The Washington Post - 06.09.2019

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE 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

 A J 10 7 4

 J 6

 6 2

 K J 8 2

WEST

 Q

 A K Q 10 5 4

 J 8 7 3

 7 3

EAST

 K 9 8 5 2

 9 8 3 2

 5

 6 5 4

SOUTH (D)

 6 3

 7

 A K Q 10 9 4

 A Q 10 9

The bidding:

“Y

ou’ve written that

making mistakes isn’t

shameful if you learn from

them,” a club player told me

ruefully. “If I’m learning from

my mistakes, pretty soon I’ll

be a genius.”

My friend was declarer at

five clubs in a penny game.

He ruffed the second heart,

drew trumps and started the

diamonds by taking the A-K.

“If diamonds had split

3-2,” he said, “I would have

made an overtrick. But East

showed out, and I went

down. I guess I did some-

thing wrong. That wouldn’t be

unusual.”

I told my friend that he

and North had done well to

reach five clubs. They would

have had no chance at five

diamonds. Five clubs was

so good, in fact, that South

could and should have

played safe for 11 tricks.

After he draws trumps, he

leads a diamond to his 10.

West wins and leads

another heart, but South

ruffs with dummy’s last

trump and runs the dia-

monds. He wins four trumps

in dummy, a heart ruff, a

spade and five diamonds.

I hope he learned some-

thing from this deal.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

 A J 10 7 4  J 6

 6 2  K J 8 2

Both sides vulnerable. The

dealer, at your left, opens

three diamonds. Your partner

bids three hearts. The next

player passes. What do you

say?

ANSWER: To act at the

three level, partner should

have a decent suit — likely a

six-carder — and opening-bid

strength or more. Raise to

four hearts. You have little

to gain by mentioning your

spades. Partner may hold

K 3, A K 10 8 5 4, 8 7, A 6 3.

E-W VULNERABLE

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1  1  1  Pass

2  Pass 3  Pass

3  Pass 3  Pass

5  All Pass

Opening lead —  K

BRIDGE

©2019, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

— Frank Stewart