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Dealer: W |
North ♠ A Q ♥ A 6 3 ♦ A Q J 10 5 ♣ 6 5 3 |
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| South ♠ 9 8 4 ♥ K 5 2 ♦ 8 7 6 4 3 ♣ K Q |
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| Lead: ♥Q Bidding:
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By Mike Lawrence
Both South and North had choices in the auction. South had to choose between one notrump and a raise to two diamonds. South should not be too quick to bid notrump. Many players overlook raising a minor suit and often pay a price for it. The problem with bidding one notrump is that you may get a spade lead. Whatever partner has in spades will be better off having a spade lead come up to it. If you bid two diamonds, your partner may be able to bid notrump, getting the play from the right side of the table.
On this hand, the balanced shape and overall values does suggest a one notrump bid which is the call that South made at the table. My feeling is that both bids, one notrump and two diamonds, are decent choices.
North had problems too. With seventeen balanced points, he might open one notrump, showing fifteen to seventeen points. With an excellent suit and with sensational high cards, North chose to start with one diamond instead, treating his hand as being worth more than seventeen points. A fair assessment.
West led the queen of hearts. East signaled with the eight and South took the trick. Any thoughts on how to proceed?
South started diamonds, West showing up with the singleton king. South came back to his hand with the third round of diamonds and promptly took the spade finesse for his ninth trick. Didn’t work. East won the king and returned a spade. South had only eight tricks to take.
| Dealer: W Vul: Both |
North ♠ A Q ♥ A 6 3 ♦ A Q J 10 5 ♣ 6 5 3 |
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| West ♠ J 10 7 6 5 2 ♥ Q J 9 ♦ K ♣ A J 2 |
East ♠ K 3 ♥ 10 8 7 4 ♦ 9 2 ♣ 10 9 8 7 4 |
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| South ♠ 9 8 4 ♥ K 5 2 ♦ 8 7 6 4 3 ♣ K Q |
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Declarer lost track of his tricks. South should start diamonds as he did, in the process, learning that West had a singleton king.
At some point, South should lead a club to his king, ensuring a ninth trick. When this happens, East will follow suit with the ten. West wins his ace and plays back the jack of clubs, won by South.
Later in the hand South has the spade finesse in reserve for an overtrick. Do you think that South should finesse in spades? How can you tell?
MAKE A DECISION
If South remembers the bidding, he will not finesse in spades. West, who had passed originally, had shown up with the ace and jack of clubs, the queen and jack of hearts, and the king of diamonds. If West also had the king of spades, it would give him fourteen points, in which case he would have opened the bidding. South should refuse the spade finesse.
FOR THE RECORD
Look at West’s hand.
West’s heart lead might have been a stroke of genius but it worked poorly. A spade lead would have crushed three notrump. Would you lead spades or hearts, yourself?
The reason I ask this question is that there are so many imponderables in bridge that many of your questions, even after the fact, can not be answered correctly. If East had the king of hearts instead of the king of spades, the heart lead could be best. Retrospect is always more enlightened when you can see all four hands. A big piece of advice that I can offer you is that you be extra open minded after the information is in.
Few things are easier to do than taint your thinking when you get to see all four hands. Work hard to be fair.
Surely you have heard an opponent say something like this after the hand.
“All you had to do was lead the ace of clubs. I would get two club ruffs.”
This sounds like some serious postmorteming of the worst kind. Do not get involved with this kind of thinking. You will be a better player for it and your partner will be grateful too.