C4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, MAY 27 , 2022
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 JULES RIVERA
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
SUDOKUNORTH (D)
♠ 6 2
♥ A 7 3
♦ A K 9 8 4 2
♣ K 7
WEST
♠ A 10 8 7 3
♥ 10 9 4 2
♦ 3
♣ 8 6 4EAST
♠ Q 9 5
♥ Q J 8
♦ J 7 6 5
♣ Q J 9
SOUTH
♠ K J 4
♥ K 6 5
♦ Q 10
♣ A 10 5 3 2The bidding:T
his week’s deals have
treated safety plays:
guarding against a foul lie
of the cards. Cover the East-
West hands and try to make
3NT. West leads the seven of
spades: deuce, queen, king.
If you can run dummy’s
diamonds, you will make
overtricks. That is what the
actual declarer aspired to do:
He led the queen and a sec-
ond diamond.
When West discarded,
South couldn’t afford to
clear the diamonds since
East would be in to return a
spade; West would cash out
his suit. So South tried the
K-A and a third club. The suit
broke 3-3, but East won and
returned a spade. Down one.
South would try for over-
tricks at matchpoint dupli-
cate, but at IMPs or party
bridge, he must play safe for
nine tricks. He leads a club
to dummy at Trick Two and
returns a diamond to his 10.
Even if West has the jack,
South makes his game: His
jack of spades is safe from
attack, and he is sure of four
diamonds (probably five),
two clubs, two hearts and a
spade.
Did you find the correct
play?
DAILY QUESTION
You hold:
♠ 6 2 ♥ A 7 3
♦ A K 9 8 4 2 ♣ K 7
Your partner opens one
spade, you respond two
diamonds and he bids two
hearts. What do you say?
ANSWER: A system in
which your three diamonds
forced to game might
gain: You could rebid three
diamonds, forcing. In
“Standard” methods, three
diamonds would be neither
forcing nor encouraging. Bid
3NT or risk a devious “fourth-
suit” bid of three clubs to
force your partner to con-
tinue describing his hand.N-S VULNERABLENORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
1 ♦ Pass 2 NT Pass
3 NT All Pass
Opening lead — ♠ 7BRIDGE©2022, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
— Frank Stewart