AUCTION BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 39, 15 February 1929, Page 6

AUCTION BRIDGE.

FALLING INTO A TRAP.

(By A. E. MANNING FOSTER.)

I suppose all of us fall into traps now and again, sometimes through carelessness and inattention, but more often through greediness. We are so anxious to try the slammy business, and we cannot resist the temptation of having a shot at it even when our Bridge conscience tell* us that it is very ■wrong. Being subject to human frailty myself, I can never be very severe on players who take; long shots sometimes, even when there is no necessity. All the same, it is galling to see a rubber thrown away quite unnecessarily through a player falling into a simple trap devised by the enemy. The case in point looks, when all four hands are set down in print, very bad and blatant, but there were extenuating circumstance?:, as I shall explain, and you must forget you know all four hands when you judge the issue. Here are the hands:— S—lo 5 H—A 984 3 2 D—Q 6 C—9 5 2 S—K Q8 3 2 Y fs—3 7 H—Q J « H—lo D—lo 7 A B i D—K J5 4 2 C— J 10 7 JC—Q S0 4 3 Z J S—A J 6 4 H—K 7 5 D—A 98 3 C—A K Score, game all. Z dealt and bid "One No Trump"; A, "No bid"; Y, "Two Hearts'; B, "No bid"; Z, "Two No Trumps"; all pass. A opened the 3 of Spades, Y played 5, B 9, and Z took the trick with the Jack. Z then led King of Hearts, on which A played the 6, Y the 2, and B the 10. Z followed with the 7 of Hearts, on which A played the Queen (!), Y the Ace, and B discarded the 3 of Clubs, Z could not now make game. Y'e hand was killed, and all Z made was two Spades, two Hearts, one Diamond and two Clubs, one shy of his contract.

Now, you may say that Z's play was criminal when, by not taking the second Heart, he had certain game. But you must allow for Z's deductions.

On the first Heart, B played the 10. On the second Heart, A played the Queen. Was it not natural that Z ehould think the Jack was uointo drop, in which case all the Hearts were ffoocf and he might make probably a little slam, or certainly five by cards. You have to allow for that. As play to the second Heart trick was clever. It could do no harm, and might deceive Z, which we know it. did. If ], e had nlavod the Jack, Z would probably not have put up dummy's

aIwLT /u wa V vron e- He ought to have allowed for the possibility of As ruse and bee* that en nuS h Cert r game - But * •"" "5 that numerous players would make the sanv mistake and fall into the little trap laid bv " C onSirT hlle Z "% blamew «rthy in his "play, I wZ v W . a -L Stl " more at fau,t in "is Adding IIhJH "T d^ 0 Hearts '" Z waa enti «-ely wrong or HeaTt? No /rumps." His hand was excellent rrumps. All my sympathies are for Y who wa* ln e H Uff T er a " roUnd - Hc cou, <* havo gone ,m >.Hearts, and the fact that his parser couW ™Jw4TK in" 6 ln X ° TrUmPS and didn ' fc ™