MEMORIES OF FAILURE
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Make this week’s Four Hearts and my team reaches the Gold Cup final. I did not.
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♦ | 1♠ | ||
| 1NT | 2♠ | 3♦ | 3♥ |
| Pass | 4♥(*) |
West led a Diamond to East’s Ace and East switched to the 10 of Spades, a clear singleton. Winning in dummy, I needed to draw East’s trumps or I would suffer a Spade ruff. I cashed the King then Queen of Hearts, but could no longer make – releasing both dummy’s top Hearts proved fatal when the defense led Diamonds both times they won a top Club, so promoting West’s Jack of Hearts.
I needed East to hold two trumps in order to have a chance. Let us replay the deal. I win the Spade, cash the King of Hearts then lead over to the Ace. Leaving West’s third trump out, I then ruff out West’s Spades to set up my fifth card. Next I lead a Club. If West wins and leads his last Heart, I win in dummy and lead a second Club to set up my third-round winner. If instead the defense plays a Diamond, I ruff, play the 8 of Spades, ruffed and overruffed, and a Club.
Happy Hargreave
My friend Giles Hargreave, Head of Canaccord Fund Management, is a fine card-play practitioner. Watch his excellent play on this 4 Spades a few years back on one of our idyllic weeks of high-stake bridge at the late Stuart and Tessa Wheeler’s villa in Tangier.
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♠ | |||
| Pass | 2♠ | Pass | 4♠(*) |
West led the 10 of Diamonds to East’s Queen. Declarer won the Ace and was staring at two trump losers and a second-round Diamond. Needing, therefore, to avoid a Heart loser, his only shot (playing the suit himself) was for West to hold a singleton or doubleton King. Unlikely – and Hargreave sought better.
At tricks two, three and four, declarer made the key plays of cashing the three top Clubs, thereby eliminating the suit. He then exited with the Jack of Diamonds. East won the King, and exited with a trump to West’s bare Ace, but then what?
A Heart lead could be run to declarer’s Queen, avoiding a loser (later finessing dummy’s Jack). A minor-suit lead would enable declarer to ruff (high) in dummy, throwing a Heart from hand; after removing East’s trumps (losing to the King), a simple Heart finesse would then land the game.
Nicely played, leaving West wish he had found the unusual lead of the bare Ace of trumps, followed by a Diamond switch (the only way to beat the game).
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