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Hand Analyses 19th December, 2007
South’s preemptive raise to 3♣ pushes E-W into a hopeless 3♠ contract, which is down one when the defense gets its Heart ruff. As luck would have it, the 4-4 Heart fit does a trick better, as there is no enemy ruff in that contract.
West did well to invite game, and East no doubt accepted with alacrity, his hand could hardly be any better. Against 4♥, a Diamond lead from KTxxx looks dangerous, and North might prefer a Spade opening lead. Now the best defense for South, after winning the Ace, is to shift to a Club, setting up a later Club ruff and holding Declarer to 10 tricks. But that won’t be at all obvious and, for all that South knows, it might be necessary for the defense to grab 3 Spades tricks immediately. And, if North does try that dangerous Diamond opening lead? That puts paid to the defensive ruff and Declarer will emerge with 11 tricks. So, we expect to see more 450’s than 420’s.
Auction Afterthought Perhaps East was tempted to do some upgrading to a 14-point 1NT based on those three Tens. That would not be unreasonable, and we’d say that East’s hand is closer to a 1NT opening than South’s miserable 15-count on Board 7. But that upgrade might work rather poorly here, as East will become the Declarer (after a transfer auction), putting South’s singleton Club on lead.
Against 3♠, East leads the A♦, and then will shift to a Heart or a trump. At this point it looks as if Declarer may escape with just 4 losers, but, in fact, there is no way to come to 9 tricks, the 4-1 break just makes the hand impossible to handle. So that will be -50 for N-S.
How do E-W fare in Clubs? There are various possible lines of play, but the bottom line is that, without the benefit of Hand Records, Declarer will take the percentage trump play, losing two Clubs, and will be unable to scrape up more than 9 tricks.
A bold balancing vulnerable 2♠ by South, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz.
Playing in 2♠ it will be 8 or 9 tricks. If the defense arranges for a Diamond ruff, it will be at the expense of a natural trump trick, and Declarer will scamper home with 9 tricks. The defense does better to play a forcing game: Defense cashes two Hearts Dummy ruffs the third Heart in Dummy A Diamond is won by East’s Ace Another Heart lead is ruffed with Dummy’s Jack The Q♠ is led from Dummy and wins the trick A Club to Declarer’s Jack The A♠ is cashed Now, the best that Declarer can do is to cash her minor suit winners and let East take his two trump tricks when he likes. That defense holds Declarer to 8 tricks.
However, will East sell out to 2♠? The usual criterion for bidding to the three-level in this situation is an extra trump or some extra distribution. East does have a singleton in the enemy suit and might be persuaded to bid one more. This could work out rather well, as it is likely to escape undoubled and should go down just one, beating those E-W pairs that sold out to 2♠. But down one in 3♥ requires careful play. South leads a Diamond won by Declarer’s Ace, at which point Declarer must play on Clubs. After that, the defense can score two Clubs and a Club ruff, along with two Spades … that’s 5 tricks but that’s all they can get. Did any Spade Declarers draw trumps before playing on Clubs? If so, they probably went down two, provided that North was canny enough to win the third round of Clubs and not the first or second round, thereby cutting off Dummy from the good Clubs.
How does North do playing in Diamonds? Let’s say that E-W start out with 3 Hearts, Declarer ruffing the third round. How should Declarer play the trump suit? East, as Opener, is more likely to have the A♦ so the correct play is to lead towards the board, in case that Ace is singleton. When that is indeed the case, the trumps are picked up for one loser, and with the Spade finesse also winning it’s an easy 10 tricks.
As on Board 2, we have a 14-point hand that’s worth consideration for upgrading to a 15-17 1NT opening. This one falls a tad short, we think, but nothing that the 9♣ wouldn’t fix. As it was, the auction went the New Minor Forcing route to 3NT.
South leads the Spade Five, which has all the appearance of being from a 4-card suit. North wins the A♠, and returns the Ten. It may appear at first sight that those top 9 tricks are all that Declarer can take, he doesn’t have the timing to set up additional minor suit winners. Not so! Suppose that Declarer wins the K♠ at Trick Two, cashes the A♥ and J♥ (unblocking the suit in case it splits 5-1) and exits a Spade! South cashes her last Spade, then Dummy wins the red suit return, and runs the Hearts. North is squeezed on the last Heart, and must unguard one of the minor suits. Making 10 tricks.
