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Hand Analyses 5th March, 2008
There’s an abundance of links on this page, here’s what they all mean: - Notations such as Bidding Quiz (North) are links to the weekly Bidding Quiz, a selection of the 15-20 most interesting bidding situations of the week. - Each week we pick out two or three hands which are suitable for presentation in problem format, as in Play Problem 203 (West), linking you to a page with only two hands on display. Solve the problem first, then see the solution and the entire deal. - Some analyses contain references to bidding conventions, and you’ll see links to articles in our Convention Library such as Roman Key Card - In BridgeOpedia we have categorized by theme the entire history of the most instructive Wednesday Game hands, two year’s worth. Occasionally you will see a purple arrow, linking to the relevant BridgeOpedia section. For example, in this week’s Board 11, Declarer scrambles his way to 8 tricks in a Spade partial. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Scrambling Tricks”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
What’s your choice with the West hand after South’s 1♠ bid? If you were tempted to bid 4♥ based on the 10-card Heart fit then we offer our best wishes and hope that you will feel better soon. With that miserable shapeless hand, surely 3♥ is plenty.
Do you play Support Doubles? A fine convention indeed, but most pairs don’t play it at the 3-level, so that won’t be an option with the North hand after West’s 3♥ bid. With the singleton in the enemy suit it’s tempting to dredge up 3♠ here (Partner is known to have 5 Spades on this auction), but North passes instead and then supports Spades after the balancing Double.
Because of the friendly lie of the cards, it turns out that N-S can make all 13 tricks. We wouldn’t want to be in the grand slam, of course, but 6♠ is actually a pretty good contract, all the more so as the K♠ is likely to be onside. The obvious line is to win the Heart opening lead, cross to the A♣, run the Spade Eight, play another Spade, and ruff out the Diamonds. When that suit is 3-3 Declarer can cross to Dummy with a trump (those of an artistic nature will make sure that the trump entry is the lowly Four), and then cash the long Diamonds, pitching the Club losers. As North watches her Partner rake in all the tricks she’ll be thinking “Aah, if only I had dredged up that 3♠ bid, maybe that would have propelled us to the good slam”
This is not a good hand for those who like to open those “Rule of Twenty” hands. South’s 5-4 11-count qualifies on that basis, but then West’s 3♠ preempt pushes North overboard into a poor 3NT contract.
Against 3NT, East leads a Spade, and West must withhold the Ace, knocking out North’s stopper and maintaining communications for the defense. Then, East gets in with the Q♣ and the defense rattles off a total of 7 tricks.
However, N-S might get saved if West is an aggressive preemptor. Such a player might use the favorable vulnerability as an excuse to up the ante with a 4♠ preempt. If so, West would be right that 4♠ doubled (down three) is less than the value of a vulnerable game, but wrong that the opponents can actually make said game.
Against 1NT, West leads the Q♦, which Declarer ducks. A second Diamond is won by the Ace, then a low Club to West’s Jack and Dummy’s Queen. East must duck this, of course, and now the best that Declare can do is to rustle up 6 tricks (3 Clubs, 2 Diamonds and the A♠).
Another rather dull part-score hand. We promise they’ll get more interesting later on, in the meantime this one is an easy 9 tricks for Declarer.
North decided to pass her square 12-count, then showed a good passed hand with Club support when she bid 2♦. East’s rebid of Diamonds made East like that void even more, so she took a shot at 5♣.
Against 5♣, West leads a Diamond which Declarer ruffs. Trumps are drawn, and now Declarer must guess the Spade Jack in order to make 12 tricks. It won’t be obvious where the J♠ is, but the A♠ is most likely to be with East. So, the indicated play is a low Spade from the board, just in case East has the singleton Ace or doubleton AJ, and when turns out not to be the case, a finesse against West brings in the 12 tricks.
East might well have been tempted to take a sacrifice in 5♦. He can be sure that his side will be down no more than three tricks, but with two likely defensive tricks of his own he’ll not be sure that 5♣ actually makes. Our own guess would be to take the dive, but we may be influenced by seeing the whole deal.
