FRANK STEWART BRIDGE

SIMPLE SATURDAY

“Simple Saturday” columns are meant to help aspiring players improve technique and develop logical thinking.

Today’s South plays at four spades after West opens one club. West leads the K-A and a third club, and South’s queen wins. He leads a diamond to dummy’s jack, takes the ace and returns a trump to his king. West wins and exits with a trump, and South draws trumps.

At that point, South must resolve a two-way guess for the queen of hearts to make game. Which way should he finesse?

Balanced

South may be tempted to play West, the opening bidder, for the queen, but West has shown 14 points in high cards and also had balanced pattern (he had three trumps and three or four clubs and wouldn’t have opened one club with a five-card red suit). If West had the queen of hearts, what would his opening bid have been? South must play East for the queen.

The essence of bridge is problemsolving: using your powers of reasoning instead of adhering to a rule.

Daily Question

You hold: ♠ A64 ♥ 85 2 ♦ K 74 ♣ A K 8 2. You open one club, and your partner bids one spade. What do you say?

Answer: To raise a major-suit response with three-card support is permissible, but only with a hand that looks good for suit play. With this perfectly balanced hand, bid 1NT. Though you lack a heart stopper, to describe the overcall character of your hand is best. You would raise to two spades with A J 4, 5 2, K 7 4 2, A Q 8 2.

West dealer

N-S vulnerable