The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

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