Column 7B76 (11-3-85) by Richard Pavlicek

Weak Defense Rewards Weak Two-Bidder

Since bridge players love to bid and weak two-bids occur about 10 times as often as strong two-bids, it is only a matter of time before the strong two-bid becomes extinct. Weak two-bids apply in three suits (diamonds, hearts and spades) in order to leave an opening bid of two clubs to show a strong hand.

4 by South

Both Vul	K Q 9 4 J 2 A Q 7 4 A 9 5
A J 8 5 8 5 3 J 10 8 3 J 10		10 7 6 3 A 4 9 5 K Q 8 6 4
Lead: J	2 K Q 10 9 7 6 K 6 2 7 3 2

West Pass

North 4

East All Pass

South 2

South’s two-heart opening showed 6 to 11 high-card points and a six-card suit (being vulnerable, the suit should be of good quality). North gave a fleeting thought to placing the contract in notrump, but then wisely opted to raise to game in hearts (three notrump would be set two tricks with a club lead).

Four hearts is an excellent contract with any lead but a club, but that is the lead West found.

Declarer made a good play by ducking the first trick, and the second club lead was taken by dummy’s ace. Needing to develop a fast discard, the spade king was led to West’s ace, and West returned… a diamond!

Everything was peachy now — the diamond lead was taken in dummy to discard a club on the spade queen, the heart ace was dislodged and trumps were drawn to make the contract.

West’s diamond return was based on the hope that East held the diamond king, but this was faulty reasoning. Declarer’s early spade play revealed his intentions, and West should have foreseen the need to find a quick entry to his partner’s hand before declarer could discard a club loser.

It seems unnatural for West to lead a trump around to declarer’s hand, especially when dummy contains no ruffing threat, but that was the proper play. The only real hope was to find East with the ace of hearts.