July 2017 - 61

Solutions to Test Your Play

Advanced Players

Problems are on page 59.
It would be a clever idea to win
the first trick, but then what?
Assuming East has at least five
hearts, you don't dare let them in
before you can take at least eight quick
tricks. But you are missing queens in
each of the other suits. What is the best
order of play?
Start by cashing the ♦A K. If the
queen drops, your troubles are over,
as you have at least 10 tricks. If that
doesn't work, try the ♣A K. Maybe
you'll be lucky there. If the ♣Q drops,
you have nine tricks. If neither minorsuit queen has made an appearance, it
is time to attack spades. Given the current entry situation, you can cater to
Q-x-x in either hand, but you can cater
to Q-x-x-x only in the West hand. Accordingly, lead the ♠J to the ace (key

1.

Call for nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2017 Goodwill Member of
the Year. This honorary title is given to
the ACBL member who has exhibited
unselfish dedication to the causes of
good conduct, worthy participation
and ethical behavior. Any unit/district
official in good standing may nominate
a candidate.
Please include the name of the
candidate, contact information and why
you believe the candidate deserves
recognition as the Goodwill Member of
the Year. Also, include your own name,
contact information and unit/district
affiliation.
A nomination form is available at
acbl.org/goodwillnominations, or send
your nomination to elections@acbl.org.
Nominations are open until
Oct. 15, 2017.

play), and then run the ♠9. If West has
the ♠Q, you wind up with nine tricks:
two diamonds, two clubs, four spades
and the ♥K. If East has the ♠Q, down
three is good bridge.
Why not play the ♠A K and then
take the club finesse instead (if the ♠Q
hasn't dropped)? Because after cashing
the ♦A K, you only have one hand entry to take the club finesse and cannot
pick up ♣Q x x x (x) in the West hand.
You still have to find the ♠Q.
In the spade suit, you can pick up
Q-x-x-x-(x) in the West hand by leading the jack to the ace and running the
9, a big enough difference to start clubs
before spades.

2.

First, a word about the bidding.
Whenever partner makes a slam

Nominations for the 2018 ACBL
Bridge Hall of Fame Blackwood
and von Zedtwitz awards
Each year, the Bridge Hall of Fame
Committee considers candidates for the
Blackwood Award, given for outstanding contributions to bridge outside
of expertise at the game, and the von
Zedtwitz Award, which honors inactive
players who have achieved prominence
in the game of bridge.
ACBL members in good standing
may submit candidates' names to the
Hall of Fame Committee for induction
into the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame
in 2018. To be eligible for induction, a
candidate must be at least 60 years old
and live in North America.
Please submit your nominations
for these awards to the Bridge Hall of
Fame Committee at elections@acbl.
org. Nominations will be forwarded to
the chair of the committee. In order to
be considered, nominations must be
received no later than Nov. 1.

try (4♥), and you have unexpectedly
strong trumps, you tend to accept, as
partner figures to have everything else.
Onward.
Ostensibly it looks like you are faced
with a choice of whether to take the
spade or the diamond finesse after you
drive out the ♣A. Either finesse is a
50-50 proposition, but you can improve your odds by playing the ♠A K
and ruffing a spade before you draw
trumps. If the ♠Q happens to be singleton, doubleton or third (22%), you
won't need to take the diamond finesse
because you will be able to discard your
diamond losers after you draw trumps.
At least you will feel better about this
hand if you test spades before East returns a diamond after winning the ♣A.
◾

2018 Honorary Member of the
Year Selection Process

The ACBL Honorary Member
Committee is charged with the
annual selection of a member (or pair
of members) who is widely known
throughout the membership and who has
given freely of time and ability, without
thought of reward and in the interest of
the League as a whole.
The committee invites members in
good standing to nominate one person
or pair for the committee's consideration.
The nominee(s) may come from any
district as long as they are not currently
serving on the ACBL Board of Directors.
To propose an Honorary Member of
the Year candidate, email elections@
acbl.org by Oct. 15, 2017. Nominations
should include a short explanation (up
to 500 words) as to why you believe the
candidate should be selected. Please
include your contact information.
For a list of previous Honorary
Members, visit acbl.org/
honorarymembers.
July 2017 Bridge Bulletin

61
http://www.acbl.org/goodwillnominations http://www.acbl.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2017
