HITS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 792, 12 October 1929, Page 28

HITS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

D}i Essay In laatics

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The score we? love nil in tl rubber game. Z dealt, and Me bidding was: Z. One Spade; A. No Bid; Y. No Bid; B. Two Heart : Z, Two Spades; all pass. [Note oil the bidding. —Th.' lain!. El. -?o n .j• ■ r -.-- difficulties a to which a £i is above criticism, as, of course, is A ’ - Spade, must consider tl e alt •rnnrives of On- No-Tr. ip and oi Two Diamond N however arc game-winning cal! . BA* Tvo T ’ nri?. also. open to discussion; U Double One Spade * * is ' m Z passes an' A calls Two Diamonds. 1 The Play. A opened with the Seven of Hearts, and • h.% fir * se> tt cks were as follows: —

YZ made the rest of the trick? but AB bail saved the game. This-is a very interesting ham, the crux o.‘‘ it being R*s lead, fit tri« k t, of the thirteenth Heai t. He knows, at this stage, that his partner holds the second-best trump—the 10—an 1 that therefore the Heart lead must put Z in a dilemma. If Z puts uj bis Knave of Spades, A '■» 10 is established; if lie plays the A. A trill be aide to overtrump. In either case, AB make one more trick. It is this lead of an established suit, through the best trump, and up to Ibe second-best, which the hand is intended to illustrate. How docs B know that the 10 of Spades is with A ? He has, 1 suggest, two indicatious: (1) If Z had belt six Spades, with eight times honours, he would have called Two Spades to beg d with; (2) he would : 1 o, wit only six Spades against him, have jut the lead into Dummy at trick A aid finessed the Spade through B*s Qmeu. But. even if B has not worked all this out, his lead of the thirteenth I cart is a promising one. Z’9 play is open to criticism. To begin with, he should have discarded his Queen of Hearts at trick 2; this will not deter B (unlets lie is a bad player) from continuing the suit, bit it will enable Z to take his finesse in Spades at trick 4 —and this he should do. If he takes the finesse he goe* game, as B does not again get the lead. Z's cardinal error, however, wa* his lead of the Ace, King cf Spades from his own hand, on the thin chance of dropping the Queen. He should have realised the danger of B*s Heart leed through his own hand, and have circumvented this, is he could viva done, by finessing against B’s hand. Iu this way lie could have made sari of game against all distributions of adverse cards, save such distribution.?— e.g., the holding by A of four Spades to the Q, 10 —as must in any evert defeat him. And these distributiors (this is a first principle of tactio*) should be excluded, as irrelevant, from the declarer's calculations.

Trick A Y B 1 Hearts 7 Heart* 2 Hearts K Hearts « 2 Hearts 1 Hearts 0 Hearts A Hearts Hear;? :? Hearts -1 11 ear, s 3 ' i : ■ . • q 4 Spades - Spa-lrs V Spades Spades A 3 Spades Clubs Spades *» PpU.IOS FC 6 Spa ties 7 Clubs 7 Spades Q Spades « 7 Spades 10 Diamonds '» Hearts 10 Spnde* 4