|
Hand Analyses 1st September, 2010
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, four year’s worth. Occasionally you will see a purple arrow, linking to the relevant BridgeOpedia section. For example, in this week’s Board 1, South has the opportunity for an imaginative opening lead. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Opening Leads”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
After opening 2♣, and hearing a 2♦ “waiting” bid from West, what would be your rebid as East? The three obvious possibilities are: - 2♠: This keeps the bidding low and is a reasonable choice. - 3♠: This sets Spades as the trump suit and asks Partner to start cue-bidding. But East does not really have the kind of hand where controls are all-important … there is also the small matter of those slow Heart losers to consider. - 4♠: Shows a self-sustaining suit and a minimum 2♣ opening, which is pretty much what East has. But it’s hardly an informative bid and consumes a huge amount of space.
So, let’s say that East bids a simple 2♠. Now what is your choice as West? Let’s assume that you have available a “second negative” of 3♣ for use with really bad hands. That means that anything else shows something, let’s say at least a King. That being so, West can choose between: - 3♥: Yes, there are five of them, but what a rotten suit! - 3♠: West will probably support Spades later but there’s no rush to do so with a doubleton, it’s quite possible that East has only a 5-card suit. - 2NT: This is a fairly wide-ranging bid, showing some values but denying support or a suit worth bidding. Exactly what West has!
Now, after East bids 3♠, West can and should support Spades. But not by bidding 4♠, it’s better to bid 4♦. As West did not bid 3♦ when he could, this bid is clearly a cue-bid in support of Spades. Now East tries a cue-bid of 4♥, and West has done his all, so he simply bids 4♠.
That was not a bad auction, and slam in Spades (or Hearts) is not a great proposition. The Hearts must be picked up for one loser and that’s just a 20% chance (needs onside Ace and a 2-2 split). But the overbidders will triumph here, demonstrating once again that there is not always justice in bridge. Unless, that is, that South manages to find …
… a stunning lead! Suppose that you are South, on opening lead against 6♠. What is the lead that beats the contract? Before you say “There isn’t one!”, consider the effect of leading the ♥J! That’s the ticket! Declarer will surely finesse on the second round! Of course, unorthodox leads run the risk of misleading Partner, but this one looks relatively safe, and is unlikely to cost. Stunning, indeed! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Opening Leads”>>
Here’s an exotic auction! First of all, let’s look at South’s rebid (and let’s assume that N-S are playing a 2/1 style). What would be your choice? You could simply raise to 3♦, but surely a more descriptive bid is 3♠, showing Diamond support and shortness in Spades. Splinters usually work best when we have a minimum hand, the reason being that there is little point in jumping the bidding to ask “Do you like your hand opposite my shortness?”, and then when Partner says “No!”, bidding on anyway because we still like our hand. That being so, 3♠ is the perfect splinter, after which South will be happy to leave the rest of the auction in Partner’s safe hands.
Now, let’s look at the North hand. After the 3♠ splinter, North would love it if 5♥ were available as Exclusion Key Card, that would be the best way to get to 7♦ missing the ♥A. But, alas, 5♥ is probably a slam try in Hearts and if you bid it as Exclusion then South may well find herself laboring in the 5-0 fit (which plays surprisingly well for down only two or three). So our reluctant choice would be to bid Roman Key Card, which for the Minorwood brigade would be 4♦. At least that gets N-S to 7♦ when South has three Key Cards, but as it is they will rest in 6♦.
Against North’s Diamond slam, let’s say that East leads a Club. 13 tricks roll home this way: Win the opening lead with Dummy’s ♣A Cash the ♦A and ♦Q Cash the Spades, pitching Dummy’s Club losers Ruff a Club With the ♣K doubleton the rest is easy. And, if trumps had been 3-1, Declarer does best to draw just the two rounds before going after the Clubs, in case two Club ruffs are required.
Instead of raising to just 3♣, South might well have jumped to 4♣, especially at this vulnerability. But that won’t be a success if West makes a Takeout Double and East passes, collecting 300 for E-W.
Anyway, we expect a Diamond part-score at most tables, probably played by East. South leads the Club Nine and, looking at all four hands, we can see two Heart losers and that’s it. But that is not to say that there are 11 tricks available, and in fact some Declarers might find themselves making just 9. This one is presented as a Play Problem, where you will be challenged to make 10 tricks (which is important as E-W are likely to make 8 tricks in No Trump).
