The earlier the better

Over the holidays I wrote a light-hearted piece about playing too quickly. I truth, I must own up to a reputation as being a thoughtful player, though not, I would add in my own mitigation, as 'thoughtful' as some. Nevertheless, contrary to what people may feel as they wonder what on earth declarer (usually) must be thinking about, it is the fast players that enjoy an undoubted advantage. Defenders can and should utilise declarer's trances to form a plan of campaign based around the fact that the contract is clearly not a simple matter.

The most dangerous players are those that manipulate the tempo according to their own difficulties. You might think that close to gamesmanship and you should not be distracted by it. It is perfectly proper of course to plan your plays to your best advantage. This hand from a recent Suffolk Winter League match is something of a textbook example:

  • A753
  • Q84
  • QJ10985
  • ---
N
W
E
S
  • 962
  • AKJ
  • AK6
  • AQ62

It was hard to stay out of slam; after West opened 1♦, North put in a second round overcall and six diamonds was reached. North led a heart and though that void looked such a useful feature in the auction, the lack of a club meant there was no way to take the finesse for twelve tricks. There appeared to be one genuine try; North would have to hold king and queen of spades doubleton. That would mean that after trumps were drawn and hearts cashed, he could be put on lead with the second round of the suit and forced to lead a club.

That was a slim chance and in order to improve it slightly I won the heart in dummy and crossed to the ace of spades. I hoped that if North had Kx spades he would fail to realise the necessity of playing the king under the ace early in the play. So it transpired: North held,

… and followed with the knave. As he had to follow to both the drawing of trumps and the top hearts, there was no opportunity to discard the fateful king and he was thrown in to lead a club, furnishing two discards from the West hand. I've considerable sympathy for North's failure to see the play even if, given sufficient time, it is possible to reason that it was correct.

At the other table East became declarer in 6NT again after North overcalled clubs. I expect you can guess what happened. Of course, the earliest decision you have to make in defence is the blind opening lead and South duly led his partner's suit and there were no problems in the play. Forcing defenders to commit early comes in many guises; if it is a tricky play, the earlier the better.

Published Saturday 7.Jan.2006