All News

A strange discard.

The “low road” was staying in game, fairly uneventful and either winning or losing double figure imps. There was a “high road” with its share of danger! Firstly, though, the bidding:

 

With 10+ hcp, there seems nothing wrong in bidding 2 (except if it is game-forcing) except that you have an unwelcome void in partner’s opening suit. All’s well when you find a fit elsewhere but there is always the possibility that there is no fit…and then maybe the lower you are the better. So, along with our “2 over 1” friends who have no choice, we satisfy ourselves with 1NT. Were partner to have a 12-14 1NT hand with no second suit, you are nice and low.

However, this time, through whatever methods you use, your partner shows a strong hand with spades and clubs. Suddenly, you have to re-evaluate and after a couple of cue-bids, your partner closes the auction in 6. Your auction might look something like the one below:

 

4 was game-forcing and stronger than a jump to game. We never want to play in 4 if we can avoid doing so. With a flat minimum hand, you would rebid 3 or 3NT …but not today!

North leads 7 and South contributes 2 on the first round. How do you plan on making 12 tricks?

Had East’s first bid been 2, slam would be reached even quicker!

Several declarers failed in 6, some after a seemingly helpful diamond lead from North. Indeed, that lead seemed to induce an error which may not have happened had a different suit been led. They ruffed a spade and then played AK discarding their low diamond and a spade before embarking on a cross-ruff. The problem with that approach was that they still retained the Q and eventually, they had to play a second round of diamonds in order to return to the West hand…and disaster struck.

On a non-diamond lead, it seems more natural to discard both Q and 3…but when the Q is a winner, it might not seem the right card to throw.

South somewhat helped West by showing them 2 at trick 1. Had they played, at no cost, say 10, the exact diamond position would have been less clear to the declarer. The spade discard on the second high heart was not necessary. Declarer had already won A, ruffed a spade and taken 2 heart tricks. They needed 8 more tricks and could achieve them in a cross-ruff without having to take a view on the spade position. If they lost a trick to the 10, and a trump was returned, they would then need one spade trick.

So, after taking the 2 high hearts, ruff a heart and then ruff a second spade. The fall of Q should of course be noted. Ruff a second heart low (with AK still remaining in the West hand) and ruff a third spade low. South could still hold A or does not hold 10. South discards. Declarer has now 8 tricks and still has AK in hand and QJ in dummy. They can all be made on a high level cross-ruff. With the 10 safely in the North hand, West could have ruffed the third spade high and still have prevailed.

What was dangerous was in retaining the Q after cashing the high hearts. When North ruffs the second round (after the 2 small hearts have been ruffed) and exits a trump, declarer needs to fall back on their spade suit to find a 12^th trick and does not know where the remaining trump, 10, is.

A trick 1 trump lead?

The spade suit becomes important on an initial trump lead though at least one declarer found an easier way to make his contract. Sitting East, Sam Coutts did receive a trump lead which he won in dummy to lead a low spade. North guessed wrong and played A. When a second spade ruff produced Q, Sam was in great shape and could draw trumps and set up his remaining spades for tricks. A difficult play slam can be simplified if you give a defender a losing option.

In the Open field of NZ Teams qualifying, 8 pairs bid and made their club slam while another 7 failed in this contract. The “low road” had its casualties too, being too hard for those who tried 4. However, just under half of the 58 team event played and made either 3NT (very safe when the diamond finesse works) or 5 which seems to be much the best game contract.

Richard Solomon

Go Back View All News Items