DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

“Magic Mirror on the wall,” intoned the evil queen, “who is the best player of them all?”

“Based on recent tournament results,” the Mirror replied nervously, “Snow White is. Indeed, I taught her the game myself.”

“What?” screamed the queen. “Wait till the next tournament.”

When the queen’s team faced Snow White and three of the dwarfs in a crucial match, South played at 3NT at both tables, and West led the king of spades. East threw a heart.

When the queen was declarer, she took the ace, led a heart to dummy and returned a club. East alertly played the jack.

Declarer’s queen won, but when she cashed the ace, East unblocked his king. If South led a third club, West would win and run the spades. If instead South had gone to dummy’s ace of diamonds to lead the second club, she could have ducked East’s king but would have no entry to the 13th club. So the result was down one.

“Unmakable,” the queen sniffed.

Snow White showed that 3NT was cold as the cards lay: At Trick Two, she took the ace of clubs!

East did his best unblocking the king, but declarer led a heart to dummy and returned a club. If East played low, Snow White would take the queen and lead a third club to East’s jack, and dummy’s last club would be a winner with the ace of diamonds as an entry. If instead East put up the jack on the second club, declarer would play low.

So Snow White won. Her astute play reflected well, shall I say, on her mentor the Magic Mirror.