Bridge

SKILFUL CARD-READING

With all three vital cards badly placed – the king of clubs and the king-queen of hearts – South had to demonstrate skilful card-reading in order to land her game contract on the following deal.

South’s reopen opened third position. the first with bidding problem a She weak might after no-trump was West have how bid to had in a simple a promising conventional two length hearts, bid in of but hearts two she clubs, and preferred one of the no-trumps minor suits. was strong North’s and response forcing, of and two four the partnership hearts game. reached the reasonable

PROMISING sight. The continued contract West with led looked the the king two promising when of spades East at first and signalled and immediately with the ran ten. the Declarer queen of ruffed clubs, East produced being a little the king. disappointed Everything when now it was depended unfortunately on the obvious trump that suit, West and must hold both the king and queen of hearts to have even the weakest of weak no-trumps.

South ruffed the spade return and paused to consider the position. One possibility was to cash the ace of hearts, hoping to find West with king-queen doubleton, but declarer looked for something better. It seemed likely from the bidding and play so far that West’s distribution was 4-3-3-3, and South decided to play on that assumption.

She cashed the ace of clubs, ruffed another spade and led the jack of clubs, ruffing in dummy just in case East had started with a doubleton club. South then cashed her three diamond winners, leaving an end position in which she held A-J-10 of hearts and West held K-Q-4. It was all over. South simply ruffed a diamond with the ten of hearts, and West could make only one trump trick.