bridge

bridge

East-West vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xQ 10 6

uJ 9 6 4

v9 2

w10 9 3 2

WEST EAST

x5 x9 8 7 3 2

uQ 10 8 5 3 2 uA

vQ 8 4 vJ 10 6 5

wK Q 7 w8 6 4

SOUTH

xA K J 4

uK 7

vA K 7 3

wA J 5

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

2u Pass Pass 3NT

Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Five of u

This deal is from the semifinals of von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs at the recent ACBL Summer North American Championships held in Philadelphia. You are unlikely to find in any textbook the correct bid for South, holding a balanced 23 points, after an opening two-heart bid to his left has been passed round to him. Certainly, three no trump is as good as any.

West led the five of hearts, won by East who shifted to a diamond. One line is to win with the ace and use dummy’s two spade entries to take two club finesses — a 75 percent chance. However, East’s ace of hearts is surely a singleton and the shift to a diamond shows length in that suit. The double club finesse is an unnecessary chance to take.

Instead, duck the first diamond, win the continuation with the ace and cash the king. Take the king of hearts and then play off three rounds of spades, reducing the hand to this position with dummy on lead:

x —

u J 9

v —

w10 9 2

x — x9 8

uQ 10 u —

v — vJ

wK Q 7 w8 6

xJ

u —

v7

wA J 5

Now run the ten of clubs. No matter who holds the club honors, the contract is unbeatable. As the cards lie, West can win the queen of clubs and can cash the queen of hearts, but those are the last tricks for the defense — trust us!

2012 Tribune Media Services