Kantar DeclarerPlay

#17 Kantar on Kontract
Give a player a good hand and have his partner make a preemptive bid before he gets a chance to
speak and there is certain to be plenty of excitement, confusion, and above all, madness.
Consider this hand from a recent Mixed Pairs event. Sitting North, vulnerable against not, you find
yourself gazing at;
S. AK104
H. A109743
D. KQ8
C. -
The bidding proceeds:

East South West North (you)
Pass 4C Pass ?
Now what would you do besides giving partner a sinister stare?

This was the entire hand:
North As can be seen, the only game contract that makes

S. AK104 is 5C. (You can actually make 4S without a trump
H. A109743 lead!)
D. KQ8 However, retaining one's sanity with a void in
C. - partner's suit is not always so easy.
West As one would expect, the contracts varied

East tremendously. A few pairs reached six clubs which
S. Q9832 proved difficult to bring in missing the ace and king
S. 76 of trump. One pair bid and made four hearts
H. J65 doubled. East led the S7, and when dummy played
H. KQ82 low West played the queen. Declarer was now able
D. 10532 to hold her losses to three trump tricks. Another
D. J76 North-South pair wound up in 5NT doubled after
C. A South opened 1C and North couldn't take a joke.
C. K653
Expert consensus was that 5C was the best bid with
South the North hand, void or no void. The consensus of
S. J5 the East-West players was that they were glad it was
H. - a North-South hand.
D. A94
C. QJ1098742 #16 Kantar on Kontract
There are some hands that one would just as soon forget ever happened. But in the interest of honest
reporting I am compelled to show you the hand that cost my team a quarterfinal match some years
ago in the Spingold Cup in Miami Beach.
Dlr: North
Vul Both
North
S. 10763 North East South West
H. AKJ2 1D P 2C P
D. AJ54 2D P 2H P
C. J 3H P 3S P
West East 4D P 5D P
S. K92 6H All Pass Opening lead: H7
S. AQ85
H. 976 It may be hard to believe but these two hands were
H. 543 bid by experts. North was Eric Kokish, and Peter
D. 763 Nagy, South. Nagy with all of his major suit bids was
D. Q1092 simply trying to get Kokish to bid notrump with a
C. Q1042 spade stopper. Kokish, on the other hand, thought
C. 75 his partner really had hearts and all of the other bids
South were cuebids heading for a slam. Of such
S. J4 misunderstandings come great stories and even
H. Q108 greater plays. Mike Lawrence, West, never dreamed
D. K8 for a moment that he and his partner, the late Bobby
C. AK9863 Goldman, had two cashing spade tricks so he led a
trump. Now it was up to Nagy to dazzle with his
footwork. He won the trump lead in his hand, cashed
1
the CAK and ruffed a club high in dummy, Goldman shedding the S8, a card that made Lawrence only
slightly nauseous. Nagy returned to his hand via the DK and ruffed another club high leaving the
dummy with the bare HJ. He overtook that HJ with the HQ and cashed the H10 drawing all of the
remaining trump turning this into a notrump hand. He now cashed his two high clubs. The was the
position as he was playing his last club:
North Notice that Goldman had already discarded his SA, to

S. 107 avoid being thrown in with a spade and forced to lead
H. - a diamond into dummy's AJ. Now for the drama.
D. AJ Perhaps you had better take out your pencils and start
C. - circling the cards. On the last club Lawrence discarded
West East a diamond, a low spade was pitched from dummy and
S. K2 Goldman discarded the QUEEN of spades. Nagy,
S. Q5 reading the position, crossed to the DA, stripping Mike
H. - of his last diamond, and led the S10 from
H. - dummy. Lawrence could do no better than win the
D. 76 king and return the deuce to Nagy's waiting jack, his
D. Q10 12th trick. In spite of the fact that the hand could have
C. - been beaten by original spade lead or even in the end
C. - game if Goldman had discarded the S5 rather than the
South SQ, it was still the worst bid and best played hand of
S. J4 the tournament.
H. -
D. 8 #15 Kantar on Kontract
C. 8
Dlr: North
Vul: E-W
IMPs
North North East South West

S. Q63 1NT Pass 4H (1) Pass
H. K64 Pass Pass
D. AQ10
C. KQ62 (1) BT (Before Transfers)
West East Opening lead: D2

S. 1082
S. KJ84 On most hands if a defender makes one good play it
H. A9 will be enough to defeat the contract. Sometimes,
H.32 however, a defender can make two or three good
D. KJ92 plays and it still may not be enough if he slips up on
D. 87653 his last chance!
C. A987
C. 105 Consider West's plight in today's hand. He does not
have a happy hand to lead from and his actual
South choice of a diamond worked out well when declarer
S. A95 went up with the ace.
H. QJ10875
D. 4 A heart was led to the queen and ace and West
C. J43 exited safely with a heart. He figured declarer must
have a singleton diamond to go up with the ace and
there was no point in attacking a black suit.
Declarer won the heart return in the closed hand and led a low club. West knew that South must club
length as he was marked with a singleton diamond and played low, East signaling with the 10 to show
a doubleton as dummy's queen took the trick. A diamond was ruffed in the closed hand and declarer
led another low club. West ducked again, another good play. If West grabs his ace, declarer can
arrange to discard a spade on a winning club. Declarer ruffed dummy's last diamond and exited with
the CJ taken by West who felt it was safe to exit the C9 which South ruffed. It was now getting down to
the nitty-gritty, the spade suit.
South decided that East must have the SK as West had turned up with everything else. South led a
low spade from his hand and West finally collapsed. He played the deuce. Declarer played low from
dummy, East was forced to win the trick and lead away from the SK (or give declarer a ruff sluff) and
the contract was made.
You would think that after all of the good things that West had done up to that point he would have
been alert enough to stick in the eight of spades to prevent South from ducking the trick into East, but,
sorry, no happy endings here.
2
The obvious move to make when partner leads a singleton and you have the ace is to take the trick
and return the suit for partner to ruff. The trouble is that sometimes the obvious move is not the right
move.
Dlr: West
Vul Neither
North
S. 954 West North East South
H. 7542 3C Pass Pass 4S
D. J98 Pass Pass Pass
C. AQ6
Opening lead: D2
West East
S. 32 S. East won the DA and South correctly played the
A6 queen. Think about it. If South plays the 10, East
H. QJ8 H. knows that West can't be leading from the KQ2. If
10963 South plays the K, East knows that West cannot be
D. 2 D. leading the 2 from QJ2. But when South plays the
A76543 queen at least there is a chance that West might
C. KJ109854 C. be leading the 2 from the K102. If declarer wants to
7 mislead third hand as to what the opening lead is
South from, he must play a card that will make another
S. KQJ1087 holding believable.
H. AK In any case East returned a diamond and West
D. KQ10 ruffed. West exited a heart to declarer who played
C. 32 the SK. East won the ace and returned another
diamond, but poor West did not have any more
trump. After declarer drew trump he took the
marked club finesse and chalked up his game.
Did you see where East went astray? Holding the ace of trump East can always give West a diamond
ruff. Furthermore, South must have at least six spades for the leap to 4S so two ruffs are for dreamers
only. What East has to do is shift to his singleton club at trick two. Dummy wins and a spade is
played; East jumps up the ace, gives West a diamond ruff and ruffs the club return. Down one.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Holding the ace of trump plus a side suit singleton facing a partner who has led a singleton in a suit in
which you have the ace (how much good news can a person stand?), win the opening lead and shift to
your own singleton. When you get in with the trump ace, now you can give partner a ruff, but this time
you get one in return.

Any defender who doesn't count declarer's tricks usually gets what he or she deserves, declarer
racking up unmakeable contracts.
Dlr: N Vul; Both
North
S. Q2 North East South West
H. 85 1C 1S Dbl (1) Pass
D. AQ8 3C Pass 3NT All Pass
C. AKQJ82
West East (1) Negative. Opening lead: S7
S. 76 S.
AJ1098 Dummy played low at trick one and East was at
H. K1074 H. the crossroads. He could easily set up his spades
AJ3 by playing the eight, driving out the king and using
D. 75432 D. his established spades when he got in with the
109 HA. However that is specious reasoning.
C. 63 C. East should "see" that he is not about to get with
975 the ace of hearts for a long, long, time. Declarer
South has six sure club tricks, at least two diamond tricks
S. K543 and the SK for nine. If this hand is to be beaten, it
H. Q962 must be beaten in the heart suit, NOW!
D. KJ6 East's proper play at trick one is the SA and his
C. 104 proper play at trick two is the HJ. East has to hope
for four heart tricks so he must unblock for
3
partner's assumed greater length. When attacking a suit with two non-touching honors, and leading
through declarer, attack with lower honor. Against this defense, declarer is helpless. If declarer ducks
the HJ, East plays the ace and a heart allowing the defense to collect four heart tricks. If South covers
with the queen, West grabs the queen, returns a low heart to East's ace and East's heart return allows
West to take the last two heart tricks once again putting an official end to this hand. Bravo East.

Most players know that when they lead from AK doubleton against a suit contract that they reverse
their normal lead procedure. For example, if you and partner lead the K from AKx(x), you should lead
the A and then the K to show a doubleton. However, if you lead A from AKx(x), you should lead the K
and then A to show the doubleton. Furthermore, once third hand becomes aware of the doubleton, she
gives suit preference under the second honor. This second card tells the opening leader what to lead at
trick to three to get that beloved ruff.
But how do the defenders play when the opening lead is made in a suit in which third hand has AK
doubleton?
Dlr: South Vul: Both
North
S. KJ
H. J1092 South West North East
D. QJ53 1H Pass 2H Pass
C. 764 4H All Pass
West East
S. Q92 Opening lead: Ten of clubs
S. Q8753
H. 3 Once a club is led, East and West go into their "AK
H. 875 doubleton" act. East wins the first club with the A and
D. 9764 then plays the K. When third hand plays two
D. 1082 touching honors out of the normal order (lower first),
C. 109832 third hand shows a doubleton. Once West knows
C. AK of the doubleton, West gives East suit preference on
South the second club. In this case, West plays the C9 to
S. 1064 show East an entry in the higher ranking side suit,
H. AKQ64 spades. Had West the A or K of diamonds, West
D. AK would play her lowest club at trick two to ask for a
C. QJ5 diamond switch. In the diagram hand East shifts to a
spade. West wins the ace and leads a club for East
to ruff. Down one. Piece of cake.
To review: If WEST has the AK doubleton of clubs and EAST the 109832 West leads clubs out of the
normal order to show the doubleton and East, after discouraging a club continuation at trick one, gives
suit preference at trick two.
By the way, if West leads a known singleton at trick one, East should try to give suit preference
assuming the opponent win the trick. The opening leader often has a trump entry and surely wants to
know which suit to lead to secure a ruff.
There I was in a local deli minding my own business when in walks my friend Bernie Bernheim who
plunks down this napkin in front of me and tells me he played in a local tournament the day before and
to look at this hand he played in 4S, doubled, of course.
Dlr: North Vul: Both
North (Anne) The bidding is going to be hard to digest, but this

S. Q92 is the way Bernie swears it came up. His
H. 3 partner and wife, Anne, opened 1D and East
D. AKJ85 overcalled 2H, whatever that was supposed to
C. AQ54 mean. Bernie didn't think he was strong enough
West East to bid 3C so he compromised with 2S, naturally.
S. KJ4 S.
A765 West now bid 2NT which they announced was
H. J1042 H. asking for a singleton. Anne raised cautiously to
KQ98765 3S (she had seen Bernie in action before), and
D. 10764 D. 2 East decided to show his larger singleton and bid
C. 109 C. 3 4C. Bernie passed discreetly and West corrected
South (Bernie) to 4H which was passed around to Bernie.
S. 1083 Bernie naturally bid 4S. After all, what else could
H. A he possibly do? This was passed around to East
D. Q93 who doubled. End of auction. West decided to
C. KJ8762
4
lead a club which Bernie won in his hand in order to lead a low spade. West jumped up with the king
and led a second club which East ruffed. East exited with a heart to Bernie's ace and Bernie led a
second spade to the nine and East's ace. East returned a heart. Bernie ruffed in his hand, entered
dummy with a diamond, played the queen of spades drawing the outstanding trumps and took the
balance with minor suit winners.
Bridge is such an easy game.
When a player makes a grand slam on a trump squeeze in exactly 10 seconds one might wonder who
that player was. Giorgio Belladonna, who else?
North This is a hand from an exhibition match in

S. A75 Australia, Belladonna was representing the Lancia
H. AK64 team along with teammates Benito Garozzo, Pietro
D. K Forquet and Omar Sharif.
C. QJ863
West East No bidding was reported but Belladonna playing
S. J96432 S. with Forquet arrived in 7C and West led a
K8 diamond. Belladonna crossed to his hand with a
H. J95 H. trump at trick two, played the ace of diamonds
Q1072 discarding a spade, and ruffed a diamond. Then
D. 985 came the procession: Belladonna began to run off
D.QJ10432 all of this trumps arriving at this position with two
C. 9 C. trumps yet to be played:
4
South (Belladonna)
S. Q10
H. 83 North
D. A76 S. A7
C. AK10752 H. AK64
D. -
C. -
West East
S. J96 S.
K8
H. J95 H.
Q1072
D. - D.
-
C. - C.
-
South
S. Q10
H. 83
D. -
C. 107
On the penultimate trump dummy shed a spade and East was squeezed. If East discards a spade, a
spade is led to the ace dropping the king and Belladonna's queen becomes the 13th trick. If East
discards a heart, Belladonna plays the ace-king and ruffs a heart setting up dummy's 4th heart for the
13th trick. No too shabby for 10 seconds.
The good book tells you to have extra values when you raise partner's forced response to a takeout
double. You should have 16-17 HCP with four card support, minimum. Now look at what happened to
Dick Katz playing with Larry Cohen the year he won the Vanderbilt Cup against our team in the finals.
Dlr: West Vul: N-S
5
North (Katz) West North East South
S. A743 1D Dbl. Pass 2C
H. AQ85 2D 3C Dbl. All
D. 73 Pass
C. AQJ Opening lead: DQ (We lead the Q from
West (moi) East (Billy Eisenberg) AKQ)
S. K82 S. J1096 Katz decided to give his partner one little
H. 6 H. KJ743 boost to 3C. He had the necessary
D. AKQ864 D. 5 points, but he didn't have that precious
C. 542 C. K103 4th trump and it cost him big time. Billy
South (Cohen) Eisenberg, who was waiting in the
S. Q5 bushes, decided he had heard enough
H. 1092 and doubled to end the bidding.
D. J1092 I switched to heart at trick two and Larry
C. 9876 tried the queen which lost to the king.
Billy shifted to the SJ and when I
covered Larry's queen, Larry ducked.
Next came the ace and king of diamonds. Dummy ruffed with the jack, Billy overuffed with the king, led
a heart for me to ruff, and when I played a 4th diamond there was no way to prevent Billy from making
his ten of clubs or for me to get another heart ruff. . When the smoke cleared, Cohen was down 4 for a
loss of 1100 points. They must have done some other good things, or we must have done some other
awful things, because the Rosenkranz team (Dr. Rosenkranz, Roger Bates, John Mohan and Katz-
Cohen) went on to win the match and the Vanderbilt Cup that year.
Here's a hand that left me with a lasting memory.
Dlr: South Vul: N-S
North South West North East

