Bridge Play

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on improving basic technique and logical thinking.

My friend Cy the Cynic is as lazy as a deep old river.

If Cy must choose between setting up a long suit and taking a finesse, he prefers the finesse, which requires less effort. Many players are just as lazy.

Today’s West led the ten of spades against six hearts, and East took the ace and led the jack of diamonds: queen, king, ace. Declarer took the A-K of trumps, cashed his queen of spades, led a trump to dummy and threw his last diamond on the king of spades.

FINESSE

South next led a club to his king and a club to dummy’s jack. Down he went.

South’s play was lazy — and wrong. He had a 50-50 chance of winning the club finesse but can do better. After he unblocks his queen of spades, he takes the K-A of clubs. When East-West follow low, South discards his last club on the king of spades and ruffs a club. He can return a trump to dummy and pitch his diamond loser on a good club.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ K53 ♥ Q32 ♦ A6 ♣A J 6 4 3. You open one club, your partner responds one diamond, you bid 1NT and he tries two hearts. The opponents pass. What do you say?

ANSWER: Your partner “reversed” as responder and so promises a strong hand; the auction will not stop below game. You are unable to support either of partner’s suits. To bid 2NT would be acceptable. My preference would be to try three clubs to suggest a fair five-card suit.

South dealer N-S vulnerable

The Labor Department has announced two moves to reverse rules issued under the Trump administration that narrowed the protection of federal law for millions of workers.

One of the rules announced this week was likely to have deemed millions of workers in industries like construction and transportation — many of them gig workers — to be contractors rather than employees.

The department had finalized the rule in January, two weeks before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. But the Biden administration has delayed the rule’s effective date until May, a step toward rescinding it. The rule would probably have made workers like Uber drivers ineligible for the federal minimum wage and overtime pay, which apply only to employees.

Industry officials have estimated that treating gig workers as employees can raise labor costs by 20% to 30%, and Uber and other gig companies have fought on multiple fronts over the years to classify workers as contractors.

The department said it was also moving to undo a second rule enacted by the Trump administration, this one governing when a company should be considered a so-called joint employer alongside franchisees or contractors that directly employ a worker.

Franchisees and contractors often have limited resources to pay legal penalties related to violations of minimum-wage and overtime laws, so a more expansive joint employer rule makes it more likely that employees can be made whole if a violation has occurred. The Trump rule had narrowed the circumstances under which a company could be considered a joint employer.

In September, a federal judge struck down most of the Trump rule, arguing that the administration had arbitrarily departed from the statute governing federal minimum-wage and overtime rules.

The public will have until April 12 to comment on the moves announced Thursday, after which the Labor Department can finalize them.