Intermediate Quiz 2P41 by Richard Pavlicek
Intermediate Quiz 2P41 by Richard Pavlicek
 |  A Q 2 J 10 7 A J 2 9 7 5 3 |
| Lead: 6 | ![[W - E]](v.gif) |
| 4 3 K Q 8 2 K Q 8 4 A K 2 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
How many top tricks do you have?
Wrong!
Sorry!
| A Q 2 J 10 7 A J 2 9 7 5 3 |
| Lead: 6 | |
| 4 3 K Q 8 2 K Q 8 4 A K 2 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
Right! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
A Q 2No way!
Not right!
| A Q 2 7 3 10 9 7 3 K Q J 2 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| J 9 3 A J 5 K Q J 8 A 6 3 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
How many top tricks do you have?
Ouch!
Not best!
| A Q 2 7 3 10 9 7 3 K Q J 2 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| J 9 3 A J 5 K Q J 8 A 6 3 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
Excellent! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
A Q 2Wrong!
Sorry!
| K J 2 A J 8 4 J 4 3 A 6 5 |
| Lead: 4 | |
| 9 3 K Q 10 9 7 A 6 2 J 4 3 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 1 2 | East Pass Pass | South 1 3 |
How many top tricks do you have?
No way!
Not right!
| K J 2 A J 8 4 J 4 3 A 6 5 |
| Lead: 4 | |
| 9 3 K Q 10 9 7 A 6 2 J 4 3 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 1 2 | East Pass Pass | South 1 3 |
Correct! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
K J 2Ouch!
Not best!
| A Q 3 Q 10 9 2 8 6 2 A Q 6 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| 7 6 2 A K J 8 4 3 A 9 3 4 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 3 | East Pass | South 1 4 |
How many top tricks do you have?
Wrong!
Sorry!
| A Q 3 Q 10 9 2 8 6 2 A Q 6 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| 7 6 2 A K J 8 4 3 A 9 3 4 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 3 | East Pass | South 1 4 |
Super! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
A Q 6No way!
Not right!
| K 2 Q 10 8 A Q J 8 6 J 8 3 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| A Q J 10 5 3 K J 7 9 7 4 2 |
| West Pass Pass | North 2 4 | East Pass All Pass | South 1 2 |
How many top tricks do you have?
Ouch!
Not best!
| K 2 Q 10 8 A Q J 8 6 J 8 3 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| A Q J 10 5 3 K J 7 9 7 4 2 |
| West Pass Pass | North 2 4 | East Pass All Pass | South 1 2 |
Very good! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
A J 6Wrong!
Sorry!
| J 8 4 3 2 — A 7 5 4 K 9 7 6 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| A K Q 10 9 K 6 2 J 6 3 2 3 |
| West 4 | North 4 | East 1 All Pass | South 1 |
How many top tricks do you have?
No way!
Not right!
| J 8 4 3 2 — A 7 5 4 K 9 7 6 |
| Lead: 5 | |
| A K Q 10 9 K 6 2 J 6 3 2 3 |
| West 4 | North 4 | East 1 All Pass | South 1 |
Brilliant! Which card do you play from dummy at trick one?
2 4 6Ouch!
Not best!
| A Q 2 J 10 7 A J 2 9 7 5 3 | |
| J 9 7 6 5 A 6 3 5 3 8 6 4 | ![[W - E]](t.gif) | K 10 8 9 5 4 10 9 7 6 Q J 10 |
| Lead: 6 | 4 3 K Q 8 2 K Q 8 4 A K 2 |
| Trick 1. W 2. E 3. S 4. N 5. W | Lead 6 Q 2 10 5 | 2nd 2! K 3 5 Q | 3rd 10! 4 J 8 K | 4th 3 3 4 A 4 |
Well done! If you played the Q at Trick 1, it would lose to the king and your A would be driven out, then you would be set. Ducking the first trick preserves your spade stopper, after which 10 tricks are easily made by forcing out the A.
