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It’s Fri  Day….for Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others.

Rain outside but not a day for ducks!

When a deal comes up which fits your system bid, don’t forget to use it…and then when you get to play the final contract, take full advantage…or “don’t abuse it!”

 

As South you open a 12-14 hcp 1NT and your partner bids 3, which systematically is an invitational hand promising a 6-card suit and 2 of the top three honours. You look at your A and can see 6 tricks there, hopefully a trick or two in hearts ….and, well, maybe your partner can help out in the black suits.
So, 3NT it is and West leads J. What do you play to trick 1?

“Thanks, partner, lovely hand.” (They do not always put down 2 honours…and this time they have 3!) Clubs look a little fragile but chances of success are fair. Indeed, with 6 diamonds, A and A, that is 8 tricks. All you need is one more trick from hearts and you are home. So, at some point a heart finesse seems like a good idea.

Our South had learnt that it is also a good idea to duck the lead where you only have one hold in a suit (even sometimes 2 holds), to try to cut communications between our opponents. So, they played low from both hands at trick 1 as East played an encouraging low card, 2.

Suddenly, a contract which was no worse than 50% to make, could be defeated:

 

West could see a long strong diamond suit in dummy. They could not see A but there was every chance that South held it. That’s 7 tricks already for South. Perhaps, it was time for West to be aggressive. There was no guarantee of success but a club (normally J from that West holding) or 2 should beat 3NT. Luckily for South, West continued with a second spade.

So, South took their ace and played 6 rounds of diamonds (better than an immediate heart finesse, to make it harder for one’s opponents + had the finesse been taken immediately and lost, declarer would be 4 down, a terrible score) before leading a heart. On the run of the diamonds, East threw a heart and 3 clubs while West parted with 2 clubs, a heart and a winning spade.

South held their breath as they played low to Q and was relieved to see it held the trick. Followed by A, that was 9 tricks. A great result.

Yet, it might not have been. Ducking to cut the defenders’ communications is a fine technique but be sure before you do that, that the opponents cannot do greater damage in a different suit. It helped South that East encouraged a spade continuation. 

 

There was little to be gained this time and much, like the contract, to be lost by playing a low spade from dummy at trick 1. 

 

Richard Solomon

 

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