CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 139, 14 June 1935, Page 6

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

A BAD BLUNDER

(By ELY CULBERTSON.)

If universal perfection wore achieved in tlio bidding and play of Contract bridge hands, the game would lose much of its interest and glamour. For every difficult contract made by virtue of some brilliant squeeze, coup or end-play, there is another one that is made because of some bad blunder on the part of the opponents. On to-day'S hand, the play of which I recently watched in a rubber game at Crockford's Club, New York, the West player at trick 2 made a vary bad blunder, which not onlv cost him a trick, but in addition gave the* declarer a very valuable card of re-entry to dummy, enabling him to fulfil a contract which should, have,been defeated two or three tricks. South dealer. Neither side vulnerable. A—9 5 V—A 9 4 >—8 7 5 3 #—9 8 7 3 <fc— A J 76 2 , rj [•*— Q 10 4 V-Q 10 6 5 w N _ V-J 83 2 ♦-Qj io 6 w ~ E g-g A—None ! *—Q J6 5 2 A—K 8 3 V—K 7 ♦—A K 4 2 jy,_A K 10 4 The Bidding. (Figures after bids reCer to numbered explanatory paragraphs.) South West North East 2 N.T. (1) Pass 3 N.T. (2) Pass Pass Pass 1. —Not a good bid. Despite the possession of five honour tricks, one Diamond is the correct call on hand. South, however, a very strong player, was playing with a weak, unaggressive partner, and for this reason decided to open with two no trump as the beat method of getting to a game with himself as declarer. 2.—The possession of an Ace is sufficient justification for raising an original two no trump bid to three.

West's opening , lead was the Diamond Queen, a low card was played from dummy, East dropped the nine, and the declarer unhesitatingly played the four. West fell for this play, hook, lino and sinker. Because of his partner's play of the nine-spot and the fact that the deuce did not appear, he placed the King in his partner's hand. Therefore, to prevent dummy's eight from providing an additional stopper* in the suit, he continued with his six of Diamonds, expecting his partner's King to force declarer's Ace. The seven was played from dummy, and to the declarer's great joy it held the trick, the missing deuce naturally being played from South's own hand, the nine of Clubs was now led from dummy and passed, and since East very fortunately held both the Queen and Knave, the nine won the trick. Another Ciub was led, and although this time East split- his equals, dummy's Ace of Hearts provided an additional re-entry for a third Club finesse. South therefore was able to fulfil his contract by taking four Club tricks, three Diamonds and two Heart tricks.

Hnd West not fallen for the declarer's false cr~d and hold-up, the contract could not have been made. As a matter of fnet, a Heart shift at trick 2 by West and perfect subsequent defence will defeat the contract, not.one trick, but either two or three tricks.