One news item you won’t see: “The Clairvoyants Club meeting has been cancelled due to unforeseen developments.”
As declarer, be aware that things can go wrong. For one, trumps may break badly. A careful declarer takes what precautions he can. Against today’s four spades, West led the jack of diamonds: queen, king, ace. South then took the A-K of trumps, unclairvoyantly expecting a normal 3-2 break. East showed out.
South next cashed his three high clubs to discard dummy’s last diamond. He ruffed a diamond in dummy and led a heart to his king. West won and drew trumps with his Q-J, and South went down two.
HIGH CLUBS
South played incautiously. He can cash one trump, then take the high clubs for a diamond discard and lead the king of hearts.
If West wins and leads the queen of trumps (no play is better), South wins, ruffs his last club in dummy, leads a heart to his queen, ruffs a diamond and discards his last diamond on the jack of hearts. He loses two trumps and a heart.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold: S 8 6 5 4 H J 7 6 5 4 D Q 8 C K 4. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he next bids one spade. What do you say?
ANSWER: To pass would be reasonable. Partner has at most 18 high-card points, and your chances for game are slim. Still, many players would raise to two spades as a chance-giving action. In fact, although opener’s non-jump change of suit is not forcing in theory, some pairs treat opener’s one spade here as forcing.
South dealer
N-S vulnerable
NORTH
S 8 6 5 4
H J 7 6 5 4
D Q 8
C K 4
WEST
S Q J 9 3
H A 9
D J 10 9
C J 9 6 2
EAST
S 10
H 10 8 3 2
D K 7 5 4 3
C 10 8 5
SOUTH
S A K 7 2
H K Q
D A 6 2
C A Q 7 3
South West North East
2 NT Pass 3 C Pass
3 S Pass 4 S All Pass
Opening lead — D J
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Originally published at Frank Stewart