From 26th July, 2006, Board 23 Theme Remembering the Auction Difficulty * * * Dlr South Both Vul Hands Rotated for Convenience
West leads the 9♥, and you see that the opponents are playing “Coded Nines and Tens” … in other words, on this particular hand, West is making this lead from KT9x(x) or 9x(xx). And, when East does not pop the King, it’s safe to assume that the King is with West. There’s no reason not to play on Clubs right away, so you try a low Club to the Jack, which wins. Then a Club back towards your hand, East pitching the Heart Jack, West winning with the Ace. The K♥ comes back, which you duck, East following. And then another Heart, which you win, pitching a Spade from Dummy, East discarding the 2♠.
At this point, you have 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds, and 3 Clubs. That’s 7, where’s the eighth and ninth? And is there even a tenth?
SOLUTION
We know for sure that West started with 5 Hearts and 4 Clubs, and also the K♥ and A♣. Surely he cannot have the A♠, otherwise he would have overcalled 1♥ over the opening bid of 1♣. And he probably does not have the Q♦, either, though that assumption is less secure.
Safe in the knowledge that the A♠ is with East, after winning the Heart, cash the Clubs, ending on the board, and lead a low Spade. East must duck and the Queen wins, so that’s 8 tricks. On the play of the Clubs and Hearts, East had to find three pitches. His first pitch would be a Spade, his second will no doubt be another Spade, but what about the third?
She’ll be reluctant to pitch another Spade, that would be a give-up play, setting up your 9th trick with the K8 of Spades. So, East pitches a Diamond, and now Declarer scores up 4 Diamond tricks with the help of the finesse of the Jack. Making 10 tricks.
Would it help if West switched to a Spade upon winning the A♣? No! The Spade switch gets run around to the Queen, the Clubs get cashed (ending on the board), and we are down to seven cards. East must keep 4 Diamonds, and 2 Spades, so will have just one Heart. Next comes the winning Diamond finesse of the Jack, then cash the A♥, and two more Diamonds, throwing East in at the end to end-play him in Spades.
Keys to Success - Deducing that West's silence in the auction and his possession of ♥ KT9xx and A♣ meant that the A♠ was surely with East, and probably also the Q♦ - Using a Club entry to the board for a Spade lead through East - Risking the Diamond finesse, expecting it to be successful.
Postscript If West is a notoriously sound (or timid) bidder then perhaps that Diamond finesse is a bit too risky. So, if you are not confident with taking that finesse (risking defeat) then the safe line is to cash the Diamond winners and throw in East for a forced Spade return and the 9th trick.
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