Disappearing Tricks
Looking at all four hands is not necessarily the best insight – likewise the double-dummy analysis to which we have now become accustomed on printed hand-records. Have a look at this layout, the first board of a recent match:
| Love All, Dealer North | ♠ 6 | ||
| ♥ AK | |||
| ♦ Q1096 | |||
| ♣ AKQ1043 | |||
| ♠ Q932 | ♠ K75 | ||
| ♥ 986 | ♥ Q1072 | ||
| ♦ J2 | ♦ AK74 | ||
| ♣ 8652 | ♣ J7 | ||
| ♠ AJ1084 | |||
| ♥ J543 | |||
| ♦ 853 | |||
| ♣ 9 | |||
| West | North | East | South | |
| 1♣ | X | 1♠ | ||
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 2♥* | |
| Pass | 3NT | End |
South's two hearts announced a poor hand and north leapt directly to game. It was clear that declarer possessed a strong club suit and suspicious that his rebid may have been a bluff, I started with a top diamond. That met with a discouraging deuce from partner so I switched to low spade but what matter – surely north has nine tricks?
Yes, you can see nine, a spade, two hearts and six clubs but declarer couldn't. Moreover he was aware that I had doubled one club so, in dummy with the ace of spades for surely the last time, he led the club nine and ran it. That was down one as the defence now had five. In the other room, against a similar auction, the opening lead was an imaginative spade king. That left North with more time and he established a trick in diamonds and played clubs from the top, coming away with two overtricks.
Defensive tricks are almost always easier to see with four hands exposed; here east-west appear to have two diamonds, a heart and a trump against north's four spades:
| Love All, Dealer East | ♠ A8642 | ||
| ♥ J974 | |||
| ♦ 65 | |||
| ♣ 104 | |||
| ♠ QJ7 | ♠ 10 | ||
| ♥ K863 | ♥ Q102 | ||
| ♦ A1092 | ♦ KJ43 | ||
| ♣ 97 | ♣ J6532 | ||
| ♠ K953 | |||
| ♥ A5 | |||
| ♦ Q87 | |||
| ♣ AKQ8 | |||
| West | North | East | South | |
| Pass | 1♣ | |||
| Pass | 1♠ | Pass | 4♠ | |
| End | ||||
South figured to be balanced for this sequence so with a poor club holding, I attacked with a diamond. Partner won the ace and returned the deuce. As north-south responded spades before diamonds even if the minor were longer, I didn't know who had the doubleton. So I continued diamonds, north throwing a heart. Declarer was far from home but he made no mistake, drawing two trumps ending in hand he led the club ten. Though I ducked smoothly he ran it – this time with more success. There were now two more discards for his hearts – four spades made.
I was relieved to discover this was a flat board. Game in spades made at most tables, usually because East failed to find the diamond lead and a loser in that suit was discarded immediately (though declarer must not draw trumps first).
Published Saturday 10.Oct.2009