Bridge is an easy game, right? All we have to do is bid, play and defend. This month’s hand has an add-on—bid, play and defend logically.
The bidding:
N
1NT
Pass
E
Pass
Pass
S
4 ♠
W
Pass
« Opening lead: ♥ Ace
« Cover the East/West hands, and see if you can make the contract.
NORTH
♠ A Q 4
♥ J 7 3
♦ J 10 9 6
♣ K Q 10
WEST
♠ 10 7 5
♥ A K 6
♦ 5 3 2
♣ A J 4 2
EAST
♠ 9
♥ Q 9 5 2
♦ 8 7 4
♣ 9 8 7 6 3
SOUTH
♠ K J 8 6 3 2
♥ 10 8 4
♦ A K Q
♣ 5
[the play]
1. North/South did not use transfers, which put West on lead.
2. West led the ♥ Ace, dummy the 3, East signals with the 9, and declarer follows with the 4.
3. West continues with the ♥ King, dummy the 7, East the 2, and declarer the 8.
4. Excited that their partner was going to win the next trick, either with the ♥ Queen or a ruff, West continued the suit.
5. East, in with the ♥ Queen, much to the chagrin of their partner, started thinking.
6. The ♣ suit in the North with K Q 10 was ominous. East reasoned the most likely suit to take another trick was ♦s.
7. Out came the ♦ 4.
8. South won the ♦ lead, drew trump, and played three more rounds of ♦s, discarding a ♣ and making the contract.
9. Obviously, West should cash the Ace of ♣s before continuing ♥s.
10. Knowing East was a thinking partner, West could foresee East thinking logically that the ♦ suit was most likely to produce the setting trick.
11. When playing, take out ‘insurance.’ Help your partner whenever possible.
[tip of the day]
Q. Signaling is complicated. Do you have any agreements with your partners to simplify it?
A. My signaling mantra is KISS. High cards are come-ons. Low cards are discouraging. High/low with an even number of cards and low/high with an odd number. The simpler the action, the more accurate the logic.