THE BRIDGE TABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20028, 18 August 1928, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BRIDGE TABLE.

B7 MAJOR TEN ACE.

BOOK PLAY AND SENSE.

It, does not follow, because a play is given in the book, that it should always bo adopted. A player should not finesse unless game or contract is safe and cannot be affected by the failure of the finesse or unless the finesse is necessary for the fulfilment of game or contract. There are no-trump hands on which the declarer should not hold up the ace of the adverse suit. Even the opportunity for the Bath coup should not always be seized. Ir fact, as a witty writer once declared, there is only one invariable rule of play at bridge: Always win a trick with the ace of trumps! Hero is a deal that might easily go wrong through unthinking adherence to the book;

At love score A deals and bids one spade. Y and B pass, and Z gets the declaration with one no trump. A leads the king of spades. Defence Against Bath Coup. Z has an ideal opening here for the Bath coup, which consists in allowing the king to win. and, by putting the ace on the queen in the second round, making the jack good for the third round. If the coup succeeds, Z will make ten tricks —three in clubs, four in diamonds, one in hearts, and two in spades—one trick more than is required for game. But suppose A is aware of the Bath coup and knows the defence against it, which consists of changing suit unless the ace or the jack is played on the king? Instead of leading the queen out to slaughter at the second trick, he will lead the jack of hearts. Z's only hope then is to place the king of hearts with A and put up dummy's queen. This will call forth the king from B. and Z's ace must go on it. Z must then draw the ace of diamonds, aud A, on making it, will promptly put B in with a heart to get a spade lead through Z. Game then will be irrevocably lost. It will pay Z, therefore, to think the position out instead of blindly following the book.

An Essential Conclusion. If Z ducks the first trick, game depends upon one of two things, either A's ignorance of the correct defence against the Bath coup, or else the location of the king of hearts with A. Unless Z knows A to he an inferior player he had better dismiss! the first consideration from his mind. ' After all, the Bath coup is a legacy from whist; and most players who follow bridge at all closely are perfectly familiar with it. The second consideration can only be decided by guess work, for there is nothing in either the bidding or the play from which Z can deduce the position of the king of hearts., The card whose position he can deduce, however, beyond all shadow of doubt,, is the ace of diamonds. A opened the bidding with one spade. This means that he had two quick tricks. The king-queen of spades constitutes one, and the only other trick which he can hold is the ace of diamonds. Once this card is located with him Z need not bother about the Bath coup, he can put up the ace of spades to the first trick and start the diamonds at once. It matters not, then, whether A, on making his ace, continues the spades or switches to hearts, Z can make game with three tricks in clubs, four in diamonds, one in hearts, and one in spades. Holding lip the Ace. Here is a deal which occurred in actual play showing that a little thought is not amiss even before holding up the ace at no-trumps:

At love score, Z, as dealer, bid one notrump and all passed. A led the king of spades, and, as Z threw the eight, A continued with the queen, upon which the ace had to go. Z. could count eight tricks—four in clubs, and three in diamonds—besides the aco of spades. The four of diamonds might provide the ninth if the six unseen cards were equally divided between A and B. To test this Z led the ace and the king, but the fall of the jack from R's hand on the second round warned him against continuing. The only hope now appeared to lie in persuading the adversaries to allow the king of hearts to win. Z, therefore, led the ace and the king of clubs and then switched to the king of hearts, thus giving the impression that he had not a third club and was trying to make the quean of hearts an entry in dummy to bring in the two club tricks. Placing the Cards. It is an old trap and one very difficult to avoid. B, as he confessed later, almost fell into it, for ho feared that A might have held onlv four spades originally, and three tricks m the suit (Z haying won one with his ace) and one trick in hearts would not bo sufficient to save the game. IJut ho argued that had A held only four spades originally, then Z must have held four. If so, Z's two remaining cards must be lower than the eight played to the first trick for the ace, king, queen and ten were out. A was marked with t.ie jack, and B held the nine. It was, of course, possible that Z had falsecardcd the eight of spades but why should he have done so '/ It seemed more probable that Z had held less than four spades originally. Therefore, A had held more than four and o-ame could bo saved without holding up the ace of hearts. Having reached this conclusion, B won the king of hearts and returned his last spade, and all Z s hopes vanished.