Rose is my club member whose kindness and courtesy toward her fellow players is exemplary, but even she gets exasperated with Cy the Cynic.

“It’s easier to form good habits than to break old ones,” Rose told me, “and Cy is a perfect example. I’ve never seen him pause at the first trick; he just plunges ahead.”

In a penny game, Cy was declarer at 3NT, and West led the queen of spades in deference to East’s overcall. When dummy played low, East followed with the nine, and the Cynic took his king, led a heart to dummy and let the queen of clubs ride. Alas, West won and led his last spade, and East took four spades for down one.

Rose had been North and managed not to betray her distress.

Cy habitually jumps on the first play that comes to mind. He must let West’s queen of spades win. East can win the next spade with the ace and take the jack, but then dummy’s ten is high. And when Cy loses a club finesse next, West has no more spades, and the contract is safe.

Daily question >> You hold: ? 10 6 5 3 ? A K ? K 2 ? Q J 10 9 5. Neither side vulnerable. The dealer, at your right, opens one heart. You double, and your partner responds (“advances”) two diamonds. The opponents pass. What do you say?

Answer >> Your double was risky and would not have been chosen by all experts. Some might pass, some might bid two clubs. Since partner has fixed you by bidding diamonds, you must pass. If you bid, you would show extra strength.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable

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