Does South do better not to cash the 4th Spade? Let’s say that, in an attempt to spoil the squeeze, she returns a Diamond after winning the 3rd Spade. Nice try, but to no avail, here is the position with one Heart still to be played: North ♠ 8 ♥ ♦ KJ ♣ Q54 Dummy East ♠ ♠ ♥ 9 ♥ ♦ AT ♦ Q54 ♣ K92 ♣ AT7 South ♠ J ♥ ♦ 763 ♣ J8 North cannot pitch a Club or a Diamond so she must let her Spade go. Now a Diamond is led towards Declarer’s Queen for the 10th trick.
In 1NT, much will depend upon North’s opening lead: - If North leads a Club it should be a low one. That will be won by South’s Ten, the Q♣ will be cashed, and the J♥ returned. This beginning gets the defense no fewer than 8 tricks (4 Clubs, 3 Hearts and the A♦), and +200. - If North leads a Heart, Declarer will duck a couple of rounds, win the A♥, and knock out the A♦. Now it is impossible for the defense to untangle all of its tricks. When South wins the A♦, the best that N-S can do is to cash their last Heart and then just three Clubs for down one. And it may not even be obvious to cash the Clubs, in which case Declarer will scamper home with an overtrick.
DONT Footnote Assuming that the N-S pair is playing DONT, both of the N-S players had the chance to chirp in with a 4-4 “two-suiter”. North should certainly refrain from the temptation, with such a modest hand that would be altogether too risky in the direct seat. But, after East has passed, we can see quite a few non-vulnerable Souths taking the plunge with a 2♥ bid, showing the majors. 2♥ works well for 8 tricks and +110. But just how good a matchpoint score this turns out to be will depend on how many Norths found that opening lead of a low Club against 1NT.
3NT is a poor contract requiring considerable luck if it is to succeed. Which of the N-S pair was the overbidder? Not North, we’d say she was good value for 3NT, that’s a pretty decent 9-count with its 5-card suit and useful fillers. The culprit is South, what an appalling 15-count she has, so much so that it would surely be better to open this 1♦, planning to rebid 1NT, showing 12-14. The three strikes against South opening 1NT are the square distribution, almost complete absence of fillers, and the fact that nearly half of the points are in Queens and Jacks. It may add up to 15 but it certainly doesn’t look like 15, does it?
Notwithstanding the above, most pairs will get to 3NT and some will even make it. West will lead the T♠ at which point Declarer is up to 7 tricks. Declarer dares not duck this trick for fear of a Club shift, so she wins, after which her only real hope is to lead through the defender who has the A♥, placing that defender in a dilemma: - If the defender jumps up with the Ace that establishes two Heart tricks for Declarer - If the defender with the Ace plays low on the first round of Hearts, then Declarer gets only one Heart but gains a tempo, which she can use to try for a Club trick. So, which defender should Declarer play for the A♥? There are not any useful clues that we can see, but some like to play for “split Aces”, and, as the A♣ must be with West for the contract to succeed, they will play East for the A♥ and lead the first round of Hearts from the board. Bingo! That will be 9 tricks.
However, before playing on Hearts, it wouldn’t harm to cash all those Diamonds, forcing three discards from each defender. If they fail to discard well it’s conceivable that 9 tricks may materialize even when the cards are less favorably placed (especially if Hearts are pitched).
Here’s another dicey 3NT contract. After that auction what would you lead from the East hand? It’s an unappetizing set of options, let’s say that East leads his Heart, the unbid suit, won by Declarer. At least one Diamond will be needed to make this contract, so Declarer plays the K♦ won by West’s Ace. A Heart comes back and now Declarer has two obvious routes to 9 tricks: - Either, 4 Hearts, 2 Clubs and 3 Diamonds (the suit must break 4-4) - Or, 4 Hearts, 3 Clubs (will need the right guess) and 2 Diamonds. Declarer can get the best of both worlds by playing on Diamonds first. Having lost to the A♦, she cashes the Q♦, loses the T♦ to the Jack, and wins the Heart return. Now, the 9♦ is cashed, and if the suit breaks that’s 9 tricks with the Club finesse.
However, let’s say that West is not so obliging! He may refuse to win the J♦ on the third round. Now, if Declarer guesses to persist with Diamonds she may find herself with 3 Diamond losers and two Spade losers (she doesn’t know that the suit is blocked). That would be good play by West, giving Declarer a decision as to whether she should try for 4-4 Diamonds or guess the Club situation. But not such good play by Declarer, who can avoid this dilemma by playing the T♦ (not the Queen) on the second round of the suit, and, if West cleverly ducks that, then the 9♦ on the third round. The key for Declarer is to have a winner to play on the fourth round of Diamonds, that way she can test the Diamonds as an alternative to the risky Club finesse. And, yes, West could devilishly duck the A♦, retaining control in Diamonds and making sure that it is the defense that will win that fourth round. That would be really tough defense!
