HEY BRIDGE PLAYER, FEELIN' LUCKY?

Harry Golden, who was a writer and newspaper publisher, said, "The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work."

Often, though, if you work hard and analyze correctly, you will have good luck -- particularly at the bridge table.

In today's deal, South is in four hearts after East has overcalled in spades. West leads the spade queen: five, seven, six. West continues with the spade three: eight, king, nine. East now plays the spade four. How should South react?

The auction was predictable. When you have a nine-card major-suit fit, make that suit trump. That will rarely be wrong. It isn't worth worrying about the few exceptional deals.

The contract is getting close to done. West must have led from a doubleton spade, given East's overcall and dummy's having the spade jack. If West can overruff declarer with the heart queen, the contract will fail. So, South should place that card with East.

Fine, but it does not seem to help much. Won't the defenders still get two trump tricks?

Maybe not -- if declarer is very lucky.

He should ruff the third spade with his heart jack. Let's suppose that West discards a minor-suit two. Now South leads a heart to dummy's king, playing East for queen-singleton (or queen-doubleton and an error by West for not overruffing at trick three).

Here, the queen drops under the king. Declarer crosses to his hand in either minor and leads

bridge

another trump toward dummy's 10, which limits the defenders to two spades and one heart.

Copyright United Feature Syndicate (Asia Features)