Louie’s dark day

Unlucky Louie continues to toil away in my club’s penny Chicago game – and is fatalistic about his constant losses. Louie says it’s always darkest before it turns utterly pitch black.

When Louie was today’s South, he got to a contract of four hearts that would have produced an overtrick on a luckier day. Indeed, if North’s clubs had been Q-7-3, six hearts would have been a good spot, so Louie’s jump to four hearts was wrong. He could have bid four clubs, and if North had help in clubs and good heart support, he would have moved toward slam.

When West led the king of diamonds, Louie won and took the K-A of trumps – and East discarded a spade. Louie then tried the A-K of clubs, and if the skies had turned dark when trumps broke 4-1, they really let go a deluge when West ruffed. West cashed his queen of trumps and forced Louie to ruff a diamond. East won the third club with the queen and led another diamond to force out Louie’s last trump. When East won the next club with the nine, the defense cashed a diamond. Down two.

As usual, Louie brought disaster on himself. It’s a principle of play that when a contract may be difficult and trump control may be an issue, declarer should go after a side suit early. Louie can take the ace of clubs at Trick Two, then lead a trump to dummy and return a club to his king.

West ruffs and forces Louie to ruff a diamond, but Louie is in control. He concedes a club to East, ruffs the next diamond and takes the ace of trumps. He ruffs a club with dummy’s last trump and loses only one more trick to West’s high trump.

South dealer

N-S vulnerable