I’m going to give a shout-out to Debra Romero, who has been part of the bridge community for the past nine years. During that time, Debbie has been on our Unit 143 board for seven years, serving as president for the past two. She has also has been District 8 president for the past two years. While serving as an outstanding administrator, she has become a very good player. Case in point, she won three events during the recent Caseyville sectional. Great job, Debra!
[a hand to remember]
The bidding:
N
1D
1NT
2S
4S
E
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
S
1S
2C(NMF*)
3H(game try)
Pass
W
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
*NMF = New Minor Forcing
Opening lead: A♣
Cover the East/West hands and see if you can make the contract.
NORTH
♠ K 7 4
♥ Q 9 4
♦ A K 7 5
♣ J 8 3
WEST
♠ 9 8 2
♥ K 6
♦ Q 10 8 6
♣ A K 6 4
EAST
♠ 10 6
♥ 8 7 5 2
♦ J 3 2
♣ Q 10 9 2
SOUTH
♠ A Q J 5 3
♥ A J 10 3
♦ 9 4
♣ 7 5
The Play
1. West leads ♣ A, 3 from dummy, 9 from East, and 5 declarer.
2. ♣ K, 8, 2, 7.
3. ♣ 4, J, Q, ruff by South.
4. When counting number of trumps per round, declarer forgot he had ruffed a ♣.
5. When he drew an extra round of trumps, the hand was doomed.
6. He took the ♥ finesse and lost to the King.
7. West led another ♣, and declarer lost his fourth trick.
8. Good counting is to acknowledge original ruff. With normal distribution (3:2 for the opponents), trumps can be drawn in three rounds.
9. Lead the ♠ trump to the King.
10. Cross to the ♠ Jack in hand. When they both follow, there is one trump out.
11. Cash the ♠ A, drawing the remaining trump.
12. Cross to the ♦ King.
13. Run the ♥ 9. West wins and leads his last ♣.
14. Your last trump ruffs the ♣.
15. Cross to the ♥ Queen and back to hand, making 10 tricks.
The bottom line: Don’t count tricks, especially trump, supposing each trick has four cards in that suit. Look for spot cards and acknowledge every card.
[tip of the day]
Q. Kenny, I have a habit of losing count of cards in a suit, especially in trump. Needless to say, this can be disastrous. Any hints for easy tracking?
A. Don’t count tricks and assume there are four cards of that suit in every trick. Count the cards in each trick separately.
