DAILY BRIDGE CLUB Louie’s team wins by two IMPs

“My luck may be changing,” Unlucky Louie told me.

“Really,” I sighed.

“I eked out a win in a money match,” Louie said.

Louie’s team had won by two IMPs. In today’s deal, Louie was South at his table. Against his four hearts, West led a spade, and Louie took the ace and led a low trump: a standard procedure to keep control. East took the 10 and forced dummy to ruff a spade.

Louie then led a second trump ... and East discarded. Louie took the ace, ruffed his last spade in dummy and started the diamonds. West ruffed the second diamond, and Louie won just two more tricks. Down three.

Louie was minus 300, but in the replay, South did worse at four hearts. He took the ace of spades and led the ace and a low trump. West drew trumps, and the defense ran the spades for down four, so Louie’s team gained three IMPs.

Four hearts was cold. After South wins the first trick, he takes the ace of trumps and starts the diamonds. He loses three trump tricks but no more.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: A93 AJ52

82 A J 6 2. Your partner opens one spade, you respond two clubs and he bids two diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: In the style in which your two clubs was forcing to game, you can bid two spades, forcing. That style has drawbacks as well as advantages, but the majority of expert pairs use it in some form. In “Standard” methods, jump to three spades, forcing. You would bid two spades if your spade holding were 10-9-3.