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Hand Analyses 4th March, 2009
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 6, Declarer does best to organize a cross-ruff. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Cross-Ruffing”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
West had quite a lot of HCP for the 2♥ rebid, that’s a bid that would usually be made by a weaker hand with 6 Hearts. Having said that, AKQJT looks like a 6-card suit to us, and the void in Partner’s Clubs was a negative, causing West to get less than excited by his hand. Good choice by West, as staying low is the key to success on this hand. Defending against 2♥, it’s easy to see North attacking with the ♠J. When that holds, she’ll probably continue, and the defense scores 3 fast Spade tricks and a Spade ruff (Dummy pitching a Diamond). That might seem like a fun start for the defense but in fact it hands Declarer 9 easy tricks (the 9th being a Diamond ruff on the board). But there is a defense which holds Declarer to just 8 tricks … North must lead a trump (or lead the ♠J and shift to a trump), stopping the ruff in Dummy.
Bidding Afterthought Just as West did well to treat his AKQJT as a 6-card suit, perhaps South could have treated her ♠AKQ2 as a 5-card suit! Overcalling 1♠ with that hand would no doubt work out rather well. West would bid 2♥, and East would rebid 3♣. Now E-W are destined for a minus score!
White versus Red, East cared not one jot for the mediocre quality of his suit, he jumped right in with a Weak Two. West’s raise to 3♦ was purely preemptive, after which N-S lurched into 4♠, making 10 easy tricks. Yes, E-W have a fine sacrifice in 5♦, going down just 3 tricks for -500. Not an easy one to find.
East was not good enough for a 2♥ bid, and might have considered a preemptive 3♥ at anything but unfavorable vulnerability. Instead, he eked out a Negative Double, showing a few values (very few, in actuality) and at least 4 Hearts. South’s 3♠ was preemptive, West’s 3NT natural, and 4♥ was a reasonable guess.
4♥ can be beaten if South finds the opening lead of a Club, allowing the defense to score ♣K, Club ruff, and two red Aces. But South might well lead a Spade, after which Declarer scoots home with 10 tricks.
Do you agree with North’s 1♣ opening bid? Many wouldn’t, they would prefer to open their “better minor”, while others always open 1♣ with 3-3 in the minors. Our own suggestion is to open 1♣ most of the time, reserving the 3-card 1♦ opening for 4=4=3=2 hands. But there are limits! With ♠ 7654, ♥ A86, ♦ AKQ, ♣ 432 it would be bizarre to open 1♣. The actual hand has better Diamonds than Clubs, whether the difference is sufficiently extreme to open 1♦ is up to you. Our North thought not. But we will say that, in third seat, after Partner has passed, it would be more tempting to open the North hand with 1♦, now the odds of Partner being on lead are greatly increased and we’d like to help her find the right lead.
So, North opens 1♣, what would you do with the East hand? It’s too bad (for East) that North did not open 1♦, in that case we’d say that the East hand is just about good enough for a Takeout Double. Sure, it’s minimum, and the ♦Q is a dubious value, but the shape is right and it may be a case of “now or never”. However, when North opens 1♣, the shape becomes less perfect, and that in combination with the minimum values suggests a Pass.
Now we put you in the South seat. You responded 1♥, Partner raised to 2♥, do you make another move? Playing matchpoints, the hand does not like it is quite good enough, the main defect being those rotten trumps. But it’s pretty close, that ♣K in Partner’s (so-called) suit looks useful. However, playing IMPs, where the premium for bidding games (especially vulnerable games) is higher, we’d invite.
Playing in Hearts, how many tricks can N-S actually make? There are two trumps to be lost, and the ♣A. Having both the K♠ and J♠ onside compensates for the bad trump situation, but even so it’s hard to see how Declarer can rustle up 10 tricks without going anti-percentage and dropping the doubleton off-side ♦Q. So, our prediction is 9 tricks at most tables.
West was light by a Spade for his overcall, but found that chunky suit hard to resist. South’s 3♥ was not forcing, but showed a pretty good hand. However, North was not cooperating with that miserable collection. When Dummy goes down, South can see that 3♥ is in serious jeopardy, but, by remarkable good fortune, no fewer than 10 tricks can be made. Let’s say that West leads the ♠K, and another Spade. Declarer ruffs the second round, and the obvious plan is to go for a Diamond ruff on the board. However, when the ♦Q appears on the second round of Diamonds, that plan looks doomed, so Declarer leads a Club towards Dummy. West wins his Ace and can persist with Spades, but Declarer ruffs, crosses to the ♣K, finesses in Hearts, and when trumps are 3-3, she has her 10 (very lucky) tricks, losing just one trick in each side-suit.
