FROM A CARD TABLE TO A PAPER COLUMN

Last month, I coached four students while they played deals at Bridge Base Online. One afternoon, we had a series of amazing deals. This week, let’s look at six of them. Warning: The bidding and play are not always perfect, but I hope that we can learn some lessons.

First, if you were North, how would you respond after partner opens one no-trump?

That is a matter of partnership agreement. Here, North replied three diamonds, showing at least 55 in the minors with gameforcing values or more. South might have rebid three hearts, hoping his partner would read it as showing a five-card suit (not just asking for a spade stopper for three notrump). If South had rebid three hearts, North would have raised to four hearts, describing her distribution perfectly and letting partner decide what to do if he did not have five hearts. Three no-trump looks hopeless. The defenders drive out the spade ace, get back in with either the heart ace or club king and run the rest of the spades. But ...

Under West's spade queen, East signaled with the eight instead of the nine. (Always play the highest card you can afford when showing enthusiasm.) Then, instead of leading the 10 (or seven, his original fourth-highest), West continued with the spade jack. Still nervous, East played her two. Now West led the spade three, and East played the nine, not the king.

Of course, the defenders were not yet dead. Maybe declarer, not guessing that they had blocked the spades, would take the club finesse. But after running his five diamond tricks, he deduced to play on hearts to get home.