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Daily Bridge in New Zealand

Down to Earth….almost!

Maybe you have been following the New Zealand Open team in action: maybe not. Perhaps some of the deals have been a bit too complex, especially the bidding. So, let’s come back to something a little simpler, though that does not mean it’s straightforward!

It’s time to plan the play. You are playing Matchpoint Pairs and overtricks do count!

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South Deals
N-S Vul

A Q J 8 2

Q 6

10 9

A Q 6 3

   

N

W

 

E

S

   
 

A K 10 8 4 2

6 3 2

K J 7 2

 

West

North

East

South

 

 

 

1 

Pass

1 ♠

3 

3 

Pass

4 

All pass

 

 

What’s 3Diamond-small? Oh, supposedly weak but certainly annoying! You stretch a bit to bid 3Heart-small. Maybe you should not as you hardly have a monster hand and have no liking for spades. However, you have a 6th heart…and partner hears you and raises to game.

West leads Diamond-smallQ and it looks like you should make an overtrick, discarding your third diamond on the Spade-smallA… easy! However, East overtakes at trick 1, cashes Diamond-smallK with West following and then plays Diamond-smallJ on which West rather annoying ruffs with Heart-small7. Plan the play.

At least your contract looks secure. Yet, unless West had a fistful of hearts, you were heading for a comfortable overtrick. Now, you are not so sure. Where is the Heart-smallJ? Will it appear if you play Heart-smallAK?

You have to over-ruff with Heart-smallQ or else there will never be an overtrick. What you do know is that West would not contribute a heart with Heart-small Jxx..or would they?. They saw you bid 3Heart-small freely. They know you have at least six. There can be no gain, maybe!

However, say it was East who had that holding? That is  more likely and would explain the defence playing a third round of diamonds, not that a switch to either black suit would appeal.

So, are you there? You have to play a heart to the Heart-small10 and if that loses to now singleton or doubleton Heart-smallJ in the West hand, you will just think unpleasant things but compliment the opponents on their defence!

South Deals
N-S Vul

A Q J 8 2

Q 6

10 9

A Q 6 3

10 9 7 5 4 3

7 3

Q 4

10 9 8

 

N

W

 

E

S

 

K 6

J 9 5

A K J 8 7 5

5 4

 

A K 10 8 4 2

6 3 2

K J 7 2

 

West

North

East

South

 

 

 

1 

Pass

1 ♠

3 

3 

Pass

4 

All pass

 

 

Nothing so unpleasant as that happened. As East said, “I had to try it or else we would never make a trump trick.” Hopefully, you finessed and scored your overtrick. Sometimes, doing what seems the right thing does work.

Five declarers only made 10 tricks. I would suggest not everyone finessed.

Oh, and had you passed 3Diamond-small, your partner would have re-opened with a double. 3Heart-small looks like the right decision with opponents not vulnerable. Best defence against 3Diamond-small will see this contract defeated by 3 tricks (club lead, two rounds of spades and then the defence play trumps) but that is only + 500. So, all routes should have led to 4Heart-small.. making that overtrick. 

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