Plan the play at trick one. Bridge Column for February 6, 2004, Harvey Bernstein Special To The Plain Dealer East-West vulnerable. South deals. North S: Q J 10 8 5 4 2 H: 3 D: 9 7 2 C: J 9 West East S: 9 7 S: Void H: K Q 10 8 H: 9 6 5 4 2 D: A 10 5 D: Q J 8 C: K 7 4 2 C: Q 10 8 5 3 South S: A K 6 3 H: A J 7 D: K 6 4 3 C: A 6 The Bidding: South West North East 2NT Pass 3H Pass 3S Pass 4S Pass Pass Pass West led the king of hearts, taken by South with the ace. Declarer had nine tricks and saw that if he could eliminate clubs without East gaining the lead he could endplay West with the jack of hearts. So he crossed to dummy with the queen of spades to lead the nine of clubs hoping to duck this to West. East was alert and played the ten. South won the ace, drew the last outstanding trump and exited with a club. East won the queen of clubs, then led the queen of diamonds, resulting in a one trick set. South felt that he had been unlucky during the play, but the truth was he had lost the hand at trick one. What happens if he ducks the first trick? West will most likely shift to a small club. Declarer wins this with the ace. A spade to the queen and a spade back to the ace extracts the defenders trump. The ace of hearts allows declarer to discard the jack of clubs from the dummy. Next, the six of clubs is trumped in the dummy. A spade is returned to the king and the jack of hearts is placed on the table. West has to win while declared discards a diamond from the dummy. If West cashes the ace of diamonds it is his last trick. If he leads a heart or a club, declarer gets a diamond discard in the dummy while trumping in hand. If your goal is to keep one of the defenders off of the lead, one option is to allow the other defender to hold a trick. Often that happens very early in the play. District 5 of the American Contract Bridge League sponsored the Rock and Roll Regional Bridge Tournament from January 14 to 18 in Independence. The following players were successful in their respective events on January 16. Other results appeared in previous columns, more will be listed in future columns. Two Session Open Pairs (84 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Douglas Simson and Walter Johnson, Columbus. 2. Frank Aquila, Fairlawn, and Jerome Rolnick, Lyndhurst. Stratum B. 1. William Lea, Jr., Reynoldsburg, and Steven Grzegorzewski, Meadville, PA. 2. Barbara Grzegorzewski, Meadville, PA, and Dave Donald, Vineyard Haven, MA. Stratum C. 1. James and Sara Buford, Lorain. 2. Peggy and Bill Behrens, Cleveland. Afternoon Continuous Pairs (28 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Lois Butler, Chagrin Falls, and Barbara Sobel, Willoughby. 2. Edia Shai, University Heights, and Albert Freeman, Cleveland. Stratum B. 1. Judy Solganik, Shaker Heights, and Barbara Kusner, Orange Village. 2. Eileen Gibbs and Rosemarie Kleis, Solon. Stratum C. 1. Solganik and Kusner. 2. Charles Callam, Bloomfield, MI, and Walter Callam, Aurora. Evening Continuous Pairs (40 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Patricia Rasmus, Hamburg, NY, and Kathy Pollack, Tonawanda, NY. 2. Robert Phifer, Willoughby, and D. Albertone, Wickliffe. Stratum B. 1. Phifer and Albertone. 2. Nithi and Kevin Sivaneri, Morgantown, WV. Stratum C. 1. The Sivaneris. 2. Dorothy Mehok, Sewickley, PA and Marlene McConnell, Allison Park, PA. Afternoon Non Life Master Pairs (14 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Dorothy Brookins, North Canton, and David Plottner, Chagrin Falls. 2. Opal Taylor, Solon, and Jan Woodruff, Akron. Stratum B. 1. Rose Liszak, Avon Lake, and Carol Cooperider, North Olmsted. 2. Clarence and Martha Kistemaker, Cleveland. Stratum C. 1. Leonard Synk, Seven Hills, and Andy Romito, Twinsburg. 2. Fleur Howard and Mary Lou Vermerris, Gates Mills. Evening Non Life Master Pairs (20 pairs). Strata A & B. 1. Clarence and Martha Kistemaker, Cleveland. 2. Al Carusotti, Cleveland, and Leonard Synk, Seven Hills. Stratum C. 1. Paula Shrut and Dale Gregg, Pittsburgh, PA. 2. Bruce and Sue Walker, Miamisburg. Wednesday/Thursday Continuous Pairs Overall Awards (170 players). 1. Sophie Novak, Solon. 2. Fred Eberlin, Cleveland. 3. Asim Ulke, Monroeville, PA. _______________________________________________________ Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon.