Interactive play

The Internet has added new dimensions to bridge instruction. Ever wished you could play the deals in a book or column interactively? You can now. The best and inexpensive such a product is BridgeBee. You receive daily emails with interesting deals to play, plus expert commentary.

In today’s deal, you play at 6NT (BridgeBee comments on the bidding). West leads a spade. You have 11 tricks; you probably need a fourth heart.

How do you proceed?

DISTRIBUTION

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To judge how to play the hearts, you need azdistributional count. Start by leading the nine of diamonds.

You win the spade return and cash the ace of diamonds – and East pitches a club! When you take your other winners, you find that West had four spades and two clubs plus five diamonds, so you know how to play the hearts: Cash the K-Q, then lead to your ten.

BridgeBee leads you through the play, correcting you if you slip. For information, go to baronbarclay.com. Check out their catalog of books and products.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ A Q J 10 ♥ A 10 3 2 ♦ A 9♣ Q 7 3. You open 1NT, your partner responds two clubs, you bid two spades and he then bids 2NT. The opponents pass. What do you say?

ANSWER: Your partner has a gameinvitational hand, and since he used Stayman to check for a 4-4 major-suit fit but didn’t raise your spades, he has hearts. Jump to four hearts. With 17 high-card points plus two tens, your hand is an absolute maximum for your 1NT opening.

South dealer

N-S vulnerable