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Play and Defend Better: for improving players revisited
Another Duck!
Lightning never strikes twice, does it? It sure does at the bridge table.
same declarer
same unusual situation
same week
same contract
same lead…
would that be 6 “same’s”?
same result?
Yesterday’s Play and Defend article featured a neat duck by Hamilton’s Jenny Millington, a duck in a slam which, a little fortuitously, enabled her to make her contract. A defender could not tell whether Jenny was really off two side-suit aces or just AK of a suit with a void in another suit.
Just to remind you…Jenny was in 6
on the lead of the 
K which she ducked.
| North Deals N-S Vul |
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| West | North | East | South |
| Jenny Millington | |||
| 1 ♥ | Pass | 4 ♥ | |
| Pass | 4 NT | Pass | 5 ♦ |
| Pass | 6 ♥ | All pass |
East continued with Q allowing Jenny to discard her club on the J. She wanted East to continue spades rather than switch. History repeated itself three days later
| East Deals None Vul |
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Jenny as South opened 1. West made a take-out double with North showing a constructive heart raise. Within a flash, Jenny was in 6 and received the K lead.
Partner certainly did have a constructive raise though Jenny would gladly have swapped all those high card points in partner’s hand for just one black suit king!
A quick analysis of the situation showed she almost certainly needed some help from the opposition because the take-out double indicated that the club finesse was going to fail. She could not avoid a spade loser.
The only difference from the previous hand was that after ducking the opening lead, she wanted West to try and cash their 
A…and then there would be no club loser.
So, she ducked and waited…and waited…and waited for the colour of the next card West played… as three days before, it was a second spade but this time that meant her contract had to fail!
| East Deals None Vul |
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West’s best exit is probably their trump, waiting for which side-suit trick South wants to give them. However, any major card would have done. (surely no-one would lead a low diamond at trick 2 against 6, would they!)
Nice try, Jenny. 50% success rate though Jenny was the only one of the 4 declarers at Hamilton who failed in this contract. The A initial lead got its just desserts.
So, everything the same except the result. Just be very careful when Jenny ducks your K opening lead against a slam, especially if you have an ace on the side. The only time when you can be confident of playing the ace is if the contract were 6NT!
Richard Solomon
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