HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Thursday, April 20, 2023

ARIES — People could be exploding with rage all around, and you may wonder what the big deal is. If anyone is likely to have a level head through today’s chaos, it’s you, and this gives you a tremendous advantage in any situation. The beauty of it is that you should be able to use these situations to your advantage.

TAURUS — The more you try to control others, the harder it will be to get what you want, Taurus. People with equally strong wills are making it known they won’t be bullied by your manipulative behavior.

If a straightforward approach doesn’t work, let it be. Perhaps the situation wasn’t meant to develop the way you wanted.

GEMINI — You may join hands with a spokesperson who’s willing to attest to your honesty and good nature, Gemini. This person is happy to step up and toot your horn for you. You’ve earned a space in the spotlight, so don’t shrink into the background when your name is called. Graciously accept the praise you receiveyou deserve it. Next,

CANCER — You may get frustrated when people who’ve taken shortcuts gain on your position, Cancer. You believe that hard work is necessary to get where you need to go. You aren’t afraid to expend the blood and sweat needed for success. You’ve planned well and you’re on track.

LEO — You may not realize the effect of your erratic behavior on other people, Leo. They may try to understand your viewpoint, but at times it seems you’re talking in riddles. Slow down and clarify your thoughts before you dictate orders to others. You have incredible power.

VIRGO — It may be best if you stay out of the line of fire, Virgo. Don’t get into others’ battles. By choosing sides, you create enemies. Use your compassion to soothe the situation. Use your caring nature to put out the fire. Don’t get sucked into the flames where you may add to the confusion. Your job is to stand aside.

LIBRA — Although your general mood is good, Libra, this doesn’t mean your day will go off without a hitch. When it comes to projects and getting things done, you may be the one to take the lead. You’re good at motivating the troops to move as a unified force. The one thing to be careful of is having selfish motives.

SCORPIO — Difficult situations may arise in which you feel like you’re doomed no matter what you do. Finding a working solution seems impossible due to the egos of the people involved. Even if everything looks workable on paper, this is no guarantee that things will work out in real life.

SAGITTARIUS — Be quick to point out when you see an injustice, Sagittarius. If someone says something offensive or untrue, don’t let it slide. If you do, you’re just as much at fault as the person who committed the offense. When you know you’re right, say so. It’s important that others respect you.

CAPRICORN — Your emotions may be erratic, Capricorn. You may want everyone to know what you’re feeling and act out in an immature manner to get noticed. In a way, you feel like a kid who will do anything to get a parent’s attention, even if the action is naughty. At the same time, you don’t want to be seen as the bad kid.

AQUARIUS — You may be fidgeting, Aquarius, given your general restlessness. You’re anxious to get up and do some sort of song and dance, and yet you insist on waiting for the right time. Meanwhile, you’re getting extremely anxious for your big moment. You’re in charge of your own show. If you feel ready to go on, don’t wait.

PISCES — Although you may pride yourself on your patience, Pisces, this quality could be hard to come by today. It’s possible that you’ve bent as far as you can and reached the breaking point. The final straw is about to be placed on the camel’s back. Let loose the explosion of emotion called for by events.

Daily Bridge

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

Thursday, April 20, 2023

I’ve heard an optimist defined as someone who finds his basement flooded and goes in search of a fishing pole. In some deals, declarer must be optimistic and assume the missing cards lie favorably.

Today’s North-South push to four spades after West’s weak jumpovercall. West leads the queen of clubs, and South takes the ace, leads a trump to his queen and cashes the ace.

West discards, so South has two trump losers, a diamond and a club. He has a two-way guess for the queen of hearts. Is his play really a guess?

CLUB LOSER

South must run the hearts to discard dummy’s club loser and ruff his last club in dummy. He must find East with four hearts; even if South locates the queen, a 3-3 break won’t help him since East will ruff the fourth heart and cash a high trump.

So South should assume East’s hearts are Q-x-x-x. South leads to the ace and lets the ten ride. He leads a heart to his jack, throws dummy’s last club on the king and ruffs a club in dummy, making his game. DAILY QUESTION

You hold: A Q 4 3

5 6 3. Your partner opens one club, you respond one spade and he next bids two hearts.

Sudoku

Codeword Puzzle

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday through Saturday.

Crossword Puzzle

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid. Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

Puzzle

What do you say?

ANSWER: Your partner has “reversed” and promises substantial extra values — in some styles, enough to force to game opposite a minimum response. A hand such as 5, A Q 9 3, K 4 3, A K Q 10 4 will offer a play for 13 tricks at hearts.

Raise to three hearts (forcing) to set the trump suit. You will cue-bid your aces later. South dealer