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Defence: finessing
dummy's honour
Contract : 3NT
Lead : 4 of Spades
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J 5 3 |
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Q 8 2 |
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Q 8 3 |
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A J 8 5 |
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K 8 7 4 |
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Q 10 6 |
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J 7 6 |
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A 9 5 4 3 |
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A 4 2 |
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7 6 |
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9 7 3 |
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10 4 2 |
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A 9 2 |
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K 10 |
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K J 10 9 5 |
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K Q 6 |
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The bidding:
South opens and North transmits: (3 ,
3 , 3 ,
4 ) with 10 H
points.
South confirms the absence of a major fit but the presence of 26 H points,
so 3NT. Lead of the fourth highest
.
East will often play the Queen because he knows that "third player plays
high", and gives away the contract with one over trick.
At the tables where this happens you will surprise a lot a people by saying
that against a certain (advice 19.2)
defence the contract is unwinnable
Don't let them think about it for too long, they still haven't got enough
Bridge-playing maturity to see the solution; however, put them on the
right track by saying that "the contract was given in the first trick".
You will affront the dignity of East who knows he has done his duty by
laying the Queen. Calm them down by asking them what will happen :
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if South has neither the Ace nor the
King: the 10 is enough to take the trick just as well as the Queen. |
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if South has the Ace or the King:
playing the 10 forces out South's high honour, and the Queen is established
as a master. Whereas playing the Queen only allows it to be taken,
and permits North's Jack to take a trick later. |
Get them to remember that playing the
10 is effectively finessing dummy's Jack and being sure that it
will work! And modify the rule of third player plays high by writing on
the board:
"Third player plays the highest useful card"
The explanation of this deal is not finished, far from it. Those who have
intuitively played the 10 (advice 19.3)
are not at the end of their troubles.
Firstly, West: when South has taken the
first trick with the Ace of Spades, he must know that his partner has
the Queen. When he has taken the lead with the Ace of Diamonds he can
then lead a small Spade towards the Queen in order not to block the suit
(advice 19.4). East re-plays Spades,
West makes the King, then the last
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What to play next? Ask what happened at the different tables
and congratulate
everyone.
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those who played Hearts in West again
to cash in partner's Ace. |
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the declarers who were careful not
to discard dummy's Club and who will have made the contract if West
didn't re-play Hearts. |
Now ask the pupils how West could have
known that he should re-play Hearts. Don't accept (too much) answers of
the kind: "because the Ace of Clubs was in dummy
" but encourage those
who think: "East could have told him" (advice
19.5).
Then explain the technique of the direct
call; show that among all his small cards in Hearts and Clubs, East
can choose to discard any one of them, without any cost and it is therefore
normal to wish to transmit information to his partner by choosing to discard
one card rather than another.
This said, explain that the message depends
on the height of the card chosen and write on the board:
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a high card is a call in a
discarded suit |
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a low card is a refusal in
a discarded suit (advice 19.6).
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