Conceal
the queen of trumps
Sally
Brock (
Sally
Brock is one of UK's leading players and writers. Currently she is bridge
correspondent of the Sunday Times. Her high spots were winning the
ONE
aspect of the game that distinguishes the expert from the average player is in
the area of deceptive play. The expert is always looking for ways to induce an
opponent to make an error or to save himself from having to make a guess.
In
the area of declarer play, one way to do this is to persuade the defenders that
they have established more defensive tricks for their side than is actually the
case. The trump suit offers an excellent opportunity for a number of deceptive
plays, one of which deserves more attention than it has previously been given.
Suppose
your trump suit is:
Dummy
ª
KJxx
Declarer
ª
AQ10xx
Imagine
that you are in a fair contract which has various chances, but no clearcut route
to success. If you play trumps by cashing the
ace, leading low to the king and (assuming one hand shows out) leaving
the remaining trump outstanding, the relevant defender may well assume
that his partner has the queen. Then, at a later stage, he may try to
cash his side's 'other' winners rather than defend with more subtlety –
hopefully to your advantage.
THE
following hand occurred in an international match between
|
South
Dealer |
ª | Q | |||
|
|
N-S
Game |
© |
5
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
¨ |
A
8 7 6 4 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
§ |
Q
6 5 4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
N |
|
|
| ª |
K
9 7 2 |
ª |
A
8 6 5 4 |
||
|
© |
K
9 8 2 |
|
W
E |
© |
J
10 6 3 |
|
¨ |
5
2 |
|
|
¨ |
9 |
|
§ |
10
9 8 |
|
|
§ |
7
3 2 |
|
|
|
|
S |
|
|
|
|
|
ª |
J
10 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
© |
A
Q 7 |
|
|
|
|
|
¨ |
K
Q J 10 |
|
|
|
|
|
§ |
A
K J |
|
|
|
W |
N |
E |
S |
|
|
|
|
2NT |
|
|
3♣1 |
|
3♦2 |
|
|
4♦ |
|
4♥ |
|
|
4♠ |
|
6♦ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
asking for a 5-card major
2
denial
In
the absence of a major-suit lead, the slam appears to depend on the heart
finesse, so when West leads the ten of clubs
you must ask yourself: are there any extra chances?
The
spade honours are almost certainly divided since East did not double the Four
Spade cue-bid and West did not lead a top spade at trick one.
If
East can be persuaded to play his spade honour when declarer first plays the
suit, it would then be possible to
take a ruffing finesse against West.
A
spade towards dummy's queen is likely to
result in West playing his honour whichever
it is. However, if East has the ace of spades it
may be difficult for him to duck — particularly
if he can be persuaded that the ace of spades
may be the setting trick.
So
... win the club lead, cash the king of diamonds
and play the jack of diamonds to the
ace. Now play the queen of spades.
From East's viewpoint you may
easily hold something like:
♠
K10xx
♥
A K x
♦ K J 10
♣
A K J
when
it would be essential for him to take his ace.
One
word of warning: it would be extremely unethical and completely against the
rules of the game to look disappointed or annoyed when West shows out on the
second round of trumps.
My
BOLS bridge tip is this: