I suppose snooze alarms are one of those things we can’t do without. (Rearrange the letters in “snooze alarms” and you get “alas, no more Z’s.”)
It might help if an alarm sounded after the opening lead, jolting declarer awake to the necessity of thinking before proceeding. In today’s deal, South opened with a lusty four-diamond preempt and was raised to game. West led a low heart, and South took dummy’s ace and drew trumps.
South next cashed the A-K of clubs; he didn’t want to lose a finesse to West. But West won the next club and led a spade, and East took two spades for down one.
WINNING PLAY
Not many Souths would find the winning play without benefit of an alarm. South must play dummy’s deuce on the first heart.
If East shifts to a trump. South draws trumps and takes the K-A of clubs. When East-West follow, South discards his jack of clubs on the ace of hearts and ruffs a club. He reaches dummy with a trump to pitch two spades on the good clubs, making an overtrick.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold: S K 8 7 H A 2 D A J 3 C A 9 8 4 2. The dealer, at your right, opens one heart. What do you say?
ANSWER: To enter the auction isn’t safe. but neither is to pass; you would risk missing a game. You have options. To overcall two clubs on a ragged five-card suit is ill-advised, as is a 1NT overcall with only a single heart stopper and no obvious source of winners. Your most flexible call is a double. Let your partner suggest a possible trump suit.
South dealer
E-W vulnerable
NORTH
S K 8 7
H A 2
D A J 3
C A 9 8 4 2
WEST
S Q 9 5 2
H Q 9 5 3
D 7 4
C Q 10 6
EAST
S A J 10 3
H K J 10 8 6 4
D 2
C 7 5
SOUTH
S 6 4
H 7
D K Q 10 9 8 6 5
C K J 3
South West North East
4 D Pass 5 D All Pass
Opening lead — H 3
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Originally published at Frank Stewart