bridge

bridge

Both vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

x7 4 2

uA 10 5

vJ 7 5 4

wA 5 3

WEST EAST

x9 8 6 5 x10 3

uQ J 9 7 4 u8 3 2

vVoid vQ 10 9 6

wJ 10 4 2 wQ 9 8 6

SOUTH

xA K Q J

uK 6

vA K 8 3 2

wK 7

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

2w Pass 2v Pass

3v Pass 4v Pass

4NT Pass 5u Pass

6NT Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Queen of u

Bridge is often a simple game. Count your tricks and what you need to get them becomes obvious. Consider this deal.

North’s response to Blackwood showed two first-round controls but denied the queen of the agreed suit. South wisely elected to play in notrump.

West led the queen of hearts and, when dummy came down, declarer could count four spade tricks and two each in hearts and clubs for a total of eight. That meant that only four tricks were needed from diamonds and, on the actual holding, South could afford a safety play.

Declarer won the first trick in dummy and led a diamond. Had East produced the nine or ten, declarer would have won with the king and led a low diamond up to the jack, assuring four tricks on any distribution. However, East produced the six, but declarer was up to the challenge — he finessed with the eight. Had West won, the 3-1 suit distribution would have permitted declarer to collect four tricks in the suit by simply cashing the ace-king when he regains the lead. Here, however, the eight won and it was a simple matter to concede a diamond trick and make three more tricks in the suit to bring his total to 12!

2012 Tribune Media Services