For the second straight board, N-S zip into a fine 5♣ contract. North’s 3♣ bid showed invitational values. South tried for 3NT by showing something in Hearts, and then bid 5♣ when North could not oblige.
There’s nothing to the play of 5♣, 11 tricks when the trump finesse predictably fails.
What would be your choice of rebid as South? 2♦ (Fourth Suit Forcing) or 3NT? We like the latter, please see the Bidding Quiz.
Against 3NT, East will no doubt lead a Diamond, which removes the guess in that suit. Assuming a reasonable Club break, Declarer now has 9 top tricks, and it might seem a fairly routine matter to concede a Heart to set up the 10th trick and later to try the Spade finesse for the 11th trick. But suppose that South is not a routine kind of player, but someone who hates to take finesses when there is a more exotic alternative. With such a player at the helm, here’s how the play might go: Diamond lead won by Declarer’s Jack Cash two Clubs (to make sure that they break) Play the K♥ won by East’s Ace Diamond return won in the Dummy (necessary!) Cash the Clubs Here is the position with one Club left to be cashed: Declarer ♠ AQ ♥ QT8 ♦ A ♣ West East ♠ J95 ♠ KT ♥ 964 ♥ J5 ♦ ♦ Q9 ♣ ♣ Dummy ♠ 7632 ♥ ♦ 8 ♣ 8 At this point, East will already have pitched a Diamond, then on the last Club Dummy pitches a Heart and East another Diamond. Now Declarer plays a Diamond to the Ace, cashes the Q♥, and throws East in with a Heart for 11 tricks. Exotically done!
If the auction above looks a trifle odd it’s because E-W were playing Lebensohl opposite Partner’s Double of a Weak Two. Using this method, when West bid 2NT he was telling partner that he had a weak hand and was trying to get out at the 3-level (with a stronger hand he would go directly to the 3-level). East followed instructions by bidding 3♣ and that is where the auction ended. West was actually right at the top of his range to be bidding this way, with anything more a direct 3-level bid would be called for.
3♣ is a tenuous contract, but is squeaks home, primarily because of the fortunate Spade and Club situations.
This slam is easy to reach once East opens the bidding and then rebids 1♠. After that beginning West has a perfect hand for Roman Key Card.
The slam that West probably thought would be a slam dunk when he was bidding the hand turns out to be somewhat hair-raising in the play of the hand, due to the 3-1 Spade break and the appalling absence of high (or even middling) Spades in the East hand. Let’s say that South leads a Club won by Declarer’s Ace. Now the slam can be made if Spades are 2-2 and Hearts no worse than 4-2. Alternatively, if Spades are 3-1, Declarer will need some luck in bringing home the Hearts. At Trick Two, Declarer plays a Heart to Dummy’s King and North’s Ace, and the Club return is ruffed on the board. Now what? Yes, a Heart ruff is next, followed by two rounds of trumps. When trumps turn out to be 3-1, Declarer could just draw the last trump, hoping that Hearts are 3-3. But he can do better than that! If Hearts are 3-3 then he can ruff a Heart without fear of being overruffed. What’s the point, you ask? Well, maybe (as on the actual hand) the Hearts are 4-2 but the hand with the last trump is also the hand with the 4th Heart. Nicely played for 12 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Drawing Trumps - Or Not”>>
An instructive auction! East gives a so-called “false preference” back to Hearts. There are three good reasons why he should go back to Hearts rather than languish in 2♣: - 5-2 fits generally play better than 4-3 fits - Majors score better than minors - East has a half-decent hand, just a tad short of game-invitational, and by bidding 2♥ he keeps the bidding open. West’s 2♣ is wide-ranging, he might have a pretty good hand, so game is far from out of the question.
West’s 2♠ bid is most revealing. He clearly has 3-card support and Diamond shortness, probably 3=5=1=4 shape, and with that distribution one might expect an immediate raise to 2♠. Why did he bid 2♣ instead of 2♠? Because his hand was too good for a direct 2♠, it’s fair to assume that he has some extras. So, in the circumstances, East can do no less than go to game.
Playing in 4♠, with the enemy Hearts well-placed, the A♥ is the only obvious loser. But, even if Declarer guesses the Spade correctly (no reason why he should), he won’t have the entries back to his hand to do what needs to be done. So it looks like 11 tricks to us.
