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Too many of them!

Spot the Ending?

Can you? A simple bidding sequence, enough high card points for game and until you start adding up winners and losers, you seem to be in a good contract. Suddenly, the number of losers seems one too many. Can you spot what you need to do?

 

 

West leads 7. You have plenty of aces but a loser in each side-suit, and probably 2 in clubs with nowhere for any loser to be discarded. What’s the plan? Trumps break 3-2. 

Our declarer thought they had spotted the winning line here, but the opponents just did not play ball. The declarer ducked the opening lead to East’s king and East switched to the 7 which was covered by Q, West’s king and taken by the A in dummy.

Next came three rounds of hearts with West discarding 8 on the third round. Declarer cashed the A and played a spade to their jack and exited a third spade to West’s 9, both opponents following.

At this point, West was supposed to play a club as these cards remained:

South had lost 2 tricks and could not afford to lose two trump tricks. However, West exited a third round of diamonds giving South a useless ruff and discard. They ruffed in dummy, cashed A and a second club losing to East and East’s fourth round of diamonds was not a ruff and discard but simply forced out declarer’s last trump en route to a second club loser.

These were the four hands.

 

 (yes, East might have overcalled 1.. no great overcall! but that would not have affected the final contract or opening lead.)

The elimination of spades and diamonds might have worked had the defence been encouraged to open up the club suit but they did not. However, there was a way which would succeed with favourable holdings like singleton club honour or doubleton king queen in a defender’s hand as well as the actual lay-out. It did not involve suit elimination at all but a backwards trump finesse.

South could eliminate the suits to see if the opponents would open up the club suit. However, they should eventually be forced to play clubs themselves.. and the above club lay-out was just what South needed.

They must start playing clubs from dummy, leading away from the ace. A smooth duck from East would put the pressure on South. If they do duck, then declarer covers 10 with their jack losing to West’s Q. Since the defence still hold 8 as well as the king, West can secure a second trick for their side if they had held originally KQ8 or KQ86. Only 108 doubleton in East’s hand would work for South with a finesse..and why would East initially play 10 from that holding? So, a somewhat desperate declarer would have to play A, dropping K and leaving 9 to take the third round of clubs..contract made.

It may just be your….

However, East may well rise with K. Now, South has an actual finesse (J9 in hand and ace still in dummy) on the next round of the suit. If they had false-carded with KQ doubleton, good on them. Take advantage of the lie of the cards suggested by the opponents’ play of the suit. Leading away from the ace offers more possibilities than just laying down the ace.

So, not an end-play but an unusual play of the key suit. +620 or -100 for you?

Do you bid? What do you bid?

 

 

It was not hard to resist temptation of bidding on the first round….but what now?

Richard Solomon

 

 

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