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Hand played on |
2008 |
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Board number |
Great Northern Swiss Pairs (IMP Scoring) |
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Dealer |
North |
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Vulnerability |
NS Vulnerable |
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Submitted by |
Tim Prior |
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North ♠AJ64 ♥2 ♦A86 ♣AQ872 |
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West ♠82 ♥QJT865 ♦KQT ♣K4 |
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East ♠T5 ♥AK973 ♦J43 ♣T53 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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♠KQ973 ♥4 ♦9752 ♣J96 |
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1♣ 3♥(2) 5♠ End
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1♥ No(3) No |
1♠ 4♠ No
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2NT(1) 5♥ No(4)
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I
can summarise this hand taken from the Great Northern Swiss Pairs earlier this
year with a final quote from the submitter, Tim Prior: "I
was so chuffed with this one. It was worth the entry fee just for that one card.
When Bernard started to think I knew I'd got him."
Tim and his (top standard) partner played these cards as East (partner) / West (Tim). The opponents were Rhona and Bernard Goldenfield.
At unfavourable vulnerability, North dealt and opened 1♣, and the bidding progressed as above.
(1) Good raise to 3♥ or better
(2) Explained as at least a game try in spades
(3) Says it's safe to lead a heart
(4) Could be right, who knows?
Tim originally posed this hand as an opening lead problem. Before you read on, place yourself in the West seat. Cover over the other three hands. Having heard the bidding and explanations as above, what do you choose to lead at trick one? The ♥Q looks safe, the ♦K would have its advocates, maybe a spade - what would you choose?
With sight of all four hands it's easy enough to see that declarer has 11 tricks even on a top diamond lead provided that he gets the clubs correct. (There are several chances but they come down to declarer locating the ♣T correctly.)
Our esteemed South is vastly experienced (Premier Grand Master and then some) and you would fancy that he would get the clubs right, because that's what good people do. With sight of all four hands is there a way Declarer can be persuaded to go wrong?
Everything hinges on the club suit. Suppose south leads a small club to the queen, East should play a small card at random against very good opponents: actively giving correct count will help declarer here, but always giving false count is dangerous too if declarer knows you. So a random card is best. But even then, Declarer is still likely to get it right... because that's what good people do.
There is a better way. West should steel himself to lead a small club at trick one away from the king. Look at it from South's point of view - the lead of the ♣4 in dummy's first bid suit must be a singleton unless West is deranged. If it is a singleton, the contract is about to go three off if Declarer plays low from dummy at trick one.
At the table the ♣4 was led and Declarer thought for a long time and then decided to limit his loss to one down by rising with the club ace. A cold game got away and South earned approbation from North (a lady international).
Leading low from Kx is a desperation shot and is a rarity. The bidding suggests that North has a good hand including clubs and this is a key point: Kx is unlikely to be a defensive trick. The second key point is to lead this quickly: don't spend hours thinking as Declarer will never be fooled.
One more thing: you'll need an understanding partner - there is no guarantee this play will work!
Very well done to Tim for finding this defence at the table!