Quiz 8D35 Main

Valentine’s Legacy

by Richard Pavlicek

Few people are aware that Valentinus Episcopus, better known as St. Valentine, was the greatest bridge player of all time (future included) and if anyone doubts this I can offer proof.

Archaeologists recently excavated six more clay tablets of hands played by St. Valentine, all fittingly in hearts, but water erosion has made his plays indiscernible. That’s where you fit in! Try to determine how St. Valentine played, but don’t fret. If you butcher the play, just chalk it up to another St. Valentine’s Day massacre.

Choose your play on each problem then click “Score Me” to see how you did. Explanations follow the quiz.

Are you ready? Then play away!

Problem 1

Total points	7 2		`West`	`North`	`East`	`South`
None vul	Q J 10				Pass	1
	A Q J 5 2		Pass	2	Pass	3 NT
	Q 7 3		Pass	4	Pass	Pass
			Pass
Lead: 8		East plays 2
Lead: 8		East plays 2

	A J 3
	A K 5 4 3
	4 3
4 South	A 10 2		You will discover that hearts split 3-2.

Your play? A. Win K, finesse Q
B. Win 10, lead 2 to jack
C. Win 10, K, finesse Q
D. Win 10, Q, K, finesse Q
E. Win 10, lead Q
F. Win 10, lead 3 to 10

Problem 2

Total points	4 3		West	North	East	South
Both vul	K J 10 9					1
	Q 10 6		Pass	1 NT	Pass	2
	K 8 7 6		Pass	3	Pass	4
			Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: Q		East plays 5
Lead: Q		East plays 5

	A K 8 7 6 5
	A Q 7 2
	9 8
4 South	4		You duck, and West continues (from Q-J-10-9).

Your play? A. Ruff, win A-K
B. Ruff, win A, J, lead 4
C. Ruff, win A, A, J, lead 4
D. Ruff, win A, duck a spade
E. Ruff, lead 9
F. Pitch a diamond

Quit
Top Valentine’s Legacy

Problem 3

Total points	10 8 7 3 2		`West`	North	`East`	South
N-S vul	K Q			Pass	Pass	1
	K 10 9 8		Pass	1	Pass	2
	J 6		Pass	2	Pass	3
			Pass	4	All Pass
Lead: 2		East wins Q
Lead: 2		East wins Q

	A J
	A 9 8 7 5 4
	7
4 South	K Q 7 2		East shifts to the 6 (West’s lead shows 3 or 5 diamonds).

Your play? A. Win A, K, lead 9 and ruff
B. Win A, K, lead 9 and pitch J
C. Win A, K-Q, lead 9 and ruff
D. Win A, K-Q, lead 9 and pitch J
E. Win A, lead 2
F. Finesse J

Problem 4

Total points	9 8 7		`West`	`North`	`East`	`South`
None vul	10 2				4	6
	10 7 2		Pass	Pass	Pass
	Q 6 5 4 2

Lead: 6		East plays 10


	A
	A K Q J 9
	A J 4
6 South	A K 8 7		You win the A and lead trumps (both follow to two rounds).

Your play? A. Win A-K-Q-J, lead 4
B. Win A-K-Q-J, run clubs
C. Win A, 10, ruff spade
D. Win A, 10, give up spade
E. Win A, 10, run 10
F. Win A, 10, finesse J

Quit
Top Valentine’s Legacy

Problem 5

Total points	Q J 10 9		West	`North`	East	`South`
E-W vul	J 10 4					1
	Q J 8 2		Pass	1	Pass	3 NT
	A 6		Pass	4	Pass	4
			Pass	5	Pass	6
Lead: J		East plays 7	All Pass
Lead: J		East plays 7

	A 2
	A K 9 8 3 2
	K 10 9
6 South	K Q		You win K and cash A (West discards 2).