S. A Pass 4S 5D Dbl.
H. K9 5H Pass Pass Dbl.
D. A109876 All Pass
C. AQ32
West (Cansino) East (me) Opening lead: SK
S. KQJ98765
S. 104 This is a hand from the Life Master's Pairs in
H. 2 Denver. My partner was Jonathan Cansino, one of
H. Q765 the best British players ever. The room was
D. J4 extremely noisy and South's 5H bid was barely
D. KQ3 audible (do you blame him?). In fact, Jonathan
C. 85 C thought he had bid 5NT, so Jonathan was defending
KJ76 5NT doubled while I was defending 5H doubled.
South At tricks two and three dummy played the ace and a
S. 32 diamond. We can defeat the contract if I unblock
H. AJ10843 one of my diamond honors and allow Jonathan to
D. 52 win the second trick with the jack to lead a club.
C. 1094 Alas, I didn't do that and was on lead at trick three.
After long thought I decided to force dummy to ruff
and led a spade.
At this point Jonathan, defending five notrump doubled, sat up in his chair and mumbled something
like: "What took you so bloody long"? as he prepared to run off his seven winning spades.
Dummy ruffed with the H9 and played the HK simultaneously with my partner's next spade. Declarer
thought he had run into a 5-0 heart break and Jonathan thought that the HK was a curious discard
from dummy.
Declarer now tried to get back to his hand with a diamond ruff as Cansino was still busy "cashing"
spades. These plays were happening so close together that I couldn't tell what was going on.
Finally, when declarer played the HA and Jonathan played yet another spade, it became apparent that
there was trouble-for us. The director was called over, the revoke rule enforced, and declarer wound
up making 5H doubled with an overtrick. Poor Jonathan. He thought he had seven good spades to
run and it all it came to was several revokes and one huge bottom.
Ozzie Jacoby was reminiscing in Stockholm when someone asked him about the best hand he had
ever seen. He said it was held by a man from St. Louis named John Simon who was playing rubber
bridge against Ozzie at the time. Simon was sitting West and this was the deal:
Dlr: North Vul: Neither
6
North
S. QJ732 North East South West
H. 65 Pass Pass 1S 2H (1)
D. - 4S Pass Pass 5H (1)
C. KQJ1098 5S Pass Pass 6H
West East Pass Pass Dbl. Rdbl. (2)
S. - Pass Pass 6S (3) 7H
S. 10854 Pass Pass 7S (3) Dbl (4)
H. AKQJ832 All Pass
H. 97
D. AKQJ65 (1) Sneaky, & (1) very sneaky
D. 10974 (2) Greedy
C. - (3) A believer
C. 743 (4) Angry
South Opening lead: DA
S. AK96 Who would ever forget a hand like this? Jacoby
H. 104 knew that West had 13 red cards from the bidding so
D. 832 he ruffed the opening lead with an honor in the
C. A652 dummy and led a small spade to his six which held.
(This happens to be a true story, by the way). A
second diamond was also ruffed high in dummy and
a now a spade was led to the nine; Ozzie ruffed his last diamond with dummy's last trump, entered his
hand with the CA, drew East's last two trump discarding hearts from the table, and took the rest of the
tricks with dummy's clubs! Ozzie's sacrifice had turned into a grand slam making-doubled! And to think
that John Simon could have played the hand in 6H doubled, making seven had he not redoubled.
# 6 Kantar on Kontract
Of all the dicta of defensive play, "taking charge when you know what the right defense is", surely must
be near the head of the list.
Dlr: West Vul: E-W
North
S. A985 West North East South
H. 4 1H Pass 4H 5C
D. KJ103 Dbl. All Pass
C. 9863
West East East and West bid aggressively to 4H and South had
S. K1042 to decide whether or not to stick his head on the
S. J73 block at the five level. He took a chance and
H. KQ1075 caught a dummy that was very upsetting to the
H. AJ862 defenders, but not upsetting enough for East to take
D. 42 his eye off the ball.
D. 9875 With those threatening diamonds in dummy, East
C. KQ made good use of the only time he would ever be on
C. 7 lead. East overtook partner's HK at trick one and
South shifted to a low spade. South played low (if East
S. Q6 had the SK, he would not have overtaken the HK at
H. 93 trick one) and the ten drove out the ace.
D. AQ6 South still had one more chance. He cashed the
C. AJ10542 CA and played on diamonds. If West, the defender
with the high club, had three or more diamonds,
declarer would be able to dump his losing spade on
the fourth diamond and lose but one heart and one club. Alas, it wasn't to be. West ruffed the third
diamond and cashed the SK to defeat the contract one trick.
Notice that if East fails to overtake the opening lead at trick one, declarer never does lose a spade trick
and winds up making his doubled contract.
What does this hand teach us? It teaches us that when there is a threatening side suit in the dummy
an attacking defense is usually called for. Furthermore, it may be necessary to attack the key suit
(spades in this case) from one side of the table only. Good defenders are aware of these possible
card combinations and play accordingly.
Do you play the unusual notrump? I'm talking about a jump to 2NT over an opening bid of 1H or 1S
to your right that shows 5-5 or 6-5 in the minors typically with less than opening bid values.
One of the advantages of showing two suits with one bid is that it allows your partner to decide
whether or not to take a sacrifice in a minor against an enemy game contract in a major.
7
Are there any disadvantages? Of course. If one hand has 5-5 in the minors and the partner has 5-5 in
the majors, don't ask. Also, if they play the hand, the declarer has been presented with a road map to
the distribution.
With all that mind, would you or would you not try a 2NT overcall after a 1S opening to your right with
neither side vulnerable playing matchpoints holding this hand: S. 5 H. 93 D. K10876 C. AQ743? Now
read on and see whether you did the right thing.
Dlr: South Vul: Neither

North
S. 8742
H. AQ742 At most tables South opened 1S. At those tables
D. 93 where West meekly passed, North often times raised
C. K2 to 4S shutting East-West out of the the bidding.
West East North-South have an easy 10 trick game in spades
S. 5 losing one diamond, one club, and one hearts.
S. Q6 At the tables where West bravely overcalled 2NT,
H. 93 East now aware of the double fit in the minors
H. K8 competed to 5D over 4S. The best North-South could
D. K10875 do now was double for a one trick set. However,
D. AQ542 some North-South pairs "took the push" and wound
C. AQ743 in five spades down one.
C. 10965 Strangely enough at some tables where North-South
South competed to 5S, East at times took a six level
S. AKJ1093 sacrifice, got doubled and went down two tricks.
H. J1065 Even this was a better score than allowing North-
D. J South to play four spades.
C. J8 What does this hand teach us? It teaches us that it
is usually right to get in the bidding at a low level
when you have the safety factor of a two-suited hand.
To be a winning tournament player you have to know how to get the most out of your cards. In other
words, when you play a normal contract, you frequently try for overtricks even at the risk of losing your
contract. Of course, the risk is assumed to be reasonable and not crazy. Nevertheless, this strategy
can prove embarrassing at times.
Dlr: South Vul: Both

North
S. 643 South West North East
H. K9 1S Pass 2S Pass
D. J9765 4S All Pass
C. A64
West East Opening lead: Q of diamonds (Q from AKQ)
S. Q982
S. 7 At the time of the tragedy many years ago I was
H. 5 sitting South playing in the regular monthly prize
H. J8432 tournament at the plush Savoy Club in Los Angeles.
D. AKQ
D. 10832 During the bidding I decided to conceal my heart suit
C. Q10832 hoping that a concealed suit might come in handy
C. 1075 during the play. This strategy sometimes works and
South sometimes backfires. For example, my partner
S. AKJ105 could have had four or five hearts and only three
H. AQ1076 spades in which case hearts would be a better trump
D. 4 suit. In addition, I might have missed a slam by not
C. K9 investigating. On to the play.
West shifted to a club a trick two which I won in my
hand and begin to think of the best play for five or
six. I cashed the SA just in case the singleton queen was lurking in the West hand, entered dummy
with a club, and led a second spade, East discarding a diamond. So much for making six. Suddenly I
had to worry about making four! If hearts were 4-2, I needed to ruff a heart in dummy or go down. I
led a heart to the king and a heart to the ace only to see a black card on my ace of hearts.
West had ruffed! He cashed the SQ and exited with a high diamond forcing me to ruff. Don't look
now, but I still had two more heart losers and wound up down two. This tournament bridge is a great
game.
It isn't often that declarer has so much information at this disposal that he can locate a stray jack, but
8
this declarer did.
Dlr: East Vul: Neither
North East South West North

S. 6432 1NT (1) 2S Pass 4S
H. Q72 Pass Pass Pass
D. K109
C. AK10 (1) 16-18
West East Opening lead: H10
S. 8
S. KJ When dummy played low at trick one, East overtook
H. 10986 with the jack, and continued with the king and ace of
H. AKJ5 hearts, South ruffing with the nine. With a strong
D. A65 trump holding experienced players routinely save
D. J432 their lower trump as later trump entries to dummy
C. 87642 may come in handy.
C. QJ9
South South crossed to dummy with a club and took the
S. AQ10975 winning spade finesse. When he cashed the SA,
H. 43 West discarded a club. South now had to figure out
D. Q87 how to play diamonds for one loser.
C. 53 South had high card information in both majors, but
looking for even more honor card information he
crossed to dummy with a club and ruffed a club high.
He got his information. When East showed up with three points in clubs along with 12 points in the
majors, East was known to have 15 HCP in those three suits. To justify his 1NT opening bid he could
not have the DA, but did need the DJ to get up to 16. Accordingly, South led a low diamond to the king
and ran the ten into West losing one diamond trick.
Curiously, if East-West were playing the more modern notrump range of 15-17, South would still know
that West had the DA, but would not know who had the DJ as East had already turned up with 15 HCP.
It could only happen in one of my classes.

Dlr: North Vul: Neither
North North East South West

S. QJ106 1NT Pass 4H All Pass
H. J72 Opening lead: SK
D. AQJ10
C. AQ In the old days, we didn't play transfers and we led
West East the king from ace-king. Many now lead the ace
S. AK93 from ace-king including me. However, the ace from
S. 873 AK is a trick ONE convention only. After trick one,
H. 3 the king is led from the ace-king. The reason is that
H. AK on opening lead one seldom swings an unsupported
D. 852 ace, but later in the hand it is quite common-and you
D. 9642 do not want your partner thinking you have the ace
C. 87642 and the king. Enough preaching.
C. J1053 I had previously told the class that when partner
South leads the king, third hand normally high-lows with a
S. 54 doubleton or signals encouragement with an equal
H. Q1098654 honor, the queen or the ace. I also mentioned that
D. K7 when third hand has QJ(x)(x), the normal play is the
C. K9 queen which promises the jack (or a singleton).
This signal allows the opening leader to underlead
the ace if deemed necessary. In addition, I told them
that they should only signal high-low with Qx if the jack was in the dummy. This hand was supposed to
be the exception which proves the rule. East was supposed to make a false come-on signal with the
seven or eight to encourage partner to lay down the ace. The idea was that East could see no tricks
coming from the minors and if West could be coaxed into playing a second spade and South followed,
the hand would be set. (If South had a singleton spade, there would be no hope.) In addition, the play
of a low spade would surely encourage West to shift to a club, the shorter side suit. I knew that nobody
in my class would dream of doing this, so imagine my disbelief when one lady actually played the
seven of spades at trick one leading to down one. I had to ask, "How come you played the seven of
spades?" "Oh, I was just covering the six, I thought the lead was coming from dummy. " I should
have known.
9
Sometimes the most innocent looking of hands can lead to a myriad of possibilities.
Dlr: East Vul: Both
North East South West North

S. AQJ754 1C 4H All Pass
H. -
D. Q94 Opening lead: C5
C. QJ64
West East The bidding was short and sweet. Many would open
S. 10832 the East hand with one diamond, but there is a better
S. K96 story to tell with a club lead. East won the opening
H. 10862 lead and returned the suit to West's king. West,
H. K7 certain that South had a spade void shifted to the
D. 83 D8. (Once East turns up with four clubs and cannot
D. K1076 have more than two hearts, he must have three
C. K95 spades.) This was then covered by the nine, ten,
C. A732 and jack. The question is: How can South get to
South dummy to discard his two likely diamond losers on
S. dummy's black suit winners? When you can't get
H. AQJ9543 there yourself, you must rely on your neighbors.
D. AJ52 South reasoned that he could not make the hand if
C. 108 hearts were 3-3. If he were to play the AQ of hearts,
East could win and exit a heart sticking South back
in his hand with those $#@% diamond losers.
Therefore, South decided to play East for Kx of hearts and played the ace and a little heart. East on
lead with the king had no winning options. No matter what he led, South would be able to get to
dummy to pitch his diamond losers on black cards. Game to South. West was unhappy. What would
have happened, he wondered aloud, if East had unblocked the HK under the ace? Then he, West,
could win the 4th heart and exit a diamond allowing the defenders to take two more diamond tricks.
"Not so fast", said South." If East unblocks the HK, I will cash my DA before throwing you in with the
fourth round of hearts, and you will have to put me in dummy with a black card and I will be able to
get rid of both of my diamond losers. "Not so fast", said West, " If you play like that, I will unblock all of
my high hearts and let you win 7 heart tricks, but in the end you will have to lead diamonds from your
hand and you will still lose two diamond tricks." "Touche", said South.
by Eddie Kantar
In the mid sixties a book came out entitled "Bridge Writer's Choice". In this book each member of the
IBPA (International Bridge Press Assn) contributed their favorite hand.
This one is entitled "A Wonderful Sequence" and was written by Leon Sapire of South Africa.
The hand comes from a tournament in Cape Town and is a hand that brought gasps from the
kibitzers. North was Sam Kagan, South Bennie Saltzstein, both veteran players.
Dlr: South
Vul: North-South
North (Sam)
S. A5
H-
D. 109875
C. A109854
West East
S. K1043 S. J9876
H. J10653 H. 42
D. 4 D. J62
C. KQJ C. 632
South (Benny)
S. Q2
H. AKQ987
D. AKQ3
C. 7
South West North East
1D (1) Pass 1H (2) Pass
3C (3) Pass 4C (4) Pass
4H (5) Pass 6C (6) Pass
6H (7) Dbl. 7D (8) Pass
Pass (9) All Pass
(1) I had better prepare a reverse to show a strong hand.
(2) Surely we will play in 6 or 7 diamonds and I don't want them sacrificing in hearts.
(3) Wonderful-partner has hearts so I must stop the opponents from finding a club sacrifice. (Great
10
minds think alike).
(4) Might as well set the trump suit; I like clubs a little more than diamonds.
(5) Time to show my true colors.
(6) Enough monkeying around.
(7) Partner must have gone mad!
(8) Partner must have gone mad!
(9) I've had it with this sequence and this partner!
The opening lead was the CK. Bennie won the ace, crossed to a trump, ruffed a low heart and then
played two more diamonds, West shedding spades. The AKQ of hearts followed, dummy discarding
clubs, and a heart ruffed with dummy's last trump setting up Bennie's long heart. A club was ruffed in
the closed hand with South's last trump and Bennie was down to a good heart and the Q2 of spades.
Dummy had the S A5 and the C10. And West, what about West?
Don't look now, but West has the K10 of spades and the Q of clubs and when South plays his winning
heart, West has to discard a spade, dummy throws a club and South takes the last two spade tricks.
What can one say other than it was a beautifully bid grand.

It's not every partner who will trust you enough to table an eight card side suit headed by 100
honors! If you have one of these partners, you had better know how to handle the play of a sticky 4-4
trump fit.
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. KJ85
H. 2
D. AQJ107654
C. ---
West East
S. 6 S. 10432
H. KQ10843 H. AJ7
D. 98 D. K3
C. AJ32 C. KQ76
South
S. AQ97
H. 965
D. 2
C. 109854
North East South West
1D Dbl. 1S 4H
4S Pass Pass 5H
5S Dbl. All Pass
Opening lead: HK
After everyone had digested this unbelievable dummy, West continued with a second heart. It is
almost always best defense to force the hand with the long side suit to trump. The heart continuation
was ruffed in dummy and South contd with the AQ of diamonds trumping South's king as the suit split
a friendly 2-2.
At this point both North and South each have three trump and East has four. Trouble! An
inexperienced player might get excited and play the Ace and spade to dummy's Jack. The
11
inexperienced player will take exactly two more tricks. Assuming a diamond is led from dummy, East
trumps and the most South can take is each of trump separately. Down an ignominious four.
A more experienced player will cross to the SJ and play a high diamond intending to discard if East
doesn't ruff. Say East ruffs. South overtrumps with the Ace and leads the queen of spades to
dummy's king sitting up East 10 of spades.
No matter. Dummy still has the S. 8 and when winning diamonds are continued, the most East can
score is that S10. Making five.
South's line of play even works when West has a second spade. West trumps the third round of
diamonds and plays a club forcing dummy to ruff. Dummy now has the blank SK, South the AQ and
East the 104. Diamonds are continued. When East trumps South overtrumps with the ace, enters
dummy with the SK and takes the balance.
It helps to have experience playing hands like this, to say the least.

by Eddie Kantar
Preemptive bids are two-edged swords. They take away two or three levels of bidding space from the
opponents and often drive them to hopeless contracts. On the other hand, they more or less blueprint
the play for declarer.
Dlr: East
Vul: Neither
North
S. AQ93
H. KQ92
D. J75
C. 43
West East
S. 42 S. 105
H. AJ10765 H. 8
D. - D. AQ10984
C. QJ985 C. K1062
South
S. KJ876
H. 43
D. K632
C. A7
East South West North
3D (1) Pass Pass Dbl.
Pass 4S All Pass
(1) Six card three level preempts are the rage these days. Live with it.
Opening lead: CQ
West feared bidding 3H, forcing, in response to partner's preempt. It's usually a losing proposition to
mess with a preempt with shortness in partner's suit unless you have a mountain.
South took stock. It didn't take much to work out that West was void in diamonds and that East had
the CK from the lead. It was also pretty clear that if East had those honors, West must have the HA.
Not a bad start.
South won the opening lead, drew two rounds of trump ending in the closed hand and led a heart to
the king, West ducking, and exited a club. Who should win this trick?
12
If EAST wins, he does best to exit with the DQ to declarer's king. A second heart goes to West's ace
who gets out with the HJ to dummy's queen, South shedding a diamond. Dummy plays the H9,
declarer making the key play of discarding a second diamond, as West wins the ten. At this point West
must lead a club or a heart, both losing plays. No matter which suit West chooses, dummy ruffs and
declarer discards his last diamond. Declarer winds up losing two hearts, one club but no diamonds!
If WEST wins the club exit, the best he can do is cash the HA and exit with the HJ to dummy's queen,
South shedding a diamond. Now a diamond is led towards the king which East does best to duck. (If
East wins, he either has to lead away from the DQ or give South a ruff-sluff). After winning the DK,
South crosses to dummy with a trump, and discards a diamond on the H9. West can do no better than
win and get out with a club or a heart allowing dummy to ruff as declarer gets rid of his last diamond.
Once again East doesn't take a trick with the DA! Ole.

by Eddie Kantar
When push comes to shove, just how much do you trust your partner. More specifically, when he
makes a takeout double of one major does he promise support for the other?
Here's a bidding problem I faced with Paul Soloway in a K.O match at the National Championships in
Boston
Both sides vul. sitting South I held: S. QJ9543 H. A654 D. 4 C. J3
The bidding went like this:
West North East South
1H Dbl. Pass 4S
5C 5D Pass ?
Decide what you would do before reading on.
North
S. AK86
H. 73
D. AKQJ32
C. 7
West East
S. 10 S. 72
H. KQ1098 H. J2
D. 5 D. 109876
C. AKQ865 C. 10942
South
S. QJ9543
H. A654
D. 4
C. J3
Did Paul have a powerful one-suited hand or did he have spade support and was cuebidding
diamonds, or did he have spades and diamonds?
Fortunately I remembered that Paul was a great believer in having support for the unbid major(s) when
he made a takeout double so I decided to bid 5H en route to five spades. As it turned out, this was
just what the Dr. ordered and Paul leaped to 6S which was a laydown.
Don't ask me why West opened 1H instead of 1C (though it worked out well as the bidding came up)
and please don't ask me whether this hand would have seen the light of day if Paul didn't have such
great spade support.
13
Tip for the day: A takeout double of one major usually promises four card support for the other major;
possibly three. However, having fewer than three requires the strongest hand this side of Timbuktu.

