lead a low heart, not the queen!

“If the king appears you have four heart tricks and if it does not, stick in the ten and duck a club, which can’t hurt and works out great if West has king-queen doubleton. Say nothing exciting happens in clubs, such as West winning the low club with a high honor, and they knock out your ace of spades. Play a club to the ace and continue with a low heart the second time. If the king appears, win the ace, cross back to the queen and then cross to dummy’s king of diamonds to cash the jack of hearts, your ninth trick. Play hearts the same way if the suit looked like J x x facing A-Q-10-x.”

2011 Tribune Media Services