One might think that The Wednesday Game owned stock in that rare convention called Exclusion Key Card. Twice in the last set, and here it is once again. South’s 2NT was Jacoby, a conventional game-forcing raise, after which all that North cared about was the A♦ and the A♠. But regular Roman Key Card wouldn’t be helpful, because if South showed 2 Key Cards that might include the useless A♣. So, North’s majestic leap to 5♣ said “Tell me about your Key Cards, but exclude the A♣” South showed two such Key Cards without the Q♥, and that was enough for the grand slam.
With the Diamonds breaking 3-2 there are also 13 tricks in No Trump, but we don’t suppose that anyone will get a bad board for bidding 7♥ instead.
The E-W hands fit together perfectly, so much so that 12 tricks are available in Clubs. However, we’d expect that getting to just 5♣ will be good enough for a decent board, it’s easy to see some E-W pairs languishing in a Club part-score when it transpires that neither player can stop the enemy Diamond suit.
In order to make 12 tricks in Clubs, all that is required is that Declarer takes his two Hearts ruffs in Dummy.
Rotten contracts appear to be the theme of the day, here South’s preempt pushes E-W into a most precarious 4♥ contract. The good news is that this turns out to be a lovely Play Problem, please follow the link.
Against 1NT, East leads the K♠, which in standard methods asks for “Queen attitude”. West has the Queen but cannot afford to encourage with the Ten, that will give Dummy a slow Spade trick. East will probably guess to continue the suit anyway, and that will eventually be 5 tricks for the defense.
DONT Footnote Some DONT players love to chirp in with 4-4 hands when non-vulnerable and, on this occasion, if East is that way inclined, he’ll bid 2♥ (showing the majors) and earn his side a zero when South doubles (showing values) and his side goes for -300 or -500.
East’s 2♣ was Drury, showing a fit and asking Partner if his 3rd seat opening bid was sound. That was all that West needed in order to bid the game directly.
Playing in Spades it’s a routine 10 tricks, unless North makes the mistake of leading a Diamond. Yes, we’d call a Diamond lead a mistake rather than merely unfortunate, leading from KJT9 with the strong hand on the right is most risky, and there’s no reason to suspect that a hyper-aggressive lead is required (for example, there’s no likelihood of a running side-suit in Dummy). So, against 4♠, North does best to make the simple and safe Club lead.
It’s not easy to predict the outcome of the auction, other than to say that either N-S will buy it in a Club contract, possibly game, or else E-W will play in Spades, also possibly in game. In the featured auction we don’t see any reason for E-W to bid game, but South might well have tried 5♣ with those fine controls.
If North ends up declaring a Club contract, it will be just 10 tricks when the A♥ turns out to be offside.
However, 4♠ is a lucky make. The defense starts out with Clubs and Declarer ruffs the second round. Trump control is an issue here, so Declarer plays on Diamonds before tackling trumps, that way he still has trumps on the board to handle future Club leads. All is well for Declarer when the Diamonds come in and the Heart finesse works.
With such a big fit in Partner’s Clubs there’s no percentage in South passing 1♠, hoping for a reopening Double and a juicy penalty, so South cue-bids 2♠ showing values and Club support. If South had raised Clubs directly (to 2♣ or 3♣) then West would have had a Responsive Double available to show the unbid suits. But, as doubling the 2♠ cue-bid was not an option (it would show Spades) West passed for the time being and came back in with a Double on the next round.
If E-W end up declaring a Diamond contract, it will be 10 easy tricks. Declarer loses two Hearts and a trump.
How does West fare in a Heart contract? The good news is that Diamonds are 2-2, so there is no defensive Diamond ruff. The bad news is that trumps are 3-1, so 9 tricks is the maximum. A careless Declarer might do much worse if North is inspired to start with an opening Spade lead: A♠ wins the opening lead A♣ is cashed and a Club ruffed A♥ is cashed Declarer hopefully exits a trump won by North North draws two more rounds of trumps Now Declarer is down to one trump, and has yet to knock out the A♦. The defense keeps leading black suit winners and Declarer is held to just one more trick. If the contract is 3♥ that’s down 4! Declarer does 4 tricks better and makes his contract by timing the play accurately. On winning the A♠, he plays a Heart and ducks. Declarer ruffs the K♠ return, knocks out the A♦, wins the Club return, ruffs a Club, plays a Heart to the Ace, and cashes the Diamonds, allowing North to take her Heart tricks whenever she likes. Not releasing the A♥ prematurely, and not rushing to take that Club ruff, results in +140 instead of an ugly -200.
