GETTING THROUGH A BLOCKED DOOR
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This article by Norbért Lébely first appeared in Bridgerama+.
Matchpoints, Dealer North, None Vul.
You are sitting South, holding this beautiful hand:
The auction is straightforward. Your partner opens 1♥. You respond 1♠ and, after a raise to 2♠, you leap to game at 4♠:
West leads the Queen of Diamonds and North lays down a 7-4-1-1 that is not easy to describe:
Contract: 4 Spades by South.
Lead: ♦Q.
How many winners do you start with?
At this stage, you’ve only got six with Ace-King-Queen of trumps plus three outside Aces, to which more will be conveniently added by either ruffing or setting up tricks from length… depending on the line of play you select.
Is it possible to get home with a crossruff?
Yes. If you combine ruffing four of dummy’s Hearts (the first one with the 3 of trumps, the others with your three top honors to avoid a fatal overruff) and four minor-suit ruffs, you get to a total of eleven tricks (the six you started with + five ruffs), which would give you a decent score in a pairs tournament.
But isn’t there something better to do?
Yes, no doubt. To do so, proceed to making the most of dummy’s seven-card Heart suit, the missing Hearts probably breaking 3-2 (68% chance).
How many rounds of trumps do you play first?
Just one, the Ace, on which West plays the 5 and East the 6. Unfortunately, the Jack does not appear. Otherwise, bringing home thirteen tricks would be a formality.
Is it in your interest to also cash the King of Spades?
No, as the Jack is more likely to be third (50%) than second (40%), you should refrain from doing so, as you’d be aggravating the problem you’re facing.
What kind of problem?
Communications. Indeed, after ruffing the 3 of Hearts, you will need two entries to dummy to first finish setting up your long suit and second get to cash the established tricks. However, you have no tangible way to enter the dummy.
Unless…
You create one!
In what way exactly?
- First, by ruffing the 3 of Hearts with the King of Spades (unblocking).
- Then, by continuing with the trump 3 from under the Queen towards 1098:
True, West’s Jack will win a non-legitimate trick, but you will not really lose anything, quite the contrary, since you open a path allowing you to reach North’s hand without the defense being able to prevent it.
If West plays back another Diamond, you of course ruff in dummy, finish establishing the Hearts by ruffing the third round of the suit with the Queen of Spades (second unblocking) and all that is left to do is to extract West’s last trump by playing the 4 to the 10, collecting the 7 and then claim for twelve well-deserved tricks (4 Spades plus two).
The Principle
Like a seasoned investigator, you must find out the specifics of the deal you are in charge of, determine the direction you want your game plan to take (in this case, setting up a suit by ruffing), and carefully check for possible difficulties with communication that could thwart the success of your project. Next, identify the means you have at your disposal to carry out your task and adapt them to your needs, keeping in mind that in bridge as well “the devil is in the details”.
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