wednesday, march 11 , 2020. the washington post EZRE C7
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
♠ K 9 4
♥ 7 5 2
♦ K 7 5
♣ J 7 4 3
WEST (D)
♠ Q 3
♥ A Q 10 6 4
♦ J 10 8 4
♣ A 10
EAST
♠ 10 8 6
♥ K 9
♦ Q 9 6 3
♣ 9 8 6 5
SOUTH
♠ A J 7 5 2
♥ J 8 3
♦ A 2
♣ K Q 2
The bidding:
“H
ow good a memory
do you have?” Cy the
Cynic asked me.
“Good for remembering
bridge hands from 30 years
ago,” I said, “but not look-at-
a-phone-number-and-remem-
ber-it-long-enough-to-press-
seven-buttons good.”
“My partners can’t recall
an auction from two minutes
ago,” Cy grumbled.
Today’s South played
dangerously high at three
spades. Since his “balanc-
ing” bid of one spade could
have been light, North
should have passed it.
When West led the jack of
diamonds, South took the
ace, led a trump to the king
and returned a trump to ...
his jack. West won, and the
defense also got three hearts
and a club. Down one.
South forgot the auction.
East must have a high heart
— probably the king — or else
West’s opening lead would
have been a high heart. The
opening lead also marks East
with the queen of diamonds,
but he couldn’t respond to
West’s opening bid.
West will therefore have
the queen of trumps. South
must reject a finesse and
instead take the ace and
king.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold:
♠ A J 7 5 2 ♥ J 8 3
♦ A 2 ♣ K Q 2
Your partner opens one
diamond, you respond one
spade and he bids two clubs.
What do you say?
ANSWER: Your partner’s
hand is not well defined,
and your best contract is
unknown. He could hold K 3,
Q 4, K Q 10 7 6, A 8 7 6 (you
need to rest at 3NT) or 3, A
4, K Q J 9 4, A J 9 6 4 (you
would be a favorite at three
different slams). Bid two
hearts, a forcing “fourth-suit”
action that merely asks him
to keep describing his hand.
BOTH SIDES VULNERABLE
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 ♥ Pass Pass 1 ♠
Pass 2 ♠ Pass 3 ♠
All Pass
Opening lead — ♦ J
BRIDGE
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— Frank Stewart