Contract Bridge

Some plays in bridge seem so clear-cut that they are often made without pause for thought. Yet anyone who has played the game for even a little while realizes that few plays -- if any -- should be made without adequate consideration.

For example, take this deal where South failed to make four spades. West had a difficult choice of leads and luckily hit on the only one that posed a threat to the contract: the ace of diamonds, which was then followed by the queen.

Declarer covered the queen

with the king, ruffed by East. East returned a heart, and South had no choice but to play low, whereupon West took the king and cashed the jack of diamonds to score a one-trick set.

Despite West’s inspired opening lead and continuation, declarer should have made the contract. In effect, he succumbed to an “automatic” play. Had he stopped to give the matter more thought, he would have seen that there was a surefire way to make 10 tricks.

South’s mistake came at trick two, when he played dummy’s king of diamonds on the queen. Instead, he should have allowed West’s queen to hold the trick! The best West can then do is to lead another diamond for East to ruff.

This gives the defenders

three tricks, but that’s all they can get. South takes East’s heart shift with the ace at trick four, ruffs a diamond high and draws trumps. He then discards dummy’s queen of hearts on his fifth diamond, and the game is home.

Of course, it may be argued that ducking the queen at trick two adds to the risk of the king being ruffed (if West started with three diamonds). However, while the duck in that case loses a trick, it doesn’t lose the contract. So while it’s true that covering the queen may gain a trick, it also jeopardizes the contract, and it is therefore the wrong play.

Tomorrow: Bidding quiz.