Dubious Logic

Fear of Ruffing

Having been told not to address her as 'doctor' and feeling too shy to use her forename as instructed, I made myself a bit more comfortable and launched straight in:

"I've been suffering for years…"

"Of course I read all the usual self-help texts and I've tried to confront it but I can't stop myself. Sometimes there are times I even blank out completely - this 6♠ was from the Cambridge University match, last year:"

"The king of diamonds was led and yes, along with everyone else, I drew trumps and attempted to score five spades, five hearts and trick in each minor. Trumps were four with North who also held the club ace – after two rounds of spades I had no way back. I woke up in a cold sweat with the realisation that as I needed hearts 4-3, I might as well have overtaken the knave, played the other honours throwing diamonds then led the ♣2. Though the defence might play a trump, as long as I scored a second round diamond ruff with the ♠3 and a third round club ruff with the ♠8 I was home. I got back to sleep only by discovering from the hand records that hearts were 5-2."

"Even with what looks like a textbook play I find myself like a rabbit in the headlights – what could be simpler than this?

"We reached 4♠ after a 14-16 no-trump opener and I received the lead of the deuce of trumps. With only four tricks in the plain suits, I required six more from spades and so could afford to play two of rounds – should I? Where to win the opening lead and how to play the minors? I was a quivering mass of indecision; frightened that one of my ruffs would be over-ruffed, or if I played ♠AK and North began with two clubs and ♠9842 or the like, he would ruff in front of ♠Q5 forcing the honour and have a trump for the fourth club higher than dummy's.

"Every way was fraught with danger - what should I do?"

"Concentrate on the clubs ruffs" came the voice I'd almost forgotten was in the room

"Yes, I got there eventually; the second club ruff had to be with a high trump even if I couldn't afford an honour for the first. But to play two rounds of trumps with say, ten and queen, then ruffing two clubs with ace and king, would leave me with just ♠J6 in hand. If trumps were 4=1 then I couldn't draw them. True, I'd see a bad spade split before I committed myself. But that way I'd fall foul of four trumps in North as above. Or perhaps worse; as I played clubs towards dummy, North could discard diamonds, if he started with three or two, he would be able to over-ruff. That meant diamonds should be cashed before anything else"

"So after more anguish I won spade ace, the top diamonds, top clubs and a third round, ruffing low. When that passed off I was able to cash another top trump in dummy and had a high cross-ruff."

"Indeed, a simple hand as you say", came the voice, "Playing top diamonds before clubs was text book; cash your side suits before the cross-ruff. Here it protected against North being 2-2 in the minors."

"…notice", she continued, "that had the opponents cashed their 3-3 hearts, establishing the thirteenth in dummy, then exited with a minor, it would be a mistake to draw trumps, effectively depending on them being 3-2. You would not be able to cash the heart with a trump out and if obliged to play four rounds, you'd still have a club loser."

That mention of hearts 3-3 reminded me:

"All that deliberation for a 1 IMP pick-up - our opponents got to 3NT and North with four spades, also led one. When he gained the lead with a heart he had to decide whether to switch into the closed or play another spade which only required his partner to have another card in the suit… You can guess which course he chose."

Brushing those remarks aside she reverted to theme, "Let's focus please; in effect, the cross-ruff doesn't represent a dangerous line of play, it presents a safer course. Consider this hand as treatment:"

"North opens a heart and South responds a no-trump, both are silenced by your jump to four spades and North fortunately leads the ♣Q – how do you play after cashing dummy's ace and king, throwing your diamond loser?"

I pondered a minute. As I could establish a heart by force and had more than enough trumps to control the play, why not simply play a spade at trick three? Then I saw the problem.

"Aha! If I play a trump now and if they are 3-0 – South holding the length presumably – he will duck the first and win the second then, no doubt, play king and another heart to garner a ruff with his third trump."

There was a scratching of pencil on notebook and somewhere if the back of the room I felt someone nodding agreement.

"I must play hearts now; South can't win both hearts to make the necessary spade play and even if he could, he can't put his partner in."

"Of course..", I said, settling into the couch and finding my inhibitions recede, "…if I know there's a bad trump split out, I really go to pieces – how can I explain making a hash of this hand:"

"Partner might have dallied with a re-double as an expression of confidence but maybe he was afraid I had a 5=2=3=3 with nowhere to go - or maybe he didn't think I would welcome the pressure. North led the ♥10 and I took stock. If I had to guess, I'd say North had all five trumps but an early spade ruff with the nine spot over-ruffed with the ten filled me with dread."

