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BRIDGE BITES #25
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FISHING FOR CLUES
Brian Gunnell |
As the play-of-the-hand develops
Declarer is constantly on the look-out for the clues which will point to the
right line of play. But these clues don’t always come gift-wrapped, sometimes
Declarer must go fishing.
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♠ 5
♥
QJ63
♦
AJ7432
♣ A8 |
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E-W Vulnerable
South West North
East
1♥
Pass 2♦
Pass
3♦
Pass 4♥
Pass
6♥
Pass Pass Pass
Against 6♥,
West leads a Heart and Declarer draws trumps in two rounds. It’s a
fine slam but not quite iron-clad. What is the only danger to this
slam?
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Dummy
West East
Declarer |
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♠ KQJT
♥
AKT75
♦
KT96
♣ |
►
There’s a Spade to be lost, and
the key to success is not to lose a Diamond.
If Diamonds are 2-1
then Declarer is home free, but suppose that the suit is 3-0. Now, Declarer has
a guess. If he thinks that West is more likely to hold three Diamonds
then he’ll play his ♦K
on the first round,later finessing against West’s Queen if East does indeed show
out. Conversely, he’ll play Dummy’s
♦A
first if he suspects that East might have the three Diamonds. Which do
you choose?
►
At this point it’s a complete
guess, so, before playing on Diamonds, Declarer goes fishing. He concedes a
trick to the Spade Ace, and let’s say that West returns a Club. Declarer ruffs
that, then cashes Spades, and reels in a whopper of a clue when East shows out
on the third round! Ha! Now Declarer knows that East started with four cards
in the majors, and West with eight. The odds have changed dramatically! If one
of the defenders has three Diamonds it’s surely East. So Declarer plays Dummy’s
♦A
on the first round, and says a silent “Yippee!” when West shows out. 12 tricks
if Declarer delays the Diamond play and first looks for clues in the other
suits.
►
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♠ 5
♥
QJ63
♦
AJ7432
♣ A8 |
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♠ A98432
♥
84
♦
♣ T9754 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ 76
♥
92
♦
Q85
♣ KQJ632 |
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♠ KQJT
♥
AKT75
♦
KT96
♣ |
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Declarer was quite right to play
on Spades in his search for clues, but there was also a clue in the bidding.
What was it?
►
Imagine that the E-W hands are
switched. If that were the case then East might well double 6♥.
It’s the so-called Lightner Double, asking for an unusual lead, which is most
likely to be Dummy’s first bid suit. In that case a Diamond lead would indeed
set 6♥.
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