This hand was played at the Hartford Bridge Club on the evening of June 16. Kudos to Susan Seckinger, who was the declarer.
Board #26
East dealer
Both sides vulnerable
| | North
♠ 8 3
♥ K Q 10 9 3
♦ Q 9 6
♣ 8 5 4
| | West
♠ A Q
♥ J 7 5 4
♦ A 8 4 3
♣ A 9 2
| | East
♠ K 10 9 5 4
♥ 8 6 2
♦ 10 5
♣ 10 7 6
| | | South
♠ J 7 6 2
♥ A
♦ K J 7 2
♣ K Q J 3
| |
|
| | | | |
| South | West | North | East |
| | | P |
| 1♦ | 1NT | 2♥ | 2♠ |
| P | P | P | |
I was sitting North. My 2♥ bid was a bit of a stretch since we were vulnerable. If I were given a Mulligan, I would pass. The worst aspect was that my bid provided the eventual declarer with some valuable information and helped my parther not a whit. East's bid was Lebensohl showing a weak hand with spades. The lead was the ♥A.
The challenge for the declarer is to avoid the dreaded -200, which is almost always a bad score in a matchpoints game. This one seems rather simple. When you count the losers, you see three in hearts, one in diamonds, and two in clubs. If spades split three-three, or if the jack is in the short hand, declarer can score five spade tricks and the two minor suit aces. The odds of this occurring are not too bad: 35.5 percent for the three-three split plus 1/3 of 48.44 for the four-two plus 1/6 of 14.54 for the five-one, which comes to 54 percent. I bet that you thought that it was less than 50-50, didn't you?
Susan made a plan based on the information that I just provided. However, the contents of the first trick, and the choice of the second lead made her change the plan. I signaled (standard attitude) with the ♥10 on the first trick, but my partner led a trump.
Susan correctly deduced that South had no more hearts. His 1♦ bid probably showed four diamonds. He might be 3=1=5=4, but his most likely distribution was 4=1=4=4. If so, then the calculation that the jack would fall must be redone. The chances of that play working were now no more than 33.33%. Since South opened, and North evidently held the ♥KQ, there was a very high likelihood of the drop failing, perhaps 90 percent.
At this point Susan settled on another line of play that was almost certain to succeed. Can you spot it? It took me quite a long time, and I was there to witness it!
***
The best line is to play the ace and another diamond. When you get in, ruff a diamond. Go back to the board and ruff another diamond. Then take the ♣A. When the smoke of battle clears, you will have won three high spades, two ruffs, and two aces.
North can stymie this by playing the ♦Q on the second diamond trick. Eric Rodwell calls this play 'Danger hand high.' North is the danger hand because he has two heart tricks on which South can shorten his diamond holding to prevent ruffs. If East continues with the ruffing strategy, she might find herself down three!
Needless to say, I am no Eric Rodwell; I did not rise with the queen, and we got a zero. Two good players declared the hand from the other side. They both went down two.