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Hand Analyses 2nd May, 2007
Against 3NT, South will no doubt lead a Heart, won by Dummy’s Ace, North playing a discouraging card. Next will be a Club to the Ace, and South should seriously consider the spectacular unblocking play of the K♣! Presumably Partner has the J♣, because Declarer did not finesse, and unblocking the King would force an entry for that Jack so that Partner can lead a Heart through Declarer.
Just how sound is that spectacular unblocking play? On this hand it’s maybe not such a great idea, albeit tempting. Partner discouraged the opening lead, presumably denying the King (well, we knew that) and the Queen. Yes, she could have the Jack. How about the Jack and the Ten? Probably not, with that holding she might well play the Jack, saying “I don’t have the Queen”, but also saying that she can afford to play the Jack, so it’s surely backed up with the Ten. So, the best Heart holding that we can hope for from Partner is probably J8xx.
If that’s the case, it would be great to make that get-our-name-in-the-newspapers unblocking play when our target is three tricks. We unblock, Partner gets in with the J♣, a Heart comes through and we get our three before Declarer gets his eleven. Does Declarer have 11 tricks? No! That would require Declarer to have the Q♠, Q♥, AK♦, and A♣, and that looks like a 1NT opener to us. So, sadly, the unblock is not a good idea. Oh, yes, one other small point. How embarrassing if we unblock and Partner turns out to have started with just two Clubs!
North’s 5♣ bid looks about right to us, but it was not enough to silence West, who could hardly pass with a void in the enemy suit and undisclosed support for Partner’s suit. East may have been tempted to try the better scoring 5♥ and no doubt would have done if he had known they had a 9-card fit in the suit. N-S would have done well to bid 6♣, taking a rare Red versus White high-level sacrifice, but that was virtually impossible to find.
In 5♦, what should South lead? It’s not obvious, so we’ll just say that if South leads a Spade the defense will get their two tricks, likewise if South improbably starts with the A♥ and gives Partner a ruff. But, if South tries to cash a Club on the go, Declarer has 12 easy tricks.
A nice cue-bidding sequence by N-S to arrive at the cold slam. South’s 2♠ showed Club support and invitational values, and North was too good to bid just game so tried 4♦ along the way. South could hardly have a better passed hand … no wastage in the enemy suit, maximum values, good controls, and an extra trump. So, South bids 4♥, showing a control in that suit, which is all that North needs to know to try the slam. Well done!
West has one of those 5-4 11-counts that most of us seem to open nowadays, and East, despite 12 HCP’s and support for Partner, does not enough to go to game, look at that square shape, abundance of Queens, and astonishing lack of Aces. East’s plan (say over a 2♦ rebid by West) was to jump to 3♥, showing invitational values and 3-card support. After South’s 2♠ bid that jump was no longer possible, of course, but we don’t think that East should do more than bid 3♥, if anything his rotten 12-count has become even worse.
Against 3♥ North leads the J♠ which is ducked around to Declarer’s King. Declarer leads to the K♥ which holds, then comes back to the A♦ and leads Hearts again. This time North jumps up with the Ace and leads another Spade, won by South. Spades are continued, Declarer ruffs high, and draws the last trump. Later, he’ll play on Diamonds by leading towards the Dummy and inserting the Ten if North fails to split her honors. This safety play guarantees just one Diamond loser. The end result will be 9 tricks, Declarer losing one in each suit.
Once North has raised Spades, South’s hand is worth a shot at game, and she bids 4♦ along the way, not as a slam try but as a way of getting Partner involved in the decision if the opponents should bid onto the 5-level. For more on this, please see the Bidding Quiz. As it happens, E-W are done after North bids 4♠, so that involvement becomes moot.
Against 4♠, West may well choose to start with the A♥, allowing 10 easy tricks for Declarer. At Trick Two, Declarer leads a Club, won by West’s Ace, at which point a trump shift is called for. But to no avail. Declarer has 4 side-suit tricks, and can scramble 6 trump tricks one way or the other. It will either be 5 trumps in her hand and a Diamond ruff on the board, or it will be 4 trump tricks in her hand and two Diamond ruffs on the board, depending on the defense.
The play is more challenging for Declarer if West finds the improbable lead of a trump: Spade lead won by Declarer’s Ten A♦ and K♦ are cashed Diamond lead, ruffed by West’s Queen Spade return won by Declarer’s Ace Diamond ruffed on the board Heart ruffed by Declarer K♠ cashed Here is the end-position, with the lead in Declarer’s hand: Dummy ♠ ♥ K98 ♦ ♣ K8 West East ♠ ♠ ♥ AQJ ♥ T ♦ ♦ Q ♣ A4 ♣ QJ9 Declarer ♠ 4 ♥ ♦ 9 ♣ T53 At this point Declarer has 7 tricks and needs three more. She leads a Club towards Dummy, but is thwarted when West hops up with the Ace and safely exits a Club. This holds Declarer to just 9 tricks.
In the N-S system, a direct 2NT by North was used for another purpose, so, in order to invite game in No Trump, South was obliged to proceed obliquely via Stayman, even though she did not have any interest in a major suit contract. Anyway, we would say that the South hand is quite minimum (perhaps even sub-minimum) for an invitation, that Club suit would be so much more appealing with a filler or two.
East has an obvious Spade opening lead, and Declarer wins the third round. She has 8 top tricks, and, needing a Diamond trick for her 9th, she must hope that Spades are 4-4 (the earlier play will probably have already disabused her of that notion), or that the A♦ is in the hand without the Spades. Making 9 tricks.
After North’s Negative Double, South must decide whether to compete to the three-level in the known 4-4 Heart fit. She’s minimum for her opening bid, of course, and does not want to encourage more bidding from North. Fortunately, she had a gadget available, the Good-Bad 2NT, which has made quite a few appearances in recent Wednesday Games. Using this method, 2NT is a Lebensohl-style relay, and when South then bids 3♥ she is saying “I am merely competing, don’t expect any extras”. With a better hand, South would bid 3♥ directly.
From West’s point of view, a forcing defense may look best, so he starts out with the A♠ and another Spade which is ruffed on the board. Next, the J♥ loses to West’s Ace, and a Spade is continued, ruffed on the board and establishing Declarer Ten. Trumps are drawn and, with Clubs breaking, Declarer racks up a surprising 11 tricks. Of course, the defense can save a trick by grabbing the A♦ in time, but it looks as though 10 tricks are always there for Declarer, thanks to the Club break and the Heart blockage.
North did well to compete to 4♣ in the face of the strong E-W auction, and West’s Double was no sure thing.
When Dummy goes down, one can hardly blame North for being disappointed … only 3 trumps, a second Heart, no Aces, and loads of Diamond wastage. Hardly the Dummy of her dreams. Declarer has 4 top losers and must also do something about that third Heart loser and the potential Spade loser. Her plan should be to ruff the third Heart and pitch the Spade on her Diamond winner, and this plan will probably be helped along when East starts out with the lead of the Q♥. But, with the doubleton QJ of Spades in the East hand, almost any line of play is likely to work, allowing Declarer to escape for down one, minus 100, and a decent board.
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