| Show BETTER g BRIDGE I TL By C. C H. H Goren rn Neither vulnerable North deals NORTH NORTHA A J 10 3 2 yS A Q 10 9 8 A 10 8 82 2 VEST WEST EAST EASTA A Q 6 A 0 97 7 A 5 1 2 V Q J 10 7 6 3 J 52 K 7 3 A 9 7 6 4 1 A 5 3 SOUTH SOUTHA A A K S 8 5 4 1 4 p 64 A A K Q J The bidding bidding- North Eat East South West cst I Pass Pass 1 tt A Pass 3 Pass 4 4 Pass PassI A I 4 j Pass 6 A Pass Pass Pass Opening lead 2 of diamonds Leslie Dodds of the British team succeeded in registering reg a 1030 point gain for his side a against the Americans when he played this hand against us in the International al matches at Bermuda The auction bid for bid followed followed followed fol fol- lowed the same sequence at both I tables but despite the eminence of oC the players involved this department department department depart depart- ment is not inclined to indorse the 1 bidding sequence in its entirety Norths North's call of three spades with witha a hand worth only 11 dummy points points may appear to be extreme i but shaded raises of this character I II are arc acceptable after a previous I I pass because under tinder these conditions conditions condi- condi I the jump is not forcing In an effort to get to a slam I 1 South naturally showed the ace of clubs It is with Norths North's showing of the ace of diamonds that we I take tale issue Having made a jump bid it behooved North to toI I apply the brakes brales when he observed his partners partner's blood pressure mounting mounting mount mount- I ing and he ought not to have volt volI volunteered vol vol- the information that he t I held the diamond ace Had V West st chosen to lead the ace of hearts the c con contract o n t r l' a act c t would have been I doomed but it is not our purpose I to dispute his choice Ace leads against slams are not part particularly I favored ored by the elite and in this particular case West Vest felt that the lead of the ace might put him under under under un un- der suspicion of holding holding- the queen of trumps With the diamond opening history history history his his- tory must be made at the very first trick Declarers Declarer's s 's problem though critical was uninvolved If he took the finesse and it lost it was sudden death But should it develop that the queen of spades could not be captured refusing the finesse linesse would be disastrous if West Vest had l led d from the king When the hand was played by the Americans declarer chose to finesse and lost his contract at once Dodds declined the finesse feeling feeling feel feel- ing that he had he-had had better thana 50 a chance hance if he went yent up with the ace He Be planned to draw two rounds pf of trumps If trumps were two-two two the contract was assured as as- aured since dumm dummy's js s heart could be dis discarded on the club and both hearts ruffed in dummy If the spade een happened to to tobe tot I Ibe be singleton three r rounds o 0 u n d s of trumps would be drawn followed by four rounds df Of clubs on the thelast thelast thelast last of which the heart is discarded Now by leading a diamond toward dummy declarer can establish a trick unless East has both diamond honors Copyright 1951 Charles H H. Goren |