Red vs Red, would you have meekly passed throughout with that North hand? Are you not tempted to toss in a 3♦ bid with that chunky suit? This is definitely a hand with which to be meek, three good reasons: - Only 6 Diamonds - No distribution - Vulnerable If North does go into kamikaze mode and bid 3♦ over 1♥, a canny East might pass, waiting for a reopening Double from Partner. Then he makes a penalty pass, hoping that either he can score +200 on a part-score hand, or else +800 if E-W have a game. As it happens, he exceeds his expectations, scoring +1100!
North’s 3♠ showed a decent suit (at least 6 of them) and invitational values, and South did well to bail out of this auction despite being void in Partner’s suit.
Playing in 3♠, the best that Declarer can do is to scramble 8 tricks, perhaps as follows on an opening Club lead: Three rounds of Clubs, pitching a Diamond Diamond ruff Over to the A♥ Diamond ruff Exit a Heart Defense cashes another Heart and takes a Heart ruff Diamond from West, ruffed by Declarer’s Eight, overruffed with the Queen Now, the ♠KJT will be worth two more tricks for Declarer, for a total of 8. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Scrambling Tricks”>>
All roads seem to lead to 3NT played by West, a contract that will probably make exactly 9 tricks. North has an obvious opening Heart lead, and the defense now gets its 4 tricks before Declarer can set up a 10th in Spades.
Suppose that North decides to make a short suit lead and starts out with the T♠. South wins the K♠, and in order to save the board and hold Declarer to 9 tricks, South must shift at Trick Two to the K♦, otherwise Declarer gets his 10th trick by setting up a Heart.
West’s 3♠ was invitational, but East had already done enough (some would say more than enough) so that was the final contract. It looks as if the defense is destined to score two Diamonds, two Hearts and a Spade. But look what happens when North lays down the A♦, and South plays the Eight. North then cashes the K♦, and leads a 3rd Diamond in order to neutralize Dummy’s Q♦ winner, giving Partner two losing options: - If South ruffs high, Declarer pitches a Heart loser and makes 9 tricks. - If South ruffs low, Declarer can overruff and must now guess the Spade situation to make his contract. Will he? Probably. North has shown up with ♦AKJ and, at least the way most people play nowadays, is unlikely to have the K♠ also, that would give her too much for a Weak Two opening. South could have saved the day at Trick One by discouraging with the Two. Now, fearing that Declarer started with a singleton Diamond, she will shift at Trick Two. Even if she guesses wrong and shifts to a Club the contract will still be beaten … South will get in with the K♠, get to North’s hand with a Diamond, and eagerly await the obvious Heart shift. Good defense by South.
A long-winded auction leaves N-S in 2NT. With the A♥, Q♥ and J♠ all well-placed for Declarer, normal play nets 9 tricks.
East had a choice between 2NT, 3NT and Double, all reasonable and none perfect. Assuming that East chooses to bid 2NT, what are West’s follow-up methods? Some pairs agree to play “Systems on”, and logically that should be the 2NT system, not the 1NT system. So, 3♣ is Stayman, getting E-W to their 4♥ contract.
With the West hand there’s something to be said for giving up on the Hearts and simply going to 4♠ directly. The Spade suit has fillers while the Heart suit is weak. In fact, looking at both hands, even though East has only a singleton Spade, 4♠ looks like the better contract to us.
If East plays in 4♥, it’s possible to make 11 tricks. South leads a Spade won by Declarer’s Ace. Then, Club to the Ace, Heart to the Ace, K♣ and Q♣ (pitching Diamonds), Heart to Nine and North’s King, Spade ruff for South, and that’s the end of the defense.
If E-W play in 4♠, only 10 tricks are possible because of the 5-1 trump break, but the good news is that North might make an ill-advised Double, suffering the consequences when the play goes as follows (we’ll assume that West is Declarer): Diamond to South’s Ace Diamond ruff Club to Declarer’s Ace Spade to the Ace Club ruff Q♠ won by North’s King Now, Declarer wins the return, draws trumps, and pitches the Heart losers on the minor suit winners.
