Bridge AN ETHEREAL TABLE IN AN UNREAL TIME

This pandemic has thrown everyone for a loop. Some people have been careful, others much less so. Some governors have been very cautious, others quite the opposite. Bridge players, with at-the-table play eschewed by most, have resorted to online play. If you log into Bridge Base Online during the day, you will often see that 25,000 people are logged in. There are organized duplicates, or you can partner a friend or a robot against humans or robots. Each deal is usually played 15 or 16 times, and you can see exactly how the deal panned out at those other tables.

Let’s end the week with two defenses that were especially satisfying to East and West.

In the auction, North’s oneno-trump response was forcing for one round. It showed 6-12 points with fewer than three spades unless at the top of the range. South’s two-club rebid might have been with only a three-card suit if having a minimum opening with 5=3=2=3 or 5=2=3=3 distribution. In this deal, North would have done best to pass, two clubs making with an overtrick. But in a duplicate, one prefers to play in a major or no-trump, and a 5-2 fit usually plays better than a 4-3. Hence North’s two-spade rebid.

West led the heart three. East took the trick and shifted to his singleton club. Declarer won in hand and played a trump, but West won with her ace, gave partner a club ruff, got back on lead with the heart king and delivered a second club ruff. Later, East’s spade king was the setting trick. That was a 90% board for East-West.