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Prove Yourself Right!

You’ve got a great hand which gets even greater when partner makes a limit raise (10-11 hcp) in your long major. So, you check on Key Cards and partner lets you down having not one. So, you bail out at the 5-level and when you see the opening lead and dummy, you wish you were higher.

 

5 was 0 or 3 Key Cards and since you have 3 yourself, you know which partner has! South leads 9. North plays J. Plan the play. You are playing Teams.

How many overtricks have you given up to ensure the safety of your contract? It looks like a finesse is working but you just cannot afford to take it in case you are wrong. Partner has already recorded the contract as making. You just cannot lose face by taking a losing finesse. Good bridge but annoying!

So, you have a heart loser and a trump finesse which if successful, gives you the overtrick. Yet, South led a diamond not a heart. Three rounds of clubs will allow you to dispose the heart loser, and even if the third round was ruffed (rough luck, indeed!), you will surely only lose one more trump at worst.

You do not want to give away an imp. Let’s make the overtrick and wish we were in slam!

 

Well, you can see what happened. North ruffed the second round of clubs, cashed A and played back a diamond. That’s down 1 and only a successful trump finesse prevented down 2!

Playing Pairs, where overtricks really do matter, there is more justification for that unsuccessful line. Also, 5-1 diamond and 6-1 club breaks are unusual and unfortunate but at Teams, ensuring 11 tricks, is there really much justification to play this way? At the very least play A first, a big winner when South has singleton K, is a lot safer before embarking on a club play.

On the actual deal, 5 is safe as long as declarer leaves clubs well alone. At trick 2, play A and a second spade and with a 2-2 trump break, 11 tricks are certain. Had North a void club and Kxx, 5 would still be in danger. Nevertheless,that line looks best to ensure 11 tricks.

The game changes if you were in 6 trying to make 12 tricks but to give away 11 imps when you are in 5 is not really unlucky. Not 11 imps out because it was a flat board but a big opportunity lost all to gain 1 imp.

Where to go, Joe?

Anywhere or nowhere? You have not got much but you have a “shapely not much” and your two major cards are a little annoying! So?

It’s Pairs…

 

Richard Solomon

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