COL HOUSE - Ad from 2021-03-27

Fun and Games

THE NEA BRIDGE
by Phillip Alder
bridge is a
one-syllable word
Our final senryu came from Wade
Lnenicka of Smyrna, Georgia: I hate
most card games / But the challenge
makes bridge fun / No life without
bridge.
Too true -- and even more so since
the pandemic. Bridge Base and other
online sites have never been so busy.
Whenever you have logged into BBO,
you must have noticed the thousands of
people playing.
This deal occurred at BBO. The
declarer was Linda McGillicuddy of
Hobe Sound, Florida. Her bidding was
questionable, but she handled the play
nicely.
When East intervened with two
diamonds, South should have passed,
lacking the high-card values and the
sixth club theoretically required for her
bid. But McGillicuddy hates to pass! She
might have raised three hearts to four, a
contract that her husband, Clem, would
have made easily, losing two hearts and
one diamond. Or, if you prefer, he would
have taken four spades, four hearts, one
diamond and one club.
Against three no-trump, West led
his diamond seven, and East put in her
jack. Declarer won with her king, played
a heart to the queen (whew!), crossed
to the spade king and led another heart
to the 10 and ace. When East discarded
a club, South banked her three spade
winners before exiting with a diamond
to endplay East. She could cash four diamond winners but then had to lead away
from the club king, allowing McGillicuddy to take a winning finesse despite
dummy being void in the suit.