All News

or as close as you can!

Pushy Partner says “Play it Perfectly, Please!”

You have got to go for your vulnerable games, or so they say, playing Teams. Well, our partner certainly did when they used Stayman and then invited in no trumps. “No thanks” you said and were left to make 8 tricks with a potentially dangerous heart lead emerging from the West seat:

 

Well, 1NT was 15-17 and 17 + 8 do equal 25 but the news was doubly bad for North/South with no spade fit and then South having the bare minimum 15, forced to try to make 8 tricks with a combined 23 count along with 3 potentially useful 10s.

West leads 2, 3rds and 5ths lead. If you elect to play low from dummy at trick 1, East contributes J. What’s your plan?

Your wish, which might form part of your plan, is that East holds the K because then three tricks in each minor suit along with the top two hearts comes to a very satisfactory number.

Half the time, therefore, you should be safe. There’s the little matter of a rather threadbare spade holding to counter as well but your initial threat has come from the heart suit.

It seems right to duck the first round of hearts which is of course followed by a second round of the suit. “Lose what you have to lose” is a common enough maxim and that means play on diamonds but is that the right way here?

Whoever wins the second or third round of diamonds will continue hearts (as it seems pretty apparent that the suit break is 5-3) and you are then committed to taking the club finesse.

 

If you played as above, this was the lay-out you deserved. You crossed to dummy with a third round of diamonds and your club finesse met the expected fate and the defence took three hearts, A, K and A for down 1.

Do you see why the maxim mentioned above did not apply here? It was because there was a danger hand, West, the hand which was likely to hold five hearts. On some days, West would have led from a three-card heart suit, blowing the danger hand theory. Yet, it would be more common for West to have led their own suit. So, play first the suit which must lose to the danger hand. Play clubs first. Then, when you lose to the K, West has no way back to enjoy the rest of their heart tricks.

This does rely on East having both missing aces but whenever West has two entries including K, you have no play for 8 tricks.

At the table, West did have two entries as this was the actual lay-out.

 

Note it was less likely that East had both aces as with Q as well, they may have opened 1. However, Q could have been in either hand and so, therefore, could the aces.

So, South should have taken the losing club finesse at trick 2 and when back in hand with K, led a low diamond and hoped. West might not be sure their partner held A but they would need to win the first or second round of diamonds or else South could come to 8 tricks by leading a spade towards the king (K, AK, two diamonds and three clubs).

unlucky!

So, no joy for South on the actual lay-out but it was important for South to play as described for the best chance for 8 tricks.

If you played it perfectly and still recorded a minus score, then put it down to partner’s optimism. Next time, that may bring in 13 imps rather than lose 5. Yes, the opponents laid very low in 1NT.

How far with shape?

 

 

It’s Teams and your opponents start off with a not - vulnerable pre-empt. Do you want a part of the action? North/South are vulnerable.

Richard Solomon

 

Go Back View All News Items