Volumes have been written on safety plays. This time let us recapitulate its basic ingredients by illustrating the following 4 hands: In the first, south plays in 4S on the leads of the QH, with the following hands. As with all plays, playing as south you count your losers, which appear to be one in diamonds, one or two in hearts depending on the favourable lie of AH.
There can be a possible loser in trumps, if the queen is 3 carder and you fail to knock it down correctly.
Counting your winners, you have 5 tricks in trumps. If trumps split 2-2, otherwise 4, if you fail in nailing down a 3 carder queen on a 2 way finesse. One heart trick and as many as 5 club tricks, once the trump control is not lost. Then you can have as many as 11 tricks. To add to it, if the diamond ace is with east, a small slam in on the cards. As south what are your plans on the play?
The opponents have already hit the right opening chord with the opening lead of the QH. How do you play, and more importantly, how do you tackle the trumps? Do you play AK direct or take finesse against east placing him with the queen three times or vice versa. All the options are open for you.
This is in fact a simple example of keeping the dangerous opponent out of lead. Do you spot him? Yes, it has got to be east who can on gaining the lead make the killing return of the diamond through your fragile holding of the king, if the ace is placed over it with west. You will then go 2 down in a contract that is ice if you keep east out of lead. How do you manage that? The only way east can gain the lead is by the queen of spades, if you allow him to do so or by a heart again if you allow him to do so. Since the QH lead suggests east holds the KH, the first safety play is to shut the door on him by allowing the QH to hold. If east tries to cover QH with KH you play the ace, and east is helpless.
Next danger to be tackled is about the QS. Here spurning the rule of thumb that says with 9, play for the drop, you have the foresight to shut east out from gaining the lead even if he has QS, by finessing deliberately against him by playing the AS first and then the 10S on the way back.
You can afford to give up a spade trick to ensure the contract. Suppose west takes it with queen, doubleton or tripleton, he is unable to prevent you from knocking out the trumps and throwing your diamond loser, on the magnificent clubs.
At most west can cash his AD and give you your 10 sure tricks. But in the actual hand, east held Q 7 2 of spades and west AJ of diamonds. With the safety finesse of trumps, you succeed in making 11 tricks.
Our next illustration finds NS in 6S on the following bidding:
The bidding:
West leads QC. How do you plan your play? You have 5 trump tricks, 1 heart, 2 diamonds and 2 clubs with a club ruffing dummy making 11. There is a loser staring in both red suits. One alternate is to establish diamonds provided they break even or if the honours are divided. Can you spot a better line?
Well, at the table the expert south found a line that made the contract ice clad.
For he won the first trick with AC, drew trumps in 2 rounds, cashed AK of diamonds.
It's time to reveal the west east holdings:
As you can see the diamond plan was not workable. South foreseeing it cashed KC, rutted the third club in dummy, cashed AH and gave up a heart to the KH with west. The elimination worked well for west had to give a ruff and sluff.
The tailpiece is whether you could have done better than the expert. Remember west had over called 2H and was bound to have KH. This makes the contract unbeatable.
After drawing trumps, and eliminating clubs, if you play KD and continue with a small diamond from the table, If east plays low you insert the 9; if east splits his honours, you establish the 12th trick in diamonds.
But suppose west had been able to win the second diamond trick, he either returns a heart into your tenace or gives a ruff and sluff.
If west has a third diamond and east follows, the 13th diamond takes care of your losing heart.
Finally, if west started with QJ xx in diamonds, there would be a squeeze in hand with:
On the run of the trumps, west would be squeezed making either your Q H or 10 D good enough for your 12th trick.
You see in Bridge there is always a better line of play.
==============
North
==============
A J 9 5
1 0 5
8 2
A Q 10 6 2
==============
==============
South
==============
K 10 8 6 4
A 3
K 6 5
K J 5
==============
==========================
S W N E
==========================
1S 2H 3S Pass
4C P 4H Pass
6S All Pass
==========================
=======================
West East
=======================
6 4 3
K J 10 9 4 3 8 7 2
7 5 Q J 8 6
Q J 10 2 9 7 5 4
=======================
=============
North
=============
K J 9 7 5
A 6
K 10 4 2
8 3
=============
=============
South
=============
A Q 10 8 2
Q 5
A 9 3
A K 4
=============
====================================
North West East South
====================================
J 9 - - A Q 8
A 6 K J 10 9 87 Q 5
10 Q - -
- - 9 7 5 -
====================================
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.