Daily Bridge Club

He who waits

“What’s the most important part of being a dad?” I asked Unlucky Louie. He has five kids at home, a couple at college and a married daughter.

“Being able to wait in the car, probably,” Louie shrugged.

Louie’s answer surprised me; he is seldom patient at the bridge table. He plays too fast and inevitably comes to grief.

At today’s five clubs, Louie took the queen of spades and promptly let the ten of trumps ride. When East won, he led the queen of hearts. Louie took dummy’s ace and drew trumps, but he had to lose a diamond and a heart. Down one.

LOSING HEART

Louie needed to wait to draw trumps. After he wins the first spade, he must lead the A-K and a third diamond. When the suit breaks 3-3, Louie can win East’s heart shift, cash the ace of trumps and pitch his losing heart on the 13th diamond.

Say diamonds had split 4-2, and — the worst case — East won the third diamond and led a fourth. Louie could pitch his heart loser and still make his game if the trump finesse won.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ 6 2 ♥ A 7 3 A 7 5 2 ♣ A J 6 4. You open ♦ one club, your partner responds one spade, you bid 1NT and he tries two hearts. What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner’s bidding is not encouraging; he has a weak hand with five spades and probably four hearts. (With four cards in each major, he would have responded one heart.) Though a pass might be a winning call, the textbook action is a return to two spades to play at the probable 5-2 fit. North dealer N-S vulnerable