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  So Easy to Miss.

Trick One, the losing trick for so many contracts. Careless plays, wrong plays, no win plays: they are abundant in any session of bridge. Sometimes, there are unlucky plays, too. Let’s not be too harsh as it is a gloriously fine Sunday. In the problem we gave you yesterday, I think there is an element of all four of the above.

 

 

1 promises 2+ clubs. The opponents are playing 5 card majors, 15-17 1NT opening.

A good auction in every way. You were maximum for your 1 call. Partner’s 2 bid was natural, showing a strong hand, 16, probably even 17+, leaving you an easy 3NT bid. So, not only is it a good auction but you are the declarer! That’s what you pay your table money for (oh, a small point but this BBO bridge is free!) rather than making the coffees!

So, West leads the J…off you go. Oops, an unfortunate choice of phrase. Please make sure you do not “go off”!

It did not seem too hard a contract to make. Just a little care in the heart suit, perhaps. You have two tricks in each black suit, four in diamonds, thus needing just one heart trick to make your game. You even have diamond entries to your hand to lead towards dummy’s hearts twice. Not just that but West opened the bidding and is certain to have at least one if not both the “high heart honours”.

“H” is for happiness, an easy contract for once. “H” is also for “horror” as declarer set out on a path of quick destruction!

They ducked the opening lead round to their queen and played a heart towards dummy. Up went West’s king with a low club played to dummy’s ace with East following suit with 8. Back to the A in hand and a second heart was played. Up went West’s A…..and then they started coming. There were only three of them but they seemed to keep coming….

K

 10

  6

 

Declarer took the rest of the tricks but that still one short of the required number.

 

South might have assumed that West had a weak no-trump type hand (they did) in which case there was no immediate danger, as long as they did not hold a five-card club suit.

I have played a lot of bridge over the years but I cannot recall before seeing a situation where the only way to make your contract is to seemingly give up a trick in the suit where it seems most natural to not do so. It is almost, but not quite, akin to a 3NT contract where dummy has AKQxxx opposite a doubleton and no outside entry to the long suit and you duck the first round to ensure the suit does not break 4-1.

Yet, this is not the same. You must win the first trick and you must not finesse. If West has less than 5 clubs, there is no danger but before you play to trick one, before you call for a card from the dummy hand, you must play through in your head what could happen if West did have long clubs…and then you would realise what you have to do.

At Trick 1

Win the A and really play hearts however you like though a diamond to hand and a heart towards dummy is by far the best way. West wins and there is no club that West can play that allows them to run the suit without giving declarer two more club tricks first. All West can do is take the K and give up, 10 tricks to the declarer.

Capture one honour with another: the 2 is not an honour!

It seems so simple but so easy for a declarer to miss. The key is a variation on the theme of capturing one honour with another, not just at trick one (when the jack did lose to the queen) but in not allowing West the luxury of drawing out the A with the meagre 2.

3NT was played 10 times by South and failed 6 times. The irony is if played by North, the contract rather plays itself on the 8 lead, covered by the 9, 10 and won by the ace. The correct play just happens! It is the seemingly harmless lead away from the king which gives those who did not think the hand through the chance to go down.

A slightly different problem for tomorrow. You are playing Pairs. Here is your hand:

 

 1 is 4+ hearts and 3 a value raise…about 10hcp.

A 2-part question:

What bid would you make as East?

What bid would you advise East to make if East was a beginner and new to the game?

See you on “holiday” Monday.

Richard Solomon

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