Pat Harrington
The opening lead against your notrump contract is a suit in which you hold K–Q–7 opposite two or three low cards in dummy. How many stoppers do you have in this suit? I hope you didn’t say two. You will have two stoppers only if the ace is played by third hand. Most of the time, you will have just one sure stopper. This month, your plan involves how to deal with that second
potential stopper. The contract is 3NT with the ♦6 lead. East follows with the 10.
♠ A J 9 8
♥ 7 5 4 2
♦ 8 3
♣ K Q 2
♠ K 10 5
♥ A 8 6
♦ K Q 7
♣ A J 7 6
Count winners. You have two spades, one heart, one diamond for sure and four clubs. You turn to the spade suit for that one extra trick, but be careful how you play that suit. Suppose you win the first trick. Is there a dangerous opponent? Yes, it’s East. West cannot play diamonds a second time without giving you another trick in the suit. A diamond lead from East, on the other hand, traps your remaining honor and could lead to your demise.
Is there a solution? Build that spade trick so that West is the only player who can gain the lead. Use a high club entry to dummy and lead the ♠9 or ♠8, letting it run if East plays low. It looks awkward to do it that way, but it’s essential. When the finesse wins, you can repeat it. If the finesse loses, you are safe from attack in diamonds. The full deal:
| ♠ A J 9 8 | ||
| ♥ 7 5 4 2 | ||
| ♦ 8 3 | ||
| ♣ K Q 2 | ||
| ♠ 7 3 | ♠ Q 6 4 2 | |
| ♥ K J 3 | ♥ Q 10 9 | |
| ♦ A J 9 6 5 | ♦ 10 4 2 | |
| ♣ 10 9 4 | ♣ 8 5 3 | |
| ♠ K 10 5 | ||
| ♥ A 8 6 | ||
| ♦ K Q 7 | ||
| ♣ A J 7 6 |
Next, you are in 3NT as South. West overcalled your 1♣ opener with 1♠. West leads the ♠J, East following to trick one with a low spade.
♠ 6 4 2
♥ A Q J 9 3
♦ A Q 3 2
♣ J
♠ K Q 7
♥ 10 5
♦ K J 6
♣ A 10 9 8 2
Declarer’s spade suit looks similar to the diamond suit in our first example, but dummy has one more card in the suit, leaving only seven spades for the opponents. If you win trick one,
you have a potential second spade stopper, but it is not a sure thing.
Let’s count our top tricks: one spade for sure, one club, four diamonds, and one heart. Two more tricks must be developed, and that can be done in hearts, but you might lose the lead, and you know which opponent will get in. You will finesse by leading the ♥10.
If the finesse wins, repeat it and you have your contract. If the finesse loses, only East can gain the lead. Is East a dangerous opponent? Yes, but only if you win the ♠Q at trick one.
East can lead through your remaining ♠K 7 and trap the king. Can you render East harmless? Yes, if you listen to the bidding.
West bid spades, so he almost certainly has five of them. That leaves East with two. If East doesn’t get the lead until he is out of spades, he will have no way to reach partner’s spade
suit. How can you make this happen? Refuse to win the first trick. Let West’s ♠J hold the trick! Whether West cashes the ace or leads another low spade, you will be safe when East
wins the ♥K.
Notice also that there is no suit that West can switch to at trick two that will hurt you. A club switch will create at most one club winner for the defense.