BRIDGE

NORTH in todays’deal was Grapefruit, our club member who is about as gracious as a hog. He berates his partenrs mercilessly.

Against four hearts, West led the queen of trumps. South won, came to his ace of diamonds and led a club: seven, king, ace. East returned a club to dummy’s queen. South then led a diamond to his king and finessed with the queen of spades, trying for a discard for his club loser. Alas, East won and cashed the ten of clubs, and West got two trumps. Down two.

“Partner, you seem to have skidded off the road on the learning curve,” Grapefruit sneered.

“You’re crazy, ”South said. “Every card was wrong.”

Grapefruit told the kibitzers that South’s lights were on, but someone had been fooling with his dimmer switch.

After South wins the second club, he can cash the ace of spades, ruffa spade, lead a trump to dummy and ruff a spade. He takes the ace of diamonds, ruffs a diamond and scores his 10th trick by ruffing dummy’s last spade.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ AQ 9 3 ♥ AK 5 ♦ 10 4 ♣ K Q 6 5.Your partner opens one diamond, you bid one spade, he rebids two diamonds and you try three clubs. Partner rebids three diamonds. North dealer. Both sides vulnerable What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner has shown a string of diamonds with minimum high-card values. It’s hard to imagine a hand for him that won’t produce a slam.A hand such as 4 2,7 6, K Q J 9 7 6 3,A 2 will be enough. Bid six diamonds or, at matchpoint duplicate, bid 6NT.