QUICK CROSSWORD

have five playing cards, one of which is a queen. You shuffle them, then give two to the player on your left and three to the player on your right. Who is more likely to hold the queen?

In this deal, East- West win nine tricks in spades; West was tempted to continue with five spades, but he had no singleton or void, and he had heard an expert or three say that the five- level belongs to the opponents.

Against five hearts, West cashed his two high diamonds. Then, hoping that his partner had a singleton heart queen or king, he continued with a low diamond. Here, though, South overruffed and drew West’s remaining trumps. What happened after that?

East’s hand is not a textbook second- seat preempt, because his suit is not robust. Since one opponent has already passed, it is likely that partner has a decent hand, so promising at least a strong suit should make his life easier. Today, though, textbooks tend to collect more dust than disciples.

South has to find the club queen to make his contract, but he can finesse through either opponent. What does he know?

South has learned that East began with seven spades, one heart, two diamonds and... therefore... three clubs. Similarly, West has only two clubs. Who has the queen?

Obviously, it is not a certainty, but East is a 3- to- 2 favorite. Declarer should lead his club jack to encourage West to cover — or to think about it — if he does have the queen. But assuming West plays low smoothly, South should win with dummy’s king and return a club to his 10. Copyright United Feature Syndicate ( Asia Features)