Hand of the week commencing Sunday 21st January 2007
West
leads ¨4
the unbid Minor. Plan your play.
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ª |
Q 6
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Love
All |
© |
A
Q 10 8
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Dealer
South |
¨ |
A
7 6 2 |
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§ |
K
Q J |
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N |
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ª |
A
9 7
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ª |
J
3 |
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© |
K
J 5 4 |
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W
E |
© |
9
6 2 |
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¨ |
8
4 2 |
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¨ |
Q
J 3 |
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§ |
9
8 2 |
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§ |
A
7 6 5 3 |
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S |
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ª |
K
10 8 5 4 2 |
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© |
7
3 |
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¨ |
K
10 9 |
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§ |
10
4 |
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W |
N |
E |
S |
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NO |
1¨ |
NO |
1ª |
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NO |
2NT |
NO |
4ª |
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NO |
NO |
NO |
NO |
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This
hand is all about timing and counting winners and
losers correctly. Initially you have only got 3 winners :- Heart Ace and
Diamond Ace King. It might seem a dismal picture until you reassess your hand
and count losers. On the loser front you have potential 2 Trumps, 1 Heart 1
Diamond and 1 Club. To bring home the contract, something good has to happen in
either the Trump suit or the Heart suit to reduce the loser in one of these
suits by one. If that is the case then your Diamond loser needs to be dispatched
as soon as possible. Since you do not have control of the trump suit you need to
set up the Clubs first for a Diamond pitch.
Bearing
all this in mind you win the first trick in hand winning West’s Jack with your
King and immediately play the Club ten. The opponents win and p[lay another
diamond . You now have the tempo and are one trick ahead of your opponents. You
play two more rounds of clubs throwing the Diamond loser. Now that that problem
has gone you can turn your attention to the Trump suit . You do not wish to
block the suit so you begin with the Queen
of trumps taken by West who plays a Diamond. You trump. Being short of entries
you now take the Heart finesse which holds. You now take the play a Spade and
when the Jack appears you are happy to claim 11 tricks(, considerably more than
your initial 3 winners). You have made 5 Trumps, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 2
Clubs, losing just 2 Aces.