THE OPENING LEAD WAS NICE AND NAUGHTY

T

. Boone Pickens, a business magnate and financier who died last month, said, “I was very fortunate in my gene mix. The gambling instincts I inherited from my father were matched by my mother’s gift for analysis.”

Sounds like he could have been a good bridge player. If he had been, how would he have analyzed this deal? South is in three no-trump, and West leads the spade six.

Do you and your partner treat a three-no-trump opening as showing a balanced 25-27 points? If so, what is the difference between that auction and the one in this deal?

I think that you should treat today’s sequence as showing 4-3-3-3 distribution. (We will look at a three-notrump opening next week.)

South had eight top tricks: one spade (given trick one), three hearts, three diamonds and one club. He would obviously get the extra winner from clubs.

Next, read the lead. Presumably West has led his fourth-highest spade. So, apply the Rule of Eleven: 11 minus 6 equals 5. This means that five spades higher than the six lie in the North, East and South hands combined. And South can see all five. How should this point declarer in the right direction?

Since East has no high spade, South calls for dummy’s spade 10. When it wins -- as he knows it will -- he takes the club finesse. When that wins, declarer cruises home with two overtricks.

bridge

ACROSS 1 Not often 3 Smooth-tongued 7 Assess 8 Riddle 10 Six-sided figure 13 Fragile 16 Keyboard instrument 17 Big cat 18 Converse 19 Cleats (anag) DOWN 1 Waves 2 Foam 4 Racing toboggan 5 Jacket 6 Lacking manners, refinement, grace 9 Horse-shoer 11 Girdle 12 Display ostentatiously Volition Confront

14 15

Note, though, that if South takes trick one in his hand, East will get in with the club king and push a spade through, giving West four tricks in the suit and killing the contract.

Copyright United Feature Syndicate (Asia Features)