BRIDGE

Like everything else in bridge, weak-opening gadget bids can have their day in the sun but there can be a lot of hidden costs that the gadget-advocates often overlook in their appraisal of the toys.

Today's East-West at one table of a match were gadget-purveyors of the first order: two clubs showed both majors in a weak hand. East asked and was told that hearts was either his partner's longer suit or that the majors were equal in length.

To leave it to South to get his side into the bidding with his natural notrump call attracting a raise to game.

Heart lead to the ace for a heart return.

No problem for declarer as he won the second heart, played Queen and a club to dummy and, one winning diamond finesse later, had nine easy tricks: four diamonds, two hearts and three clubs.

Note that had West tried a “surprise” lead by starting with spades, there would have been no immaterial effect on the outcome.

But not so easy for NorthSouth at the other table where East opened one club in third seat and North ended as declarer in three notrump.

The opening lead of the Jack of clubs did no immediate harm insofar as establishing defensive winners was concerned but it did do serious harm to declarer's lines of communication between the two hands.

On a double-dummy basis, North could still have prevailed by eventually leading a low heart towards dummy (East playing low, of course) and then continuing with a low heart from both hands to have the ace fan air.

He didn't do that. Down one!