3NT and 5♦ both turn out to be reasonable contracts, each one requiring that Declarer hold her Diamond losers to just one. What’s the percentage play in that suit? The three ways to play this suit combination are: - Cash the Ace: Here the hope is that the suit is 2-2 or that someone has a singleton honor. The chance of success (for one loser) is 66%. - Finesse, and if that loses, play the Ace on the second round: This wins when trumps are 2-2 or when East has KQ. A 70% chance. - Finesse, and if that loses, finesse again: This wins whenever East has at least one honor, and gives the best odds, 76%. The better percentage is also the winning line on the actual hand. Playing in Diamonds, the Spade opening lead is won in Dummy, the Diamond finessed, and when that wins Declarer cashes the ♦A and cross-ruffs the hand.
We are not saying that East should split his Diamond honors on the first round (that would look very foolish if West held the singleton Jack or Ace!), but on this hand he’ll make Declarer’s life more difficult. She could win the Ace and lead another trump, hoping that the suit is 2-2, but that’s only 10 tricks when East wins and plays a third round of trumps. A more successful line is to leave both missing trumps at large, cash the side-suit winners and try for a cross-ruff. But the timing must be just right: Win ♠A Trump to the Queen and Ace Cash ♣A and ruff a Club Back to the ♥A and ruff another Club Cash ♠A and ruff a Spade Cross to the ♥K Now, when the last Spade is led from Dummy, East is helpless. 11 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Cross-Ruffing”>>
South’s 3♣ might not be to all tastes, but at least the suit has some fillers and the hand has some shape. Not that it makes much difference as East is destined to become Declarer in 4♥ with or without the preempt. And there is not much to the play, with Declarer losing 2 Aces, for +650.
Perhaps North should have tried a 4♠ sacrifice. East might push on to 5♥ and still collect his +650, but if North is allowed to play in 4♠ doubled she escapes for -500 and a good result.
First East balances with 1NT, then North balances with 2♣, and West balances with 2♦. South must have been tempted to make it a complete set of balances by doing something when 2♦ came back to her. Yes, South might well have doubled, not so much as a penalty Double, more as a bid meaning “Do something that works well, Partner”. Anyway, nothing much makes on this board, including 2♦ which bites the dust following this defense: ♠9 won by Declarer’s Queen Club to the King and Ace Heart won by North’s Ace Two Spades are cashed Club won by North. The defense has taken its 5 side-suit tricks and is sure of a trump trick. Yes, the trumps can be picked up for one loser, but not when Declarer has to ruff a Club in order to get to the board and lead the suit.
South’s 2♣ was game-forcing, and then her 3♦ showed interest in big things in Diamonds. North returned to 3NT, but might have offered some encouragement with a 3♥ bid. After all, as 12-14 hands go, North’s collection is not so bad, she does have good controls, a 5th Diamond and the Ace in Partner’s suit. If North does bid 3♥, then South can trot out a 4♦ Minorwood bid (assuming that tool is available), find that two Key Cards are missing, and sign off in 4NT.
How many tricks can Declarer make in No Trump? If East somehow finds a Spade lead, the defense is a tempo ahead, and can set up their Spades before Declarer can set up her Diamonds. So, Declarer’s only chance of a 10th trick is the Heart finesse, which works for +430. However, unfortunately for the defense, East is more likely to start out with an opening Heart lead, giving Declarer two extra Heart tricks and 11 altogether.
East’s hand was way too good for a 3♦ preempt, of course, and quite adequate for opening one of a suit. West’s 2♣ was game-forcing, and his 3NT showed some extras. East might have been tempted to try for slam, perhaps she was turned off by those 3 small cards in Partner’s Clubs.
Playing in No Trump, North leads a Heart and that’s 11 easy tricks. How does 6♦ fare? If South is clever enough to lead a Spade (giving away nothing), Declarer can see that he is in a rotten contract, one requiring considerable luck in the Club suit. The suit must be played for one loser, which would be a 50% proposition if East or West had the Ten. But without it the odds drop way down to around 30%. Declarer’s best shot is to play South to hold AQ, with the little bonus that QT doubleton also works. As it happens it’s that little bonus that brings in the lucky slam. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Combinations”>>
Here’s an auction with a couple of bids which may seem rather strange. First of all, North opens 1♥ with a 4-card suit. Well, that’s not really so strange, she is in 3rd seat and would like to encourage a Heart lead. How about South’s 3♥? Perhaps N-S were playing Drury, which allows South to check on the soundness of Partner’s 3rd seat opening when she has support for her major. 2♣ (and sometimes 2♦) is generally used for this purpose, and would show a decent hand with (in this case) Hearts support. So, even if you normally play 1♥ 3♥ as invitational, if you also play Drury, then Pass 1♥, 3♥ is usually played as preemptive. As can be seen, preemption was very much South’s intention here, and 3♥ goes down two tricks for the fine N-S score of -100.