Needless to say, East is thinking slam at this point. Let’s say that E-W are playing 2NT as artificial, to which the responses are: - 3♣: 3-card Spade support, minimum hand - 3♦: 3-card support, maximum - 3♥: 4-card support, minimum - 3♠: 4-card support, maximum.
West replies 3♥, now what? The East hand is rich in controls but as 18-counts go, this one is not the best, on account of its square shape and absence of Tens. Nonetheless, there are some minimum West hands which will produce slam, for example: ♠KTxx, ♥xx, ♦Kx, ♣KQxxx, so at this point (after 3♥) we’d suggest a cue-bid of 4♣. East won’t cooperate and will bid 4♠. Is the East hand worth another try? Maybe, but not Blackwood, we’d suggest 5♥. But, again, West will be having none of it and E-W will be in the perilous contract of 5♠, making 11 tricks.
Anyone for No Trump? If E-W are clever enough to play in No Trump from the West side, they can make 11 tricks. But No Trump is more likely to be declared by East, which is 9 or 10 tricks on a Diamond lead, but 11 on the more likely Heart lead. Why do we say 9 or 10? Because Declarer makes 9 with the normal play of the ♦Q from Dummy, but 10 if he bizarrely plays low from Dummy, blocking the suit.
Most pairs play Michaels and the Unusual No Trump as their two-suited overcalls, but neither applies in this situation and West must bid his suits naturally. We’d suggest that West bids the Spades first and then, if he gets the chance, he can bid Diamonds twice. The trouble with bidding the longer Diamonds first is that the Spades might get lost in the shuffle … if we have to lose a suit we’d rather it was a minor! Anyway, bidding 1♠ hits the jackpot and E-W will scoot into 4♠ in a hurry. Making 10 tricks when, mercifully, the defense has no Diamond ruff coming.
Did any N-S pairs boldly bid 5♣? That’s a great success, done only one (presumably doubled) for a rare Red vs White sacrifice. Even better, West might be tempted to bid on to 5♠, giving N-S a plus score and all the matchpoints.
Bergen players won’t do well on this deal, as West will respond 3♥ (preemptive) and East will bid the game. Non-Bergenites may not do any better, it would be hard to fault a 2♥ response by West, after all, 4-card support and a singleton must count for something. Well done to all those E-W pairs who somehow managed to go plus.
A messy little hand, 8 or 9 tricks for Declarer.
How do you like South’s Double of 2♣? Well, it’s not guaranteed to succeed and, from personal experience, we can attest to the fact that 2♣ redoubled, making two overtricks, is a most painful experience. Nonetheless, at matchpoints we’d say it’s worth a shot, especially if Partner has a good sense of humor.
As you can see, the Double works rather well, getting North off to the best lead. Declarer wins his ♣K (on the third trick if he can, to protect against a 5-3 Club break), crosses to the ♠A, runs the ♥J, cashes the Hearts, cleverly notices that North shows out on the second round of Spades, and hauls in 10 tricks.
But, if South declines to double 2♣ (smoothly, we hope), then North will no doubt lead a Diamond, after which Declarer can make 11 tricks (though he may play it safe for 10).
West’s 2NT was Jacoby 2NT, a “fit-and-force” bid showing game-values in Spades. How do you rate the East hand? We’d say that it has extras, do you agree? One way to look at it is to visualize the East hand with the same 5=2=2=4 shape but no ♣K, a mere 11-count in other words? Would you open such a hand? Sure you would! It passes the Rule of Twenty, added to which it has no real defects, all the high cards are working (well, sort of, that unsupported ♣Q looks a bit lonely). In other words, the East hand is about a King better than it needs to be for the original opening bid. That’s extras, and East should say so, and the way that most play, that can be done with a 3♠ bid (4♠ would be a minimum hand).
Once East shows extras, West will surely go to slam. He has a little extra himself, plus an extra trump, and will surely charge slamwards, one way or another.
