DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

Cy the Cynic is a confirmed bachelor — confirmed at an early age, he says.

“Bachelors,” sniffs Wendy, my club’s feminist and Cy’s bitter foe. “A bachelor is a man who isn’t aware of his faults.”

Wendy and Cy play in our penny game, where they remain adversaries even when they cut as partners. They were today’s EastWest, defending against four spades. The contract looked easy to beat: South had a trump, two diamonds and a club to lose.

But the Cynic led his singleton diamond. Dummy’s jack covered, and Wendy took the K-A and led the 10. Declarer pitched a club, and Cy ruffed and led a heart. South won with the ace, drew trumps with the A-K, led to the queen of hearts, threw another club on the queen of diamonds and claimed, making four.

“Only a man could find a defense that bad,” Wendy spit out.

“Look,” Cy said, “I’ll bet you $10 you didn’t do one thing right.”

“Why lead your singleton diamond when you have a natural trump trick anyway?” Wendy demanded.

Cy could have found a more inspired opening lead, but Wendy had bid diamonds, and it was possible Cy could get two ruffs. Wendy could have shifted to the king of clubs at Trick Two, but her defense could have worked.

The worst play was Cy’s ruff of the third diamond, which in effect compressed two of the defenders’ winners into one. If Cy discards a heart instead, letting dummy’s queen of diamonds win, he still gets a trump trick, and South still has a club loser.