Trading Substance for Shadow.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 8

Trading Substance for Shadow.

Contract Bridge

By Ely Culbertson. rpHERE IS AN OLD STORY that tells of a dog crossing a stream with his dinner in his mouth. Glancing down at the waters he saw the reflection of the meat he was carrying and it seemed so much larger and juicier than the portion he held that he dropped his dinner in an effort to get its shadow from the water. Many bridge players are like that. In reaching after the shadow of things that can never materialise, they lose sight of the substance that is within their grasp. Seeking immaterial tricks has cost many a game of Contract. The effort to get two tricks in an adverse suit when the one trick taken at the right time is all that is necessary, and the sacrifice of the “ shadow ” trick means only insurance that the necessary tricks will be counted, is all too general in bridge circles. Take the hand below: East and West vulnerable. North and South not vulnerable.

(The figures after bids in table refer to numbered explanatory paragraphs.) South West North East Pass. IS 2 D (1) 3 C (2) Pass. 3 N.T. (3) Pass. Pass. Pass. 1. —Even vulnerable, North would lie justified in over-calling with two Diamonds. He has a fair six-card suit and more than two honour tricks in the hand. If the bid serves no other purpose, North hopes it will prove an effective barrier to a possible no-trump game declaration by the adversaries. 2. —East has a strong five-card suit which cannot fail to be of benefit to the partnership. While his hand is very weak otherwise, it is too strong in playing tricks not to warrant an overcall. The fact that he also has negative support (three small cards) for his partner’s opening bid is further justification, if it were needed, for his bid. 3. —With his partner’s bid and possible double stoppers in the Diamond suit, as well as a safe stopper in the only unbid suit, West feels fully justified in going after game. In the play, North’s choice of an opening lead is not an easy one. With such a holding, my own preference would be for a lead of one of the short suits if they had not been bid, but the lead of the Spade up to the declared strength has nothing to recommend it and the lead of the Club through East's bid would seem to be playing declarer’s game. Under the circumstances, North chose rightly his fourth best Diamond, and when the dummy was exposed on the table, West realised that its only value was in the tricks procurable in the Club suit, aside from the potential value of the Heart Queen if the opponents led that suit. South played the 10, and West here had to make the decision upon which rested either success or failure. Most players would unhesitatingly play a Diamond honour and then trust to luck that South did not again secure the lead in time to lead through the now defenceless Diamond suit. Of course, such play is bad It is worse than bad; it is silly. The proper play, and the only one by which the contract can be won, as the cards are distributed, is to permit the Diamond 10 to hold the trick. West can count on one such Diamond trick, three Spades, one Heart and probably either four or five Clubs, depending upon the location of the Club King, if the Diamond suit is not established before the Club King is driven out of the hand of the adversary holding it. A “ shadow ” trick, which will probably never materialise, is certainly a small price to pay for safety. In the actual play of this hand in a duplicate game, only one player with West’s cards realised the necessity of the hold-up. He permitted South’s Diamond 10 to win, and South, while realising the probable futility of his course, had no choice but a continuance of his partner’s suit. North could now see the situation was hopeless. He can establish the Diamond, it is true, but the Heart King affords little promise of entry early enough to prevent the making of game. The bidding clearly places the Ace of Hearts in the West hand. North won the Diamond return and cleared the suit. West then led a Club, taking the finesse. South won, but his return of any card at this time was immaterial. West made four Club tricks, one Diamond, one Heart and three Spades for game. A game would not have been made had he attempted to make two tricks in his opponents’ suit. The moral of all this is the same as that taught to the dog in the tale which begins this article.

S—10 5 H—K J 4 D—A J 9 5 C—7 2 2 S—A K Q 7 H—A 10 6 D—K Q 6 C—8 G 5 N W E S S—8 4 2 H—Q 7 2 D—8 7 C—A Q J 10 9 S—J 9 6 3 II—9 8 5 3 D—10 3 C—K 4 3 The Bidding.