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Daily Bridge Club: Seeing what develops

"Are people born with a photographic memory or does it take time to develop?" -- graffiti. I don't know, but if declarer must infer the location of a missing card, it helps if he recalls the bidding and earlier play. In today's deal, West's opening bid was passed around, and South balanced with an "intermediate" jump to two spades. North's raise to three was bold. Against four spades, West led ...
Daily Bridge Club: Listening in

Cy the Cynic says that when opportunity knocks these days, a lot of people have on headphones. In today's deal, South opened one heart after three passes. When North issued a single raise, South had more than enough to go to game. West led the king of diamonds, and declarer took dummy's ace and started the trumps. West won, cashed his queen of diamonds and led a third diamond, and South ruffed ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Open-and-shut case

"God gave us a mouth that closes and ears that don't," Cy the Cynic grumbled to me. "That should tell us something." Cy had lost in the club's penny game. He was today's North, and his bid of two spades -- with 13 high-card points -- was quite proper: A jump-shift shows slam interest, not any number of points, and Cy could see a grand slam if South had only Q4,A75,K10853,A65. At six diamonds, ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking. I've heard an effective committee defined as three people, two of whom are absent. But good defense requires a degree of partnership cooperation. Against today's 3NT, West leads a low heart. When dummy plays the king, East may feel like giving his partner some good news by taking the ace and returning a heart. That defense ...
Daily Bridge Club: In the Garden of Eden

"Let me show you a game I invented," the Serpent told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. "I call it 'bridge.'" After recruiting a fourth from the Land of Nod, the Serpent became declarer at four spades. Adam led the king of hearts as West, and the Serpent took dummy's ace and deviously led ... the ten of trumps. "I can resist anything except temptation," Eve muttered, and she covered with her ...
Daily Bridge Club: Mad bridge party

"I'm starting to think you may be right," Alice told the Queen of Diamonds as the players at the Mad Hatter's had tea. "Certainly I am," the Queen replied. "Winning tricks is the goal -- my cousin the Queen of Hearts can't abide her card being captured -- but losing a trick can be beneficial." In today's deal, the Hatter and the March Hare reached 3NT as North-South. The Dormouse led the four ...
Daily Bridge Club: Spectacular play

"It seems to work well for Minnie," Ed, my club's expert, said to me. "I thought I would give it a try." Minnie Bottoms, our senior member, wears old bifocals that make her mix up kings and jacks, often to her opponents' dismay. Ed told me he had been South in today's deal in a team match. "The contract was 1NT at both tables," Ed said. "West led the five of hearts, and East covered dummy's ...
Daily Bridge Club: Louie obtains help

"I know you think I need all the help I can get as declarer," Unlucky Louie said to me. "I didn't say that," I replied, not mentioning what I thought. Louie is apt to play too fast, but his technique isn't so bad. He is capable of good play. At today's slam, Louie ruffed West's queen of spades and led ... a low diamond. West took the queen. "If he had shifted to a trump," Louie told me, "I ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Test your play

To start the week, try a dummy-play problem. Cover the East-West cards. After three passes, you open four hearts. You might miss a slam if North has perfect cards, but preemption and concealing your hand from the defenders are practical considerations. West leads the ten of clubs: deuce, five, ace. How do you play? To succeed, you may need to ruff your third diamond in dummy. In real life, ...
Daily Bridge Club: Would you bid?

