The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-26
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| z dealt and passed. A said no trump.
Y and Il passing. u thought he ought TO
make some sort OF fight to save the
game and bid two spades. A wen or
with two no trumps.
Apart from Us own cards and AS
return TO the no trumper, Y knows that
his partner has not a trick in spades
and he infers from AS rebid that \
| probably holds four to an honor, which
he is depending upon TO stop the suit.
This being the situation. Y makes 10
attempt to support the spade bid. which
could be done only at the risk of being
doubled and heavily penalIzed. hut rests
content with a hint as to how the gam
may be saved.
Now we come 10 a little point TO which
even the best players do not always pay
sufficient attention. When there is any
doubt or choice about the lead up to a
no trumper the probabilities are largely
In favor of opening a four card major
suit, hearts or spades, in preference TO
leading a minor suit.
The reason for this is that so many
no trumpers are declared on a big minor
suit. with simple protection in the major
suits. Il 10 very unlikely that a good
playar will bid no trumps with Ave good
hearts OF spades in his hand. but he
might easily do 40 with five or six clubs
or diamonds TO three or four honos.
BY leading a minor suit up to him he
may hold the first trick with some such
cards as an eight or nine and run down
the whsle suit against the leader. There
liz no such danger in a major suit. and
the lead will often take out a useful
reentry.
Guided by this principle. Y did not
lead either clubs or diamonds. neither
did he lead the spade up to the inferred
stopper in AS hand, but he tried the
other major suit, hearts, in which II was
improbable that A was long. This for
tunate selection OF an opening allowed Il
to get in at once and to come through
the spade queen. but A bravely refused
to put on the queen until the fourth
round. saving a trick but not the game.
At n table Y did not bid the spades
on the second round. and A was left
TO play the hand at one no trump,
Y opened with a small spade, and A won
the trick with the queen. Five dla
and four clubs went TO the declarer
before Y or u ever got in again.
To show how c~uriously the bidding
goes in some instances. at one table
when n bid the two spades and A
went two no trumps, b deemed 1t TO be
his duty TO warn his partner that the
spades We're all against him by bidding
the diamonds.
30 - III Ma luilh oIlA SIX sure
tricks, and took this diamond bid to
show absolute weakness on BIS part. he
thought II better to let b alone, rather
than risk three no trumps. As we have
seen. three no trumps would have been
set II Y leads a heart.
Ii played the hand rather curiously,
but seemed to gain a trick by Il. u
led the spade jack, dummy played small
and u trumped. The next lead was a
heart, u playing the ace and leading
another spade through the queen, which
b trumped.
u led two more hearts, Y trumping
the third round and leading a spade,
This b trumped. put dummy in with a
club. trumped the fourth spade, made
his king OF trumps. put dummy IN with
another club. led ace OF trumps and
made a third club, ten tricks.
II Il leads out all the trumps as
soon as he gets In on the first run
on spades all he can make is five
trumps and four clubs, as the heart
trick Is never established until too late.
Next week THE SUN will take up some
OF the hands sent in by various corre-
%spondents asking for criticisms on the
bidding and play when viewed in the
light of modern conventions. Several
of these are quite Interesting, notably
n from Walker McMartin, the noted
problem composer ana solver.