Hand of the day #329
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This conundrum was written by Eddie Kantar and was originally published in the book Take All Your Chances - you can find out all about it further down the page.
You open 1♥, partner responds 2♣ (intending to rebid 3♣, invitational), but your jump to 3NT ends the bidding. If a 2♣ response is played as a game force, then 1NT (forcing) is the proper response. You would raise 1NT to 2NT and partner would bid 3NT. All roads lead to Rome.
The opening lead is the ♠4 and dummy’s ♠J wins, East playing the ♠3, showing count. Plan the play.
You have eight top tricks and need but one more. In spite of those impressive clubs, if you rely entirely on a 3-2 break, you will be giving yourself a 68% chance to make the hand. Not bad, but you can do better. Much better. Duck a diamond at Trick 2, win the likely spade return and play the ♦A and ♦K. If diamonds break 3-3 (36%), dummy’s fourth diamond is your ninth trick. If they don’t, you still have 3-2 clubs to fall back on (68%).
You stay alive by playing diamonds before clubs, giving yourself an 80% chance of making the hand. Why consign the diamonds to oblivion? It doesn’t cost anything to test them. Take full credit if you played the ♦A, ♦K and another diamond instead of ducking a diamond.
Notice that you can’t test the clubs first and fall back on the diamonds being 3-3 if the clubs don’t break 3-2. The club suit is the entry to the fourth diamond; diamonds have to be attacked before clubs.
The West hand: ♠K10842 ♥Q943 ♦J98 ♣9
The East hand: ♠953 ♥KJ6 ♦Q106 ♣J1083
Selecting the best line of play in a bridge hand as declarer is not easy. Most novices know something about basic odds and percentages, and can often find a line that offers a reasonable chance of success. However, the expert will skillfully combine options, so as to take advantage of more than chance. Rather than putting all his eggs in one basket, he will 'stay alive', squeezing out every extra chance. In this book of intermediate problems, Kantar shows the reader how to do this — there is always a line of play that will allow you take all your chances, and bring home your contract.
Yes I will play Dimond A and K as wellas3rd Dimond card and then play my C Q followed by a low C when I get the lead