Bridge Play

“My partner is a patient listener,” a club player said to me. “He always lets me explain my losing plays. I think it’s because he knows his turn will come.”

My friend was declarer at today’s six spades. He won the diamond opening lead, took the A-Q of trumps and next cashed the A-K of hearts and ruffed a heart high.

“When West showed out,” South told me, “I led a trump to dummy’s king and finessed with the queen of clubs. West won, and I lost another club at the end.”

OVERTRICK

“I explained to my partner that if hearts had split 3-3, I would have made an overtrick. And he might have held a high trump spot I could have used as a dummy entry. He listened impassively — and said I’d booted the slam.”

South indeed needed an extra dummy entry; to get it, he ducks a heart at Trick Three. If East wins and leads a club, South takes the ace, leads a heart to the ace and ruffs a heart high. He draws trumps ending in dummy and takes the king and the good fifth heart for 12 tricks.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: K42 AK742 54 4 3 2. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he bids one spade. The opponents pass. What do you say?

ANSWER: To pass would be timid — partner might have enough extra strength to make a game — but no good call is available. A rebid of two hearts would suggest a longer suit, and a bid of 1NT with no sign of a club trick is clearly flawed. Try a raise to two spades as the least evil.