(Down - Deal 24)
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Declarer (N *)
♠ - Q J 10 4 2
♥ - A K 3
♦ - 7 5
♣ - A Q 5
| East
♠ - K 9 3
♥ - J 9 7 4
♦ - Q J 10
♣ - 9 7 4
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West
♠ - 8 5
♥ - Q 10 5
♦ - A 6 3 2
♣ - J 10 6 3
| Dummy (S)
♠ - A 7 6
♥ - 8 6 2
♦ - K 9 8 4
♣ - K 8 2
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Deal 25 - Dealer is North
Bidding : 1S (N) - 2S (S) - 3S (N) - 4S (S) .With his single raise South shows trump support and 6-10 points. Having the maximum 10 points he raises to Game after North's invitation bid of 3S.
Opening Lead : Queen of Diamonds (E) = top of a solid sequence
Declarer (N) counts 4 possible losers : one each in Spades and Hearts and two in Diamonds. He can reduce these by a direct finesse against the Spade King and if that fails an indirect finesse against the Ace of Diamonds.
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Declarer Play
Direct finesse by the Defence - Covering Opponents Honour with an Honour to promote a lower card to a winner
The Defence, with their opening lead, are clearly setting up a direct finesse for themselves against Dummy's Diamond King. But with 4 cards in the suit Dummy's King should have a good chance to survive and eventually provide a winner on which Declarer's Heart loser can be discarded.
Therefore, at trick 1, Dummy plays low conceding the trick to East, who now leads the Jack of Diamond. Dummy again plays low and East wins the trick again. East now leads his Diamond 10 (trick 3). Dummy plays his King. This will force West to cover with the Diamond Ace and by doing so sets up Dummy's remaining 9 of Diamonds as a winner. To rub salt into the wound Declarer wins the trick with a ruff.
At trick 4 Declarer plays the trump Queen for a direct finesse against the Spade King. East plays low and Declarer wins the trick. He now leads the Jack of trumps, East once again plays low, letting Declarer win the trick (trick 5). There is now only one enemy trump left, the King, and Declarer plays a low Spade from his hand, capturing it with Dummy's Ace.
At trick 7 Dummy leads his hard fought for Diamond 9 on which Declarer discards a small Heart. Dummy then leads and wins the King of Clubs, followed by a small Club to Declarer's hand who wins all the remaining tricks in Clubs (2), Hearts (2) and trumps (1). A total of 11 tricks.
Score = 5 x 30 trick pts + 300 bonus pts = 450 pts total
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(Down - Up)
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North
♠ - 7 5 3
♥ - 7 6
♦ - A 10 6 5 3
♣ - Q 10 4
| Declarer (E *)
♠ - A Q 8 6
♥ - A K J 8 5 2
♦ -
♣ - J 9 2
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Dummy (W)
♠ - K 4 2
♥ - 10 9 4 3
♦ - K Q J
♣ - A 7 5
| South
♠ - J 10 9
♥ - Q
♦ - 9 8 7 4 2
♣ - K 8 6 3
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Deal 26 - Dealer is East
Bidding : 1H (E) - 3H (W) - 6H (E)
West promises 13+ points and trump support. With shortage points (5 for the void) East's hand is now worth 20 points. Enough for Small Slam.
Opening Lead : Jack of Spades (S) = 4th from the top Avoid leading away from a King (CK).
Declarer (E) counts 3 possible losers : two in Clubs and one in the trump suit if they are divided 3-0. He can play for a drop of the Heart Queen or finesse it, and he can play a ruffing finesse with Dummy's Diamonds.
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Declarer Play
Ruffing finesse
Declarer wins the opening lead in his hand with the Ace (preserving Dummy's King as a perhaps useful entry), then leads the Ace of Hearts. If South shows out of Hearts Declarer can next trick go over to Dummy and lead a small trump for a finesse against North's Q x x. If South holds Q x x instead a trump loser is unavoidable. But all is well as South drops his singleton Queen on the first round of trumps. At trick 3 Declarer draws the last enemy trump winning in Dummy with the 10.
Dummy then leads the Diamond King for a ruffing finesse. North covers with the Ace (hoping Declarer is bluffing and perhaps hold a small diamond) which is ruffed by Declarer. Declarer now leads a small Club to Dummy's Ace (trick 5), who in turn plays his two Diamond winners (Q and J) on which Declarer discards his two losing Clubs.
Then follow four rounds of Spades. The Opponents Spades break 3-3- so Declarer's 4th Spade becomes a winner (it would have been ruffed by Dummy otherwise). The contract is safe winning all 13 tricks.
