Judge — February 1934 — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

uns unlikely event nothing has been lost by bidding no trumps instead of spades, and there was probably only one correct final declaration in the hand from the start. You will reach it. lf you blindly, woodenly, unthinkin bid a spade with this hand, the probabil- overwhelming that if your partner can respond at all, he will one no trump. You have now placed the no trump declaration irretrievably in the ities are wrong hand. Unless your two hands are together so strong that the hand is fool- proof, you have probably sacriticed a game t yur lack of vision. If the hand is now played by your partner in no trumps, the opening lead in any suit except spades may prove fatal to the timing control. Instead of eliminating a guess for your partner, it will do so for your opponents, Perform- ing a visual autopsy on the shamelessly exposed corpse of this giant of yours, they will know exactly how to play the defense, whether by forcing out this or that high card or by freezing the dummy in. You will, in fact, have to make frantic efforts to try to play this hand in spades, although you may d duce from the bidding that spades are massed against you. Should it turn out that this hand will play better in spades than in no trumps. or that it will play at least as well for game purposes, and perhaps more smoothly and safely, the fact that you bid a no trump instead of a spade ori inally will in no w interfere your becoming declarer ultimately in : four or six or seven spade contract. Mr Sims’ virtually error-proof handling of this situation has been cruelly misrepre sented in ma parts of the country It has been said that he is “no trump crazy ;” that he bids no trumps when he should bid a suit, and that major suit game hands bei lefir with 1 thereatter are sacrificed by <d to no trump play and prevented from being played in the suit in which others would rightly play them. This is an absolute untruth With the hand giv just as easy to end up in a game or slam ly condemn above, it contract in spades (assuming that these are really prefe uivalent no trump contracts) if you bid a no trump originally, it would be under any other system that I know which would ible to e insist on opening the bidding with spade. If you bid a spade, you are bidding thirteen cards and yc € ignoring the play; if you bid a no trump, you are providing the proper basis for the sub- sequent bidding of twenty-six cards, and you are not only fore but you sting the play, are protecting it in advance. In another issue I will explain how the bidding is corre: guided either to three no trumps or to four spades when you open the bidding on a hand of this kind with one no trump instead of one spade, Bridge Actual Playing Problem No. 10 By Wm. E. MeKenney North @54 QAJ8T4 1093 ¢ ry South @A32 9 Qw02 OAKT6 Ako e contract is three no trump by h. West's opening lead is from an establishable five card suit, and is one which will not allow the declarer to gain a trick, Every tempts must fail. However, the de- clarer is to make four no trump: ploying a squeeze. Distribute the miss- ing cards in the East and West hands nesse the declarer by em- Nor @aA Vv West Sast @io @j1098 J1098 276 653 109387 &K 1098 765 @ko4 9 AK32 0 QJ @A\s32 Last month only the North and South ha were show You were asked to distribute the missing cards in the East and West hands. You were told that the king and at least er club must be in the We: and that the heart suit w four-two. North was to one ot hand, s to be divided make his contract at seven no trump. The complete East are now shown jack of play is the s ing. The with the queen of spades nd West hands "s natural opening is the However, the s of the « irst spade is won by Sot The queen and jack of diamonds are cashed. A small spade is won by North with the nd three rounds of diamonds are South discarding the deuc: jack of clubs, East’ immaterial. West discards the and nine of clubs and th pades, t's discards ¢ eight seven of Pastimes A small club is next won by South with the ace. The king of spades is led by South and West is squeezed. Li he drops the king of clu North’s queen will be good, while if he lets go the heart, North and South will cash four heart tricks Double Dummy Problem No. 10 By Russell Rooen North @AKI2 YAS42 © KQo3 ea West 4010 9 KQ109 y © J10987 < am 105 East @ 60543 3 A52 09702 @ Jos Jsio + @KIS43 The contract is three no trump by South. West leads the king of Hearts. South must win 9 tricks a: fense, st any de- Solution to January Problem North @ AK 107 9 KS3 O75 AKG3 tast e006 9 10987 W964 msi © AKB2 ah 1094 The contract is six no trump South, to be made against any defense. West opens the jack of hearts. by ? z z og OSboHcooEcs oesauaune Sun edewnensg OPPOHSOO HST wr emorun PoRuuramamusr PPSPOPSP OHS East is squeezed and South wins the rest. South must win the first heart in his own hand and the spade must be led from dummy. Otherwise the hand is impossible. comicbooks.com