This hand is from last Friday’s Common Game, an event where bridge clubs around the country can play the same hands and compare scores. You know enough about bridge to get this
one right, trust me!
South
2 NT
|
West
Pass
|
North
3 NT
|
East (you)
All pass
|
An auction like that fairly screams for an opening lead in a
major suit; sure enough, partner leads the ♥5. Your partnership leads are top
of nothing, and fourth best from length. It is a matchpoint (pairs) event, so
every trick matters.
North (dummy)
♠ 9
♥ Q J 9
♦ 9 4 3
♣ A Q 9 4 3 2
|
|
East (you)
♠ Q J 7
♥ K 7 6 4
♦ J 10 8
♣ 8 7 6
|
After the ♥5 lead, declarer plays the ♥9. Now
what?
We all learned the beginners' rule of thumb “third hand
high”, but the expert instinct is to duck: a 2NT opening normally has a heart
stopper, likely the ♥A.
If partner’s lead is fourth best, declarer holds ace-doubleton and you should signal
encouragement with the ♥7, keeping the ♥K in
place over dummy’s ♥QJ.
How many high-card points does partner have? With your 7 HCP,
and 9 in dummy, and declarer’s 20-21 for the 2NT opening, that leaves partner
with 3 or 4 points.
By the way, did you notice that the club suit should produce
six tricks for declarer with no need for an outside entry?
Okay, enough time for thought. ♥5 was
led, and the ♥9
from dummy. What do you play?
ANSWER: Play the ♥K. Partner must have the ♥A in order for her ♥5 to be fourth-best. Using the Rule of Eleven – or simply by examining the heart spots that you can see – if the ♥5 is
fourth-best, her only possible holding is ♥ A 10 8 5.
Okay, it is possible that partner’s lead was top of three
small (♥5
3 2). That gives declarer ♥A 10 8 and it doesn't matter which heart you play (except in one very specific and unlikely situation). Ditto if partner led from only two hearts. Since it doesn’t
matter what you play then, ignore those cases. ADDED CLARIFICATION: It doesn't matter because the declarer can score six club tricks here without an outside entry to dummy. If declarer will need an entry to dummy, then keeping your
If partner’s lead was fourth best from four hearts, then
declarer has at most two hearts. If declarer holds ace-doubleton, that means
partner led the 5 from 10 8 5 x, or 10 5 3 2, or even 8 5 3 2.
If partner’s lead was fourth best from a five-card suit,
then declarer almost certainly has the singleton ♥A. (Opening 2NT with a
singleton ace is pretty much routine.) But
that would imply that partner led the 5 from 10 8 5 3 2.
There is a slight chance that partner led low from
ace-third, in which case playing the king is the winning choice.
So the challenge for this hand is who do you trust?
-
Does
declarer have a heart stopper, and partner led second- or third-best, or
-
Did
partner lead correctly, and declarer is missing a heart stopper.
THE PRINCIPLE: When in
doubt, trust your partner, not the opponents. Partner is your only friend at
the table. What if partner is wrong? Trust
partner regardless. Really. Unless you’re 200% positive that partner
has made an error, trust her anyway. The benefits to partnership harmony,
knowing that you’re both paying attention and trusting each other, far outweigh
any short-term gain of maybe being right this time.
The complete hand:
North
♠ 9
♥ Q J 9
♦ 9 4 3
♣ A Q 9 4 3 2
|
||
West
♠ 10 8 6 5 3
♥ A 10 8 5
♦ 7 6 5
♣ 10
|
East (you)
♠ Q J 7
♥ K 7 6 4
♦ J 10 8
♣ 8 7 6
|
|
South
♠ A K 4 2
♥ 3 2
♦ A K Q 2
♣ K J 5
|
This is your only chance to cash two heart tricks; declarer
has the rest of the tricks. If you play the ♥K you’ll get an average-plus
result. If you duck the first trick, you’ll be bottom-fishing for matchpoints.
