FRANK STEWART BRIDGE

PLAY EARNS A VETO “Using a lot of Latin phrases to sound smart is my modus operandi.” — graffiti Some players “talk a good game,” but their results don’t back them up. At today’s 3NT, South took the ace of clubs and led the A-K and a third spade, hoping for a 3-3 break. Instead, East took the ten and queen and led another club. South next led a diamond to dummy’s ace. East’s queen fell, but South still had only eight tricks in toto: two spades, three diamonds, two clubs and a heart. Unlucky

In the postmortem, South asserted that his approach was bona fide; he went on ad nauseam about being unlucky, et cetera. “The status quo applies,” North grumbled. South should have been saying “mea culpa”; his play in diamonds was wrong per se. South needs four diamond tricks and will finesse with the jack. But to take the ace first is wrong, costing if East has the singleton queen. Ergo, South should lead a heart to dummy and return a low diamond, thus avoiding being persona non grata. Daily Question

You hold: ♠ Q 10 8 7 ♥ K J 10 7 ♦ Q ♣ K 10 8 4. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he bids 1NT. The opponents pass. What do you say?

Answer: This situation demands aggression. You have only 11 high-card points, but your hand is worth much more because of your three tens and other high spots. Especially if your side is vulnerable, bid 3NT. It’s hard to see what suit the defenders will be able to use to beat that contract. South dealer Neither side vulnerable