BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

PLAyiNG Pairs, how do you play West in 6NT, after North leads ♣ Q? SlaMS that depend on a finesse are not deemed good ones. nevertheless, several e-W Pairs reached 6 ♥ , which you can see has no chance.

I’m not a fan of playing balanced hands in a major suit contract at Pairs when there’s the chance of making the same number of tricks in no Trumps for the ten-point bonus. I got an unexpectedly bigger bonus on this one, where the bad break in hearts proved to be an asset.

Win ♣ K and cash ♥ a, discovering the bad break, then ♦ a and take the successful finesse.

after cashing all your diamond and spade winners, you have a complete count of South’s hand. However, you must be careful to watch his three discards before playing ♣ a.

His last three cards should be ♥ QJx and, when you run the ♥ 10 to him, he will be endplayed for the last two tricks.