E-W can make 2♠ or 3♦, so scoring +100 for defeating 3♥ was not a good result. Was either player especially to blame? Not really. East might have doubled 1♥, but with only 11 HCP and with 3 small in the unbid major, that was hardly perfect. In fact, if East does double 1♥, then South will preempt 3♥, as before, after which West is surely going to compete to 3♠, going minus.
There’s a degree of randomness to this deal. E-W are destined to play in 4♠, played from the West side, and it all depends on North’s opening lead. If West opens 1♦ (as some will), the lead of the unbid Club suit will appear most reasonable, and the defense gets its 4 tricks. Other Wests prefer to open 1♣ with 3-3 in the minors (unless, perhaps, the Diamonds are much better), and those are the lucky ones who will deter the Club lead and no doubt end up scoring 10 tricks. So, this deal will be lucky for some, less so for others.
As Declarer, how do you propose to make an overtrick in 2♠? North leads the ♦A, you ruff the ♦K continuation, now what? Declarer cashes the ♣A and leads a Spade. At this point Declarer is not sure whether he wants to ruff one or two Clubs on the board, it’s up to the defense which way he goes: - If North (improbably) rises with the Ace and returns a trump: Now Declarer gets just one ruff, but scores 3 Hearts, ending up with 9 altogether. - If North ducks: Now Declarer goes for 2 Club ruffs. He wins the ♠Q, ruffs a Club, crosses to the ♥Q, ruffs a Club, plays the ♥A and then the ♥K. If Hearts had been 3-3 he would make 10 tricks, when they are not it is just 9.
What would you lead from the North hand against 3NT? Not a Heart, of course, but any one of the other three suits could be right. The winning lead is the aggressive ♦J, as it happens. That lead holds Declarer to 10 tricks. Even making 10 tricks requires some considerable luck in the Club suit.
But North might lead a Spade, and that gives Declarer the timing to rack up a whopping 11 tricks: Win ♠A on the board Finesse the ♣Q Finesse the ♥T, losing to the Jack Diamond shift, ducked by Declarer Diamond continuation is won by Declarer’s Ace ♣A drops South’s King Finesse the ♥Q Now, when Hearts break 3-3, Declarer can count 3 Spades, 3 Hearts, a Diamond, and 4 Clubs.
You are sitting West. After Partner responds 1♥ are you a 2♥ or a 3♥ bidder? We’d consider it close, not quite the prescribed 15-17 for the 3♥ bid, but it is a lovely 13-count with a singleton and a nice 5-card suit. Take your pick, but speaking for ourselves we’d bid 2♥ … give us the ♣T, though, and that would push us over the edge into 3♥ territory. Not that it matters too much on the actual hand, East is destined to play this one in 4♥. That will surely be 11 tricks at every table. Famous last words.
6♥ turns out to be a terrific contract, requiring no more than East holding either the ♠K or the ♠Q. That’s pretty good odds, actually 76%. But with a combined 23 HCP, it’s virtually impossible to bid the slam, and let’s not forget that without those magnificent Spade spots it would be a poor slam indeed. Take away just that humble ♠9 and the odds of making slam plummet to below 40%, and if you take away the ♠T it gets even worse! So, be happy that you got to game and took the maximum number of tricks, that alone should be enough for a decent score.
It would be inexpressibly feeble for South not to jump in there with a 3rd seat 3♣. After 3♣ E-W have no good options. Sure, West can overcall (some would say overbid) with 3♦, and that is a contract which is likely to make 9 tricks. But, once West bids 3♦, East cannot pass! His hand is too good, West could have a considerably better hand, one which makes game possible. So, if West bids 3♦, East might try 3♠, after which West is pretty much end-played into bidding 3NT. He does not expect this to make, but maybe he can get out for down a couple, hopefully 3NT down two (mercifully undoubled) is actually a good save against 3♣!
