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Careful Play Foils DefenseCAREFUL PLAY FOILS DEFENSE

dummy, or later

If you’ve ever had anything stolen out of your mailbox, or if a check has just failed to show up, you know the angst, trouble and problems that follow.

Let’s say you’re in six diamonds and West leads the ten of clubs. How would you proceed? If you fail to treat the hand with the respect it deserves, you’ll finish down one -- assuming best defense.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs has a way to safeguard the benefit money that comes to you. The Veterans Benefits Banking Program, for veterans and beneficiaries, will do a direct deposit into your account.

CONTRACT BRIDGE #12345_20230102

FOR RELEASE JAN. 2, 2023

By Steve Becker

According to the VA, if receiving a paper check, you’re 16 times more likely to have it lost or stolen. You’re 22 times more likely to have it go missing altogether and need to file a claim for it, which of course takes time. They say that since many veterans are using direct deposit, fraud has gone down by 93%.

And with direct deposit, you’ll get your money faster. It suddenly just appears in your account, on time, every time, not making its way through the postal system.

Through the banking program, there are 43 banking institutions that have signed up to provide low or nocost checking and savings accounts. You can find those banks here: veteransbenefitsbanking.org/financialinstitutions. (Don’t miss the FAQ.) Scroll down to the list of banks. If you already have a bank account (or credit union) and you like them, you can set up a direct deposit right into your account. Call the VA at 800-827-1000 and find more information at www. va.gov/change-direct-deposit.

It can take a little while to think about this kind of change if you’ve never had direct deposit. You can eliminate a big source of worry and potential problems if you consider signing up for direct deposit for your benefit payment.

For example, if you win the club, draw trump and lead a heart toward dummy, West follows low, and sooner or later you lose a spade and a club.

The best approach, after winning the club lead with the king, is to play a heart immediately. If West takes the ace, you have 12 tricks, so let’s assume he lets you win with dummy’s queen.

Now you cash the A-Q of trump, leaving one trump at large, then play the ace and another club toward your queen, hoping to find the suit divided 3-3. East produces the jack on the ace, then goes into deep thought trying to decide whether or not to ruff the five.

Actually, it doesn’t matter what he does. Let’s suppose he trumps the club. In that case, you play low from your hand, retaining the queen of clubs. With all the adverse trumps now out of circulation, you can later discard a spade from dummy on the club queen and make the slam by ruffing a spade in dummy.

If East does not ruff the third round of clubs, you are on equally firm ground. After winning with the queen, you ruff the seven of clubs with the jack of trump to produce your 12th trick.

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Let’s say you’re in six diamonds and West leads the ten of clubs. How would you proceed? If you fail to treat the hand with the respect it deserves, you’ll finish down one — assuming best defense.

the a heart the assume queen. Now leaving the queen, 3-3. then decide Actually, does. club. your clubs. now discard club ing If of ground. you jack trick.