IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny

One of the most common mistakes declarers make is playing too quickly to trick one.  Here is a good example of that very problem. 

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)
Hand #35
Dlr   E
Vul none
S K87
H QJ
D A105
C KQJ109
S J1065432
H A10
D KJ
C A8
    
S 9
H 87432
D 9763
C 652

S AQ
H K965
D Q842
C 743
West North
 East
 South


Pass
 Pass
    1S     2C    Pass
    2NT
    Pass    3NT
    Pass
    Pass
    Pass
   


                                                                                                    
BIDDING:  North might have tried 1NT rather than overcall in a five-card suit.  South had an easy 2NT bid and North carried on to game. 

PLAY:  West led a spade and declarer saw his game was not in danger.  But, this was a pairs event where overtricks are important so he stopped to consider the best plan.  It seemed right to knock out the ace of clubs but he realized that a second spade return would eliminate the only entry back to his hand.  Instead, he led a low heart and was delighted when the ten was played.  A second heart brought the ace and the spade return put him back in his hand to cash the other two high hearts.  Now he led a club and he had eleven tricks: 3 spades, 3 hearts, 1 diamond, and 4 clubs. 

His score of +460 was a great result since most N/S pairs only took nine tricks. 

Copyright ©2009 Larry Matheny.