Give them a big hug for a good result

Gregory Garcia and Dan Coscino, who worked on the show “A Man Named Earl,” wrote, “A hug is a wonderful thing. It makes you feel wanted, needed and loved, all at the same time.” Assuming it isn’t by a bear or a wrestler, of course. We have a hug in bridge. It occurred in today’s deal. Do you see where? The auction was textbook two-over-one. North responded one no-trump forcing, showing 6-9 points with fewer than three spades or 10-12 points and at most three spades. South, with a minimum balanced hand, rebid in his lower-ranking three-card minor. North raised to show a maximum with, usually, five-card support and definitely denying three spades. South did well to pass because three no-trump would have failed after a heart lead. Against three clubs, West led his fourthhighest heart. South took East’s queen with his ace and erred badly by not cashing dummy’s two top trumps. Then he could have turned to spades, where East would have had to follow four times. Declarer could have discarded three red-suit losers from the board and collected an overtrick. Instead, South started spades immediately, and when West ruffed the third with the club 10, declarer ditched dummy’s heart loser. What did West do now? That fan of Yogi and Boo-Boo shifted to the diamond jack. He had South’s 10 in a bear

hug between his jack and nine. However declarer struggled, he had to lose two clubs and three diamonds to go down one.