By Valerie Rhead
OUT WITH THE TRUMP
I don’t mean (The Donald) trump. I mean spades when you’re playing in a four-spade contract. Get the trump out first thing, that is, unless you have a reason not to. There are valid reasons to postpone drawing trump. The danger, of course, is that by leaving trump in your opponents’ hands, they may use it to capture your good aces and kings.
Sometimes you have a job to do before tackling the trump suit. Perhaps the only entries in dummy are in the dummy’s trump suit? You have to hold your breath and take a chance. Use those entries to get to the board so that you can do such things as finessing the tenaces in your hand.
Perhaps, you are missing the ace of trump. If you try to establish the trump suit, the opponents can get in with their ace and cash some of your losers. Before drawing trump, maybe you can get rid of some of those losers. For example, hearts are trump and you have three little diamonds in the dummy and another three little ones in your hand. You have the ace, king, queen of clubs in the dummy and a singleton club in your hand. Before drawing trump, you can run the three club honours throwing off the singleton club and two of your diamond losers.
Sometimes I have seen newer players postpone drawing trump when they should have jumped right in and got rid of them. Perhaps they are missing the ace and king of the trump suit and they are reluctant to lose those two tricks. Well, they will lose those tricks eventually, and postponing drawing trump will not prevent it. More likely, the opponents will ruff with their other small trump and get an extra trick or two to which they are not entitled. You do not want to play Santa Claus giving gifts to you opponents! This would have been avoided if declarer had got the trump out.
To play these hands well and to make the correct decisions about how you will handle the trump suit, you must plan the hand even before you play your first card. Otherwise, it may be too late. But remember the basic rule. Always get your trump out as soon as possible, unless there’s a reason not to. Bye, bye Mr. trump.
If you wish to promote an activity in your bridge group, send the information to [email protected] and I will include it in this column.
HUNTSVILLE DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB
Games for the Huntsville Club are Tuesday evening 7:15, Trinity United Church 33 Main Street. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early. Call Betty 705-789-2560 [email protected] or Susan at 705-789-7156 [email protected] for information and partnerships. For the winter, the game is now held downstairs in the warm basement. To avoid the long stairs, enter from the door on Main Street. There will be a game as usual 7:15pm Tues Dec 29. Starting Jan 5 the game moves to the afternoon 1pm for Jan-Feb-Mar.
The following results are for Tuesday, Dec 22 with 6 tables playing a Howell movement. 1. Kelly Andresen and Kel Andresen; 2. Fay MacDonald and Yvonne Cox; 3. Val Rhead and Peter Rhead; 4. Susan Marshall and Betty Bennett; 5. Barb Green and Joanne Garvey; 6. Mary Whitehead and Helen Pearson
MUSKOKA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB (Bracebridge)
Games at the Bracebridge Club are at the Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Taylor Road 7pm Monday evenings. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before game time. For information/partnerships, call Brian at 705-645-5340 [email protected]
The Bracebridge game is cancelled Monday Dec 28 but we will continue our regular schedule Monday Jan 4.
The following results are for Monday, Dec 21 with 7 tables playing a Howell movement. 1. Betty Fagin and Brian Brocklehurst; 2. Liz Barnes and David Bryce; 3. Pamela Jardine and Ralph Mitchell; 4. Kel Andresen and Jim Smith; 5. Art Insley and Don Evans; 6. Bev Parlett and Vern Foel; 7. Mary Luke and Donna McIntosh
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