Helping Partner

 

We help Partner all the time by following lead conventions and signaling correctly.  But, once in a while, we have the opportunity to go the extra mile, and make a surprising play which makes it impossible for Partner to wrong.  This is especially true when we can clearly see what is going on, but fear that, from Partner's side of the table, things might not be so obvious.

 

Related Extracts from Past Wednesday Games

 

 

2	♠ AT2 ♥ Q6 ♦ KQJT73 ♣ 84	From 15th November, 2006
♠ 765 ♥ T95 ♦ 54 ♣ AQJ96	Dummy West             East           South	♠ KQJ93 ♥ A4 ♦ 982 ♣ KT3	Dlr       East Vul      N-S
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ 84 ♥ KJ8732 ♦ A6 ♣ 752	West    North   East     South                         1♠        Pass 2♠        3♦        Pass    3♥ Pass    Pass    Pass

 

If South ends up in 3♥, she should be down one, but, in practice it might well make.  West leads a Spade, won on the board.  Now, Declarer plays a Club, won by West’s Jack.  West shifts to a Heart to stop the Club ruff in Dummy, and East is posed with a big dilemma:

-         if South has the A♣, and West the A♦, the killing defense is to take the A♥ and play another Heart

-         if South has the A♦, and West the A♣, the killing defense is to duck the first round of Hearts.

However, if East guesses wrong it will be 100% West’s fault!  Yes, West missed the chance of a really terrific play.  He should win that first Club trick with the A♣!  He can reasonably assume from the play of the Club suit that the K♣ is with East, so the extraordinarily far-sighted squandering of the Ace solves East’s later problem.  One wonders how many Wests in the entire world would find this play at the table!  Not many we suspect, and, sad to relate, not us!  Playing the A♣ in this situation would truly be a thing of great beauty.

 

 

5	♠ 4 ♥ QJT5 ♦ KT863 ♣ 952	From 7th February, 2007
♠ AJ982 ♥ 963 ♦ J2 ♣ AJ7	Dummy West             East           South	♠ K753 ♥ 842 ♦ Q5 ♣ QT84	Dlr     North Vul     N-S
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ QT6 ♥ AK7 ♦ A974 ♣ K63	West    North   East     South             Pass    Pass    1NT Pass    Pass    Pass

 

If West defends 1NT he can make a quite beautiful (and difficult) play if he is absolutely at the top of his game.  West leads the 8♠ (no, the beautiful play comes later) to East’s King, back comes a Spade to West’s Jack, then the A♠ felling Declarer’s Queen.  Now is the time for the terrific play … West leads the Two of Spades, deliberately blocking the suit.  East has no choice but to win this 4^th round of Spades and make the deadly shift of the Club Ten, setting up at least 3 Clubs to go with the 5 Spades.  Great defense for down two and +200!  Any other defense and Declarer has 7 tricks.

 

19	♠ J9765 ♥ 64 ♦ 76 ♣ 6432	From 19th December, 2007
♠ T3 ♥ AT32 ♦ Q92 ♣ KQJT	Dummy West             East           South	♠ Q8 ♥ QJ875 ♦ T43 ♣ A95	Dlr     South Vul     E-W
© BES, Inc  All Rights Reserved	♠ AK42 ♥ K9 ♦ AKJ85 ♣ 87	South   West    North   East  1♦        Pass    Pass    1♥ 1♠        2♠       Pass    3♥ Pass    Pass    3♠   All Pass

 

3♠ turns out to be high enough, because, although the trumps are 2-2, the Heart Ace is offside.  However, there is the possibility of a defensive miscue.  West leads the K♣, and now, if the defense plays a third round of Clubs, Declarer ruffs, draws trumps, ruffs out the Q♦ and scores a whopping 11 tricks.  West can avoid that unpleasantness by continuing with the T♣ at Trick Two.  East will win that with the Ace, and should reason that a Heart shift is called for.  If, instead, West lazily continues with the Q♣ at Trick Two, then East might fail to overtake, reasonably concluding that Partner started with KQx and that 3 Clubs need to be cashed.  West's thoughtful play of the Club Ten makes things crystal-clear for Partner.

 

 

 

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