BRIDGE

Here’s a great exhibit to illustrate how bridge is a game of errors.

South’s first error came in the bidding: if North showed a club stopper or two and an acceptance of the game invitation, why not let him play three notrump? (unbeatable with any lead subject to a winning view in spades and maybe even surviving a misguess in that suit).

But fearing his singleton, South persevered in spades with West’s optimistic double adding some extra risk-reward.

Club to the ace for declarer to continue with ace and a spade towards dummy.

In with the King, West’s best move would have been a third round of trumps to remove dummy’s entry before it could be used but he preferred a second round of clubs.

South ruffed that to be in a position to prevail had he only played one high diamond before anything else. That would have revealed the diamond split as well as the location of the last defensive trump.

Clear sailing: three top diamonds and a spade to the Queen for the diamond Queen.

But South played the third round of trumps first and then crossed back to his hand with a high diamond.

Still a chance as cashing all three high diamonds in the closed hand followed by a low heart would leave the defenders in an untenable position.

No, seizing defeat from victory one last time, South cashed the heart ace and West made a very good play by unblocking the King to give his partner two heart entries, one to force out South’s last trump with a club and one to cash the setting trick in clubs.