BRIDGE
David Lloyd George, who was the British prime minister from 1916 to 1922, said, “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”
When an opponent opens one of a suit, and you have a relatively weak hand -- some 5-10 high-card points -- and a respectable long suit, be happy to enter the auction with a jump. If you make a single jump, you are showing a six-card suit. Your hand will be akin to a weak-two opening -- as in today’s deal.
Over South’s two-heart weak jump overcall, North took a shot at game.
After West leads the club 10, how should South plan the play?
Note that 5-10 points is a very wide range. A more scientific pair would use two no-trump as an inquiry, akin to responding two no-trump to an opening weak two-bid. Here, South would indicate a maximum (perhaps by rebidding three clubs to show the feature -- high card -- in that suit), and game would also be reached. But if South had a weaker hand, game would be unmakable.
Declarer has four losers: one spade, one heart and two clubs. He must eliminate one club loser by immediately cashing dummy’s three diamond winners and discarding a club. Then he gets trumps drawn as quickly as possible.
(In August, Phillip is running the bridge on a Kalos golf-and-bridge cruise down the Danube from Nuremburg to Budapest with an optional three-day extension to Prague. Full details at kalosgolf.com.)
BY PHILLIP ALDER
2-20