In third seat East threw in a slightly underweight 1♦ bid, primarily as a lead-director. South might reasonably have overcalled 2♣ but chose to Double instead.
Against 2♠, East starts out with the A♦, and shifts to a trump at Trick Two. Now Declarer does not have the entries to take the Diamond ruff on the board, so her best play is to win the trump on the board and play the K♣ from the board, after which all reasonable lines of play seem to result in 8 tricks. For example: A♦ is cashed Trump shift is won by Dummy’s King K♣ is ducked West wins the second Club and gives East a ruff Heart shift is ducked to West’s King At this point the defense has 4 tricks with the K♦ still to come. That will be 8 tricks and +110 for N-S.
South’s 1♠ overcall was certainly skimpy, but it no doubt seemed like a safe enough bid and a useful lead-director. But almost not so safe, as West was lurking behind her with a stack of Spades. However, a worthwhile penalty seemed unlikely from West’s point of view, considering that (a) his side could probably make game, and (b) West had a Club fit with Partner, reducing the defensive expectations. So, over 1♠, West cue-bids 2♠ to show a fit and a decent hand, and then tried 3NT.
Against 3NT, if North dutifully leads a Spade, Declarer will duck the first round and win the second. He’ll cross to Dummy with a Club, and take the losing Heart finesse. Fortunately for Declarer, against all odds (considering the bidding), the A♦ is also with North and the contract limps home.
Well done by North not to get completely carried away by her 20-count (please see the Bidding Quiz). Against 3♣, West has an obvious K♠ opening lead and it’s easy enough to see that Declarer can score 9 tricks via 5 trumps, 3 Hearts and the A♠. However, if East is an over-enthusiastic signaler, a surprising 10th will materialize: K♠ opening lead won by the Ace, East squandering the Ten Three rounds of Hearts, Declarer pitching a Club Diamond to the King, then Diamond finesse and the A♦ Now Declarer has the timing to set up a slow Spade for the 10th trick.
If North succumbs to the temptation to bid 3NT, the defense takes their 5 Clubs and switches to a Spade, after which the entry situation stops the Diamonds from running and 7 tricks is the maximum.
The play in 2♥ provides West with the opportunity to make a fine play. Let’s say that West hits upon the opening lead of the K♦ (the alternatives are not attractive). Now the play might go: K♦ opening lead, ducked by Declarer Diamond continuation won by Declarer Low Spade, the Queen from West ((nice play!), won by Dummy’s Ace Low Diamond from the board, won by East’s Jack Heart shift, Declarer rises with the Ace Diamond ruff Now, when Declarer gets back to her hand she must guess to play the J♥, squashing East’s Ten. If Declarer guesses wrong, she goes down one. Nicely done by West, that entry-destroying Q♠ play deprived Declarer of a second Spade trick and gave Declarer a guess to make the contract. Actually, 2♥ can always be beaten, but it takes (a) an opening trump lead, and (b) that same Q♠ play by West when Declarer attacks Spades. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Blocking & Unblocking Plays”>>
Afterthought We cannot imagine how it might happen, but imagine that you are East and you end up declaring a Club contract. South leads the Spade Ten. What is you play at Trick One? Yes, that Q♠ is obviously destined to star on this board because the same defensive play that we saw above on defense also works for Declarer! By playing Dummy’s Queen, Declarer ends up losing just one Spade trick (the Diamonds provide a discard) and manages to make 10 tricks.
East decided that his hand was not good enough for a game-forcing 2/1 (rightly so!), and then further decided that his hand was not worth a slam try over Partner’s strong 4♥ bid.
