BRIDGE

BRIDGE

North-South vulnerable, South deals

NORTH

xQ 7 3 2

uA K 7 6

vA Q 4

w4 2

WEST EAST

xK 9 x6 5

u10 4 uQ J 9 8 5

v9 7 6 3 vK J 8

wA 9 7 5 3 w10 8 6

SOUTH

xA J 10 8 4

u3 2

v10 5 2

wK Q J

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1x Pass 2NT- Pass

4x-- All pass

-Game-forcing spade raise, at least four-card support

--Minimum opening bid with no singleton

Opening lead: Nine of v

Today’s deal is from an important tournament in Europe some years ago. East was Roy Welland, who lives in Germany today, but represented the USA with distinction for many years in international play.

West found the best opening lead of a diamond. Declarer ducked in dummy and Welland won the first trick with his jack. Welland reasoned that his partner might have led a heart with a singleton, and therefore had at least two hearts. South had denied a singleton in the auction, so Welland decided that declarer’s most likely distribution was 5-2-3-3.

Most defenders in this position would shift to a club, but Welland saw the danger in that. The defense was going to need a second diamond trick to defeat the contract, and South’s clubs might be good enough to provide a discard for dummy’s queen of diamonds. Welland, therefore, shifted accurately to a spade. Declarer would have made his contract had he risen with his ace and forced out the ace of clubs, but he ducked this to West’s king, and the ensuing return to diamonds by West sealed declarer’s fate. The defense had to come to one more diamond and the ace of clubs for down one. Nice play!

When you come up against opponents using high-tech modern bidding tools, just keep your eyes and ears open. They can’t tell their partner anything about their hand without also telling you. You are just as entitled to use that information as they are.

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