What’s the bottom line? - If South declares 3♣: That’s down one, with a Spade lead, or with the ♦K lead and a Spade shift. - If West stumbles into 3NT: Astonishingly, this contract will probably make! Declarer always has 6 Diamonds and (aided by the finesse) two Spades. And the defense is likely to present Declarer with the 9th by attacking Hearts or Clubs. Remarkably, the only way to beat 3NT is for the defense to attack one of the E-W suits! If they lead Spades or Diamonds, 8 tricks will be the limit.
It’s hard to eke out any excitement from this one! West leads a Heart, and now (thanks to the 3-2 Club split), Declarer can count 3 Spades, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds, and 4 Clubs. 11 tricks, +660, for a flat board.
The first problem bid in this auction comes to West. What is your choice opposite Partner’s 1♥ overcall? - 2♦? This cue-bid shows 10+ HCP and Heart support (at least in the style used by most tournament players), and that’s exactly what West has. But, really, what a massive overbid! The hand is square, and the ♦KJ9 is a nice holding, except for the unfortunate detail it is sitting under the Diamond bidder. Scratch this one off your list. - 2♥? Well, the books do say “support with support” and E-W do have an 8-card major fit. If the hand is not good enough to invite game in Hearts then how about a simple raise to 2♥? That’s certainly an improvement, but is it the right bid? - 1NT? This would be our choice. Opposite an overcall this shows around 8-11, and this one looks just right … suitable holding in the enemy suit … it puts North on lead which (from the E-W point of view) is a good place for her to be … the values are slow and No Trumpish.
Over to North. She has a hand that, opposite a non-silent Partner, would have jump-shifted, forcing to game. Do the rules change when Partner failed to take a call? We think so! We believe that North should be allowed to bid 3♣ anyway, showing a good hand but for it to be non-forcing. With a really good hand, North must double or cue-bid, or perhaps open 2♣ initially.
Anyway, a Club part-score is where N-S belong, making 10 tricks.
Here’s an auction which might have endless variations. We offer a few thoughts: - Some Norths won’t be able to bid 2♦, for them that would be (even by a passed hand) an “Inverted Raise”, showing a better hand. Such Norths will be obliged to bid 1NT, which is not such a terrible idea anyway. - Some Wests, perhaps not noticing the vulnerability, will overcall 2♣. North passes, and now there are two ways by which dreadful things can befall E-W. The most likely one is that South will reopen with a Double, North will pass, and West will go for -200 or -500 on a part-score hand. Even worse, East might take a shine to his hand (he shouldn’t) and presume that West actually has some values. If that happens then the final E-W result will be too hideous even to contemplate. - Other Wests, we’ll call them the enlightened ones, will overcall 1♦ with 1♥. Yes, you will no doubt have noticed that there is a small deficit in the length of the Heart suit, but at least it is a bid which does not overstate the robustness of the Club suit, and one that tells East which suit West would like to be led.
West’s 4♣ was Gerber, and these were the responses being used by E-W: 4♦ 1 or 4 Aces 4♥ 0 or 3 Aces 4♠ 2 Aces and a bad hand 4NT 2 Aces and a good hand As can be seen, these responses are analogous to the Roman Key Card 1430 responses, with the role of the Queen of trumps being usurped by the strength of the hand.
When East shows all three missing Aces, how many tricks can West count? 6 Spades, 2 Hearts and a Club brings the total to 9. How many Diamonds? Should be 3, unless East tragically has only two cards in the suit (perhaps his distribution is 2=4=2=5). Despite that (fairly remote) risk West bids 6NT, where he has the expected 12 tricks with no chance for any more.
East’s lovely 14-count is full value for the jump raise to 3♠ and West was not quite good enough to make a slam try. Do you see how Declarer makes 11 tricks, losing just two trump tricks? Let’s assume that North avoids the helpful Club lead and makes life more difficult for Declarer by leading a Heart: Heart to Declarer’s Ace Cross to the ♦A Diamond ruff Spade to the King and Ace Club return to the Jack, Queen and Ace Diamond ruff Cash the ♠Q Heart ruff After this well-timed play, Dummy’s Diamonds are led, and if South ruffs in, Dummy still has a Heart ruff as an entry to the other winning Diamond. The key play was to ruff a Diamond early, ensuring that Dummy’s Heart ruff entries could be put to good use in the setting up of the Diamonds. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Entry Management”>>
Usually, when the opponents have been pushed up to the 5-level, it’s a good idea to let them play it there, bidding “5 over 5” is quite often a losing proposition. So we wouldn’t blame East here for missing the good 5♠ sacrifice. After all, he had a square shape, and no doubt hoped her ♠A would cash (it didn’t) and that his QTx trump holding would be worth a trick (it wasn’t). Anyway, well done those E-W pairs who found the profitable Spade sacrifice, but we expect +650 to N-S at most tables.
