Not a Total Loss
This entry was posted on 8/21/2007 10:30 PM and is filed under The Good.
Continuing the tale of the 40-board set from today (officially, anyway.)
3rd, unfavorable
AJ42 / KJ54 / A64 / T6
Jeff opened 1 Diamond, I bid a Heart, LHO bid 2 Spades. Passed around to me.
Texture is crappy for 3NT but no other bid makes sense. 3 Spades is masochistic. Other bids are either not forcing or completely misdescriptive.
Good enough to bid, good enough to lead. LHO led the 6 of Spades.
K8 / A72 / QT72 / A842
AJ42 / KJ54 / A64 / T6
There was a lead that could have beaten the hand but a) it's not the 6 of Spades and b) I bet your first guess as to what it is is wrong.
Okay, so what've we got? 3 Spades. 2 Hearts. A couple of bullets in the minors. But if Hearts are 3-3 with the Queen onside I'm gin.
Accordingly, I won the Jack, played a Heart to the Ace, and a Heart to the Jack (if I only needed 1 extra Heart trick the safety play in the suit is to cash the King Ace and then lead a Heart up towards Jx, but I needed 2 here and took the risk that I didn't run into Qx offside.)
The Jack won, but when I cashed the King, LHO showed out. Now what?
K / - / QT72 / A842
A42 / 4 / A64 / T6
Now you have to decide who to play for the Diamond King. If you think LHO has it, a low Diamond works from here. On the auction RHO is a favorite to have it, though.
The only successful line from here is a Spade to the King followed by a low Club. Best defense is LHO winning the Club and switching to a Diamond.
- / - / QT72 / A84
A4 / 4 / A64 / 6
When RHO covers whichever Diamond you play from Dummy, you win the Ace and cash the Ace of Spades.
With 5 cards remaining
- / - / Q7 / A84
4 / 4 / 64 / 6
RHO has to keep the 13th Heart and the good Diamond. If you judge that he's stiffed his King of Diamonds, duck a Diamond at this point. If you judge that he's got at least 2 Diamonds, play a Club to the Ace and a Club.
At the table, when I played a Club off the board, RHO played the Jack, I ducked, LHO won the King and continued with the 9 of Clubs.
- / - / QT72 / A84
A4 / 4 / A64 / T
At this point I had a 100% line. I should just duck the Club. RHO can win the Queen and cash his Heart, but then must give me an entry to the board. If RHO ducks the Club, I can win the Ten and throw him in with a Heart.
I had tunnel vision, though, and flew Ace and continued Clubs. That line happened to work when RHO turned up with the King of Diamonds as expected. RHO cashed his 2 Clubs and then switched to a Diamond away from his King (he could have cashed his Heart first, but the outcome is the same.)
+600 was worth 7.8 IMPs.
The killing lead was a Heart (surprisingly.)
LHO
Q97653 / 98 / 953 / K9
