Nothing much happening on the local scene at the moment so it is straight into the bridge!

I’ll start by discussing an opening lead situation where you hold KQxxx or KQxx of the suit you want to lead.

Against a suit contract it is usually right to lead the King — it may not always work out well, but it is the recommended play as what you are trying to do against a suit contract is establish some quick tricks.

It is different against no trump where unless you hold KQJxx or KQ10x (x) or better, the recommended lead is traditional fourth best, which would apply if you held KQxxx.

There are a number of reasons for this, the main one being that you are trying to establish a long suit and it becomes easier to unravel the suit if partner has Jx.

The second is to defend against the common Bath Coup by declarer who will usually refuse the first trick with either Axx or AJx — if the former you want to continue the suit and if the latter you don’t — how do you know which? It’s actually quite simple, so stick with me on this because it will come up hundreds of times in your bridge life!

Because you promise the KQJ or KQ10 when you lead, the King partner is obliged to throw the Jack under your King if she has it, or overtake with the Ace and lead one back in the unlikely event that she had the Ace — so if you lead the King from KQ10xx and it goes small — small — small, you know declarer has the Ace and the Jack, so don’t continue the suit!

Which brings me to this week’s hand, which still has me gasping in admiration, even though I first read of the play over three decades ago!

North

S A8

H 642

D AQJ

C AQJ105

EAST

S KQ965

H 73

D 982

C K83

SOUTH

S 742

H AJ5

D K43

WEST

S J103

H KQ1098

D 10765

C 7

Sitting South was a flamboyant American bridge player whose name escapes me, but who spent a lot of his life playing very high stakes rubber bridge in the Bahamas where he had a home.

The 3NT contract was normal but declarer could see the danger when West led the King of Hearts: if he won it and the Club finesse lost a Heart back would be fatal.

If, however, he employed the Bath Coup and ducked it, West would have to switch to the obvious Spade looking at dummy and that could be even more painful — so quick as a flash he played the Heart Jack under the King. Look at the effect this has in West, who is free to continue another Heart “knowing” that declarer started with AJ doubleton and partner thus had three Hearts.

Declarer now won the second Heart and took the Club finesse knowing that if it lost, East probably had no more Hearts and, even if he did, the Hearts were then 4-3 and the contract was safe. Absolutely brilliant and inspired. Could West have seen through this? Yes, but he and his partner need to be top-class, as at trick one, East should have played the 7 of Hearts (to start showing an even number) and West will have to have noticed the play and then trust partner — partner would have no reason to play the 7 from 752, so West had all the clues available.

This is not easy at the table, and certainly not easy in the face of the brilliance perpetrated by our unnamed hero.