What do good players think about when they see the dummy aside from wanting to murder their
partner? Well, if it's a lousy contract (partner has misbid.... again) they project a fortuitous lie of the
cards and they play for it. See if you can do that on this 6NT contract with the lead of the D2.
North
S. AK764
H. 943
D. AK4
C. K3
South
S. J52
H. AJ10
D. Q10
C. QJ1092
Contract: 6NT Opening lead: D2 Plan your optimistic play.
SOLUTION
You can't make this hand unless the SQ is doubleton. Even if is, the suit is blocked and you play
three rounds so you have to be able to get to dummy with a diamond.
Translation: You must play spades before clubs. If you drive out the CA and the defenders are clever
enough to return a diamond, you won't be able to use all of your spades even if the queen is
doubleton. But if you play the AK of spades and then a spade to the jack and then attack clubs while
you have the HA entry to the clubs and a diamond entry to the spades.
And what if the SQ isn't doubleton? Have you ever gone down before?
The West hand: S. Q9 H. K62 D. J982 C. 8654
The East hand: S. 1083 H. Q875 D. 7653 C. A7
14
The following hand might just be the best played hand of all time. It was supposedly played by a 17 yr.
old from Indonesia, Oscar Irawan. After you read how he played it, you may understand why I am a
bit skeptical.
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. 643
H. -
D. 1098542
C. 10963
West East
S. - S. Q1087
H. KQJ1076432 H. A985
D. QJ D. 763
C. KQ C. 84
South
S. AKJ952
H. -
D. AK
C. AJ752
Pass Pass 2S 4H
4S Pass 5C Pass
5S Pass 6S Dbl.
All Pass
Opening lead: HK
You might want to try to make this contract looking at all four hands. Here's how Oscar played it
looking at only two.
He ruffed the opening lead in dummy with the six and undertrumped with the five! At trick two he led
a spade to the nine. Not a bad start. Next he cashed the AK of diamonds felling West's QJ and
exited with ace and a club to West.
West only had hearts left and when he led one, declarer ruffed in dummy with the four (dummy's last
trump) and Oscar underurffed with the deuce in his hand. That was Oscar's second underuff. There
are many people who have played their whole life never having underuffed once!
15
With the lead in dummy, Oscar played high diamonds discarding clubs until East ruffed. Whenever
East rufffs, South overruffs, draws trump and has the balance. If East refuses to ruff, Oscar takes the
last three tricks with the AKJ of spades hovering over East's Q108.
So, do you believe it?

by Eddie Kantar
Do you pay attention to the vulnerability? Do you listen to, and make inferences from, the bidding? Do
you watch closely to see what spot card is led? Do you know and use the rule of eleven? Am I driving
you crazy with all of these questions?
Well, let's see if you can put it all together in the way of a play problem that I lifted from an old Goren
book. (It does my heart good to lift an occasional hand from someone else after all the hands that
have been lifted from me).
Dlr: West
Vul: Both
North (dummy)
S. 5
H. 62
D. KJ10654
C. AK95
South (you)
S. Q1085
H. AKJ5
D. Q9
C. Q73
2S (1) 3D Pass 3NT
All Pass
(1) Weak
Opening lead: S7 East plays the SJ. Plan the play.
Solution
The rule of 11 (subtracting the card led from 11 (11-7=4) tells you how many cards above the 7 there
are in the three REMAINING hands. You can see three in your own hand and when East plays the J
you have accounted for all four.
If East's only spade above the 7 is the J, then West must have led from a six card suit (weak two bids,
particularly vulnerable weak two bids, show six card suits) headed by the AK97xx. If so East has Jx.
It helps to visualize their holdings; helps a ton.
Given the layout of the spades, another inference is available: East must have the DA. If West had it,
he would have opened the bidding 1S. If East has the DA and you win the first spade, East will return
a spade upon winning the DA; five spade tricks later you will be left mulling over your sad down two
fate.
16
However, if you duck the SJ, and cover the spade return with the ten (or queen), the defenders can
take no more than three spades and one diamond. Check it out.
The West hand: S. AK9762 H. 983 D. 32 C. 64
The East hand: S. J3 H. Q1074 D. A87 C. J1082
Tip: Third hand can also use "the rule". In this case third hand has Jx and sees the lead of the 7. He
subtracts 7 from 11 and comes up with the same "4" answer that the declarer did . Among the three
remaining hands (North, East and South) there are four cards higher than 7 the roaming around. East
has one, dummy doesn't have any, so South must have 3. Sometimes the rule helps the declarer
more, as it does here, sometimes the other way around.

by Eddie Kantar
Everyone is familiar with using Stayman (2C) over a 1NT opening or 3C over a 2NT opening to locate
a 4-4 major suit fit. But what about locating a 4-4 minor suit fit? More often than not a 4-4 fit plays
one trick or two tricks better than notrump.
Dealer South
Vul: Neither
North
S. K54
H. 32
D. AQJ6
C. AQ54
West East
S. 107 S. QJ98
H. QJ10985 H. 64
D. 8 D. 10932
C. J986 C. 1072
South
S. A632
H. AK7
D. K732
C. K3
1NT Pass 2S (1) Pass
3D Pass 6D All Pass
(1) Minor Suit Stayman
Opening lead: HQ
North-South were playing transfer responses to show the majors; 2D was a transfer to hearts and 2H a
transfer to spades. This method frees up the 2S response to show something else. Many use it as
Minor Suit Stayman. Opener rebids 2NT without a minor and bids a minor with four or five card
length.
In this case a 4-4 diamond fit was uncovered and North wisely opted to play the 4-4. Notice that North-
South have 33 HCP between the two hands but there are only 11 tricks. In diamonds, if played
carefully, a ruff in one hand or the other produces a 12th trick.
South won the opening lead and cashed the AQ of diamonds. Had diamonds divided 3-2, South
would draw the last trump and ruff a heart in dummy or a club in his hand for the 12th trick.
17
When East showed up with four diamonds, it was too dangerous (and silly) to try to ruff a heart in
dummy. It must be safer to ruff a club in the closed hand. South cashed the king-ace of clubs and
ruffed a low club with a low trump. The DK was cashed, dummy entered with a spade and the last
trump drawn. Declarer had garnered 12 tricks via: Five diamond tricks including the club ruff (one
more diamond trick than could be taken at no trump), three clubs, two spades and two hearts.
When slam is in the air, it pays to know how to uncover a 4-4 minor suit as well as a 4-4 major suit fit.
Minor suits shouldn't be treated like orphans. With a 4-4 fit, 31 HCP between the two hands is usually
enough- unless the trump suit has two losers, the opponents have two aces or a cashing AK in the
same suit. Any of these will derail your train before it leaves the station.

by Eddie Kantar
Ever heard of the bridge song: "Where or where is my 9th trick coming from"? This is the hand that
inspired it.
Dlr: North
Vul: East-West
North
S. A83
H. AK74
D. KQ1083
C. 10
West East
S. 76 S. J1094
H. Q832 H. J6
D. 2 D. J9765
C. AJ9873 C. Q4
South
S. KQ52
H. 1095
D. A4
C. K652
1D Pass 1S Pass
2H Pass 3NT All Pass
Opening lead: D2!
North never did get a chance to support spades. He trusted his partner had good clubs for the 3NT
rebid.
West, Ken Barbour, originally from Great Britain, but living at the time in Boston (now in Scottsdale
AZ), was reluctant to lead from either of his long suits (the club lead immediately gives declarer a ninth
trick), opting instead to make the unusual lead of a singleton through first bid suit.
South tried the eight from dummy but this was greeted with the nine from Alan Truscott, editor of the
New York Times bridge column, and the ace. Things looked pretty good so declarer led a second
diamond towards dummy. Oops, Barbour discarded the C9. Goodbye diamond suit. Declarer
won the king and tested the spades ending in the closed hand. Goodbye 4th spade. East had that suit
under control as well.
18
Things were getting a little sticky. South knew that West remained with only clubs and hearts and he
suspected the CA with West, so he cashed the DQ, discarding a club, and continued with the ace-king
and a heart. Ken was able to take two heart tricks but had to lead away from his CA to give declarer
his ninth trick.
Had Barbour led a club on the go, as most of us would, ceding the 9th trick early, this would just have
been another 3NT hand. Great lead, but you need a sympathetic partner when you lead a singleton
in dummy's first bid suit at notrump and it doesn't work!

by Eddie Kantar
Most bridge players cannot conceive of exacting a big penalty from doubling a one level contract.
The truth is that some of the biggest sets come from doubling low level contracts.
Dlr: South
Vul: Both
North
S. 54
H. 10865
D. 532
C. A762
West East
S. 8 S. QJ1097
H. AJ74 H. K3
D. A1098 D. K764
C. K1095 C. Q3
South
S. AK632
H. Q92
D. QJ
C. J84
1S Dbl. All Pass
Opening lead: S7
Most players would open the South hand, but it isn't a hand to write home about. Hands with stray
jacks and queens have trouble with a capital "T" written all over them. This one was no exception.
Yes, East could have responded 2NT to the double which West or might not have raised. After all the
jump shows 10-12 HCP and West with a 12 count might have passed. Wouldn't you? Now let's see
what happens to South in the "lowly" contract of 1S doubled.
When the partner of a takeout doubler passes a one level takeout double, he announces to the world
that he thinks his trump suit is stronger than declarer's. In addition, he wants a trump lead to start
drawing declarer's trump!
East overtook the opening lead and South won the king. Desperate to make one of his low trump,
South exited with the DQ which sailed around to East's king. East continued with the SQ, driving out
South's ace. Still desperate, South played the DJ to West's ace.
If at this point, if West had been sufficently inspired to lead a low heart, East would win the king, draw
declarer's trump and declarer would have wound up with three tricks and an 1100 set!
19
But West wasn't up to that play and led a third diamond instead. (When both sides play the same
suit, one of them is crazy). South ruffed and got out for "only" 800.
Remember big sets can turn up at low levels if one defensive hand is strong (the doubler) and the
other has length and strength in the last bid suit (the responder to the double). Also, if you are the
doubler and your partner passes a low level double, put a trump on the track even if you have a void!
Just do it!

by Eddie Kantar
Of all the hands the great Giorgio Belladonna has ever played, the one coming up is perhaps the most
famous.
Dlr: East
Vul: North-South
North
S. 7652
H. K62
D. J63
C. KQ3
West East
S. KJ94 S. 83
H. QJ54 H. 108
D. 104 D. 52
C. 1052 C. AJ98764
South
S. AQ10
H. A973
D. AKQ987
C. -
4C 5C Pass 5NT
Pass 6D All Pass
Opening lead: C10
Bidding usually gets a big fuzzy after a four level preempt. Belladonna had such a good hand he
feared doubling lest partner pass and some slam would be missed. As a result he made a
questionable cuebid. North's 5NT was supposed to show club strength and Belladonna had no
trouble bidding 6D. Now all he had to do was make it. Notice that both spade honors are offside and
hearts don't break.
West , correctly thinking there was club strengh in the dummy led the C10 instead of the more
conventional low from three in partner's suit. Belladonna covered with the queen and ruffed East's ace.
He continued with three rounds of diamond ending dummy, both defenders pitching clubs, cashed the
CK discarding the S10 and ruffed a club, West pitching spade.
This was the seven card ending when Belladonna elected to play his last trump!
North
S. 7652
H. K62
20
+ D. -
C. -
West East
S. KJ9 S. 83
H. QJ54 H. 108
D. - D. -
C. - C. J98
South
S. AQ
H. A973
D. 9
C. -
On the D9, West discarded a heart. If he discards a spade, Belladonna plays the AQ of spades and
sets up two spade winners in dummy. However, the heart discarded didn't help either. Belladonna
continued with the king-ace and a heart throwing West in, setting up his long heart, and forcing a
spade return into his AQ all in one fell swoop.
Somehow Belladonna had wormed two extra tricks out of this ending. Bravo Giorgio.

by Eddie Kantar
There are almost as many versions of the "Gambling 3NT Opening Bid" as there are players who use
the bid. There's "strong gambling" where the bidder has a solid minor along with two other suits
stopped. There's "weak gambling" where the bidder has a solid minor with no outside stoppers, and
finally there's "in between gambling" where the bidder has a solid minor with a stopper with one
outside stopper.
In the 1969 World Championships held in Rio De Janeiro, the Chinese Precision team scored a
spectacular success using the bid against the perennial World Champion Italians.
Dlr: East
Vul: North-South
North
S. A107543
H. KQ
D. A9862
C. -
West East
S. KJ9862 S. -
H. 87 H. AJ2
D. KJ75 D. 103
C. 4 C. AKQJ10872
South
S. Q
H. 1096543
D. Q4
C. 9653
3NT (1) Pass Pass Dbl. (2)
Pass 4H Dbl. All Pass
(1) There it is, in all it's glory!
(2) Thinks he might be getting talked out of something.
Opening lead: C4
After Walter Avarelli's double in the North chair, Giorgio Belladonna, South, ran to 4H which Patrick
Huang, West, took a piece of. What followed wasn't pretty.
The opening lead was ruffed in dummy and declarer wanting to get back to his to ruff another club,
played the SA intending to trump a spade, etc. Never happened.
East ruffed the SA, cashed the HA, three more clubs and played a fifth club. Belladonna ruffed high
and exited with a heart to the jack. East did not err. He shifted to a diamond and Huang eventually
21
made a diamond trick. Had East played yet another club, Belladonna would ruff and play off all of his
heart eventually squeezing West between spades and diamonds.
After the smoke cleared, Belladonna was down 4 for a loss of 1100 points. It wasn't enough. Italy won
anyway.

