October 2018 - 61

Solutions to Test Your Play
1. You must allow for 4-1 hearts
(the length presumably with
East), so ruff a diamond, East discarding a spade, and get out with the
♠K. Whoever wins must play a club to
tap the dummy or else dummy will be
high after drawing trumps.
After ruffing the club, play the
♦K Q 10 through East, a likely
candidate for the trump length. If East
ruffs, overruff, draw trumps and claim.
If East refuses to ruff, discard three
spades, including the queen, and ruff a
spade low, the second time the suit has
been played.
You have now arrived at this fourcard ending, the lead in your hand:

1.

♠-
♥AJ6
♦5
♣-
♠-
♥KQ
♦-
♣96
Playing safely, crossruff the last four
tricks with high trumps, losing only
one trick to the ♠A. Notice that at no
time did you ever lead a heart!
Thanks to Jon Shuster of Gainesville
FL for this neat hand.
It can't hurt to ruff the second
2. spade high, cash the ♥K and
the ♣A K, cross to the ♥A, ruff
a club high, cross to a heart entry in
dummy and take the diamond finesse.
You remain with one heart in dummy
and, need it or not, it should be a
dummy entry. Your hand remains with

a high and a low heart. Stay in practice
keeping trump entry flexibility. You
never know.
Say the diamond finesse wins. You
now are 100% to bring this baby home
regardless of how the remaining diamonds break.
Exit with a low diamond. There are
five diamonds outstanding. If they
break 3-2, the most you can lose is one
diamond trick.
Say they break 4-1 and East has the
length. East wins the second diamond
and either has to lead a diamond and
give you a free finesse or give you
a ruff-sluff, allowing you to ruff in
dummy and discard a diamond, leaving
you with the blank ace.
Say West is the one with the four
diamonds, and he ducked with
K-10-9-x, K-10-x-x or K-9-x-x.
With K-10-9-x, he should have won
and exited with a high diamond, ensuring a second diamond trick. If he didn't,
he has to win your diamond exit and
is endplayed: He never gets his second
diamond trick. Too tricky for his own
good.
If West started with the other two
holdings and ducks the ♦K, he can win
the low diamond exit with the 9 or 10,
but is endplayed and doesn't get a trick
with his remaining K-x.
If West wins the ♦K and exits a
diamond from his remaining 9-x-x or
10-x-x, it can't hurt to play the 8 from
dummy. It will win the trick and you
remain with the A-J.
The only diamond holding that can
defeat this contract after you lead low
to the queen is West holding the
K-10-9-x, winning the diamond finesse, and exiting with a high diamond.

Advanced Players
Problems are on page 59.

East hands for the
October Bidding Box

Bid these hands with a partner. The
West hands are on pg. 59. The North-
South players are silent unless
otherwise noted. Scores on pgs. 37-39.
Problem 1. North deals. None vul.
♠A 7 6 ♥A K Q J 10 6 ♦K Q 3 ♣4
Problem 2. East deals. N-S vul.
♠Q 7 ♥- ♦A J 9 7 6 ♣K Q 8 6 4 2
Problem 3. South deals. E-W vul.
South opens 1♠.
♠7 3 ♥A K ♦K J 9 5 ♣Q J 6 5 2
Problem 4. West deals. Both vul.
♠Q ♥Q 6 5 4 ♦K 10 7 5 4 2 ♣K J
Problem 5. North deals. N-S vul.
♠J ♥A Q 5 4 ♦J 10 9 8 6 ♣K Q 5
Problem 6. East deals. E-W vul.
South bids 2♠ (weak). North bids
4♠.
♠5 ♥K Q 9 8 5 ♦A 3 ♣A 10 7 6 4
Problem 7. South deals. Both vul.
South opens 1♠. North bids 2♠ if
possible.
♠A Q 3 ♥8 3 ♦J 9 6 3 2 ♣A 10 7
Problem 8. West deals. None vul.
♠10 8 6 2 ♥2 ♦A K 8 6 ♣A 10 5 2

October 2018 Bridge Bulletin

61
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018
