Bridge: Oct. 23, 2022

A sign in blue letters adorns a wall at my club. It perches there like a scolding bluejay, admonishing players who delay the game with learned analyses.

“Members are reminded that only coroners and surgeons are entitled to hold inquests and postmortems.”

That of course is like telling some of our players not to breathe.

In a penny game, North-South displayed a contrast in bidding styles. When East opened one diamond, South tried one spade. North, looking at 16 high-card points and spade support, jammed it into four spades. (He should have gone slower by cue-bidding two diamonds; North-South might have belonged at 3NT.)

West led his ten of diamonds, and East took the K-A. West ruffed the third diamond and led a club. South took dummy’s ace, drew trumps and passed the jack of hearts, but West produced the king for down one. Then the North-South colloquy was brief and to the point: North said that overcalling on the weak South hand was unthinkable; South said that anyone who passed had no idea how to play bridge.

They managed to agree that South would have made four spades if East had held the king of hearts. In fact, South could have succeeded anyway. After he takes the ace of clubs, he leads a trump to his queen and then leads his high nine of diamonds.

If West could ruff, South would overruff in dummy and finesse in hearts. But as it happens, West has no more trumps, so dummy can discard a heart. South then takes the ace of hearts and crossruffs hearts and clubs, winning the last seven tricks and 10 in all.

East dealer

Both sides vulnerable

NORTH

S A K J

H J 2

D Q J 4

C A 7 5 4 2

WEST

S 6 3

H K 8 7 5 4 3

D 10

C J 10 8 3

EAST

S 5 4 2

H 10 9

D A K 8 5 2

C K Q 6

SOUTH

S Q 10 9 8 7

H A Q 6

D 9 7 6 3

C 9

East South West North
1 D 1 S Pass 4 S
All Pass
Opening lead — D 10

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