6♠ is a great slam without a Diamond lead. After the non-Diamond lead, Declarer has three chances: - If the ♣A is with North then Clubs provide a pitch for the Diamond loser. - If the ♣A is offside, but the ♣J comes down in three rounds, then again the Clubs provide a pitch for the Diamond loser. - Failing any Club luck, Declarer must resort to the Heart finesse. As it happens, South probably will lead a Diamond, and now Declarer must rely on the Heart finesse for that pitch. Making 12 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Combining Chances”>>
Do we hear howls of protest at this auction? Yes, we do, which is why we have put a couple of question marks in there … not because we think the bids are necessarily bad … but because there are alternatives available.
Let’s start with the 2♣ opening bid: - Some will prefer a 1♠ opening, claiming that the hand is not quite good enough to force to game. Perhaps not, but opening these almost-monster major suit hands with a bid of 2♣ seems to work well in practice. Just don’t try this bid with a minor-oriented hand. - Others will prefer a 2NT opening bid, and we have no problem doing this with a 5-card major and 5-4 distribution. But AKQTx is really a 6-card suit, don’t you think?
OK, we’ve forced that 2♣ bid on you, nobody says you have to like it. Now, what do you do with the West hand? We like that 2♥ bid, others may take issue: - Some like their positive responses to show “two of the top three”, but surely KJxxxx is good enough … if we make our positive responses too rigid, we’ll never get a chance to use them. - Others might say that the North hand needs better controls for a positive response, such as “an Ace and a King”. Again, let’s not be too rigid, that West hand has a six-card suit, a King and a singleton, in our view it’s worth a positive peep. But switch the red suits, make the long suit a minor, and we would bid a simple 2♦, no reason to crowd the auction with a marginal hand when the suit is a minor.
That 4♦ bid was a splinter, of course, and that did South’s hand no good whatsoever. Kx opposite shortness is a bad holding, added to which South is minimum, so the auction comes to rest in 4♠. That’s a good stop, slam is not good, and 11 tricks is the most likely result.
An automatic 1♠ opening (who could resist that Spade suit?), a marginal 2♣ overcall, and a dubious (but practical) 2NT response by East. Against 2NT, South leads a low Spade, the defense takes the first five tricks and now the contract depends upon finding the ♥Q. Declarer will figure this one out if he asks himself what South had for her opening bid.
There’s nothing wrong with downgrading a square 15-count to less than a 1NT opening, but East’s hand is bolstered by three Aces and two Tens, so on this occasion there is no reason to do so.
After this auction, South will be predisposed to lead a major, and will probably guess to start with the ♥T. That allows Declarer to makes 10 tricks with double dummy play, but 9 tricks is a more likely result, as in the following: Win the Heart lead in hand, finesse the ♣J, cash the remaining Clubs and play on Spades, hoping that South has one of the missing honors.
If E-W are playing an SAYC style, they will probably play in 3♣ (East will not bid 3NT with that minimum hand). 3♣ is a most comfortable spot, making 10 tricks with normal play (though 11 are possible).
But, if E-W are playing a 2/1 style they are likely to lurch into 3NT, as per the auction above. South will probably lead a low Heart, and a chortling Declarer will scoop up 9 tricks, via two Spades, two Hearts, and five Clubs (thanks to the double hook). If South finds the (abnormal) lead of a high Heart, Declarer can still make 9 tricks (by winning the ♥A, crossing to the ♣A, double-hooking Spades, and finessing against South’s ♣J), but is more likely to go down by taking the double hook in Clubs.
East’s 3♣ preempt isn’t picture-perfect, because the suit’s not good, and there is also that nice Spade holding to consider. And, on this occasion, the preempt might not work so well for E-W as it is likely to keep E-W from finding their Spade sacrifice.
If N-S play in 4♥, all roads seem to lead to 10 tricks. Sure, E-W might find the exotic defense of Club ruff, Spade underlead, another Club ruff, but Declarer will have the rest. But less exotic defenses will also come to three tricks sooner or later. So, +420 regardless.
If E-W sacrifice in 4♠ doubled, West will need to scrounge up 8 tricks for the save to be profitable. Declarer can achieve this by setting up a Heart trick and getting two ruffs in Dummy. North has all the entries and only one trump, so the defense is unable to thwart this plan.
East will bid 2NT or 3NT or 3♥ depending on methods, style, and mood, and the likely outcome is 3NT played by East or 4♥ played by West. If East declares 3NT, South might well lead a 4th best Spade and be dismayed to learn that Declarer now has 13 tricks … if West declares 4♥ it will be 10 or 12 tricks depending upon whether or not North finds a Spade lead.
