KNOWING THE SPADE FINESSE IS WRONG
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This article by Andrew Robson first appeared in Bridgerama+.
Plan the play in 4 Hearts after West, who has overcalled 1♠ , leads the Queen of Clubs.
All vulnerable.
Declarer won West’s Queen of Clubs lead with dummy’s King and reflected that West’s overcall marked the King of Spades, and probably also the Ace of Diamonds, with West: offside. Declarer set out to endplay West into leading away from one of those honors.
Declarer first needed to eliminate Clubs, so he cashed the Ace of Clubs at trick two and ruffed a third Club high. He cashed the Ace of Hearts and crossed to dummy’s King, pleased to observe the 2-2 split. He then led dummy’s fourth Club.
If East had discarded on this final Club, declarer would have made a loser-on-loser play, throwing a Spade to endplay West. But when East proved to have the last defensive Club, declarer had to ruff. He still had a certain way to win, however, assuming West began with five Spades headed by the King (nailed on for his overcall).
Can you spot it?
At trick seven, declarer cashed the Ace of Spades, then exited with the Queen (key plays). West won the King and could cash the 10. However, he was then forced to choose between a Diamond away from his Ace (his actual choice), promoting declarer’s King, or a fourth Spade, enabling declarer to throw a Diamond from dummy and ruff in hand.
Either way, only one Diamond was lost. Ten tricks and game made.
Solving the jigsaw puzzle
Yorkshire jigsaw-puzzle maker Simon Stocken found a nice line to land this slam.
East-West vulnerable.
2♣ 23+ points.
2♦ Negative or, as here, waiting.
2NT 23-24 balanced.
3♣ Stayman, a request for four-card majors.
5♠ How good are your trumps for the Spade slam?
Mr. Stocken, South, received the Jack of Diamonds lead. Winning the King, he had four trumps with East to worry about (he could do little if West held Queen-Jack-small-small), and also his third Club. He found a fine play that enhanced the chances of resolving both issues.
Declarer cashed the Ace of Spades, followed with the Ace of Diamond (discarding a Club) and a second Diamond, ruffing in dummy in order to eliminate the suit. He then led and passed the nine of Spades (key play).
Declarer would avoid a second trump loser if East held four Spades (although East might have made his life more awkward in such a scenario by covering with an honor). The more likely gain occurred in actuality.
West won his Queen of Spades but found himself endplayed. A Diamond would enable declarer to ruff with dummy’s last trump and discard a Club from hand; while a Club or Heart would give declarer a third or fourth trick (respectively) in the suit led. Twelve tricks and slam made.
To watch Andrew’s daily instructional videos, including his Strong and Fives channel, go to andrewrobsonbridgecast.com
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