Trump Coups

 

Suppose that you hold AKQTxx in the trump suit and Dummy has xx.  You cash the Ace and the King, but your LHO shows out on the third round of the suit.  RHO still has Jx but there are no trumps left in Dummy to permit a finesse against the Jack.  Can Declarer avoid a trump loser?  Sometimes he can, via a Trump Coup.  In the given example, he would need to get two ruffs in his own hand (shortening his trump holding to the same length as the defender), and then arrange for Dummy to win Trick 11.  If all goes well, when Dummy plays a side-suit at Trick 12, the defender with the trumps will be Trump Couped, forced to ruff in front of Declarer.

 

Related Play Problems             Play Problem 203

 

Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games

 

 

2	♠ 532 ♥ 73 ♦ 983 ♣ 95432	From 7th February, 2007
♠ AKT8 ♥ A ♦ QJ652 ♣ AKQ	North West             East           South	♠ QJ7 ♥ T86 ♦ AT ♣ JT876	Dlr       East Vul      N-S
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ 964 ♥ KQJ9542 ♦ K74 ♣	West    North   East     South                         Pass    3♥ Dbl      Pass    4♣       Pass 4♥        Pass    6♣   All Pass

 

The Club slam is such a good contract that it does not even get derailed by the 5-0 trump break and the losing Diamond finesse.  South leads the K♥ won in Dummy, then the A♣ reveals the trump news.  Abandoning trumps, Declarer takes the losing Diamond finesse and ruffs the Heart return.  This has promoted a natural trump trick for North, but that disappears thanks to a Trump Coup.  All that is required is for Declarer to cross to the A♦, cross back on a Spade and run the Diamonds … if North ruffs in her trump trick disappears, so she pitches Spades (as does Declarer).  Then Spades are cashed, and Declarer’s last high Club.  In the three card ending, the lead is with West, North has 954 of Clubs, and East has JT8 of Clubs.  Declarer leads a Spade, and North must ruff in ahead of Dummy, losing her trump trick.  What the Trump Coup has effectively done is to allow the Club finesse to be taken indirectly.  Well done, indeed, if any pair bid that Club slam and then found the Trump Coup!

 

 

27	♠ T5 ♥ 943 ♦ QT976 ♣ 963	From 28th February, 2007
♠ K6 ♥ T86 ♦ KJ42 ♣ A875	North West             East           South	♠ Q9832 ♥ AKJ ♦ 5 ♣ QJT2	Dlr     South Vul     None
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ AJ74 ♥ Q752 ♦ A83 ♣ K4	South   West    North   East  1♦        Pass    3♦        Dbl Pass    Pass    Pass

 

The E-W target here is 7 tricks, scoring +500 and beating any E-W pairs who might have struggled home in 3NT.  Will they get their 7 tricks?  It will be touch and go!  Dr Goodlead chose the opening lead of the K♠, which seems reasonable enough to us, albeit not very promising on the actual hand.  Here’s how the play might develop:

            K♠ opening lead, won by South’s Ace

            Spade return won by East’s Queen

            Now the A♥ and K♥ are cashed

            Next, the defense takes two Clubs

            A 3^rd round of Clubs is ruffed by Declarer

At this point, the defense has taken 5 tricks, and is hoping for two more trumps tricks.  But they won’t get them if Declarer is at the top of her game.  Here is the end position:

                                    Dummy

                                    ♠

                                    ♥ 9

                                    ♦ QT976

                                    ♣

            West                                        East

            ♠                                              ♠ 983

            ♥ T                                          ♥ J

            ♦ KJ42                                    ♦ 5

            ♣ 7                                          ♣ 2

                                    Declarer

                                    ♠ J7

                                    ♥ A7

                                    ♦ A8

                                    ♣

Now, Declarer cashes the J♠, West and Dummy both pitching Hearts (it does not help West to ruff), then ruffs a Spade, and leads the Ten of Diamonds to Dummy’s Ace.  The coup de grace is now applied when Declarer leads the Diamond Eight, giving West three losing choices:

-         If he plays the King, he gets end-played

-         If he plays the Jack he has no chance of a second Diamond trick

-         If he plays low, Dummy can play the carefully preserved Seven … the trick is won by Declarer’s Eight, after which Declarer leads a Heart, and West is trump couped!

