Page 2 - BB201111

SEO Version

B B
2
B
ETTER
V
OL
. 16, N
O
. 2
B
RIDGE
N
OVEMBER
/D
ECEMBER
2011
H
ow many tricks would we
expect to take from this suit
in a notrump contract?
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
K Q 5 4 3
W
EST
E
AST
?
?
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
A 2
The answer is...it depends!We have
three sure tricks by starting with the
high card from the short side, the
A. After taking the A–K–Q,
dummy’s remaining two hearts
might be winners if the six missing
hearts are divided exactly 3–3:
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
K Q 5 4 3
W
EST
E
AST
J 9 7
10 8 6
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
A 2
Now we get five tricks. How often
will this happen? Only a little over
1/3 of the time as seen in the first row
of the following table:
The odds actually favor the six
missing cards being divided 4–2, as
shown in the second row. This is in
line with the general guideline when
considering how a suit may divide:
Here we have an even number of
missing cards, so we expect them to
divide slightly unevenly, 4–2.
That doesn’t mean we have to give
up on getting an extra trick from the
suit. Suppose the layout is like this:
N
ORTH
(D
UMMY
)
K Q 5 4 3
W
EST
E
AST
9 7
J 10 8 6
S
OUTH
(D
ECLARER
)
A 2
After taking our A–K–Q, we can
play a fourth round of hearts, giving
up a trick to East’s J. Now dummy’s
remaining heart is a winner. However,
we will need an entry to dummy in
another suit to reach our established
winner after we regain the lead. Then
we’ll get four tricks from the heart
suit instead of just three.
Of course, we can’t always afford
to give up the lead when establishing
a suit through length. Consider this
deal where we have managed to land
in a contract of 6NT and West leads
the K:
We have six sure spade tricks,
three hearts, a diamond, and a club.
That’s eleven. If the missing hearts
are divided 3–3, we’ll get two extra
heart tricks and make an overtrick.
What if hearts divide 4–2, as we
would expect? Then we’d have to
give up a heart to establish the suit.
Unfortunately, when we do that, the
defenders can take their diamond
winners to defeat the contract. So, we
are either going to make an overtrick
in our 6NT contract, or go down!
Now let’s suppose we have bid the
deal a little differently and arrived in
a contract of 6 rather than 6NT. We
still have only eleven top tricks, but
there’s a big difference!
Let’s suppose this is the full deal
in our 6 contract:
We win the A, draw trumps, and
then take our A–K–Q, hoping the
suit is dividing 3–3 so we can throw
away all of our losers. We discard a
diamond loser on the third round of
hearts, but West shows out. Now we
know East still has a heart left.
No problem. We lead a low heart
from dummy, and when East plays
the J, we trump it. Now we cross to
dummy’s A and lead the last heart.
This is now an established winner,
and we can discard either a club or
diamond loser on it. We make our
6 contract...thanks to the help of
the trump suit.
Play of the Hand
Establishing
a Long Suit
...with a little help
from our trumps!
by David Lindop
K 8 5
K Q 5 4 3
8 5 2
A 6
10 9 6
2
9 7
J 10 8 6
K Q 10 6
J 7 3
K Q 10 5
9 8 7 4 2
A Q J 7 4 3
A 2
A 9 4
J 3
N
W
E
S
Contract:
6
K 8 5
K Q 5 4 3
8 5 2
A 6
A Q J 7 4 3
A 2
A 9 4
J 3
N
W E
S
K
Contract:
6NT?
D
IVISION OF
6 M
ISSING
C
ARDS
1)
3–3
35.5%
2)
4–2
48.5%
3)
5–1
14.5%
4)
6–0
1.5%
E
XPECTED
D
IVISION OF
M
ISSING
C
ARDS
An even number of missing cards
tends to divide slightly unevenly.
An odd number of missing cards
tends to divide as evenly as possible.
S
UIT
E
STABLISHMENT
IN
T
RUMP
C
ONTRACTS
The trump suit can be used to help
establish a long suit, often without
giving up a trick to the defenders.