Winston Churchill said, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened."
At the bridge table, though, if you stumble — make a mistake — usually partner will inconsiderately and shortsightedly point out the error of your ways. (Even worse, some opponents will do it, despite having no right to say anything unless asked.) If you must take partner to task, wait until after the session.
In this deal, you are South in four hearts. West leads the club king. How would you play to persuade partner to shower you with congratulations, not criticism?
Your jump to four hearts is a slight overbid because you have a balanced hand. However, with 18 good high-card points (14 in aces and kings, only four in quacks), it is worth taking a punt at game. That big bonus ought to be a compelling temptation.
You have four possible losers: one spade (if the finesse loses), one heart (if the finesse loses), one diamond and one club. So, if either major-suit finesse works, everything will be fine. But what if both are losing?
You ought to take the first trick and immediately play a diamond to the dummy. Once you have driven out the diamond ace, you can discard a spade from the dummy on your third diamond. Then you can ruff your third spade on the board. And you can even try the trump finesse for an overtrick.
This line of play is almost guaranteed to work, making it preferable to taking both major-suit finesses, which is a 76 percent line.
At the bridge table, though, if you stumble — make a mistake — usually partner will inconsiderately and shortsightedly point out the error of your ways. (Even worse, some opponents will do it, despite having no right to say anything unless asked.) If you must take partner to task, wait until after the session.
In this deal, you are South in four hearts. West leads the club king. How would you play to persuade partner to shower you with congratulations, not criticism?
Your jump to four hearts is a slight overbid because you have a balanced hand. However, with 18 good high-card points (14 in aces and kings, only four in quacks), it is worth taking a punt at game. That big bonus ought to be a compelling temptation.
You have four possible losers: one spade (if the finesse loses), one heart (if the finesse loses), one diamond and one club. So, if either major-suit finesse works, everything will be fine. But what if both are losing?
You ought to take the first trick and immediately play a diamond to the dummy. Once you have driven out the diamond ace, you can discard a spade from the dummy on your third diamond. Then you can ruff your third spade on the board. And you can even try the trump finesse for an overtrick.
This line of play is almost guaranteed to work, making it preferable to taking both major-suit finesses, which is a 76 percent line.