Bridge Deal of the Week (October 05 2016)
Click here for Archives / Discussion BoardsProblemCan you guess what contract was declared and what was the outcome? Is there more than one possible contract, which might be made and won with these combined hands? |
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SolutionThe contract declared was 3 NT. The auction was uneventful – South: pass; West: pass, North: 1 NT, East: pass; South: 3NT – all pass. The opening lead was ♦5 by East, North took the first trick with the ♦Q. North and South could count on six tricks with clubs, had a good suit of hearts and promising spades, but giving the lead to the opponents was dangerous – no stoppers left in diamonds. So North decided to go for it and took 6 consecutive tricks with clubs, starting with the ♣A, and continued to take tricks with all the rest of clubs from dummy’s hand. As West had only one club, West discarded two small spades, two small hearts, plus a small diamond. North discarded two small spades and the ♠Q; East discarded a small heart and two diamonds. After that North led the ♥J, West won that trick with the ♥A and led the ♦J, North played his only remaining diamond – the ♦K and East took this trick with the ♦A. East led the ♦9; North discarded the last small spade from the table and the ♠J from hand, while West discarded another heart. East had yet one more diamond; so North discarded a small heart from the table and hand. Now North had ♠A and a small heart on the table and ♥KQ in the hand and could take the last tricks, making exactly 3NT. |
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Could any other game contract be won by South and North? Indeed, the par contract on this deal is 4♥, and 4♥ is makeable. East would have led the ♦A and then a small spade. North could have taken the second trick with the dummy’s ♠A, won the next trick with the ♥J and another one with ♥Q (presuming West would have ducked.) Then North would have had to lead a small club to transfer the lead to dummy’s hand with ♣K and lead hearts again. West would probably have taken the third trump trick with the ace and scored yet another trick with the ♠K. After that North can take all the rest of the tricks. 5♣ could also be made with these cards. West would have led the ♠5 – offering a free finesse – so South could have won the first trick with the dummy’s ♠Q. Then South could have pulled the trump, leading clubs three times and led the ♥J, offering lead to West, who accepts and takes the trick with the ♥A. If West leads diamonds, East can take the opponents` second trick with the ◆A, after that South can take all the rest of the tricks regardless of the card led by East.
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Par Contract AnalysisThe par contract on this deal is 4♥ by South/North. |
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