Page 9 - BB201111

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B B
9
B
ETTER
V
OL
. 16, N
O
. 2
B
RIDGE
N
OVEMBER
/D
ECEMBER
2011
On this next deal, we open the
bidding 1 , but that doesn’t stop the
opponents from reaching 3NT:
W
EST
N
ORTH
E
AST
S
OUTH
1
1NT
Pass 3NT All Pass
Partner leads our suit, the 2, and
we must decide on our defensive
plan when dummy comes down.
What does the 2 tell us about
partner’s heart holding? It can’t be top
of a doubleton because there is no
card lower than the 2. It’s unlikely
to be a singleton, since that would
give declarer a five-card heart suit
for the 1NT overcall. So it looks as
though partner has led low from
three or more cards, leaving declarer
with at most three hearts.
So, we can establish our hearts by
playing three rounds of the suit, and
we will have the
A
as an entry.
Here is the full deal:
After winning a heart trick, declarer
has six club tricks to take and the A,
but can’t make 3NT without leading
a diamond. We win the A and take
our hearts to defeat the contract. We
get four heart tricks and the A.
This seems too easy. It seems natural
and automatic to continue leading the
suit we bid and partner led. However,
there’s more to it. Consider this next
deal where the auction is the same,
and our hand and dummy remain the
same. The only change is that partner
leads the 9 instead of the 2.
How does the lead of the 9 affect
our thinking? It can’t be low from an
honor. Partner would lead the Q
from Q–J–9, and low from a holding
such as J–9–2. It must be from short-
ness, a singleton or top of a doubleton.
That means declarer
has at least four hearts
headed by the Q–J. If
we continue the suit,
declarer will get two
heart tricks to go with dummy’s six
club tricks. And declarer will have
plenty of time to establish an extra
trick in spades or diamonds.
So, we should win the first trick
with the
K
and switch to a spade
,
hoping the deal is something like this:
We drive out declarer’s A and get
three spades, the A–K and the A
before declarer can establish enough
tricks to make the contract.
This final deal shows the importance
of translating the meaning of partner’s
lead based on whether partner has
supported our suit. The opponents
reach 3NT after this auction:
W
EST
N
ORTH
E
AST
S
OUTH
1
1NT
2 3NT All Pass
Having raised our suit, partner
leads the 8. What’s this all about.
We know partner has at least three-
card support. Can partner be leading
low from an honor? No. Partner
would lead the 3 from a holding
such as K–8–3, or the
K from K–Q–8.
Partner’s lead must be
‘top of nothing’ from
three or more cards with
no honor (see chart on opposite page).
So declarer must have both the K
and Q. Continuing to lead spades is
unlikely to get us enough tricks in
time to defeat the contract.
We should
win the
A
and shift to a club
, hoping
for a layout like this:
We trap declarer’s Q and get four
club tricks to go with the A. If we
had continued leading spades, declarer
would have taken nine tricks!
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 8 4
10 8
Q 5
A Q 10 9 7 6
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
K 7 3
Q 6 5 2
9 6 2
A K 7 4 3
9 8 6 2
A 7 3
4 3 2
5
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
A J 9
Q J 5
K J 10 4
K J 8
N
W
E
S
Contract:
3NT
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 8 4
10 8
Q 5
A Q 10 9 7 6
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
Q 6 5 2
A K 7 4 3
A 7 3
5
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
N
W
E
S
L
EAD
: 2
Contract:
3NT
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 8 4
10 8
Q 5
A Q 10 9 7 6
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
Q 6 5 2
A K 7 4 3
A 7 3
5
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
N
W
E
S
L
EAD
: 9
Contract:
3NT
Continue the suit led or
switch to another? The
card partner leads can
provide the answer!
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 8 4
10 8
Q 5
A Q 10 9 7 6
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
K J 7 3
Q 6 5 2
9 2
A K 7 4 3
9 8 6 2
A 7 3
4 3 2
5
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
A 9
Q J 6 5
K J 10 4
K J 8
N
W
E
S
Contract:
3NT
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 2
K 8 3
A Q 10 9 6
8 6 3
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
A J 9 7 5
Q J
8 5 4
A 7 4
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
N
W
E
S
L
EAD
: 8
Contract:
3NT
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
10 2
K 8 3
A Q 10 9 6
8 6 3
W
EST
(P
ARTNER
)
E
AST
(U
S
)
8 6 3
A J 9 7 5
9 6 5 4 2
Q J
7
8 5 4
K J 5 2
A 7 4
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
K Q 4
A 10 7
K J 3 2
Q 10 9
N
W
E
S
Contract:
3NT