Third player plays ... what?
 

The mantra says Third player plays high ... but how high? After an uninformative one-bid auction, your partner leads the ♥3 against West's 1NT contract and dummy goes down.

Take a look at dummy, think about what partner's heart holding might be ... and therefore also what declarer might have in hearts and choose a card.

Since partner has led her lowest heart (the ♥2 is in dummy) you know that she has at least one honour in hearts (from rubbish she'd have led a high card). The ♥3 is either  '4th highest' or the lowest of three, but either way she's got an honour.

The mantra is sound enough to the extent of telling you that playing your lowest heart - the ♥6 - would be daft. Equally daft, though, would be to play your highest heart - the ♥A. Why? Because that would be guaranteeing a trick for dummy's ♥Q - regardless of who holds the ♥K. If declarer has it, the ♥Q is about to become the top heart, but even if partner holds it, the ♥Q's going to be worth a trick, because you no longer have the ♥A to beat it with!

OK. That leaves the ♥9 and the ♥J. Which do you prefer? Well, we don't know whether declarer has an honour or not. If she does, it's either the ♥K or the ♥10. The ♥K is always going to be worth a trick ... but the ♥10 will only make a trick if you play the ♥9 - so play the ♥J!

Let's have a look at the whole deal and see what happens.
 

The whole deal

It turns out that partner has 4 hearts and both the missing honours, so as it happens it doesn't matter whether you played your ♥J or ♥9. But you can see that the ♥A would have been fatal.

It's a strange hand. After you've taken the first 4 tricks in hearts, if you can find the club switch you can take the next four tricks too, as the clubs split 3-3. * It's not an obvious switch, though - looking at dummy, switching to the ♠7 is quite tempting,

If you lead anything other than a club, of course, declarer's going to take the next 8 tricks, as she has four off the top in each of spades and diamonds.
 

On the night

On the posh night, those Wests in 1NT made anything from 5 to 8 tricks, while a few others were in 2♥ (NS) or 2♠ (EW).

In AP, most Wests were in 1NT, though a couple (rather weirdly) found themselves in 2NT, and they made 5, 6 or 8 tricks. One West made an overtrick in 1♠ - well done, but how do you end up in 1♠ on that deal? **
 

Conclusion

The main point to take from the hand is South's play to the first trick: playing the ♥J earns you 4 heart tricks, whereas playing the ♥A risks giving declarer 9 tricks (a heart in addition to her off-the-top tricks). Third player plays high, sure, but how high depends on what's in dummy and where the other high cards are likely to be.

cj

* If you lead your ♣A partner should encourage you by playing the ♣7. You then lead a low club to her ♣K, back comes her third club to your ♣Q ... and your last club is also worth a trick.

** Holding a balanced 12-14, West will open 1NT and East, with a balanced 10-count will pass. Maybe South opened something and West overcalled 1♠ (with only 4 spades!)? In which case, surely East would raise to at least the 2-level. A mystery!

Don't pass it up
 

There's a reason why we make pre-emptive bids with weak hands – they make life harder for the opps! Here's a case in point:

Your partner's opened 1♠ and with 3 spades and a shortage (meaning you can do some ruffing), you're well worth a raise to 2♠, and if partner shows a smidgeon of interest in going further, you'll be bidding game like a shot ... Except that North has come in with a pre-emptive 3♥ bid. Hmm. It's OK raising to 2♠ with only 3 spades, but raising to 3♠ when partner might only have 4 spades? That's another thing.

But there's something special about an opening 1♠ bid: if partner has only got 4 spades, then she's got at least 15 points. * So one way of another, you should bid something: you've either got a spade fit or 23+ points – or maybe both. 

Here you've got a choice: either 3♠ or X (not a penalty X, but takeout, showing the other two suits: clubs and diamonds). On balance, I prefer 3♠, as you'd rather be playing in 4♠ than 5 of a minor. But up to you.

But as you do that, bear something in mind: should South now raise her partner to 4♥ followed by a couple of passes, you must X for penalties. Your partner has opened the  bidding, so you hold at least half the points and you have two tricks in your own hand. Don't let them get away with it!
 

So what happens?

As it happens – check out the whole deal – partner has both 5 spades and 16 points, so she's raising your 3♠ to 4♠, which makes, in spite of the 4-1 trump split: you lose two trump tricks and one heart.

Supposing you X instead of bidding 3♠? She'll probably bid 4♣, in which case you can now bid 4♠, just in case she has 5 spades. But if she goes straight to 5♣, so be it – it makes, but doesn't score as much as the major game.
 

On the night

On the posh night, three pairs found 4♠ and one stopped in 3♠ – they made 9, 10,10 and 11 tricks. One NS pair got away with 3♥-2 undoubled, but at the 6th table EW did double a reckless 5♥ by NS, taking it 4 off for a magnificent +1100 points.

