FRANK STEWART BRIDGE

UPSETTING PARTNER

“When my wife found out that I replaced our bed with a trampoline, she hit the ceiling.” — graffiti.

“My partner was seriously upset with me after this deal,” a club player told me. “We were playing in a team match, and at the other table, our teammates got to 3NT with North as declarer — unbeatable as it turned out. I was East at my table, and North-South played at four spades.

“My partner led the queen of diamonds and continued diamonds. Declarer ruffed the third diamond and led a trump to dummy’s queen. I took my ace and returned a trump. Declarer drew trumps and claimed, and my partner hit the ceiling.” Right Time

The ace of trumps is a precious card, and a defender may do well to take it at the right time. If East correctly ducks the first trump, South cannot make his game.

If South leads a second trump — he has no winning option — East wins and forces him to ruff a fourth diamond, and South has lost control. West scores the setting trick with his fourth trump.

Daily Question

You hold: ♠ Q9 ♥ A Q 10 2 ♦ K54 ♣A K 7 5. You open one club, your partner bids one heart and you raise to three hearts. Partner next bids four diamonds. What do you say?

Answer: Hearts is the agreed trump suit, so partner’s four diamonds is a control-showing cue bid to suggest slam. Bid five hearts. You say you expect to make slam if he can stop the opponents from taking two fast tricks in spades, the unbid suit.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable