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Trump Control
Related Play Problems Play Problem 8
Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games
3♦ squeaks home on careful play … Spade to the Ace, Heart to the King and Ace, Spade ruff, Diamond to the Queen, Diamond to the Jack (ducked by Declarer in case of doubleton Ace with East), Spade ruff, and now Declarer has just enough trumps to establish the Clubs and withstand another Spade force. Two points worth noting in the play: (a) Declarer wanted to play trumps by leading towards the Q♦, that way giving herself a chance for just one loser in the suit if East started with Ace doubleton. (b) In order to get back to hand for that Diamond lead, Declarer did not ruff a Spade at Trick Two, that would cost her a tempo … instead she knocked out a side-suit Ace, knowing that the defense would lead a Spade anyway at Trick Three. Ruffing the Spade at Trick Two risks losing trump control.
South’s 2♠ was forcing, then she gave up when North could rebid only 3♥. It turns out that the hands fit well together and 10 tricks are possible. Here’s one way that the hand might be misplayed: K♦ opening lead, won by Declarer's Ace Diamond ruff on the board Cash A♥ Lose a Spade Ruff the Diamond return in hand Lose to the K♥ Ruff another Diamond return in hand Draw the last trump Now Declarer can play on Clubs for three tricks and for a total of 10 tricks. How was this misplayed? Well, if trumps had been 4-1 that line of play loses trump control. The correct play is to ruff that Diamond on the board with the Ace! This unblocks the trumps and requires Declarer to take one less ruff in her hand while she is drawing trumps, thereby retaining control even if trumps are 4-1. It’s too bad that the computer decided to deal 3-2 trumps, we can only award style points for those players who found the Ace-ruff play. You know who you are.
Suppose that South leads a low Spade, won by Declarer’s Ace. Declarer crosses to the A♦, cashes the K♠ (pitching a Diamond), then runs the T♥ around to South’s Jack. Another Spade comes back, ruffed by Declarer, who is now in danger of losing trump control. He cannot play A♥ and lose a Heart, for then yet another Spade comes back. Now, Declarer has the same number of trumps as South, and still has to knock out the A♣. What’s the solution? Simply to play on Clubs earlier, while there is still a trump in the Dummy to look after the Spade force.
Playing in 4♠, North makes 11 tricks, notwithstanding the nasty trump break. However, careful play is required, and we start with one line of play which brings in only 10 tricks: K♣ opening lead, won by Declarer’s Ace Spade to the King Another Spade, West splits his honors, and Declarer’s Ace wins Heart to the King (nice duck by East) Another Heart, West alertly hops up with his Queen (well done!) Q♠ is cashed A 4th round of Spades Now, Declarer can forget about 11 tricks and is even in danger of going down. But she gets lucky when she leads a low Heart and the Ace comes down, and later when the Q♦ is favorably placed. Even so, it’s still only 10 tricks when 11 were possible.
Where did Declarer go wrong? It was a mistake to go up with the K♠ at Trick Two. When East shows out, Declarer does better to lose a Spade immediately, giving her better control and communications. So, here is Take Two: K♣ opening lead, won by Declarer’s Ace Low Spade, playing the Nine when East shows out, West winning the Jack Spade return won by Declarer’s Ten Heart to the King Another Heart, again West alertly plays the Queen Spade return won by Declarer Heart ruff, felling the Ace Now, it’s back to hand with a Diamond, the last trump is drawn, and 11 tricks are made when the Diamonds oblige.
Nicely played, but, as we gave Declarer a mulligan, let’s afford the same courtesy to East on defense. Can they do better if East jumps up with the A♥ at Trick Four and continues with Clubs? Declarer can still manage just one Heart ruff, and only scores a single Heart trick. That’s only 10 tricks altogether. Is there an 11th? Yes, West is squeezed in the red suits. In fact, the squeeze takes effect at Trick Five when East plays the second round of Clubs, whichever red suit West pitches gives Declarer an extra trick. Alternatively, West can ruff in front of Declarer, but that only delays the evil hour … Declarer will overruff and cash the K♥, cross to the K♦, ruff a Heart, draw the last enemy trump, and now the play of Declarer’s last trump inflicts the squeeze. An unsuccessful defensive mulligan to end a difficult set of boards.
The play in 3♠ is most instructive. West starts out with a Diamond, and on the second round Declarer will … er, yes, what will Declarer do? This will no doubt be her thinking: - The play in the Diamonds marks East with the Ace and King, so surely West has the A♠. - If Declarer ruffs the second round of Diamonds, then loses the A♠, West will persevere with Diamonds, and if Declarer ruffs and the trumps are 4-1 she will have lost control.
The solution is simple enough. Declarer pitches a Heart loser on the second round of Diamonds, and ruffs the 3rd round of the suit. Now, when the A♠ is lost to West, he has no Diamonds to return. So, the trump suit is picked up, and when the Clubs cooperate it will be no fewer than 10 tricks. We are used to hold-up plays in No Trump contracts, here we see how one can work in a suit contract.
The good news for Declarer is that Diamonds are 2-2, so there is no defensive Diamond ruff. The bad news is that trumps are 3-1, so 9 tricks is the maximum. A careless Declarer might do much worse if North is inspired to start with an opening Spade lead: A♠ wins the opening lead A♣ is cashed and a Club ruffed A♥ is cashed Declarer hopefully exits a trump won by North, but South shows out North draws two more rounds of trumps Now Declarer is down to one trump, and has yet to knock out the A♦. The defense keeps leading black suit winners and Declarer is held to just one more trick. If the contract is 3♥ that’s down 4! Declarer does 4 tricks better and makes his contract by timing the play accurately. On winning the A♠, he plays a Heart and ducks. Declarer ruffs the K♠ return, knocks out the A♦, wins the Club return, ruffs a Club, plays a Heart to the Ace, and cashes the Diamonds, allowing North to take her Heart tricks whenever she likes. Not releasing the A♥ prematurely, and not rushing to take that Club ruff, results in +140 instead of an ugly -200.
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