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Suppose you’re in a race and overtake the runner in second place. How would you stand then? How about if you overtake the runner in last place?
| Dlr: North | ♠ K Q 10 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Vul: All | ♥ 8 5 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| ♦ J 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ♣ A K Q 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ♠ A 2 | ♠ J 9 6 4 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| ♥ K 10 6 2 | ♥ Q J 9 7 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| ♦ K 2 | ♦ 6 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| ♣ 10 8 7 4 3 | ♣ 6 | |||||||||||||||||
| ♠ 8 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ♥ A | ||||||||||||||||||
| ♦ A Q 10 9 8 7 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| ♣ J 9 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Opening lead — ♥2
If logical thinking is not your strength, defend as today’s West. (Cover the East and South cards.) Against 5♦, you lead a heart, the unbid suit: three from dummy, jack, ace. Declarer next leads the ♣9: three, ace, six. He lets the jack of trumps ride to your king.
What do you lead next?
Heart Loser
To try to cash a heart can’t be right. If declarer had a heart loser, he had three clubs. Otherwise, he would have tried to discard a heart on dummy’s clubs before he finessed in trumps. Your logical defense is to lead a club to let East ruff. Your ♠A will win the setting trick. (True, declarer risked his contract for an overtrick.)
If you overtake the runner in second place, you will be second. Overtaking the runner in last place is impossible; you would have been in last place yourself.
Daily Question
You hold:
♠K Q 10 5
♥8 5 3
♦J 3
♣A K Q 2
Your partner opens 1♠, and you respond 2NT as a conventional forcing raise. (A jump to 3♠ would invite game.) Partner next bids 3♥. What do you say?