You're today's East and hear two passes. Would you act in third seat? Might work, might not. To open one spade will use up a level of bidding and make it harder for the opponents to come in. It's possible you might direct a good opening lead. The deal might belong to your side for a spade partial. One result proves nothing, but in a team match, one East opened one spade. (I know experts who ...
Daily Bridge Club: Fast times

Today’s deal arose at the Summer NABC in the Fast Pairs (so named not because players don’t eat during the event but because they have 11 minutes to play two deals instead of the usual 15). Brian Glubok played at four hearts after East preempted with three clubs. Glubok won the spade opening lead in dummy and led a trump, and East rose with the ace and led the king of clubs. West couldn’t find ...
Daily Bridge Club: Bizarre deal

Today’s deal from a Board-a-Match teams at the Summer NABC strikes me as bizarre, but many things about modern bridge perplex me. West opened one spade in third seat as a lead-director; how she knew a spade lead would be required, or even whether the opponents would declare, is unknown. Why East failed to respond with nine points is a mystery. When South balanced with two hearts, North’s four ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cutting the link

In a major pairs event at the ACBL Summer Championships in Toronto (reported by Brian Glubok), today’s declarer overlooked a textbook play, but one quite easy to miss. Against South’s contract of four diamonds, West led the king of spades, and declarer took dummy’s ace. East signaled encouragement. How should declarer continue? South led a trump next, and West took the ace and led a second ...
Daily Bridge Club: Drawing an inference

In an early-round Spingold Teams match at the ACBL Summer Championships, Drew Cavalier was today’s declarer. North’s raise to three spades was pushy, and Cavalier, who had little to spare for his two-spade overcall, dismissed any thought of bidding game. West led a diamond, and East might have done well to conceal her holding by winning with the ace. Instead she took the king and shifted to ...
Daily Bridge Club: Killing an entry

The ACBL’s thrice-yearly “North American” Championships attract player from all over the world. In a deal (reported by Barry Rigal) from a match in the Spingold Teams, the main event at this year’s Summer NABC, West was Jerzy Romanowski of France. His opponents were from England. When South opened one spade, Romanowski had a solid 1NT overcall. North passed though he might have risked a ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Summer NABC in Toronto

Attendance rose back to almost pre-COVID levels at the ACBL Summer Championships in Toronto, an excellent site and less expensive than some. In the Life Master Pairs, Dana Berkowitz, both of whose parents are world-class players, found a good defense to saddle her opponents with a poor result. After East took advantage of the friendly vulnerability to open an atypical weak two-bid (an action I ...
Daily Bridge Club: Full disclosure

In tournaments, pairs use an array of bidding gadgets. World-class partnerships discuss their methods for hundreds of hours, and even a casual partnership will have a few agreements to cover common situations. None of this is secretive. You are entitled to know about your opponents' agreements, especially if they are unusual. Tournament players must alert their opponents to a conventional ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking. The defenders have advantages: They get to make the opening lead (which, admittedly, may be a burden instead), and they can see whether declarer's key suits will break well or badly and whether his finesses will win. A common deceptive maneuver is to let declarer win his first try of a repeatable finesse. Today's West leads ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Aces up

What's an ace worth? On the 4-3-2-1 scale popularized by Charles Goren (someone else devised it), an ace is worth four points. Goren advocated adding a point for holding all four aces. Aces are controls and cards that promote the value of lower-ranking honors. Moreover, an ace may be a card you can take when you want. At 3NT, South took the queen of hearts and went right after the spades: He ...
Daily Bridge Club: Aces up

What's an ace worth? On the 4-3-2-1 scale popularized by Charles Goren (someone else devised it), an ace is worth four points. Goren advocated adding a point for holding all four aces. Aces are controls and cards that promote the value of lower-ranking honors. Moreover, an ace may be a card you can take when you want. At 3NT, South took the queen of hearts and went right after the spades: He ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cy holds a grudge

"Have you written a book on defense?" Wendy, my club's feminist, asked me. "Three, actually," I said, "but they're out of print. Look on eBay." "I want one for Cy," Wendy growled. "Playing with him is like having three opponents." Cy the Cynic and Wendy were today's East-West in a duplicate game, and she led a diamond against 3NT. Declarer won in dummy and passed the queen of clubs. He next ...
Daily Bridge Club: Tooth and Nail

When I watched today's deal at my club, East-West were a dentist and a manicurist we call "Tooth and Nail" because that's how they argue. How their partnership survives is a mystery. Against four hearts, Nail led her singleton diamond, and Tooth took the ace and returned the deuce. Nail ruffed and led a club. Declarer won in dummy and led a trump to his ten. Tooth won the next trump and ...
Daily Bridge Club: Disappearing act

