Toledo Blade – 4 Nov 1984
“Winning Bridge” by Victor Mollo, is the 25th book written by Victor Mollo, who in 1981 was voted America’s most popular bridge writer. “Winning Bridge” is a light-hearted approach to learning expert bridge and will appeal to both beginning and advanced players. It is neither a textbook nor a quiz book, but has some of the characteristics of each. The opening sentence of the first chapter sets the tone for solving many of the more than 100 hands diagrammed and discussed in the book: “On many a hand the point of no return comes at take off. The contract is makable at trick one, impossible thereafter. When dummy comes down, that’s the time to think and work out the best line of play, for there may not be another chance till the post-mortem.”
Here is a hand taken from the chapter titled “Trumps Defy the Laws of Gravity:”
North was the dealer and East/West were vulnerable. This was the bidding:
East’s two no trump is conventional, showing a two-suiter in the minors. West leads the eight of diamonds. How should South play?
There appears to be 13 tricks, the two black aces and 11 tricks on a cross-ruff. And yet, they may quickly shrink to 11 if South is careless.
He should ask himself: why did West, who must be shorter in clubs than in diamonds, lead the eight of diamonds?
The most likely explanation is that he has no clubs and, if so, the cross-ruff won’t work. West will ruff the ace of clubs and lead a trump. The solution is quite simple. On the eight of diamonds declarer throws dummy’s ace of clubs. Now he is safe. If East has a trump to lead, the king of diamonds will be South’s 12th trick.
These were the East-West hands:
