DealerEast
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NORTH
S:
J87 H:AJ4 D:9542 C:AJ5 |
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WEST
S:
AKQ632 H:
3 D:
Q3 C:
Q642 |
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EAST
S:
109 H:
76 D:
K10876 C:
K973 |
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SOUTH
S:54
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At the recent Oxfordshire invitation teams-of-four competition organised by the Menagerie Club,the old bridge cliché “second hand low” reared its ugly head once again.When East passed, most red-blooded Souths bid an immediate four hearts, which normally became the final contract.The defence started with three top spades, the third round being ruffed by declarer.
Seven trumps and two aces bring the total to nine tricks, the problem being to create a tenth trick without conceding four in the process. A seemingly impossible task. Like most of the others, the two declarers in the match involving the Wallingford team turned their attention to the club suit. One remote chance is for West to hold both the king and the queen of clubs. If South leads a club from hand and an honour appears from West, he can duck to leave a finessing position for the remaining honour. One declarer found a better solution.Crossing to dummy with a top trump, he led the five of clubs from dummy up to the closed hand. If both honours are held by West, the finessing position will still be available against the other honour after the ten loses to the first one. This manoeuvre also has the advantage of being a pressure play against East, who, in the actual event, played the king to ensure that he was not being conned by a declarer with a singleton or doubleton queen. Now declarer was able to return to hand to make the critical play of finessing the jack of clubs and subsequently discarding his losing diamond on the club ace. East’s downfall was to play “second hand high”.
At the second table, declarer played the ten of clubs from hand, a play that has no legitimate chance of succeeding. Now West’s play should be “second hand high”. Firstly, he is covering a key honour. Secondly, declarer’s first bid promised seven or eight hearts and he has subsequently followed to two rounds of spades. Therefore he holds a maximum of four cards in the minor suits. It is just possible that he is holding precisely king-ten-nine of clubs and is tempting a cover to smoke out the queen, but it is more likely that East has the king, in which case the cover with the queen is vital, because it promotes East’s king-nine over dummy’s jack and scuppers the contract. But, in the event, West did not cover, declarer ran the ten to the king and subsequently finessed the jack of clubs for the vital tenth trick.
LOCAL NEWS The annual challenge match between the Wallingford and Abingdon Bridge Clubs for the Len Salmon Memorial Trophy was won this year by Abingdon. The match was played on Sunday, 15 October at the Wallingford Club over 36 boards, with three teams-of-eight participating from each side. Abingdon: The Autumn Cup was won by Clive Keep and myself. Wessex League Results: Abingdon B 12 Abingdon C 8,
Abingdon C 5 Oxford C 15, Frilford
A 8 Thame B 12, Wallingford
C 3 Thame C 17,
Abingdon D 15 Summertown
B 5, Abingdon D 6 Frilford
B 14, Alternative Club 2 Bicester
B 18,
Frilford B 2 Oxford E 18.