Dubious Logic

Sniffing out voids

As declarer we have all suffered the jolt of running into a surprise void. Fortunately with distributional hands there will often be clues in the auction to help you sniff out these unwelcome shocks, none vulnerable:

North led the king of spades – how do you plan the play?

There is a massive temptation to dispose of your heart loser on dummy's clubs but what of the bidding? South, whose spade suit was not that good and who doesn't have quick tricks against your contract has done a lot of bidding and has doubled. Surely this was a Lightner double calling for an unusual lead? Accordingly South played with care; he ruffed a spade to dummy (North discarding) and ran the diamond queen. Right he was; South held, ♠QJ96543 ♥AJ93 ♦K5 ♣none. This occurred during a teams match and at the other table the auction was:

Whilst the first East's cue bid showed some diamond support and he hoped to develop his hand further, here East made a tactical decision to hide his club suit. It worked out better than he planned; North led a trump and there were twelve easy tricks. Both teams recorded +1090 for an unlikely 'push' – no score on the board.

What do you make of the play here, again neither side vulnerable?

North led the knave of clubs and South won the king to play the ♦4. Win, draw trumps and claim eleven, what could be easier? There's one big worry; South has switched to a diamond from ♦QJ4. This may be more than a ghost. North's lead of the knave is odd; does South really have ace-king-queen of clubs and yet only bid four? It's possible, but, but…

If you back your judgement you'll cover the diamond with a spot card – North held; ♠73 ♥KQJ2 ♦none ♣QJ109874. Declarer went up with the ace, sustained the ruff and was one down. Curiously, in the other room five diamonds was selected and the trump loser proved no impediment on a heart lead as South (who was 3=3=3=4) had to follow to three spades and on the fourth, East's club disappeared.

Published Saturday 11.Mar.2006