Bridge Deal of the Week (November 08 2017)
Click here for Archives / Discussion BoardsProblemThe Auction:
South opened with 1♣, North responded 1♥. South proceeded to 1NT, West doubled 8-18 HCP, 4+ spades and 4+ diamonds), North declared 3NT, which became the final contract. West led the ♠Q. How should the declarer play?
Vulnerable: both Contract: 3NT by South |
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SolutionThe declarer holds the ♠Kx and dummy has the ♠Axxxx. So South can win the first trick either way. But West`s double might mean West has five spades and if this is true, West can win three tricks with spades after the declarer cashes in the ♠AK. South is missing the ♥AK, and West might well hold one or both of the missing honors, which pose a very real threat. Therefore South should duck and let West win the first trick (trick 1). Finding nine tricks will not be easy. The declarer has the ♦AKJ – three more tricks could be won with diamonds –West being marked for the ♦Q. The declarer can also hope for at least two tricks in clubs. Of course there are the ♠A and ♠K. But South needs two more tricks. South can choose between hearts and clubs as a potential trick provider. Seemingly clubs are stronger, but if West indeed holds 5 spades and 4 diamonds, there is not much room left for hearts and clubs. Therefore East can have a rather long suit of clubs. And if the ♣QKA are all played in the same trick, the ♣J will provided one more trick, but the opponents still hold the 10 and 9. West led a small diamond next – South played the ♦J form dummy, which held (trick 2). South led the ♣Q and ducked as East played a small club (trick 3). Then the declarer led the ♥3 from dummy. East played the ♥4 and South the ♥8. West won the trick with the ♥A (trick 4) and led a heart back. South played a small heart from dummy and East had the ♥10, so the declarer won the trick with the ♥J (trick 5). Now it was safe for the declarer to lead his last heart – dummy had the ♥Q9, even if hearts were split unevenly and one of the opponents had the ♥Kx, one extra trick was there and diamonds provided an entry point to dummy`s hand. But West had one more heart, East won this trick with the ♥K (trick 6). Hearts were definitely better choice, as East must have had a 5-card suit of clubs. The declarer was out of the danger – the ♠AK, ♦AK, ♣A and the last heart provided the six tricks needed. West led the ♣K, South won the trick with the ♣A, led the ♠K to unblock spades and then a diamond to dummy`s King (tricks 7, 8, 9). The declarer cashed in dummy` s last heart, the ♠A and led a diamond to his Ace (tricks 10, 11, 12). The last trick belonged to East with the ♣10 (trick 13). |
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To make the contract the declarer had to duck the first trick to disrupt the communication between the opponents. West had five spades while East held two and as East didn`t play the ♠10, West didnВґt want to lead spades again – after winning the first trick with the ♠Q, West would have had to lead from a tenace – the ♠J9. If West could have established spades before hearts were played, the contract would have gone down as West`s ♥A provided an entry point. If the declarer won the first trick with the ♠A or K, and East would have gained the lead with the ♥K after that, then East might have led the ♠10 removing the other top honor. And if West would have gained the lead then with the ♥A, then the contract would have gone down. |
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Par Contract AnalysisThe par contract on this deal is 3NT by South (North). |
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