Some things, such as snow and adolescence, will disappear if you ignore them long enough. But making losers disappear may require some serious effort. When West led the jack of spades against today's six clubs, South viewed dummy with despair. He took the ace, cashed the A-K of hearts and ruffed a heart. A 3-3 break would have given him two spade discards, but when East discarded, declarer ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Cy's cost-free play

Cy the Cynic still buys spiffy clothes online, hoping to impress women he dates. "I ordered two nice sweaters," Cy told me, "but they seemed to pick up a lot of static electricity." "You returned them?" "They shipped me two more," the Cynic said, "free of charge." Cy was declarer at today's slam, and when West led the six of diamonds, Cy must have thought finessing with dummy's queen was ...
Daily Bridge Club: Missed inference

When I watched today's deal in an online game, I was surprised to see West pass as dealer. The modern obsession with obstructive bidding has led many players to ignore the textbook requirements for preempts and weak two-bids, especially at favorable vulnerability. Many Wests would have opened two spades. But bridge is still a partnership game, and if you promise a six-card suit when you don't ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

If you subscribe to the dictum of "when in doubt, win the trick," you need to cancel your subscription. Declarer may gain by executing a "hold-up play": refusing to take a winner at the first opportunity. In today's deal, West, who overcalled in spades, leads the six against 3NT, and East plays the ten. If declarer wins the trick and finesses in clubs, East takes the king and returns his last ...
Daily Bridge Club: Test your hold-up play

This week's deals have treated declarer's hold-up play: refusing to take a winner to break up the defenders' communication. In a given situation, to execute a hold-up may be effective or ill-considered. Cover today's East-West cards. West leads the six of hearts against your 3NT, East plays the ten and you play low. When East returns the jack, do you hold up again or take your ace? When I ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cy's unhappy outcome

Cy the Cynic pays attention to his wardrobe, especially since he dates at least three women each week and wants to make a good impression. "I bought two of those new reversible jackets from an online store," Cy told me in the club lounge. "I want to see how they turn out." Cy was declarer at today's 3NT, and West led the five of spades. Cy played the jack from dummy, hoping it might win, but ...
Daily Bridge Club: House of straw

Once upon a time there were Three Little Pigs, each declaring 3NT in a duplicate game. West, a Big Bad Wolf, led a low spade. (All the Wests in this game were Big Bad Wolves.) The First Little Pig put up dummy's jack and led the queen of diamonds. East correctly grabbed his ace to return a spade, and West set up his suit with the king of diamonds as an entry. South went down one, and West ate ...
Daily Bridge Club: To hold up or not?

Declarer can often disrupt the defenders' communication with a "hold-up" play: refusing his first chance to take a winner. But it is rarely correct to hold up at the cost of a trick or when another suit poses a bigger threat. Against today's 3NT, East put up the king on the first spade, and declarer sagely played low. East then led the queen of hearts; he judged it unlikely that West had ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Do you hold up?

It's hard to get anything past my friend the English professor. In the club lounge, someone asked him what word becomes shorter when two letters are added. His answer, of course, was "short." The play at today's 3NT was short -- and sour. West led the five of hearts. East covered dummy's jack with the queen, and declarer took the king and led the deuce of spades for a finesse with dummy's ...
Daily Bridge Club: Reason to overcall

Players have different views on what a simple overcall requires. Some believe in climbing into the auction with skimpy values; others want a sound hand. The key question is what you expect an overcall to accomplish (other than confirming your presence at the table). If your opponent opens one club, a one-diamond overcall should be sound since it has limited competitive and constructive value; ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking. If you're a defender, it may be correct to "cover an honor with an honor." But cover when you have something to gain, not because somebody told you it's an inviolable rule. Today's West led the nine of spades against four hearts, and when dummy played the queen, East hastened to cover an honor. South captured the king with ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cy's legal issues

Wendy, my club's feminist, is employed as a paralegal. She was West in a penny game, and East was her adversary Cy the Cynic. Against 3NT, Wendy led a low spade. South pondered, won with dummy's king and led a low heart. Cy played low -- and declarer put up the king. He lost a club finesse, won Cy's spade return and claimed nine tricks. "Great defense, partner," Wendy growled. "If my firm ...
Daily Bridge Club: Fortunate or not?