What next? A. Lead K (wins), lead 9 to queen
B. Lead K (wins), A, run J
C. Lead 9 to queen
D. Win A, run Q
E. Win A, run J
F. Win A, lead Q

Problem 6

Total points	A J 6 5 4 3		`West`	North	`East`	South
N-S vul	A K 2			1	Pass	2
	2		Pass	4 ¹	Pass	5
	K 9 8		Pass	5	Pass	6
			Pass	Pass	Pass
Lead: J		East plays 4
Lead: J		East plays 4	1. splinter bid

	—
	Q 8 7 6 3
	A J 7 6 5 4
6 South	A J		You win the K.

What next? A. Win A, ruff spade
B. Ruff a spade
C. Lead 3 and pitch diamond
D. Win A, ruff a diamond
E. Duck a diamond
F. Finesse the J

Quit
Explanations
Top Valentine’s Legacy

Problem 1

Total points 7 2 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul Q J 10 1. W 8 10 2 3
A Q J 5 2 2. N 2 4 J K
Q 7 3 3. W 9 J 6 4
K 9 6 Table Q 10 8 5 4 4. N 7 5 A 6
9 8 7 6 2 5. S 3 9 Q 8
10 9 8 7 6 K 6. N 3 5 A 4
J 6 4 K 9 8 5 7. S A 6 2 7
A J 3 8. S 3 7 J K
A K 5 4 3 Win 4 more tricks
4 3
4 South A 10 2

Ruffing a spade in dummy is a virtual guarantee, while trying to set up diamonds could run afoul with a bad break in either red suit.

Problem 2

Total points 4 3 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul K J 10 9 1. W Q 6 5 4
Q 10 6 2. W J 7 2 9!
K 8 7 6 3. W 10 8 3 8!
J 10 2 Table Q 9 4. W 9 K A 2
4 8 6 5 3 5. S A 2 3 9
A 7 5 4 3 K J 2 6. S K 10 4 Q
Q J 10 9 A 5 3 2 7. S 5 J 9 2
A K 8 7 6 5 8. N 6 J 7 3
A Q 7 2 Crossruff the rest
9 8
4 South 4

Do not ruff the second or third club! Postponing the ruff-in allows either a complete crossruff, or the ability to establish spades if West shifts to a trump.

Quiz 8D35 Main Top Valentine’s Legacy

Problem 3

Total points 10 8 7 3 2 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul K Q 1. W 2 8 Q 7
K 10 9 8 2. E 6 A 4 2
J 6 3. S 4 2 K 3
K 4 Table Q 9 6 5 4. N 9 3 5 4
6 2 J 10 3 5. S 7 6 Q 10
J 6 5 4 2 A Q 3 6. N 10 A 8 5
A 9 8 3 10 5 4 7. S A 6 3 J
A J 8. S 2 3 J 4
A 9 8 7 5 4 9. N K 5 J J
7 10. N 6 5 Q A
4 South K Q 7 2 Win 2 more tricks

West’s lead suggests the A will ruff out, and the J will likely be a late entry. Note that pitching the J on the 9 fails with a club shift.

Problem 4

Total points 9 8 7 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul 10 2 1. W 6 7 10 A
10 7 2 2. S A 3 2 7
Q 6 5 4 2 3. S 9 4 10 8
6 2 Table K Q J 10 5 4 3 4. N 8 J 8! 2
6 5 4 3 8 7 5. E K J 3 9
Q 9 6 3 K 8 5 6. S K 5 2 3
J 10 9 3 7. S Q 6 7 4
A Win the rest
A K Q J 9
A J 4
6 South A K 8 7

Internal blockage in the club suit is overcome by pitching a club on a spade after ensuring that trumps split no worse than 4-2.

Quiz 8D35 Main Top Valentine’s Legacy

Problem 5

Total points Q J 10 9 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul J 10 4 1. W J 6 4 K
Q J 8 2 2. S A 2 10! 5
A 6 3. S 9! 3 Q! 6
K 5 4 3 Table 8 7 6 4. N J 6 2 3
— Q 7 6 5 5. N 4 7 8 3
5 4 3 A 7 6 6. S K 7 9 Q
J 10 8 7 3 2 9 5 4 7. S K 4 2 7
A 2 8. S 10 5 8 A
A K 9 8 3 2 9. E 6 A 4 10
K 10 9 Win the rest
6 South K Q

Unblock in hearts to facilitate drawing trumps, then lead a diamond to reach dummy. Note that if you wasted the A entry early, East could hold up the A to shut out dummy’s fourth diamond.

