Part games in competitive bridge hold a far reaching importance for the ultimate outcome on the match. Usually in a match with all good players around, the game contracts fizzle out in the balance leaving these part scores to give an edge to the winning side.
Players may tend to lose their concentration in the play and defence of such hands. But in competitive situations this can be fatal for each hand in bridge needs total concentration and alertness. A tiny slip can looser your grip and give away the contract. Part games are more difficult to defend too as they are in play. For the high card points are more or less evenly spread and it requires sound judgement and reasoning to visualise and comprehend what could possibly be the defenders distribution in suits along with their key card high points.
Today's illustration is a classic example of such a slip up by the declarer which cost him the contract and the match in a closely fought National Trial Game between two good sides.
Let me give you the N-S hands and the bidding:
The bidding:
The opening lead was KD, won by the declarer with the ace. Declarer could foresee 2 heart losers, possibly 2 diamond losers and 2 spade losers. Somehow declarer needed to curtail one of them. But first the trump position needed to be known. So declarer ran 9H from dummy low, to QH. Some what end played west opted for diamond continuation by playing QD and 9 diamond for east to ruff with the KH. East exited with a top club, west following with JC to declarer's AC. At this stage, declarer's concentration wavered.
He thought it best to ruff out one club at least to strip west of clubs and then try some sort of end playing west with both spade honours placed. But when he ruffed club low, he was over ruffed by west with 7H, letting him exit with a diamond to finally get his 2 spade winners and breaking of the part contract?
Can you spot the declarer's lack of concentration and error? Well, there were some inferential clues that needed to be picked up early. You see when the declarer ruffed low he was surprised at the over ruff after east's 1NT response could not cater for 6 clubs with him. But what the declarer failed to comprehend was that when east over ruffed with the KH the third diamond he was announcing 2 doubletons - two heart and diamonds.
Therefore, without a 4 card major which was already denied, east was surely placed with 6 clubs and it was quite clear that west held a singleton club and the only reason that it was not led was because he held 4 trumps and was punching his best diamond suit first. Moreover, the second inferential clue was that with west holding 7 HCP's in the led suits with the bare club jack, west was sure to be holding both spade honours. That being so, he could not be prevented from scoring his heart 7 unless south had ruffed high to put pressure on him for he would have to discard an apparently irrelevant diamond and declarer on playing 2 more rounds of trumps would leave the following ending.
At this point with the lead in hand declarer could exit with the trump to west's 7, whose diamond exit would be ruffed leaving all 3 relevant players with spades. A low spade would then squeeze west for a well earned part contract. But Alas! it was not to be.
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North South
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J987 A43
9 AJ10652
742 AJ8
A7542 9
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West North East South
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1D P 1NT 2H
ALL PASS
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North West East South
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J98 KQ5 1062 A43
- 7 - 65
75 10 K10 -
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