Greenwich player takes first in two matches
Among Greeenwich duplicate players who have returned to the tables recently at one of the two clubs in White Plains offering face-to-face play, Linda Otness had a particularly good showing during the past week, finishing first overall at the Bridge Deck on Monday and Wednesday, and third the preceding Thursday. Also doing well was Vivian Wu, who finished third overall at the Hartes Club on March 9.
Today’s quiz: Here is another in the current series of quizzes on the proper play of common suit combinations. In both problems, you (the declarer) are given your own and the dummy’s holding in a particular suit. Assuming free access to either hand and that you have no clues from any opposing bidding, how would you play each suit to give yourself the best chance to make all the tricks?
1. You — AK1054; Dummy — Q932.2. You — K97432; Dummy — AJ65.
Answers:1. The only danger lies in one opponent holding all four missing cards, a 10 percent possibility. To guard against this, you should begin by first cashing the ace or king, retaining the capability of finessing against either opponent for the jack should someone fail to follow suit on the first round. If you cash the queen first, you will lose a trick to the jack if your right-hand opponent fails to follow suit. Chance of making all the tricks: 100 percent.2. The lone threat is a 3-0 break of the missing cards, a 22 percent possibility. Before beginning to play the suit, however, it is important to recognize that if your right-hand opponent has all three missing cards (Q108), you cannot avoid losing a trick no matter how you play. To cater to a 3-0 break you can overcome, you should begin by cashing the king first, allowing you to take a winning finesse against your left-hand opponent on the next trick should the hand on your right happen to show out on the king. Chance of making all the tricks: 89 percent.