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Hand played on |
14th August 2008 |
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Board number 13 |
Red Section |
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Dealer |
North |
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Vulnerability |
Both |
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Submitted by |
Alaric Cundy |
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North ♠753 ♥T85 ♦AQ7 ♣A974 |
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West ♠AJ962 ♥KQ9 ♦JT6 ♣85 |
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East ♠void ♥A6432 ♦K942 ♣KJT3 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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South ♠KQT84 ♥J7 ♦853 ♣Q62 |
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No 3♠ End |
1♥ no
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1♠ no
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x 4♥ |
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South's 1♠ bid at this vulnerability is not one I'd recommend to my Students! [Do as I say, not as I do...] It did, however, create a bit of a problem for West, who chose a somewhat off-beat double (take-out in this position, of course). South then found himself playing his second 'get out of jail' card on the same board as East / West settled in 4♥.
For the opening lead, South chose the King of Spades, won in dummy, and Declarer pitched a club. Declarer had a lot of work to do here, but in practice he got the timing a bit wrong and an opportunity was missed. Trumps were drawn in three rounds, finishing in Dummy. The Jack of diamonds was led and North won with the Ace and led a small spade, which Declarer ruffed. A diamond to the ten was taken by the Queen, and North got off lead with the last diamond. Now Declarer was stuck in hand and had to lead away from the club holding, and hence conceded two tricks in the suit for one off to yield a shared top score for North / South.
So how can East / West improve on this outcome?
The first opportunity would have been to double the 3♠ bid. At two tables North / South made just 5 tricks in spades... Alternatively, to make the 4♥ contract Declarer should note that he needs to find either one of the minor suit queens in the North hand and to play accordingly. At trick two a club should be led from Dummy to the Jack. Why a club rather than a diamond? We have fewer cards in that suit so the defenders are less likely to get a ruff in that suit. South will probably now lead a trump, won in Dummy, and then the Jack of diamonds is led. North should take this trick and exit with a spade. Declarer wins, draws trumps ending in Dummy and takes the diamond finesse again. It is still unavoidable to lose a trick to the Ace of clubs, but Declarer's trumps are just good enough to ruff back in and claim the last few tricks with minor suit winners. In total that gives 5 trumps, one spade, three diamonds, and a club. Contract made.
The morals of the story?
Do not overcall vulnerable on a hand similar to South's!
Make good use of the entries to Dummy
.