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Taking Care.   For Juniors, Intermediates, Novices and others.

There should be a happy ending for the declarer in today’s deal though they will need to earn that good result with some careful play.

 

West leads the K against South’s 3NT contract. East’s first diamond card looks like an encouraging card for their side. Plan the play to make at least 9 tricks.

South opened a 12-14 1NT with North bidding 2, a transfer bid showing at least five spades. South was obliged to bid 2 after which 3NT showed the values for game but denied a second suit to bid or more than 5 spades.

Given the choice of 3NT and 4, with their small two-card spade suit, they chose 3NT. West led the K. South had only one hold in that suit, the ace.

South could count to 9 tricks, 4 clubs, A, A and at least 3 spade tricks. However, danger loomed because in getting more than 1 spade trick, South might have to lose to the K. Say the defence could take 4 diamond tricks (if West started with 5) and East the K. That’s one down. How could South avoid this happening?

 

The answer is trying to ensure that East has no more diamonds left to lead when they win with the K. So, South must not win the K at trick 1 nor indeed the second round of diamonds at trick 2. They win the ace at trick 3 and then play a spade to the queen. K wins but East cannot play diamonds and in fact South makes 4 spade tricks, 4 club tricks and two red aces…10 tricks.

cut

If East still had a diamond left, that would mean West only started with 4 and that the defence could only score 3 diamonds and K, making game. If West had started with 3 diamonds and East had 5, then it surely was not your lucky day. Congratulate West on finding a great opening lead!

Not winning a trick in no-trumps (it can work in suit play sometimes too) to cut communications between the two defenders is a very common and successful technique. Only if you are even more vulnerable to attack in a different suit, or if you had enough certain tricks without ducking,  would you not duck if you could. Always consider the possibility of doing so, sometimes even where you have two holds in the suit.

Take care!

Richard Solomon

p.s. note in the deal above, South should take the spade finesse and not, at least not initially the heart finesse. If the spade finesse works, South has 9 tricks without taking the heart finesse (at least 3 spades, A, A, 4 clubs). If you take the heart finesse and that works, you still need to take the spade finesse (A, 2 hearts, A, 4 clubs=8 tricks). It’s always better to take 1 finesse than 2 as most bridge players are convinced that their finesses never work! More chances of 1 working than 2!

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