Keep counting those winners

George Meredith, an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times, wrote, “Don’t just count your years, make your years count.”

In bridge, don’t just count your trumps, make your trumps count. How should South do that in this four-spade contract after West leads the club seven?

North’s three hearts was a Mixed Raise. His jump cue-bid below three of partner’s major showed four trumps, 7-9 high-card points and nine losers. This hand was textbook.

When East, emboldened by the favorable vulnerability, rebid four clubs, he was in dangerous waters. With best defense, four clubs doubled goes down four (minus 800), and four hearts doubled is down five (minus 1100).

South might have doubled four clubs with his balanced hand. He wished he had after the deal was over.

At trick one, declarer unwisely played the club eight from the board. East won the trick with his king, cashed the heart king and heart ace (West playing high-low with his doubleton), and continued with a third heart. This promoted a trump trick for West, which defeated the contract.

South had seen 10 tricks (five spades, two diamonds, two clubs and one diamond ruff in the dummy), but not the danger inherent in a 4-0 trump split.

Declarer should have won trick one with the club ace, cashed the spade queen (to learn about the bad break), taken the diamond ruff, drawn trumps and played a club.

Then East would have asked West why he had not led a heart, which would have defeated the contract.