CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 219, 16 September 1938, Page 8

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

FAULTY DEFENCE. (By THE POUR ACES.) Tf you were given the North and South hands shown below you would not only be willing, but anxious, to contract for three no trump. Ordinarily, a game in no trump would he made without the sHghtest difficulty, but the cards are badly distributed, Weist holding all the mining Diamonds. While South should have incurred a 500-point penalty, an ill-advised play by West allowed him to make his doubled contract with an overtrick.

• East's third-hand Heart bid wa« sound because of his freakish distribution. North was quite justified jn going to game after his partner had bid one and two no trump, in view of liis powerful Diamond suit. When West doubled, both North and South decided to eta lid pat, and declarer won the opening Heart lead and promptly led the .Tack of Diamonds. When West covered with the King, declarer shrewdly allowed him to hold the trick, and the defence was then unable to prevent him from taking a total of ten tricks.

West bad nhsf.lutely nothing to gain by covering the .Tack of Diamonds! There were twelve Diamond-' in view. Tims, if hie partner held the only one missing, declarer could take but twc<. tricks in the suit whether he covered or not. But, as was far more likely, if declarer held the one remaining Diamond, only three tricke could be won if the Jack were allowed to hold, and while eventually the suit could be established, it was quite obvioue that dummy held no entry.

As it was, declarer's safety piay enabled West to win a Diamond trick. But declarer then ran off the remaining eix, eo that West's poor play had cost him a total of three tricks. — (Copyright.)