This was the plan that Declarer
chose at the first table, but it was doomed. Declarer took the
♦A
on the first trick and returned the
♦J,
won by West’s Queen. But West promptly shifted to a Club and the defense got
their five tricks before Declarer could rustle up his nine tricks. Down one.
It seems impossible to make this
contract, but at the second table, Declarer found a way. What was it?
►
Declarer found a rather
surprising play. She smoothly dropped the Jack! Playing Declarer to have
started with doubleton AJ, West confidently led a low Diamond to East’s presumed
Nine. It was a joy to behold the look of astonishment on West’s face when it
was Declarer who produced the Nine and claimed her nine tricks. Here is the
full deal:
►
|
♠ KT4
♥
QJ4
♦
8432
♣ 975 |
|
♠ J87
♥
T3
♦
KQT6
♣ QT82 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ Q965
♥
9765
♦
75
♣ KJ3 |
|
♠ A32
♥
AK82
♦
AJ9
♣ A64 |
|
As you can see, there is no
legitimate way to make 3NT
and Declarer must resort to skullduggery. But that only makes the hand all the
more fun, don’t you think?