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Is Seeing Believing?

Like yesterday, your aim here is to make 10 tricks in a major suit. Unlike yesterday, we have some significant opposition bidding about which to think. Is seeing believing or is there a piece of skulduggery at work?

 

The bidding is all natural including all the heart bids by three of the four players at the table. West leads 10. How about playing this deal to make 10 tricks?

Without the above bidding, there would be no story. Indeed, on most days, South should not lose more than 2 hearts and a spade. Easy, really. If East has Kx, you will make a somewhat low percentage slam!

However, on this day, West bid hearts first. Why did they do that? They either have all four missing hearts…or they do not! If not, then taking the involved line below might even endanger your contract instead of cruising comfortably to 10 or 11 tricks.

This deal occurred in the final of the Australian National Teams last weekend in Canberra. On your left is Peter Gill, a very worthy opponent.  If you are putting yourself in the South seat, you need to ask why he bid 1. If he has all 4 hearts, then laying down an immediate A will spell immediate defeat. If he has not, then playing trumps early seems a good plan!

South did indeed play A at trick 2 and had to lose three trumps and the A…down one. Did you? There is a way to make 10 tricks but trumps must not be touched. These were the 4 hands with Peter being entirely honest, except in the high-card points held!

 

 

Had Peter long spades, he had the chance to open the bidding with a Weak 2 or respond in spades to his partner. It did not seem therefore that he held long spades. He might have psyched had he diamond support for his partner. With East bidding the suit twice, this seemed unlikely too. Therefore, it was not unreasonable to believe that Peter did have long (in terms of the defence’s holding of the suit) hearts. East and West had 12 hcp to share between them!

So, to the winning play. Play K losing to East who can return a spade. Win that and ruff your third spade in dummy and then ruff a diamond (you have no helpful discard on K). Now play off three top clubs and play a fourth round, ruffing as you must in hand. These cards remain before the fourth club is played:

At that point, declarer has a spade and a spade ruff, A and a diamond ruff and three top clubs, 7 tricks.

If West overruffs South’s small heart, they can exit their spade, ruffed in hand by South who exits a small heart to West who must concede the last 2 tricks.

If West discards their spade, South has 8 tricks and exits a low heart and must take two more trumps.

It seems quite straightforward. It requires West to have 2 diamonds (still possible even though East bid the suit twice) and to have 3 + clubs…. and for declarer to believe Peter Gill! Did you?

At the other table, the contract was 3NT by North and the declarer, Nabil Edgtton, warned of the heart position by a similar 1 bid by West, made 9 tricks, 2 spades, 2 diamonds, 4 clubs and just the ace of dummy’s 6-card heart suit.

“Seeing is believing”, perhaps!

Some more for our JIN Club members tomorrow.

Richard Solomon

 

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