"Your friend the English professor has a fine command of the language," a club player told me. "The problem is, he never orders it to halt." The prof has a low tolerance level for poor word usage -- and poor defense. As today's West, he led the jack of hearts against five diamonds: deuce, nine, four. The prof then led a second heart. South ruffed, took the ace of clubs, led a trump to dummy ...
Daily Bridge Club: High-speed defense

Cy the Cynic says that if you think patience is a virtue, you should have to surf without high-speed internet. Cy is hardly qualified to talk about patience: He is apt to seize on the first line of play or defense he sees. When Cy was today's East, North-South got to four spades after they each bid clubs. West led the ten of hearts: six, ace, king. Cy was sure South had four clubs to jump to ...
Daily Bridge Club: Avoiding disaster

"About 20 years ago," a club player said, "my grandfather told me he'd tried to stop the Titanic disaster." "Really?" "He said he was yelling 'Iceberg dead ahead' as loud as he could." "But his cries were ignored." "Not entirely," my friend said. "They threw him out of the theater." Today's declarer had an avoidable disaster. At 3NT, he won the third heart and took the ace of diamonds, ...
Daily Bridge Club: Derailed slam

A club player told me his train of thought derailed when he was declarer at today's slam. "And there were no survivors," he said grimly. North-South had 33 high-card points and duly reached 6NT after North checked for a 4-4 heart fit via Stayman. West led the queen of spades. "I won with the ace," declarer told me, "and took four clubs. East threw three spades. Then, I'm ashamed to say, I led ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Guiding principle

Players constantly ask me how they can improve their results, score higher and win more often -- as if I could effect a transformation by uttering some magic incantation or sprinkling them with pixie dust. Success at bridge is a product of desire, study, practice, perseverance and a bit of natural ability. The game doesn't admit to instant gratification. Still, there are useful principles. If ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

In a beginning bridge class, you learn that you must follow suit. Declarer can take advantage of that obligation in the play. In today's deal, 3NT would have been an easier contract, but South played at four hearts. West led the queen of diamonds, winning, and then the ten and jack (not best). Declarer ruffed the third diamond, drew trumps, led a spade to dummy's king and returned a spade to ...
Daily Bridge Club: Test your dummy play

This week's deals have treated a basic technique: setting up a long suit. To test yourself, cover the East-West cards. How will you play at four hearts when West, who overcalled in spades, leads the king? The actual South took the ace of spades, drew trumps with the A-K, cashed the top diamonds and led a third diamond. No doubt he was hoping West would win, but East took the queen and shifted ...
Daily Bridge Club: The difference

If the North-South spades look familiar, they're the same as yesterday's. South plays at six hearts again, and West leads the queen of clubs. Declarer wins and takes the A-K of trumps. East-West follow. As yesterday, declarer needs club discards. Say he takes the ace of spades and ruffs a spade (as recommended yesterday). He leads a diamond to the ace, ruffs a spade, goes to the king of ...
Daily Bridge Club: Avoiding a loser

Cy the Cynic says that if you're riding a horse full speed while being chased by a lion, and there is a giraffe right next to you ... get off the carousel! When you have an impending loser, do something about it. Maybe you can discard your loser on a winner. In today's deal, West led the jack of diamonds against six hearts (not a winning lead, but most Wests would have done the same). East ...
Daily Bridge Club: Road to success

