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For Junior, Intermediate and Novice players…and others. It’s Fri day.

Two chances are better than one.

Sometimes , your best chance of making your contract is to take a finesse. If it fails, well, you had a plan and that plan did not work. Hopefully, all other players took the same finesse and you will record an average score. That, at least, is the theory!

What though, here?

 

 

1NT showed 15-17 hcp. 2 was a range-finder asking partner to bid 2NT if minimum or 3NT if maximum. South held 16, right in the middle. The deciding factor about whether to show a minimum or maximum hand was the 5-card club suit. Hopefully, the extra club would produce an extra trick. Thus, South showed a maximum and bid to game.

West led 4 South played 6 from dummy, East 7 and South K. Where to go for 9 tricks? If the heart suit breaks 4-4 in the opponents’ hands, there would be no problem. A more extreme break threatens the contract.

If North only had a 4-card diamond suit, then South would certainly look to the club suit as 4 tricks in diamonds and 1 in each major suit would leave declarer still needing 3 club tricks, i.e. needing to find both minor queens well placed. Since there were 5 diamonds in dummy, declarer could look to either minor suit to produce five tricks. There would be no need to try the other suit…or would there?

A Second Shot

If either minor suit produced 5 tricks, through a successful finesse, then the game has been made. However, there are many times when that missing queen was doubleton behind the jack, not where you wanted it to be placed. Oh if only you had played ace, king first.

Well, here, if hearts break 5-3 or 6-2, you cannot afford to lose the lead. Therefore, you only take one finesse and if it loses, you are down. However, you can give yourself the extra chance of cashing AK of the suit you are not going to finesse. If no queen appears, then back to the finesse plan in the other suit. Yet, if the queen does appear, you have got 9 tricks without needing a finesse.

So, all that remains (we still have to play to trick 2!), is to decide which suit you are going to finesse. Although it is unlikely, if West were to win the lead, they just might not cash a high heart. If East wins the lead, they will certainly return a heart..the suit their partner led!

So, that point alone might decide us on taking the club finesse but first of all play AK (Oh, play A first just in case West has singleton Q..with 10 in dummy, that gives you 9 tricks). Then, best take the club finesse and hope. No finesse today, though:

 

In fact, as you can see, whichever suit you played first, you would see the queen fall doubleton. So, your choice did not matter as long as you remembered that

“two chances are better than one”.

One further small point. The heart position might be less clear to West if J was played from dummy at trick 1 and the K did not have to be played. West might think declarer had three hearts. However, that play prevents declarer having a certain second heart trick had East played Q at trick 1.

Richard Solomon

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