Zia's
Question and Solution for Week 1
'You
and I both know that our rightful role in bridge is to be declarer.
Yet somehow, when playing a long match, we always seem to spend
most of our time defending. At least, unlike when playing matchpoints,
you know what your goal is when playing teams scoring - simply to
beat the contract.
Sounds
easy, doesn't it? See if you can achieve this in the following hand.'
- ZIA
North
deals at game all. Zia, West, has this unexciting collection:
The
bidding is as follows:
West
|
North
|
East
|
South
|
|
1
|
Pass
|
1NT
|
Pass
|
2
|
Pass
|
2NT
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
|
South's
1NT response was a forcing bid. North's 2
bid might be based on only a 3-card suit. South's 2NT shows about
11-12 points in a balanced hand without three spades. Zia is happy
for two reasons - the opponents have stayed out of game for once,
and Zia does not have a problem with his opening lead.
Zia
selects the K and then
sees that dummy's hand is as shown:
Trick
1: K West - 4
North - 2 East - 3
South
Zia's
partner knows that Zia's lead of K
means he should play the jack if he has it, or show count otherwise.
Zia's partner would have dropped the J
if he had it, or overtaken with the A
if he held that card, so Zia can assume South's club holding to
be AJ3.
What
card would Zia play next?
Zia's
Solution
The
full deal is as shown.
Zia's answer is 2.
The
shift to 2 is not guaranteed
to beat the contract, but it represents by far the best chance.
If South has A, then
he will have an easy route to at least the required eight tricks
since the spades will provide him with five. Zia assumes, then,
that his partner has A.
On the bidding, he will also have either A
or K.
What
will declarer do if Zia shifts to 2?
He
might put in the jack, or even the eight - but he might also go
up with K, which would
be correct any time Zia had A
and East Q. If he does
misguess, and plays K,
Zia's partner will win the trick with A.
Zia's partner will then return a club through declarer's AJ.
If declarer plays J,
Zia can win with the queen and clear the club suit. Zia's partner
will (eventually) gain the lead in one of the red suits. Zia's carefully
created entry of Q will
give him the lead. Zia can then run the clubs, and ends up defeating
the contract by two tricks.
Final
Result: NS make 6 tricks and -200
'Nice
play!'
Back
Conceived
and sponsored by Orbis Investment Management Limited. To learn about
the award winning Orbis Funds, visit www.orbis.bm.
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