BRIDGE

One of the first defensive counters players learn is the hold-up play: not taking a trick with a high card, especially an ace, when first offered in the hope that declarer's lines of communications may be disrupted.

The next step can be the holdup of a King in a finessing position as a defender refuses to take his offside King whenever possible or when possibly profitable.

Holdup plays involving an ace or King are common but not many opportunities to execute a holdup play with a Queen come along and I doubt many players would make the winning play in the position today's West found herself in.

The auction was cramped a tad by North's jump shift rebid: in his partnership's style, he showed 5-5 in his two suits and 14-15 high-card points.

After seeing dummy for his choice of three notrump, South dearly wanted to back-pedal into four spades but finding nine tricks had to be his immediate concern.

Heart to the King for the Jack to come back, covered by the Queen, for West to win his ace and fire back the nine to South's ten.

Over to dummy for the nine of spades to draw the eight from East, the five from South and from West???

If she wins the Queen, all would be clear-sailing for declarer but sensing exactly that, West didn't take the Queen and the contract was in ruins.

Especially because on the two rounds of hearts that dummy couldn't follow suit to, South had somewhat carelessly discarded two small diamonds so there was no possibility of falling back on the 3-3 diamond split.