Stamford Bridge Club: Charity event in aid of Footsteps Foundation
By Marcus Witt at Stamford Bridge Club
Last month I let you know that we would be holding a charity bridge event in aid of the Footsteps Foundation on Wednesday, December 2.
Footsteps specialises in the intensive rehabilitation of children and young adults with cerebral palsy, genetic disorders, epilepsy, other neurological, and other neuromotor disorders.
The online session was a resounding success and attracted 27 tables, a record for the club. We are very pleased to have raised in excess of £500 for such a worthwhile cause.
The pandemic continues to hold us in limbo land and as I write, the government may well have revised its approach. That said, we have decided not to consider playing in the clubhouse until the New Year.
Our online programme will continue over the Christmas and New Year period, save there will be no Thursday afternoon sessions on Christmas Eve nor New Year’s Eve.
Wishing all readers a Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.
Hand of the Week
Today’s hand was played in a gentle duplicate last month but none of the 11 tables bid and made 6H.
It’s never a good idea to use any form of Blackwood when a side suit is potentially wide open but, once South showed a control in the club suit, North could invoke it.
Once the ace count was fine, North could place the contract. Superficially North’s best chance is to finesse DJ, cashing DK first lest West has been dealt a singleton queen.
But we can do better than that. Win the opening spade lead with the ace, draw trumps and play SK and ruff a spade.
Now cash the top two clubs and exit with a third round.
If West wins, the hand is endplayed, forced to give a ruff and discard or play a diamond into the jaws of South’s A J.
If East wins, the best that defender can do is play a small diamond.
Declarer ducks in dummy and West’s queen makes a welcome appearance. Slam made.
If West had played D10, declarer could still finesse the knave and wouldn’t have to give up on the obvious chance.
Only when West has both the queen and ten of diamonds will the contract fail.
Tip
When you’ve found a reasonable line of play, try to think of something better (succinct but true). By eliminating the spades and clubs from both hands you get the defenders to do the work for you.