With the live games starting at the Club, and the tournament schedule recently being announced, a number of members have been enquiring about the Friday afternoon game restarting at the Bridge Club. The Club has just announced that this will happen next month.

The first Friday afternoon game at the Club (12.30pm start) will be on November 6, so plenty of time to arrange your partners.

Remember that strict Covid-19 protocols apply to all Club games, one of the most important being that any player who has travelled overseas, or who has been in close contact with anyone who has travelled overseas, must wait until after the negative result of the eighth-day test before playing.

This ensures that the Club has a very safe environment in which to play – if you have not yet ventured back to the Club, do give it a try unless, of course, you fall into the extremely vulnerable category.

This week’s hand (see figure 1) is about finesses – or non -finesses, which I like a lot more!

South opened 1NT, North bid 2 Clubs (Stayman, asking for a major) and when South showed hearts North was off to the races – he bid 4NT and when South showed three key cards by bidding 5 Diamonds (1430) North bid the heart slam.

West led the diamond queen and South could see that if she found the heart queen the slam would make with 4 hearts , 4 or 5 spades, one ruff and three minor suit tricks. So declarer looked up at the sky for divine guidance and decided to play West for the queen of hearts. The finesse lost and the defence cashed a diamond for down one.

Unlucky? Of course , but also a bit careless and pedestrian. Rather than plump for the 50 per cent finesse, declarer could combine some chances – win the diamond and first cash the Ace and King of hearts to try and drop a singleton or doubleton queen.

If this works draw the last trump and claim - When this doesn’t work declarer goes to plan B, hoping that the defender with the heart queen has at least three spades- declarer cashes the Ace, King and queen of spades, discarding one diamond. If spades are 3-3 it is all easy – continue spades and throw the other diamond whether it is ruffed or not ,contract made.

The full hand is shown in figure 2.

In this case declarer throws a diamond on the third spade, ruffs the fourth spade, crosses to dummy with a club and plays the remaining winning spade – East is helpless and again, the contract makes.

So instead of a pure 50 per cent finesse declarer combined two inferior odds plays which in total added up to considerably more than the 50 per cent.

Before I leave the hand, if one to find the heart queen on this hand is there any guidance on whether to play East or West for the queen given that they have been silent in the bidding ?

Perhaps, but it is something that only provides a small edge, but every edge counts.

It does not apply so much on this hand as West clearly had an obvious opening lead, but on hands where the opening lead is fairly ordinary or even dangerous for the defence all you have is the negative inference from West not leading a trump on opening lead, which she clearly would not do holding the queen. So without any other information I usually play the opening leader for the queen, hoping that for every hundred times I do that I will be right about 53 times …….but that doesn’t make the other 47 any less painful!

Bridge Club results

Friday 23 October

1. Charles Roraback - Molly Roraback

2. Inger Mesna - John Rayner

3. Louise Rodger - Gill Gray

Monday 27 October

NS

1. Betsy Baillie - Joyce Pearson

2. William Pollett - Molly Taussig

3. Katrina Van Pelt - Donna Leitch

EW

1. Tracy Nash - Desmond Nash

2. Linda Pollett - Charles Hall

3. Joseph Wakefield - Dorry Lusher

Tuesday 28 October <149

NS

1. Malcolm Moseley - Mark Stevens

2. Lulu Neame - Richard Neame

3. Jo-Ann Dawson - Gina

EW

1. Jean Schilling - Tim Mardon

2. Vivian Pereira - Neil Gilbertson

3. Sarah Bowers - Stuart Clare

Wednesday 28 October

NS

1. Tony Saunders - Molly Taussig

2. Peter Donnellan - Judy King

3. Gertrude Barker - Jane Smith

EW

1. William Pollett - Linda Pollett

2. Patricia Siddle - Julia Beach

3. Caroline Svensen - Dianna Kempe

Thursday 29 October

1. Magda Farag - Jane Smith

2. Gertrude Barker - Gordon Bussell

3. Peter Donnellan - Lynanne Bolton