Hand of the Week, Vol. 2 No. 8

This deal from the Friday 27 March game gave the defenders a chance to shine. Sad to say, none of them (including me, embarrassingly) took advantage of the opportunity.

At all three tables, East was declaring in spades. A typical, though not necessarily recommended, auction was

West	North	East	South
			1
Pass	1NT	2	3
3	Pass	Pass	Pass

leaving South on lead with

9 6
K Q 9 8 6 2
A J 6
K 6

Partner has some scattered face cards, but has at most 3 spades and at most 2 hearts, so his values are likely in the minors. The standout opening lead is the K. A rather shapeless dummy comes down:

K 7 2
J T 5
Q 8 5 4
5 4 2

If North knew that this was a doubleton, he could let the king win the first trick, win the next two tricks with the AQ, and then switch to a heart through declarer's ace. If fact, North doesn't know whether the king is a singleton or a doubleton, so North's most sensible plan is to overtake the king with the ace, cash the queen, and lead the 3 for South to ruff. This is the moment of truth for South: what to lead to trick 4?

Dealer South EW vul	T 8 4 7 3 T 7 3 A Q T 8 3
K 7 2 J T 5 Q 8 5 4 5 4 2		A Q J 5 3 A 4 K 9 2 J 9 7
	9 6 K Q 9 8 6 2 A J 6 K 6

If South is the sort of person who blindly follows suit-preference signals, he'll say to himself, "ah, partner led his smallest club, he wants a diamond shift," and will now play ace and another (preferably the jack) diamond. That would work beautifully if North had the K. The problem is that just because North said he likes diamonds better than hearts doesn't mean North has the K. As it turns out, North has no additional face cards anywhere.

A more careful South will realize that if the AK are cashing, they aren't going anywhere -- but if North doesn't have the K, taking the A now may allow declarer to pitch a losing heart on the 13th diamond. South needs to lead the K at trick four, establishing the setting trick in hearts, while he still has the A as an entry. Guaranteeing down one, while still getting down two if partner has the king, is much better than setting the contract if partner has the king and letting it make if he doesn't.

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