Today's lesson is one which caters to both - good play and good defence. Bridge is not only an exercise in logical thinking and good judgement, it is in the ultimate analysis a Battle of wits between you and your opponents. More often than not, the human psychology plays a significant part in the outcome of the hand.
For after all it is the human psyche that plays a key role in the decision making, the well known science maxim of 'Every Action having a Reaction' truly applicable to bridge also. For we often see that when declarer plays a certain move, the opponents try to counter it and vice versa. It is a continuous see saw a raging battle whose fortunes keep fluctuating with ever move. The same is true for the attitude. If the declarer plays hastily, the opponents drop their speed to counter it and of course same is true in reverse. Many a time in the normal run of the things, the cards play their natural way and the result is attributed to certain lie of the key cards.
In some rare instances, there comes a challenge wherein the declarer can shine by his extra ordinary play and judgement of card placing and the defence can shine too by putting up a rare and spirited defence to counter declarer's subtle and running moves.
Today's NS hand is a lesson in both, given as under: The bidding is straight forward. 1NT from south and 3NT from north with west leading the 6S. One look at the dummy and south assessed his prospects initially with a quick count of tricks. The spade lead had given him 3 tricks which added to AK of diamonds and AK of hearts give him 7 top tricks with 2 needed. As declarer in the south seat, what are your best chances and why?
As all good declarers think of the pitfalls and dangers looming around, south could forsee the biggest threat coming in the club suit, if the lead came from east and west held the AC over the KC.
Then it could be all over in quick time. Therefore the bridge technique required as the need of the hour was to keep east away from the lead while trying to develop the extra tricks from either diamonds or hearts or both. Of course if KC is right, declarer is almost certain to be home. So it is assumed that in all probability the KC is unfavourably placed.
Since the contract rests on developing more than one extra trick, it was almost imperative for the declarer to deal with dexterity the handling of the diamond suit. If he start with the KD to be followed by 7D looking for a high diamond from west, which could be ducked to keep east away from the lead, west would be alert enough to see through your game and would immediately start to unblock his highest diamond, most probably the QD. Surely if he only has the JD, and east the QD, on JD played from west at even the second diamond, your duck would not help you for east would surely overtake to lead clubs through your king.
It began to dawn on south that the best way to play the diamonds more safely would be leading from the dummy. But if East plays low, to go up with 7D making west stuck with the lead. If east plays high honour you take it with the KD making west most unlikely to drop the QD now. For west would need a 10 second flash pause to see through your plan.
Thus, here speed was of the essence for the declarer flashing KD in no time or west to play low. But to play from dummy you need to be in dummy. Can you risk the AH to lead from dummy? That would create blocking problems with the singleton ace of spades in dummy. If oppenent hit back with a heart, knocking your heart king, you could be cut of from cashing your KS.
Do you frosee, now the correct line? Win with AS in the first place and lead diamond from dummy to stick west with the lead in QD sooner or later - this would be good play. For the defence the rare spirited defence lies in unblocking the QD to the very first trick - tit for tat.
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North South
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A4 S
A102 KJ32
A98432 K654
54 K7
K32
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