BRIDGE BITES #109
|
RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK
Brian Gunnell |
|
♠ 32
♥
2
♦
J9876
♣ 87543 |
|
♠ JT7654
♥
T86
♦
54
♣ K2 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ KQ98
♥
9754
♦
KT2
♣ A6 |
|
♠ A
♥
AKQJ3
♦
AQ3
♣ QJT9 |
|
Perhaps the most charming bridge
book of all time is Right Through The Pack, published back in the late
forties. The setting is a bridge club in London, the players go home at the end
of the game, and the cards then come to life, all 52 of them eager to tell a
delightful tale in which they had excelled. If this deal were in that book then
it might well be The Tale of the Heart Two. See how that heroic little
fellow saves the day for Declarer.
Against a contract of 4♥,
West leads the ♠J and North tables a rather sad Dummy. To make her contract,
Declarer must set up some minor suit tricks. Can Declarer afford to draw trumps
before playing on the minors?
►
No, it won’t do to draw trumps
first and then start establishing minor winners, in that case the defense will
keep pounding away in Spades, forcing Declarer to lose trump control. Well, if
drawing trumps won’t work then one must do the other thing and not draw trumps.
Instead, Declarer plays on the minors, leaving Dummy’s valiant Heart Two at
large to handle the defensive Spade onslaught. Which minor should Declarer
attack at Trick 2?
►
There won’t be enough tricks from
Clubs alone because the suit is blocked, so Declarer plays the
♦Q
at Trick 2. But East wickedly withholds the King, allowing the Queen to hold
the trick! Now the Diamonds are dead and Declarer must play on Clubs. She
loses a Club, ruffs the Spade return, and loses another Club. The defense can
lead another Spade if they wish, but to no avail, Dummy’s Heart Two is there to
take care of that and bring home the contract. So there you have it, a
modern-day version of The Tale of the Heart Two, with a villainous
co-starring role for the Diamond King.
Back to Index