February 2025 - 55
Intermediate Players
Chalk Talk
BY EDDIE KANTAR
kantarbridge.com
Dlr: South s J 10 5 3
Vul: None h K 5 2
d 7 5 3
c K 7 6
s A K Q 9 8
h 4
d A Q 2
c Q J 10 4
West North East
Pass 2s
South
1s
3h 4s
All Pass
Opening lead: hQ.
Up or down, Mr. Brown, and what
is your reason?
Trumps are not 4-0.
My take
Whoever wrote that many hands
are settled one way or the other at
trick one must have been thinking
about this one.
Duck the opening lead. You can't
stand for East to win the first trick
and shift to an intermediate diamond
through your A-Q-2, particularly
if East has the cA to lead a second
diamond if necessary. You're trying
to avoid the loss of two diamonds, a
heart and a club on this one, if you
can help it.
Let's say this is the full layout:
s J 10 5 3
h K 5 2
d 7 5 3
c K 7 6
s 7 4 2
h Q 8 7
d K 8 6 4
c 9 8 3
s 6
h A J 10 9 6 3
d J 10 9
c A 5 2
s A K Q 9 8
h 4
d A Q 2
c Q J 10 4
Say a second heart is led. You ruff,
draw three rounds of trumps and
lead a club to the king and East's ace.
Back comes the dJ. Too late!
Rise with the ace and discard a diamond
on your fourth club. You wind
up losing a heart, a diamond and a
club. Much better than losing a heart,
a club and two diamonds.
Plan the play carefully before playing
from dummy at trick one - very
carefully.
Notice the lead of the hQ from the
Q-8-7. West reasoned that South
was probably short in hearts, so
leading the queen through strength
should work out. Wrong! While there
are some deals where this idea would
be effective, here it lets declarer make
the contract. Notice that a low heart
lead instead allows East to overtake
with the h9 and switch to the dJ.
It doesn't matter whether declarer
rises or finesses: When East gets on
lead again with the cA, another diamond
allows the defense to get their
remaining diamond trick(s). 2
East hands for the
February Bidding Box
Bid these hands with a partner. The
West hands are on page 49. The North-
South players are silent unless otherwise
noted. Scores on page 38-41.
Problem 1. North deals. None vul.
sJ 6 hQ J 10 5 4 dA 7 cK Q 8 4
Problem 2. East deals. N-S vul.
sA K 7 5 4 3 hA 8 3 dA Q 10 3 c-
Problem 3. South deals. E-W vul.
South opens 1d.
sQ 6 5 3 2 hQ 9 d8 7 cA 8 7 5
Problem 4. West deals. Both vul.
sA 10 6 2 hA Q 3 dA K 7 cA 8 6
Problem 5. North deals. N-S vul.
North opens 1c.
sK J 9 7 5 hA 6 5 4 dQ J 3 c10
Problem 6. East deals. E-W vul.
sK Q 8 hA 8 4 2 dJ 10 9 8 c4 2
Problem 7. South deals. Both vul.
s8 4 hQ d10 4 3 cA K Q 10 4 3 2
Problem 8. West deals. None vul.
s5 4 hK Q 9 4 3 2 dQ J 9 4 2 c-
February 2025 | Bridge Bulletin |
55
http://www.kantarbridge.com
February 2025
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025
February 2025 - 1
February 2025 - 2
February 2025 - 3
February 2025 - 4
February 2025 - 5
February 2025 - 6
February 2025 - 7
February 2025 - 8
February 2025 - 9
February 2025 - 10
February 2025 - 11
February 2025 - 12
February 2025 - 13
February 2025 - 14
February 2025 - 15
February 2025 - 16
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February 2025 - 30
February 2025 - 31
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