bridge

bridge

North-South vulnerable. East deals.

NORTH

xA K J

u7 6 4 3

vA 10 4

wA Q 7

WEST EAST

x9 8 3 x2

uQ 10 uA K J 9 8 5 2

vK Q J 9 v8 3

wK J 9 3 w10 4 2

SOUTH

xQ 10 7 6 5 4

uVoid

v7 6 5 2

w8 6 5

The bidding:

EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH

3u Pass 4u Dbl

Pass 4x Pass Pass

Pass

Opening lead: Three of x

When playing a hand, most have a tendency to view the contract only from declarer’s viewpoint. But sometimes dummy is the key hand, and that is often when the high trumps are on the table.

In these days of liberal pre-empts at favorable vulnerability, most would open the East hand with four hearts.

However, that is unlikely to have changed the final contract, since North should still double and South would remove to four spades.

West found the excellent opening lead of a trump, giving declarer no help at all. The hand would be simple if trumps were 2-2, but that is against the odds.

However, since the king of clubs rates to be with West, it might seem that declarer cannot lose more than two diamonds and one club, but that fourth diamond is an annoyance. Declarer found an elegant solution to the problem. The first trick was taken in dummy and a heart was ruffed in hand. Declarer returned to the table with a trump, confirming the 3-1 split, and ruffed another heart.

When a club to the queen held, declarer used the two club entries to dummy to ruff two more hearts with the queen and ten of spades. He led back to the ace of diamonds, drew the last trump and conceded the last three tricks!

A perfect dummy reversal!

2012 Tribune Media Services