CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 299, 17 December 1937, Page 6

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

AN ELIMINATION END PLAY.

' (By THE FOUR ACES.)

The average player thinks that squeeze®, con |*s and elimination plays occur only on slam hands. Actually the chance for them is just us great with game and partial score contracts. In a recent game at the Regency Club in New York, Walter L. Tate was able to wind up a successful rubber by means of an elimination end play. North dealer. Both sides vulnerable. North-South 30 on score.

The Bidding. North East South West 1 A Pass 2 y Pass 3 V Pass Pass Pass West opened the seven of Diamonds. East won with the Ace and returned the deuce. West won with the King and now laid down the ten of Diamonds. At this stage Mr. Pate had quite a problem, namely, whether to ruff or to discard a Club. Should he discard a Club he would then fulfil his contract if the trumps broke 2-2. Should he ruff and Ea«t over-ruff (the return of the two-spot indicated that East had had an original holding of cither two or four Diamonds), he would lose three tricks and still have two potential Club losers left. Mr. Pate finally decided to trump, on the theory that if Diamonds broke 6-2 Hearts would almost surely break 3-1, and his best chance® of making his contract would be in an elimination play. Sure enough, East overruffed, and led the Queen of trumps. Mr. Pate promptly cashed the Ace and King, played a low Spade to dummy's King, and laid down the Ace of Spades, discarding a Club from his own hand. He then played a low Club to dummy's Ace, West playing the eight, ruffed the last Spade in his own hand, and played another low Club. West won with the Queen and was now forced to lead a Diamond, allowing- Mr. Pate to ruff in dummy and discard the remaining Club from his own hand. The elimination play had worked, but really alert defence by East and West would have given Mr. Pate quite a problem and probably cost him his contract. West should have played the Queen of Clubs on the first Club lead. Mr. Pate might well have ducked this, thinking that the Queen play indicated either King-Queen alone or the Queen singleton, in which case the lead of the eight of Clubs from West would immediately have beaten the hand. Or Mr. Pate, might have gone up with the Ace in dummy, returned to his own hand, and led a low Club. Now East would play the nine-spot, not the King, and Mr. Pate would have quite a guess as to whether to go up with the Jack or play low. (Copyright: N.A.N.A.)