Tournament season is well under way at the Bridge Club and the first session of the junior teams took place last Tuesday with the second session this coming Tuesday so full results in next week’s column. Following on after that is the open teams event on October 19 and 23 and sandwiched in between is the ACBL Instant Matchpoint game on the afternoon of Friday the 16th — so a lot of bridge ahead.

Bridge can be an awfully cruel game and I certainly felt that after this hand last night on Bridge Base Online. This was also a teams game so beating a contract was all that matters even at the cost of giving up an overtrick.

I picked up as dealer sitting South with East — West vulnerable:

? AKQJ1093

? Q

? J8

? K98

I opened a gentle one Spade and it went pass-pass — double by RHO. My partner’s pass showed four points or less so I know it is their hand and I decided to apply some pressure by bidding three Spades. It now went pass-pass followed by a very confident sounding five Club bid by declarer and after three passes I was on lead.

Before banging down the Ace of Spades I did some thinking — always a good idea in a mental game! Everything suggested Spade shortness with declarer and it didn’t sound as if partner could help at all with a defensive trick. I was certainly going to make the Club King and probably one Spade at best so where do we look for our third trick? The third Club in my hand led me to the answer — I would look for a Heart ruff!

So I led the Heart Queen and this dummy appeared:

? 65

? A1032

? Q9752

? 54

? AKQJ1093

? Q

? J8

? K98

Declarer won the Heart in dummy and now led a low Club and after some thought played the Ace and then the 10. I won the Club, partner discarding a middle Heart which told me nothing and now I was at a crossroads. If I thought declarer had two Spades I could cash them but if I believed he only had one Spade, meaning partner had three there was some hope …. if partner had the Spade eight — a 3-1 chance if declarer had a singleton.

So, I led the three of Spades knowing that if partner won with the eight she would realise that I could ruff a Heart.

The full hand:

North

? 742

? J97654

? 1064

? 2

West East

? 65 ? 8

? A1032 ? K8

? Q9752 ? AK3

? 54 ? AQJ10763

South

? AKQJ1093

? Q

? J8

? K98

Makes you sick, doesn’t it?!