CONTRACT BRIDGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23226, 21 December 1938, Page 7

CONTRACT BRIDGE

OPENING LEADS A DIFFICULT DECISION BY O. L. EASTGATE Opening; leads are the bane of all classes of players at times, when there has been 11b bidding and partner' lias been unable to indicate in any which suit ho prefers. Very often it is ni'icli of a guess, ill the absence of any "safe" lead from a sequence, and in this case the declarer is lucky or otherwise as to what choice the player on his left makes in his opening lead. In other cases, however, a .little thought will make all the difference and a lead made on the basis of logical inferences. In the following hand the opening loader made a lead such as this and was justly rewarded in defeating the contract, where any other lead would have allowed the declarer time to develop his full strength:— South dealer. Both sides vul.

West, after a good deal of thought, opened the queen of clubs, and after a, scrutiny of all four hands it can easily be seen that it turned out a very shrewd lead. West's reasoning had been as follows:—On the bidding, and the cards he held, ho ruled out the diamond lead from his tcnace; the singleton heart offered no great future, as even if lie found his partner with some hearts, ho would not be in a position to continue the suit if he got in again later. The presence of three tow spades in his hand militated against finding East with sufficient spade strength to make that opening advantageous. Thus, by elimination, it was not difficult to arrive at the club as an opening. It was the specific selection of the queen that goes to tho credit of West as a good lead. West reasoned that, if the declarer had the ace-king-jack of clubs, nothing would really be lost or gained by tho lead of the queen rather than a low one, but if by any chance he were able to pick up the blank jack in either dummy or in East's hand, the tempo would be invaluable. This reasoning was well bojno out, as with any other lead the declarer would make his contract. With the lead of a low club, East's jack would be allowed to hold the trick (there is nothing to bo lost by this). East would have 110 better return than a diamond, and West would certainly make both his acc a'nd queen, but declarer would be one jump ahead and would still have a club stopper. With the heart finesse, which would have to be taken, lie would make nine tricks for contract. CURRENT EVENTS Prize night took place at the Auckland Bridge Club last week, with a good attendance of members. The president, Mr. V. P. Scaletti, congratulated members 011 a very successful season and indicated that the committee were desirous of still further advancing the game of contract bridge in Auckland, and would probably, with the consent of members, inaugurate a full-time regime next year, with the addition of a hostess and afternoon tournaments. That matter will be considered at the annual meeting of the club 011 January '24, and it is hoped that every member will attend, as it is a most desirable and worthy objective the club has in view.

Prizes for the various principal contests were presented bv Mrs. .Warren. Pascoe Cup: C. Bruce-Smith and C. L. Eastgate. Ladies or mixed pair in Pascoe Cup: Mrs. B. C. Chihvell and Miss J. Swap. Handicap pairs: J. E. Mcnamara and G. Cox. Scratch: Mr. and Mrs. N. E. .Watson. Set hands: R. K. Wvlie and N. E. Watson. Club teams-of-four competition: Mr. and Mrs. Mcnnmarit, Mrs. C. D. Warren, G. Cox. Championship pairs: N. 0. Morgan and N. E. Watson. Championship best ladies or mixed pair: Misses N. MacCormiek and F. Hall. Provincial championship, teams of four: The final between Dr. B. Mackenzie, C. BruceSmith, Nelson Mitchell and C. L. Eastgate and J. R. Mcnamara, G. Cox, R. K. Wvlie and V. P. Scaletti has been unavoidably postponed 011 account of absences, but will be played off shortly. After the prize-giving a cumulative pairs tournament was held and resulted and C. L. Eastgate, 1. East-West: Mcsdames Heighway and Watson, 1.

South is in a contract of six spades, and West opens the heart king. Can declarer make his contract? Yes, win with the heart ace and have one round of trumps. Lead a diamond and, if West plays low, finesse the ten; if West split's his equals, win with the king and then return to the South hand with a trump, and finesse against West's o'.jher diahiond honour. Discard Smith's losing'heart 011 dummy's third diamond, and ruff dummy's heart jack. Now, with hearts and diamonds stripped from the North-South hands, lead a club toward dummy, and play either the queen or the ten. East wins, but is helpless, and must either return a club up to dummy., temicc, or a rod card, which will give declarer a, ruff and a discard.

South is in a contract of seven hearts, and West leads the spade kinti. What is the only chance to make contract?.