Contract Bridge

It’s so easy to go wrong

That different players take different views in the same set of circumstances is nowhere demonstrated more vividly than in duplicate bridge, where all the contestants play the same deals. Even though the hands are identical, the bidding and play inevitably vary from table to table, and this in turn produces a wide variety of results.

Today’s deal from a duplicate game is a typical example. Some pairs failed to reach a game in spades, and of those who did reach game, less than half made their contract. Since the failure to make 10 tricks was directly attributable to an error in declarer play, it is worthwhile to review it here.

The critical decision comes early. South wins the opening heart lead with the ace, cashes the diamond king, then leads a heart. West wins with the jack and returns the queen, and declarer is now at the crossroads.

At those tables where the contract failed, South ruffed with dummy’s ten, East overruffed with the jack, and a club return allowed West to score the A-Q for down one.

Of course, this method of play would have worked if West had been dealt the jack of spades (or East a third heart), so these declarers were a bit unlucky. But the correct approach does not depend on the element of luck to be successful.

The proper play when West leads the third round of hearts is not to trump at all, but to discard a club from dummy! West wins the trick (it doesn’t help for East to trump), but South now cannot be stopped from making the contract.

At this point, he has three clubs in his hand and only one in dummy. Regardless of West’s next play, South can concede a club, ruff a club in dummy and discard his last one on the ace of diamonds to bring in his game, losing only two hearts and a club all told.