by Eddie Kantar
The finals of the Westwood Knockout Team of Four Championship was decided by the grand slam
hand you are about to see (and play). One declarer made the contract, the other, didn't. Let's see
how you would have fared.
North (dummy)
S. 2
H. 32
D. AQ5
C. KQJ9752
South (you)
S. AKQ
H. AQ104
D. J2
C. A863
After opening 1C, you find yourself in a grand slam in clubs. West makes the passive lead of a low
trump and East discards a low diamond. The ball is now in your court.
Solution
North
S. 2
H. 32
D. AQ5
C. KQJ9752
West East
S. J9743 S. 10865
H. K86 H. J975
D. 1087 D. K9643
C. 104 C. -
South
S. AKQ
H. AQ104
D. J2
C. A863
The winning (and correct) line was found by Valley expert Steve Cohen. He showed us why two
chances are better than one. Instead of putting all of his eggs in one finesse basket, this is what he
did:
He started by cashing two high trump from dummy followed by the AK of spades discarding a HEART
from the table. He then played the ace of hearts and trumped a heart hoping the king might drop.
22
No luck yet. He returned his hand via the C8 and trumped another heart. This time the king did
appear making his queen high for his 13th trick.
Steve returned to his hand via the CA and discarded the queen and a little diamond on his two major
suit queens. The other declarer took the diamond finesse believing East's discard of a small diamond
at trick one.
#64 Kantar on Kontrac

by Eddie Kantar
What's the longest suit you have ever had and still let partner play the hand? How does AKQJ7532
grab you?
Dlr: South
Vul: North-South
North
S. 7
H. Q4
D. 102
C. AKQJ7532
West East
S. K985 S. J63
H. J10987 H. K652
D. 5 D. KJ98
C. 1094 C. 86
South
S. AQ1042
H. A3
D. AQ7643
C. -
1D 1H ! 2C 2H
2S Pass 4C Pass
4D Pass 5C Pass
5D All Pass
Opening lead: HJ
The bidding requires a "bit" of a comment. I was North playing in a tournament with a relatively
weak player who happened to be the sponsor of the professional team I was on.
West was angry over a previous result and would have overcalled with an even weaker hand.
As the bidding unfolded, I was trying to figure out how I could play this hand in clubs without taping my
partner's mouth. After the 5D bid, (partner should have bid 4S over 4C to show me a 5-6 pattern) I
feared we were off two heart tricks and passed 5D. Besides, I didn't think my partner would let me
play 6C (which makes). I could just feel it not to mention the looks I was getting each time I bid clubs.
But on to the play. The jack of hearts was covered by the queen, king and ace. At this point my
partner started to shake his head in disbelief as he looked at those clubs. I purposely spread them
out an extra bit so they would reach all across the table because I was upset that I wasn't the declarer.
My partner counted and recounted my clubs as West began to smolder. He finally played the ace of
spades and ruffed a spade and cashed one club discarding a heart. He then recounted the clubs and
finally played a second high club discarding a spade. Once again he paused to recount the clubs!
West couldn't take it any longer and screamed: " You had eight clubs in the dummy originally, you have
played them twice, I have one left and my partner doesn't have any."
23
At this point there are many variations in the play and defense. If my partner plays a third club and
East ruffs, my partner can overruff and play the SQ, smothering the jack and make the hand.
However, if East discards the SJ instead of ruffing, the hand cannot be made.
Suffice it to say that my partner went down one even though East did not discard a spade on the third
club. The crowning blow came as we were leaving the table and I heard my partner mutter: "Eight
solid clubs and he leaves me to play the hand in diamonds."

by Eddie Kantar
Good bidding sees you agreeing a trump suit before plunging into Blackwood and even better bidding
sees you using Key Card Blackwood after a suit has been agreed.
Good defense sees you counting EVERY hand. Enough said.
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. AK4
H. KJ92
D. AK
C. 8632
West East
S. QJ1085 S. 962
H. 85 H. 73
D. Q10852 D. J974
C. J C. K1097
South
S. 73
H. AQ1064
D. 73
C. AQ43
1H Pass 3C (1) Pass
4C Pass 4NT (2) Pass
5S (3) Pass 5NT (4) Pass
6H (5) All Pass
(1) Forcing heart raise by agreement. Some play 2NT, others who don't play limit raises, jump to 3H
and there is also the possibility of inventing a jump shift and then taking partner back to hearts to
agree the suit. This should be a last resort measure.
P.S If you invent a jump shift, it usually works out better to make one in a lower ranking suit than the
fitting suit (diamonds instead of spades) in case partner can't take a joke and keeps raising you.
Here, however, it works out better to bid 2S. Partner bids 3C and you can agree hearts with a 3H
rebid.
Playing Key Card Blackwood a response of 5S shows two of the five keycards (the HK is counted as a
keycard) plus the queen. 5NT asks for SPECIFIC kings and 6H denies a king. (If South had the CK,
the response would be 6C).
Opening lead: SQ
From declarer's point of view, when there are losers in only one suit (clubs) and the hand can be
stripped, clubs should be the last suit attacked. Declarer drew trump, played the ace-king and ruffed
a spade and then played the ace-king of diamonds setting the stage, and finally led a low club from
dummy.
Take a good look at that club suit. A really good look. If East plays low on the club play from
dummy, South can afford to play low as well intending to take the finesse later. Look at what
24
happens. West wins the jack, has to give South a ruff and a sluff with a diamond or a spade play.
South ruffs in dummy, discarding a club and then takes the club finesse to bag the slam.
Not so fast. Enter East "the counter". East had counted the South hand and knew his partner had a
singleton club. If it was a small singleton and declarer had AQJx, there was no hope, but if the
singleton was the jack or the queen, West could see what would happen if he played low. South
would duck, partner would win and be endplayed. Instead, he played the king of clubs! After this
diabolical defense, there was no way for South to avoid losing two club tricks.

by Eddie Kantar
When partner leads the ace from ace-king and finds you with a doubleton, you normally high-low so
you can ruff the third round of the suit. But you don't ALWAYS high-low!
Dlr: North
Vul: Neither
North
S. 53
H. AK98
D. Q1073
C. A94
West East
S. 4 S. J1098
H. J752 H. Q103
D. AK94 D. 82
C. 7652 C. K1083
South
S. AKQ762
H. 64
D. J65
C. QJ
1H (1) Pass 1S Pass
1NT Pass 4S All Pass
(1) Some people play four card majors)
Opening lead: DA (Ace from Ace-King)
The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, surely the most comprehensive compendium of bridge lore ever
published, is loaded with interesting historic and instructive deals. This deal comes under the
heading of the high-low signal.
West led the DA against South's 4S contract and West, as he was taught, played the eight, high-low to
show a doubleton. West continued with the king and led a third diamond which East ruffed. That
was the end of the defense. Declarer had no trouble taking the rest drawing trump and disposing of a
club on dummy's winning diamond.
A more experienced East would have played the D2 at trick one for several reasons: (1) he would be
trumping the third diamond with a natural trump trick; (2) if partner shifts to a club before releasing a
second high diamond, East can see four defensive tricks in his future: two diamonds, one club and one
spade.
The bottom line: Third hand usually high-lows with a doubleton when partner is known to have led from
an AK combination, UNLESS trumping will cost him a trump trick and/or he wants something else led
even more than a continuation. In other words, third hand has to make a quarter turn with his neck to
the right to look at the dummy before making a signal, any signal. Amen.
25
by Eddie Kantar
Bridge books tell you that in order to raise a preemptive opening bid to game you need AT least
opening bid values. Don't believe everything you read! There is such a thing as putting up a smoke
screen, particularly at favorable vulnerability. Of course you need a little trump support along with bits
and pieces; it also helps obscure the issue for fourth hand if second hand passes.
Dlr: East
Vul: North-South
North
S. AQ108
H. 8
D. 1075
C. AK1084
West East
S. 86 S. 42
H. Q63 H. AJ109752
D. A962 D. KJ8
C. J653 C. 2
South
S. KJ953
H. K4
D. Q43
C. Q74
3H Pass 4H (1) Dbl.
Pass 4S All Pass
(1) Smoke screen in action.
Opening lead: H3
Well, West tried but North wasn't in the mood for jokes. He caught his partner with a nice hand so
his gamble worked.... sort of.
East won the opening lead and could see at a glance diamonds was the suit to attack. But which
diamond to lead? When the 10 is to your right and you are lucky enough to have been dealt the KJ9
or the KJ8, attack with the jack. If partner has the ace and declarer the queen, good things can
happen.
In this case declarer covers with queen and West wins the ace. West aware of the possibility of this
type of "surrounding" play, should continue with the nine and hope you have the eight. You do!
Declarer is sunk. Three diamond losers later, declarer is forced to chalk up down one. Nice
defense.
Incidentally, this type of surrounding play works equally if you have the AJ9(x) or the AJ8x, you need
three tricks and the ten is to your right.
26
by Eddie Kantar
Nothing is more exasperating than letting the opponents make an unmakeable slam because of the
opening lead. Or haven't you been up that road before?
The following hand from the Vanderbilt Cup resulted in a big swing when the West player made the
wrong opening lead against 6S. Let's see if you can do better. This is your hand:
S. 107 H. 95 D. 6 C. AQJ98643
Neither side is vulnerable and this was the bidding:
South West (you) North East
1S 4C 4S Pass
5H Pass 6S All Pass
Before looking below, decide upon your opening lead.
North
S. KJ5
H. Q7
D. AK873
C. K105
West (the goat) East
S. 107 S. Q97
H. 95 H. 8432
D. 6 D. 109542
C. AQJ98643 C. 2
South
S. A8642
H. AKJ106
D. QJ
C. 7
Did you lead your ace? If you did, good show. You just beat the slam. The West player (name
withheld to protect myself) actually led his singleton diamond. (I still can't believe I did that-I must
have talked myself into believing one of them was void in clubs) and now declarer had no trouble.
He grabbed the DQ at trick one, cashed the ace-king of spades and discarded his losing club on one of
dummy's diamond winners. I am still holding on to my ace of clubs by the way.
27
by Eddie Kantar
Pedro-Paulo (known as P.P) Assumpcao, Brazilian World Team Olympiad Champion has come out
with several tips on the play of the hand. These tips have been entered in the Bols Bridge Tip
Competition. The title of this one is "Timing"
Dlr: South
Vul: North-South
North
S. 1065
H. K64
D. 842
C. K982
West East
S. Q94 S. J7
H. J108 H. A9732
D. QJ53 D. 106
C. Q104 C. J653
South
S. AK832
H. Q5
D. AK97
C. A7
1S Pass 1NT Pass
3D Pass 3S Pass
4S All Pass
Opening lead: HJ
Let P.P describe the play. " You win the opening lead with the queen, East signaling with the seven.
You hope for a 3-2 trump break, but you may still need to look after your 4th diamond. The plan,
therefore, must be to draw two rounds of trump, give up a diamond and ruff a diamond if they break 4-
2.
The question is: What is the best timing? If you start with two top trumps and then give up a diamond,
West will cash the SQ upon winning a diamond trick. No good.
Suppose you begin with three rounds of diamonds. Still no good. West plays a 4th diamond and
East overtrumps dummy.
The answer is to start by DUCKING A DIAMOND. The you can cash the AK of spades followed by
the AK of diamonds and a diamond ruff if necessary. And what if somebody trumps one of your high
diamonds? No problem. Somebody is trumping with the master trump (the high trump) and there
will still be a trump in dummy to care for declarer's fourth diamond.
I'd like to get my two cents worth in here. In this case dummy has low trump. If dummy has a high
trump that can be used to trump a 4th card in a side suit, the best timing is to cash the ace-king of the
side suit, give up a trick in the suit and then if the side suit breaks 4-2, trump the remaining loser
high. The key to the way declarer attacks the side suit is dependent upon the size of dummy's highest
trump.
28
by Eddie Kantar
Evaluating a responding hand after partner has made a jump rebid (not a jump shift) is not always the
easiest thing in the world to do, particularly when holding a singleton in partner's suit. For example,
how would you evaluate this South hand?
S. 6 H. A94 D. Q64 C. J97643
Both sides vulnerable, partner opens 1S and you respond 1NT; partner rebids 3S. What now?
Dlr: North
Vul. Both
North
S. AQ9875
H. 103
D. AK
C. K102
South
S. 6
H. A94
D. Q64
C. J97643
This South player found a 3NT rebid ("pass" looks right to me") and received the opening lead of the
DJ. What are you going to play at trick two? Decide before reading on.
North
S. AQ9876
H. 103
D. AK
C. K102
West East
S. J1043 S. K2
H. J85 H. KQ762
D. J105 D. 98732
C. A85 C. Q
South
S. 6
H. A94
D. Q64
C. J97643
You are in big trouble. You only have one entry to your hand and it won't be long before the
opponents wake and attack hearts. You have to work with clubs and given the club position, your best
chance is to find someone with a singleton queen and plunk down the CK from dummy. (If someone
has a singleton ace and you lead a low club or the ten, you are still in trouble).
As it happens you strike gold. It is often that the theoretically best play works this well, but it does this
time.
The bottom line here is: When you are desperate, conjure up a holding that will allow you to make the
hand and play for it.
29
by Eddie Kantar
The best partners are the ones who have support for your suits. On this hand South had a wonderful
partner... but he still had to play cards.
Dlr: South
Vul: East-West
North
S. K2
H. AQJ87
D. A65
C. AJ2
South
S. 84
H. K109642
D. 94
C. K107
Say you open 2H, weak, and your partner lifts you gently to 4H. West leads the D2 and as
partner puts down the dummy he asks you if he has adequate trump support. After mentally thanking
your lucky stars that West didn't hold your partner's hand, you assure him he has. In the meantime,
what is your plan?
North
S. K2
H. AQJ87
D. A65
C. AJ3
West East
S. Q953 S. AJ1076
H. 3 H. 5
D. Q1082 D. KJ73
C. Q642 C. 985
South
S. 84
H. K109642
D. 94
C. K107
You don't want to go down with a dummy like that! Say you duck the opening lead, win the diamond
continuation, draw trump and ruff a diamond, stripping that suit. You are off to a good start. Next
move is to lead a spade to the king playing an equally divided suit in order to get a lead in another
equally divided suit, clubs.
After the opponents reel off two spade tricks, someone has to lead a club. End of story.
The bottom line: When you have stripped a hand and remain with two equally divided suits, save the
one that you want them to break first (clubs), and lead the other (spades).
30
by Eddie Kantar
One doesn't win 13 World Championships without being a great, great, player. Benito Garozzo is just
that.
The Precision Team sponsored by the author of the system C.C Wei recently toured the world and
won won 11 of 12 matches against strong opposition. Here is a hand from a match in Johannesburg,
South Africa, Garozzo sitting South.
Dlr: North
Vul: Neither
North
S. -
H. K6543
D. KJ1086
C. K86
West East
S. Q9432 S. AKJ105
H. QJ108 H. 7
D. 9753 D. Q4
C. - C. 109542
South
S. 876
H. A92
D. A2
C. AQJ73
1H 1S 2C 3S
4C Pass 4D 4S
Pass Pass 5H Pass
5S Pass 6C All Pass
Opening lead: S3
West should have leaped to 4S earlier, but the contract might have been the same regardless. In the
other room, the Precision team played in 5S doubled down one for a loss of 100 points.
When dummy tabled the commentators saw the foul breaks in both clubs and hearts not to mention
the missing DQ, and all thought that even the great Garozzo had bitten off more than he could chew.
Hah!
He ruffed the opening lead in dummy and suspecting foul distribution, ran the DJ at trick two. When
that held he crossed to the DA, returned to dummy with the CK ( no noticeable flinch when West
showed out) and began to play high diamonds through East. There was no way out for East.
He and Garozzo each discarded hearts on the third diamond, but East ruffed the 4th diamond with the
C9 which Garozzo overruffed. Garozzo ruffed a spade in dummy and played a fifth diamond. If East
ruffs, he loses his trump trick, Garozzo losing a spade in the end. If East refuses to ruff, Garozzo
discards a spade and plays winning hearts, losing a trump trick in the end. Molto bene, Benito.
31
by Eddie Kantar
When declarer is playing 3NT with eight sure tricks plus a possibly wide open suit, he does best to try
to steal a 9th trick early. The defense, on the other hand, does best to try to count declarer's tricks as
soon as possible to prevent any "stealing"! What follows is an example of a battle of wits.
Dlr: South
Vul: East-West
North
S. AJ4
H. 108543
D. AQ54
C. 2
West East
S. 10872 S. Q65
H. J76 H. AQ92
D. 93 D. 62
C. 10765 C. AJ43
South
S. K93
H. K
D. KJ1087
C. KQ98
1D Pass 1H Pass
2C Pass 3D Pass
3NT All Pass
Opening lead: S2
Declarer played low from dummy and gobbled up East's queen. From declarer's point of view there
are eight quick tricks and a 9th can be developed in clubs, but there is that "hole" in hearts.
In order to conceal his trick count, declarer crossed to dummy with a spade, not a diamond (fearing
the opponents would give each other count) and innocently led a club from dummy. If East plays low,
South has stolen a 9th trick. Even if East plays the ace, he has to be clever enough to switch to the
ACE and a heart. Can East be that clever?
Yes! Look at the hand from the East perspective. The bidding has presumably marked South with 9
minor suit cards. (Few bid this way with 4-4 in the minors). The opening lead has marked South with
three spades, ergo a SINGLETON heart. Counting tricks, East can count declarer for five diamonds
and three spades so he knows that declarer is going for his ninth trick when a club is led from dummy.
In other words, South is out there stealing!
If East thinks this clearly, he will rise with the CA and play the ace and a heart collecting four heart
tricks and a club leaving South shaking his head.
32
Bridge is a strange, strange, game. With four minds plotting different strategies, anything can happen.
The following is a hand from the Blue Ribbon Pairs at the Fall Nationals in Coronado. Dorothy Hayden
(now Dorothy Hayden Truscott) was playing with B.J Becker. Becker was South.
Dlr: South
Vul: Both
North
S. 3
H. K10752
D. AQJ865
C. Q
West East
S. AQJ76 S. K982
H. 9 H. 864
D. 1072 D. -
C. 8654 C. J109732
South
S. 1054
H. AQJ3
D. K943
C. AK
1NT Pass 2D Pass
2H Pass 4NT Pass
5H Pass 6H Dbl.
6NT All Pass
I think the bidding requires a "little" explanation. I bet nobody can figure out what 2D meant. It was
natural! Becker and Hayden were the only pair in the tournament (the country, the planet, the world?)
not playing Stayman or Transfers. When Becker bid 2H, also natural, Dorothy dragged out old trusty
Blackwood and set the hand in a comfortable 6H contract.
Comfortable until East doubled. The double of a voluntarily bid slam contract, called a "Lightner
Double", asks for an unusual lead, normally dummy's first bid suit. Becker realizing that East must be
void in diamonds and that 6H had no chance, ran to 6NT!
Now the spotlight was on West. Had he decided to lead a spade, the contract would have gone down
four! But no, West led a diamond, the suit East wanted against a heart contract, not against notrump
contract! Anyway Becker wrapped up the first 13 tricks for the coldest top this side of Antarctica.
As an aside, I played in this event with Bob Hamman who had a bad cold and was running a fever at
the time. Becker and Hayden arrived at our table and on the first hand Bob wound up in 4S after I
had raised his spades. Becker made his opening lead, and as I was putting down the dummy,
Hamman suddenly threw up! Not a second later Becker said: "It wasn't that bad of a dummy, Bob."
33
by Eddie Kantar
Duplicate (tournament) bridge is for thieves. The most successful players are the best thieves. They
have made a career of stealing tricks from unsuspecting opponents. Here's an example of a little
thievery.
Dlr: West
Vul: Both
North
S. A97
H. 1086
D. K86
C. AK103
West East
S. Q5 S. K108432
H. K4 H. 32
D. A75432 D. 109
C. Q54 C. 987
South
S. J6
H. AQJ975
D. QJ
C. J62
1D Dbl. 1S 4H
All Pass
Opening lead: SQ
North's double might not be everyone's cup of tea (no four card support for either major), but the
Italians have been getting away with doubles like this for years with great results. South didn't waste
time getting to game even though his diamond strength might have been entirely wasted. As it turned
out, it wasn't.
Declarer won the opening lead in dummy and knowing that West must have the HK to justify his
opening bid, played the HA hoping to drop the king. No luck. At trick three heart was conceded to
West's king. West exited a spade to partner's king and declarer ruffed the spade return.
At this point declarer can ensure his contract by conceding a diamond and discarding a club on the
DK. However, declarer was looking for bigger game. He wanted all the rest of the tricks.
He knew West needed the CQ to justify even a light opening bid, (could count 26 HCP between his
hand and dummy and East had already turned up with the SK) so he hatched a plan.
He led the DJ. West, on automatic pilot, played low and that was the end of the defense not to mention
the DA. After winning the jack, declarer led a club to the ten, eventually discarding a diamond on
dummy's fourth club.
As declarer, whenever you want second hand to duck a trick in which you have the QJ(x) in your hand
facing the king in the dummy, lead the jack. It works like a charm-guaranteed.
34
by Eddie Kantar
Do you fancy yourself a good detective. Let's see. You will be shown how a 3NT hand was played
(actually misplayed) and it will be up to you to spot the error(s). If you don't spot it, I hate to say it, but
you might have played it the same way!
Dlr: North
Vul: Neither
North
S. A
H. K75
D. A43
C. KQ8642
West East
S. 109752 S. K43
H. J3 H. A1062
D. J876 D. 1092
C. 107 C. AJ9
South
S. QJ86
H. Q984
D. KQ2
C. 53
1C Pass 1H Pass
3C Pass 3NT All Pass
Opening lead: S10
Declarer won the opening lead in dummy (nice play), crossed to a diamond honor and led a club to the
king which held. Declarer returned to his hand via a second diamond honor and led a second club to
the queen and ace.
East exited a diamond to dummy's now blank ace and declarer persisted by leading a third club to
East's jack, setting up the suit, as he discarded a heart from his hand. East exited with the king and
a spade. South cashed his two spade winners reducing to the the Q98 of hearts; dummy had a good
club and the H Kx. No good. When a low heart was led to the king. East won the ace and
returned a heart to declarer's queen. East's H10 took the last trick capturing South's heart nine.
O.K you have the facts. What is your verdict?
THE ERROR
Declarer strayed when he led a club to the king. This allowed East to duck and shut out the club suit
when the HK did not prove to be a dummy entry; South took only ONE club trick.
The proper play is a LOW club from dummy at trick two. No this is not a misprint. Leading a low club
saves a dummy entry. The best the defense can do is win and shift to a diamond. Declarer wins in
the closed hand and leads a second club to the king and ace. The rest is easy because the clubs are
established and the DA is the entry to get to them.
If you missed this, at least you should take something away with you- the play of the club suit. When
you can afford to lose two tricks in the suit and you only have one sure outside dummy entry, play low
from both hands the first time around.
35
Terrence Reese, the British writer-player par excellece once said "Blind Leads are for Deaf Players."
Test your hearing on this problem. Sitting West with neither side vulnerable you hold:
S. Q843 H. J D. K7 C. Q98752
This is the North-South bidding you hear:
South West (you) North East

