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Counting Tricks

It’s not so easy in a low level part-score. It’s vital when you are playing a game contract. It’s absolutely critical in the slam zone. You have got to have a plan for making your 10, 11,12 or 13 tricks before you play to trick 1.

So, what’s your plan here? Your partner has done his bit. He’s put you into 6. He’s now sitting relaxing in the dummy seat (You do relax as dummy, don’t you? Stop playing every card visibly. One worrier in a partnership is enough!). It’s your job to make the contract, even an over if you can but play for 12. So start planning…and counting:

Dealer South. Nil Vul.

                                North (dummy)

                                 A7

                                 J2

                                 AJ86

                                 AJ843

 

                                South (you)

                                 KQ63

                                 AK54

                                 Q932

                                 2

West has led 10. Over to you?

Counting….

We have three top spades, two hearts and the A. The other 6 probably will need to come from cross-ruffing unless there is a very friendly club break (i.e. one opponent has KQ doubleton or KQx).

Thus, win the A and first of all test the clubs by playing ace and ruffing one. When no honour appears, it is time to go back to the cross-ruffing plan.

So, when you need 6 trump tricks, you cannot afford to draw trumps, not any when the stakes as well as the contract are high. As you will see, you will actually need 7 trump tricks as one of your winners will get ruffed, fortunately before you play to the dummy hand.

 

 

 It is normal before you start cross-ruffing to cash your side-suit winners first. So, after ruffing the club, play your two top hearts and try to cash two more high spades. However, West will ruff the third spade, meaning you are already one side –suit winner down.

Overruff and ruff a second club. Now you can ruff a heart at which point you have scored five side suit winners and two ruffs in each hand for 9 tricks. These cards remain:

 

 

and ruff another club unless South goes in with their K. If they do, discard your little spade from hand.

On the actual deal, if East ruffs with the king, South discards a loser and West finishes by under-ruffing the last couple of tricks. Had East K and another and played a second trump, then declarer can draw trumps and claim the J at trick 13. If East discarded their heart rather than ruffing, declarer continues on their cross-ruff for one loser.

This is by no means a 100% successful line but it is a lot better than attempting to draw trumps. You almost certainly have a trump loser at some point. So, use those trumps individually to win tricks…cross-ruff. That was your plan and if you did as suggested, you would be writing down +920, a much better score than -50. The deal came from the recent Auckland-Northland Inter-Provincial Trial where both those scores were recorded.

Richard Solomon                             

 

 

 

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