The road to success has many spots where you can pull over and park. Bridge is like any pursuit; success depends on how much effort you invest. Good technique comes from study and practice. In today's deal, West leads a trump against four spades. Suppose declarer wins in his hand and leads a diamond, hoping to ruff his third diamond in dummy. West wins, leads a trump, wins the next diamond and ...
Daily Bridge Club: Age of enlightenment

"When is the bit about 'old enough to know better' supposed to kick in?" a club player asked me. "I've played for years and still make errors I could avoid." My friend was declarer at today's five diamonds. West led the jack of clubs. "I took the ace," declarer said, "and led the jack of hearts. East won, cashed his ace of trumps and led a second trump. I won, took the K-A of spades, ruffed a ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Winning advice

Basketball great Michael Jordan's advice on how to be successful: "Practice like you've never won; play like you've never lost." Bridge is an intellectual challenge. Nobody ever stops learning. Nobody ever plays a perfect session, but players are driven to attain perfection. Bridge is like any other pursuit: You get out of it what you put in. To excel, you must apply yourself: read, study, ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns foster sound technique and logical thinking. "Avoidance" is one of the basic techniques declarer must know. It may be that one defender is "dangerous": If he gets in, bad things may (or will) happen. The other defender is "safe:" If he gets in, declarer doesn't care. Against today's 3NT, West leads the king of spades: four, ten, five. Knowing declarer has the guarded ...
Daily Bridge Club: Partnership issues

"My regular partnership consists of two people," a reader's letter states. "One never does anything right, and the other is my husband." My long-suffering fan was today's West in a duplicate game at her club. She led the queen of hearts against four spades. "Dummy's king won," my fan writes, "and declarer next led a diamond to his queen. I took the ace and was afraid he would discard clubs on ...
Daily Bridge Club: Play or defend?

Today's South jumped to three spades at his second turn to invite game. He might have settled for two. His distribution was impressive, but the quality of his spade suit suggested caution. North passed, and West led the king of hearts. Before you read on ... would you rather try to make three spades or try to beat it? East played the deuce of hearts, and West shifted to the ace and four of ...
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Daily Bridge Club: The self-squeeze

Cy the Cynic complains that people waste all kinds of time trying to figure out where a roll of tape or paper towels starts, but his partners won't spend a moment to plan ahead as declarer. Cy was today's North. At 3NT, South won the first heart with the king and led a diamond, and East took the ace and returned a heart. South won in his hand and led the jack of clubs, but West alertly took ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Delayed reaction

"Do you keep a diary?" I asked Cy the Cynic. I doubt that many people find time for diaries in this age of social media. But Cy allowed that he was a diarist. "Do you write in it at bedtime?" I asked. "I wait a day or two," the Cynic said. "It can take me that long to realize what really happened." Cy showed me today's deal from a penny game. He was West and led a spade against 3NT. Declarer ...
Daily Bridge Club: Procrastination pays

If you're like many people, the stuff you put off doing until tomorrow got the same treatment yesterday. But it may be best to wait to draw trumps. Today's North-South bid well to five clubs. When North bid two spades, he couldn't have spades; he showed club support and a hand much improved by South's second bid. West led a trump, and South promptly drew trumps. He took the A-K of hearts and ...
Daily Bridge Club: Changing odds?

Unlucky Louie asked me if a defender's signal can affect the odds on whether a finesse will win. In a penny game, Louie had played at today's slam. West led the queen of trumps, and Louie took the K-A. East threw the ten of clubs. "I led the king and a second diamond next," Louie said, "and West discarded. When I took dummy's queen, I could finesse in either hearts or clubs for my 12th trick. ...
Daily Bridge Club: Losing a partner

"Now that we have self-driving vehicles, pretty soon there'll be a country music song about a guy whose truck left him." -- graffiti "I heard you're looking for a new partner -- again," I said to Cy the Cynic. Cy has abandoned many "established" partnerships. He is happy as long as everything goes right. "Look at this," Cy told me, displaying today's deal. "I was North in a team match. When I ...
Daily Bridge Club: Necessary evil

