Bridge with Bland: 9.6.17

Congratulations to the winners and participants who make the St. Louis Regional a perennial success. Special kudos to long-time tournament chairman Mike Carmen and his crew.

Vul: Both
Dealer: South

The bidding:
S
W
N
E
2 ♣
2 ♥
Pass

negative
Pass
2 ♠
Pass
4 ♠
Pass
Pass
Pass

Opening lead:
♦ Jack

NORTH
♠ Q 7 4
♥ J 9
♦ 7 6 4
♣ 7 6 5 4 3

WEST EAST
♠ 8
♠ 9 6 5 3
♥ K 10 8 6 4 2
♥ Q 7
♦ J 10 9 3
♦ 8 5 2
♣ K J
♣ A 10 9 8

SOUTH
♠ A K J 10 2
♥ A 5 3
♦ A K Q
♣ Q 2

the play
1. West led the ♦ Jack to South’s King.
2. Declarer, realizing he must use the short trumps in Dummy for an extra trick, played the Ace and 5 of ♥s.
3. West won the ♥ 5 with the King, and East played the Queen.
4. West led the ♥ 10, 4 from Dummy, and East over-ruffed with the ♠ 6.
5. East led ♣ Ace and then the 10 to West’s King for down one. What should have happened: When West led the ♥ 10, Declarer should have trumped with the ♠ Queen. Only a 5/0 ♠ split would defeat the contract now.
NOTE: Always trump high if you can afford it.

tip of the day
Q| My partner and I bid to a good game contract but went down when one of our losers was over-trumped in Dummy. Is there a rule of thumb as to when to trump high or low?
A| As Declarer, we must determine if we can afford percentage-wise to trump with a high card and not jeopardize our contract

Do you have a good bridge tip? Email kennethmbland@yahoo.com