Dubious Logic

Felixstowe Congress - Results

The Swiss teams at the Felixstowe Congress was a typically hard fought affair with no team having it all their own way. To underline that, though they met a few rounds before the end, it was the eventual second placed team that came off better against the event winners. That was partly due to this slam:

That was the auction of Barry Davies (West) and Din Gudka: sound and pragmatic. I was on lead with the ♠ QJ942 ♥ K2 ♦ J8763 ♣ 2. Considering the opponents hadn't used Blackwood, I suspected a void in East. That figured to be in spades where I could account for nine at least, so I looked no further than my club singleton. I did well to hide my surprise when declarer discarded. Indeed a spade lead would have taxed declarer as he could not stop me giving my partner a spade ruff. In fact, in the other room, slam wasn't reached.

Try your declarer play here:

Four spades from the West hand, North leads the club ten to South's ace. The diamond eight is next and you win in East and play to the trump king. South contributes the ten which you view with suspicion. It's unlikely to harm you to lose to the queen with South so you next move is the nine of spades to the ace, South discarding. What now?

It is usually wrong to give up a tenace over an opponent – in trumps, as here, especially. You might try running for home here by cashing minor suit winners but it's unlikely to gain. The best chance is to leave trumps and come to hand with a diamond, cash the club king pitching a diamond and lead another diamond winner. The worst that can happen is that North will ruff. Now you do not lose a trump and will have to play hearts from table. You will be OK if South has the queen - a finesse of sorts. Retaining the club king would work in the case North started with two diamonds only if they also had both ace and queen of hearts.

Published Saturday 14.Oct.2006