Hand of the Week, Vol. 2 No. 30

This hand from the Tuesday 15 December club game is a routine 4 contract that rewarded Norths who declared carefully with an overtrick:

	A K J 4 3 2 9 6 A J 9 K 8
	Q 8 6 5 A Q 7 5 2 3 J T 3

On a small heart opening lead, you try putting in the Q, but third hand wins the king. How will you play the hand if trick two is 1) a small club 2) another heart?

Your contract is secure - at worst you will lose one heart and two clubs. At matchpoints, making four is going to be a (tie for) bottom and making five is going to be a (tie for) top.

1) If East has the AQ it makes no difference what you do. If he has only the A, you need to play low on this trick; if he has only the Q, you need to win your king. Which is more likely? It looks like a 50-50 guess but you do have one clue: East's opening lead was a heart from a jack-high suit. Holding Qxxx, East might have led a club instead. Holding Axx(x) he surely would not. Play someone who avoided leading the suit for the ace, and you you will be right 60 or 70% of the time.

2) This is what actually happened at my table. When you win trick two with the A, you know that hearts are breaking either 3-3 or 4-2, which means you do not have to rely on guessing clubs. Ruff a heart (high, if West follows suit the third time); if hearts are 3-3, ruff your diamonds, pull trumps, and make six, discarding both clubs on good hearts. If hearts are 4-2, you make five by ruffing again and then discarding one club on the 13th heart.

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

On the actual cards, the hearts break 4-2, and the only catch is coping with the 3-0 trump break (which takes care of itself if West burns a trump on one of your heart leads). If West refuses to ruff, you are reduced in the end to playing opening leader for the A, which also works, so everyone who declares sensibly should make five.

As East I would have led either J or a small diamond, not the 3, but declarer still faces the same choices later.

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