BRIDGE
Blockade
Andrew Robson
TO HOLD good trump support for part- ner can hardly be a bad thing in itself. But if all your strength is in trumps and the rest of your hand is barren, you should be wary of bidding too optimistically. You are what is known as 'trump bound'.
Dealer East Neither Side Vulnerable The Bidding South West North East pass 1V pass 4V pass pass pass If you replaced North's VQJ with two small Vs, and made two small cards else- where into a queen and a knave, then North would be worth 4V. As it was, VQJ rated to be wasted — the r suit figured to play without loss in either case — and a 3V reply would have been sufficient. 4V was a truly dreadful contract. Yet it made through a combination of good declarer play and poor defence. West led •K and, when it held, followed with *Q. His +J switch was won by +K and declarer drew trumps, cashed +A, crossed to a trump in dummy, trumped +7, then led 43. West played 48 and dummy's 4K held the trick, East playing 42. He returned 45 and East's 4Q won the trick. With no more tes to play, East was forced to lead a minor-suit card. Declarer trumped in hand, discarded 47 from dummy, and claimed the rest. West had `gone to bed' with his 4A and was none too impressed with his partner's defence. Can you see why? East should have unblocked his 40 under dummy's 4K, enabling West to win the second 4 trick and cash a third round. Such unblocking plays are easy to miss at the table, and I have seen many a contract slip through the net as a result.
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