Hand of the day #292
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This conundrum was written by Julian Pottage and was originally published in the book Play or Defend? 68 Hands to Test Your Bridge Skill - you can find out all about it further down the page.
Contract: 6NT
Opening Lead: ♦10
Quite correctly, West has preferred a safe diamond lead to an aggressive heart. The North-South hands fit badly and, despite the presence of 35 high-card points, 6NT is a poor slam.
Ways that spring to mind for avoiding a heart loser include a bare king or queen with East and king-queen doubleton either side. Of course, both layouts sound unlikely. Placing West with the king-queen of hearts and aiming for an endplay sounds more attractive. If this defender has no more than three spades, three diamonds and four clubs, stripping the hand will prove simple. Declarer cashes winners from these three suits ending in hand and leads a low heart towards the jack. In practice West turns up with a singleton club, so probably holds a long card in one or both of the pointed suits. Unless this player discards down to three-card holdings, twelve tricks are not so easy.
Suppose the ♦K wins the first trick, and that on four rounds of clubs West throws two spades and a heart whilst one heart goes from dummy. Declarer then proceeds to cash three rounds of spades and West comes under pressure. In order to prevent declarer from setting up a heart trick simply by ducking one round, West has to keep three hearts, which means releasing a diamond. After that declarer cashes the queen and ace of dia- monds, leaving the lead in the South hand as planned. Finally, a low heart lead at Trick 11 obliges West to play high and then return a heart into the split tenace.
If West abandons diamonds earlier, will this break the slam? If the play follows similar lines to the previous paragraph, it will. After finishing the clubs, declarer needs to play two rounds of diamonds to elicit a spade discard from West. This succeeds, but a logistical problem arises. The ace- king-queen of spades take the next three tricks, meaning the lead stays in dummy for Trick 11.
To cater for the chance that West has kept four spades, declarer should throw a spade from dummy on the fourth club. This makes it possible to reach this position:
A diamond played to the ace now brings West down to one spade. Just as importantly, it puts the lead in the South hand. The ♠J followed by the ♥5 now lands the contract.
Sharpen your bridge skills with Play or Defend? by Julian Pottage, a collection of 68 hands designed to challenge your judgment and strategy. Each scenario presents a dilemma—whether to play or defend—offering insights and solutions that enhance your decision-making. Perfect for intermediate/advanced players eager to refine their techniques and deepen their understanding of the game.