As South, what would be your choice of opening lead against 4♥? - A Club? No, that’s a most unappealing lead, and one with no apparent purpose. - A Diamond? Dummy has bid this suit and if the defense has any tricks coming in the suit there does not appear to be a rush to take them, they won’t be going anywhere. Another lead with no purpose. - A Trump? Conventional wisdom tells us not to lead singleton trumps and leading a singleton Ten (or Jack) is especially hazardous. For example, the layout of the suit might be this: Q765 AJ98 K432 T Without that foolish trump lead Declarer was destined to lay down the K♥ and take the losing trump finesse. But the T♥ lead pickles the defense’s trump trick. Similarly, if North holds Qxx. - A Spade? Leading away from Kxxxx in suit contracts is quite dangerous, but there is no obviously better lead, and the Spade lead actually has two ways in which it might win. Firstly, with Partner quite likely to have 4 trumps, it might be a good idea to initiate a forcing defense, hoping that Declarer will ultimately lose trump control after repeated Spade leads. Secondly, it’s not out of the question that Partner has some values, and if she has the A♠ it might be a good idea to grab a couple of Spade tricks before they disappear on Dummy’s Diamonds. Finally, a lead with a purpose!
If South leads anything but a Spade then Declarer can play the hand as if it were No Trump. He draws four rounds of trumps, plays on Clubs and scores 11 tricks. But the Spade opening lead puts the defense a tempo ahead. If Declarer now draws all the trumps and plays on Clubs, he’ll actually be down a trick when the defense’s Spades get set up before Dummy’s Clubs. So, Declarer will draw two rounds of trumps, get the bad news and play on Clubs before drawing the remainder of the trumps. South scores two Clubs and is able to give North a ruff, and it’s just 10 tricks for Declarer. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Opening Leads - Suits”>>
With good defense, E-W can always hold 4♠ to 10 tricks. Assuming a Diamond lead, the challenge to Declarer is to give the defense the chance to go wrong. See the Play Problem for the best way to finagle an 11th trick against sleepy opponents.
A scientific auction to the obvious spot. Here are some of the questions that the auction raises: - Do you agree with South’s 2♣ rebid? You don’t have to have a 6-card suit to rebid two of a minor, but that’s the way it normally works out, when we have just 5 of them there is a strong tendency to rebid 1NT. Having said that, the Club suit is quite robust, and, if No Trump is the place to be, then surely it would be better played from Partner’s hand. South has no tenace positions and two worthless doubletons, such hands deserve to be Dummy. So if it belongs in No Trump then let Partner be the one to bid it. - What does 2♦ mean? It’s a good idea to play this as a “new minor” type of bid, which is to say that it is artificial and (usually) looking for a 5-3 major fit. It’s easy to see why North would want to make such a bid … she wants to play in game and would like to give Partner a chance to show 3-card Heart support. - Is 3♣ forcing? Absolutely! If North had wanted to make a game invitation in Clubs on the previous round then she could have bid 3♣ over 2♣. - How about 3♥? South is stuck for a bid, 3NT is obviously out, and there’s no reason to support Spades with two small. So, 3♥ is descriptive and cheap, awaiting developments.
The play is less instructive than the bidding. East leads a Diamond and Declarer has 10 top tricks with no realistic prospect for more. She can duck a couple of Diamonds, which rectifies the count for a major suit squeeze, but that doesn’t work when it turns out that both defenders have Hearts guarded.
Against 2♠, West leads the A♦, then, seeing the imposing Diamond holding in Dummy, he promptly shifts to the K♥, making sure of 4 defensive tricks.
We must say that West showed admirable restraint in the above auction, and we expect that some of his counterparts will push on to 3♣. Here is how Declarer might wriggle out for down one: Defense cashes two Spades The third Spade is ruffed K♥ is won by North’s Ace Q♦ is won by Declarer’s Ace A second Diamond is cashed Q♥ is cashed Declarer exits a Heart North cashes a Diamond At this point Declarer has cleverly stripped his and Dummy’s hands down to nothing but trumps. Now, when North exits with a red card, Dummy will ruff with the Nine and Declarer will underruff, and that will be followed by the running of the J♣. Nicely wriggled for down only one! That line of play was somewhat obscure, a more obvious (and less successful) line of play is to play on Clubs immediately, hoping that trumps will provide two entries to the board for Heart leads towards the KQ.
The only way that the defense can ensure a two trick set is to refrain from playing that third round of Spades until the last moment, after all the red suit tricks have been played. This far from obvious defense ensures that Declarer will be forced to play the trump suit from his own hand. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Drawing Trumps - Or Not”>>
North’s 2♣ was DONT, showing Clubs and another suit, South’s 2♦ did not show Diamonds necessarily, merely a shortage of Clubs and a preference for Partner’s other suit, whatever it was.
