AUCTION BRIDGE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18466, 18 May 1928, Page 7

AUCTION BRIDGE.

NO TRUMP PITFALLS.

(By A. E. MANNING FOSTER.) Excluding, of course, cast-iron certainties consisting of long, solid suits, you never can tell what may happen even to the most wonderful hands. Good No Trumpers frequently go to pieces, and bad ones often succeed. All may depend upon the opening lead or upon a finesse. I saw a player recently make a grand slam by a lucky finesse. But if the finesse had not come off he would not have made the odd trick. Players who go down in their No Trump bids are frequently blamed by their partners, quite wrongfully. Their calls may have been absolutely correct, and dummy may have given them some good cards. But the two hands may not happen to fit. Almost every No Trumpcr has . its weak spot. It may be a matter of luck or judgment whether the opponents discover that weak spot in time or too late. m It is a pity to squeal snd blame your partner if things go wrong. A player held the following hand: S—A Q J. lI.—K x, D.—K x, C.— A K Q J 10 x. An excellent No Trumpcr! But he did not make the odd trick on it. Hearts were led by A, and the Ace put up by his partner, B held seven Diamonds to the Queen, Jack, 10, and instead of returning Hearts led Queen of Diamonds, of which suit A held the Ace.

The result was that A and B made eight tricks (seven Diamonds and one Heart), and the No Trump bidder lost 100 points. ; Now, here is a still more remarkable hand. Declarer held: S.—-A 06 5, 11. A J 5, D.—A K. C.--A K I 9. He called “Two No Trumps,” and weut down two tricks. It is true that his hundred Aces compensated for the loss, but it was an extraordinary hand to fail on. Dummy held nothing of value but six Diamonds to the Jack, and he could not get him in. This is only one of many examples of which I have records of good No Trumpers going wrong. Conversely, among the instances of bad No Trumpers succeeding, I have the following:—B called “Two Spades,” Z, a forward player, bid "Two No Trumps." He held: Ace, Queen of Spades only, seven Clubs headed by Queen, Jack, 10, and nothing else of value. His Dummy had Ace to three Clubs, and no other court card. Spades were led. and Z took the first trick with his Queen, and led a Club. The King of Clubs fell, and Z made nine tricks and game. Tf his opponents had known, they .could have made eight tricks in Hearts and Diamonds before Z got in.

Again and again have T seen fiuky Xo Trumpers, which did. not deserve to succeed, come off. while good hands, which looked, on the face of them, almost certainties, have gone down. The moral of all this is not that you should bid bad No Trumpers, but that you should never feel too_cocksure of even the most promising-looking cards. The longer one plays Bridge the more one becomes aware of its ,manv pitfalls And, after all. the zest of th’c gaivu lies in its glorious uncertainty.