You can win, but you can't lose with this bridge hand

In bridge, the participants see only 26 cards when the play starts and not the 52 cards seen in the diagram. Naturally, seeing only 26 cards, they might not play their cards as perfectly as if they saw all four hands. Being human, they might err.

The declarer, and the defenders likewise, frequently trade upon this deficiency. They sometimes make plays they would not make if all 52 cards were in plain view, and they do this because they might induce a mistake by the opponents.

Consider this deal where South stole the contract by making an unnatural play. West led the ace and another trump. Declarer, after sizing up his chances, won the second trump in dummy, cashed the ace of spades and returned a low spade toward his hand.

East assumed from this line of play that declarer had a singleton spade and therefore played low instead of going up with the king. South won with the jack and eventually established dummy's fifth spade as a trick to finish with 11 tricks in all.

Now let's suppose declarer had won the heart in his hand at trick two and led the jack of spades for a finesse, as most players would do. In that case, East would have taken the king and returned a club to put South down one.

The beauty of South's play is that it gives him a chance to make the contract regardless of where the king of spades is located. If West has it, the hand is sure to make because dummy's queen becomes established for a vital club discard.

If East has the king, then it is just as well not to attempt the losing finesse. In fact, it is much better to cash the ace and lead toward the jack because East has a chance to go wrong.

It is true that South might cost himself 30 points if it turns out that West has the king of spades, but who wouldn't pay a 30-point premium to ensure a game?

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.