Bewitched and Bewildered

Darkest night in October due,
Hearkens for the witches’ brew.
West and South, East and North
Waken mortals! Venture forth!

Opening leads, I cannot see
Threaten not my spell on thee.
Win the ace, or win the king?
To my cauldron, it will cling!

Ducking plays are often cute,
Not if mixed with eye of newt!
Drawing trump on harvest moon?
Hardly, it can wait till June!

Finessing once, finessing twice?
Evil magic does it thrice!
Cover, then I’ll just play high’r.
Wilst thou join me in the fire?

Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Wield thy sword and take this dare.
Should thou find my quiz not fun?
Just be glad my poem is done!

Witchever way you spell it, this is a declarer-play challenge for all bridge players. You, South, are declarer in 4 on each of the six problems. Choose your play from options A-F. Each option is rated on a 1-to-10 scale based on my judgment.

In October of 2000 these problems were presented as a contest, which had 196 entrants from 72 locations. The contest is now closed, but you can still challenge yourself and find your score immediately.

Bidding is standard (unless noted). Opponents use standard leads and signals.
For a reference see Standard American Bridge. Assume all players are experts.

Time’s a-wasting. Let the fire burn and the cauldron bubble. You have nothing to worry about. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Make it through without toil and trouble, and you might win a valuable prize.*

*Prizes include fillet of bat, eye of newt, root of hemlock and scale of dragonfly.
Winners must be at least 18 years of age and licensed in sorcery.

Problem 1

IMPs	8 5 4			West	North	East	South
None vul	7 3 2			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	7 6 4						1
	A K 7 6			Pass	2	Pass	4
				Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: 6		East plays K
	A K 6 3 2
	A 4
	A K 3 2
4 South	4 2

Your play?

A. Win first heart, A, duck diamond
B. Win first heart, A, A, duck diamond
C. Win first heart, A, A-K, lead diamond
D. Win second heart, A, duck diamond
E.  Win second heart, A, A, duck diamond
F.  Win second heart, A, A-K, lead diamond

Problem 2

IMPs	A 8 4 3			West	North	East	South
E-W vul	K 7 6 2			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	Q J 4				1	Pass	1
	K 2			Pass	2	Pass	4
				Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: J		East plays 5
	Q 7 5 2
	A 3
	K 9 2
4 South	A J 8 3

Your play?

A. Win K, lead Q
B. Win K, lead spade to queen
C. Win K, K, A, ruff club
D. Win A, K, ruff heart
E.  Win A, A, lead spade to queen
F.  Win A, K, lead spade to queen

Problem 3

IMPs	K 3			West	North	East	South
None vul	6 5 4 3			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	Q 9 8 4						1
	A 4 2			Dbl	1 NT	2	3
				Pass	4	Pass	Pass
Lead: K		East plays 2		Pass
	A 8 7 6 5 4
	A 7
	3
4 South	K Q 6 5

Your play?

A. Win first heart, lead 3
B. Win first heart, lead 7
C. Win first heart, K, A, lead club
D. Win second heart, lead 3
E.  Win second heart, K, A, lead club
F.  Win second heart, K, ruff heart

Problem 4

IMPs	A K 4 3			West	North	East	South
N-S vul	7 5 4 3			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	A Q J 7			Pass	1	Pass	1
	2			Pass	3	Pass	4
				Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: 4		East plays K
	10 8 5 2
	Q 6
	K 4 2
4 South	A 9 6 5

After winning the A, what next?

A. Ruff a club
B. Lead a heart
C. Run diamonds
D. Win A, lead a heart
E.  Win A, run diamonds
F.  Win A-K, run diamonds

Problem 5

IMPs	J 3 2			West	North	East	South
Both vul	A 5			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	8 6 4 3					2	2
	Q 5 4 3			3	3	Pass	4
				Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: Q		East plays 8
	K Q 9 7 6 5
	9 4 3
	Q
4 South	A K 2

Your play?

A. Win first heart, lead diamond
B. Win first heart, lead 5
C. Win first heart, lead spade to king
D. Win second heart, lead diamond
E.  Win second heart, K, ruff heart
F.  Win second heart, lead spade to king

Problem 6

IMPs	J 10 4			West	North	East	South
Both vul	A K 7 6 4 3			LHO	Partner	RHO	You
	2				2	Pass	2
	10 7 2			Pass	4	Pass	Pass
				Pass
Lead: 5		East plays K
	A K 8 7 6 5
	2
	J 6 3
4 South	A 8 3

Your play?

A. Win first club, A-K, lead 2
B. Win first club, A-K, lead 3 and pitch club
C. Win first club, A-K, lead 3 and ruff low
D. Win second club, A-K, lead 2
E.  Win second club, A-K, lead 3 and ruff low
F.  Win second club, A-K, lead 3 and ruff high

Note: If you lead a third heart, East follows.

 Click to see how you did

Challenge 7V01 Main Analyses

Scores Top Bewitched and Bewildered

© 2000 Richard Pavlicek