CROSSWORD
SUDOKU
BRIDGE by Phillip Alder
Kane County Chronicle / KCChronicle.com • Thursday, February 28, 2013
| PUZZLES
34
Is it a finesse or up-to-honors?
CELEBRITY CIPHER
Elvis Stojko, a Canadian figure skater who won three world championships, said, “I had the strength and the finesse there and put it all together.” Bridge declarers (and sometimes defenders) with high-card strength often put together tricks with finesses. There is rarely a deal without at least one finesse. However, occasionally a suit combination comes along that looks like a finesse, but isn’t. Which applies in this deal – finesse or look-alike non-finesse? South is in three no-trump. West leads the heart queen. What should declarer do? Would the best line change if South’s clubs were Q-J-9-2? When in no-trump, always start by counting your top tricks, your instant winners. Here South has seven: four spades, two hearts and one club. So, if he can rake in three club tricks, he will make his contract. Any declarer who thinks that club suit is a finessing combination will take the first trick with his heart king (he does not want to risk a diamond shift) and run the club queen. However, when East turns up with four clubs, three no-trump must fail. Instead, South should play a low club to dummy’s ace and return a club toward his queenjack. East will probably play low. Then declarer, after winning with his club queen, returns to dummy with a spade and leads another club to gain that third club trick. Interestingly, that is still the right approach even with acefourth opposite queen-jack-ninefourth. Running the queen loses when East has a singleton king. Lead toward the hand with the two honors.