Advanced Quiz 4T72 by Richard Pavlicek
Advanced Quiz 4T72 by Richard Pavlicek
| West Pass Pass | North 1  2 4  | East Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 3 |
After the above bidding, you become declarer on this layout:
 | 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 |
| Lead: 8 | ![[W - E]](v.gif) |
| K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
What do you make of the lead?
Wrong!
Sorry!
| 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
Right! With North bidding clubs twice it is unusual for West to lead that suit. Therefore, it is almost surely a singleton, which means you are in for a tough challenge.
What do you play from dummy?
10 3No way!
Not right!
| 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
Excellent! Hopefully, that was easy. The 10-9 may be useful later on, so don’t waste one of them now. Note that East would play low regardless since he could see all the clubs except the ace.
What will you do at trick two?
6Ouch!
Not best!
| 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
Correct! Your best chance for a 10th trick is to ruff a heart, but to play ace and another heart is a vain attempt; the defense would simply play ace and another spade. Ducking the heart poses a dual threat — besides the heart ruff, you retain a key entry to dummy. West plays the 9 and East the 10.
East shifts to the A and another spade. How do you handle this?
KWrong!
Sorry!
| 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 |
| Lead: 8 | |
| K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
Super! By ruffing a club you would be able to establish the long clubs if the suit divided 4-2. On the second club West discards the 10, confirming the expected 5-1 break. You next lead the K to draw the one outstanding trump, discarding a club from dummy, and East throws the 6. This is what you see now?
| — A A 3 2 K 10 9 |
| |
| Q J 6 5 4 5 4 — |
How do you continue?
A and ruff a clubNo way!
Not right!
| — A A 3 2 K 10 9 |
| |
| Q J 6 5 4 5 4 — |
Very good! It is good strategy to put pressure on the opponents. Even if you can’t see a definite conclusion, the more opportunities you give them to discard, the greater the chance of an error. West throws the 7, dummy the 2, and East the J.
What do you do next?
A then give up a diamondOuch!
Not best!
| — A A 3 2 K 10 9 |
| |
| Q J 6 5 4 5 4 — |
Brilliant! Keep them babies coming! Average players miss many opportunities where a trick can be gained by leading all the trumps. It’s like the trump suit is some kind of a security blanket for them. On this trick West discards the 8.
What do you pitch from dummy?
A 3 9Wrong!
Sorry!
| — A A 3 2 K 10 9 |
| |
| Q J 6 5 4 5 4 — |
Well done! Hopefully, you didn’t fall for that A discard! This contract is too delicate to be throwing away tricks. East also discards a diamond — the queen. Everyone is down to five cards:
| — A A K 10 9 |
| |
| — 6 5 4 5 4 — |
We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty. What do you lead next?
4 4No way!
Not right!
| — A A K 10 9 |
| |
| — 6 5 4 5 4 — |
Right! It appears that East has shortened himself in diamonds, and it is critical to lead that suit. This is confirmed when you win the A and East discards the 7.
The lead is now in dummy and the world is resting on your shoulders. What will you do?
A then K A then lead 9 9Ouch!
Not best!
| — A A K 10 9 |
| |
| — 6 5 4 5 4 — |
Excellent! After winning the J, East will be endplayed and dummy wins the last two clubs. Note that your earlier lead to the A also posed a dual threat: If East kept two hearts to avoid the endplay, you could then establish the last club. Here is the full deal:
| 8 7 A 2 A 3 2 K 10 9 5 4 3 | |
| 4 3 2 K J 9 8 K 10 9 8 7 8 | ![[W - E]](t.gif) | A 5 Q 10 7 Q J 6 Q J 7 6 2 |
| Lead: 8 | K Q J 10 9 6 6 5 4 3 5 4 A |
Despite declarer’s excellent effort, East could defeat the contract by returning a low spade (without cashing the ace) when he won the 10. If South then elects to ruff a heart, he can never enjoy the K; or if he leads spades, East can kill one of the crucial entries to dummy. The defense can play this “dual threat” game, too!
Copyright © 2007 Richard Pavlicek. All rights reserved.