Postmortems are a necessary evil. Partnerships must analyze their results dispassionately. The purpose of a "discussion" is to improve, not to humble your partner. Today's West led the ten of spades against 3NT: four, two, jack. South led a club to dummy's queen, and East won and returned a spade: queen, ace. West then led a third spade, and South had two spades, five diamonds and two clubs. ...
Daily Bridge Club: Being an optimist

An optimist is someone who believes that what will be, will be ... postponed. As declarer, you have eight or so minutes to succeed or fail; you can't put off the play indefinitely. It seems today's declarer was an optimist. He won the first spade in dummy and promptly led a club to his king. When West showed out on the next club, South won only one club trick and only eight tricks in all. ...
Daily Bridge Club: Book learning

"My partner and I aren't on the same page as to defensive signals," a reader's email states. "In fact, we're not even reading the same book." My fan was today's East, and her partner led the ace of diamonds against four hearts. (A contract of 3NT would have been cold.) "I encouraged with the ten," my fan writes. "Partner led a second diamond to my king, and I led a third diamond. Declarer ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Making today's slam may look like a snap, but the "easy" contracts need a second look. South's bid of four clubs was "Gerber," ace-asking. North's four spades showed two aces, and South went to six spades. West led the ten of clubs: jack, king, ace. Declarer next led a trump to dummy's ace. He could have claimed 12 tricks if both defenders had followed, but when West discarded, the slam became ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cy loses focus

"If you were stuck on a desert island," Rose asked me in the club lounge, "what one bridge book would you want?" "The heck with bridge," Unlucky Louie said. "I'd want a book on how to build a boat." "I read a book about shipbuilding the other day," Cy the Cynic offered. "It was riveting." Cy is seldom riveted on the play: As declarer, he is apt to seize on the first line of play he sees. When ...
Daily Bridge Club: Flea-bitten play

"That Grapefruit must be dog-tired at night," a club player said to me. "After all, he growls all day." Grapefruit owns and operates an acid tongue; he berates his partners mercilessly. He was East in a penny game, and against four hearts, West led the king of spades. South took the ace and passed the jack of trumps to West's queen. West cashed his queen of spades and ace of trumps and led a ...
Correction to Daily Bridge Club dated August 5

A corrected version of the Aug. 5 Daily Bridge Club column has posted. It corrects the last sentence of paragraph 5 to read "and South gets to his hand." Please use the corrected version. ©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Daily Bridge Club: Louie's apiary play

Unlucky Louie told me he had ordered some bees for his daughter's science project. "I needed a dozen," Louie said, "but the supplier shipped me 13." "Why the extra one?" I asked. "I guess it was a freebee," Louie said blandly. Louie held today's fine South hand in a penny game. North's raise to three spades showed a few values and spade support, and Louie settled for a small slam. LOSER West ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking. Borrowing a page from Orwell's "Animal Farm," all finesses are equal but some are more equal than others: They may have more to gain or lose. In today's deal, North's bid of 2NT was a conventional forcing heart raise. Since South's hand was close to a minimum, he signed off at game. West led the ten of spades, and declarer ...
Daily Bridge Club: Lost and found

Unlucky Louie says his kids are always misplacing their stuff. "My 13-year-old would lose her head if it wasn't attached to her body," Louie told me. "My kids lose their shoes, glasses and iPhone chargers, among other things." "Do any of the items turn up?" I asked. "The deal is," Louie said, "nothing is truly lost until Mom can't find it." Louie was declarer at today's four hearts. He ruffed ...
Daily Bridge Club: Test your defense

The great Eddie Kantar produced top-quality books and articles for an amazing 70 years. (He was also a world-champion player and notable teacher.) Eddie specialized in instructive problems in play and defense. Try to beat four hearts as West in today's Kantar deal. Cover the East/South cards. When you lead the king of spades, East and South follow suit. What next? Suppose you lead a low spade. ...
Daily Bridge Club: Classic deals