If N-S push on to 4♣ they will probably avoid a Double, but they may go -200 anyway. East will lead the K♦, won by Declarer, then when West gets in with the A♣, he’ll lead a Spade for a ruff, holding Declarer to 8 tricks.
A triumph for the 4-card overcall! That North hand has the key ingredients for such a venture, namely a decent suit and length in Opener’s suit, and N-S quickly arrive in 4♠ doubled. That’s down three for -500, but it’s a good sacrifice against the enemy vulnerable game.
If North stays out of the auction and East ends up in 4♥, it will be 10 or 11 tricks: - If South’s opening lead is a Diamond, Declarer will win on the board, and play a Spade. North jumps up with the Ace and the Diamond ruffs holds Declarer to 10 tricks. Actually, 11 tricks are possible even with a Diamond lead, but that requires the improbable line of drawing two rounds of trumps, and double-hooking the Clubs. - If South’s opening lead is a Spade, 11 tricks are easy without any Club hooks.
Auction Afterthought Suppose that North declines to make that enlightened 4-card overcall and passes instead. Can South save the day? Perhaps so. East will respond 1♥, and now the red-blooded South players will throw in an Unusual 2NT bid, typically showing 5-5 in the unbid suits. Yes, South is woefully short of high cards, but at this vulnerability that’s all the more reason for a distributional hand to get active. After 2NT, North (she of the feeble Pass on the previous round of bidding) will presumably come to life finally and bid 4♠.
Against 1NT, North might reasonably lead a Club or a Heart, and in these situations it’s standard practice to lean towards the major suit lead. That doesn’t work so well here, as it allows Declarer to make 9 tricks if he guesses Diamonds correctly. As it happens the entry situation will force Declarer into the right guess, and 9 tricks will roll in as follows: Heart to South’s King and Declarer’s Ace Diamond Nine run around to South’s Ace Six of Hearts to North’s Ten (to avoid setting up Declarer’s Seven) But now North cannot continue the Hearts and Declarer has the timing to set up a Spade trick and score 9 tricks.
The only way for the defense to hold Declarer to 8 tricks is for North to lead a Club initially. Declarer wins that and takes the Diamond finesse to South’s Ace. Now a Heart shift is required, and Declarer cannot release the Ace yet, so he plays small to North’s Ten. North shifts back to Clubs and this fine defense brings in 5 tricks.
DONT Footnote Just as back on Board 6, both N-S players had the opportunity to chime in with a non-vulnerable 4-4 DONT overcall. For North to do so with that hand in the direct seat would be extremely risky, but South might be tempted to balance with 2♣ (Clubs and another suit). Now, in order to salvage a good board it is necessary for East to double, after which accurate defense brings in 7 tricks and +300. Not a good hand for the kamikaze DONT brigade.
Before we start wondering why E-W did not get into the auction, let’s see how many tricks 2♠ will make. West will start out with a Club for want of better, and that turns out to be the best lead, immediately knocking out Dummy’s one and only entry. That entry is used for a losing Heart finesse, and the Club return is ruffed by Declarer. Things are starting to look bleak! Declarer loses a Spade (as on Board 15 it’s better to withhold the Ace), and when another Club comes back Declarer’s best shot is to pitch a Diamond loser. Now East shifts to a Diamond won by Declarer, the A♠ is played, and then a low Heart, which fortunately brings down the Ace, and gives Declarer a 7th trick. That will be -100 which should be a fine board for N-S, as many 2♠ Declarers will find a way to go down two. Also, some E-W pairs will be making at least 9 tricks in a Club partial.
Yes, indeed, why were E-W not competing on this hand? Even though West has the stronger hand, we’d say that it was East who should have been getting into the auction, with a 2♣ bid over North’s 1NT. East has only 7 HCP’s, but, as a passed hand, non-vulnerable, and with that nice 6-4 shape, to pass again was rather feeble.
West’s 2♠ bid showed values and Heart support, and North did well not to raise Spades immediately, that might have propelled her side to an ambitious game contract.