| A Q 2 7 3 10 9 7 3 K Q J 2 | |
| 8 6 4 K 8 6 2 6 4 2 10 8 4 | | K 10 7 5 Q 10 9 4 A 5 9 7 5 |
| Lead: 8 | J 9 3 A J 5 K Q J 8 A 6 3 |
| Trick 1. W 2. N 3. S 4. E 5. W | Lead 8 3 Q 10 2 | 2nd A! 5 4 J 7 | 3rd 5 K 7 K 9 | 4th 3 2 A 3 A |
Right! It looks comfortable to take the finesse in spades, but the danger lies in another suit. East would win the K and shift to hearts, then you would fail. The surefire play is to win the A and force out the A, which guarantees three more tricks in diamonds.
| K J 2 A J 8 4 J 4 3 A 6 5 | |
| Q 10 7 4 5 2 K 10 8 5 K 10 2 | | A 8 6 5 6 3 Q 9 7 Q 9 8 7 |
| Lead: 4 | 9 3 K Q 10 9 7 A 6 2 J 4 3 |
| Trick 1. W 2. E 3. N 4. N 5. S 6. N | Lead 4 7 A 4 9 K | 2nd 2! 3 3 6 7 6 | 3rd A 2 9 K J 4 | 4th 3 A 2 5 5 10 |
Excellent! You need two more tricks, and the spade suit is the best chance. Playing the jack (or king) would not allow two tricks because East should have the ace (West would not normally underlead an ace). Hence, ducking offers some hope. And it works!
| A Q 3 Q 10 9 2 8 6 2 A Q 6 | |
| J 8 5 6 5 K 10 7 K J 8 5 2 | | K 10 9 4 7 Q J 5 4 10 9 7 3 |
| Lead: 5 | 7 6 2 A K J 8 4 3 A 9 3 4 |
| Trick 1. W 2. N 3. S 4. N | Lead 5 2 3 A | 2nd Q! 7 6 9 | 3rd 3 A 9 3 | 4th 4 5 72 |
Correct! You need one more trick, and there are two finesses (spades and clubs) that might provide it. Hence, you should try them both. The fact that you have only a singleton club is immaterial. If the club finesse works, you gain a trick; if it loses, you still have the spade finesse as a second chance.
| K 2 Q 10 8 A Q J 8 6 J 8 3 | |
| 9 7 4 A 4 3 2 5 A Q 10 5 4 | | 8 6 9 6 5 K 10 3 2 K 9 7 6 |
| Lead: 5 | A Q J 10 5 3 K J 7 9 7 4 2 |
| Trick 1. W 2. N 3. N 4. S 5. S | Lead 5 K 2 Q 9 | 2nd A! 6 8 9 2 | 3rd 2 3 A 3J | 4th 4 4 7 6K |
Super! West’s lead is almost surely a short suit, and probably a singleton. If you took the finesse, you would be defeated before you ever gained the lead. Win the A and draw trumps for 10 easy tricks.
| J 8 4 3 2 — A 7 5 4 K 9 7 6 | |
| 5 Q 9 7 5 3 K Q 10 8 J 5 4 | | 7 6 A J 10 8 4 9 A Q 10 8 2 |
| Lead: 5 | A K Q 10 9 K 6 2 J 6 3 2 3 |
| Trick 1. W 2. E 3. N 4. S 5. S 6. S | Lead 5 9 2 K K 3 | 2nd 4! 2 6 37 4 | 3rd A 8 A 3 5K | 4th 2 A 5 7 4 A |
Very good! With all those trumps, it looks natural to trump all your hearts in dummy. But that adds up to only nine tricks, and you would be defeated as the cards lie. The key is to build your K into a winner by pitching a diamond, after which you can still ruff three times in dummy to ensure 10 tricks.
Copyright © 2007 Richard Pavlicek. All rights reserved.
3 NT by South