1H Pass 4H Pass
4S Pass 5C Pass
5H All Pass
What do you lead?
North
S. 6
H. 98765
D. J1064
C. AKJ
West East
S. Q843 S. J1092
H. J H. 32
D. K7 D. A832
C. Q98752 C. 1043
South
S. AK75
H. AKQ104
D. Q95
C. 6
Did you find the lead of the DK? You should. The opponents, cuebidding their heads off, have NOT
cue bid diamonds and have stopped short of slam. The conclusion is that neither North nor South
has first or second round diamond control.
If you bravely put that DK on the table, you can continue a diamond at trick two and ruff the diamond
return at trick three to defeat the contract. It pays to listen to the bidding. When the opponents
cuebid every suit but one and then stop short of slam, lead the unbid suit ! Just do it!
36
When partner makes an "unlucky" lead, (what else is new?), you may have to turn somersaults to get
back to even.
Dlr: North
Vul: Neither
North
S. A3
H. KQ6
D. K72
C. KJ973
West East
S. J92 S. Q54
H. J8543 H. A92
D. 1083 D. AQJ5
C. 82 C. A104
South
S. K10876
H. 107
D. 964
C. Q65
1NT Dbl. Pass 2H
Pass Pass 2S All Pass
Opening lead: C8
South didn't bid 2S directly over the double because he didn't mind playing 1NT doubled. However,
when West ran to 2H and North passed, 2S looked right.
Had West led the D10, this hand would have been over in seconds. The defenders would have
collected three quick diamonds, two aces and a trump trick before South could rev up his engines.
Down one.
However, with the club lead there were big problems-how to get those diamond tricks before they
evaporated on clubs?
East won the opening lead and returned the suit hoping against hope that West had led a singleton
club. No luck there. South won the club return with the queen and tried to draw trump as quickly as
possible. He led a spade to the ace and East came up with a brilliancy. He unblocked the SQ!
East reasoned that South could not have six spades (would have bid them one round earlier) and if he
had S. KJxxx, there was no hope. However, if declarer had the K10xxx of spades and partner Jxx,
South could not prevent West from getting in if he unblocked. East actually needed three miracles for
this play to work:
#1 West must have the SJ
#2 West must have the D10
#3 West must lead the D10 upon getting in with the SJ.
All three miracles existed and West came through. Down one. Wow!
37
by Eddie Kantar
What's the best hand you've ever held in your life? Does this one come close?
S. A H. AKJ10 D. AKQJ10985 C.
O.K Let's say you actually were dealt this hand with neither side vulnerable. Your left hand opponent
opens 5C which is passed around to you. What would you do?
Of course you could bid a safe 6D, but this is a once in a lifetime hand, so let's say you bid 7D. After
all, partner might have the HQ; it might drop, they might lead one, partner might have the D7 which
gives you a dummy entry, etc. etc, etc. You do it! You shake up the whole table by calmly bidding
7D. Everyone passes and the CK is led. This is your dummy:
North
S. KQ54
H. 543
D. 432
C. A87
South
S. A
H. AKJ10
D. AKQJ10985
C. -
Well, partner doesn't have the HQ and they didn't lead one. Furthermore, partner doesn't have the D7,
but he does have some interest goodies over there. How do you play this hand?
SOLUTION
This is a trick hand. Have you seen it before? What you must do is win the CA and discard the SA!
Now you can play the KQ of spades and discard the J10 of hearts. If everything lives, draw trump and
call up all of your friends up and tell them about your bid and your play.
The West hand: S. - H. Q876 D. - C. KQJ1096543
The East hand: S. J10987632 H. 92 D. 76 C. 2
Discarding an ace on an ace is not an every day play. However, in this case it liberates the KQ of
spades and saves a trick.
38
by Eddie Kantar
Do you attack your longest and strongest suit at notrump to drive out the opposing honor(s)? Of
course you do- most of the time. But most of the time is not all of the time. And the reason for not
doing ,it might be because you don't have "time". The following is a "timing" example submitted by
Pedro Paulo Assumpcao of Brazil as an entry to the Bols bridge prize competition.
Dlr: West
Vul: East-West
North
S. A74
H. 754
D. K6
C. AJ1065
West East
S. Q3 S. J10952
H. QJ1086 H. 932
D. AJ4 D. 1072
C. K73 C. Q4
South
S. K86
H. AK
D. Q9853
C. 982
1H 2C Pass 3NT
All Pass
Opening lead: HQ
You start with four tricks in the majors and must develop FIVE tricks in the minors, but you only have
one heart stopper left which means you can only let them in ONCE. Scary.
It looks normal to start on clubs, but can you see what will happen? After you lose a club trick and a
heart comes back, even though you can run the clubs (via a double finesse) you only have eight tricks:
four clubs, two hearts and two spades. Worse, you don't have "time" to set up your ninth trick in
diamonds.
When you finally get around to leading a diamond, West will step up with the ace and cash the setting
tricks in hearts. What you must do is lead a low DIAMOND at trick two. Now let's see what West
does.
If he ducks, you win the king, cross to the SK and run the C9 which loses to the queen. Back comes
a heart which you win and now you run the C8. When that holds, you have four clubs and nine tricks:
four clubs, two hearts, two spades and one diamond.
If West rises with the DA at trick two and clears hearts, you are still alive if diamonds break 3-3 or the
J10 is doubleton. In either case you will only need ONE club trick. The bottom line is that you don't
have time to start clubs; you must start diamonds.
39
by Eddie Kantar
When you play bridge for money you dread picking up a lousy hand because you are pretty sure it's
going to cost you. How would you like picking up this one, both sides vulnerable, no less?
S. 105 H. 8764 D. 10953 C. 873
You sit there waiting to see what catastrophe is going to befall you and it's not long in coming.
Your LHO opens 3S and partner makes a takeout double. RHO passes and it's your turn. If you pass
they will probably make 3S doubled which will cost you 730 points, maybe 930 if they make an
overtrick. On the other hand, if you bid and they double, there is no way of knowing how big a number
you may go for.
You screw up your courage and bid 4H. LHO passes and now you have to sweat out what your RHO
is going to do. Not so fast. Have you forgotten about your partner? You have to get by him as
well. Not this time. Your partner gently lifts you to 6H. Incredibly everyone passes and the SK is
led.
Once you have recovered from the trauma of it all, you still have to play the hand. You can hardly
wait to see what partner is going to put down. Well here it is:
North
S. AJ
H. AK109
D. AKJ
C. AKQJ
West East
S. KQ97432 S. 86
H. 32 H. QJ5
D. 84 D. Q762
C. 104 C. 9652
South
S. 105
H. 8764
D. 10953
C. 873
You can't really blame your partner for bidding again, can you? Be thankful he didn't bid seven!
In any case you win the SA and play the AK of hearts, both following-mercifully. Next you play four
rounds of clubs, discarding your spade and nobody trumps! Merrily you ruff a spade and exit with
your last trump and guess what? East has to win and lead a diamond from the queen and you make
the slam. You actually chalk up a vulnerable slam with your hand! Is bridge a great game, or what?
40
by Eddie Kantar
The Bridge World, the #1 bridge publication in the world for advanced players has a feature entitled
"You be the Judge". They show you two partnership hands where a disaster ensued and you have to
decide whose fault it was. You are supposed to assign a "percentage of blame" (like 60-40) and also
decide which was the worse bid in the sequence.
I was on the panel for the following hand. See if our decisions coincide.
IMP scoring, East-West vulnerable, dealer West

West East
S. - S. 876
H. A1074 H. Q82
D. KQ9865 D. A3
C. K72 C. J10643
1D Pass 1H 1S
2S 3S Pass 4S
5H Dbl. All Pass
You are not told how many 5H doubled went down, but you can bet it looked like a telephone
number. In any case, how do you judge the blame percentage-wise?.... and don't forget to decide
which was the worst bid.
MY THOUGHTS
I decided East was 65% to blame for that 1H response instead a simple 1NT. Why stir up a storm?
All future misery stemmed from that response. However, West was not"clean" by any means. I
assigned West 35% of the blame. West second bid should have been 3S, not 2S. 3S is a splinter
jump showing short spades along with four hearts. 3S gives partner a MUCH better picture of the
hand. 2S is game force with several possible meanings. It is frequently used to ask for a spade
stopper with a solid minor.
Finally, West's 5H bid was beyond the pale. Since 2S was game forcing, West should make a forcing
pass over 5H letting East decide what to do; East would have doubled. Keep in mind when you and
your partner are in a game-forcing auction, either your side plays the hand, or they play it doubled.
Period.
41
by Eddie Kantar
One of the first rules you give a beginner in defensive play is when partner leads a low card and
dummy has small cards to play "third hand high" No rule in bridge is without exception. You just
have to known when to invoke the exception. This hand will set you in the right direction.
Dlr: North
Vul: East-West
North
S. 75
H. AQJ4
D. KJ
C. KQJ63
West East (expert)
S. Q9642 S. AJ3
H. 3 H. K87
D. 97532 D. AQ64
C. 87 C. 942
South
S. K108
H. 109652
D. 108
C. A105
1C Dbl. 1H 1S
4H All Pass
Opening lead: S4
At a different vulnerability West might have considered a 4S sacrifice. Just as well because 4H can
be defeated-with good defense.
Consider the hand from East's point of view. East is looking at three sure tricks in his own hand and
if partner has the SK the hand can be defeated two tricks with two spades, two diamond and a heart.
However if partner has the SQ (the lead of a low card is suggests a high honor), it is going to be
difficult to get partner in before those clubs come showering down, declarer pitching diamonds.
In order to ensure a later entry to partner's hand, and perhaps give up an extra undertrick, East plays
the SJ at trick one. South wins the king and takes a losing heart finesse. Now East leads a low
spade over to that presumed queen and the diamond through defeats the contract one trick. The
defenders collect two diamonds a spade and a heart. Well done, East.
P.S This is a scary hand to use in a column because it is a major league exception. If you try this play
and it doesn't work, don't write, don't call, and don't e:mail. I don't know you.
42
by Eddie Kantar
Are you the kind of a player who pays attention to the lower spot cards, the fours, fives and
sixes? Those cards have feelings you know and like to be appreciated. Fortunately, the West player
in today's deal didn't want to offend a small card.
Dlr: South
Vul: None
North
S. AK104
H. 1032
D. KJ3
C. K64
West East
S. QJ85 S. 32
H. J854 H. KQ976
D. Q98 D. 105
C. 102 C. QJ98
South
S. 976
H. A
D. A7642
C. A753
This deal is a from a World Championship match U.S vs. Italy. When the U.S held the North-South
cards they arrived in 4S after South opened 1D and raised North's 1S response to 2S. Because the
diamond finesse worked and the double spade finesse also worked, declarer made an overtrick.
However, when the Italians played the hand they arrived at an inferior contract, 6D. But with
everything working, it all came down to a four vs. a five!
Arthur Robinson, West led a low heart to the queen and ace. Belladonna, South for Italy, led a low
diamond to the jack and when the finesse worked he drew three rounds of trump ending in his own
hand exiting with the S9.
Robinson covered with the jack which was taken by dummy's king. A heart was ruffed back to the
closed hand and Belladonna continued with a sneaky S6. Not through Arthur. Arthur covered with the
eight and dummy's ten took the trick. Next a club was ducked all around and back came a heart
ruffed with declarer's last trump. When Belladonna continued with the seven of spades, Arthur was
right there with the queen which lost to the ace.
Have you been watching the spade spots? Don't look know, but dummy has the S4 and Arthur the
S5! Because of that triple cover in spades, Belladonna was reduced to needing to find clubs 3-3.
When that didn't happen, down he went losing two club tricks.
If Robinson neglects to cover the 9, 6 or 7 of spades, Belladonna can take four spade tricks and make
the contract.

