Contract Bridge

by Steve Becker Triumph of mind over matter

There are plays in bridge that seem to make no sense at all and yet, upon closer inspection, are demonstrably correct.

Fortunately, such plays are rarely called for, but when the opportunity for one does arise, it is to be hoped that the player in the spotlight recognizes his opportunity.

Assume West leads the jack of hearts, won by South with the king after East signals with the six.

Declarer leads a diamond to the ace, plays the queen of clubs and finesses.

Unfortunately, West wins with the king and returns a heart, and South goes down one.

What’s wrong with this picture, you may ask? The answer is that declarer should have made the contract. All he had to do was to play the eight of hearts at trick one instead of taking the king, and he would have been on Easy Street.

True, the subsequent club finesse would still have lost to West’s king, but the big difference is that the defense would have been unable to take more than four tricks, while South would have been assured of nine regardless of how East-West defended.

Of course it takes iron nerves and a vivid imagination to duck the jack of hearts at trick one.

But there can be no argument that playing low is the right play. After all, declarer is not in danger of losing the contract if he lets the jack hold the trick, but is in distinct jeopardy if he takes the jack with the king.

Force of habit may cause declarer to win the first trick and then start thinking of what to do next, but this would be a clear case of putting the cart before the horse.

The first step always is to plan the play from the outset, and any declarer who starts thinking at trick two instead of trick one is asking for trouble.