CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 121, 24 May 1935, Page 6

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

OUTGUESSING ONE'S OPPONENT

(By ELY CULBERTSON.)

When experts play against experts they are continually trying to outguess one another. False cards are made during the play, unusual and eccentric bids arc fired back and forth, and penalty doubles are often inserted just for the purpose of misleading the declarer. Incidentally, these doubles usually turn out disastrously for the doubler if the declarer is at all keen, as was the case in the hand below, played in a recent rubber game at Crockford's Club, New York. South dealer. Neither side vulnerable.

The Bidding. (Figures after bids refer to numbered explanatory paragraphs.) South West North East 1♦ ' 14k (1) 2* 3 V (2) Pass 4 V ObU (3) Pass Pass Pass I.—The fact that the raise to two Diamonds is made freely over an intervening overcall makes the bid sufficiently strong to correctly portray the strength of the North hand. 2._ A daring bid, but justified despite the shaded suit after North's free raise. South must make some effort to reach game, and with a hand which i* not overly strong decides that five-odd of a minor suit is probably out of the question. 3.—A very bad double, particularly with five cards of the suit that partner has bid. East, a very well-known expert, decided from the bidding that North and South had only four Hearts each and that therefore his partner must have four cards of the suit. The double was made purely and simply to mislead the declarer.

The opening lead was the Spade King) which was won with dummy's Ace, and on which a Diamond was discarded from the South hand. The declarer, knowing the East player's game quite well, realised the double was of a type that East was wont to make, and arbitrarily decided that if anyone held four trumps it was the West player. He therefore led a low Heart from dummy and topped [Cast's Knave with his Ace, and then immediately led the ten of Hearts, allowing this card to hold the trick. A low Heart was now led from the South hand and won with the nine in dummy, followed by the ten of Clubs from dummy, which lost to West's King. West now returned another Heart, and the King in dummy won the trick. South now, from the bidding and the early play, had an almost perfect count on the hand, on the basis of which he led a low Diamond from dummy, and, when East played low, finessed the nine-spotf which won. The three top Clubs wore next played out, niul on them were discarded the two remaining low Diamonds from dummy, A low Diamond whs now led to dummy's Queen, and after East won this tri#k he was completely helpless. He returned a Spade, .South discarded, and West won the trick with the Queen, but West was now forced to return a Spade, and dummy's Spade Knave won the last trick. Had East returned a Diamond, South would have finessed against the Knave and made live-odd instead of just four.