The Bridge Table.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20792, 7 February 1931, Page 5 (Supplement)

The Bridge Table.

PROBLEM IN NO TRUMPS.

BY MAJOR TENACE.

ITero is a littlo problem in no trump play which is not as easy as it looks and I would advise those who attempt it to calculate as closely as they can the result of the play they would adopt before coming to any final decision.

At love score Z bids one no trump and all pass. A leads tho eight of spades. Dummy plays the nine and B the ten. How should Z play and how should he plan the rest of the hand ? Last week's problem was as follows:

AL love scoro Z bids one no trump and all pass. A leads tho two of hearts. How should B plan his play if (a) dummy puts lip the aco to the first trick; (b) keeps tho ace till tho third round ?

Solution: If Z puts up dummy's ace to the fust trick it is certain that A led fiom four hearts to the jack. If B plays his ten on the ace his king and queen will block the suit. He must, therefore, drop either king or queen and keep the ten to put A in on' the third round. Having made certain -that he can put his partner in to run the hearts he should try to prevent Z from running dummy's clubs. If Z holds three clubs B cannot prevent him running the suit from dummy; but if he has two B can do it by refusing to put up his king to the first club round, on which Z is certain to attempt a finesse.

If Z ducks the first heart round in dummy B must, of course, put up the queen and then lead king and ten. Thereafter, he has two duties: The first is, as before, to prevent, if he- can, the establishment of dummy's clubs; the second is to get partner in to make his last heart. If A's best suit is four cards headed by the jack the prospects of this are not very bright. There is just a chance, however, that A holds the jack of spades twice guarded and B should bank on this by putting up his king if Z leads spades from dummy. Z can defeat the play by allowing the king to win; but B should take the'chance.