The Washington Post - 16.11.2019

saturday, november 16 , 2019. the washington post EZRE C5

BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY! TIM RICKARD

CURTIS RAY BILLINGSLEY

SHERMAN’S LAGOON JIM TOOMEY

RED AND ROVER BRIAN BASSET

FRANK AND ERNEST TOM THAVES

RHYMES WITH ORANGE HILARY PRICE

LIO MARK TATULLI

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE CHRIS BROWNE

BLONDIE DEAN YOUNG & JOHN MARSHALL

MIKE DU JOUR MIKE LESTER

AGNES TONY COCHRAN

WUMO MIKAEL WULFF & ANDERS MORGENTHALER

MARK TRAIL JAMES ALLEN

MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM MIKE PETERS

BALDO HECTOR CANTU & CARLOS CASTELLANOS

SALLY FORTH FRANCESCO MARCIULIANO & JIM KEEFE

CLASSIC PEANUTS CHARLES SCHULZ

CLASSIC DOONESBURY GARRY TRUDEAU PICKLES BRIAN CRANE

SUDOKU

NORTH

♠ 10 7 4

♥ K 8 2

♦ Q 5

♣ K Q J 5 3

WEST

♠ K J 6 2

♥ A 9

♦ J 10 9 8 7

♣ 7 2

EAST

♠ A 9 8

♥ J 10 6 5 4

♦ 6 3 2

♣ 9 6

SOUTH (D)

♠ Q 5 3

♥ Q 7 3

♦ A K 4

♣ A 10 8 4

The bidding:

“S

imple Saturday” col-

umns are meant to

help aspiring players improve

technique and develop logical

thinking.

Beginners must absorb a

body of material: the struc-

ture of a bidding system and

the techniques of play. But

the appeal of the game lies

in logical thinking: working

out what to do instead of fol-

lowing a “rule.”

Against today’s 3NT, West

leads the jack of diamonds,

and dummy’s queen wins.

Declarer next leads a heart:

four, queen, ace. What

should West do next?

West knows that South

has the A-K of diamonds and

can infer that he has the

ace of clubs. If South’s clubs

were, say, 10-x-x, he would

set up the suit promptly.

South has shown the queen

of hearts, so he can’t have

A-Q in spades. That would

give him 19 points — too

many to open 1NT. And if

South has even the ace, 3NT

is cold.

At Tr ick Three, West must

lead a low spade. When

East’s ace wins, he should

return a spade (West’s LOW

spade lead shows interest in

spades), and the defense will

prevail.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

♠ 10 7 4 ♥ K 8 2

♦ Q 5 ♣ K Q J 5 3

Your partner opens 1NT.

North in today’s deal raised

to 3NT with this hand. Do

you agree, or would you have

shown your clubs?

ANSWER: North’s bid was

correct. The clubs will win

tricks at notrump, and the

cheaper nine-trick game is

preferable. The times when

3NT fails and you could have

done better at clubs are too

rare to worry about. But to

bid clubs would be reason-

able if you held 4, K 8 2, Q 5

4, A Q 10 7 6 5.

N-S VULNERABLE

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1 NT Pass 3 NT All Pass

Opening lead — ♦ J

BRIDGE

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— Frank Stewart

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