by Eddie Kantar
43
The year is 1935. The two top players of the time are Ely Culbertson and P. Hal Sims. There is a
power struggle to see who can captivate the public with the best bridge system. Culbertson has more
devotees, but Sims' are more fanatical.
Finally a challenge is issued by Culbertson. He is willing to take on any pair in the world in a 150
rubber marathon for sizable stakes. His partner will be his wife, Josephine.
P. Hal Sims accepts the challenge and announces he will play with his wife, Dorothy. Never has a
bridge match had a more spectacular build-up by the media. Here is one of the more famous hands
from the match:
Dlr: West
Vul: Neither
North (Dorothy)
S. KJ3
H. 7
D. AQ74
C. KQ942
West (Josephine) East (Ely)
S. A54 S. Q1076
H. 8432 H. 105
D. K96 D. J10532
C. A107 C. 63
South (P. Hal)
S. 982
H. AKQJ96
D. 8
C. J85
Pass 1C Pass 1H
Pass 2D Pass 3H
Pass 3NT Pass 4H
All Pass
Opening lead: S4
P. Hal would have been better advised to play 3NT with his running heart suit, but he probably figured
either contract would be cold and he wanted to get his 100 honors on the score sheet.
Josephine got off to the great lead of a low spade and Sims stuck in the jack which lost to the queen,
Ely exiting with a trump. Trumps were drawn and a club was led which Josephine won with the ace.
At this point Mrs. Culbertson made a play which was to make practically every newspaper in the
country; she led another low spade! P. Hal Sims had a reputation for smelling out cards and seldom
went wrong in these situations. Yet he could not believe that Josephine had underled her ace of
spades TWICE on the same hand and played low.
Ely won the ten and returned a spade to Josephine's ace, the setting trick. The Culbertsons went on
to win the match by 16, 130 points and Contract Bridge was here to stay.
As an aside, Sims was once playing in a tournament against two ladies and had to find the DQ to
make the hand. After some thought he announced "Neither one of you have it." And sure enough
it was on the floor under the table!

by Eddie Kantar
It never fails. When someone opens a weak notrump (12-14), the opponents bid their heads off.
They are always afraid they are being stolen from.
44
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. QJ72
H. A3
D. Q985
C. K43
West East
S. 53 S. A108
H. 98765 H. KQJ42
D. - D. A32
C. J107652 C. Q
South
S. K96
H. 10
D. KJ10854
C. A98
1NT* Dbl. Rdbl. 2H
Pass 4H 5D Pass
Pass Dbl. All Pass
* 12-14
Opening lead: H9
With 17 HCP between them East-West can make 5H, but this column deals with South playing the
difficult contract of 5D doubled.
Dummy's ace snatched the opening lead and a diamond was led to the jack, West pitching a club. A
second diamond went to East's ace and the heart return was ruffed. Declarer drew the last trump,
West discarding another club, and a spade was led to the jack and ace, East exiting with the CQ to
declarer's ace.
How to play those spades for a club discard was the problem. Should South play for a 3-3 break, or
should South play East for four spades and lead a low spade to the nine?
South delayed the moment of truth by leading a second club to the ten and king, East shedding a
heart. Counting time.
West was known to have six clubs which meant hearts were 5-5. If West had four hearts and six clubs,
he would have bid clubs first. Furthermore, if East had six hearts, he would have bid 5H. So the
count was clear. West started with six clubs, five hearts and two spades leaving East with four
spades.
South played with the odds that the S10 was with the long spades and led a low spade to the nine.
When it held, he cashed the SK, entered dummy with a diamond and pitched his losing club on
dummy's SJ.
This is yet another example of postponing the play of the key suit (spades) until you can get a count or
at least an inferential count on the other suits.

by Eddie Kantar
Have you ever thought of leading the Q from AKQ combinations at suit contracts? You might wonder
how will partner know it isn't from a QJ combination?
45
I have been using this lead convention for years and third hand knows- most every time-. Why?
Well, there's the bidding and there's the little matter of the jack. If the jack appears in the dummy or
third hand has the jack, guess what partner is leading from?
And what are the advantages of the lead? (1) Third hand is supposed to give count, so the opening
leader knows how many tricks can be cashed; (2) When the queen if led from the AKQ, and the ace is
led from the AK(x) and the queen is not in the dummy third hand knows declarer has the queen-a
major plus. End of commercial.
Dlr: North
Vul: Neither
North
S. J7632
H. J4
D. KJ5
C. A98
West East
S. 5 S. Q4
H. AKQ852 H. 107
D. 83 D. Q10964
C. J742 C. Q1063
South
S. AK1098
H. 963
D. A72
C. K5
Pass Pass 1S 2H
3S Pass 4S All Pass
Opening lead: HQ (West has read this column)
Third hand dutifully played the H10 giving count and West continued with the ace and king of hearts.
The moment of truth had arrived. If South ruffs with the jack nd East overruffs, South is at the mercy
of the diamond finesse. Notwithstanding that this has been a very bad year for finesses, South does
better to discard a diamond on the third heart. In effect, South is exchanging a spade loser for a
diamond loser and saves a trick in the process.
After the diamond is discarded, South has no trouble drawing trump and ruffing a diamond in the
dummy; an example of a loser on loser play.
To remember: When dummy is threatened with an overruff, considering discarding a loser from
dummy instead.

by Eddie Kantar
How would you like to receive condolences on a hand you played, everyone telling you that you
couldn't logically make the hand with that lead only to discover a day later that the hand was cold.
Well it happened to me in a practice match against the Dallas Aces a week ago. Misery. See if you can
do better, you can't do worse. Cover up the East-West hands.
46
Dlr: South
Vul: Neither
North
S. 543
H. A10
D. AQ64
C. 10765
West East
S. KQ9 S. 62
H. K9742 H. QJ8653
D. J3 D. 9875
C. J43 C. 2
South
S. AJ1087
H. -
D. K102
C. AKQ98
1C Pass 1D Pass
2S Pass 3C Pass
3S Pass 4H Pass
5C Pass 6C All Pass
Opening lead: DJ
I happen to believe in opening 1C with really strong hands that have 5-5 in the blacks. (Hands that
have jump shift potential). A 1C opening makes it easier for partner to respond with a marginal hand.
As it happened, we wound up in a great contract- had I made it. How would you play it? West
started with Jxx of trump, East a singleton.
I should have won the opening lead in dummy with the queen, played the HA, discarding a spade, and
trumped a heart stripping that suit. Next I play the AKQ of clubs followed by overtaking the DK with
dummy's ace leaving the D10 as a return entry to my hand.
With West stripped of safe red suit exits, the stage is set to lead a spade to the jack. As it happens
West has the KQx of spades, so the best he can do is win and exit a heart, a ruff and a sluff. I ruff
with my last trump discarding a spade from dummy. It's all over now but the shouting. I play the
ace and ruff a spade setting up my spades and use the D10 to get back to my hand. Did you make
it?

by Eddie Kantar
When partner puts you in a grand slam the first move most of us make when the dummy hits is to
make sure we have all the aces- or at least a void in a suit missing the ace. The next check is the
trump suit. It's easier on the central nervous system when the trump suit is solid in a grand slam.
47
Having said that, how would you like to be playing a grand slam with the singleton king of trump in
dummy facing the AJ9843 in your hand? Well, excluding a major miracle like the Q10 doubleton, is
there any hope?
Dlr: South
Vul: Neither
North
S. AKJ32
H. K
D. AQ4
C. AJ93
West East
S. 975 S. Q108
H. Q2 H. 10765
D. J10983 D. 76
C. 1076 C. Q842
South
S. 64
H. AJ9843
D. K52
C. K5
1H Pass 2S Pass
3H Pass 4C Pass
4H Pass 4NT Pass
5H Pass 5NT Pass
6H Pass 7H All Pass
Opening lead: DJ
The modern trend is NOT to make a strong jump shift with a two- suited hand. Jump shifts are made
with one of three types of hands: (1) A one suited hand; (2) a hand with strong support for partner's
suit; (3) a balanced hand with five card suit and 17-18 HCP that bids notrump next.
The North hand didn't fit any of those categories and should respond 1S. Also, it would have helped
if North-South were playing Key Card Blackwood where the queen of the agreed suit can be shown or
denied in the Blackwood response. North couldn't believe that South didn't own the HQ having rebid
the suit three times. (The third heart rebid was a mistake. South is better advised to bid 4S rather
than mention a broken suit three times facing a jump shift.
The opening lead was won in dummy with the Q and the HK cashed. South reentered his hand with
a club and played the HA, discarding a club from the table. A miracle occurred. West played the
queen. There were still chances.
Declarer continued with the ace-king and a spade ruff followed by the ace of clubs and a club ruff.
Dummy was entered with the DQ and was cashed, and was the four card end position:
North
S. J3
H. -
D. A4
C.
West (out to lunch) East
S. -
H. 107
D. 7
C. Q
South
S.
H. J9
D. K5
C. -
The SJ is played from dummy and East has no answer. If East trumps, South overtrumps, draws the
last trump and takes trick 13 with the DK. If East discards a minor suit, South discards a low
diamond and plays the SJ. East has no answer. So who needs Key card Blackwood? Just kidding.
The trick to executing a trump coup is to reduce to the same trump length as your right hand opponent
and wind up in the dummy leading some suit, any suit, at trick TWELVE.

by Eddie Kantar
Why do some people excel at this game while others, perhaps more intelligent people, struggle so?
This question has been asked many times and one hears many different answers.
48
My feeling is that the game has an internal logic that not everyone embraces and it is not a matter of
intelligence. After a certain length of time, either you "get it" or you don't. On the upcoming deal, West
was one of those player who "got it".
Dlr: South
Vul: East-West
North
S. Q94
H. Q653
D. QJ5
C. 876
West East
S. KJ87 S. 10632
H. J9 H. 42
D. AK94 D. 83
C. KQ5 C. J10932
South
S. A5
H. AK1087
D. 10762
C. A4
1H Dbl. 2H Pass
Pass Dbl. Pass 2S
3H All Pass
Opening lead: DA
West's second double was for takeout showing extras; usually 16 HCP minimum. East properly
responded in his four card major at the two level rather than the five card minor at the three level.
West is supposed to have spades when he makes a takeout double of hearts.
West started smartly with three rounds of diamonds, East ruffing. East exited with the CJ that went
to declarer's ace. Here, right now, is where it is important that West "get it". He must be sharp
enough to foresee what is coming. West knows that South has the D10 and can use it to discard a
club from dummy "evening" out that suit for a possible strip and endplay. West also knows that South
has the ace of spades from the bidding. If East had four spades to the ace along with five clubs, he
would have bid 2S over 2H. So what does it all mean? It means that if West plays a low club under
the ace, declarer will draw trump, discard a club from dummy on the D10, and exit a club, that West
must win. Now West has to lead away from the SK. Death! However, if West has unblocks his CK
under the ace, he can allow East to win the club exit and return a spade. Life! That's the difference.

by Eddie Kantar
It's wonderful to know that all your finesses are going to work, but it's not so wonderful if you don't
have the entries to take them. Let Don Krauss, Los Angeles bridge expert, show you how it's done.
49
Dlr: West
Vul: Both
North
S. AQ
H. A72
D. AQJ8
C. A1062
West East
S. KJ42 S. 10987
H. QJ1093 H. K84
D. K9 D. 762
C. K8 C. Q85
South (Krauss)
S. 653
H. 65
D. 10543
C. J943
1H 2H Pass 3C
Pass 5C All Pass
Opening lead: HQ
This is a hand from a high stake rubber bridge game from long ago. So long ago that a direct cuebid
was used to show a powerful hand. That usage went out with the three-wheeled bicycle. Nowadays the
direct cuebid of a major is generally used to describe a two-suited hand of moderate strength with five
cards in the other major and five or six cards in one of the minors. It goes under the name of
"Michaels" If a Michaels responder wants to know which minor partner has, he bids 2NT.
Back to Krauss in 5C. When he first picked up his hand he was hoping they wouldn't bid a slam.
He never dreamt he would be playing for 11 tricks in clubs.
He ducked the opening lead, won the continuation, ruffed a heart back to his hand and led a low club
to the 10 and queen. East properly returned a club and West's king went to dummy's ace, Krauss
inserting the nine. Don returned to his hand with the jack of clubs and led a low diamond to the
queen. When this held he continued with the ace of diamonds dropping the king. Now he could get
back to his hand with the D10 to take the spade finesse which, of course. worked.
When the smoke cleared Krauss had gotten to his hand three times to take three winning finesses and
make his contract. Bridge is easy game... when you know how to play it.

by Eddie Kantar
When your left hand opponent is reluctant to lead a suit in which both you and dummy are abysmally
weak, chances are that player has the ace and fears you have the king or has the king and fears you
have the AQ. You should play on those fears.
50
Dlr: East
Vul: East-West vulnerable
North
S. QJ109
H. AQ65
D. 975
C. 76
West East
S. AK84 S. 6532
H. 74 H. 102
D. Q103 D. 62
C. A1093 C. KJ842
South
S. 7
H. KJ983
D. AKJ84
C. Q5
Pass 1H Dbl 2NT
Pass 4H All Pass
Opening lead: SA
North's 2NT response after a takeout double is conventional showing a limit raise in hearts with 9-11
support points. The jump to 3H over a takeout double is preemptive showing a weaker hand also with
four card support, minimum.
The declarer was Roger Bates, a top U.S player for many, many, years and his left hand opponent was
Gaylor Kasle, an equally good player.
Kasle shifted to a trump at trick two so Bates knew he didn't have a club suit he relished leading from.
Playing on those fears, Bates, won the heart shift in dummy and led the SQ, discarding a DIAMOND!
Kasle fell for the bait hook line and sinker. He won the spade and shifted to a diamond. Bates won
the jack, drew trump and discarded both of his clubs on the S109, making five. Kasle still has the ace
of clubs.

by Eddie Kantar
It has often been said (and rightly so) that there are many expert dummy players, fewer expert bidders,
and even fewer expert defenders. Why? Because defense takes concentration and a good work
ethic. Defenders frequently have to work out declarer's distribution and count tricks and points
quickly. However, if they listen to the bidding, they will be off to a great head start.
51
Dlr: South
Vul: East-West
North
S. 87
H. Q1083
D. AJ95
C. KQ4
West East
S. Q93 S. K5
H. J942 H. AK5
D. K763 D. Q10842
C. 96 C. 873
South
S. AJ10642
H. 76
D. -
C. AJ1052
1S Pass 2D Pass
2S Pass 2NT Pass
3C Pass 3NT Pass
4C Pass 4S All Pass
Opening lead: H2
East listened closely to the auction and it didn't take much imagination to work out that South had
black cards from one end of his hand to the other. The opening lead, a fourth best heart, placed
declarer with two hearts, so East had to try to figure out some way to get two trump tricks because
there was nothing coming from diamonds or clubs.
East finally saw the light. If his partner had the Q9x of spades, he could do it. East played the king-
ace and a third heart, dummy winning and leading a spade. When East played low, South stuck in
the jack losing to the queen. Now West came through. He returned a 4th heart allowing our hero to
uppercut declarer with the SK. After South overtrumped with the ace he had to concede the setting
trick to West's S9.
So not only do you have to work out the distribution of the closed hand, but you also have to project
winning scenarios by giving partner the least possible "best holding" he can have that will defeat the
contract. That's the trick to being a good defender.

