Contract Bridge

Cards tell a story, but it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly what they are saying in a particular deal. Take this case where it would be easy for anyone to go wrong.

West does not have a clearcut opening lead against four hearts, so let’s say he leads the club deuce. East wins with the king and continues with the ace, South producing first the five and then the jack.

Too late, East realizes that his partner led from the Q-10-2 and shifts to a diamond, but the damage is already done. A few tricks later, declarer ruffs dummy’s six of clubs, felling West’s queen and establishing dummy’s nine of clubs as a trick on which South’s diamond loser can be discarded, and the contract is home.

The villain of this tale is East, who should not have played the ace of clubs at trick two, but should have led a low club instead! If he had, the contract would have failed.

After declarer follows with the five of clubs at trick one, East should conclude that it is impossible for West to have started with four clubs, since he would have led the queen from the Q-J-10-2. Nor can West have held the Q-J-2 or J-10-2, since he would have led his queen in the first case and the jack in the second.

Therefore, West’s deuce-of-clubs lead was either a singleton or low from precisely the Q-10-2. A low club return caters to both possibilities, and it is therefore the correct play.

The number of hands where this type of card-reading is possible -- especially on the opening lead -- is remarkably large. To be a good card detective, one should be willing to expend the relatively small amount of energy it takes to try to figure things out. Bridge is not for the lazy mind.

Tomorrow: A deviation from the norm.