DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

Like many players, Cy the Cynic is less tolerant of his partner’s errors than his own.

“I can forgive one mistake,” Cy told me. “Two strain my limit, and after three I start looking for a place to bury another body.”

Cy was today’s North, and he and South did well to stop at two spades. Alas, after South took the ace of clubs, he led a trump to dummy and returned a heart to his king, playing East, who had bid, for the ace. West won and led another trump, and declarer won in dummy and led a second heart: five, nine, ten. West then led a third trump, and South lost two more hearts to East plus two diamonds. Down one.

“Where did I put that shovel?” Cy muttered.

South erred. His misguess in hearts was unfortunate, but he could assure eight tricks by leading a heart from his hand at Trick Two. He could win a trump return, concede a heart, win the next trump and ruff a heart with dummy’s last trump. When West’s ace fell, South would make an overtrick. DAILY QUESTION

You hold: S 7 6 H Q 8 5 2 D K Q C K Q 9 6 5. Your partner opens one diamond, you bid two clubs, he rebids two diamonds and you try two hearts. Partner then bids three clubs. What do you say?

Answer: Partner’s bidding is consistent with a minimum hand such as J 4, K 7, A J 10 7 6 5, A 7 4, and then you can make no game. Pass. A diamond partscore may be safer, but if you continue with a bid of three diamonds, partner will surely treat it as forcing and may get too high.