Deal Of The Week: June 4, 2024
Declarer's main advantage in cardplay is the ability to see the 26 cards his side has, and combine the two hands to their best potential. Defenders cannot see one another's hands and have to figure out what partner might have in order to make their assets work together effectively. But there is one tool that both sides have in theory, but on most hands the defenders can get more out of it than declarer can.
Clues from the auction itself tend to be more available to the defending side, since the declaring side, in bidding to its final contract, usually leaves more clues than the ones the defenders leave. It's harder work, because you need to work out, sometimes from the bidding and from the cardplay, what declarer's thirteen cards are, then work out from that what partner began with, then work out from that what the best defense is, and wait for a chance to put it in action. But when it does work, it can be quite satisfying.
Not much to go on. Sorry about that.
Partner's 7♣ at trick one cannot be an encouraging signal, must be a count signal, showing an even number of clubs. Declarer's rebid of 2♣ therefore must be a four-card suit, headed by the ace-king, probably AK98.
Declarer opened 1♦ before rebidding 2♣. This could be a four-card suit, but with ♣AK98 it seems unlikely: most players will open their best minor with 4-4, to suggest a lead if partner is on lead later. So we can give declarer at least five diamonds.
Declarer responded to the 2♥ rebid from responder with 2NT, but did not rebid 1NT. After a fourth-suit forcing bid in this sequence, declarer will first try to show three-card support for responder's major, then as a secondary goal, show a stopper in the fourth suit. Dummy has ♥AKJ9, so the only card in declarer's hand that could be a stopper is the Q♥. Queen-doubleton would be rather dubious as a stopper, so we can give declarer at least three hearts to the queen. This leaves declarer short in spades, which explains why he did not rebid 1NT originally.
(I cannot stress this enough to newer players: One big step towards better bidding is removing from temptation the idea that you can ever rebid 1NT with a singleton in partner's suit. Remove this temptation and even the rare execution from your auctions, and make sure partner does the same, and you will get to more good spots. If notrump is right, you almost always get a second chance to bid it later: opener bids to describe, and rebidding 1NT with a singleton distorts.)
Now that we've put declarer on something like ♠ x(?) ♥ Q x x ♦ K(?) J(?) x x x ♣ A K 9 8 , we can look at what that gives partner, and the first thing we discover is that partner has five spades. Dummy's spades will control the fifth round, and the fourth as well if partner overtakes our J♠.
Attacking diamonds first probably gives declarer five to the king or even five to the king-jack, leaving four diamonds for partner. Will partner have an entry in diamonds? Possibly, partner may have the J♦ or even four to the eight, which might be a fourth round winner.
How many tricks does declarer have and need? Three clubs, four hearts, and assuming declarer has the K♦, at least one diamond. If declarer has the J♦ we cannot prevent declarer from winning two diamonds. To have any hope of beating this, partner needs the J♦.
That's a lot of information so far, but there is another snag. If you've followed along so far, you'r e probably coming to the conclusion that the best defense is to grab the ace of diamonds now and switch to spades. But if we play A♠ and a second spade, partner will probably overtake the jack, limiting us to three spades and setting up dummy's spades for additional tricks for declarer. There's a better way. Win the A♦ and switch to the J♠. If partner has the hoped for ♠KQxxx and the J♦, partner will probably let this ride, expecting declarer to win the ace perhaps. When the jack wins, cash the A♠, and exit with the T♦, which declarer will win with the king. Declarer is limited to one diamond trick, and partner is poised to cash three more tricks when in with a spade or the J♦. If declarer plays on clubs, you win the fourth round and lead another club, then a heart and declarer can take the heart tricks, but then must lead a spade to partner and go down.
It's true; declarer might have the K♠, the J♦, or the Q♠, or even six diamonds. But in these cases, 3NT will make easily. Here's the whole hand:
Declarer erred in playing the Q♦ from dummy at trick two. The 9♦ would be better. If partner covers with the jack, all is not lost; partner may have the 8♦ as a later entry.
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