Some plays in Bridge are brilliant and very well executed with an eye on the probable distribution and high card point count of the opponents. Facing the best defense, the declarer can always change horses midstream to cater to the challenge thrown by some equally brilliant defense foreseen as happened in our illustration for today where NS reach a contract of 4S on the following hand with the bidding given as under:
The NS hands are tabled below:
The opening lead from west was 8C taken with KC in dummy. A look at the hands clearly reveals that if the declarer loses 2 trump tricks he can be in trouble if the KH is placed above the QH in dummy giving a chance of 2 heart tricks to the opponents coupled with the adverse spade guess or card placement giving the opponents 2 more in spades to down the contract.
As south what chances would you take? Let us see how the first few tricks went at the first table where the same contract was being played between Germany and Brazil in the world olympiads.
As trick 2, 6S led from dummy with 10S from hand went to the QS in west's hand, who continued with the club 3 taken by the AC in dummy. The second spade brought the AS from west and the problem for the declarer now lay in tackling the heart suit. Obviously if the KH is wrongly placed for the declarer in east's hand over dummy's QH, the declarer has little chance to pull this through.
But before the declarer attempts the winning line, there is a problem for the defender west who can either give the declarer a breathing time or make it tougher for him.
Let us now reveal the west hand as under:
If you were west, what would be your return at this critical juncture. Do you play the attacking defense of trying to find a quick entry in partner's hand in hearts for a club return to promote your 9S as the setting trick? Or do you play passive defense by simply playing the diamonds?
Well at one table the lead from west at trick 5 was a low heart going to the 7 in dummy, J in east's hand taken by the declarer with AH, who now knocked out the last trump and guessed correctly by playing a heart to the 9H in dummy taken by the KH with east giving declarer an easy access to the making of his contract as east held:
East contended that the contract could be defeated if west switches to a diamond and not a heart for then there would be no safe guess in hearts for the declarer who would be doomed to give 2 heart tricks with the KJ over dummy's Q9 and west holding the 1083 of hearts. The question for the readers is whether you agree that the contract is doomed if west switches to the diamond as did indeed the west at the second table?
Much to the surprise of many, the declarer at the second table where a diamond was led at trick 5, made a dazzling play which earned him the Bols Brilliancy Prize for the best played hand. Can you spot how?
Let us recapitulate. If west switches to a diamond at trick 5 allowing south to win with QD and drawing the last trump at Trick 6, south now play a diamond to KD in dummy at trick 7 and leads the JC in the slight hope of winning 10C but to no avail as east's QC ruffed by the declarer revealed the club position at trick 8.
This was the position of the hands with 5 cards remaining distributed as under:
South now leads 6D to AD in dummy and east is in trouble. If he discards a club, his end play will be 10C. If on the other hand he discards 6 of hearts, declarer makes 2 hearts tricks by playing 7H to the AH with the 9H bringing down east's KH to give the declarer the contract and Brilliancy Prize with east squeezed out of a loser by this unusual squeeze.
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S W N E
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- - 1NT P
2C P 2D P
3S P 4S All Pass
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North East South West
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6 5 4 8 3 K J 10 7 2 A Q 9
Q 9 2 K J A 5 4 10 8 3 2
A K 5 10 9 4 Q 6 3 J 8 7 2
A K J 9 10 7 5 2 64 8 3
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North West East South
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- - - 7
Q 9 7 10 8 3 K J 6 A 5 4
A J 8 - 6
9 - 10 7 -
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