Daily Bridge Club

Phoning in a result

Cy the Cynic had bowed to progress and had finally gotten a cellphone.

“It’s about time,” Unlucky Louie told him. “Even my dog has one.”

“Your dog has a cellphone?” Cy snorted.

“He uses it all the time,” Louie said solemnly. “He even negotiated a plan himself — with rollover minutes.”

Cy was still groaning when he defended today’s five hearts as East — and he basically rolled over and played dead. When West led the ten of clubs, Cy took the K-A and tried to cash a spade. South ruffed, drew trumps and pitched two diamonds from dummy on his Q-J of clubs. Making five.

SECOND TRICK

“It wouldn’t help me to shift to a diamond at the second trick,” Cy shrugged. “Declarer would take the ace, and we still wouldn’t get a diamond trick.”

Cy was right about that, but he could still beat the contract. At Trick Three he must lead a third club. When West ruffs South’s jack, dummy overruffs, but South is deprived of one of his discards and must lose a diamond to West.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ AKJ92 ♥ 8 2 ♦ 9 ♣ A K 9 8 2. Today’s East opened one club with this hand. Do you agree with that action?

ANSWER: I don’t. A majority of experts used to open one club with such a hand to prepare an economical second bid of one spade if partner responded in a red suit. But times change. Now I think most experts would open one spade to get the major suit mentioned promptly and make it harder for the opponents to come in. East dealer Both sides vulnerable