bridge

bridge

North-South vulnerable. North deals.

NORTH

x8 6 5 3

uK

vK Q J 5

wA Q 9 3

WEST EAST

xQ 10 4 2 xJ

u7 4 2 uA Q 9 6 5

v9 6 3 v8 7 2

w10 7 2 wK J 8 5

SOUTH

xA K 9 7

uJ 10 8 3

vA 10 4

w6 4

The bidding:

NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST

1w 1u 2NT Pass

3NT Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Two of u

While browsing through some files, we came across a deal played quite some years ago at New York’s Regency Whist club. The ending appealed to us.

We thought about jumping to three no trump at our first turn but decided the chance that we were off four heart tricks and another somewhere was too great. Notice how our jump to two no trump cleverly kept us out of four spades with our 4-4 fit! That contract, albeit makeable with a heart lead, would have required perfect timing because of the 4-1 trump break.

West led a low heart, East captured the king with the ace and returned the five. Although we suspected the eight would win, that play would have been fatal had it lost to the nine, so we inserted the ten, which held, and discarded a club from the table. The rest was simple.

We cashed the ace and king of spades, and were delighted when East discarded a diamond. Next came three rounds of diamonds, ending in hand. East discarded a club on the last of these.

Now we led a club and simply covered whichever card in the suit West produced. That endplayed East. After winning the nine of clubs with the jack, he would either have to continue hearts, setting up our knave as the fulfilling trick, or else lead a club into dummy’s major tenace, giving us a second trick in that suit for the contract.

2011 Tribune Media Services