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WATCH THOSE PIPS

When you start playing bridge, it is all you can do to remember if the ace of a suit has gone, maybe try and count trumps but no more! Usually, even that much is too much. Yet, it does get easier the more you play and after a while remembering trumps and honours should be within your grasp.

On the following hand, it was really important to draw an important inference about an honour card you had not seen..or else you could not have any chance of defeating the final contract.

So, as West, you hold:  K94  Q7543  K76  AK and are wondering what you should open (1NT if you can with 15 hcp, spread values and poor hearts, 1 otherwise) when your right-hand opponent opens a strong 2NT. Time to pass and await probably not much bidding. Correct. 2NT becomes the final contract. Your lead?

Not much of an issue there. With plenty of entries, you will certainly go for your long suit, even if it takes a bit of setting up. So, you table a low heart and see:

 

 

You breathe one sigh of relief that initially your lead seems OK. At the same time, have a quick check on the number of points your partner should hold…if declarer has 20, then your partner has 2 and if declarer has 22, then your partner has 2 less than 2! 0-2! Worth filing that bit of knowledge for later. You never know.

Your partner plays 8 to the first trick after the 2 from dummy, with declarer winning the trick with the king. Out comes the Q and you win and play a second small heart with 6,10 and A being played in turn by the other three players.

Declarer’s next effort is 10 and you are in again and a quick add up of the heart cards tells you that you can now cash three heart tricks. Do you?

If you do, you will have taken five of the first seven tricks but will then give declarer the remaining 6 as these were the four hands:

 

On the three high hearts, a spade and a diamond disappear from dummy while the declarer throws two spades and a diamond. It does not know matter whether you exit a spade or a diamond as South will score three club tricks, two in the suit you exit and the ace of the other, making 2NT.

You knew that would be the case. Why? As partner has a maximum of 2 points, they cannot hold a card higher than the jack in either diamonds or spades. Remember that piece of counting you did 90 seconds ago? Yet, you know something else too. Your partner holds J! How do you know that? Remember trick 1? The 8 your partner played was taken by the king. Surely if declarer held the jack, that card would have won the first trick? While it is true that a sneaky/ clever defender holding AKJ might have won trick 1 with the king hoping to put you off the true position, then surely they would have won the second trick with the jack?

Your partner has the jack. So, lead a small heart to the jack and even though he cannot play a fourth round of hearts, he can switch to a diamond or spade…you do not mind which. Now, if South finesses, you will have scored 6 tricks by the time you have cashed 2 further heart tricks to beat the contract.

Sharp-eyed players will observe that South can/may/should (you choose the word) still make 2NT by rising with the ace and running three club tricks. Let’s say your partner had exited a spade. After 3 rounds of hearts, five rounds of clubs and the A, these cards remain:

 

Note that you have to retain K and if you want to keep 2 hearts, you have to bare your K. Hopefully, you have not taken too long to do so or else South might just play a diamond to the ace!

If you threw a heart and kept two diamonds, declarer exits a spade and forces you to lead away from your K, giving them two tricks in that suit.

So, 2NT is cold? Yes if declarer is smart enough but South does not know you have such a strong hand. Even if 2NT does make, would you rather take the line that gives you no chance to defeat the contract (cash the 3 hearts when in with A) or the line which gives you some chance?

It all comes down to realising who had J and how weak your partner was. Keep watching and counting…and reap the rewards.

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

 

 

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