IMPROVE YOUR PLAY

with Larry Matheny

 

One of the most frequent mistakes made when declaring or defending is a hasty play to trick one.  It usually pays to develop a plan before making your first decision.  This hand drives home that important point.

 

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)

#12-01

Dlr

E

Vul

E/W

S

KQ8

H

A975

D

J108

C

753

S

AJ1032

H

J8

D

76

C

10984

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S

 9765

H

 Q10

D

 KQ954

C

 AQ

 

S

4

H

K6432

D

A32

C

KJ62

West

North

East

South

 

 

    1D

1H

1S

2D

 2S

4H

Pass

Pass

Pass

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIDDING:  After North made a cue bid to show an invitational hand with heart support, South made a bold jump to game.

 

PLAY:  West led the seven of diamonds covered by the jack, queen, and ace.  Declarer drew trumps followed by a low spade from his hand.  West hopped up with the ace and returned his other diamond.  East won the nine and queen and quickly cashed the ace of clubs for down one.  Declarer erred by winning the first diamond.  If instead he follows with a low diamond from his hand, East has no good answer.  He will probably play two rounds of clubs but South will win, draw trumps, and then lead a spade toward dummy.  West can duck or win the ace but this lucky game will succeed.

 

 

 

Copyright ©2012 Larry Matheny