A final hand from the Teams event the other week for you to mull over. Rotated again so that you play South, vulnerable against not, you open the hand below a slightly under-strength intermediate 2 and quickly find yourself in 4. West leads the diamond two (playing standard ACOL leads).
South Dealer
NS Vulnerable
4 by S
North
Q 4 3
K Q J 9 4
A K 10
9 7
South
A 9 8 7 5 2
7 3
8 5
A J 4
You take the lead with a top diamond. What line do you take next?
Playing K hearts seems like a standard technique here - we do not have communication for playing hearts twice to the table (hoping to discard 2 clubs eventually). As opponents did not interfere during the bidding, they are unlikely to hold singleton heart - and even if they do, they're likely to play a club (or a diamond) after winning the heart.
ReplyDeleteKING OF HEARTS WILL SHOW WHO HAS THE ACE - IF EAST HAS IT HE ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL WIN BECAUSE HE DOESNT KNOW YOU DONT HAVE A SINGLETON AND IF WEST HAS IT AND DUCKS EAST WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU A COUNT IN THE SUIT ANYWAY ANOTHER POINT IS WEST IS THE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SPADE LENGTH FOR HIS DIAMOND LEAD INDICATES 4 AND IS PROBABLY BALANCED SO IF EAST WINS THE ACE HE ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL SWITCH TO A CLUB WHICH YOU DUCK AS THEY MAY NOW SWITCH BACK TO DIAMONDS - THE FEELS LIKE WEST HAS THREE TRUMPS TO THE KING AND IN PRICIPLE THAT IS WHAT I AM CATERING FOR.
ReplyDeleteSo when the heart king holds, we cross back to hand with a spade and play a heart towards table then I guess. Trouble still follows if the defence don't take a heart ruff, but instead knock out the diamond ace. We have to (I guess we will...) ruff the third diamond to hand to play a spade to the queen and we're home on spades 2=2 as well as 3=1 onside.
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