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or is it?

Not Quite So Simple.

When your contract seems very straightforward, you should take extra-special care. Maybe it is not as simple as it seems.

 

Your partner shows you a 12-14 no trump hand. 2 is check-back for majors and North shows 3 spades and less than 4 hearts with 2. Key Card ask brings disappointing news, just 1 (5) and so with two aces missing, you sign off in 5.

Looks like just the two aces to lose? No misadventure to the 5-level this time!

So, plan the play as West leads A and a second diamond (4) with East following with 5 and 6, no sign of J. (high like). So, what now?

Well, you can guess that something annoying was about to happen! South won the second diamond in hand and led a spade to the jack with West following low and East taking their ace. No 4-0 break to worry about but back came a third small diamond from East…and suddenly South had a problem.

It looked like West had led a diamond from A doubleton. South could take different approaches. They could ruff with Q and hope that there was a 2-2 trump break, or ruff with 9 hoping that East held 10 or chance that the lead was not a doubleton and not ruff at all!

Hey, this was supposed to be a straightforward deal! Well, it was but not anymore. South ruffed with Q but then discovered they had a second trump loser for down 1. Unfortunate, but not unlucky!

 

Ignoring the danger of a ruff, which South should not, they would have succeeded with any 2-2 or 3-1 spade break or even if East had all 4 missing spades.

Yet, the ruff possibility should loom large in South’s mind and playing the trumps as above created an awful guess. South should simply have played a club to dummy at trick 3 and then played a second club discarding their small heart loser. Now play a small spade and with the above lay-out, South can afford to ruff the third round of diamonds high as there were only 2 trumps outstanding with KJ taking care of them.

Also, leading 2 from dummy works if East discards on the first round of trumps. Whichever way South tackles trumps, declarer can make with one 4-0 break though the big gain is where West is looking for a diamond ruff, or convinces South that they are. Great lead and continuation by West creating doubt in declarer’s mind. Maybe East had denied holding J by the way they followed suit but it was not clear that that was the case.

 

Playing a low trump from dummy had the potential of being a big winner for South though on the actual deal, West’s lead and continuation brought a handsome reward for the defence.

Richard Solomon

 

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