BRIDGE Online play delivers deep deductions

Not only have many of us been playing more bridge than usual, but also it has mostly been at Bridge Base Online. What do you gain from these games?

They allow you to stretch your brain, iron out kinks in your partnership bidding and signaling methods, and occasionally throw up instructive points. This week, let’s look at deals in which I was involved.

What do you think of the bidding? How would you play in three no-trump after West leads a fourth-highest club seven: heart five, club queen, ace?

South really ought to pass over three diamonds. Even though partner has a textbook preempt, game is theoretically impossible. At BBO, though, eight out of 13 Souths did shoot out three no-trump, four passed, and one jumped to five diamonds. Seven of those in three no-trump took their eight winners and conceded down one.

The last player — guess who! — decided that it was worth the risk of extra undertricks to hope for a misdefense. I led the diamond king and, when West followed suit, I overtook with dummy’s ace. Then I played a low spade.

Luckily, I had an opponent who is a signed-up member of the second hand low club. He let me sneak a spade to my king and nine tricks in all.

Afterward, I wondered if I should have risked a 4-0 diamond break by first playing my low diamond to dummy’s jack, to avoid advertising my king. But when declarer seems to be trying to sneak a ninth trick, don’t let him. Here, if East had won the first spade, I could have gone down four!