Sunday, July 1, 2001		Bridge

THEY always say that the spectator has a better idea of what is happening at the bridge table than any of the players.

I watched the hand below recently and it was a very see-saw affair.

North dealt at love all and opened One Club. East overcalled with One Spade and after some close competitive bidding South ended in Three Hearts. (North-South would have done better to double the Two Spade contract that their opponents had reached.)

West led a Spade and sitting ‘South-West’ I could see that if declarer had simply finessed twice in trumps he would make his nine tricks. However, South started by winning and returning a Spade.

He ruffed the third round, finessed the Queen of Clubs unsuccessfully and won the Club return with dummy’s Ace. There was still time to draw trumps but instead declarer played off three rounds of Diamonds and exited with a Club to West’s Jack.

This left West with HK64 C 3; dummy with HJ 93 C 8; East with S 9 HQ 52 and declarer with HA 10 8 D 7. Mistakenly West now led a low trump (a Club for East to ruff low leaves South on lead and sure to lose two trump tricks).

East did his best by playing low — for it is all over if he plays the Queen—and South won cheaply and led the Ace of Hearts.

West played low and was thrown in with his King to concede the last trick to dummy’s eight of Clubs.