IMPATIENCE BACKFIRES.

In bridge, there are holdings that are immediate losers, which is to say, tricks lost when the defenders get the lead, and there are eventual losers, meaning small cards protected from being taken by higher cards.  A winning plan looks for ways to discard those eventual losers on extra winners on the board, or opportunities to ruff them on the board.  That's always the challenge, keeping enough trump cards around to ruff those losers if the extra winners aren't around, or setting up the defender to give you a ruff and discard on a trick.

Today's irregular Saturday bridge column features a simulation where the defenders helped the cause by knocking off all the immediate losers immediately.  I've noted before that the robot players bid strange contracts, here four Hearts with all of eight points looks like an iffy game, but here we go.

Count those losers first: two Spades; if the Hearts break 0-3, a third loser; two Diamonds; and two Clubs.  There's not much to do about those Spades, one might be able to finesse a Diamond, and if two rounds of trumps draws all the defenders' holdings, there are two left to deal with those two Clubs.

Then West, the algorithm, opens with the ♦ Jack: low, Ace, Three.  The defenders have one of the four tricks to set the contract, but they've also established an extra winner on the board.  Yes, East and West are able to cash both of their high Spades, West continuing with the ♣ Seven: ten, Queen, King.  Just like that, there's only one Club loser left, and after the trumps break 1-2, lead the ♥ Five to the Ten, cash the ♣ Ace, and ruff that Jack on the board.  Nothing like having lots of resources.

From there it's mopping up.

Nothing left for the defenders to do irrespective of what I play next.  Game over.  Could the defenders have done better by keeping some of their honors for future use?