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A Few Fingers Needed.

Something was needed to stop the declarer making a seemingly impossible nine tricks. A last-minute check maybe when it all looks so easy for a defender. There was a big clue that West missed on the following deal. Let’s see if you are awake to the problem:

 

1 promised at least 3 clubs. The 1 overcall may not be to everyone’s taste, certainly those who like a couple of honours in their suit. It is hardly the suit you want partner to lead especially if they held K or Q doubleton. It is true in some auctions, it may enable your partner to compete in the suit, pushing the opponents to an uncomfortably high part-score level but it seems to be a call that may end with -200 for the declarer, you. Your choice.

The overcall was not particularly central here. North bid their “robust” heart suit (that kind of deal for bidding bad suits!) and South showed they had a 15-17 hcp balanced hand (1NT). North could count to 25 hcp and ended the auction with a jump to game.

Whatever your style of opening leads, attitude, 3rds and 5ths, or 4^th highest, everyone in your seat led some kind of diamond. Our West saw Q played from dummy, 8 from East (reverse count/ reverse attitude) and the K from declarer. They would not have contributed two high honours willingly.

Please do call out at any point when you would do something differently as a defender. Here’s hoping you do not stay silent throughout!

Next came a show of strength with declarer indicating that not everyone bids on bad suit holdings. Out came AKQ in quick succession from the South hand with East following to all 3 rounds. They were followed by a low spade from South with West ducking correctly as the K in dummy won the trick.

South won their sixth successive trick when they cashed the high J in dummy. South threw a small heart and West, you, likewise. You had already thrown a diamond on the third round of clubs.

The low spade exit from dummy went to South’s 6 and declarer’s 8, with your J winning the trick. 1-6 at present being the trick-count in favour of South. So, you ploughed on with diamonds, with dummy’s ace winning the trick and J falling from declarer underneath it.

Declarer played dummy’s remaining spade with spade honours falling from everywhere, T from East, Q from declarer and your A. You seemed to have two potentially winning diamond tricks for your side. Add that to the two spade tricks your side had in the bag and A. That’s one down, two down if East found a heart switch…easy!

So, out came another of your wonderful diamonds … but East is still waiting to gain the lead:

 

South now had 7 tricks and the T and 3 brought their total to 9. West took the last 2 tricks with A and their last preserved diamond. What went wrong?

Plenty!

West had presumed that South only had 2 diamonds and yet also held K. Let’s spoil that illusion. If indeed that was true, then East with T863 might have encouraged the opening lead, or even just given count to you as to the number of diamonds held. However, the successful defence did not rely on East doing either of these things. (Talk to your partner about which card they would play to trick 1 with a holding of D863.)

The beating of the contract was all in West’s head! Have you been counting? South made the diamond position as unclear as they could but West knew after two rounds of the suit that they had 4 hcp there. They owned up quickly to having 9 hcp in clubs and they told you they held the SQ. (even if South had played low to the 3^rd round of spades, West just had to know who held Q.) That’s 15 hcp. We were told 1NT promised 15-17 hcp. Where then was the K?

There will be times when an opponent miscounts their high cards, even times when they bid up or down a hand by one point. If you are fooled by either of these situations, that’s bad luck. Maybe give credit to one’s opponent in the second case. However, you should not be fooled when declarer’s point count is entirely honest.

Had you done your counting when in with the third round of spades, you would have cursed your earlier heart discard. However, it was not too late. Play A and then Q. East would be able to overtake and beat the contract with their J.

West should be sure of the shape of South’s hand. They had 3 clubs and surely no more than 4 spades. They had denied 4 hearts by not supporting their partner and therefore had to have more than 2 diamonds (either 4333 or 4243 and with the latter had chosen to open 1. Playing a third round of diamonds just had to be wrong. 

So, keep that abacus out when you are defending. South would gladly have not owned up to all those club hcps were they not so short of tricks. Had our West been counting, they would have soon been recording +50.   

Slam Time?                                       

 

A nice hand anyway. An even nicer hand when you find a 4-4 fit.

Do you agree with 3 (4^th suit Forcing)? If not, what?

Where to now?

 

Richard Solomon

 

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