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BRIDGE BITES #111
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ANTI-DISCOVERY PLAY
Brian Gunnell |
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♠ J6
♥
862
♦
AKQ642
♣ 63 |
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E-W
Vulnerable
South West North
East
1♣
Pass 1♦
Pass
1♠
Pass 3♦
Pass
3NT
Pass Pass Pass
West’s opening lead is
the ♥Q.
At Trick 1 Declarer has no idea of the Heart
situation. Clearly the King is with East, but West’s opening lead could
be from Qx or QJx or QJ9x or QJ9xx, all are equally likely as a Heart
opening lead was almost inevitable given the auction. Do you take you
♥A
at Trick 1? |
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Dummy
West East
Declarer |
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♠ AT92
♥
AT5
♦
8
♣ AKT98 |
►
No, it cannot be right to win the
first Heart, and at Trick 2 West continues the suit, leading the Three to East’s
Jack. Do you win this trick?
►
If the Heart suit is 4-3 then
it’s a good idea to hold up a second time, that way, if the Diamonds don’t
break, it may be possible to develop the Clubs for a total of nine tricks,
without the defense scoring five tricks first. But if Hearts are 5-2 then the
second hold-up is pointless. At Trick 2 all becomes clear when East plays the
Jack. Now, unless West is a remarkably slippery customer, given to making
extravagant opening leads, surely West started with two Hearts and East with
five. So, you win the second trick, and play Diamonds from the top. When that
suit does not break, you duck a Club to West, who can now cash a couple of
Diamonds. But that is all for the defense, scoring those two Diamonds, a Club,
and only one Heart. Here is the full deal:
►
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♠ J6
♥
862
♦
AKQ642
♣ 63 |
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♠ K75
♥
Q3
♦
JT975
♣ Q75 |
Dummy
West East
Declarer |
♠ Q843
♥
KJ974
♦
3
♣ J42 |
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♠ AT92
♥
AT5
♦
8
♣ AKT98 |
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But East missed the chance for a
clever deceptive play, one which was pretty much guaranteed to send Declarer
down the wrong track. Do you see what it was?
►
In order to beat the contract,
East must practice the art of concealment. At Trick 2, if he plays the
♥K,
then Declarer will be none the wiser. Now it will appear to Declarer that West
has led from ♥QJ93,
in which case a second hold-up is required. But, in fact, it turns out
to be fatal, that second Heart trick for the defense will result in the ultimate
defeat of the contract.
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