3♠ turns out to be high enough, because, although the trumps are 2-2, the Heart Ace is offside. However, there is the possibility of a defensive miscue. West leads the K♣, and now, if the defense plays a third round of Clubs, Declarer ruffs, draws trumps, ruffs out the Q♦ and scores a whopping 11 tricks. West can avoid that unpleasantness by continuing with the T♣ at Trick Two. East will win that with the Ace, and should reason that a Heart shift is called for. If, instead, West lazily continues with the Q♣ at Trick Two, then East might reasonably conclude that Partner started with KQx and that 3 Clubs need to be cashed.
Not everybody will open the West hand, but we know that we could not resist that nice 6-card suit. When East cue-bid 2♦, West could not oblige with a No Trump bid with just Qx in the enemy Diamond suit, so he showed something in Hearts. When the Diamonds were cue-bid a second time it was clear that a half-stopper was required, so 3NT was now an option. Nice bidding by E-W to right-side the contract!
On lead against 3NT, if North was paying attention to the auction she will lead anything but a Diamond. If she leads a Diamond anyway, it will be 12 tricks. How? Please see the Play Problem.
Suppose, instead, that North leads a Spade, let’s say the tricky Two. Now Declarer can make 11 tricks, and, again, please see the Play Problem.
North upgraded her nice 14-count to a 15-17 1NT, East’s Double was DONT (showing a one-suiter), South’s Redouble showed values, and the subsequent 3♠ cue-bid was Lebensohl (Stayman without a stopper in this case).
North and South are both minimum for their bidding and that is reflected in the fragility of the final 4♥ contract. But, with trumps 3-2, and with the J♥ and K♦ favorably placed, and with the Clubs coming in for one loser, 4♥ limps home.
Another 10-count with 6-4 distribution and another fine opening bid, this time by East. North’s Double was value-showing and clearly not based on Heart length, so South took a shot at 2♠. Making 10 tricks on most lines of play.
Playing in 3NT, West makes 11 easy tricks unless North finds the astonishing opening lead of the Ten of Diamonds, allowing the defense to score three quick Diamond tricks.
Playing in 3♣, it’s hard to imagine any outcome other than 10 tricks. But suppose that South takes a real shine to her hand (as well she might) and, after 3♣, makes a game try with 3♠. North might optimistically try 3NT, which is a contract with zero chance against Meckstroth and Rodwell, but practical chances against lesser mortals. Let’s investigate the pitfalls:
Pitfall 1 East leads a low Spade, letting Declarer’s Queen score a trick. Declarer cashes the Clubs, knocks out a Diamond and now has 9 tricks. That low Spade opening lead was just plain bad.
Pitfall 2 East leads the K♠, and Partner plays the Four, his lowest card, denying the Queen. Declarer artfully plays the Six on this trick, attempting to fool East into thinking that West might have started with Q43 and Declarer with J876. If East is so deceived and continues with a low Spade, it’s 9 tricks once again. This pitfall is harder to avoid, but East should get it right, reasoning that there’s no rush to cash 4 quick Spades unless Declarer has 10 fast tricks. If she has those 10 tricks she must own the A♦ and a red Queen, in which case what on earth was West doing raising on a 3-card suit and 5 HCP’s, all in quacks?
Pitfall 3 East leads the K♠, correctly diagnoses the Spade situation, and at Trick Two shifts to a Diamond. Now West has the opportunity to go wrong by flying up with the A♦ and shooting back a Spade, no doubt hoping that Partner has AKTxx of Spades. This is certainly the required play if the contract is to go down two, but not if West merely desires to beat the contract. West should realize that letting Declarer win the Q♦ will be only her 8th trick, and that there is no need to panic.
Pitfall 4 OK, East cashes the K♠ on opening lead, and the Diamond shift is won by Declarer’s Queen. Three pitfalls avoided, one to go. What should the defenders keep as their last 6 cards, after Spade lead, Diamond shift and 5 Clubs? East must pitch Hearts, being sure to hang on to one Diamond. West must keep a Spade, all 3 Hearts, and the ♦AJ, any deviation will allow Declarer a 9th trick, one way or another.
After East shows 5 Spades and a game-invitational hand, West has a difficult choice. In fact it’s a double choice … game or part-score? … Spades or No Trump? Most players accept those game invitations with 16 or 17, but this is a low-end 16 with that square shape. Take your pick on whether to go. Next choice, Spades or No Trump? Again, either could work, we’d be nervous about the Clubs and would guess to play in Spades, but, again, you choose.
