DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
If you’re a golfer, you know that good ball- striking won’t help if you display the touch of a gorilla on the greens. Bridge also has two components: Accurate bidding is fine, but you must still handle the play.
Today’s North- South had a good auction to slam. North’s three spades showed a shapely hand worth about 17 points with four- card support. South judged that he was worth a cue bid of four clubs to try for slam. After North cue- bid twice in diamonds, South jumped to six spades.
With any other opening lead, South could have crossruffed, scoring all nine trumps plus three side- suit tricks. But West’s trump lead left South a trick short.
South won in dummy, ruffed a heart and got to dummy with high diamonds to ruff two more hearts. When East- West followed, South overtook his last trump in dummy to draw trumps. He conceded the fourth heart to East’s ace and took the rest with the ace of clubs, a trump and two good hearts.
Well bid, well played. A birdie! DAILY QUESTION You hold: Your partner opens one heart, you bid one spade and he rebids two hearts. What do you say?
ANSWER: This problem is agonizing. If you pass, partner may have shabby hearts but enough outside strength to do well at notrump. If you bid on, you may get too high and may be doubled. I would follow a principle of a lifetime: When the deal appears to be a misfit, stop bidding. North dealer Both sides vulnerable