MAKE A SLAM-TRY BUT FAIL IN GAME

W.C. Fields wrote, “Few things in life are more embarrassing than the necessity of having to inform an old friend that you have just got engaged to his fiancee.”

Few things for a bridge player are more embarrassing than making a slam-try during the bidding, then going down in your game contract. That happened to the original declarer in today’s deal.

How should South have played in four hearts after West led a trump, and East followed suit?

North’s sequence was a mild slam-try. If he had only wanted to play in four hearts, he would have responded four diamonds, a Texas transfer. South rejected it because of his 4-3-3-3 distribution.

The declarer drew the missing trump and played a spade to his queen. However, West won with the king, then found the killing defense. He shifted to the club jack.

As dummies are wont to do, North told his partner what he should have done. After winning the second trick in hand, he plays a diamond to the jack. If the finesse wins, the contract is safe. Here, though, East takes the trick with his queen and shifts to a spade.

South wins with his ace, plays a diamond to the king, returns to hand with a trump and discards dummy’s last spade on the diamond ace. Then he leads the spade queen and takes a ruffing finesse. If West does not cover with the king, a club is pitched from the board, and it does not matter whether East takes the trick or not. Here, West covers with the spade king. Declarer ruffs on the board, crosses to hand with a trump and discards a club upon the spade jack.