From 23rd August, 2006, Board 5 Difficulty * * * Dlr
North N-S Vul
Our 2NT showed the unbid suits and a distributional hand, the so-called "Unusual No Trump".
South leads the A♦ and shifts to a low Heart, won by North's Ace. North shifts back to the trump suit, and South pitches a low Club.
What is our objective on this hand? Some E-W pairs may be defending against a slam, but we cannot do anything about those tables. Every time they make a slam we'll gain a matchpoint, and when the slam goes down we'll lose a matchpoint. This will happen whatever we do at our table. So, our only concern should be to beat the E-W pairs who are defending a making vulnerable game contract. Yes, we want to score 7 tricks, any less would be worse than their game.
Clearly, the defense will stop us from getting two Spade ruffs, we can be sure that a trump will come back when we lose a Spade. How are we to come to 7 tricks and avoid the dreaded -800?
SOLUTION
One line of play would be to lead towards the K♣ early in the play, before we have used up our Spade ruff entry. This is a high percentage line of play, but only for 6 tricks! We'll score 4 Diamond tricks, plus the Spade ruff and the K♣, for an insufficient total of 6 tricks and -800.
No, we must do better than this, and our only hope is to set up the Spades. So, after losing the A♦ and A♥, we'll win the Diamond return and lose a Spade. A Diamond comes back, which we win in Dummy ... then a Spade ruff, a Heart ruff ... then we play another Spade, praying for a 3-3 break. If our prayers are answered, we'll score a surprising eight tricks, down only 300 and a great board. If Spades are 4-2, we'll score a dismal five tricks, for -1100, in which case our only hope for any matchpoints is that some N-S pairs bid the slam.
Yes, the defense could have done better. They got into a trump-leading routine, and failed to notice the danger of the Spade suit. When North wins the first Spade trick, he should weaken Dummy's trumps by leading a Heart. Now, Declarer will not be able to score his 3 long Spades, but he will be able to get two Spade ruffs in his hand. That puts Declarer back to 6 tricks, but the vital 7th will materialize in the end-game in the shape of the K♣ or T♥.
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