All News
PLAY and DEFENCE for Improving Players
SPOT THE LOSER
You accepted your partner’s invitation. So, as they say, it’s your fault if game does not make. You know from the bidding that East has a weak 2 in hearts. West leads 
10 to East’s king to be followed by the A on which West plays 8. Next comes 2 …..and you?
| West Deals N-S Vul |
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass | Pass | 2 ♥ | 2 ♠ |
| Pass | 3 ♠ | Pass | 4 ♠ |
| All pass |
No doubt, you are like every other bridge player on earth. You just do not know how to take a successful finesse! If it is a one way, it always fails. If it is two way, you always choose the wrong way. Ask your partner. They will confirm! That is why the better players will avoid taking a finesse unless there is no other way. Somehow, they seem to have a better success rate too…but that’s another story!
Back to business. What do you know? West has no more hearts unless both defenders have been super cunning in the bidding (East) and the carding to the first two tricks (West). Come on, they are both not that clever on the same deal! Believe it.
So, you ruff with the 
7, get over-ruffed and eventually take a club finesse which loses. Down one. “Sorry, partner.” Alternatively, you ruff with the ace and take a fancy line of a spade to the king, returning to hand with a diamond and play a spade to the 10, losing to East’s doubleton jack. Down one. “Very sorry, partner”. (Your polite partner might have enquired why you were rather extravagant with your diamond pips when you still had a wee problem in that suit.)
Much better to hear the words “Well played, partner” when you took a much better line. Did you think where the 
K was likely to be? Yes, East could have held it but AK and another king is getting close to an opening bid. If you realise that you have a club loser, then throw it away on the third round of hearts. Actually, even if you thought East was more likely to hold the king, this line is better. South must ruff, a significant benefit for you since if the spades broke 3-1, then you are then able to draw trumps in two rounds and ruff two diamonds in dummy.
On the actual hand, it was so easy:
| West Deals N-S Vul |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You could have ruffed with the ace, taken a trump finesse and later a diamond finesse. And your chance of two successful finesses out of two? Best not to take any. Loser on loser…and you are the big winner!
Richard Solomon
Go Back View All News Items
