CONTRACT BRIDGE Making the most of the chances

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34021, 10 December 1975, Page 18

CONTRACT BRIDGE Making the most of the chances

Bridge can often be a contrary game, for some contracts that look easy go down because ofi either unfortunate dis-i tri button or careless' play, while some that look unmakeable are in fact impossible to defeat.! When South, having! reached four hearts on this! deal, first saw his dummy he! had visions of making at least; jne overtrick, but he finished] by conceding ignominious I and unnecessary defeat:— I N. A KQ 10 4 V 432 ♦ 852 A A 94 W. E. i, A 9752 AB3 V 9 VQJB I ♦ A 763 ♦QJIO AQJIO7 AK8532 I S. A AJ6 VAK10765 1 ♦ K 94 ; 4.6 There was nothing wrong • vith the auction:— ( S. W. N. E. i IV No 1A No ’ 3V No 4A All Pass Having won the opening ] ead of the club queen with he ace, the declarer sur'eyed his prospects with quanimity. “With luck,” he thought,!, I shall make six tricks inj (

llhearts, four in spades and one >|in clubs. If East has the dia- ] mond ace, by leading up to .my king I shall develop a trick there to make a total of •112.” >' After leading a heart to his [king he cashed the ace, but 11 received a shock when West .showed out. Next he attacked the spades by playlling off the ace king and ! queen. But East ruffed the ; third round with his master ; trump and led the queen of ] diamonds. ! The declarer put on the iking and West made the ace land the defenders were able ■to take two more tricks in ; diamonds to defeat the contract. ■ South had not given suffl-i cient attention to the neces-] sity for keeping his right hand opponent off lead. After winning the first trick with the ace of clubs he should have led a low heart from the table, covering East’s eight with his 10. As the cards lie this would have enabled him to clear the trump suit without loss. Then he could have collected four tricks in spades and 11 in all to make his contract with an overtrick. This would have been fortunate, but even if West had held a singleton honour in hearts and so won the second trick, he could have done the declarer no harm. If West attacks diamonds, South’s king: will win a trick, and the! [declarer can cope with the! lead of any other suit. It is only if East can gain the lead that the contract is in danger, and South must do all he can to keep him off' lead. So if to the second trick, when a heart is led from dummy, East puts up an honour, the declarer must win, cross to one of the high spades on the table and lead another heart.

Again he intends to put in the 10 if East follows small, for he does not mind if West wins a free trick. His contract would then be secure.

CORRECT INFERENCES The next deal features a Jcontract that on the surface I seems impossible:— N. AQ753 V 862 ♦ A 94 A 7 4 3 W. E. A 864 AJ1092 V — W 109 53 ♦ KQJ 1053 ♦ 876 AJIOB2 A — S. A AK > VAQ74 ♦ 2 AAKQ96S South was sitting quietly fourth in hand considering the best opening bid on his impressive collection, when suddenly the erany flak opened up and ne had to make his first call at the four level:— W. E. E. S. 3< No 3V 5A

Dble All Pass On the face of it, South seems likely to lose two tricks in hearts at least, plus one in trumps, but nothing is sure in this game. When West led the king of diamonds, it looked as though dummy’s ace offered the declarer his first and last chance of entering the North hand. But South could see serious objections to taking

: the ace then leading a heart towards his queen. ■ For his call at the three .level, East was marked with la six card heart suit so West would undoubtedly show out lon the first round of the suit. After some thought, the [declarer saw the way 'through his difficulties. West was marked with six or seven diamonds for his bid, and with,four clubs for his double, so his remaining cards must be small spades. In that case he could be end- ! played. The first move was the strange-looking one of allowing the diamond king to win the first trick. West conitinued with the queen of diamonds which was ruffed in I hand. After cashing the ace king and queen of clubs, the declarer made the ace and. king of spades before putting West on lead with his club trick. The latter had to continue with a spade or a diamond, either of which would be won in dummy. The spade queen and diamond ace provided discards for South’s two small hearts, then a low heart from dummy enabled him to make both the ace and queen. The declarer by drawing the correct inferences from the bidding had landed his seemingly impossible contract