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Beaten…quickly!

Swift Sequence and quickly down!

Today’s deal is both instructive and exciting. Let’s put you on lead after the following sequence:

 

2C is game forcing while 5C is a singleton or void club with diamond support. Let’s say you lead a high heart. That seems a fair idea. This is what you see in dummy:

 

The card your partner plays depends on your methods, 4 if reverse or 9, even J if natural count, 9 if that is a discouraging card. Declarer follows with 3. What do you play to trick 2?

This deal highlights the question of leading to a slam from AK of a side-suit. Assuming dummy holds more than one card in that suit, what you need to know is whether your other honour is cashing. Therefore, whatever your lead style is against a lower-level contract, leading the king requesting count (your choice as to whether natural or reverse) is a really good idea against a small slam or indeed a 5-level contract.

Here, you should know from your partner’s and declarer's card that partner has an even number…and bearing in mind the bidding, that looks like 4 cards. If South held two hearts and West had three hearts, then the remaining two are not going to disappear very quickly. So, it is time to switch…and the look of dummy suggests that the best switch is to your singleton trump. A good idea?

 

If you did not find the trump switch, then you would be soon be writing down -1370. Some did not whether or not the bidding was exactly as above. Of the 7 West declarers in 6, 5 made their contract after receiving an initial high heart lead.

Of course, East might have started the ball with a Weak 2 in spades, fearless that they might be missing a very sound 4 game on some days. Even if East did pass initially, showing restraint, they may reply 2 negative to their partner’s 2 opening.

Either sequence would leave South on lead to the diamond slam. However, after East’s 2 response (a little short of a true positive but it seems a good time to start describing that East hand), I do prefer East showing diamond support straightaway rather than their heart suit. If you are going to show diamond support, then why not show your shortage? After all, you are a passed hand and your partnership should be able to stop short of grand slam.

After anything but an initial trump lead or switch after the A was cashed, declarer can ruff three clubs in the East hand and make 12 tricks. That trump lead or switch restricts the declarer to just 2 ruffs and hence a club loser.

Holding on to one's ace!

At one table, South had very little to go on when it came to the opening lead. Their opponents’ bidding was unusual and very brief:

West                    North             East                South

                                                      2                   Pass

6                         All pass

East did open a Multi 2 (weak 2 in spades) and would have been very surprised by the response which saw them as declarer in lightning speed!

South resisted the urge to lead their ace (which would certainly have helped the declarer) and chose a trump. The defence had to wait until tricks 12 and 13 to take their two tricks but the wait was worthwile! Of the three East players in 6, only one made their contract, on A lead.

An unusual opening urge!

Had I held that West hand after three passes, I would have taken my chances with a specific ace ask 4NT opening (so rarely used, and when partner showed me the A bid 7. A bit of a gamble on the Q, perhaps. Fortunately, this time, East would have denied any ace (5) and West would then settle for 6….making or not making, depending on the defence. 

Richard Solomon

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