A lot of thinking will feel good

J. Churton Collins, who was an English literary critic, wrote, “Half our mistakes in life arise from feeling where we ought to think, and thinking where we ought to feel.”

I can’t help feeling — or thinking, if you prefer — that that sums up today’s deal rather well. Many players would think that they were making the right play when they weren’t. Others would make the wrong play, with that awful feeling that they were doing something wrong, but not being quite sure what it was.

Playing in three notrump, South faced a lowdiamond lead to East’s ace and a diamond return through his king-jack. How should he have continued?

When South finessed the diamond jack, West won with the queen and returned the suit. Declarer ran dummy’s club suit, discarding a heart from hand.

West, under pressure but not revealing it, discarded one spade and two hearts. Now South had to guess how to continue. Eventually he played a spade to his queen, but West won with the king and cashed two diamond tricks to defeat the contract.

After looking at West’s hand, South said, “Both finesses wrong. How unlucky. And how was I to know he had blanked the heart king?”

As usual, dummy was unsympathetic. “Assuming West has led from his long suit, why finesse the diamond jack at trick two? Go up with the king, cash two or three club tricks and exit with a diamond. West takes his winners in the suit, but what does he do then?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” answered South. “He must lead into one of my ace-queen tenaces. How unthinking of me.”