Problem 6

Total points A J 6 5 4 3 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul A K 2 1. W J K 4 3
2 2. N 3 2 7! 10
K 9 8 3. W 9 A 5 6
K 10 8 Table Q 9 7 2 4. N 4 7 7 8
J 10 9 5 4 5. S A 10 2 3
Q 10 K 9 8 3 6. S 6 Q 2 8
Q 5 4 3 2 10 7 6 7. N 5 9 8 K
— 8. S Q 10 8 9
Q 8 7 6 3 Win the rest
A J 7 6 5 4
6 South A J

Establishing diamonds requires a 3-3 split (unlikely) so play to establish spades, which depends on a 4-3 split (likely). You can only ruff twice in hand, so concede a spade early while it is safe.

Ding-Hwa Hsieh Wins!

These six problems were published in 2018 as a long-running contest, which is now closed. Congratulations to Ding-Hwa Hsieh (Missouri) who topped all participants with the only perfect score. Scoring was based on how many of the first eight plays on each problem matched my recommended plays, so the best possible score was 48 (8×6). Equivalent plays or transpositions were accepted as correct.

There were 49 participants, and only one attempt was allowed for each. Only those scoring 32 or higher are listed below. Ties are broken by the date and time of entry (earliest wins).

Honor Roll
Rank Name Location Score
1 Ding-Hwa Hsieh Missouri 48
2 Ben Norton England 47
3 Eddy Choi Hong Kong 46
4 John Lusky Oregon 46
5 Tony Elmroth Sweden 43
6 Jonathan Mestel England 42
7 Perry Groot Netherlands 42
8 Nicholas Greer England 41
9 Tom Slater England 41
10 Katalin Szentkiralyi Hungary 41
11 Ido Moskovits Israel 41
12 Grant Peacock Maryland 38
13 Ufuk Cotuk England 37
14 Sjaak Smetsers Netherlands 37
15 Richard Stein California 36
16 Margaret Reardon England 36
17 Gareth Birdsall England 35
18 Sherman Yuen Singapore 35
19 Charles Blair Illinois 34
20 Jim Munday Mississippi 32
21 Tomasz Miauczynski Poland 32
22 Jean-Baptiste Courtois France 32

Honor Roll
Rank	Name	Location	Score
1	Ding-Hwa Hsieh	Missouri	48
2	Ben Norton	England	47
3	Eddy Choi	Hong Kong	46
4	John Lusky	Oregon	46
5	Tony Elmroth	Sweden	43
6	Jonathan Mestel	England	42
7	Perry Groot	Netherlands	42
8	Nicholas Greer	England	41
9	Tom Slater	England	41
10	Katalin Szentkiralyi	Hungary	41
11	Ido Moskovits	Israel	41
12	Grant Peacock	Maryland	38
13	Ufuk Cotuk	England	37
14	Sjaak Smetsers	Netherlands	37
15	Richard Stein	California	36
16	Margaret Reardon	England	36
17	Gareth Birdsall	England	35
18	Sherman Yuen	Singapore	35
19	Charles Blair	Illinois	34
20	Jim Munday	Mississippi	32
21	Tomasz Miauczynski	Poland	32
22	Jean-Baptiste Courtois	France	32

Quiz 8D35 Main Top Valentine’s Legacy

Total points	7 2		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
N-S vul	Q J 10		1. W	8	10	2	3
	A Q J 5 2		2. N	2	4	J	K
	Q 7 3		3. W	9	J	6	4
K 9 6		Q 10 8 5 4	4. N	7	5	A	6
9 8		7 6 2	5. S	3	9	Q	8
10 9 8 7 6		K	6. N	3	5	A	4
J 6 4		K 9 8 5	7. S	A	6	2	7
	A J 3		8. S	3	7	J	K
	A K 5 4 3			Win 4 more tricks
	4 3
4 South	A 10 2