QUICK CROSSWORD

Nearly three weeks ago, I reviewed a new book by Danny Roth, a Londoner. Hard on the heels of that comes another book of the same type but with a different publisher: “Outsmart the Bridge Experts” ( HNB).

Roth sets 60 declarerplay and defense problems where he believes that the original writer's analysis was inaccurate. I usually agreed with him, but not totally in this deal. Look at the North and East hands. The contract is three hearts. West leads the diamond queen. How should East plan the defense?

East could not open one no- trump, because it would have shown 14- 16 points. South made a normal pre- emptive jump overcall promising little more than a respectable seven- card suit. No one else had a reason to compete.

Roth, probably correctly, suggests that this is a constructed deal. If the defense begins with three rounds of diamonds, declarer ruffs and ought to draw two rounds of trumps. ( Roth recommends immediately ruffing losers in hand.) Then, when South sees the 4- 1 break, he plays a club to dummy and ruffs a diamond. ( If East trumps in, declarer discards his spade loser.) South continues with a club to dummy, a club ruff, a spade to dummy and the last club. If East pitches his final spade, declarer ruffs and loses the last two tricks to East's trumps.

The best — and winning — defense is for East to overtake at trick one ( or trick two) and to shift to anything. Roth recommends a trump, but I think the spade king is preferable to remove one of dummy's entries before declarer starts ruffing in his hand. Copyright United Feature Syndicate

( Asia Features)