by Eddie Kantar
Something for everyone here: overtakes, ducking plays, frozen suits, the whole enchilada. In other
words, a good lesson hand.
Dlr: South
Vul: Neither
North
S. 732
52
H. 2
D. A87643
C. 965
West East
S. KQJ86 S. A1095
H. 543 H. 1096
D. 9 D. QJ10
C. K742 C. J108
South
S. 4
H. AKQJ87
D. K52
C. AQ3
1H 1S Pass 2S
4H All Pass
Opening lead: SK
West overcame the temptation to lead his singleton diamond. Had he done that, there would have
been no problem for declarer- or no column for me. He wins the king, draws trump and ducks a
diamond. East wins but the most East-West can take is a spade as the club losers go off on
diamonds.
With the spade lead at least there was hope. East, realizing the potential danger of dummy's
diamonds, and knowing South had only one spade, overtook and shifted to the jack of clubs.
South covered, West won and returned a club establishing a second trick for East. South was sunk he
still had to lose one more trick in each minor. Down one. Nice defense by East, but a major
ERROR by South.
When the CJ is led, South can "freeze the suit" by playing the ace. If East has the king, the queen
will take a trick later, but if West has it and East has the ten, the club suit is "FROZEN". What
exactly is a frozen (love that word ) suit? It is a suit that neither side can lead without giving up a
trick.
Say South wins the CA, draws trump, discarding spades from the table, and plays the king and a
diamond. When West shows out, the diamond is ducked into East who must lead a club.
If East leads the 10, South covers, West wins, but dummy's nine is high. If East leads the eight,
South ducks, West wins the king, and South's queen is high. It pays to remember that club position.
When you are the declarer and this comes up, you can always "freeze the suit" by playing the ace.

by Eddie Kantar
Conventionally, a double of a final notrump contract, the doubler's side never having bid, calls for a
lead in dummy's first bid suit. Of course after you get the lead and win the trick, you have to know
what to do next! Cover up the West and South hands and pretend you are East. The hand comes
from the U.S Team Trials in Palo Alto. To put you at ease, you can't do worse than the expert in the
East seat did.
Dlr: North
53
Vul: Neither
North
S. AQ1043
H. K1085
D. Q7
C. K4
West East (you)
S. 82 S. K9765
H. J96 H. 742
D. 9654 D. 103
C. AJ106 C. 853
South
S. J
H. AQ3
D. AKJ82
C. Q972
1S Pass 2D* Pass
2H Pass 2NT Pass
3NT Pass 4NT** Pass
6NT Dbl. All Pass
* Game force
** 17-18 HCP (not forcing and not Blackwood)
Well, you finally got your two cents worth in. Partner obediently leads the S8, low from dummy and
you grab the king, felling declarer's jack. What would you lead now? After you decide take a look at
the hidden hands.
The expert who held the East cards shifted to a heart. End of hand, end of story. Declarer was able
to take 9 tricks in the red suits along with three spades. How should East know to shift to a club
rather than a heart?
East has to reason like this: If declarer has the ace of hearts along with the jack or queen, and my
partner has the ace of clubs, there is a good chance the ace of clubs will go up in flames just as it did.
However, if East has the ace of clubs and partner the ace of hearts, East will need four clubs tricks
( AQJx or AQ109) in order to lose the ace of hearts. If declarer's clubs are just a touch weaker
(AQ10x), the club shift won't cost. East should go with the odds and shift to a club.

by Eddie Kantar
Have you ever fallen victim to an optical illusion? The South player, an expert no less, who played the
following hand, did. See if you can do better. Cover up the East-West hands.
Dlr: South
Vul: Both
North
S. AJ98
H. J5
54
D. AK32
C. K76
West East
S. 32 S. 4
H. AQ64 H. 98732
D. J1097 D. 8654
C. Q109 C. AJ8
South
S. KQ10765
H. K10
D. Q
C. 5432
2S* Pass 4S All Pass
* Weak
Opening lead: DJ East plays the 6
The ball is now in your court, don't bobble it! How do you play to ensure 10 tricks no matter how the
opponents cards lie?
Well, either you see it or you don't. After winning the DQ, draw trump ending in dummy and discard
both of your HEARTS on the AK of diamonds. Your only remaining losers are clubs. You can ruff a
diamond to your hand lead a club to the king. Even if it loses and even if clubs are 4-2, you can ruff
your 4th club in dummy.
If you discard two clubs (as the South expert did), you are now at the mercy of the opposing cards.
As they lie, you lose two hearts and two clubs.
When it comes to deciding whether to discard losers from your longer or your shorter side suit, it is
usually right to discard from the shorter.
#97 Kantar or Kontract

by Eddie Kantar
It is doubtful whether you have ever seen a hand like this before or will ever see one like it again.
Dlr: South
Vul: East-West
North
S. 6
H. AQ864
D. K6
C. AK643
55
West East
S. 8732 S. K4
H. 1093 H. KJ75
D. 3 D. AQ1042
C. 109872 C. QJ
South
S. AQJ1095
H. 2
D. J9875
C. 5
3S Pass 4S Dbl.
All Pass
Opening lead: D3
East was afraid he might be being talked out of something by his non-vulnerable opponents and rather
than think of himself a coward, he made a somewhat marginal double.
Things started well for East-West. West led his singleton diamond, East grabbed the AQ and led a
low diamond at trick three. West overtrumped dummy's six with the seven, but the East West fun was
over.
After West returned a heart, South grabbed the ace, took the spade finesse and when the king dropped
under the ace, he had the rest. After drawing trump he could discard his losing diamond on a club.
So why is this hand so sensational? Go back to trick three. Let's say instead of trumping the
diamond with the seven, West undertrumps and dummy overtrumps. Now when East gets in with the
SK he can give West a diamond ruff.
So in order to defeat the hand, West must restrain himself from overtrumping dummy with his
worthless trump, but must trump low instead! Not so fast. Trumping low doesn't beat the hand either
. If West ruffs the third diamond low, South lets West take the trick! South does not overtrump! Has
South gone made? Not at all. South has the last laugh. After West wins trick three, South has no
trouble taking the last 10 tricks via a spade finesse: Six spades, two clubs, the HA and the DJ.
Well, have you ever seen a hand like this before?

by Eddie Kantar
Of course it is wonderful to have 18 or 19 HCP when your partner opens the bidding, but even that
strong a hand doesn't guarantee a slam opposite a minimum opening bid. Marshall Miles suggests
that when you have a balanced hand with 18-19 HCP, you respond 2NT, forcing, and then rebid 4NT,
invitational, next. This sequence gives the opener a chance to get out from under with a bare
minimum. Most top pairs have adopted this idea, by the way.
A somewhat similar situation crops up when responder has a balanced 18 or 19 count with four cards
in partner's opening major suit bid. Chances are pretty good that slam is in the air, but again, if
partner has a minimum opening particularly with some 5-3-3-2 hand pattern, a small slam may not
reach.
56
One way to invite slam is to start with 2NT and on the next bid leap to the five level of partner's
major. Partner, if he doesn't die of shock, will play you for a balanced hand with 18-19 HCP; a hand
strong enough to invite slam at the five level. Maybe, maybe just once, partner will do the right
thing.
Dlr: South
Vul: Neither
North
S. AKQ5
H. A76
D. J86
C. A106
West East
S. 98 S. 32
H. QJ1053 H. 842
D. 10542 D. Q93
C. Q8 C. J9752
South
S. J10764
H. K9
D. AK7
C. K43
1S Pass 2NT Pass
3NT Pass 5S Pass
6S All Pass
Opening lead: HQ
South thought that it was a nice routine auction until North pulled his little trick out of the bag- the
invitational 5S leap showing a balanced hand with 18 or 19 HCP. Even though South had the worst
distribution possible, 5-3-3-2, he did have a little extra so he went for it. Also, I had to figure out
some way for North-South to get to 6S because it is a good play problem.
As you can see when both hands are balanced, it takes a few extra points to bring in 12 tricks. South
had possible losers in clubs and diamonds. He didn't like his chances, but he gave it his best shot.
He won the opening lead with the king, drew trump and stripped hearts from both his hand dummy by
cashing the HA and running a heart. It is almost always a good technique to strip safe exit cards
from your oppoents' hands if you have to give up the lead.
Finally it was time to deal with the minors. South could either play the AK and a diamond forcing a
club return, or the ace-king and a club forcing a diamond return.
The latter line of play seemed more promising so he cashed one high diamond and got out with ace-
king and a club. Sure enough East had to win and lead away from the DQ (or give South a ruff and a
sluff) and the slam was made. Nice play, but it more or less a lousy slam. So what else is
new?

by Eddie Kantar
When the editors of two rival bridge magazines cross swords in an important tournament, you can
expect some fireworks and you would be right.
Dlr: South
Vul: Neither
North
S. 87
H. AJ976
D. A87
C. KJ7
57
West East
S. - S. J10964
H. K104 H. 852
D. KQJ1095 D. 42
C. 9852 C. 1064
South
S. AKQ532
H. Q3
D. 63
C. AQ3

1S 2D 2H Pass
3S Pass 4S Pass
5C Pass 6S All Pass
Opening lead: DK
South was Jean- Paul Meyer, editor of "Le Bridgeur" and East, Pierre Schemeil, editor of "Bridge de
France" (now defunct). The venue was the French Trials to determine the French team for the World
Championships.
Meyer won the opening lead in dummy and led a spade. His plan was to draw trump and take the
heart finesse for the contract.
Schemeil would have done well to duck the trump, but he feared South might have no outside losers
and would let the eight run as a safety play. He covered.
Meyer won the trick and even though he had two spade losers, he had chances. He led the HQ which
was covered and taken by the ace and a second trump from dummy was covered and taken by
declarer. A heart went to the nine and the jack of hearts provided a parking place for declarer's losing
diamond. It still wasn't over.
A diamond was ruffed the closed hand and three rounds of clubs followed the lead ending in dummy.
This was the three card end position, North to play:
North
S. -
H. 76
D. 8
C. -
West (immaterial) East
S. J64
H. -
D. -
C. -
South
S. A53
H. -
D. -
C. -
A diamond was led from dummy uffed with the six. Meyer underruffed with the three and when East
exited with the four , South took the last two tricks with the ace and the five. Bien joue.

by Eddie Kantar
The following hand created such a stir at the Savoy Bridge Club in Los Angeles that I felt compelled to
write it up in an article entitled: "The Three Penny Opera". The title was a natural because the players
were playing for three cents a point.
The cast of characters:
West: George Zahler, successful builder, tends to be involved in storybook hands.
North: Fran Tsacnaris: House player. Good player.
East: Art Fletcher: Good player who has struck it rich in the pizza parlor business.
South: Doc Freed: Plastic surgeon; also a good player who has been known to mold something out of
nothing-and vice versa!
Dlr: West
58
Vul: Both
North
S. QJ87
H. A2
D. 65
C. AQ854
West East
S. AK95 S. 2
H. - H. KQ9843
D. QJ1073 D. K9
C. K976 C. J1032
South
S. 10643
H. J10765
D. A842
C. -
1D Pass 1H 2C*
Dbl. Pass Pass 2S
Dbl. All Pass
*Trying to mold something out of nothing.
Opening lead: DQ
Doc was up to his old tricks and even though Zahler's doubles rocked the room, Francine in the North
seat wasn't exactly unhappy about the goings on. In fact, she was overjoyed.
When the dummy came down, Fletcher in the East seat had several thoughts: (1) It looked for all the
world that Doc and Francine who had exchanged hands, had forgotten to return their original hands to
each other; (2) If this was the real dummy he started to estimate his losses in terms of pizza parlors!
Zahler, on the other hand, was in a state of complete shock and for the life of him could not conceive
of what was going on. After being allowed to win the first trick with the DQ, he finally decided that
Fletcher must be void in clubs! He was right about the void, just had the wrong player.
When Zahler shifted to a club, Doc inserted the queen and then played the ace discarding hearts.
This was followed with a club ruff, the DA and a diamond ruff, club ruff, diamond ruff. At this point
Doc had taken seven tricks and these cards remained:
North
S. QJ
H. A2
D. -
C. 8
West East
S. AK95 S. 2
H. - H. KQ98
D. J D. -
C. - C. -
South
S. 106
H. J107
D. -
C. -
At this point all Doc had to do is ruff a club with the S10. West can l overuff, but dummy's SQJ will
take another trick. But in the heat of battle, Doc got greedy and tried to cash the HA. The end.
Zahler ruffed, drew trump and took the rest of the tricks for down one. What a hand!

by Eddie Kantar
The literature of the game is replete with famous hands played by famous players. Here's one played
by Harry Fishbein, famous as much for the many different colored berets he sports at tournaments as
for his expert play.
Let's see if you can match Harry's play on this one. Be sure to cover up the East-West hands.
North
S. 9732
H. 1065
D. A7632
C. A
West East
S. 10865 S. Q4
59
H. J983 H. 72
D. QJ10 D. K9854
C. 76 C. 9854
South
S. AKJ
H. AKQ4
D. -
C. KQJ1032
No bidding is given but Harry wound up in 7C and the opening lead was the DQ. How would you
play?
Solution
The problem was that Fishy didn't know what to discard on the DA. If hearts were 3-3 or the jack was
doubleton, he should discard a spade. However, if the queen spades was singleton or doubleton, he
should discard a heart.
Harry solved the problem by ruffing the opening lead and playing the HA looking for the jack. No
luck. His next play was the SA looking for the queen. Still no luck. Next the HK. Still no jack. Now
the SK! Success. Finally. The SQ fell from East. Knowing his SJ was a winner, Fishy crossed to
the CA and discarded a heart on the DA, ruffed a diamond back to his hand, drew trump and made
the grand.
Had the SQ not appeared, Fishbein would to cross to the CA and discard the SJ on the DA hoping
hearts were 3-3. A hand for the archives.

by Eddie Kantar
When defending a suit contract and the opening lead is won by a singleton king in dummy, both
defenders should be aware that if declarer can get back to his hand he can discard a loser from
dummy on the ace of the suit that was led.
Dlr: South
Vul: E-W
North
S. K
H. 9742
D. 62
C. KJ10752
West East
S. Q7432 S. 9865
60
H. J8 H. A3
D. AQ83 D. 9754
C. 98 C. A63
South
S. AJ10
H. KQ1065
D. KJ10
C. Q4
1H Pass 2H Pass
2NT Pass 4H All Pass
Opening lead: S3
Playing five card majors, South's 2NT shows a balanced hand in the 16-18 point range. As popularly
played, the bid is a one round force; an eight card heart fit has already been uncovered.
At trick two declarer nonchalantly led a low heart from the table. East just as nonchalantly played
"second hand low" just like he was taught. That lesson cost him a game contract. Declarer was
able to win the trick and discard a diamond on the ace of spades. That left declarer with three losers,
the three missing aces, instead of the four he started with because one diamond loser was avoided.
Instead of playing second hand low, East should have been aware of the "ace of spades danger". He
should fly with the HA and return a diamond, the suit declarer is sure to use as a discard for the ace of
spades. If East does that, declarer is doomed to lose two diamonds and two aces.
Something to keep in mind when you are second hand and the stiff king in dummy wins the first trick.

by Eddie Kantar
Most rubber bridge players complain bitterly that they don't hold as many as aces and kings as their
opponents. Yet you seldom hear anyone complain about not holding enough deuces! Yet the deuce
has proven time and again to be the most valuable card in the deck....in the hands of an expert.
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. 95
H. AQ94
D. J974
C. Q93
West East
S. 10832 S. K76
H. J7532 H. 108
61
D. 3 D. AQ10865
C. 865 C. 74
South
S. AQJ5
H. K6
D. K2
C. AKJ102
Pass 2D * Dbl. Pass
2NT Pass 3C Pass
4C Pass 4NT Pass
5D Dbl. 6C All Pass
* Weak
Opening lead: D3
North-South belong in 6NT (with the spade finesse working) because a diamond ruff will immediately
defeat 6C. But South made 6C!
South knew from the bidding (and the led) that West had led a singleton. However from East's point of
view, the lead was either a singleton or from 32 doubleton. When East played the ace, South,
blessed with the deuce, dropped the king! Who can blame East for thinking that partner had led from
the 32 doubleton?
East shifted to a to a trump at trick two. Suddenly South was alive, alive! He won the trump shift in
dummy with the nine, took a successful spade finesse, returned to dummy with the CQ, finessed the
spade again, and ruffed a low spade with dummy's last trump. Success was approaching. He
reentered the closed hand with the HK, drew the last trump and discarded his precious, precious,
deuce of diamonds on a heart winner. Slam bid and made.
As an aside, many players ask what is the real difference between money bridge and tournament
bridge? Maybe this true story will answer that question. Many year ago when I was 17 yrs old
(misspent youth?) playing at the Ardmore Bridge Club in Los Angeles, they had tournament bridge
downstairs and rubber bridge or money bridge upstairs. I played in both because I didn't tell them my
real age so I could play for $$$.
Neither group was particularly fond of the other and when the rubber bridge players went upstairs they
looked neither left nor right at what they considered a lower form of life, the tournament player.
They argued if these people thought they were so good, why didn't they come upstairs and play for
money?
The tournament players on the other hand, felt contaminated in the presence of rubber bridge players
and would only go upstairs because the restrooms were there. They argued that if these rubber
bridge players thought they were such hot shots, why didn't they come downstairs and play a game of
skill, not one that depended upon who got the most aces and kings.
And so it came to pass that one afternoon after the duplicate game ended there was the usual mass
exodus upstairs. Included in this exodus was the reigning queen of duplicate bridge in Los Angeles at
that time, Malvine Klausner. Her husband, Sigfried, had invented Kem Cards.
When she finally made it to the Ladies room she found a full house so she headed next door to the
Men's room! When she emerged, her friends were aghast. "Malvine, do you know where you were?"
"Yes, I know where I was". "Well, was there anybody else in there?" Well, there were a few guys in
there, but they were only rubber bridge players."

