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   Careful!

It’s a great one-word piece of advice whether you are in the most mundane looking part-score or rather higher. When the contract seems so easy, take extra special care. So, here you are in 6 and all you have to do is make your contract.

 

 

2 was artificial 4^th suit forcing, game forcing. After South showed 10 red cards at least (3), North showed spade support (well, strength before length!) and South was off key-card asking. 5 showed 0 or 3 and South took the precaution of it being none by bidding 5. North confirmed the latter by raising.

Plan the play. West leads 6.

When you are in any slam, you just have to be careful. When you are in a good slam which might not be bid at the other table (s), you should be even more careful!

Yes, this wonderful slam failed when trumps were 3-3 and the diamond break was friendly enough. What went wrong?

South just took it too easy. The opening lead was won and South played two rounds of trumps with both opponents following. They decided to get rid of their heart loser by playing AK … but then something rather unpleasant happened:

 

Although East’s J on the first round of clubs may have been a warning, South had then committed to playing a second round of clubs as there was no entry back to dummy. Anyway, defenders have been known to play J from say JT9 or JT. So, the K was then mandatory.

However, when the second round of clubs was ruffed, there was no recovery. South over-ruffed and had to concede K and a heart for one down. Shame!

Just…..

South was unlucky with the club break though paid the price for the wrong play. South might have reflected what they would have done had the K scored and the heart loser discarded. They would not have played another club or ruff a heart or take the diamond finesse. In case the trump break was 4-2 and as was quite likely, they had to lose a diamond, they had to draw trumps quickly and then concede a diamond while still holding one or two trumps. 

Therefore, South should have played a diamond to the ace after cashing the two high trumps. Then draw trumps in one or two more rounds and then play 3 high clubs, and three more if the break was 3-3 but, on this day, just three rounds and concede a diamond to the king…6 making, a great result.

It was wrong to take the diamond finesse for so many reasons. If it failed, so did the contract but even playing Pairs, you should not risk your slam for the overtrick.

So, in such a case, a declarer should not bemoan their bad luck at the club break. A bad break was nothing more than they deserved for careless play.

Defending Day.

That’s Wednesday. Firstly, though, select your opening lead.

 

 

2S shows 0-5 hcp and 6+ spades. 2NT is natural. 

2 shows 0-5 hcp and 6+ spades. 2NT is natural. 

Last week, Eddie Kantar a great US bridge player, bridge author, bridge teacher and bridge personality passed away at the age of 89. One of the true bridge greats. There are many tributes to him on the Bridge Winners website, https://bridgewinners.com

Richard Solomon

 

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