All News

A Passing Thought? No way, Jose! (or so say Jack and Richard!)

You are sitting there minding your own business…well, listening to the opponents conducting theirs.. and a thought crosses your mind. Tell me. Do any cross yours?

 

4 was Gerber though a similar auction could have been conducted using a version of Blackwood or even where 4 over 3 was deemed to be Minorwood. In short, North asked for aces and kings and got a reply that their partner had two of each before heading off to the no-trump slam. Maybe the auction could have been improved. Yet, that is not today’s problem.

At another table, the auction was even briefer with the second line of bidding above deleted.

Now, one thought could be that you hope your partner makes a good lead. It’s not your problem, thankfully! Yet, let’s think about the situation. We have a considerable amount of the defence’s assets and while we would rather have AQ, even more so AK than AJ, that suit should feature near the top of a successful defence to this slam.

We are there to help partner if we can and with the likelihood of both missing diamond honours in dummy, a diamond lead seems a great way to start….especially if say our partner was looking at the Q. Well, maybe now we are dreaming too nice a dream!

It's still your bid..or "pass"!

Have you still got that “pass card” unplayed? Time maybe for a Lightner Double to get a diamond lead and put the defence on the right track from the start? Our two West players thought so.

They alone among 43 West players  who were defending 6NT or even at the tables where there were two adventurers who could not have used any form of Gerber or Blackwood and who declared one level higher!

Well worked out? There was just one snag, the claim by the declarers at the end of trick 1 whether or not West took their ace at trick 1!

 

4 tricks in hearts and clubs, 3 spade tricks and 1 in diamonds added up to the coldest 6NT you have ever seen. No more: no less. Now our two West players had a point, I think, or thought at one of the above tables. Jack James had similar thoughts and most of his and his partner’s thoughts that evening were good ones as they amassed nearly 76%  at Hamilton and 71 % on X Club. There would be no doubt  if North did gain the lead. Indeed, had Q been where it should have been, then the absence of a second diamond in the East hand would not have mattered.

Wise men might argue that it would be obvious to switch to a diamond should East gain the lead in mid-play. Too true, though declarers have been known to lose a necessary side suit trick before running their main suit. Not on this day, though! Maybe the double was not as wise as first thought. A thought perhaps on this of all days even if the deal occurred towards the end of the previous month.

As Jack put it, “our day will come”. Watch this space! I hope you need not watch for long.

Richard Solomon

ps. Written and posted before midday on 1^st April. Oh, the double did not cost that much with two thirds of the North-South players in game. Now, the reason for that may well be worth debating on a different day. 

Go Back View All News Items