Evening star., 1950-05-05

D-14 THE EVENING
FRIDAY
Goren on Bridge
Neither vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
AK
0AK87
oQ763
&QJ104
WEST EAST
AQ742 AJ1065
0QJ1092 1854
o10 oKJ2
Ass &765
SOUTH
AA9S3
03
oAs854
&K92
The bidding:
North East South West
heart Pass diamonds Pass
diamonds Pass 3NT Pass
Opening lead, queen of hearts.
The handling of various card
combinations would appear to be a
stereotyped procedure. However,
committing to memory the various
diagrams is not sufficient, for even
In this field the human factor
must not be ignored. In today's
hand declarer made a play which
appeared unSound in the abstract,
but was eminently sound in view
OF the evidence before him.
South became declarer at a con-
tract Of three no-trunp and West
led the queen of hearts, which was
taken with the king in dummy.
Declarer had eight quickly available
tricks, but he could see that he
would have his work cut out for
him building up the ninth before
the heart suit was established
against him. With larceny in his
heart, he led low club off dummy
in the hope that East had the ace.
If East could be induced to stay of
the first trick, it was his intention to
abandon the club suit in the hope
that the diamonds would yield four
fast tricks. But this scheme dissol-
we'd into thin air when West took
the trick with the ace.
West then led the jack of hearts
and declarer refused the trick. Con-
vinced that his hand lacked an
entry, West realized the futility Of
further attacks with the heart suit
and abandoned the suit in favor Of
leading the deuce OF spades.
Though the soundness of Vests
defense is indisputable, nevertheless,
declarer by drawing the proper in
ferences from Vests actions was
able to make a decidedly abnormal
play in diamonds to bring home the
contract. Vests abandonment of
the heart suit amounted to clear
confession that he lacked the king
of diamonds, for II he had that
card for entry he would certainly
have established the hearts with
one more lead. East, therefore, be-
came clearly marked with that card.
Declarer ran off three club tricks,
on the last of which West discarded
the four of spades. BY this time
declarer was convinced that West
had only a singleton diamond and
surely no more than two of the
suit. It was evident from the play
that West had five hearts, because
If he had only four he would have
set up another trick in the suit,
knowing his partner could get in
and cash heart. His play of the
spades shows that he had four or
at least three of the suit, and he
has shown up with three clubs.
Since East was marked with the
king of diamonds and since it was
further marked that the king was
not singleton, declarer realized that
he had nothing to gain by leading
the ace of diamonds and following
1t with low one to the queen. On
that line of play, East's king would
surely smother dummy's queen. De-
clarer chose instead to lead the
queen from dummy in the hope that
West held a singleton ten or jack
and that it would be smothered
under East's king and declarer's
ace. East covered with the king,
South the ace, and West, perforce,
played the ten. The seven of dia-
monds then drove out Easts jack
and the rest Of the suit was solid.
Declarer, therefore, fulfilled his con-
tract with an overtrick.
Declarer had q margin Of safety
in his method of play. Even If he
had miscalculated and the diamonds
were 40, nothing would have been
lost by this play.
(copyright, 1850, by Charles H. Goren)