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BRIDGE BITES  #129

      

 

SENDING A MESSAGE

                                                                     Brian Gunnell

  

 

          

♠ A

T94

QJT63

♣ KJT4

                  

 

            Both Vulnerable

            South   West     North    East

                                     1         1

            1♠         2        Pass     Pass

            4♠         Pass    Pass     Pass

 

Sometimes the winning defense is obvious to one defender but not to the other, and in such cases it behooves the defender who is in the know to help out Partner as much as possible.  Today’s West missed such an opportunity.

♠ 9872

J62

A

♣ Q9865

       Dummy

 

West            East

 

       Declarer

♠ 53

KQ875

754

♣ A32

 

♠ KQJT64

A3

K982

♣ 7

 

 

Against 4♠, West led the A.  He shifted to the Heart Two and East’s Queen was taken by Declarer’s Ace.  At this point Declarer was home free if only she could draw trumps, but there were transportation problems.  After playing a Spade to Dummy’s Ace, she had no fast way back to hand to draw the remaining trumps, so she exited with a Heart, won by East’s King.

 

To West it was obvious that East should give him a Diamond ruff.  But it wasn’t obvious to East.  No doubt he should have figured it out, but he had this fixed idea in his head that West had led a Diamond from AKx or AKxx.  So, seeing no rush for the defense to cash its winners, East exited with a Heart.  Declarer gratefully ruffed that, drew trumps, pitched the Club loser on the Diamonds, and claimed 11 tricks.  That was not an impressive performance by East but West could have made things crystal clear.  What could West have done to make East’s life easier?