If E-W play it in No Trump (from the West side) it will be only 8 tricks after a Club lead. And in Spades? That’s a fairly easy 10 tricks. The A♣ is offside, but the Diamond finesse works, and the J♣ sets up for a Diamond pitch.
West may be rather minimum for a Jacoby 2NT bid, but the hand looks too good for a limit raise. In response to 2NT, East bids 4♥, showing no shortness and a minimum hand. Nothing to the play, it’s 10 tricks come what may.
If you are thinking that North’s 3NT is somewhat primitive then you are absolutely right. Then again, at matchpoints there is something to be said for bashing into the most likely contract and giving the opponents the minimum of information before the opening lead.
Against 3NT, West leads the Q♥ (or perhaps a low one), and that establishes Declarer’s 9th trick. Declarer will win the Heart continuation and rattle off 5 Clubs, hoping to put the defense under pressure. But nothing good materializes for Declarer so long as East holds on to 3 Diamonds and two Spades. So, 9 tricks will be the maximum.
Of course, North didn’t have to charge into 3NT, she could have shown a minor two-suiter, somehow or other, depending on her methods. But the end-result is likely to be the same. That is, unless South gets carried away by the good controls and big Club fit and gets slam ideas.
After East makes an “opener’s reverse”, a common follow-up is that, if there is a 4th suit bid available at the two-level (here 2♥ is available), then Responder bids that artificially to show weakness. All bids other than this weakness bid are natural and game-forcing. With that in mind, West could bid 2NT naturally and forcing, but chose 3NT to show a bit extra and a strong preference for No Trump.
Against 3NT, North will probably lead a Heart, but, whatever the lead, 11 tricks can be untangled: Declarer’s A♥ wins the opening lead Diamond to the Ace felling South’s Queen Club to Declarer’s Jack K♥ is cashed Declarer now cashes two more Diamonds and the rest of the Clubs for +460.
Did East miscount his points and not realize he had too much for a 15-17 1NT opening? Not at all, he noticed that square shape and the appalling absence of Nine and Tens and decided to downgrade his hand. After that, a Jacoby Transfer sequence transported the partnership effortlessly to the right contract of 4♥, which is good for 11 tricks (and 12 tricks if South fails to find the not completely obvious opening Spade lead).
A difficult hand for South. We don’t think that this hand is worth a fake jump shift to 3♦, that singleton K♣ makes us downgrade the hand to a 3♥ rebid, which North will probably pass. However, we can see many pairs reaching the reasonable game in Hearts or Spades.
If South plays a Heart contract, West’s safe and obvious lead is a Diamond, which works out well for the defense, allowing them to set up a Diamond trick before the Spades are established. This is the only lead that holds Declarer to 9 tricks, anything else and it’s 10.
If North plays a Spade contract, there’s no way to stop Declarer from taking 10 tricks.
4♠ is a reasonable contract requiring careful play. Here is one unsuccessful line by Declarer: Club to Declarer’s Ace J♠ run around to West’s Queen West cashes a Club A Spade return is won by Declarer’s King A♦ and K♦ are cashed, and a Diamond ruffed low Heart to the King and East’s Ace A Spade is returned, won by Dummy’s Ace At this point, Declarer can come to no more than 8 tricks. She would have done a trick better by ruffing the Diamond with the Ace, that way she can win the third round of trumps in her hand and set up a 9th trick in Diamonds.
If Declarer really had to play on Spades it was not unreasonable to place the preemptor’s partner with the Queen, but she would have done better to play on the side-suits first. Here’s a line that makes the contract: Club to Declarer’s Ace Heart to the Queen Cash A♦ and K♦ Ruff a Diamond with the Eight, overruffed by the Queen A Club is cashed Spade return won by Declarer’s King Diamond ruffed with the Ace Heart to the East’s Ace Now Declarer gets back to her hand with a Heart ruff, draws trumps and enjoys the long Diamond.
Deep Finesse says that even 11 tricks are possible on a double dummy basis: Club lead won by Declarer’s Ace Club is conceded (necessary to prevent later trump promotion of East’s Nine) Diamond return is won and a second Diamond cashed Diamond ruffed with Dummy’s Ace J♠ is finessed K♠ is cashed Diamond ruff Etc.
We end with a routine deal. N-S get to 4♥ and it’s 12 tricks at every table when the Heart finesse works. A flat board with which to end the year?
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