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GOOD IMAGINATION.

Today and tomorrow, we will look at two boards from the recent Inter-Provincials where the defence could either get it right…or not! Do you want a plus score or a minus score? So, let’s pose you the problem for today.

 

 

You lead a low spade (the auction really calls for a major lead with East’s bid denying a 4-card major). Declarer wins the K in dummy with your partner contributing 7 (low encourage). Next comes Q from dummy taken by your king…and you are back on lead. What now?

Not all East-Wests played the board in no trumps. Some were in the safety of a part-score club contract while a few even ended up defending a North-South partial. However, of the 12 times throughout the four fields that East was declarer in 2NT or 3NT, the contract made eight times…and of course, that was really bad for the defence if that was 3NT.

There was no such joy for the declarer when Wayne Burrows for the Central Districts Open team sat South. He led a spade initially against 2NT, and saw a rather discouraging spade played by his partner, George Masters. Wayne thought about ways the contract could be defeated and the diamond suit seemed to offer the best chance. However, even if George had a 5-card suit headed by the ace, George needed a high diamond to overtake Wayne on the fourth round. So, Wayne switched to the 10:

 

George won A and returned, correctly, his original fourth highest, 4. East played low from hand and Wayne, carefully, won the trick with 9 not 7 as otherwise, George would not be able to overtake.

Thus, the defence could now score 5 diamond tricks, K and A for down 2 in 2NT. We can only presume that at the four tables where 3NT made that no such switch was found or that it was found after all the clubs had been played (with diamonds thrown by the defence).

3NT is a poor contract even if the club finesse had worked as East would need to score a heart trick as well as five clubs and three spades. Therefore, in 3NT, East might win the spade in hand with A (hiding the Q) and play a heart at trick 2 and then, when the K scores, take the club finesse to make their contract when it worked.

(In 2NT, East should take the club finesse at trick 2, as if successful, they would have 8 tricks on top.)

Of course, when it failed and had Wayne Burrows sat South, 3NT would fail by 3 tricks. Hopefully, you were on the ball too, not just in finding the diamond switch, not just in playing the 10 first time but in winning the second round of the suit with 9.

More defence

 

As West,you lead your singleton and see a rather optimistic dummy opposite a weak jump overcall, even one at adverse vulnerability. Your hopes are initially disappointed when declarer wins dummy’s ace but it becomes more interesting when a low spade is played from dummy at trick 2….and your partner’s king wins the trick.

East, your partner, cashes K at trick 3. Plan the defence.

Richard Solomon

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