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BRIDGE BITES # 131
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TALE OF TWO SUITS
Brian Gunnell |
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♠ AQ
♥
A72
♦
9432
♣ 6542 |
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Both
Vulnerable
South
West North East
1NT Pass 3NT Pass
Pass Pass
Thanks in large part to
the horrible Spade duplication (where ten HCP bring in two measly
tricks), 3NT needs some luck. And, after the opening lead of the Spade
Five, 3NT also requires careful play in Diamonds and Hearts. Can you
make nine tricks? |
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Dummy
West East
Declarer |
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♠ KJ
♥
QJT8
♦
KJT5
♣ KQ8 |
►
Your best chance for nine tricks
is to score four Hearts and three Diamonds. How do you play the Diamonds?
►
Yes, you must take the tiny
precaution of leading a low Diamond from the board. The trap to be
avoided is running the Nine. That would be fatal if East has the singleton
Queen, in which case West’s spots would prevent the suit from running. So,
Dummy’s ♠Q wins the first trick, and a low Diamond is led, East playing the
Queen, covered by your King and West’s Ace. East’s play of the Queen suggests
that your safety play in Diamonds has borne fruit! West returns the Spade Two,
again won on the board. You get back to hand with a Diamond (East pitching a
Club), should you cash the remaining Diamonds at this point?
►
No, you must refrain from cashing
the two other Diamond winners, they may provide some useful back-and-forth later
in the play. Instead, you lead the
♥Q,
covered by the King and Ace. Back to hand with the
♥J,
both defenders following, but neither dropping the all-important Nine. Where is
that Nine?
►
You don’t know for sure, so you
will go with the odds. West’s opening lead was the Spade Five (presumably his 4th
best), and he later played the Two, so he appears to have started with a minimum
of five Spades. West also started with four Diamonds, that’s nine of his cards
accounted for. By contrast, East started with a total of only five cards in
those suits. Clearly, East has more room in her hand for Hearts, and the odds
tell you to finesse against East for the Heart Nine rather than to play for the
drop. So, you cash the Diamond Ten, cross to Dummy’s carefully preserved Nine,
and finesse the Heart Eight. Nine well-earned tricks! Here is the full
diagram:
►
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♠ AQ
♥
A72
♦
9432
♣ 6542 |
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♠ T8652
♥
K6
♦
A876
♣ AJ |
North
West East
Declarer |
♠ 9743
♥
9543
♦
Q
♣ T973 |
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♠ KJ
♥
QJT8
♦
KJT5
♣ KQ8 |
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The secrets of success on this
one were:
(a)
Playing a low
Diamond on the first round as a safety play against East having the singleton
Queen.
(b)
Not cashing the
last two Diamonds prematurely, in order to provide later transportation.
(c)
Counting out the
enemy distribution to arrive at the winning Heart guess.
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