Daily Bridge Club

Lost in the shuffle

Cy the Cynic says that your chance of getting lost is proportional to the number of times the person giving you directions says “You can’t miss it.”

At four spades, Cy took the ace of clubs, ruffed a club and led a heart to dummy’s king. East won and led a trump. Cy won and conceded a heart, and East led a second trump.

The Cynic won and ruffed a heart with dummy’s last trump but still had a heart loser. He ruffed a club, drew trumps and tried a diamond finesse with the jack, but when East took the queen and returned a diamond, dummy had a diamond loser at Trick 13.

“Easily made,” North sighed. “How could you have missed it?”

CLUB RUFFS

Cy’s play was misdirected. After Cy ruffs a club at the second trick, he can get to dummy with the A-K of diamonds to ruff two more clubs.

Cy then concedes a diamond to East, wins the trump return in dummy and ruffs the last diamond. He has 10 tricks: three trumps in dummy, two high diamonds, a club and four ruffs in his hand.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ A J 10 ♥ K 10 ♦ AKJ6 ♣ A 9 5 4. North in today’s deal opened 2NT with this hand. Do you agree with that evaluation?

ANSWER: Many pairs use a range of 20 to 22 points for a 2NT opening bid, so this hand would qualify. Even if your range is 21 or 22 points, to upgrade would be reasonable. The hand is worth more than its point count suggests: The two tens add something to its value, and most of the points consist of aces and kings. North dealer N-S vulnerable