Bridge Play

Unlucky Louie has been beating his head against Wall Street for years.

“Bought any stock lately?” I asked him in the club lounge.

“I invested in a company that makes baby products: bibs and diapers,” Louie replied.

“So how is your diaper stock doing?”

“It’s unchanged,” Louie said solemnly.

Louie’s luck hasn’t changed and probably won’t. When he played at today’s slam, he took the ace of diamonds, drew trumps, and took two more diamonds and the A-K of hearts to pitch his low clubs. He next led a club from dummy — and went down when West had the A-Q.

HEART FINESSE

“If I had tried a heart finesse with the jack,” Louie sighed, “it wouldn’t have worked either.”

Louie succeeds with basic technique. At Trick Two he takes the A-K of hearts to pitch a club, then ruffs a heart high. When East-West follow, Louie takes the A-J of trumps and ruffs a second heart. He draws trumps and takes two diamonds and the good fifth heart for 12 tricks.

This week: setting up a suit.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: J3 AKJ63 K J 10 8 7 2. You open one heart, your partner responds one spade, you bid 1NT and he jumps to three hearts. What do you say?

ANSWER: If partner had A Q 7 6 2,

Q 7 2, 7 6, 9 6 5, he would have raised your one heart to two hearts. With A Q 7 6 2, Q 7 2, 7 6, K 6 5, he could have bid two hearts over 1NT; you would know he was inviting game because he didn’t raise to two hearts directly. His actual sequence is forcing. Bid four hearts.