The Washington Post - 02.03.2020

C6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAy, MARCH 2 , 2020

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

♠ 9 2

♥ 10 3

♦ A J 6

! A Q 10 7 4 2

WEST

♠ A J 8 5 3

♥ A 8 6 2

♦ Q 10 4

! 5

EAST

♠ Q 10 4

♥ J 9 7 5

♦ 9 8

! J 9 8 3

SOUTH (D)

♠ K 7 6

♥ K Q 4

♦ K 7 5 3 2

! K 6

The bidding:

“I

contacted a credit-rating

service,” Unlucky Louie

told me, “and asked for a writ-

ten report. They sent me my

score — with a Burger King

application attached to it.”

Louie’s credibility as

declarer suffers because he

plays without thinking. At

today’s 3NT, he took the king

of spades and swiftly cashed

the K-A of clubs. When West

discarded, Louie was in

trouble; he couldn’t afford to

concede a club.

So Louie led a diamond

to his king and back to

dummy’s jack. He took the

ace and then the queen

of clubs but was stuck in

dummy. When he led a heart

to his king next, West won

and ran the spades for down

one. North, of course, was

incredulous.

Louie could take the cash

and let the credit go if he

were careful. A creditable

play is to start the clubs with

the A-K. If East-West followed,

Louie would have nine easy

tricks.

When West discards, Louie

leads a diamond to the jack.

When the finesse wins and

diamonds break 3-2, Louie

has five diamonds, three

clubs and a spade.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

♠ 9 2 ♥ 10 3

♦ A J 6! A Q 10 7 4 2

Your partner opens one

diamond, you respond two

clubs, he rebids two dia-

monds and you raise to three

diamonds. Partner then bids

three hearts. What do you

say?

ANSWER: Your partner is

trying for game. He may be

hoping that you can bid 3NT.

You can’t oblige, but you do

have a sound hand for your

previous bidding. Bid five dia-

monds. A possible hand for

partner would be J 3, A 8 7, K

Q 10 7 4 2, K 3.

E-W VULNERABLE

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1 ♦ 1 ♠ 2! Pass

2 NT Pass 3 NT All Pass

Opening lead — ♠ 5

BRIDGE

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— Frank Stewart