Bridge Problem: Cold War

Your hand sitting South

Bidding

Dealer East. North-South vulnerable.

Card play

The 3♥ cue bid is acting as an invite to game here, the 3♠ bid rather being a pre-empt. With his nice 5-5 two-suiter, South must rush to accept it despite a minimum number of HCP.

Anyway, West leads the King of ♥. East wins the Ace and switches to the 8 of ♣.

► Can you see the threat looming?

Solution

What could East’s manoeuvre mean? He clearly has an idea in mind. The most plausible is that he holds a singleton in ♣ and is hoping to win the lead with the Ace of Trumps and cross to his partner’s hand with the Queen of ♥ (see the lead of the King) in order to be able to be rewarded with a ruff. How can you prevent West from gaining the lead? You would need to get rid of this cumbersome second small ♥. Nothing to be seen on the horizon, unless… you find the King-Queen of ♦ with East! After winning the ♣ trick, play the Ace and Jack of ♦, discarding your ♥. If the layout of the cards is the one you are hoping for, the communication between West and East will be severed, just like it was during the Cold War, and your contract will be secure.

What did you think of this bridge problem by Philippe Cronier?

Share your view with the Funbridge team and other bridge players in the comments section below.

Do you like this type of bridge problem?

You will love playing the hundreds of deals commented by bridge experts available in the Funbridge app! Commented deals are included in the Premium+ subscription.

Play commented deals ►