The successful declarer uses his resources wisely. One of the
most valuable assets is an entry when it is needed. Take a look.
Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)
Hand #2
Dlr
E
Vul
Both
A2
J4
Q876
AJ752
K1085
AKQ1092
K83
QJ643
873
5
Q1064
97
65
AKJ109432
9
West
North
East
South
Pass
4
4
5
All Pass
BIDDING: As is often the
case where a preempt is involved, it's not always clear who can make
what. However, North was sure he did not want to defend when his
side likely held twelve diamonds.
PLAY: West started with
the top two hearts tricks. East played the three (count) on the
first one and followed with the eight (suit preference) on the second
one. West shifted to a spade at trick three and declarer won the
ace. Declarer saw the only way to avoid another spade loser was
to find the opponents' clubs dividing 4-3. At trick four, he
played the ace of clubs followed by a club ruff in his hand with a high
trump. Then he led the diamond nine to dummy's queen and ruffed
another club high. It was simple now to lead another diamond to
dummy, ruff the fourth club high, and then return with a diamond to
discard his low spade on dummy's fifth club. It was essential for
declarer to keep his small diamonds as entries to dummy.
If East-West had competed to the five-level, it would take a club ruff
to defeat them.
