Dubious Logic

Games v Partials (Again)

I wrote a week or two back about finding part-scores harder to play than games – at least that was my excuse for making only nine tricks in a two heart contract when an overtrick in game was not uncommon. Obviously since then I've been on the lookout for other examples to back my case and I was fortunate to be defending this set of cards:

South opens with a three diamond pre-empt and your overcall of three spades closes proceedings. North leads the diamond four to the seven, ten and your ace, how do you play? What would be your choice in four spades?

From the preamble you'll guess that the easy one is the game contract and you'd be right. With an almost certain spade loser – the ten if not the king – and two hearts, the best prospect is to find a home for the ♦8. If you take the club finesse the rest of the hand should look after itself. You can play simply for both majors to be 3-2 or you can fool around, perhaps trying to score your trumps in hand by ruffing dummy's minors. But when the club queen holds, you're pretty much on the road home.

In 3♠ however, it would be foolish to lose to the club king in South and strand the ace, so the line above is a little too committal. At our table declarer proceeded along natural lines; she crossed to the club ace and ran the knave of trumps. That lost to the king and another diamond was played. South won that and played a third. Now the ten of trumps loomed. West chose to ruff with the nine and be over-ruffed, North still had a trump to lead and so didn't have to compromise hearts or clubs. Down one; losing two trumps a diamond and two hearts.

I think West should have seen this coming. True, my partner Joan Mayhew's aggressive opening had worked out very well for our side and some of the time North wouldn't have another diamond to play, but this is very much the modern style.

A lot of convoluted thinking is applied to circumstances where you have missed game and must try to protect your score. But you cannot overtake those that reach game if it is makeable, what you must avoid however, is going negative and joining them when it is not or losing out to the others who stop low. So in touch-and-go part-scores that just might yield a lot of tricks, keeping your positive score is paramount. Here the indicated play was to try a low spade to the knave at trick two, keeping flexibility in trumps and the club finesse as back-up.

Diary Dates

Ipswich Swiss Pairs: Sunday 12^th September, 2pm Kesgrave Community Centre, £10 per pair (entry on door acceptable).

Felixstowe Congress: Friday 1^st – Sunday 3^rd October, Felixstowe Leisure Centre, details – Peter Speller Tel: 01206 366725 email:

Frinton Swiss Teams: Sunday 14^th November, 2pm WI Hall Frinton, £16 per pair (inc. refreshments), details - Malcolm Battye, 8, Ashlyns Road, Frinton-on-Sea CO13 9ED

Published Saturday 11.Sep.2004