Sunday, August 11, 2002		Bridge

East picked expected trick
by Omar Sharif

SOMETIMES people say that hands in bridge columns look familiar. I cannot vouch for other journalists, of course, but inevitably I may sometimes repeat a theme or occasionally adjust an old deal to make a new point.

If you remember this week’s hand, well done; for it appeared in 1938!

South ended in Four Spades, having bid Hearts on the way. West led the two of Diamonds to his partner’s Ace, and East decided to return a Heart. (A trump or another Diamond might have been more purposeful, but I am only describing what happened all those years ago).

Declarer played low, West took his King and led another Heart to dummy’s Queen. A finesse of the Queen of trumps followed and West, rather shrewdly, played the nine.

If he had taken his King then declarer, faced with a loser in all four suits, could have released the two top Clubs, drawn just one more round of trumps and continued with two winning Hearts to discard dummy’s losing Clubs. Then a Club ruff on the table would have seen him home.

With the nine of Spades falling under the Queen, however, it might have looked to declarer as though the trump finesse was right and he could continue with a Club to the King and another trump finesse.

This would have been a disaster for South for, when the second trump finesse loses, another trump is returned and his chances have been killed.

What went wrong? Why, when South finessed the Queen of Spades, East reached across the table to pick up the expected trick! Now there was no temptation to repeat the finesse.