Some Norths might prefer to rebid 2♣ and we wouldn’t argue the point, except to say that this is matchpoints and No Trump part-scores usually score more points than minor suit part-scores. Is this such a case? - If North plays 1NT she has an easy route to 8 tricks (a Spade, two Hearts, four Diamonds and a Club), and that’s +120. - If South plays 2♦ the auction will indicate a Heart opening lead and that will hold Declarer to 9 tricks and +110.
We hope that all you East players raised Spades immediately. Yes, of course you did, you can see the worthless Club doubleton and the good three-card Spade support as well as the next guy.
What’s your move now as West? He has extras, enough to show slam interest, but not enough to insist on slam. There is not much sense to launching into Roman Key Card, that will achieve absolutely nothing. What is needed is Partner’s opinion, not his number of Key Cards. That being so, we suggest that West makes a game try of some sort (depending on the E-W methods) … if East shows a good hand then West will play in slam … and if East shows a poor hand then West will satisfy himself with game.
Suppose that E-W use 2NT as an asking bid, to which one commonly used set of responses is: - 3♣ is a poor hand with three Spades - 3♦ is a good hand with three Spades - 3♥ is a poor hand with four Spades - 3♠ is a good hand with four Spades. If West tries this device and gets a response of 3♦, what should he do? The bad news is that East has only three trumps, the good news is that Partner likes his hand. More good news is that the hands also have a fit in Diamonds, and we suggest that this is enough to make 6♠ worth a try.
Against 6♠ North leads the ♣K, which Declarer wins. Three Hearts are cashed (Declarer pitching a Club), after which the most natural way to play the trump suit is to lead to Dummy’s Ace and finesse the Spade Ten. When that works, and the Diamond finesse too, it’s all thirteen tricks for Declarer.
Let’s look at East’s third bid. West’s 3♠ is forcing, and it’s a good idea for the bid to show six Spades. With only five Spades, West could try a New Minor bid of 3♦. What are East’s choices now? - 3NT: That obviously shows a preference for 3NT over 4♠, not a good choice here when holding the ♠K and a shaky Heart suit. - 4♠: A better choice than 3NT, wouldn’t you say? Is that the end of the choices? Not quite! If East is going to bid to 4♠ he is allowed to make a cue-bid along the way. For example, East could bid 4♣ here, saying “I prefer Spades and I actually have a somewhat slammish hand”. Does the East hand qualify? It’s close, we think, there is a lovely source of tricks in Clubs … on the other hand, there are only two Spades and a rather dubious Heart holding. So, consider us tempted, it’s close either way. Assuming that East does bid a slightly tame 4♠, then West is worth a 5♥ bid, giving East one more chance to show signs of life. This time he does!
Just how good a contract is 6♠? To start with it requires 3-2 trumps, so that reduces the chances to 68% right away. But there is still some work to do, and Declarer can best combine his chances by drawing trumps, playing ♣AK and ruffing a Club … if that fells the Queen (as it will 36% of the time) then Declarer is home free … if the Queen does not come down then it’s the 50% Heart finesse that is required. That all works out to around 52%, so it’s a marginal slam.
Actually, it’s less than that mathematically derived 52% because North might lead a Diamond to South’s Ace, and South might fire back a Heart, putting Declarer on the spot before he can test the Clubs. If the defense is that mean, we suppose that Declarer should finesse the Heart, that provides better odds than bringing home the Clubs.
As we said, it’s a marginal slam, well done to those who bid it and made it.
Yes, perhaps South should have competed up to 4♣, that would be down one. As for 3♠, it’s 9 easy tricks.
We are not entirely convinced by the auction, but at least it gets E-W to a making contract. But one which requires some luck
North’s 2♣ was Drury, after which South had slam aspirations. Our South chose to bid 4♥ (intended as a Splinter) and that turned off North, who signed off in game.
As it happens, the slam does make, somewhat fortuitously. Whatever West leads will help Declarer and, one way or another, 12 tricks will materialize. Rotten luck for the N-S pairs who missed this poor (but making) slam.
