Pat Harrington
If you play your cards right, you can sometimes guarantee a second notrump stopper in the suit led by your opponents. You may have to maneuver the play to keep one opponent off lead. Plan the play on the first deal. You are in 3NT. West leads the ♣4. Dummy’s ♣9 wins trick one.
♠ A Q J 10
♥ 6 3
♦ A Q J 8
♣ J 10 9
♠ 6 4
♥ A Q J 10
♦ K 10 9 3
♣ K 5 3
Count winners — one spade, one heart, the ♣9 and four diamonds. You could promote the Q-J-10 in either major to get the needed two tricks, but it’s better to finesse.
A successful finesse could build three extra tricks, but there is an even more important reason to go for the needed tricks by finessing. Do you have a second club stopper? It depends on which opponent gains the lead. The fact that your ♣9 won the first trick tells you that West almost certainly has the missing high clubs.
If East gains the lead, a club return will trap your king and might allow West to run enough club tricks to set you. That makes East the opponent you want to keep off lead.
If the spade finesse loses, East will get in. Who will get in if the heart finesse loses? West — the player who cannot attack your ♣K. So go for the needed tricks in hearts. The full deal:
| ♠ A Q J 10 | ||
| ♥ 6 3 | ||
| ♦ A Q J 8 | ||
| ♣ J 10 9 | ||
| ♠ 8 7 2 | ♠ K 9 5 3 | |
| ♥ K 7 4 | ♥ 9 8 5 2 | |
| ♦ 6 2 | ♦ 7 5 4 | |
| ♣ A Q 7 4 2 | ♣ 8 6 | |
| ♠ 6 4 | ||
| ♥ A Q J 10 | ||
| ♦ K 10 9 3 | ||
| ♣ K 5 3 |
If you finesse in hearts, West can win but he cannot get East on lead.
On the next deal, you must make he right play at trick one and come up with a plan to guarantee your contract. You are in 3NT as South. West leads the ♥3. East wins the opening lead with the ♥A and returns the ♥4.
♠ K Q 10 8
♥ Q 2
♦ Q J 9
♣ Q J 10 8
♠ J 3
♥ J 8 6
♦ A K 10 4
♣ A 9 7 3
What is the right play at trick one? Play a low heart from dummy. This guarantees that you will have a heart stopper. If East has no high hearts, your jack will win trick one. Even if East plays the ♥A or ♥K, you still have a stopper so long as you played low from dummy at trick one. That’s one hurdle overcome! Counting the heart trick, you have six winners (four diamonds, one club and one heart). You need three more. Your options: promote spades — a sure way to build three tricks — or finesse in clubs.
It’s clear to go after spades provided you are not afraid of losing the lead. Are you? Not if you analyze the ♥3 lead carefully. It looks like fourth best. If it is, the defenders can take no more than three heart tricks (East’s return of the ♥4 at trick two supports the notion that hearts are 4–4). So
there’s your plan: drive out the ♠A to make your contract.
The full deal:
| ♠ K Q 10 8 | ||
| ♥ Q 2 | ||
| ♦ Q J 9 | ||
| ♣ Q J 10 8 | ||
| ♠ 9 5 4 | ♠ A 7 6 2 | |
| ♥ K 10 5 3 | ♥ A 9 7 4 | |
| ♦ 8 6 2 | ♦ 7 5 3 | |
| ♣ K 6 2 | ♣ 5 4 | |
| ♠ J 3 | ||
| ♥ J 8 6 | ||
| ♦ A K 10 4 | ||
| ♣ A 9 7 3 |
A club finesse will lose, and the defense will take three hearts and the ♠A to defeat you. Success in playing a notrump contract involves more than counting winners. You must consider stoppers in the suit led and in other suits, and you must decide if and how often you can afford to lose the lead. Analyze the opening lead carefully to determine your opponents’ holdings in that suit. The more you practice doing these things, the more successful you will be.