 

 

1	♠ K82 ♥ T87 ♦ Q86 ♣ KQ65	From 4th April, 2007
♠ AJ953 ♥ 96 ♦ A7 ♣ T743	North West             East           South	♠ T6 ♥ KJ43 ♦ KJT943 ♣ A	Dlr     North    Vul     None
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved	♠ Q74 ♥ AQ52 ♦ 52 ♣ J982	West    North   East     South             Pass    1♦        Pass 1♠        Pass    2♦        Pass Pass    Pass

 

Against a Diamond contract, South leads a Club for want of better, won by Declarer’s Ace.  Here’s one way in which sub-par defense by South might lead to no fewer than 10 tricks for Declarer:

            Opening lead of a Club (so far, so good!), won by Declarer’s Ace

            Low Spade, low from South (first mistake!), the Nine losing to North’s King

            Club return is ruffed by Declarer

            Spade finesse

            Cash A♠, Declarer pitching a Heart

            Heart led, won by South however Declarer guesses

            Club return (second mistake!), ruffed by Declarer

            Exit a Heart

Now, Declarer gets his Heart ruff on the board, and North is trump couped at Trick 12!  South went wrong twice in this unfortunate defense:

-         She should have hopped up with the Q♠ at Trick Two, disrupting Declarer’s communications, after which Declarer may make 8 tricks, not 10!   Declarer will win the A♠, lose a Heart, now a Diamond return stops Heart ruff, and Declarer must use his last entry to the board wisely.  Should he try for the 9^th trick by hoping that Spades are 3-3?  Or should he hope that the other Heart honor is on-side?  It won’t be obvious, and he might well guess wrong and play on Hearts.

-         Once South had failed to rise with the Q♠ at Trick Two, Declarer was destined to make 9 tricks, but he could have been prevented from the 10^th if South had shifted to a trump when she won her first Heart trick.

 

 

7	♠ K ♥ KQ9753 ♦ AK62 ♣ AJ	From 9th May, 2007
♠ Q9875432 ♥ T2 ♦ 8 ♣ 93	North West             East           South	♠ ♥ AJ86 ♦ T943 ♣ K7542	Dlr     South Vul     Both
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ AJT6 ♥ 4 ♦ QJ75 ♣ QT86	South   West    North   East  Pass    3♠        Dbl      Pass Pass    Pass

 

In 3♠ doubled, at first glance it looks as if West has 4 trump losers and 3 in the side-suits for a most unpleasant -800.  But the tables will be turned if the play goes like this:

            A♦ cashed on opening lead

            K♦ ruffed by Declarer

            Spade Nine won by North’s King

            Diamond continuation ruffed by West

            Cross to the A♥ (North will no doubt split her honors)

            Diamond ruff

            Low Club to North’s Ace

            North cashes her Heart winner

            Club to Dummy’s King

            Diamond ruff

Now, with 3 cards left, both Declarer and South are down to nothing but trumps.  Declarer with Qxx exits a low trump to South who, with AJT left is forced to give Declarer his all-important 7^th trick.  Minus only 500 is a great board for E-W, of course.

 

The play in this hand is similar to a Trump Coup where Declarer must reduce her trumps down to the same length as the defender in order to effect the end-play.  So, it was quite wrong for North to cooperate so willingly in Declarer’s plan.  When North wins the K♠ she must not persist with Diamonds, instead she must shift to Hearts or Clubs.  Now Declarer is a ruff short of engineering his end-play, and the end position leaves Declarer with ♠Qxxx, and South with ♠AJT and a Club.  Declarer is on lead, and South scores all 3 of her trump tricks.

 

 

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