IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny
Some hands are just
fun to play. This hand offered an
elimination and end-play that was easy to find and impossible for the opponents
to avoid.
Scoring: Matchpoints
(Pairs)
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BIDDING: My
partner sitting North made a preemptive raise to game.
PLAY: West led the ten of
hearts that I won in dummy. I counted
five possible losers: 3 spades, 1 diamond, and 1 club. I led a club at trick two and East won the
ace. He shifted to the jack of diamonds
and I rose with the ace. Next, I
discarded dummy’s last diamond on my king of clubs and then trumped a club in
dummy. I returned to my hand with a
heart in order to ruff my last diamond.
Now it was back to my hand with a heart in order to lead a spade toward
dummy. When West played a low spade I
put in the nine and East was end-played.
He either had to play another spade or give me a ruff/sluff.
The opportunity to
eliminate the side suits before leading a strategic suit occurs frequently and
should not be overlooked.
Copyright ©2012 Larry Matheny