In AP, three pairs found 4♠ and another two stopped short in 3♠. Three of the five made only 9 tricks, however. At the other two tables, NS took 7 tricks in 3♥ or 4♥ undoubled – come on guys, they've only got 16 points between them!
 

What to take from this hand

• Remember that partner's 1♠ opening will be 15+ points if she has only 4 spades.
• With 3 spades, a singleton in the opps' suit and two Aces, you don't want to pass after North's preemptive 3♥. (That's probably how the NS pairs in 3♥ got away without being Xed.)
• If the opps do end up in hearts, make sure you X them for penalties: your partner won't, because she doesn't know about your two Aces.

cj

* Think about it. With the 4-4-4-1 shape, you never open 1♠. So if partner's only got 4 spades she must have one of the balanced shapes 4-3-3-3 or 4-4-3-2. So why isn't she opening 1NT instead of 1♠? Because she's too strong - ie she has at least 15 points.

RKC Blackwood - an introduction
 

Along with Stayman, we're all familiar with the Blackwood convention - it's a way of finding out how many Aces partner has when you're looking for a slam in a suit. Or it used to be. Nowadays most players prefer the Roman Key Card version, or RKCB for short. Someone had the bright idea that as well as knowing how many Aces we have, it's also very useful to know (if you haven't got them yourself) whether partner holds the King and/or Queen of trumps. RKCB therefore deals with six elements instead of just four: five so-called 'key cards' (the four Aces plus the trump King) and the trump Queen. 

So how does it work? You start in the normal way: once a suit is agreed, 4NT signals a Blackwood enquiry. And these are the standard responses:

5♣ I have 0 or 3 key cards
5♦ I have 1 or 4 key cards (in either case, it should be pretty obvious which of the 0/3 or 1/4 meanings applies)
5♥ I have 2 (or, very rarely, 5) key cards and I don't have the trump Queen
5♠ Ditto - 2 or 5 key cards and the trump Queen as well.
 

The auction so far ...

What's happened on this hand so far? You replied 2♣ to your partner's opening 1♥. Wot? some will ask. Just 2♣? With all those points? The answer is an emphatic yes: just 2♣. Sure, you're wondering about a slam, but you have no idea yet which slam you want to be in. First you need to know more about your partner's hand, and to do that a normal response is all you need: 2♣ denies 4 hearts and promises at least 10 points and at least 4 clubs and - crucially - it unconditionally requires your partner to make another bid. And after that second bid, the position will be much clearer and you'll know where you want to be heading. Take it slowly. If you start jumping all over the place it'll just be guesswork.

And partner's second bid is indeed very informative: 4♥ is a bit like 2♥ - it's just an ordinary opening hand in strength, but with lots of hearts - probably 7. With a stronger (16+) hand and 6 good hearts, she would have jump-rebid 3♥, which would really have got the juices flowing, but we are where we are: you have a heart fit with partner, who has just the normal 11-15 points. Is the heart slam on?

Well, it could be, certainly. If partner has ♥AKQ and the ♣A, you might even make the grand slam. And if you're missing one of those, you're probably fine for the small slam. How to find out?
 

... and going forward

This is a perfect time for RKC Blackwood. It can tell you about all four of the crucial missing cards - three key cards + the ♥Q - and partner's reply should guide you to the right place. So you bid 4NT ...

... and partner replies 5♥. What does she have and what's your final contract going to be?

5♥ tells you that she has two key cards but doesn't have the ♥Q. Not enough. You're likely to lose a trick to the missing key card and also possibly to the ♥Q. No slam. Pass. 
 

What happens?

Take a look at the whole deal. As so often happens, the final result depends on the opening lead. If West leads a club you're losing two tricks: one to the ♣A and one to the ♥Q. But if she leads a diamond, you're making a slam: win trick 1 in hand, cash the ♥AK, then cash the three top spades discarding your losing club on the third round. 

But the main point is that you don't want to be in the slam. RKCB is a great way of finding slams, but it'a equally good at helping you to avoid slams that don't make. *
 

On the night

On the posh night, three pairs managed somehow to jump into 6NT, all going off. One was in 3NT+2. And the other two tables were in 4♥ and 5♥, both making 12 tricks - even though one of them got a club lead! How? I imagine declarer led dummy's ♥2 and East played low , allowing declarer's ♥10 to win the trick. Nothing venture, nothing win! 

In AP, two pairs didn't fare particularly well in 3NT. One made 4♥ and one (post-RKCB?) stopped in 5♥ - making 12 tricks on a diamond lead. Two others were in 6♥ - both sadly got a club lead and went one off.

cj

* You may be wondering how you find out about the trump Q if partner replies 5♣ or 5♦ instead of 5♥ or 5♠. It's all done by you bidding the next suit up, but that's a complication we don't need in this HOTW. Ask me if you want to know more ...