| Crucial Play at trick 1 |
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West led the 9 Hearts, which South identified as a likely singleton
This meant that Hearts were not going to break
Can South avoid two losers.
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Careful play at trick1 will help South to solve the problem.
Win the heart lead with Dummy's Queen, playing the 7 hearts from hand instead of the 4.
Draw Trumps in 3 Rounds ending in Dummy
Lead the 8 Hearts which East must cover to protect his potential Heart trick
Win this trick with the King
Play a Diamond to the Ace and now play the 6 hearts from Dummy
East is caught in a dilemma with his J 3 hearts
If he covers Dummy's 6 with the Jack, South wil win with Ace and play his four to Dummy's five
Then a club towards his King of clubs for the twelveth trick
If East does not cover Dummy's 6 hearts,South will play his carefully preserved 4
Then a club towards his King for the eventual twelveth trick.
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| Three Losers at Once |
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Co-operation in defence is one of the great pleasures in Bridge. On this hand however it was Declarer who enjoyed East-West efforts when they combined to help him get rid of three potential losers all in the space of one trick..
West led the 7 Clubs and after taking his two top clubs East led a third Club in the hope of promoting 2 Trump tricks for West. Declarer discarded the 5 Diamonds and when West ruffed wirh the 9 Hearts. Dummy discarded the 4 Spades.
After drawing trumps Declarer won the rest of the Tricks. A pity that East's constructive defence was destroyed by West's thoughtless ruff 'purposeless'. If he does not ruff declarer will be 1 trick short in his contract.
Hand contributed by Pat Wade
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| Bidding Problem |
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After the Biding as shown what should South bid now ???
(Answer is not easy even if you peep at the North Hand first)
Problem submitted by Tom Lawlor
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| Win Cheaply |
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Opening lead 7 Hearts
The Rule of Eleven shows that South has only one Heart higher than than the 7
Further analysis (more difficult perhaps) will shown that South's Heart should not be the Queen
So if East plays the Jack it will win the trick
Will he rue the Play??
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If East wins the Trick cheaply with the Jack , the Heart suit is blocked and the defence loses a vital tempo and with it the certainty of defeating the Contract
So win the first trick wtht the Ace and return the Jack and let your Partner force out the King while he still has an Entry
(South's Heart should not be the Queen, because if he had that card, then West would have the 10 9 8 7 and would have led the 10)
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| Thoughtful Play |
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6S by South. Opening Lead Q Clubs.
South has 2 seemingly unavoidable losers - A trump and a Heart.
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After winning the the first trich with the A Clubs, South leads dummy's JS and wins this trick with AS.
Now a Diamond to Dummy, Club ruff and cash A-J diamonds.
Now South cashes A-K Hearts and exits with a Spade to West's K
West must now give Declarer a ruff and a sluff on next trick.
Six Spades made, |
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| Think First |
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Opening lead 6D against South's 3NT
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South must resist the temptaion to let the diamond run to the QJ 4 in the South hand
Otherwise with good defence he will be cut off from the Clubs in his own hand
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| Improve Your Chances |
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Contract 4H by South. Opening lead is 6S
South plays low from Dummy. East wins the trick with the Ace and returns a Spade to Dummy's King
What is the best play now to make 4H (assuming no friendly breaks)??
Answers to both problems (if required) next week
YS
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