One of the cool things about bridge is we can play against world-class players, no matter our skill level. I don’t know of any other game where this is possible. Some years ago, the world champion, Dallas Aces, formed and captained by Ira Corn, played an exhibition match against a very good St. Louis team, which included our own Jacque Sincoff. See if you can match Jacque’s skill on the following hand.
| The Bidding: | S | W | N | E |
| 1N | pass | 2C | pass | |
| 2D | pass | 3N | pass | |
| pass | pass |
Opening lead: ♠ Five
Cover the East/West hands and see if you can make the contract.
NORTH
♠ 8 2
♥ A K 8 5
♦ 7 6 5 3
♣ K Q 8
WEST
♠ K J 6 5 4
♥ Q 10 9
♦ J 10 8
♣ 9 2
EAST
♠ Q 10 7
♥ J 7 4
♦ Q 2
♣ 10 6 5 4 3
SOUTH
♠ A 9 3
♥ 6 3 2
♦ A K 9 4
♣ A J 7
West led their fourth-best ♠. Declarer ducked two rounds winning the third.
Nine tricks are available: one ♠, two or three ♥, two or three ♦, three ♣.
Three tricks in either ♥ or ♦ will make the contract.
To make three tricks in either suit, a trick must be lost in the respective suit without West gaining the lead.
Jacque found the winning line:
1. She led a ♥ at trick two. When West played the nine, she was forced to play the King.
2. She led a ♦ to the King.
3. A club was led to the dummy.
4. When a second ♦ was led, the ♦ Queen appeared from East.
5. Jacque ducked! West could not overtake and East did not have a ♠ to return to West.
6. The ♣ return was won and declarer had her nine tricks (1s, 2h, 3d, 3c). Excellent!
[tip of the day]
Q. Kenny, my partner and I would like to play against some better players. Is there any restrictions as to skill level of the players?
A. I think you mean at the club level. The open games have no restrictions. It is a good idea to play against better players to improve your game. At the clubs, the directors are more than happy to introduce you to the higher-level games.
Photo by Collin Miller of Strauss Peyton