THE GAME OF BRIDGE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 104, 4 May 1935, Page 27

THE GAME OF BRIDGE

In each of the sixteen hands set for the World Bridge Olympic, some particular point of bidding or play is shown, which is of great value to every bridge player who wishes to improve his game. Two very interesting and instructive points of play, are illustrated in the hands set out below: Hand No. 3.—Playing for One Extra Possibility.—North-South par: Four hearts bid and made (or a double and two or three trick set of East's five club contract). South, dealer. East and West vulnerable. 4> 8.6.5. V K.Q.J.10.9.5. + A.Q.9. * 7- ■ 4. J. 10.7.4.3. g W ♦ K'B-2--•j* A.9.C. I South. | «jk K.J.10.8.5.2. 4k A.X.4. V 7.6.5.3.2. '4 6.5. Jf. Q. 4.3. The bidding: South, West. North. East. Pass Pass ly : 2 Jf, 3 y Pass 4 Jp Pass Pass Pass Official comment:— A very bold East and West combination, despite their vulnerability, might step up to five chibs as a sacrifice, but this is most unlikely. If they do; North and South can surely defeat the contract two tricks, and three if East mi&; guesses the club Queen. The play: Playing at four hearts, North has. .a -very,, fine. safety; play, which,, although it does ; not ensure the making of the contract, gives him a definite extra chance. The opening lead is immaterial. Assuming a spade is opened, the trick is naturally won. in dummy with the King. A .diamond must'now be led immediately, and assuming West plays low, North should play the nine-spot. This ensures North's contract if either the diamond King or both the Jack and'ten.'are in the West hand: H the diamond nine loses to one of the lower honours in the East hand, a second finesse can be taken to' North's Acer Queen of diamonds, and now, "if the King is right, dummy's losing spade can toe discarded.

It is true that this line of play will put the declarer down two tricks instead of one if the East player holds the King of diamonds .and another diamond, honour. But the possible loss of an extra fifty pdmts is of no importance when the chanes ofc'fulfllling the contract are increased..•■: Actually,- the safety play turns out perfectly on this hand.! The nine/of diamonds forces East's King, .an'd^how,£veri though a diamond trick is • los^'the spade loser is' -taken care' 1:of JlSy'^ufamy's" small spade being discarded on the Queen of diamonds. If. the declarer takes the normal diamond, finesse, playing the Queen on the first lead of the suit, he cannot fulfil his contract; ■

Hand' No. 4.—Drawing trumjps with the Short Hand.

Weekly Chat on Contract

Specially Written for "The Post" by "Approach Bio"

HANDS NO. 3 AND NO. 4 FROM THE 1935 WORLD BRIDGE OLYMPIC

East-West par. Four spades bid and made. West, dealer. Both **les vulnerable. 4> 9.8. V Q.J.10.9. + J. 7.6.3. + X.3.2. ♦ t QJ7- 4- | Kortfc. I ♦ K^°-5' ¥ 3. - - «J A.8.8* ♦ A.10.5.2. | 5 4K.QA ♦ J- 10- 4' I South. I 4 8.7.5. 4 6.3.2. ♦ 9-<- ---« A.Q.9.& The bidding: West. North. East. South. 1 4' Pass £ N.T, fin 3 4> Passv 4^ FtM U) Pass i Pass Official comment: ' (1) East must realise-that despite hi» balanced hand he must heed his part* hers spade rebid, and raise to game in spades rather than insist on contracting for game in no-trump. It so happens that the way the cards lie, three no-trump is a lay-down because neither opponent has five cards in the club suit. However, the result does not alter the correct bid for. East to make.' With' better than adequate trump support for. his partner's rebid suit and no club) stopper, the decision is not dose. The play: With three club tricks certain to be lost, declarer must win all the rest of the tricks. He can try to" do this by simply drawing trumps and then playing for a diamond break, or he can play only two rounds of trumps before tackling the diamond suit; thus preserving an extra chance to fulfil the contract, even on a bad diamond break, if the hand with only two diamonds has not the missing trump.

However, there is another line of play which is surer than either of the above, and which will succeed merely if the trumps are divided ' two ',and three. Declarer must make dummy the major hand. North's natural heart opening will be won with dummy's Ace and a heart immediately, led back end trumped with West's spade four. Dummy is entered with the diamond King and a second heart ruffed with another low trumps Dummy is now entered with the diamond Queen and the ; last heart ruffed, this time with a high trump.

West now lays down the fitfade^Ace* and leads his remaining spade, crvef • taking with the King in dummy. T^e spade ten draws the last opposing: trump, and West discards a losingclub,', assuming that"the ; defence rhas^ n^tcashed three club tricks originally {it they have, a low diamond is discarded). At any rate, West now has ten tricfcs certain,1 and eleven if diamonds should break out and three club tricks have not already been cashed. The diatao»ids do hot break, soi no" matter what 'the earlier defence, only four-odd is miide. The declarer takes three trumps in his own hand by ruffing hearts and tjiree more trump tricks.with bis own Ace and dummy's King and ten, besides the Ace of hearts and three diamonds. Any other line of play is dciomad iai failure. . . : ' '7 ; > ,