BRIDGE BITES #101
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WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS
Brian Gunnell |
♠ A95
♥
K854
♦
KJ653
♣ Q |
|
None Vulnerable
South West North
East
1♣
Pass 1♠
Dbl 2♣
2NT Pass 3NT
Pass
Pass Pass
Optimistic N-S bidding
lands South in a seemingly hopeless 3NT. But one good thing about such
contracts is that it’s so much fun when they make! You will need to put
on your hornswoggling shoes for this one. |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ K64
♥
A63
♦
T42
♣ A765 |
West leads the ♣T and you hold up
your Ace. East continues the suit, and it looks safe to win that one (surely
West is now out of Clubs). Can you make nine tricks if East holds the
♦A?
No, if East has that card then the contract will be down on the run of the
Clubs. So, to make 3NT, you must assume that West has the
♦A.
Next question. Where is the
♦Q?
►
If West has the
♦A,
then you can safely assume that, in order for East to have his opening bid, he
must hold all the missing Queens, including the
♦Q.
Things are looking bleak, but perhaps East’s
♦Q is singleton, will that
help?
►
No, the
♦Q
will fall under the King, but West has the spots and will get two Diamond
tricks, giving you no more than eight total tricks. When all else fails, you
must rely on a defensive error. Can you see a way to put East to the test?
►
Yes, there’s a neat little
swindle in the cards! After winning the ♣A, you cross to Dummy’s
♥K and leads a low
Diamond! If East is not at the top of his game he will routinely play low, and
your Ten will force the Ace. Later, the
♦Q
falls under the King, and you have four Diamond tricks and nine altogether!
►
|
♠ A95
♥
K854
♦
KJ653
♣ Q |
|
♠ JT732
♥
T72
♦
A98
♣ T2 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ Q8
♥
QJ9
♦
Q7
♣ KJ9843 |
|
♠ K64
♥
A63
♦
T42
♣ A765 |
|
Could East have figured it out
and risen majestically with the ♦Q?
It’s not an easy play to find at the table, but also not impossible. East might
reason as follows:
-
Declarer knows that East’s Clubs are ready to run
-
Declarer also knows that East has most of the missing HCP
- So, Declarer is not going to win her (presumed)
♦A and finesse
the second round of Diamonds into East’s hand
-
Therefore the ♦Q
is a dead duck, and it might as well be played, just in case Declarer is trying
a swindle.
Sounds simple when it’s put like that, but very
difficult to make the play in real life!
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