Bridge is a game where your skill as a player is tested almost on every deal that is a bit challenging. Most of the deals are routine. Some have a bit of a problem with an adverse opening lead. At times you feel pinched when the defense is extraordinarily brilliant which deprives you of your otherwise rightly played contract. But the greatest pleasure a Bridge player can derive is when he executes a play in a challenging contract of Bridge which being the only way the contract could come home. That is indeed a moment of fulfilment as was experienced by a well known Bridge expert on the following hand which was indeed a challenge for him to display his Bridge prowess.
The NS hands are shown below along with the bidding as under:
The bidding proceeds as under:
The opening head is the KS. Can you plan your play and try to match your Bridge talent with that of our declarer in the south seat?
As you view the dummy, at first glance you count your winners: 6 trumps in hand, the 2 black aces which make 8. Two tricks need to the developed from the diamond and club suits. But the question is how? The diamond king can be placed right as your RHO is the opener. So that leaves you with the problem of finding the 10th trick. The 3 clear losers that you can see are the 2 in diamonds and 1 in spades. So it comes down to the challenge of how you tackle the club suit. The average declarer would not give it a second thought and might well sink straight away into the club finesse.
But a little thought on the opening bid leaves east holding the vital KC - why? Because without it he has no opening bid after KS from west leaving him the remaining points of QS, AQJ of diamonds JC and the KC which total 13. He could well open with 11, if we cancel his jack holdings but surely without KC, his points are not enough to think of an opening.
What do you plan, now that the problem has been identified? If only you could get the clubs established somehow, you could park one of your diamond losers to make your contract. But I am afraid the dummy does not have sufficient entries to establish the club suit with only 2 entries knowing the QC finesse will not hold.
In Bridge when all seems a lost cause, the wary declarer never gives up and still clutches on to the very last straw to save himself from drowning. Look at the problem logically. The diamond loser can only go on the QC winner as the club suit cannot be established for lack of entries. But the QC is a dead duck on the inference of the opening on your right. So where lies the solution? Yes, it is possible only if east holds the doubleton king of clubs.
Suppose these are the west - east hands:-
So now after the winning the ace of spades, draw trumps and lead a club towards dummy to duck it altogether. That is the key play. At best east can do is to win the 10C, cash QS and lead another spade for you to ruff.
Now when you cash the AC, the KC drops and you have your diamond discard on the QC and the contract in the making. Placing doubleton KC on your right is within the odds since east holds 6+ spades, 2 trumps and is most likely to have fewer clubs than west. So in Bridge develop the will to fight to the very end.
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N S W E
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865 AJ K7 Q109432
A9 KQJ654 1032 87
543 K87 10962 AQJ
AQ642 73 J985 K10
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W N E S
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- - 1S 2H
P 3H P 4H
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ALL PASS
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