by Eddie Kantar
Every so often a play comes up that you only read about in books. If it should happen to you, it pays
to have read the right books! Cover up the East-West hands and we'll see what you've been reading
these days.
Dlr: West
Vul: East-West
North
S. J4
H. 1083
D. AJ1098
C. J64
West East
S. K95 S. 10873
H. A976542 H. J
62
D. - D. K76543
C. KQ7 C. 102
South
S. AQ62
H. KQ
D. Q2
C. A9843
1H Pass Pass 1NT
2H 3D Pass 3NT
All Pass
Opening lead: H6
You play low from dummy and capture East's jack. At trick two you run the DQ, West discarding a
low spade. How do you continue?
You are in a bit of trouble. With no dummy entry to the diamonds and all the missing honors marked
to your left, it looks bad. But there is a way out. Play a second diamond to the ace and then a
third diamond discarding your last heart!
What you have done is created a heart stopper in dummy. If the opponents want to play hearts,
dummy is going to take a trick in the suit. In practice East won the DK and shifted to a club ducked to
West's queen.
West didn't have much choice, so he did his best by playing the ace and a heart putting dummy on
play. Dummy's two remaining diamonds were cashed and now everyone was down to four cards.
Dummy had the Jx of both black suits, West, the Kx of both black suits and South, the Ax of clubs and
the AQ of spades. South played the ace and a club giving up a trick to West's king, but took tricks
eight and nine with the AQ of spades. So, have you been reading the right books?

by Eddie Kantar
This hand brings out two wonderful teaching points, one in declarer play, the other on defense. They
deal with handling the play and defense of a two-suited hand.
Dlr: North
Vul: Both
North
S. 643
H. K109762
D. KQ
C. A3
West East
S. 10 S. J752
H. AJ84 H. Q3
D. J76 D. A2
C. K10842 C. QJ976
63
South
S. AKQ98
H. 5
D. 1098543
C. 5
1H Pass 2D Pass
2H Pass 2S Pass
2NT Pass 3S Pass
4S All Pass
Opening lead: C4
Everybody at the table knew, or should have known, that South started with six diamonds and five
spades. Furthermore, the best defense against two suiters is to try to force the long hand to trump. If
declarer can be forced several times, he may lose control of the hand. This is particularly true when
one defender has four trump.
And what counter does the declarer have? If the side suit is not solid, declarer should start playing it
at once, perhaps sooner. Nobody will ever be able to calculate the number of contracts thrown out
the window because the side suit wasn't attacked soon enough. Nobody.
First, the play as it happened, then the play as it should have happened. Declarer won the opening
lead in dummy, entered the closed hand with a trump, and led a diamond to the king and ace. East
returned a club which was ruffed. At this point both East and South have three trump.
Declarer crossed to the queen of diamonds, returned to his hand with a trump and ruffed a diamond in
dummy. East with Jx of trump, overtrumped dummy and forced declarer with another club. But
declarer was in charge. He ruffed, drew East's last trump with his own last trump, ran the diamonds
and conceded a heart to make his game.
Had East NOT overtrumped the third diamond, South would have no way back to his hand without
opening himself up to yet another force, the second force. With this force, South loses control of the
hand because now East has more trump than South. The defensive point is to be wary of overuffing
dummy when holding the same trump length as declarer- if declarer cannot get back to his hand
without subjecting himself to a force. The trump trick will come back with dividends-declarer won't
be able to use his established side suit.
And what about declarer? Did he do anything wrong? Yes. He erred at trick two when he led a
trump to his hand rather than a diamond from dummy. START THE LONG SUIT BEFORE
DRAWING TRUMP! Because he didn't he would have been in serious trouble if East had not
overtrumped the third diamond (could have used the trump suit as a LATER hand entry). However, if
South plays diamonds before spades, he will prevail whether East overtrumps or not. lay it out.

by Eddie Kantar
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to make the world's greatest bid? Erik Paulsen, a
former World Champion, playing in the Blue Ribbon Pairs had that feeling and this is the hand that
inspired it.
Dlr: East
Vul: Both
North (Erik)
S. KJ98543
H. AK10654
D. -
C. -
West East
S. A S. -
H. Q2 H. J987
D. J75432 D. Q106
C. 8652 C. AKJ943
64
South
S. Q10762
H. 3
D. AK98
C. Q107
1C 1S 2C 5NT
Pass 6S Dbl. 7S
Pass Pass Dbl. Rdbl.
All Pass
Opening lead: SA (before it gets away)
This bidding diagram requires a "little" explanation as do all genius-inspired bids.
Paulsen's leap to 5NT was the Grand Slam Force asking South to describe his spade holding. In
their methods the response of 6S showed the ace or king but denied the queen. With two of the top
three honors responder is supposed to leap to a grand. In addition, a six club response denies the
ace or king.
When Paulsen heard the 6S bid, he "knew" seven spades was cold. As this was tournament bridge
he had some calculating to do. Assuming 7S is cold, North-South are entitled to a score of 2210.
Passing 6S doubled, making seven is "only" 1860 points. Clearly it can't be right to pass 6S. What
about redoubling? Paulsen calculated that 6S redoubled with an overtrick would bring in 2420, more
than seven spades making seven.
So why didn't Paulsen redouble? Because he is a genius. He realized that the other tables seven
spades would be doubled. Seven spades doubled making seven, vulnerable, is 2470 points-more
than six spades redoubled making seven!
What else could he do? He couldn't settle for a mere 2420 points when everybody (!) else would be
garnering 2470 points! He made the only logical call under the circumstances. And for kickers,
just to make sure he got his top, he redoubled.
If you don't agree with Erik's action on this deal, you might speak to him about it...... at a distance.
My favorite Erik Paulsen story is when he returned to Downey Ca. after winning the World
Championship and went back to his roots at his favorite local club. Nobody could believed he would
ever show up there again.
During the course of the game Erik and his partner were competing in spades against two fellows who
were bidding hearts. When the opponents arrived at three hearts, Erik thought they could probably
make it and, besides, they wouldn't dare double him in three spades, World Champion and all, so he
bid it- loudly just to make sure he wasn't doubled.
The 3S bid was met with a resounding double by his left hand opponent. Erik turned to his opponent
and asked: "Do you know who I am?" "Yes, I know who you are." " Do you know how many master
points I have?" " No, I don't, but do you know how many spades I have?"

by Eddie Kantar
This is a little trick hand of sorts that I like to use in my classes after I give them a warm up lecture on
entries. You'd be surprised how many I snare.
Dlr: West
Vul: Neither
North
S. 643
H. 53
D. 7653
C. 7632
West East
S. A10 S, 2
H. 742 H. KJ10986
D. AKQ109 D. 82
C. J109 C. Q854
South
S. KQJ9875
H. AQ
65
D. J4
C. AK
1D Pass 1H 4S
All Pass
Opening lead: DQ (Q from AKQ- commercial)
I have learned that before giving this lesson I should collect the fees in advance. If I don't, there is
always the danger that some North players may pick up and leave.
Little do they realize that their hand contains a gem, the S6. It is a gem providing South is awake.
Assuming the opponents play three rounds of diamonds, you would be surprised at how many players
trump the third diamond with the five of spades. Maybe you wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, it's an
awful play.
If South ruffs with a middle spade and then drives out the SA, he can use the S6 as the entry to take
the winning heart finesse. If he doesn't save the S5, and the opponents don't lead hearts, the hand
will be defeated on trick.
This is actually an upsetting hand. North is upset because he has such a lousy hand, South is upset
because he didn't trump the third diamond higher, and teacher is upset because he had just told them
about trumping higher than necessary when they have powerful trump suit so they can preserve a
small trump as a possible way to get to dummy.
Over the years, I have observed that students don't always remember what I teach them, but they do
remember the jokes!

by Eddie Kantar
It isn't often that a contract of 2C produces such a rarity in the play that it is worth a column, but this
hand is the rule that proves the exception.
Dlr: East
Vul: North-South
North
S. A53
H. 863
D. AK52
C. A92
West East
S. J7 S. Q1098
H. AKQ10 H. 952
D. J108 D. 9743
C. J876 C. K5
South
S. K642
H. J74
D. Q6
C. Q1043
66
Pass Pass 1H Dbl.
Pass 1S Pass Pass
1NT 2C All Pass
Opening lead: HQ (Queen from AKQ) try it, you'll like it).
The bidding was very competitive because neither side wanted to sell out at match points. North
didn't take back South to spades because he figured South couldn't have five spades (would have
rebid them facing a takeout double), and could well have four spades and five clubs. West's opening
bid in third seat with a powerful four card major is not uncommon even for some five card majorites.
The play started fast and furious. West cashed three hearts and switched to the DJ. South cashed
three diamonds, discarding a spade, and then the played the king-ace of spades ending in dummy and
led a diamond. When East followed, South discarded a spade leaving this four card ending, South
needing three tricks and East on lead.
North
S. 3
H. -
D. -
C. A92
West East
S. - S. Q10
H. - H. -
D. - D. -
C. J876 C. K5
South
S. -
H. -
D. -
C. Q1043
East led a spade and South with a count on the hand ,and knowing that East must have the CK for his
bid, ruffed with the CQ as West underruffed. Next came the C10. If West plays lows, South runs
the 10 to East's king and takes the last two tricks with the A9. If West covers, North wins and leads
a low club dropping East's king making dummy's nine the contract fulfilling trick. Neat hand.
#109
Kantar on Kontract
by Eddie Kantar
Many years ago teaching a morning class I met Rea. She must have liked the class, because after
the second class she presented me with a bag lunch. She also invited my parents and me to her
home to meet her husband, etc. Soon we were all good friends. After my mother passed away, she
was very nice to my father. Are you getting the picture? Rea was a beautiful person. She also
had a great passion for bridge and had been playing her whole life and was about 65 yrs old when I
met her. Eventually she asked if she could kibitz me in a tournament. No problem. Then she wanted to
hire me as a professional partner. I was a little reluctant, fearing I might involuntarily react to a bad
play or say something I would regret. Finally I agreed. We decided to play in a two session event In
Coronado.
We met an hour before game time at our designated table. Rea came to the table armed with
lunches for both of us (of course), the New York Times, The Los Angeles Time, the San Diego Tribune
and the Wall Street Journal. She also brought with her every convention card she had ever used in
her life. And let's not forget the box of long Turkish cigarettes.
I told Rea we would play a simple system and we would have FUN. She said she was sure we would
have fun as long as the director did not come over to our table. I assured her he wouldn't. This is
what happened:
1st round: Rea revokes (director called)
2nd round: Rea leads out of turn (director called)
3rd round: Rea drops some cards on the floor (director called)
67
4th round: Rea bids out of turn (director called)
I might add on the boards where the director came over to the table what with the penalties we wound
up with four zeros. On the other four boards, the the opponents were playing like geniuses, not to
mention Rea's underuff with the setting trick. The bottom line was that after 8 boards we had 8
zeros! Worse, I had put my name first on the entry blank so when the scores came out everyone
would see that we had the lowest score in the history of tournament bridge and my name would stand
out like a beacon. This is what happened on the first board of the 5th round. Keep in mind Rea is a
little off balance because of the director being called over so often, and I wasn't exactly at my
steadiest either.
Dlr: South
Vul: Both
North
S. KQ98
H. AJ103
D. QJ6
C. K4
West (me) East (Rea)
S. 6432 S. 5
H. Q7 H. K98654
D. K1083 D. A94
C. J97 C. Q106
South
S. AJ107 South West North East
H. 2 1D Pass 1H Pass
D. QJ6 1S Pass 4S All Pass
C. A8532 Opening lead: D3
We had survived the bidding and opening lead with no director call. Maybe our luck would change.
Rea won the ace of diamonds, returned a diamond to my king and declarer won the third round of the
suit. Rea and I had actually taken two tricks without anything happening.
At this point the declarer has a high crossruff for the rest of the tricks, but instead opted to play two
rounds of trump ending in his hand, Rea discarding the H9 on the second spade.
Next, declarer led a heart to the ace and then a low heart intending to trump. Rea went up with her
king, squashed my queen, and now the J10 of hearts in dummy were high. I knew it was too good to
be true. At this point, declarer began to reflect upon his good fortune as Rea put down her cards to
light up one of her long, green, Turkish cigarettes. When she picked up her cards, she didn't pick up
the unplayed cards, she picked up the ones she had already played. In other words, she had a
trump, the DA, and best of all the HK! Declarer, who had blocked the trump suit, cashed the SA, Rea
following, and me not noticing (I was gone by this time). He then crossed to the CK, drew my last
trump and played the good (he thought) heart jack. Not so fast. Rea was right there with the king!
People can set up suits against Rea and I, but they can't use them! DIRECTOR!
Strangely, the director was right next to our table. He had learned where to stand. It was a bit difficult
to explain what had happened, but after he heard, his ruling was "that the play had gotten out of hand"
(no kidding) and awarded them average plus. Rea and I high-fived each other. Average minus
seemed like a top to us. They appealed. They won the appeal. You may not believe this, but Rea
and I finished above average in this event.
#110
Kantar on Kontract
by Eddie Kantar
Many years ago in Los Angeles was a young bridge wannabe named Patti. She aspired to be a top
player and wanted to play with and learn from the best. One evening she was playing with Alex, a
local expert, in a duplicate game. She and Alex arrived at 7S on these two hands:
North (Patti)
S. 8642
H. KQ32
D. A4
C. QJ6
South (Alex)
S. AKJ10
H. A5
D. KQJ7
C. AK8
Alex won the opening heart lead in his hand and played the SA hoping the queen would drop. When
it didn't, his plan was to cross to dummy and take a spade finesse.... but first he played the CK.
Keep in mind that he played the CK immediately after he played the SA. To West it looked for all the
world like the SK. As West had Qx of spades, she pulled the queen out to follow suit when to her
horror she realized she was following to the K. She tried to pull the SQ back, but it was too late.
Everyone had seen the queen and Alex made his grand by playing the SK next.
68
To say Patti was impressed would be an understatement. She was determined to make the same
play even if it took her a lifetime of waiting. It only took two years. Patti playing with a different
partner arrived in 7H on these two hands with a spade lead.
North (new partner)
S. 87
H. 9432
D. Q1087
C. AKQ
South (Patti)
S. AKQ
H. AKJ10
D. AKJ5
C. 97
Patti was so ready for the play that Alex taught her that she already had the DK tucked behind the HA
so it could be played in perfect tempo. It was just like a dream. She won the opening lead and
played the AH followed by the DK in perfect tempo. Alex would have been so proud. Sure enough,
West holding three small hearts played a heart. Patti mentioned that she was leading a diamond.
West said, "I know , I don't have any".
69

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What is the significance of the hand described on page 1?

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#17 Kantar on Kontract

The bidding proceeds:

Now what would you do besides giving partner a sinister stare?

North As can be seen, the only game contract that makes

West As one would expect, the contracts varied

North Notice that Goldman had already discarded his SA, to

North North East South West

West East Opening lead: D2

#13 Kantar on Kontract

Dlr: N Vul; Both

#12 Kantar on Kontract

#11 Kantar on Kontract

Dlr: North Vul: Both

North (Anne) The bidding is going to be hard to digest, but this

#10 Kantar on Kontract

North This is a hand from an exhibition match in

Here's a hand that left me with a lasting memory.

Dlr: South Vul: N-S

North South West North East

Dlr: West Vul: E-W

Dlr: South Vul: Neither

Dlr: South Vul: Both

Dlr: East Vul: Neither

North East South West North

It could only happen in one of my classes.

North North East South West

North East South West North

#52 Kantar on Kontract

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#66 Kantar on Kontract

South West (you) North East

IMP scoring, East-West vulnerable, dealer West

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