Test Your Bridge Skills #77

1. How many points does partner have?
Between 0 and 1 points. Declarer has 20 to 22 for their 2NT opening, dummy has 8, and you have 11. So partner is left with 0 to 1 points.

2. Where is the ♥Q?
Clearly with declarer, since partner cannot have more than 1 point. Also, if partner had the ♥Q, they would have played it at trick 1, as third hand plays high.

3. Where is the ♥10?
With partner. If declarer had it, they would have won trick 1 with the ♥10 instead of the ♥K. But if third hand plays high, why did partner play the ♥7 instead of the ♥10? Partner has a sequence, and third hand plays low from a touching high sequence. This means partner holds ♥10987.

4. Where is the ♥9?
With partner, since declarer would have won with the ♥9 if they had it.

5. Where is the ♥8?
With partner, since declarer would have won with the ♥8 if they had it.

6. How will you play?
Continue with the ♥A at trick 4 to drop declarer’s remaining ♥Q (say partner follows with the ♥10). Then don’t play the ♥J, or you will block the suit.

Instead, continue with a low Heart to partner’s ♥8, then overtake partner’s ♥9 with the ♥J to enjoy your fifth setting Heart trick as well. If you don’t take your Hearts now, declarer will make the rest of the tricks.

Things to remember

1. Third seat:
   1. Plays high if first and second seat played low.
   2. Plays low from a touching sequence (so if you have QJ2 and first and second seat played low, play the J).
   3. Gives attitude (want or don’t want) if first seat led the ace, or if dummy played a top card in second seat.
   4. Gives count if first seat led the king (needs agreement), or if third seat cannot cover a relatively low card from dummy.
   5. Gives suit preference if the suit is dead. This means there are clearly no more tricks for your side in this suit, either because dummy has all the high cards, or because dummy has a singleton or void in a trump contract.
2. What would you conclude if at trick 1 partner followed with the ♥8, losing to the ♥K? You would place the ♥7 with declarer. This means partner holds ♥1098 and declarer holds ♥KQ7.
3. Assuming the above, with partner holding ♥1098 and declarer holding ♥KQ7: say dummy is a little weaker, with 6 points (the same dummy but without the ♣Q). What would your defense be, to still have a chance to set the contract?

   This is trickier. You would need to try to put partner on lead, so partner can return a Heart to place your ♥AJ over declarer’s ♥Q7. Since partner is weak, holding at most 3 points, you would need to hope they have ♦Jxx, and unblock your ♦K under declarer’s ♦A.

   That move would promote partner’s ♦J, assuming partner also has the ♣Q, so declarer cannot make 4 Club tricks. If you don’t manage to put partner on lead, declarer will make overtricks.

1. How many losers do you have?
You have 2 Spade losers.

2. What are your options to get rid of at least one loser?
You can try the Spade finesse. If the ♠A is with East, you can promote your ♠K by playing a Spade to it. You can also hope for Clubs to break 3-3, so you can discard a Spade on the fourth Club, or try to promote the fourth Diamond.

3. Which suit will you play first, second, and which will you keep to the end?
You keep the Spade play to the end, as a last resort, since if the finesse fails, you lose 2 Spades and go down immediately. You can test the Clubs and Diamonds first, since playing them will not cost you a trick.

Promoting the fourth Diamond (the ♦10, hoping to drop ♦QJx) needs entries: to ruff the third Diamond, and to reach the fourth if it does get promoted. So start with the Diamonds, since you need the Clubs as entries. If you don’t manage to promote the ♦10, test whether the Clubs break 3-3. If that doesn’t work either, try the Spade finesse as your last option.

4. How will you play?
After drawing trumps, play the ♦A and ♦K. East follows with the ♦J on your second Diamond round. Then play a Club to the ♣A, and ruff the third Diamond. Since East followed with the ♦Q, your ♦10 is now promoted as your twelfth trick, and you can re-enter dummy with a Club to discard a Spade loser on it.

You can also test the Clubs: if they break 3-3, you can discard another Spade on the fourth Club and make 13 tricks. As it happens, Clubs are 4-2, so you make 12 tricks.

Things to remember

1. It is best to agree that once a fit is established, 4NT asks for aces. If South bids 4NT straight after North’s 1NT rebid, or if North’s response is not 2♥, then 4NT is quantitative, a slam invitation showing a minimum or maximum hand.
2. Another possible agreement is to use a direct 3♥ rebid by responder as a slam invitation, asking opener to show controls (players who use XYZ have a 2♣ bid in the system for all inviting hands). Without this agreement, a 3♥ rebid by responder shows 10 to 11 points, as a game invitation.
3. After a 1NT rebid by opener, a new minor suit bid by responder is called “new minor forcing.” This is an artificial forcing bid, used mainly to find a possible 5-3 fit in responder’s major. It shows 11 or more points and is forcing for one round (there are other situations where a new minor bid is game forcing).
4. Which suit to play first, which last, and which in the middle:
   1. A finesse that would set the contract if it loses should be played last, after checking all other options.
   2. If there is a choice between an impasse (a normal finesse) and an expasse (playing to a card for a finesse), choose the expasse first. If it fails, you can still test the impasse afterward. You cannot do it the other way around.
   3. Start by checking splits that cannot cost you the hand, such as a 3-3 break, where you can discard a loser on your fourth promoted card.
   4. Also check whether you can promote a trick via a ruff, again without risking the hand, as with the Diamonds in this hand. If that possibility exists, start with it, since you may need entries for the process.