THE BRIDGE TABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19608, 9 April 1927, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BRIDGE TABLE.

GAME DEALS.

BY MAJOB TEN ACE. In his small handbook, " Auction Bridge Standards," a most valuable contribution to tho science of bidding, Mr. Wilbur 0. Whitehead says: "Properly bid and played, roughly 50 per cent, of the total number of deals average to be ' game deals,.' or, in other words, deals in which one side or the other should score game regardless of points previously scored toward game." I do not know whether this is 'a guess based on his experience, or a conclusion drawn from experiment; and I should riot like to say that he has over-estimated the proportion. But if his estimate is correct, or anywhere near correct, I am certain that the average player fails, either through bad bidding or faulty play, to make game in at least half the deals where game is possible. The mischief is that he will not pause to plan out his campaign after the lead to the first trick, but plays to it at haphazard, and lets the plan formulate itself as ho goes along. The result, in nine cases out of ten, is that tho plan is not formulated until it is too late. Here is typical example of carelessness which carno under my notice recently:

Z was left in, at score love-all, with a contract of four hearts; and A led the ace of spades, and followed with the ace and the jack of diamonds. Z won the second diamond trick with his king, and, eager to see whether the four trumps wete evenly divided between the opponents, led the ace and another. B won the second trump trick, and made his queen of diamonds, thus setting the contract. Discarding the Weak Suit. There was no possible excuse for this. Had Z paused for a moment he must have seen that, as soon as the opponents got in, they would lead diamonds. He must also have sfien that he could get rid of his

losing diamonds quite easily. All he had to do was to lead the king of spades, on which he could get rid of tho last diamond in dummy; follow with his last spade for a ruff; and return the ace, king of clubs, discarding his own remaining diamond on the king. The opponents would then have only tho one trump trick, and Z would have won the game. Ability to plan the best play of a hand comes only with practice, but any player past his novitiate should be able to see when he should draw trumps at the first opportunity, and when he should delay it till he has allowed dummy a ruff. It is simpler even than that other elementary business, arranging for entries in dummy. The Unguarded Suit,, Since it was recognised that the best defence against a no-trumper, unless the opponents are well advanced toward game, is a pass by second-in-hand, we are all rather more chary of the no-trump bid than we used to be. There is always the danger that second-in-hand may hold in strength the one ungarded suit in the notrumper; and, with the initial lead, may run it to save game before the declarer can win a trick. The danger exists, it is true; and when it comes to pass the fesult is so spectacular that we are apt to remember it, and to forget the many occasions when a no-trumper has yielded game, although one suit was unguarded. The major probability is that either third-in-hand guards the suit unguarded in the no-trumper, or that the strength in the suit is so divided between -the opponents that neither Realises, till too late, the strength of the combination. A good instance of this occurred the other day at. a table at which I was playing. At love score, Z dealt and bid one no-trump, ai¥l all passed. The cards fell thus:

u —a a A led the two of spades, and Z, after winning with the queen over B's jack, went out to establish the diamonds, A put up the aee at once (theire was no point in holding it up), and led the king of spades to make his nine good when ho got in with clubs to lead it. Z, however, promptly ran off four tricks in diamonds and four in hearts to win the game. Had A started the clubs instead of continuing with spades, B would have echoed, and the two would have made five tricks in the suit. I was the player at 18, and you can imagine my feelings when I saw my partner, after discarding the six of clubs, win two worthless tricks at the end of the game with the ace, king!