The previous board is destined for the Archives under the category of “Rotten Slams Which Happen to Make”. This Board 22 will be archived in “Pretty Decent Slams Which Tragically Fail”. You will see that (after South’s 2♣ Drury bid) our featured North took the conservative route when she settled for game. Others won’t be so lucky, going down in 6♥ when the ♥QTxx turn out to be offside.
Anyone for 6NT? Check out the Play Problem, which in this case is a Double Dummy offering.
Here’s a routine part-score, E-W are good for 9 tricks playing in Hearts.
Here is a quick refresher course for Negative Doubles when there are two unbid majors: - 1♣ followed by a 1♦ overcall: Now a Negative Double shows both majors (usually 4-4, but could have 5 Hearts … but not 5 Spades, that would be a 1♠ bid). The adjunct to this treatment is that a 1♥ or 1♠ bid in this situation does not guarantee more than a 4-card suit. - 1♦ followed by a 2♣ overcall: In this case, it is not practical for the Negative Double to guarantee both majors and this Double is used for a number of different hand types, including, (a) a hand which actually does two 4-card majors, or (b) a hand with a 5-card major that was not strong enough to bid it directly; or (c) a hand with one 4-card major which has safety somewhere else (2NT or higher, or Opener’s suit).
So, South makes a Negative Double with her so-called Spade suit, and eventually North lands in the fine contract of 3NT. That will be 9 tricks, or 10 if East makes the mistake of leading away from his ♣A.
East was too good for a direct 1NT overcall so he doubled first and then bid NT. West was not quite good enough to take it to game and 2NT was where East played it. South will probably lead a Heart and that’s 9 tricks for Declarer … actually, thanks to the lucky Diamond situation it is 9 tricks even on a Diamond lead.
Yes, that 1NT opening is a tad off-center, but some players (ourselves included) find it hard to resist opening 1NT against vulnerable opponents.
Would you double 1NT with the North hand? We don’t recommend it because: - North does not have an attractive opening lead (a Spade lead might give up an early trick, then a few Clubs could be cashed, with -180 or -380 soon appearing on the horizon). - A Double will make it easier for E-W to compete in Hearts. So, our suggestion is to bid 2♠. If the N-S methods mean that 2♠ shows “Spades and a minor” then so much the better, but a natural 2♠ would be fine too.
2♠ is the winning call, scraping up a lucky 8 tricks on the lie of the cards. How about 1NT doubled? This is going to be very ugly for N-S. Declarer wins the Spade lead, cashes the Clubs, and lays down the ♥A to make sure of his contract and his +180. But, as luck would have it, the ♥K drops and the number turns out to be a whopping +780!
Not much happening here. Deep Finesse tells us that N-S have +110 by making 8 tricks in Spades or 9 in Clubs. That looks about right to us, so we’ll save our ammunition for a more interesting target, such as the board that follows!
Here’s an interesting bidding problem! Conventional wisdom tells us that the 4-4 fit is better than the 5-3, and sometimes (particularly in the slam zone) even better than the 5-4. On occasion this is true, but we should also take into account the quality of the trump suit, and here is a case in point. South has a choice between Hearts (probably a 4-4 fit, but could be 5-4), and Spades (probably 5-3). Notwithstanding the alluring charms of the 4-4 Heart fit, it seems to us that South should be supporting Spades here. Some reasons: - In terms of high cards, South’s Spades are better than her Hearts - South has some Club tricks … they won’t provide any useful pitches in Spades (North has too many) … but if North has moderate Hearts (such as Axxx or Kxxx) then perhaps a Heart loser or two can be pitched away. - If South bids 2♠ (forcing) and North rebids 3♥ (presumably showing 5-5) then South can always bid 4♥. Argue the point if you will, but we suggest that South opts for Spades.
The Play in Spades: East leads the ♦K, won by Declarer’s Ace. The ♠A and ♠K are cashed, then four Clubs (pitching a Diamond and a Heart from Declarer’s hand), followed by a Heart to the Queen, King, Ace. Now, with the aid of a Heart finesse against East’s Ten, Declarer strolls to 11 tricks.
