Daily Bridge Club

Experts and egos

“Experts have egos the size of Montana,” Unlucky Louie griped to me. “If they must choose between taking a finesse and playing for a complicated squeeze, they always prefer the ‘expert’ play. After all, anyone can win a finesse — except me, needless to say — but relying on a finesse is beneath an expert’s dignity.”

Louie was frustrated after a typical losing day in my club’s penny game. When I watched today’s deal, Louie was East, and Ed, my club’s best player, was South. Against Ed’s four hearts, the defense started well: West led a diamond in deference to Louie’s overcall, and Louie took the king and ace and led a third diamond. West ruffed and exited with a trump.

It looked as if Ed needed a winning spade finesse to make his game, but instead he ran all his trumps. After eight tricks, West had room for five cards. Since he had to keep all four clubs, he bared his king of spades. He did so without a revealing pause. Nevertheless, Ed’s next play was the ace of spades to drop the king. Making four.

“Showoff,” Louie growled. “Wouldn’t take the spade finesse.”

“Next time,” Ed said cheerfully, “I’ll just double your two diamonds and beat it by a few tricks.”

Ed was correct to play for a squeeze, of course. If Louie had held A-K-J-9-8 in diamonds plus the king of spades (and maybe the jack of clubs), he surely would have opened the bidding in third position at the favorable vulnerability. Ed’s only chance was to hope that West had four or more clubs as well as the king of spades. West dealer N-S vulnerable