Finesse on partner sometimes right

Press, 23 February 1977, Page 14

Finesse on partner sometimes right

One of the most interesting! features of European bridge: , in recent years has been the i rise of the Israeli team. W'.th a compartively small bridge playing population and only , few opportunities of com- : peting against top class comi petition, Israel has nevertheless been challenging for the European championship cn several occasions and last ' year won a place in the world championship. Its achievement in finishing third, and eighth in the World Olympiad which followed was most creditable. In the opinion of most ob- ! servers the star performI ances came from the youngest pair, Lev and Romik. It is not surprising then that Schmuel Lev of Tel Aviv was invited to take part in this year’s Bols competition, run by the International Bridge Press- Association in conjunction with the Dutch com- j pany. In competing for the .$lOOO first prize Lev has put for-, ward a tip which will be ofj considerable value to average j players and will give many of them a completely new i slant on defensive tactics. ‘ Recalling that in our begin-1 ning years we are all taught ' i not to finesse against ouri I partner, which is an alterna- i | tive way to say “Third hand i plays high,” Lev points out Ithat it can on quite frequent I occasions be very good play; for third hand to play the; lower of non-touching honours even when dummy has a worthless holding in the suit led. A common situation occurs in no-trumps when it is often vital to drive out the declarer’s stopper on the first!

round so that the suit can be cashed when the defenders regain the lead: A'J 10 9 V AK92 ♦ KQ 10 3 A 53 w. E. A 5 A KQB62 V 43 V Q 876 ♦98742 <5 A J 9 8 4 2 A A Q 7 S. A A 743 V J 10 5 ♦ A,I 6 A K 10 6 Against South’s contract of three no-trumps West leads the four of clubs, if East plays the ace and continues with the queen South will hold up until East’s clubs are exhausted. Then when East regains the lead he win not be able to put his partner on play. Looking ahead, therefore, on the first round of clubs East plays the queen. The declairer, uncertain who holds the ace, will almost certainly win the trick with his king. Counting eight tricks in top cards, one club, four diamonds, two hearts and a spade, he will turn to hearts for the ninth. Hoping that West holds the queen, South will lead the jack of hearts and play low from dummy. When East wins this trick he will be able to play the ace of clubs followed by the seven to his partner’s jack, allowing the remainder of the suit to be cashed and the contract defeated. Sometimes the opportunity to finesse against partner is taken in order to create an entry to his hand. The next deal provides an example:

A Q.J72 V 1094 ♦ KQ J 10 A AQ W. E. A 5 A A 4 V J 5 3 2 V A Q 8 6 ♦ 9.3 2 ♦ AB4 A 8 7 6 5 4 AK93 2 S A K 10 9 8 6.3 V K 7 ♦ 765 A J 10 After East had opened the bidding with one heart. South became the declarer in a slightly optimistic contract of four spades. West leads the two of hearts, suggesting a holding of four to a top honour. East therefore plays the queen forcing out the king. When the declarer starts to draw trumps, East takes his ace and can now lead a small heart to his partner’s jack. This provides the vital entry for a club lead through the ace and queen and in due course the defenders will score a trick in every suit. If East on the first trick had made the routine play of the ace of hearts, the king would have taken the second round and there would have been no way to pass the lead to the West. hand. The defenders then would have been restricted to one trick in spades, one in hearts and another in diamonds, for the declarer’s second club would have been discarded on dummy’s long diamonds. Lev’s Bols tip then is, do not automatically play “third hand high,” as by finessing a lower honour you may find a way of defeating the contract.