I do not know the origin of today's deal; I suspect it is lost somewhere in the mists of time. Contract bridge is approaching its centennial: The game began in 1925 and swiftly became a rage. Then, during the Great Depression, talented people had time on their hands. Not only were many of the now-familiar techniques of play devised (some arose even before then, in the days of whist and auction ...
Daily Bridge Club: Traffic jammed

It's reported that a truck loaded with Vicks VapoRub overturned, spilling its contents on a highway. Amazingly, there was no congestion for eight hours. Today's South got all snarled up at 3NT. West led a diamond, and East took the ace (not best) and returned a diamond. Declarer won with the king, and West followed with the jack to deny that he held the queen. South then took the K-A of clubs ...
Daily Bridge Club: Good times

Cy the Cynic likes to sleep late, but Unlucky Louie is an early riser. I asked Louie what the best time of the day is, and his reply was, "6:30, hands down." The best time to plan as declarer is at the first trick, but Louie loses cold contracts by playing too fast. He was declarer at today's slam, and West led the eight of hearts. Louie promptly finessed with the queen, and East took the king ...
Daily Bridge Club: Procrastination pays

"My high-school teachers said I would never be successful because I procrastinate," Cy the Cynic told me. "I don't know why they would say that," I said, knowing Cy is the world's worst putter-offer. "I told them, 'Just you wait,'" Cy said. Cy's procrastination often serves him well -- when he waits to draw trumps. In a team match Cy was declarer at four hearts, and West led the queen of ...
Daily Bridge Club: Inadequate trumps

"You've been writing about maintaining trump control," a club player said to me. "I can manage when I have nine trumps, and even an eight-to-five edge may work, as the books say. But when I have a bare majority of the trumps, it's a stressful situation." A four-three fit may do in a pinch and may offer the only chance for game. Today's North-South would have no play for 3NT or five clubs. They ...
Daily Bridge Club: Test your trump control

This week's deals have treated declarer's keeping control of the trump suit so he can take his side-suit winners. To test yourself, cover the East-West cards. As South, you like your six-card suit and prime honors and jump to four spades. West leads the jack of hearts; your queen wins. How do you continue? In a penny game at my club, South led a diamond to dummy and returned a trump -- and his ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking. Though drawing trumps is desirable -- and new players are admonished to draw them promptly -- there are good reasons to wait. Principle: If your trump situation is shaky, go after your side suit quickly. In today's deal, South's jump to three spades was bold; many players would have bid only two. North had a clear raise to ...
Daily Bridge Club: Staying in control

I continue a series on "trump control" by declarer: As long as he retains control, he can set up and cash side-suit winners. In today's deal, trumps break 4-1. (Such is life, at least -- with this trump suit -- about 28 percent of the time.) West leads the king and queen of hearts, and South ruffs and takes the A-J of trumps. If East-West followed, South would draw the last trump, lose the ...
Daily Bridge Club: Four over four

"Do you use transfer bids?" a club player asked me, referring to the method in which (for example) a responder to a 1NT opening bid, holding KQ965,76,A54,Q102, bids two hearts, asking his partner to bid two spades. Then responder bids 3NT, offering a choice of games. "Sure," I said. "All expert partnerships use them." "Well, my partner has adopted a new application of the idea," he grumbled. ...
Daily Bridge Club: Bumpy ride

"I have this irrational fear of speed bumps, but I'm slowly getting over it." -- graffiti. Some players seem to dread not drawing trumps. Against today's five spades doubled, West led two high hearts, and South ruffed and fearfully took the ace and nine of trumps. He next led a club to his jack. If West had won with the queen, South would have succeeded with a ruffing finesse against West's ...
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Daily Bridge Club: Landing nine tricks

Unlucky Louie likes to fish; he had been away from the club, wading in a stream populated by trout. "It's amazing," Rose told me. "He can wait patiently for a fish to bite but can't take a moment to plan his play as declarer." Louie played at today's 3NT. West led a spade, and East played the king. "Louie took the ace," Rose said, "and in the same motion he led the nine of hearts and let it ...
Daily Bridge Club: Simple Saturday

I have written that winning bridge is a product of study and practice. (Most people can be as successful as they are determined to be.) Read quiz books on dummy play and defense to improve your card play. The only thing I would tell you not to practice is ... finessing. At today's five diamonds, South ruffs West's second high spade and leads a trump. East takes the ace and shifts to a low ...
Daily Bridge Club: Lead without looking?

