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Rule Change Required.

Well, just for today’s deal. Which rule do we want changed? The one that says when you win a trick, you have to lead to the next trick. It would have been quite handy here to let declarer lead to trick 2 in this terrible situation:

 

 

This whole terrible situation might have been avoided had you opened 1, as many would with such chunky looking major suits. However, that’s ancient history as West started with a pre-empt and East somewhat strangely (they have fairly decent majors too) opted for the diamond game, no doubt worried about the club suit.

Your partner, North, led 5 a rather strange lead under these circumstances. They would not underlead the A, surely? So, we know who holds that card. So, you ruff the opening lead as West follows with J. Now what?

Fast-forward 10 minutes and you are still mesmerised by those major suit honours in dummy. Still trying to work out which card to play to trick 2. Still wishing that East was your partner. Still on lead.

See why you want that rule change! Time to take stock.

There is one slim chance that might save you. Maybe West only started with 6 diamonds and that your partner has the singleton 10. That would be a blessing, albeit a very slim chance. The problem in playing a diamond is that you started with two certain trump tricks now you have ruffed trick 1 but if you now lead 7 and West does have 7 diamonds, you have turned 2 tricks into just 1.

What else do you know about the club suit. If North held KQ, they would not have led a low club. So, assuming North has some honour (I have never seen a pre-empt with AKQJ in a side-suit!), West must have AKJ or AQJ. Let’s hope the latter and that they still have one loser in the suit.

So, we are going to play into one of the major suit AQ’s and hope we choose well. . In reality, West can still make their contract in whichever major we exit but exiting J would give you more chance of defeating the contract.

 

 

 

You need one trick to add to your two certain trump tricks. West may have two losers, a club and a major suit card. They cannot discard both on one major discard. Had you returned T, declarer can win, and can throw you back in by playing A, K and a third round of diamonds. Now whichever major you exit will give West a discard for their club loser.  

 

Of a bad bunch!

There is no guarantee that West would have got it right had you returned J but they might have done. To succeed, they must play a second high heart discarding a spade and then play A and Q, preserving the A as their entry back to dummy.

Good play and possible. Of course, if they test trumps first, they will be reduced to taking a losing spade finesse. They could still survive as well by playing a diamond to the king and then a spade to the ace to play Q, with A still as the entry to dummy. So, J seems to be the best shot at trick 2 for the defence.

So, here’s hoping that you have by now made your choice of continuation to trick 2 as I am afraid no special change in the laws was allowed! Oh, if you are going to play this board again and still not open 1, tell your partner to lead a spade. That will ensure three tricks for the defence, even if only one of them is in trumps.

No advance deal for tomorrow but advance notice of a real-life David and Goliath bridge story which happened very recently. Worth tuning in.

Richard Solomon

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