HOW TO AVOID GUESSING
The best way to guess the location of a missing Queen is to enlist the help of the opposition, and so not to guess at all.
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3♣(*) | 3NT |
West led his singleton of partner’s Clubs, to the 8, 10 and Ace (declarer winning straight away – surely East would not have opened 3♣ with a five-bagger). At trick two, declarer led a Diamond to the 10, and a Diamond back to the Jack, West taking his Ace.
At trick four, West switched to the King of Hearts, declarer ducking. Unsure who held the Jack of Hearts, West then switched to a safe Diamond, leaving declarer ostensibly to guess who held the Queen of Spades.
Declarer was unwilling to make that Spade guess. Instead, he cashed the Ace of Hearts and when West failed to unblock his Queen, cashed the fourth Diamond and exited with a third Heart (key play). West won his Queen and could cash his long Diamond. However, West was then forced to open up Spades (those were his last four cards), presenting declarer with a free guess. Game made.
That was clever play by declarer. Left to his own devices, declarer would surely have played the non-pre-emptor for the lady.
Tremendous Tal
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2♣(1) | |||
| Pass | 2♦(2) | Pass | 3♠(3) |
| Pass | 4♣(4) | Pass | 6♠ |
(2) Generally wiser to make the conventional negative/waiting bid even with positive values (unless you have a good five-card suit).
(3) Setting trumps and asking for Ace showing control bids.
(4) Ace of Clubs.
West led a Club against 6 Spades, and declarer, the young Israeli Dana Tal, won dummy’s Ace and immediately ruffed a Club. She crossed to the 10 of Spades and ruffed the last Club. Having eliminated Clubs, she then led her singleton Heart.
West had to rise with the Ace of Hearts (or he’d lose it) but, with Clubs eliminated and sensibly unwilling to lead a Diamond from the Queen, could do no better than lead a second (low) Heart to the 8, Jack and a ruff. Declarer crossed to the Jack of Spades and cashed the King of Hearts. When the Queen fell, declarer could enjoy the promoted 10 of Hearts. Away went two Diamonds, and that was twelve tricks and slam made. Had West exited with the Queen of Hearts, declarer could win dummy’s King, and take a ruffing finesse against East’s Jack.
Note that declarer could not afford to draw a second Spade before leading up the singleton Heart. If the King lost to East’s Ace, declarer would need to cross to a second Spade and lead a Diamond to the Jack, potentially needing a third Spade in dummy to ruff a fourth Diamond (if East held ♦Q98x).
For all Andrew’s daily BridgeCasts, see andrewrobsonbridgecast.com