When 2♥ is passed around to South it was clear for her to double back into the auction. With South’s singleton Heart and with no Heart raise from East, there was a good chance that North might be able to make a Penalty Pass. And, failing that, there was the likelihood of a minor suit fit.
As it happens North tries for a penalty and with good defense that will be +300 for N-S: J♠ won by Declarer’s Queen Club to the Ace Losing Diamond finesse Spade return which South must take with the Ace (even if North returns the Jack!) Heart to the Queen and King ♥A is cashed Now the Diamond ruff in Dummy has been stopped, and by taking care to lead the first round of trumps from the South hand, North will still score 3 trump tricks (which was why South had to win that second round of Spades). When the dust has cleared, Declarer will have scored just 3 trumps and one trick in each side-suit.
East’s Double was somewhat off-shape, but reasonable. South’s Redouble showed a good hand, of course, in this case it was one which was not good enough to go to game in Spades, but which might be prepared to penalize the opponents at the 3-level, with co-operation from Partner.
As for West, his first reaction (over the Redouble) might have been to bid Hearts, but there was no rush to pick the trump suit. Passing does not say “I want to defend 2♠ redoubled!”, it says “I have no particular preference, Partner, you pick the suit”. If East were then to bid 3♣, West would bid 3♦ saying “I have Diamonds and Hearts, choose between those”. This was good bidding from West, if he had bid 3♥ over the Redouble, North would have doubled that and that would be -500 for E-W and a bottom board.
When South finally supported Spades, North went to game, her hand somewhat improved by the singleton in the opponents’ suit.
After all the back and forth, North ends up in the normal contract of 4♠. Declarer must lose the two red Aces, and makes her contract if she can play the Clubs for one loser. With East advertising the bulk of the HCP, Declarer will run the ♣Q around, playing East to have one of the missing Club honors. East will cover, no doubt, but either way, it’s just one Club loser and +420 for N-S.
First of all, West made a good choice when he supported Hearts immediately with a Jacoby 2NT response. There was no point in confusing matters by bidding those impressive Spades first, West knew where he was headed and had the kind of hand that should be taking charge of the auction. East’s 3♦ showed a singleton Diamond, and now West launched into Exclusion Key Card! Yes, that spectacular leap to 5♣ said “Tell me your Key Cards, but leave out the ♣A from your response”. Following instructions, East showed “two with” and West had to satisfy himself with just 6♥. Of course, if the ♣A were changed to the ♥A, E-W would have coasted into the cold grand slam, even though they would be missing the ♣A.
West did well to take charge of the auction, look at the mess he might have gotten into if he had wasted time showing his Spades: West East 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♦ 2♠ 3♥ 4♣ Etc. In this auction, West got himself embroiled in a Fourth Suit Forcing auction, and was unable to agree Hearts at a low enough level. Consequently, there was no chance of reaching the grand slam when East had the right Key Cards.
The N-S auction says “lead a Spade” and that is no doubt what East will do. Declarer wins that and sets about the Hearts. East must hop up with the King and find the deadly shift to a Club. Whichever Club finesse Declarer chooses, West will win, and revert to Spades. Nice defense, now the defense gets its 5 tricks before Declarer can get beyond 8.
That was alert defense by East to find the Club shift, but North could have made East’s life a lot harder with a less informative auction. After 1♣, she might have simply responded 3NT (showing 13-15). Sure, it’s not perfect, for all North knows the defense might rattle off 5 Hearts, for example. But usually they won’t and East will be operating in the dark on his opening lead. He’ll probably lead the ♥K, which is quite fatal to the defense, allowing Declarer to take 10 tricks.
Another possibility occurs if N-S play “Walsh-style”, in which case, the auction would be: South North 1♣ 1♦ 1NT 3NT In this style of bidding, North would not bid 1♦ if she also held a 4-card major unless she also had a game-going hand. Here North does have a game-going hand, but she has nothing in the majors so she just bids 3NT, again leaving the opponents more in the dark than in our first auction. Now, West is on opening lead, and although he’ll surely find the best opening lead of a Spade, with the South hand hidden, the winning defense will be less clear.
