BRIDGE NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20630, 20 August 1932, Page 8

BRIDGE NOTES.

OUT FOR GAME.

(SPECIALLY WRIITM TOR THE PBMS.) [By William Shaoll*.]

Early in the week it was my pleasure to play tho following hand; indeed, it is because one is sometimes dealt such hands that Bridge is so very interesting. The score was rubber all, game all, and no score in the third game: —

I was playing at Z position and was dealer. Z bid 1 Heart and was left in. Now, with such a hand many players are inclined to make a pre-emptive bid, but such is not good bridge. The idea of a pre-emptive bid is to shut out opponents and partner, yet this hand would make excellent support for partner if he could bid No Trumps, 8 tricks, while if one is forced up by opponents there is an excellent prospect of being doubled and yet making contract. It is a decided error therefore to use the pre-emptive bid on such occasions. A naturally led King of Clubs, on which Z dropped his Jack. It being impossible for Z to take a trick in Clubs he could only hope that A would discontinue this suit, on the chance that Z was houest. Naturally A then played his Ace of Clubs, while Z dropped the ten. On the third round A played his Other Club, in the hope of Z holding another card ill the suit. B took with the Queen and was thus left with the 13th Club. In view of this, and the fact that Dummy held only the 6, 3 of trumps, he led 5 of Clubs, expecting 'A to be able to overtrump Dummy or for Z to be forced to trump-in with a high card. Z, however, at once realised that if he did so he could mako only 8 tricks, it being impossible for him to get into dummy at a later stage in order to make his high Diamonds. There was, -however, only one trump to beat Dummy's 6, so it was 50-50 whether it was with A or B. Z therefore discarded his Ace of Diamonds and the 9 of trumps being with he took the trick by trumping from Dummy's hand

and led King, Queen of Diamonds, discarding 7 and 9 of Bpades from Ms own hand. This play gave him 4 over, game, rubber, and parti. Now let us see what risk he was taking by thus discarding Ace of Diamonds. The worst that could have happened would have been that in addition to losing his three Club tricks he would have lost one by A overtrumping with 9, and then his two Spades, six tricks. This would still have given Z his contract though he could have discarded a small Spade and made certain of two over. | Such hands are extremely rare, but as so much can be gained by good bidding aud correct discarding it is always worth while to tot up mentally what one may actually lose or gain by deliberately risking the loss of a certain trick or so, in order to make game. Often many hundreds of points are actually thrown away by players making obvious tricks instead of going out with reasonable I and justifiable risk for game.