Score = 7 x 30 trick pts + 800 bonus pts = 1010 pts total
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(Down - Up)
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Dummy (N)
♠ - J 10 9 4
♥ - A Q 5
♦ - Q J
♣ - K Q 4 3
| East
♠ - 7 3
♥ - 10 8
♦ - K 10 8 4 3
♣ - J 9 7 5
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West
♠ - Q 6 2
♥ - J 9 7 4 2
♦ - 9 7 6 2
♣ - 8
| Declarer (S *)
♠ - A K 8 5
♥ - K 6 3
♦ - A 5
♣ - A 10 6 2
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Deal 27 - Dealer is South
Bidding : 1NT (S) - 4NT* (N) - 6NT (S)
* 4NT is invitational, not Blackwood.
or
1NT (S) - 2C* (N) - 2S (S) 4NT** (N) - 5S (S) - 5NT (N) - 6H (S) - 6S (N)
* = Stayman Convention
** = Blackwood Convention
Opening Lead : 4 of Hearts (W) = 4th card from his longest suit
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Declarer (S) can see 3 possible losers : the Queen of Spades, the King of Diamonds and, if the Clubs break 4-1 with J x x x in one hand, one loser in Clubs.
Declarer can try direct finesses in Spades and Diamonds. In the club suit he should play Dummy's King and Queen first, leaving the A - 10 combination in his own hand in tact for a finesse against East's J x x x. This is a safety play. If West holds J x x x instead there is nothing he can do.
Declarer Play
Stayman - Blackwood - 8 ever 9 never - Direct finesse - Safety play in a finesse
Declarer wins the opening lead in his hand with the King. He then plays the Spade Ace for a potential drop of a singleton Q, which does not happen.
At trick 3 he plays a small Club to Dummy's King, who wins and (trick 4) leads the Jack of Spades for a direct finesse against the Queen. East and Dummy both play low, but West unfortunately wins the trick with the Queen. West leads another Heart (trick 5) won in Dummy with the Queen.
Dummy now leads the Queen of Diamond for a direct finesse against the King. Both Opponents play low (trick 6 - sigh of relief by the Declarer) and the Queen wins. At trick 7 Dummy plays the Queen of Club on which West discards a small Heart. Wow, the safety play has paid of. Dummy now leads a small Club, when East plays low Declarer plays his 10 and wins. All remaining tricks in Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs are now winners. Declarer making 12 tricks in total.
Score = 40 + 5 x 30 trick pts + 800 bonus pts = 990 pts total
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(Top - Up)
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North
♠ - 9 7 6 5
♥ - J 10 6 2
♦ - 9 7
♣ - K 10 8
| Dummy (E)
♠ - A 3 2
♥ - 8 7
♦ - A Q 5 4
♣ - 9 6 4 3
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Declarer (W *)
♠ - Q J 4
♥ - A K 9
♦ - K J 2
♣ - A Q 7 5
| South
♠ - K 10 8
♥ - Q 5 4 3
♦ - 10 8 6 3
♣ - J 2
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Deal 28 - Dealer is West
Bidding : 1C (W) - 1D (E) - 3NT (W)
West with 20 points can not open with NT, and bid 1C instead. East with his 1D response promises at least 6 points. West has no interest in the major suits and bids 3NT.
Opening Lead : 2 of Hearts (N) = 4th card from his better long suit.
Declarer (W) can count 8 sure winners : A of Spades, A and K of Hearts, A, K Q and J of Diamonds and A of Clubs. There are possible finesse plays in Spades and Clubs to provide the necessary 9th trick.
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Declarer Play
Rule of 11 - Selecting the right finesse
Declarer notices North's 2 of Hearts opening lead which show the Opponents Hearts are divided 4-4 (Rule of 11). It is therefore no use holding up the trick so he captures South's Queen with his King. Unlike the finesse in Clubs, the Spade finesse will always provided one extra trick win or lose. If Declarer plays the direct (rather than the indirect) finesse in Spades and it wins he can make a safe finesse in the Clubs for an overtrick. However if the Spade finesse loses, the Opponents will knock out his second (and only left) Heart stopper. If the Club finesse then too fails his contract will be defeated.
Therefore, at trick 2, Declarer leads his Spade Queen for a direct finesse against the Spade King. The finesse fails (North and Dummy both playing low). South wins the trick with his King and at trick 3 leads a small Heart. Declarer wins with the Ace. He then (rather then finessing the Clubs !) proceeds to cash his remaining winners : A and J of Spades, A, K, Q and J of Diamonds and the A of Clubs. The remaining 3 tricks are won by North (J and 10 of Hearts and K of Clubs).
Score = 40 + 2 x 30 trick pts + 300 bonus pts = 400 pts total
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(Lesson 10 - Deal 29 - Links page)
Copyright © 2006 Michael Furstner (Jazclass).
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