Bridge: June 18, 2023
“I’ll tell you what annoys me most,” Cy the Cynic said to me in the club lounge.
“If you must,” I sighed.
“It’s when my opponent assumes I’ve made a mistake or will do so,” Cy said. “And then, he turns out to be right!”
Cy was today’s West in a penny game. After East opened one heart, North-South bid to four spades, their best chance to score game. Presumably, East would have led the king of clubs against 3NT by North, and Cy would have kept his four spades against five diamonds by South.
Cy did well to lead a club against four spades. With a heart lead, South could take the ace, take three high trumps and start the diamonds, losing a trump and two clubs. But when East led three rounds of clubs, South had to ruff and was threatened with loss of control.
“He cashed the A-K of trumps, not best” Cy told me, “and then led diamonds. On the third diamond, I ruffed and led a heart. South won, drew my last trump with the queen and won the rest with good diamonds.
“I goofed,” the Cynic admitted. “When declarer runs the diamonds, I must pitch two hearts. I ruff the next diamond and lead a club. Declarer must ruff with dummy’s low trump, and when he tries to get back to his hand with the ace of hearts, I ruff.
“Declarer insulted me. His legitimate play was to take all three high trumps, hoping for a 3-3 split.”
Maybe South wanted to avoid a second undertrick. (He goes down two if he cashes a third high trump.) Or since Cy was West, maybe South backed his judgment.
East dealer
N-S vulnerable
NORTH
S A 7 4
H Q 10 8 5 3
D K 7
C 10 6 5
WEST
S J 10 8 5
H 7 4
D 9 4
C Q 9 7 4 2
EAST
S 9 2
H K J 9 6 2
D 8 5 2
C A K J
SOUTH
S K Q 6 3
H A
D A Q J 10 6 3
C 8 3
East South West North
1 H Dbl Pass 1 NT
Pass 2 D Pass 2 NT
Pass 3 S(!) Pass 4 S(!)
All Pass
Opening lead — C 4
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