The Play in Hearts: The good news here is that the lucky Heart situation allows the suit to be picked up for one loser … the bad news is that Declarer will lose trump control if East is at the top of his game. Check out this defense: ♦K opening lead is won by Declarer’s Ace Three Clubs are cashed, pitching a Diamond from Declarer’s hand A Heart is led to the Queen and King, East ducking! The ♥9 is led and again East ducks! Spade to Dummy’s Ace Diamond ruff ♠K is cashed Declarer already has 9 tricks, but whatever she does now, she will end up with only one more! Well defended by East, cleverly ducking those two trumps, and justifying the aforementioned bidding advice! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Forcing Defense”>>
East’s 2♣ was a DONT bid showing Clubs and another suit, after which it is common practice for N-S to play “systems on”. Therefore, 2♥ was a transfer to Spades. Then, West competes to 3♣ and North dredges up a 3♠ bid. Should South now bid 4♠? It’s tempting … nobody forced North to bid 3♠ so she must have a good reason … and South does have a 6th Spade … not to mention a singleton in the opponents’ suit. But, it’s still only a 5-count, and let’s not forget that North was bidding under pressure. All in all, it’s a close call, we’d say, at least at matchpoints (but at teams we’d say “Go for it!”).
It turns out that North stretched a bit for that 3♠ bid, as she has a minimum hand and only three Spades. Even so, with a bit of luck, 10 tricks roll home. The defense cannot set up their second Heart trick, and in fact will not even get one Heart trick unless they shift to Hearts pronto (at Trick 2 after cashing one Club). So, 10 or 11 tricks. Well done to those pairs that managed to reach game!
East’s hand is not quite good enough to go to game, but he would like to compete to 3♥ (not that 3♥ is a sure thing, West might well have a small doubleton in Hearts). So, it’s a good hand for Lebensohl, whereby: - A direct 3♥ is game-forcing, giving Opener the choice between 3NT and 4♥ - 2NT is conventional, requiring Opener to bid 3♣, after which Responder passes (with Clubs) or else signs off in 3♦ or 3♥. That being the case, East bids 2NT, West makes the requested bid of 3♣ and East signs off in 3♥.
South leads a Spade of course, won by Declarer’s Ace. Trumps are 2-2 and 9 tricks are easy. Actually 10 tricks are possible by finessing against South’s ♣K. But that risks the contract, and the safe way to play for the overtrick is to take the ruffing Club finesse against North (pitching a Spade). It turns out that finesse does not work, but at least it results in the same 9 tricks.
Back to the Bidding Standards for an opening bid become more relaxed by the year, and we confess that we would not object too strongly to an opening bid of 1♣ by South. Yes, really! The hand may have only 9 HCP, but it is a near miss on the Rule of 20 scale with a score of 19. Furthermore, it has that “Six-four, bid more” shape that is so appealing, added to which all the high cards are in the long suits, and the Clubs have those lovely intermediates. So, it’s definitely a “19 with extras”, and opening 1♣ is far from outrageous.
This is a difficult hand for E-W. The auction above is 2/1 style, and East had to make the right guess when he passed 2♥, not that he really had an appetizing alternative. A more “standard” or SAYC auction might well put on the brakes with: 1♥ 2♣, 2♥ Pass.
The bottom line is 8 or 9 tricks playing in Hearts, but we predict that a number of E-W pairs will find a way to go minus.
With that lovely Diamond suit, North might have been tempted to go straight to game after South bids 2♥, but that doubleton ♣Q was not quite so lovely (and nor was the trump suit) so North invited and it was South who bid the game.
Declarer can make 11 tricks with careful play. West might well lead a trump, perhaps resulting in the following: Heart to East’s Ace Heart won by Declarer ♦Q is finessed, losing to the King Another Heart is returned Now Declarer cashes the ♦Q and ♦T, and ruffs a Diamond, setting up the long Diamond and the 11th trick. Declarer ends up scoring three natural Hearts plus a Diamond ruff, three Diamonds, and four black suit winners.
That defense was not particularly testing for Declarer, so let’s suppose that West finds the extremely risky opening lead of a low Spade. Now Declarer will want to get rid of the Spade loser on the Clubs before she plays trumps or tackles Diamonds. Therefore, the play might go as follows: Spade lead won by Declarer’s Ace Three Clubs are cashed, Dummy pitching a Spade ♦Q is finessed, losing to the King At this point the defense can play trumps (in which case Declarer sets up a long Diamond as before), or else can continue the Spade attack in which case Declarer merrily cross-ruffs her way to 11 tricks.
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home ThisWeeksHands PlayArchives BiddingArchives Conventions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
