Archives - Deadly Shifts

Deadly Shifts

Partners do not always find the killing opening lead (really, they don't!) or else the killing lead cannot be made from that side of the table. How sweet it is to save the partnership bacon by finding a killing shift later in the hand.

Related Play Problems Play Problem 37

Play Problem 185

Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games

♠ T2

♥ AK5

♦ AK52

♣ J972

From 1st November, 2006

♠ AK6

♥ 97

♦ QJ9

♣ AK654

          North

West             East

         Dummy

♠ QJ95

♥ JT83

♦ 8743

♣ 8

Dlr North
Vul N-S

♠ 8743

♥ Q642

♦ T6

♣ QT3

West North East South

1NT Pass Pass

Pass

Against 1NT, East leads the Q♠ (overtaken by the King, of course), and after 4 rounds of Spades East must find a shift. West will have pitched a low Club and Declarer two Diamonds. In view of the pitches a Diamond looks best and this is indeed necessary, otherwise Declarer will set up two Club tricks (and 7 altogether) before the defense can establish the setting trick in Diamonds.

Was this good defense? Not really, West missed the opportunity for a fine play. After overtaking the Q♠ on Trick One he can beat the contract another trick by shifting to the Q♦. This can hardly be wrong … West can see 6 defensive black tricks and Diamonds are the obvious source of a 7^th. See what happens … Declarer wins the Diamond shift, loses a Club, wins the Diamond, loses a Club, now West cashes the A♠ and the 9♦, and leads a low Spade to Partner who has two Spades and that lovely 8♦ to cash. Down two!

♠ KQ984

♥ Q

♦ KQ9

♣ Q984

12th September, 2007

♠ JT5

♥ 852

♦ A8653

♣ KT

        Dummy

West             East

          South

♠ A62

♥ JT3

♦ T4

♣ AJ652

Dlr North
Vul E-W

♠ 73

♥ AK9764

♦ J72

♣ 73

West North East South

1♠ Pass 1NT

Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥

Pass Pass Pass

Against 2♥, West does not have a very attractive choice of leads, and we suspect that many will try a passive Spade. East’s Ace will win the trick, and now the only defense to hold Declarer to 8 tricks is a low Club to West’s King, and a Club back to the Ace. East continues with a 3^rd round of Clubs, and as Declarer has no useful pitches she hopefully ruffs with the 9, which wins the trick. Now, a Heart to Dummy’s Queen, but Declarer cannot get back to her hand to draw the rest of the trumps. East will get in with the A♦, and a 4^th round of Clubs promotes a trump trick for the defense, and 5 tricks in all. Nice shift by East at Trick Two!