kantarbridge.com
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North |
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♠ K J 10 2 |
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♥ 6 |
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♦ K Q J 9 3 |
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♣ A 3 2 |
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South |
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♠ Q 9 8 7 6 |
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♥ K J 3 |
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♦ 10 2 |
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♣ K 5 4 |
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You arrive at 4♠ after partner opens 1♦ and leaps to 3♠ over your 1♠ response.
The lead is the ♣J, East playing the ♣8, encouraging. Plan the play.
You are off three aces, always a bit unsettling, and must dispose of your slow club loser before the opponents can get in twice. You do not have ‘time’ to drive out the ♠A as a club will come back and when either opponent eventually get in with a red ace, the setting trick in clubs will be right there on the table to haunt you.
You have choices.
(1) Win the lead in dummy and lead a heart hoping to guess the position if East plays low. If East rises, your troubles are over. Your ♥K provides a parking place for your club loser, the ♣K the entry to the ♥K. If East plays low, put on your guessing shoes, but there’s more to this hand than this.
If East is a strong player, East may duck the ♥A. But if East is not a strong player, East will almost always go up with the ace looking at that singleton in the dummy. You have to know your customers. In any case, the heart play is at least 50% (guessing correctly if East plays low) but far more for psychological reasons.
(2) Win the club lead in your hand and drive out the ♦A, win the club return in dummy, and play a second and third diamond hoping the suit divides 3-3 (36%). If it does, you can discard your losing club on a third diamond. Percentage-wise it is clearly better to win the opening lead in the dummy and lead a heart.
Tip: This hand illustrates how important it is not to play too quickly to the first trick from either the dummy or your hand because of entry considerations. Also, how ‘time’ enters into the calculations when you have a slow loser. And, finally, how important it is to know the skill level of each opponent.
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♠ K J 10 2 |
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♥ 6 |
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♦ K Q J 9 3 |
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♣ A 3 2 |
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| ♠ A |
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♠ 5 4 3 |
| ♥ Q 9 8 5 2 |
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♥ A 10 7 4 |
| ♦ 8 6 5 4 |
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♦ A 7 |
| ♣ J 10 9 |
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♣ Q 8 7 6 |
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♠ Q 9 87 6 |
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♥ K J 3 |
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♦ 10 2 |
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♣ K 5 4 |
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