BRIDGE BITES #80
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NERVES OF STEEL
Brian Gunnell |
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♠ AK76
♥ QJ
♦ J64
♣ QT76 |
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Both Vulnerable
South West North East
1♣ 1♦
1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass
4♠ Pass Pass Pass
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♠ 932
♥ T8754
♦ 75
♣ K43 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
As West, you lead a Diamond to East’s King,
East cashes the ♦A,
and you ruff the third round of the suit. You exit with a trump, safe in the
knowledge that this contract is surely going down, as surely your ♣K
will score a trick sooner or later. But, to make things more interesting, we
will assume that you are playing matchpoints and that it would therefore be
especially rewarding to beat this contract by two tricks. What is your
plan?
►
Your plan is simple enough, count the hand
carefully and work out Declarer’s distribution. Dummy’s ♠A
wins that, Dummy’s ♥Q
wins the next trick, then the ♠K is
cashed (East following), and then the ♥J
is covered by East’s King and Declarer’s Ace. A Heart is ruffed (East
following) and then a Club to Declarer’s Ace. What is Declarer’s distribution?
►
You know that Declarer started with four Spades
(Partner followed twice), and three Hearts (Partner followed three times). You
can reasonably assume that Partner started with five Diamonds for his overcall,
so Declarer started with three. That means that Declarer’s initial distribution
was 4=3=3=3. It was necessary for you to figure that out instantaneously as the
play developed, because Declarer’s next play is a low Club towards Dummy. Your
play is what?
►
Yes, of course, you are going to play low. You
know that you’ll score your ♣K
eventually, and by ducking you give Declarer the chance to misguess the Clubs by
finessing the Ten. If Declarer does misguess then it is indeed down two. Of
course, it’s not a good idea to start counting only when the low Club has been
led, the hesitation would give away the story. But if West counts along the way
then he can duck smoothly. Whether he does so with ennui or sangfroid or
aplombness is a matter of personal style.
►
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♠ AK76
♥
QJ
♦
J64
♣ QT76 |
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♠ 932
♥
T8754
♦
75
♣ K43 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ 54
♥
K93
♦
AKT98
♣ J92 |
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♠ QJT8
♥
A62
♦
Q32
♣ A85 |
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It didn’t really take nerves of
steel to duck the ♣K, all that was required was some counting as the play
unfolded. That would have reassured West that Declarer started with three Clubs
and not a doubleton, and that the ♣K was sure to score a trick sooner or later.
However, Declarer could have made
West’s job more difficult. Do you see how?
►
Yes, Declarer should play Club at
the earliest possible opportunity, before West has a count on the hand. After
the three Diamonds have been lost, Declarer should win the trump shift in hand
and lead a low Club immediately. West will have no idea whether Declarer
started with his actual hand or with: ♠QJT85,
♥A62,
♦Q32,
♣A8,
and will grab his ♣K to be on the safe
side.
We are often taught that Declarer should avoid
the crucial guess until as much evidence as possible has been gathered. But it
works both ways, and sometimes that evidence-gathering is helpful only to the
defense!
One more question. Suppose that Declarer does
decide to put West to the Club test early in the play. Remember, the defense
takes its three Diamond tricks and shifts to a Spade. Declarer wins that and
plays on Clubs. Why not cash the ♣A
first, and then lead a low Club?
►
Two reasons:
-
Declarer might run into a Club ruff (if one of the defenders has ♣Kxxx).
-
When Declarer cashes the ♣A, East
will give a count signal, playing the Two. That low card shows an odd
number of Clubs, making life easier for West who will now know for sure that
Declarer does not have a doubleton.
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