All News

That Precious Entry

“I have not got much” said dummy as he laid his hand down, with a smile. “You can cope”. So, thanking your partner for all that he gave you, you had to set about getting 9 tricks in 3NT. West, on your left, had led the 7. What’s your plan?

 

 

3 was Stayman with 3NT bid in the hope South had a diamond holding like AKx or AQx, even Axx or any 4 card diamond holding. KJ10 did not quite fit the bill. So, what’s to be done?

It really is a case of “diamonds or bust”. You need diamond tricks but you must not lose too many side- suit tricks while you are losing the lead in diamonds. The suit blockage means that you have to preserve that oh so valuable K (‘thanks for having so much, partner!”). So, diamonds must be played from hand. What is the holding you would like a defender to have?

Singleton ace? That’s not really any good as you then must still lose a trick to the queen.

Singleton queen? Yes, please, as that would mean you only had one diamond loser. So, play for that by leading a “confident” king, as though you are leading from KQ. You would love the defender to duck when their holding is Ax opposite Qx in their partner's hand.

Alas, no duck and East won the ace to return a second club. So, now, you had to lose to the Q and you needed either a club blockage or for the club suit to break 4-4 in the defenders’ hands. Fortune was on your side:

 

 

The defence took their club tricks but that was all and 9 tricks were made.

Should That Be So?

However, the defence could have prevailed. A spade lead, presumably the queen gives declarer no chance as long as the suit is continued. Nor indeed does a spade switch from East when in with the A. Was a low spade too hard to find? East could see the attempt to set up dummy’s suit. Could there be a way to keep declarer out of the dummy hand? If East switches to a spade which declarer needs to win in hand, West needs to win the second round of diamonds and play back another spade while the suit is blocked. It may be hard for West to do that as it is contrary to the normal approach of ducking as long as you can to break up communications between declarer and the dummy hand. It would also be wrong for West to take the second round if East had a second diamond and South had no more.

Thus, not easy defence though with the defence forcing South to play that K  before South’s third diamond is played, South just cannot prevail.

So, all three competing players should have eyed that K. The defence wanted it off table before diamonds were established. Declarer needed it there as the entry to glory and 9 tricks. One honour in dummy but an oh so valuable one.

Richard Solomon

 

Go Back View All News Items