Page 18 - BB201111

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18
B
ETTER
V
OL
. 16, N
O
. 2
B
RIDGE
N
OVEMBER
/D
ECEMBER
2011
You have two sure diamond losers,
and you are missing the K and Q.
To avoid losing two heart tricks, the
best play is to plan to take repeated
finesses in hearts. This will work if
West has the K, or the Q, or both
the K and Q. It will only lose if
East has both the K and Q. That
gives you a 75% chance of success.
Win the first trick with the K, and
lead the J. If West plays the 2,
play a low heart from dummy.
On the
actual layout, the J wins, and you
lose only one heart trick. If the J
had lost to the Q or K in the East
hand, you would plan to repeat the
finesse after regaining the lead.
Look-Alikes
by Audrey Grant
A 7 3
A 10 8 4
Q J 3
Q 7 4
K 6
J 9 7 6 3
9 5
A K J 6
N
W
E
S
L
EAD
: 2
A 7 3
A 10 8 4
Q J 3
Q 7 4
Q10 8 2
J 9 5 4
K Q 2
5
K 7 4 2
A 10 8 6
8 5
10 9 3 2
K 6
J 9 7 6 3
9 5
A K J 6
N
W
E
S
C
ONTRACT
:
4
C
ONTRACT
:
4
Deal 1
Deal 2
Again, you have two diamond losers
and two potential heart losers. But
the spade lead gives you a chance to
discard a diamond loser. It is now
better to give up on the best play in
the heart suit and concentrate on
discarding the loser. You can afford
to lose two heart tricks.
Win the first lead with the J, and
take the K. Play a heart to dummy’s
A, and play the A, discarding a
diamond. Now lead a second heart.
If the hearts divide 2–2 or the K or
Q falls on the first round, you make
an overtrick. On the actual layout,
you have to lose two heart tricks, and
you just make the contract.
These deals look similar. In
both, you are the declarer in a
contract of 4 . West leads the
2.
The only difference is that
South’s 6 on the first hand
has been replaced by the J
on the second hand.
Q
UESTION
Does possession of the J
make any difference to how
you plan to play the contract?
Cover the bottom part of the page while you plan the play.
A 7 3
A 10 8 4
Q J 3
Q 7 4
Q 10 8 2
9 6 5 4
2
K Q 5
K 7 4 2
A 10 8 6
10 8 5 2
9 3
K J
J 9 7 6 3
9 5
A K J 6
N
W
E
S
C
ONTRACT
:
4
A 7 3
A 10 8 4
Q J 3
Q 7 4
K J
J 9 7 6 3
9 5
A K J 6
N
W
E
S
L
EAD
: 2
C
ONTRACT
:
4