Take your time

CY the Cynic says that everything is taxed these days, even your patience. (I’d say especially your patience.)

A patient player would make today’s contract, but the actual declarer wasn’t. He won the first club and drew trumps. He next led dummy’s ten of diamonds, and West won with the jack, cashed a club and forced South to ruff a third club.

South then led another diamond, and when West won, he led a fourth club, forcing out dummy’s last trump. South tried to run the spades, but when East turned up with four spades, dummy was left with a loser at the end. Down one.

THIRD CLUB

South must be patient, like a weaver at a loom, and wait to draw trumps. After he wins Trick One, he starts the diamonds. West wins, cashes a club and leads a third club, and South ruffs and concedes a diamond.

South has many routes home. If, for instance, West shifts to a spade, South can win in dummy, draw trumps and ruff out West’s last high diamond, setting up a diamond for his 10th trick. DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ AQ7 2 ♥ AQ95 ♦ 10 4 ♣ A 7 3. You open 1NT, and your partner responds two clubs (Stayman). You bid two hearts and he tries 2NT. What do you say? ANSWER: Your partner has invited game while seeking a contract in a major suit. He didn’t raise your hearts, hence he has spades. Since you have a sound 1NT opening bid with good spades, jump to four spades. You would bid three spades to sign off if your queen of spades were the jack.