“I had it all figured out,” Cy the Cynic grumbled to me, “but I didn’t include the Millard factor in my calculations.”
Millard Pringle is a quiet little man who tends to get lost in the maze of defensive “rules.” In my club’s penny game, Cy was declarer at four hearts, and West led the queen of clubs.
“I played low from dummy,” Cy told me. “I planned to ruff the next club and lead a diamond. If West won and led a third club, I would ruff and take the A-K of trumps. If East-West followed low, I would run the diamonds, pitching four spades from dummy. I could ruff my queen of spades in dummy and lose only three tricks.”
SOUND APPROACH
“Seems like a sound approach,” I nodded.
“Millard was East,” the Cynic said, “and he was as confused as ever. He played the ace on the first club — ‘third hand high’ — and led a spade. Dummy’s king of clubs was high for a spade discard, but I couldn’t get there. I lost a trick in each suit.”
Millard found the only play to beat the contract.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold: S A Q H A K 7 6 2 D K Q J 10 9 C 5. You open one heart, and your partner raises to two. South in today’s deal bid four hearts with this hand. Do you agree with that call?
ANSWER: South’s call looks hasty and ill-judged to me. North might easily have held 765,10853,A65,A94, and then South could make seven hearts if the missing trumps broke 2-2. South could have jumped to four diamonds, suggesting a big two-suited hand with slam interest.
South dealer
N-S vulnerable
NORTH
S J 10 9 6 3
H J 5 4
D 6
C K 7 4 3
WEST
S K 7 4
H Q 10 9
D A 7 3
C Q J 10 8
EAST
S 8 5 2
H 8 3
D 8 5 4 2
C A 9 6 2
SOUTH
S A Q
H A K 7 6 2
D K Q J 10 9
C 5
South West North East
1 H Pass 2 H Pass
4 H All Pass
Opening lead — C Q
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Originally published at Frank Stewart