Duplicate decisions

Daily Bridge Club

Tournament (duplicate) bridge has three types of competitions: matchpoint pairs, IMP teams (and sometimes IMP pairs) and board-amatch teams. IMP scoring resembles Chicago or party bridge: Your goal as declarer is to make the contract. At matchpoints or board-a-match, the aim is to outscore other pairs by any margin, so overtricks may be a factor.

Inexperienced players sometimes forget what game they’re playing. In today’s deal from an IMP team match, South’s bid of three hearts was an error. He should have raised North to 3NT.

Since South’s bidding suggested six hearts and four diamonds, North lifted to four hearts. West led the jack of spades, and South took the king, led a club to dummy and returned a trump to finesse with the jack — and West casually played low. South then went to dummy’s second high club, threw his last club on the ace of spades and led a trump to his ten.

This time West took his queen and forced South to ruff a spade. West won the next trump and forced South to ruff another spade with his last trump, and South had lost control. He took two high diamonds, but West won the last two tricks with a trump and a good spade.

West defended well — South succeeds if West wins the first trump

— but South must have thought he was playing matchpoints. To assure his contract, South leads the king of trumps at Trick Two. He has time to force out West’s two honors, draw trumps and take three trumps, three diamonds, two clubs and two spades.

South dealer

E-W vulnerable