IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny

 

The expert will take a finesse only when all other options have been eliminated.  Here is a hand where the declarer found out everything he needed to succeed without taking a finesse.

 

 

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)

#11-19

Dlr

S

Vul

N/S

S

AQ2

H

AQ

D

9865

C

A842

S

J10843

H

J74

D

KJ2

C

65

  pad  

S

9

H

96532

D

10743

C

J107

 

S

K765

H

K108

D

AQ

C

KQ93

West

North

East

South

   

   

  

    1NT

  Pass  

  4NT      

 Pass

    6NT

   Pass      Pass       Pass     

       

   

 

 

 

BIDDING:  North invited slam with his raise to 4NT and South with a maximum accepted.

 

PLAY:  West led the jack of spades and declarer counted eleven tricks: 3 spades, 3 hearts, 1 diamond, and (hopefully) 4 clubs.  The obvious chances for a twelfth trick were for the spades to break 3-3 or the diamond king to be in the East hand.  Declarer decided to find out more about the hand.  He won the spade queen, unblocked dummy’s two hearts, followed by four rounds of clubs.  West discarded a spade and a diamond on the last two clubs while East pitched a heart.  On the king of hearts West followed with the jack and declarer next led a spade to dummy as East discarded the last heart.  It was now clear that West remained with two spades and two diamonds.  Declarer simply played a spade to the king and the last one to West’s ten.  Poor West now had to lead a diamond into declarer’s AQ. 

 

There was really nothing difficult about this hand.  Declarer just had to play his winning tricks and count.

 

 

Copyright ©2011 Larry Matheny