Two ways to take 12 tricks

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 14

Two ways to take 12 tricks

CONTRACT BRIDGE

By.

J.R. Wignail

In this year’s trials over Easter to select the 1980 national bridge team, one declarer had problems with this hand, but managed to work his way through. East was the dealer with onlyhis side vulnerable:

A little too strung in his system, to open one notrump, South started with one diafriond aiftd West made a bold oVefchll of one spade. North’s th;see hearts created a garpe-forcing situation, and the dealer showed hiS second suit, clubs.

Impressed by his holdings in the two [suits his partner had called, North jumped to five diamonds and South with three aces bid one more for .the road.

On Ifead against six diamonds, West found the best attack of a Itow spadfe, and East’s queen (drove out the ace. The declarer could hardly start drawing tfumps for as soon as he lost to the ‘king of diamonds the defenders would defeat the) contract by cashing the i king of spades. So South begamby trying to dispose of dummy’s lbw spade on one of The high clubs in his own‘‘hand.

The king, ace and queen of clubs were led, but, seeing what wasf coming, West ruffed the qpeen with the two of diamonds. After over-ruffing ih duahmy, the declarer ’ returned. to hand with the ace> of? trumps, and continued with the jack of clubs.. When Wfest l again ruffed,

this time with the jack of diamonds,, but dummy was able tb over-ruff with the queen.

Having failed to dispose of North’s losing spade, the declarer turned his attention to dummy’s heart suit, noting that by this time the only diamond left to the defence, was the king. When the ace, king and quefen of hearts stood up, all his problems were over. East could ruff the established eight of h&atts with the king of diamonds but the declarer discarded tile 10 of spades and the fest of his hand was high. Competent dummy play had landed the optimistic slam.

Elsewhere, the rather more obvious final contract of six hearts was reached, this time played by North. Winding the opening lead with the ace of spades, the declarer drew trumps in three rounds then played off four rounds of clubs discarding a spade and a diamond from his own hand.

All that remained now was to play the diamonds for the loss of one trick only. The way to do this, holding ace, 10 arid nine in one hand and the queen in the other is to take two finesses, in the hope that

either the jack or the king is on side. North thus, returned to hand by ruffing a spade and Irid a diamond to dummy’s nine. West won with the jack, but th 6 declarer trumped the spade continuation and .led another dirimdnd, intending this time to finesse the-10. When the king appeared on his left, however, it was all over and he had his two tricks in diamonds to go with four in clubs, five in hearts and one in spades to add tb 12 for his slam.