Playing in 2♥, North has plenty of tricks, provided that she can maintain trump control. The best defense is to weaken Declarer’s trumps by repeated Spade leads, but that allows Declarer to scramble 9 tricks in exotic fashion: Spade to West’s King Spade ruffed by Declarer Low Diamond (not the King!) to the Queen and West’s Ace (ducking won’t help) Spade ruffed by Declarer Diamond to the Jack Club finesse A♣ and K♣ are cashed Another Club, East ruffing with the Ten (nice try!), overruffed by Dummy This takes us to a delightful 4-card ending: Declarer ♠ ♥ Q8 ♦ K ♣ 7 West East ♠ 3 ♠ 76 ♥ K93 ♥ 74 ♦ ♦ ♣ ♣ Dummy ♠ ♥ A2 ♦ 65 ♣ Declarer has 7 tricks and must score two more. When Dummy leads a Diamond, West cannot ruff without conceding a trick to the Q♥, so he pitches a Spade. East ruffs and does best to return a trump. But to no avail, Dummy’s Ace wins that trick, and now another Diamond allows Declarer to score her Q♥ en passant! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump En Passant”>>
Let us suppose that N-S are playing Inverted Minors, whereby a raise to 2♦ shows invitational values or better. That being the case, would you bid 2NT (showing 11-12) or 2NT with the South hand? Notwithstanding the possible outcome on the actual hand, we rather like 2NT ourselves, please see the Bidding Quiz.
Now, put yourself in the West seat. Confronted with the auction shown, what would be your opening lead against 3NT? - 4th Best Spade? This seems likely to give the defense its best shot at beating the contract. From the bidding it seems unlikely that Partner has the Q♠, and the hope here is that Partner will have a second Spade and be able to return one when he gets in. Of course, the downside is that Declarer might rattle off 12 tricks before this happens. Or that Partner started with a singleton Spade and the Spade suit never scores a trick for the defense. - Spade King? This asks Partner for “Queen attitude”, which is something we don’t need given the length of our own Spade holding. Partner will only be able to give Queen attitude when he has at least three of them, and even then it won’t be clear whether he is giving Queen attitude or playing a singleton or from two small. - Spade Ace? This asks Partner to unblock his highest honor. It’s unlikely that this attack will immediately bring in the suit but at least cashing the two high Spades ensures that they do not wither on the vine. We admit to being uncertain as to what to lead here. Certainly not the K♠, but either of the other two could work. On the actual hand, a low Spade gives Declarer 9 fast tricks, of course, whereas playing the Spades from the top results in down two (East plays the Jack on the first round).
Back to the auction. Suppose that South goes the Inverted Minor route. This will let West get his Spades into the auction at the two-level, which he probably should. We don’t suppose that this will propel E-W to their cold 15-point Spade game (yes, really, and 4♥ is also cold!), but it will scare N-S away from 3NT, probably ending in 5♦, down one when the Club finesse loses.
There is not much to the play in 3NT. South will lead a Heart no doubt, and when the J♥ turns out to be onside Declarer has 11 east tricks.
But, suppose that West took a liking to his hand and considered it worthy of a slam try. Any thoughts? Please see the Bidding Quiz [Pre-alert: This is another commercial for Minorwood and/or Redwood].
Afterthought Did any Souths take the old saying “Six-five, come alive” a little too seriously? Yes, South could have made an adventurous (some would say insane) 2NT bid over 1♦, the Unusual 2NT, in this case showing Clubs and Hearts. We think it’s a bit too much, especially vulnerable, but we do have to admit that 4♥ turns out to be a good sacrifice for N-S, not that North is likely to bid it, though, she will have hopes of beating 3NT.
East and West both had testing decisions to make in this auction. As East, after 1♦ by North, would you double or overcall 1♥? And, as West, assuming that East chooses to double, would you bid 1NT or some number of Spades? In both cases please see the Bidding Quiz.
