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to success!

Any which way.

It would seem a lot easier to make 9 tricks in 3NT on the board below than 10 in hearts. Yet, especially playing Pairs, 4H is the place to be for +420 and maybe any overtrick. However, many found it too hard even to make 10 tricks in 4H, the contract that most played.

 

How would you play 4 on the lead of 10 from South. North wins trick 1 with A and returns 4.

Alternatively, say South led 2. What is your line now?

There again, South might lead a trump, 5. What then?

Assuming the trump break is no worse than 4-1, we have one certain loser in each minor and some potential for an overtrick. Where the 10 had been led, there seems no need to even risk a second club loser because East’s remaining club can be and should be discarded on the second top spade. At that point, the worrying suit is diamonds. Potentially, there are three losers if one is not ruffed. So, that points to what normally should be the winning line.

In the West hand after playing two top spades, run J ducking even if covered, to retain communication. You are on the way to success:

 

Say South wins and plays Q. North has no good discard and chooses a spade. So East ruffs, plays A and ruffs a diamond. Return to the East hand with a spade ruff and ruff a second diamond with a high heart. Now play Q and play a spade. 10 tricks are secure. Indeed, since North has the two remaining high hearts, 109, you will land an overtrick.

Diamond attack

Matters are a little less certain after 2 initial lead from South. There is the worry over losing 2 club tricks and still the same diamond problem. Yet, diamonds can still be ruffed in dummy. So, win the opening lead and play back a diamond to South. They may switch to a trump. Win in dummy, West, and cash those top 2 spades discarding a diamond. (It seems likely that South has 4 diamonds.)

You have to play clubs. Even if you play a club to the J and misguess, you should survive. A second heart is played won in the East hand. Now, diamond ruff and play a second club. North wins but there are now no losers in the East hand and 10 tricks have been made.

And the trump lead?

Yet, where South led a trump at trick 1, there is a different and equally successful line. The defence are not going to let you ruff two diamonds in dummy. So, look for an additional source of tricks, the spade suit. We saw this play in a deal last week. Lead J and if South plays low, play low from the West hand too. This line requires just a 3-2 trump break and a 4-3 spade break. If South held Q and had covered, you could duck this and have three certain discards on high spades.

On the actual deal, North could win and try for a club ruff  or else play a second trump. East will regain the lead and draw trumps finishing in the West hand. 5 trump tricks, four spades and A makes 10 tricks….11 if you manage a successful club guess as well.

Watch for those losers!

At a few tables, West became declarer after initially opening 1NT. They must be mindful of the need to ruff diamonds in the short trump hand, even though that is their own hand. 

It might be a different story where South held AQ and North a doubleton club but when they do not, there are varying ways to come to 10 maybe even 11 tricks, the approach depending on how the opposition defend. It is a shame to record a minus score when the suit breaks are relatively friendly.

Richard Solomon

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