Most experts agree that opening leads are the toughest part of the game. To find a good lead, you must analyze the bidding, visualize dummy's strengths and anticipate the play. But in a few situations, your lead will be automatic. Today's West doubled South's one spade for takeout, and East passed for penalty. West led ... the king of clubs. South took dummy's ace, ruffed a club, cashed the ...
Daily Bridge Club: Counting practice

"You write about counting the defenders' hands to help in the play," a senior member of my club said to me. "I can't recall every card that's played: My memory is so poor, I can hide my own Easter eggs." Counting takes practice and focus but is easy in principle. At four spades, East takes the jack and king of clubs; West throws a heart. On the ace, declarer ruffs with the ten, and West ...
Daily Bridge Club: Controversial approach

"My partner and I had a bidding mishap," a club player said, showing me today's deal. "I opened one diamond, he responded one heart and I jump-shifted to two spades." "Looks fine so far," I said. "You had no choice but to open with a one-bid." "The trouble started when he raised me to four spades," I was told. "I thought he had a better hand to jump, so I bid six spades; he thought he'd said ...
Daily Bridge Club: Spectacular defense

I found Cy the Cynic dug in at a far-corner table in the club lounge. "He ordered a double," Marvin, our barkeep, told me. "He muttered something about how Minnie got him again." Minnie Bottoms, my club's senior member, wears old bifocals that make her mix up king and jacks, often to her opponents' dismay. Cy has been Minnie's chief victim. I got the story from Rose. In a penny game, Cy played ...
Daily Bridge Club: Concealing weakness

Monday, July 29. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the Daywatch out of Bunco. The boss is Capt. Stewart. My partner's Bill Gannon. He's a good player. My name's Friday. We got a call about a scam at a North Hollywood club. We checked it out. The suspect was still playing. One of his opponents spoke with us. "It was terrible, officer." "Just the facts, ma'am." "That man sitting South ...
Daily Bridge Club: Rain on the roof

The forecast had been partly sunny, but raindrops were doing needlepoint on the bridge club's roof. "The weatherman sometimes makes a mistake and guesses right," a penny-game player observed. At today's four spades, South took the ace of hearts and cashed the A-K of trumps. When West discarded, declarer led his deuce of diamonds to dummy's jack to pick up East's trumps. South next led the king ...
Daily Bridge Club: Marching two by two

"We have a pair of animals, male and female, of every kind on board," Noah's wife reportedly said to him on the Ark. "Why do we have two pairs of gnus?" "We needed two," Noah explained. "They're the good gnus and the bad gnus." At today's 6NT, East took the ace of spades and led a heart, and declarer won in his hand and led the queen of clubs. The good news: West's king covered, and when South ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cy sees his shrink

"Seen your psychiatrist lately?" I asked Cy the Cynic. "Yesterday," Cy said. "Did you tell him you dreamed you were a pair of curtains?" I asked. "He said I had to pull myself together." "What about your dream about being covered with gold paint?" "He told me I had a gilt complex," Cy shrugged. Cy was declarer at four hearts in a penny game. He ruffed the third diamond, took dummy's ace of ...
Daily Bridge Club: Cold contract

On a bitter-cold day last winter, my club's heating system had decided to throw in the towel. The usual warmth had given way to a meat-locker chill, but the penny game was still on. One player had on earmuffs, another was handling the dummy, as best he could, wearing gloves. "They're determined," an overcoated kibitzer said. "It's a case of 'Many are cold, but few are frozen.'" Things heated ...