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The Seventh Deadly Sin.

It is not “less bad” than the six before it because it is number 7. Before you rush off to google to find which sin I am referring, plan your play to the following “routine” 4H game. The problem is it is no longer a level playing field because you have been alerted that something unusual is up. Yet, that should be the routine situation at the bridge table anyway! Be prepared!

 

What a simple straightforward auction. South’s hearts may have been a little light on top for their jump bid but North was there to help with a very respectable dummy.

West led J. Plan the play.

It just seemed so routine. Win in hand and play a heart to the king. East would take their A and return Q with West contributing a low diamond (even a spade switch). South could then play a heart from dummy, maybe finessing, maybe not. At worst, there would be 2 trump losers and K. Next board, please.

Reality!

Yet, there was one little problem. When East returned that Q, West ruffed with a small heart. No worries ..or so thought South. In fact, at that point, the contract could not be made. Let’s look:

 

After ruffing the second diamond, West could exit a low spade. South wins and lays down Q but does not bring down J. So, a trump is played to West who can play a second spade which declarer wins. Yet, they have lost 3 trump tricks already and cannot avoid a club loser.

The contract could have been made had declarer played 10 finessing J at trick 2. West still gets their ruff but will not make the J as well. However, there was another way of ensuring success as the cards lay.

At trick 2, cash the top 2 spades. No-one is going to ruff either of those. Then, play a heart to the king and suffer that ruff. West can no longer exit a spade without giving the declarer a ruff and discard. One club goes from hand and then the second club on the A, a neat “loser on loser” situation as West still had a certain trump trick.

After ruffing, West could not exit a trump without surrendering the defence’s third trump trick and thus would be forced to play a club. At that point, South can succeed by playing Q and playing A discarding their other small club. Thus, not guaranteed but far far better than simply playing trumps at trick 2.

There was no 100% line for South after J lead and they could not really envisage the ending described above but cashing those top two spades was a no cost play which on a few days might gain. This was one of those days.

Of the 6 declarers in 4 who received that J lead, only 2 made their contract, their cold contract. A definition of “sloth” is “laziness” or “carelessness”. It is the last of those “7 deadly sins”. It could be applied to those declarers who failed to make 4 here.

Richard Solomon

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