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BRIDGE BITES #16
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DON’T OVERRUFF!
Brian Gunnell |
This week you are West,
defending 3♠. You must make three good plays in order to beat this
contract. Are you up to the challenge?
Both Vulnerable
West North East South
1♠
Pass
1NT 2♥
2♠
Pass
Pass 3♣ 3♠
Pass
Pass Pass
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♠ 2
♥
Q764
♦
KQ752
♣ QT4 |
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♠ A86
♥
J2
♦
9864
♣ 7632 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
You lead the
♥J which holds
the trick, Partner playing the Ten. Partner wins the second Heart trick with
the Eight, and then plays a high Heart. Declarer ruffs this with the Nine and
it’s time for you to make your first good play.
►
Well, we suppose that the title of this article
is something of a clue, and you must decline to overruff. That’s the first
hurdle cleared. Now Declarer leads the ♠Q,
and you have arrived at the second hurdle. Do you win this trick?
►
No, you duck this trick. As it happens,
Partner wins with the King, and plays yet another high Heart. Declarer
ruffs this with the Ten, what do you do?
►
Don’t overruff!
If you overruff with the Ace that will be the defense’s last trick, as Declarer
has the ♠J to look after your Eight.
But if, for the second time, you decline to overruff, you will have the
Ace-Eight sitting over Declarer’s Jack-Seven. Down one!
►
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♠ 2
♥
Q764
♦
KQ752
♣ QT4 |
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♠ A86
♥
J2
♦
9864
♣ 7632 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ K5
♥
AKT98
♦
J
♣ KJ985 |
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♠ QJT9743
♥
53
♦
AT3
♣ A |
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Let’s admire Declarer’s long and
robust Spade suit. The Ten and the Nine are big cards! After the Ace-King have
been knocked out, those intermediates can look after the rest of the suit. In
fact, even if the trumps split 4-1, it looks like that lovely Spade Nine will
come to the rescue and make sure that the enemy ♠8 does no damage. But,
remarkably, by the simple expedient of not overruffing a couple of times, it
turns out that even the A86 will produce two natural trump tricks!
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