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One Deal:  Two Clever Plays.

Let’s start off today where we left off yesterday. We were talking about the problems of under-leading aces, even if in yesterday’s hand, success only came if you did so! (We will wait for you while you check back on that article….). Today’s problem was on the same theme with maybe a different outcome:

 

Partner leads 8 to your Jack and declarer’s 10. You expose one little false card by playing K next with declarer following with 6 and partner 4. Where to from here for a successful defence?

That was quite a strong game raise in dummy for what is often a distributional pre-emptive action. It meant your partner was not going to be blessed with much high card strength.

The standard play to make at this point is to underlead your A and try to give your partner a ruff…and then hopefully score your own K for the setting trick. That would be fine…but what if declarer had, as they were favourite to have, QJ and your partner could not over-ruff? What would the declarer think? It would be logical to place the K in the East hand unless West had deep masochistic tendencies or a desire to execute a Grosvenor Gambit “par excellence” (make such a ridiculous play that no declarer could pick the true situation.)!

Thus, rather than taking the normal trump finesse, declarer would lead a heart to their A to drop your king….unpleasant!

So, East decided to take a different route to success…look for either the A or K in their partner’s hand. After all, on some days, declarer could discard spade losers on say a third round of diamonds and the established 5^th club. So, there was no club underlead but a spade switch…which went to West’s ace and a spade was returned.

“Operation successful” thought East as they sat back with a glow of some satisfaction and waited for the trump finesse…but it did not come!

 

 Smart Play- Smart Counter-play

It has got something to do with “smelling a rat”. Although South could not be sure, the club play suggested strongly that West had led a doubleton. If that were indeed true, then why did East not try to give their partner a ruff? A “senior moment” perhaps…or did they know something?

It is like when one defender does not lead partner’s suit when it is obvious to do so. You “smell” a void. Here, South guessed that East knew where the K was and did not want to “give the game away”. So, backing their judgement, the declarer made the very unusual trump play of a heart to the ace…and was duly rewarded!

That was rather a cruel blow for East whose third round of clubs would certainly have produced that very ending. Maybe, East should have switched at trick two, hardly a brilliant play, though, when that 8 was a singleton.

What if West had held one of the missing two heart honours? From declarer’s point of view, the double finesse is statistically correct, only losing out when East holds  KQ or KJ doubleton as applicable. So, there was a reasonable chance that East would score their trump on the first round….and now play the low club. Would South be able to work out that particular situation?

It is a bit like two players psyching on the same deal. It should not happen: two fine plays on the same deal. There could, though, only be one winner!

and to tomorrow

 

If you do not yet play Precision, we are going to give you a quick one hand lesson. You, North, open 1, 16+ high card points, any shape. OK so far? East makes the almost compulsory not vulnerable action over it, this time a jump to 2, weak, very weak or totally pusillanimous!

Your partner now bids 3 , big call, certainly 8+ hcp and plenty of spades.

Now you are versed in Precision, what bid do you make?

Actually, pretend the auction has gone:

West              North                                East                South

                      2  (game force) ¹         2                   2

Pass             ?

^{1 come on.it's pretty close to a 2 opener}

and you have pretty much the same auction:

and your bid is? 

maybe an Easter Egg if you get it right?   

Richard Solomon

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