"I had a heart to lose as well as a diamond and a spade, after that, all I had to do was look after spades. I tried low from dummy on the lead, South took the king and played back the suit, North ruffing. The diamond queen was next and I took that, and played the heart ace, pitching a losing diamond, North ruffed again and produced the spade king. I won that and returned the suit, North giving the matter thought then ducking to his partner's knave. South played a diamond here:"

"Phew! I knew I could ruff low twice (South had seven hearts, two spades, so at most four diamonds – North had to have started with three or more) and try a high trump at last. Now I had a high – or 'high-enough' - cross-ruff and could claim."

"But you know it wasn't good, don't you?"

"Yes, I do" I sheepishly admitted and heard more scratching in the notebook.

"But at least you are admitting you have a problem…"

"I realised that North should have been playing trumps and, moreover, that I had started with three aces outside trumps and only managed to score two of them. Had I simply cashed them at tricks one, two, three I would have still been OK."

"I think that's a little unilateral" the good doctor interjected, "…you would have to exercise a certain care; better to ensure your ruffs in dummy by playing spades, perhaps discarding a diamond if South won and played hearts. However, I think you'll find this hand useful therapy; I found it lightly analysed in a newspaper column:"

"After your strong no-trump opening you become declarer in seven clubs on the lead of the ♦10 – how do you play?"

I must say I didn't like this at all. It seemed positively, well, dishonest, not to draw some trumps in a grand slam but the problems were quite apparent. King of clubs – to guard against four-nil either side – then ace. If trumps were 2-2 I would just have to ruff a heart and hope for the best; that would be the queen dropping in two or three rounds. If trumps didn't break not only would I still need hearts favourable, I would have to hope that the eight-spot was a high-enough ruff. That didn't look good.

"I'll draw just one round of trumps" I said. There was a lot more scratching in the notebook. And silence. So I filled it with talk of how I'd play hearts and if South had ♥Qx I'd be able to squeeze them in spades and a red suit. But I knew it was no use.

"You don't want me to touch trumps at all do you?"

"Strictly speaking, I ask the questions here" was the rather curt response. "…but yes, this is important…"

"I think we are arriving at the crux of your problem. Here you are in grand slam and, allow me, you must not lose a trick. But you must also make thirteen. Any plan you adopt depends on the lie of the cards – there is no difference in going down because the cards were not where you wanted them to be whether you lose the first trick or the last; whether you fail to establish a suit or you are over-ruffed early in the play. The scorecard looks the same in either case."

"You identify not drawing trumps as a lack of control, but as we have seen above, leaving trumps at large can represent a safer line of play, not a more dangerous one. Of course, the line of analysis can be long, and once started you may feel 'locked in', but, that is no different to any other line of play that requires a finesse or a break – indeed, it is often exactly that we depend upon, but in trumps, not a plain suit."

"In the 7♣ contract, if you try to ruff two hearts immediately, the first with the eight, you will be immediately successful when (1) Either player has ♥Q10 or any three hearts (except four clubs on your right), (2) ♥Qx on your right (again except 0=4 trumps) or (3) any two hearts on the left (except 4-0 trumps either side)."

"(5) When left hand has ♥Qx you can change plans if you like and draw some trumps – perhaps play your squeeze – and lastly, (6) when four hearts are Q10xx on your right, when the eight of clubs stands up, you're fine unless that same player has Jxx(x) of trumps. Those layouts are much more likely than those that you enumerated. If the club eight is over-ruffed – tant pis, you were defeated by a bad lie."

Phew, I thought, I wish I had been taking notes but the session wasn't over – at least I was getting more than the forty-five minute 'hour'. "On the other hand, you have to be alert to your ruffing chances in defence – try this:"

"A typical pairs auction and partner leads the heart ace (you discourage with the eight), then the club ace and exits a trump to dummy. Declarer plays a second spade, partner throwing a club, then the heart queen, under-playing the knave, won by partner's king, your side's third trick. West exits with a heart, declarer discarding a diamond. After thought he plays dummy's last heart – how do you play?"

The couch was comfortable and I had lapsed into reverie. "Err, I, err, recreate declarer's hand"

"Good…" She said and my mood eased.

"He has four spades, two hearts and it seems three clubs (partner figures to be 1=3=4=5). If he has the ♦Q he has enough tricks – what is he doing playing the winning heart?"

"Good!" She said again, "Go on.."

"I can ruff this but I won't change South's trick count if he plays accurately from here. I know! I'll throw a diamond. That should make it difficult for South to draw trumps – in fact, when in with the now singleton ♦A, if I play a club and force dummy to ruff, declarer will have no way back to hand to draw the last trump".

"Excellent – I think you are coming along quite well." She rejoined, "Same time next week?"