Bridge is a game of wits. Of course logic and reasoning, being two elemental ingredients of intellect, need to be in plentiful if one is to emerge as a good, sound Bridge player in keeping with the maximum that "Bridge is a game of intellect." But more often than not, Bridge is a game of judgement. For in the end it is how well you judge the value of your cards and the distribution of the opponents that can lead you to the path of success.
A shot in the dark is rare in Bridge for in Bridge the bidding made plays a vital role in the overall outcome of the game. Even the opening lead can sometimes make a big difference in the sway of the contract is based on what inferences the opening leader can gather from the bidding made. No opening lead can be a success every time, hitting the jackpot. But at times the bidding and the sheer values of the cards held can and should determine as to which opening lead is most likely to yield a favourable result.
This is a two fold problem that is being presented to you today. One pertains to the opening lead and the other is of course the declarer play involved as the best recourse in the making of the contract bid. Both problems are not easy to resolve but nevertheless, all the clues and inferences from the bidding made are clearly visible for you to make a sound judgment.
Let us, therefore, see how you fare in both the problems. Let me first give you the north south hands and test you in the declarer play required to bring home the difficult but not improbable contract of 6S bid by south on the following hands:-
The bidding proceeded as under:
North's 5NT was perplexing. Perhaps he thought 4NT would be taken as Blackwood and feeling that game was somewhere on, be wanted to sign off in 5NT. But south took it as a come on signal and bid 5S against a NT opponent who had already doubled his 5D bid, making his values shrink. But south had taken the plunge and was pretty perturbed to see the dummy with just 3 bare aces and no spade support. It was too late to reverse the tide. He was in icy waters and needed all the odds in his favour if he was to swim ashore.
The opening lead from the doubler was the king of hearts. Place yourself in the south seat and work this out. You have 8 HCP with you opposite 13 in the dummy barely giving you 21 HCP. Half the deck is stacked against you with the doubler sitting over you. How must the cards be distributed to give you a chance - even a slender one?
Let us examine the prospects. Your heart loser can go on the ace of clubs, and if the diamond finesse is on, as it should be, you can muster up a few tricks in it via some sort of a cross ruff. Well here's how the declarer went about with full confidence.
He took the AH, cashed AC, discarding a heart from hand, ruffed a heart to shorten his trumps as the Bridge technique called for, took the diamond finesse of the jack, ruffed the final heart from dummy , took the AD ruffed a club in hand and played third diamond ruffing it with the 4 of spades which held. Now the contract was unbeatable. A club ruff in hand and another diamond ruff in dummy produced the following position.
The 10 tricks had been made and west was stranded with KJ10 of spades for a perfect end play when declarer let the club winner of east ride to west discarding his QD. Neatly done. Ah yes! The second problem of the opening lead. Let me give you a hand and ask you to find an opening lead that could be a killing one.
As west, you hold:
You open 1NT, north doubler and east bids 2H and south 4S. North bids 4NT and south 5D, which you double. Thereupon north bids 5NT and south stretches to 6S, which you double with relish. Your safe opening lead please? KC of KH? - that wont do! Lead trumps and beat 6S just played did you?
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North South
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54 AQ9876
A43 65
AJ Q5432
A65432 -
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North South
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- AQ
- -
- Q
654 -
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W N E S
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-- 1C P 1S
INT Db1 2H 4D
Db1 5NT P 6S
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Db1 ALL PASS
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KJ10
KQJ
L1098
KQJ
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