Session 2 (Tricks to Burn)

Whoever it was who said that declarer play was easier than defence clearly had not focused on this pair of back-to-back deals from the second session of the Junior Pairs.

Board 21. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
	♠ K J ♥ K 3 2 ♦ K 5 3 ♣ A K J 9 2
♠ Q 6 5 ♥ J ♦ A Q 8 4 ♣ Q 10 6 5 3		♠ 10 9 2 ♥ A 9 5 4 ♦ J 9 7 6 ♣ 7 4
	♠ A 8 7 4 3 ♥ Q 10 8 7 6 ♦ 10 2 ♣ 8

West	North	East	South
Kranyak	Davis	Grue	Boyd
	1♣	Pass	1♠
Pass	2NT	Pass	3♥
Pass	3NT	Pass	4♥
All Pass

John Kranyak led ace and another diamond against Richard Boyd’s 4♥ contract. Boyd started well by winning the second diamond and immediately playing three rounds of spades, ruffing low, before anyone could get a chance to discard a spade. Once that stood up he only had to hold his trump losers to two to make the hand, but it looked to him as if he was in a normal contract and so should go for the maximum. His actual choice of leading low to the ♥10 was both unlucky and incredibly expensive. Kranyak won his bare ♥J and pumped declarer with a third diamond, then a fourth diamond from Grue when in with the ♥A led to one down.

If Boyd had considered that he had already done well in both the bidding and play thus far he might have reconsidered his approach, though it is easier to see this when in possession of sight of the full 52 cards. But perhaps it would not have been absurd to ruff a diamond back to hand at trick six, then play ace and king of clubs and ruff a club. At this point in the deal when a club is led from dummy and East is about to show out, declarer has ten tricks by force, by ruffing a club in hand and a spade high in dummy. Making ten tricks would have scored N/S 89/140, but down one was only worth 26 The next board was the reverse side of the coin.

Board 22. Dealer East. E/W Vul.
	♠ J 8 6 2 ♥ A 8 2 ♦ A Q J 3 ♣ J 2
♠ A 4 ♥ K Q 7 ♦ K 9 4 ♣ K 10 8 4 3		♠ K Q 9 3 ♥ 5 4 ♦ 10 8 7 6 ♣ 9 7 6
	♠ 10 7 5 ♥ J 10 9 6 3 ♦ 5 2 ♣ A Q 5

West	North	East	South
Kranyak	Davis	Grue	Boyd
		Pass	Pass
1NT	All Pass

Kranyak’s strong 1NT opening bought the pot (as it would have done at most tables I suspect) and now the question was whether the defence or declarer could take their tricks. It started well for Kranyak when Davis eschewed the diamond lead, but his fourth highest spade lead (they do not play second highest from four small) went to the ten and ace…. Should Boyd have worked out to put in the seven? I think so. Kranyak asked long and hard about the lead but was unwilling to put every one of his eggs in one basket by taking a spade finesse at trick two and potentially waving goodbye to the dummy. Instead he led a low club from hand – might the ♣10 have worked better? Davis bravely ducked, and allowed Boyd to win and shift to the ♥J. Now that N/S had the hearts going they were in position to cash out, and so Kranyak had to decide whether to take the spade finesse (for down four if he was wrong, or to back his initial judgment and play spades from the top, hoping for something good. He followed the latter route, without success, and got a 20% board when escaping for down one would have given him a 60% result.

Note that if declarer cashes four spades at once, via the finesse, pitching a club and a diamond from hand, the defence have to be just a little careful to beat him at all. After leading a club to the king and a club back to South’s queen, in this ending, with declarer having five tricks in the bag, and thus needing two more for his contract:

	♠ – ♥ A 8 2 ♦ A Q J 3 ♣ –
♠ – ♥ K Q 7 ♦ K 9 ♣ 10 8		♠ – ♥ 5 4 ♦ 10 8 7 6 ♣ 9
	♠ – ♥ J 10 9 6 3 ♦ 5 ♣ A

South does not cash his club of course, but plays the ♥J, covered all round. When North returns the ♥8 South can overtake, and now if West ducks, South cashes the ♣A to let North pitch his diamond loser, and a diamond through beats the hand. If West takes the second heart the defence have enough communications left to run the red suits for down one again.