HELPING PARTNER

The popular contract on Board 16 from Round 4 was 4♠ going down – though 3NT cannot be beaten, it is tough to reach.

Board 16. Dealer West. E/W Vul.
	♠ Q 8 6 5 4 ♥ Q 10 4 ♦ A 3 ♣ A K J
♠ 10 ♥ A K 7 5 3 ♦ K 7 6 5 2 ♣ 9 2		♠ 9 7 2 ♥ J 8 ♦ J 4 ♣ Q 10 7 6 5 4
	♠ A K J 3 ♥ 9 6 2 ♦ Q 10 9 8 ♣ 8 3

Four Spades may not appear to be a very interestingcontract – the defence starts with three rounds of hearts because West has opened the bidding and, unless East switches to a diamond, the defence eventually comes to a diamond trick for down one. But is it quite that simple?

Ben Green of the English team suggests that it is quiteimportant whether East switches to the 'obvious' trump or to a club after taking his ruff. Say that East plays a trump at trick four; declarer wins and draws the last trump then plays the queen of diamonds off the dummy. No problem, you say, West covers and that is that – one down. But suppose that this is the actual North hand:

That is the same distribution and same high-card strength, and now to cover the diamond gives declarer an otherwise impossible contract. How is West to know?

Ben suggests, quite correctly, that the way to ensure that West does cover the diamond is for East to switch to a club at trick four. It does not matter that this runs around to declarer's jack, because if declarer holds ♣AKJ(x) he could always ruff all his club losers anyway. But now West will know that the defence has no club trick and East simply has to have the jack of diamonds if the contract is to be defeated.

Incidentally, against the English declarer, Michael Byrne, Australia's Daniel Geromboux did switch to a club, resolving any difficulties his partner might otherwise have had.