Hand of the Week, Vol. 2 No. 29

This week's Hand of the Week, from the Friday 20 November club game, looks at the logic behind a basic defensive play. Everyone vulnerable, you deal yourself

A J T 4
5
Q 9 5
Q 8 5 3 2

You pass, of course; the bidding goes 1 - Pass 1 - Pass - 1NT, and your partner, in a rare lucid moment, leads something that makes you smile: the 2. In the dummy you see

8 5
Q J 8 7 4
A 3
J 9 6 4

What card do you play to this trick? The nursery rhymes say "third hand high" and "don't finesse your partner," so you should go up with your ace and then continue spades. On the actual cards, this wipes out declarer's spade stopper, and 1NT turns into a bloodbath when declarer can't get his hearts set up in time:

Dealer West Both vul	Q 7 6 A T 3 J T 4 2 A K 7
A J T 4 5 Q 9 5 Q 8 5 3 2		K 9 3 2 K 9 6 2 K 8 7 6 T
	8 5 Q J 8 7 4 A 3 J 9 6 4

"But of COURSE I put up the ace of spades and return my partner's lead. That's OBVIOUS!" I hear you saying to yourselves. Yes, it is obvious; but there is a closely related situation that I see people misplay all the time. Move the 9 to West's hand, and give East a small club or diamond. Now the auction may start 1 - Pass - 1 - 1 - 1NT. If East winds up on lead it's still correct to lead the 2, and still correct for West to rise with the ace and continue with the J to trap declarer's queen. Yet many players mistakenly believe they should always lead their highest card in partner's bid suit. Leading high from Kxx in partner's suit does declarer a huge favor by guaranteeing his queen will win a trick.

Returning to the actual hand, North-South would really rather be playing in 2 than in 1NT. Playing simple Standard American, this is a biddable contract: 1 - 1, 1NT - 2, 2. After the 1NT rebid, responder's 2 bid is weak with clubs and hearts, and opener takes a preference back to hearts. It would be a serious mistake for South to bid the mediocre 5-card suit twice all by himself. (At the table, I was South, and I was playing a convention called New Minor Forcing: my 2 rebid would have been artificial and promising at least 11 points, so I had to pass 1NT. And my opponents defended well and earned a top by putting my partner down two. But at two other tables, bad defense allowed 1NT to make.)

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