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The Danger Hand.

There was an interesting tussle recently between the declarer and the defence on the following board. Generally, the declarer came out on top but that was more because many defenders gave East a relatively easy ride. We will not do that in posing you the problem of how to play this 3NT contract.

 

 

East’s 15 count is not the best 1NT overcall ever seen but double is no great bid either were partner to emerge with 2. (On this occasion, it should be 3 and East would close the auction with 3NT.) However, over 1NT, West wasted no time in bidding 3NT and South was there smartly with 7 lead.

You play low from dummy and North wins K to be followed by J with South following with 5. You win with the Q. Plan the play..or at least the initial stages of it.

On most days, you would seem to have 4 diamond tricks, 2 tricks in each black suit and hopefully 1 in hearts. All good as long as the defence do not get 5 first!

Hopefully, you have realised that most of the missing high cards are with North, the hand which has five spades. If North holds QJxx or even QJx, you may as well pack up, give up and move on to the next board. So, let’s be a little more optimistic. You have to set up diamond tricks. So, play A and a diamond to…? You must play K to keep your hopes alive. Otherwise, the defence will ease to 3 spade tricks, 1 heart and 2 diamonds.

So, when K drops Q from North, you are feeling a little better. Exit T and fortunately, it is South who wins the trick:

 

South has no more spades…and that is key. On 4 exit, East should play low from dummy. It is all over for the defence if North plays A. If they play T, East wins with Q and needs to play a heart to West’s 8 which forces A. That will be 10 tricks with 4 diamond tricks and 2 in each of the other suits. A similar outcome will occur if South exits J or a club.

Keeping North off lead is paramount, certainly while they have A as an entry to established spades. What though if North plays 10 at trick 1? East has to win (if they do not, a club switch is possible and had South held either club honour, the contract would fail. Had North continued spades, we are back to the same position as if K had taken trick 1.)

 After winning Q at trick 1, if declarer plays on diamonds as above, South will have a spade to continue when in with J. So, it looks in that situation, that East needs to attack North’s entry before they touch diamonds. A heart to the king will be good for East if North wins their ace. A smooth duck from North

and declarer needs to continue with a heart to the Q. Now, East has 9 tricks without even touching diamonds. (2 spades, 3 hearts and two tricks in each minor). That is certainly a possible line, a little easier when you see all 4 hands! While North is strong favourite to hold A, it is not 100% guaranteed.

The above analysis does not cover the club suit. Some North players switched to Q at trick 2 which gave East an alternative route to 9 tricks (3 clubs, 4 diamonds and 2 spades). What was key for East was to realise the danger the North hand posed and the fact that South could not continue spades, had the suit been continued at trick 2. Fortunately for our declarers, South held both red jacks or else more declarers would have failed in this standard contract.

The Product of Dreams.

 

 

Well, could you really “dream up” a hand like this? Some did recently and saw it appear on their computer screens. They got to open as well. What would you open?

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

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