Find the right play. Bridge Column for June 23, 2007, Harvey Bernstein Special To The Plain Dealer Neither side vulnerable. East deals. North S: K J 6 5 3 H: A 8 6 D: 4 C: K Q 7 3 West East S: 2 S: 9 7 H: 10 3 H: K Q 5 2 D: A 9 7 3 2 D: K J 6 5 C: 9 8 6 5 4 C: A J 2 South S: A Q 10 8 4 H: J 9 7 4 D: Q 10 8 C: 10 The Bidding: East South West North 1D 1S 3D 4D Pass 4S Pass Pass Pass Opening lead: AD Thanks to Paul Facinelli of Avon for this hand from a matchpoint event. After a very normal auction, West led the ace of diamonds. East played the jack. When the dummy has a singleton, East's play is "suit preference", so the jack of diamonds requested a heart shift. Accordingly, West led the ten of hearts to trick two. Declarer played low from dummy and East won the queen. East led a trump to trick three. Declarer won the ace and played a spade to the king, extracting the last defensive trump. Here is the postition after four tricks have been played: North S: J 6 5 H: A 8 D: Void C: K Q 7 3 West East S: Void S: Void H: 3 H: K 5 2 D: 9 7 3 2 D: K J 6 C: 9 8 6 5 C: A J 2 South S: Q 10 8 H: J 9 7 D: Q 10 C: 10 The lead is in the North hand and it appears that declarer must lose a club and a heart for down one. Declarer, however, found the play that brought the game home. Do you see it? At trick five a small club was called for and East played the jack, which held. East now found himself completely end- played. Any card he selected allowed declarer to make the rest of the tricks and bring home ten tricks. In actuality, East played the ace of clubs to the next trick. Declarer trumped and used the two top clubs for heart discards. Biddng and making four spades was a tie for top on the hand. Very well done. District Five of the American Contract Bridge League held the All-American Regional Bridge Tournament in Independence on May 22 - 28. The following players were successful in their respective events on May 25. Other results were listed in previous columns, more will appear later. Two Session Stratified Swiss Teams (44 teams). Stratum A. 1. Douglas Simson and Walter Johnson, Columbus, with Rick Benstock and Dan Gertsman, Buffalo, NY. 2. James Reeve, North Royalton, George Cotterman, Barnesville, Ronald Kral, Reston, VA, and Barry Boyd, Wheeling, WV. Stratum B. 1. Wayne Heritage, North Olmsted, Robert Dykes, Lakewood, James Breckel, Medina, Roger Sokol, Minooka, IL, and Bruce Sokol, Stevensville, MI. 2. Conner Boyd, Wheeling, WV, Kathy Pollock, Tonawanda, NY, Judith Padgug, Amherst, NY, and Joanne, Kelley, Fredonia, NY. Stratum C. 1. Ken Meier, Orchard Park, NY, Dorothy May, Cheektowaga, NY, Nan Denn, Lewistown, NY, Walter Olszweski, North Tonawanda, NY. 2. John and Virginia Gajar with Ken and Mary Cornelius, Ann Arbor, MI. Two Session Stratified Pairs (52 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Eva Lefton, Cleveland, and Sally Kane, Willoughby. 2. Detlef Ladewig, Toronto, and Yatindra Sahae, Carmel Valley, CA. Stratum B. 1. Tom Martin, Hudson, and Charles Lyon, Akron. 2. Alan Steggles, Ravenna, and Virginia Bissig, Bear Lake, MI. Stratum C. 1. Sumant Lall and Larry Gesoff, Pittsburgh. 2. David and Jane Larcom, Hamburg, NY. Bracketed Knock Out Teams. Bracket 1 (12 teams). 1. John Stonebraker, Indiana, PA, Jim McKeown, State College, PA, with Jack and Vicki Goodykoontz, Morgantown, WV. 2. Jan Assini, Aurora, Richard Early, Cuyahoga Falls, Marc Rabinowitz, Hudson, John Toy, Buffalo, NY, and Larry Long, Benton, TN. Bracket 2 (9 teams). 1. Charles and Joan Pfeifer, and Jack Charles, Pittsburgh, with Carol Bolen, Gibsonia, PA. 2. Stanley and Molly Jaffe, Beachwood, with William Collis and Naresh Shah, Lexington, KY. Bracket 3 (15 teams). 1. Robert Carroll and Sally Taylor, Warren, Pauline Sostarich, Hermitage, PA, and Rosemarie Muccie, Niles. 2. Douglas Henderson, Rocky River, Vivian Shanafelt, Medina, Lowell Lutz, Brunswick, and Edith Dus-Garden, Fairview Park. Bracket 4 (16 teams). 1. Sam Den, Mentor, Chang-Li Lu and Charles Wen, Strongsville, with Subramania Krishnamurthi, Naperville, IL. 2. Aloise and Walter Bates, Shaker Heights, Martha Thompson and Dorothy Rendlesham, Cleveland, with Marilyn Doman, Chagrin Falls. Afternoon Side Game (24 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Lois Butler, Chagrin Falls, and Barbara Sobel, Willoughby. 2. Thomas Franta, North Canton, and Boots Frey, Canton. Stratum B. 1. Franta and Frey. 2. Ruth Tomito, Twinsburg, and Sheila Fox, Cleveland. Stratum C. Tie for 1/2. Vivien Sevin, Lyndhurst, and Gayle Singer, Moreland Hills, with Linda Evans, Monongahela, PA, and Mary Jo Johnson, Latrobe, PA. Evening Side Game (29 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Jim Bachelder and George St. Pierre, Columbus. 2. Niel and Joan Ann Waletzky, Beachwood. Stratum B. 1. Richard Mills, West Salem, and Terry Ernst, Oran, MO. 2. Nancy Brown, Silver Lake, and William Riley, Akron. Stratum C. 1. Mills and Ernst. 2. James and Linda Stahl, Chagrin Falls. Afternoon 299er Pairs (16 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Laura and Raymond Palascak, Rocky River. 2. Judith Alderman and John Glezen, Fayetteville, NY. Stratum B. 1. The Palscaks. 2. Sally Sharp and Alexandra Walker, Akron. Evening 299er Pairs (12 pairs). Stratum A. 1. David and Lucy Poeppelman, Ottowa. 2. Rita Davis, Avon Lake, and Judith Santora, North Olmsted. Stratum B. 1. The Poeppelmans. 2. Paula Madvid and Evelyn Charna, Chagrin Falls. _______________________________________________________ Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon. To reach Harvey Bernstein: hjb0416@yahoo.com