DAILY BRIDGE CLUB:

Duplicate tournament bridge, as enjoyed by the American Contract Bridge League’s 168,000 members, can improve your game. The ACBL rewards achievement with masterpoints.

At “matchpoint” duplicate, the same deals are played at many tables, and the pairs who do the best with their cards win. In today’s deal, South plays at four hearts. This is a “normal contract” that every North-South will reach. If South takes 10 tricks when everyone else takes 11, he will get a “bottom.”

South should win the first diamond with the king and lead a spade: three, jack, queen. He wins the next diamond, takes the ace of clubs, ruffs a club, leads a spade to dummy’s 10, discards his last diamond on the ace and loses a trump to the ace. Making five.

At party bridge, where the goal is to make your bid, South would never play that way; he might lose a cold game. But at duplicate, he takes a calculated risk for an overtrick.

See acbl.org for info on tournaments in your area.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ 42 ♥ QJ10986 4 ◆ K92 ♣ 2. Neither side vulnerable. You deal and open three hearts. The next player bids three spades, your partner doubles and the player at your right passes. What do you say?

ANSWER: Don’t even look at your hand. Pass. Your pre-empt described your hand, more or less, and partner is captain. He says he can beat three spades, and for all you know, he can beat it by several tricks. Trust him.