With the East hand, some might go directly to 4♥, but many play that as a preemptive bid. Another possibility is a Splinter to 4♣, showing game values and Club shortness, but that is generally frowned upon when the singleton is an Ace. So East used the Jacoby 2NT, West showed some extra values, and East confirmed a minimum hand with 4♥.
Against 4♥, North leads the ♠T, won by Declarer’s Ace. Declarer will draw trumps, ruff a couple Spades and a couple of Clubs, hoping for a King to fall. Finally, Diamonds must be tackled. Declarer leads to his King, taken by the Ace. Back comes a Spade, ruffed by Declarer, and now West leads a Diamond towards the board. North has been doing some counting, of course. She knows that West’s initial distribution was 1=5=3=4, so with nerves of steel she plays low on the second round of Diamonds. Declarer finesses the Nine and is held to 10 tricks! Note that Declarer would have done better to ruff one less Club and one less Spade. Now, when South wins her doubleton ♦T, she is end-played! Whichever black suit South leads will hand Declarer his 11th trick. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Counting Distribution”>>
East had a pretty good Weak Two, West reckoned that he was not quite good enough to invite game, and E-W languished in a part-score. Against 2♠, South leads the ♦K, won in Dummy. Next comes the ♠K, on which South plays the Ten, giving Declarer a guess. If South started with QT, he should play for the drop … but if he started with T or T9, or has false-carded from Tx, then he should finesse. If Declarer guesses right, he makes no fewer than 11 tricks, with the Diamonds providing pitches for two Clubs.
East’s 3♠ showed around 15-17 with 4-card support, and although he has only 13 HCP, that hand clearly qualifies, given the fine controls and good Diamond suit. Now, what would be your response as East, when West launches into Roman Key Card Blackwood? The two options are: - Bid 5♥: Showing two Key Cards and denying the ♠Q. - Bid 5NT: Showing two Key Cards and a void, and saying nothing about the ♠Q, one way or the other. The trouble with bidding 5NT is that Partner won’t know whether the void is in Hearts or in Clubs, and there is no guarantee that the void will even be useful. However, denying the ♠Q might well be useful, so our choice would be to respond 5♥.
Back to West. When East denied the ♠Q, West was right to choose 6NT, the chances were that this would be at least as likely to make as 6♠.
With the Diamonds breaking, there are 12 top tricks, and with various chances for a 13th. A Club lead would give away the overtrick immediately, so let’s say that North is lucky or smart enough to lead a passive Diamond. Declarer cashes all 5 Diamonds, pitching a Spade and a Club. Then he crosses to the ♠A (noting the fall of North’s Queen), and cashes the ♣A and ♣K. Here are the remaining cards: North ♠ ♥ J873 ♦ ♣ Q West East ♠ KT ♠ 8 ♥ Q2 ♥ AKT6 ♦ ♦ ♣ J ♣ South ♠ J7 ♥ 954 ♦ ♣ The defense has discarded well, both North and South hung on to all their Hearts, offering Declarer the minimum amount of clues. Now Declarer could just cash the Hearts and, when the ♥J does not drop, try to guess the Spade position. But a safer play for 13 tricks is the cash the ♠K … maybe North started with doubleton ♠QJ … or maybe North will be squeezed in Hearts and Clubs. It’s the latter case which wins the day and scores +1020. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Basic Squeeze Technique”>>
Suppose that South had responded 2♦ to the Stayman inquiry. What next by North? - 1NT 2♣, 2♦ 2♠ is used by many to show an invitational hand, with 5 Spades and 4 Hearts. - 1NT 2♣, 2♦ 3♠ is used to show the same distribution and game-going values (some partnerships play Smolen, where the jump to the three-level is made in the four-card suit, allowing the strong hand to declare the 5-3 major fit, if there is one). Anyway, if Partner does respond 2♦, we’d treat this hand as invitational and bid 2♠. But, on the actual hand, when she responds 2♥, we think the 4-4 fit is enough to take a stab at game.
Against 4♠, West leads his singleton Spade and East wins the Queen and cashes the Ace. Declarer ruffs the third Spade high. Now, back to hand with a low trump, ruff another Spade high, and draw trumps, eventually pitching a Club on the Diamonds. This avoids the need for a Club finesse, but would fail in the event of a 4-1 trump break. There does not seem to be a way to not only avoid the Club finesse, but also to handle 4-1 trumps. But all that is academic when the finesse works and the trumps break.
E-W have a combined 26 HCP but no makeable game. 5♦ is their best shot, requiring that the Club finesse work. It doesn’t and that is down one.
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