A good declarer looks at all of his options before deciding upon the
best line of play. And, when it's a matchpoint event, overtricks
are especially important. Take a look.
Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)
Hand #1
Dlr
E
Vul
N/S
J9843
K62
KQ106
10
K65
J10
J9753
765
72
987543
8
9842
AQ10
AQ
A42
AKQJ3
West
North
East
South
Pass
2
Pass
2*
Pass
4NT
Pass
6NT
All Pass
*Controls: Either one ace or two kings
BIDDING: South held a
huge hand and as soon as he discovered his partner held two kings, he
knew slam was likely. His rebid of 4NT showed 25-26 HCP and
it was a simple matter for North to do the math and bid the slam.
PLAY: West led the jack of hearts and declarer quickly
counted twelve tricks: one spade, three hearts, three diamonds,
and five clubs. This was a matchpoint (pairs) event so now it
became a question of making the overtrick. South saw he could
either take the spade finesse or first see if the diamond suit was
going to be polite. He won the heart lead in his hand with the
queen and then played the ace to unblock the suit. Next it was a
diamond to dummy's king and a low one back to his ace. When East
showed out on the second round, the subsequent diamond finesse gave him
all thirteen tricks.
Those pairs who ended in a spade slam were forced to take the losing
spade finesse but what was surprising was the number of pairs in 6NT
who also tried the finesse. I guess it was just too tempting to
refuse. Finesses should be the last resort, not the first.
*