THE BRIDGE TABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20324, 3 August 1929, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BRIDGE TABLE.

BY MAJOR TENACE.

AWKWARD DISTRIBUTIONS.

Cntil players really wake up to tho mathematical fact that when they hold eeven cards of a suit between their own nnd dummy iho most probablo distribution of the outstanding six cards is not three in each hand, but four in one and two in tho other, they will lose innumerable games by thoughtlessly playing for " splits " instead of pausing first to sec whether it is not possiblo to provide against tho more probablo uneven distribution. There are numerous ways in which this can be dono; the most common being to duck a trick~ln the long suit and to ruff ono round.

Against Z's spado contract at lovo score, A led threo winning diamonds bofore switching to tho king of hearts. Z won the fourth trick; drew trumps in throe rounds and then opened tho clubs. But, alas! A dropped tho jack on tho socond and discarded on the third round of tho suit; and Z had to choose between allowing B's ten to win tho fourth round or ruffing it and finally leading a losing heart from his own hand. Whichever course he chose gamo was lost. Yet it might easily have been saved ha-d Z not been so confident that the six clubs outstanding would fall in the first threo rounds. Tho correct way to play Z's hand—that is, the way which will succeed against tho greater number of probable adverse distributions—is as follows. Z, on making tho aco of hearts, should lead queen and another club, win the second round with the king in dummy and return a small card, ruffing with the queen to keep A out. Three rounds of trumps should then bo taken and dummy being left in after the third round, can lead aco and another club, gaining two heart discards and winning game. Hero is an example also from play in which the uneven distribution of tlie outstanding cards of a suit is provided against by ducking a trick; —

Against Z's spade contract at love score, A led the three top hearts. Z ruffed the third round, and after drawing trumps in three rounds, started the diamonds by putting dummy in and running off ace, king and queen. B, however, stopped the fourth round and Z could not then mako tenth trick ho required for game. What Z should have dene, on clearing trumps was to lead a diamond from his own hand and duck in dummy. The lead must then come back to him, and he can lead his last diamond to dummy's four winners. Sometimes it happens that a player can establish a suit by two or three ruffs but to do this he must have entry cards in the hand containing the long suit, and he must use them to the best advantage. Here is an example:—

Z is left in at love score with a spade declaration, and A lends the king and (lie nee of hearts, and then switches to clubs. Z can count five tricks in spades, the ace of diamonds, and tho ace of clubs —three short of game. The threo extra tricks might be got by ruffing one heart and two clubs in dummy, but. unfortunately, Z cannot give dummy a ruff in clubs without first losing a trick in the suit, and it is morally certain that whichever opponent wins the second round of clubs will spoil the plan by leading trumps. The only alternative seems to be to try to establish dummy's diamonds by ruffing. The only entries dummy has arc in trumps, and Z must bo careful not to spoil them. Having v:on the club lead .with the ace, and made the ace of diamonds, Z should lead the four of trumps to dummy's eight, and ruff tho diamond return with his king. He should then lead tho nino of trumps to dummy's ten, ruff tho third round of diamonds with his nee. and. putting dummy in with tho queen of trumps —incidentally exhausting the opponents —run off tho last three diamond tricks.