4♥ and 4♠ are both reasonable contracts, and both are better if played from the West side, protecting West’s Diamond holding. The play turns out to rather interesting: - If West plays in 4♠: North doesn’t have an attractive lead, and might well try laying down the A♣. There doesn’t seem to be a safe way to play this hand, and Declarer might be tempted to go all out for 12 tricks. Ruff the Club lead high, cross on a Spade, Club ruff, cross on a Spade, draw the last trump, take the Heart finesse and pray for 12 tricks (if the finesse loses it will be only 9!). A safer way to play the hand is to take an early Heart finesse (instead of ruffing a Club), which caters for 4-1 Hearts but provides only 11 tricks. - If East plays in 4♠: South leads a Diamond, to the Q♦, then the A♦, then a low Diamond (suit preference) for a ruff. South dutifully returns a Club, but Declarer ruffs that high, crosses to hand with a trump, takes a Heart finesse (must be done early), and now has 10 tricks. - If East plays in 4♥: Again, two Diamond are cashed, followed by a Diamond ruff. Then a Club to North’s Ace, which is ruffed. There are only 4 Hearts out at this point, should Declarer play for the drop or finesse against North for the Queen? The bidding and the play of the Club suit may point Declarer in the right direction. If Declarer believes the play of the Club suit (no reason why he should if North is known to be tricky!), then the K♣ is with South. That leaves North with a maximum of 13 HCP’s, and as she has opened 1♦ on a 4-card suit, it seems likely that she has the Q♥. So, it looks as if a Heart finesse is indicated.
Defending against 2♥, the defense can take 5 tricks with the help of a couple of Diamond ruffs. But they probably won’t, that would require the improbable defense of the A♦ opening lead, followed by a Diamond ruff and a Club shift. On any other lead, the best that the defense can do is to get just one Diamond ruff. So, expect a bunch of 140’s on the score-sheet.
There’s no foolproof method for bidding freak hands, and East might well have trotted out 5♣ immediately over 2♥. But, bidding 3♣ is a reasonable choice, too, there’s little danger of this bid getting passed out.
Against 5♣, it seems natural enough for South to lead Partner’s suit, but that turns out to be fatal. Declarer ruffs, cashes a Spade and takes a Spade ruff, and tries to get away the other Spade loser on the Diamonds. This doesn’t work but, even so, it’s 11 tricks for Declarer.
We cannot imagine that South will start out with the A♣, but that is the only opening lead that has a chance to beat the contract. Having played the A♣, South must follow up at Trick Two with the deadly Diamond shift to set the contract. An unlikely defense for down one!
North has a 6-loser hand, and might well have invited to game after Partner’s 2♠ raise. And if she had invited then South might well have accepted, perhaps persuaded by those fitting Diamond honors.
It turns out that the Spade game is somewhat against the odds, but not terrible. There are two Clubs to be lost and a finesse to be taken in each of the other suits. The chances of two of those finesses working is 50%, but the overall chances of making game are further reduced by the need for a 3-2 trump break. All in all, it’s a 34% game. As it happens, two of the finesses lose and it’s only 9 tricks.
Against 2♦, North has an obvious J♠ opening lead, covered by the Queen, King and Ace. Declarer doesn’t have the entries to get Dummy’s Hearts going, so his best plan is to go after Club ruffs on the board: J♠ opening lead, covered by the Queen, King, Ace Declarer exits with a low Club A Spade is cashed Spade ruff A♦ is cashed A♣ is cashed, then a Club ruff K♥, then A♥ Another Club is led, ruffed on the board and overruffed by South At this point, Declarer is down to three small trumps and nothing else. His hope is that he can ruff the major suit return without getting overruffed and that the outstanding trumps are 1-1. That would require that South started with 4=3=3=3 distribution, but no such luck! Both outstanding trumps are in the North hand and it’s just 8 tricks for Declarer. But nicely played by Declarer who timed the play correctly in his fruitless quest for the 9th trick.
After South’s 1NT, in the absence of special methods, it’s reasonable for West to try 2♥. This shows a weak hand (with values West would double 1NT). Having said that, it would be nice if West had a way to investigate both majors, especially on this deal where there is a 4-4 Spade fit waiting to be found. For a handful of alternative methods in this situation, please see the Bidding Quiz.
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