DECLARER PLAY PROBLEM #13
Rubber bridge
West dealer
North-South vulnerable
| NORTH ♠ K 10 3 ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ 8 7 5 4 2 ♣ A 3 |
||
| SOUTH ♠ A Q J 8 6 4 ♥ A 6 5 ♦ A Q ♣ Q 5 |
| SOUTH | WEST | NORTH | EAST |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| 1 ♠ | Pass | 2 ♠ | Pass |
| 4 ♠ | Pass | Pass | Pass |
West leads the heart four.
Plan the play.
Solution
| NORTH ♠ K 10 3 ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ 8 7 5 4 2 ♣ A 3 |
||
| WEST ♠ 9 7 5 ♥ Q 10 7 4 ♦ K 10 ♣ K 8 7 6 |
EAST ♠ 2 ♥ K J 9 ♦ J 9 6 3 ♣ J 10 9 4 2 | |
| SOUTH ♠ A Q J 8 6 4 ♥ A 6 5 ♦ A Q ♣ Q 5 |
ESCHEW THE FINESSE. Declarer's best play is to establish dummy's fifth diamond for the tenth trick. This line will win whenever the diamonds divide three-three or four-two, or when the king is singleton. This is about an 87% chance. Taking the diamond finesse after winning the first round of trumps in dummy will usually succeed when that finesse wins or diamonds are three-three, but this is under 70%. The long-card establishment plan can be seen to be better without any complex complicated calculation.
To make sure that a club shift does not attack a dummy entry prematurely, South should win the first trick. Then, declarer should cash one high spade (if spades divided four-zero, the diamond establishment plan would have to be abandoned in favor of the diamond finesse). Then, South should continue with the ace and queen of diamonds. Upon regaining the lead, declarer uses two of dummy's black-suit entries to lead diamonds, ruffing in the closed hand high enough to avoid an overruff. After trumps have been drawn, declarer can use dummy's last black-suit entry (which may be the third trump) to cash the long diamond.
(Based on a deal and analysis from the 1963 National Intercollegiate Par-Hand Bridge Tournament by William S. Root and Lawrence Rosler.)
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