May 2009 - 56

ADVANCED PLAYERS

Mike's Advice

Mike Lawrence
www.michaelslawrence.com

Another fascinating
position
Dlr: South  10 9 8
Vul: N-S  8 7 6 2
 Q J 10 9
73
AQ6
7
 A K J 10 3 WNE  Q 9 4
83
S K72
QJ2
 10 9 8 6 5 4
KJ5432
5
A654
AK
West

North

East

2
4
Dbl

Pass
3
4
Pass
All Pass

South
1
3
Pass

One of the things that I recommend
you do after a session of bridge is
discuss hands. One of the best tools
you have is the hand records, if they
are available. If you have them, you
can often find a gem that would be
lost otherwise.
South played in 4 doubled on the
auction above and West led the two
top hearts, South ruffing with the
2. South felt that his best line was
to get to dummy with a spade in order
to take the diamond finesse. Thinking
56

there was a chance that one of the
defenders would have a singleton
Q, he led the king. West permitted
the king to win, and South continued
spades. West won and switched to
the Q. This defense was sufficient
to set 4 because South could not
get to dummy to take the diamond
finesse.
You can see that leading the king
(or jack) of spades does not work for
declarer. The defenders have a simple
answer to these plays. Do you see a
play that does work? (Keep in mind
that West doubled 4 which is a
hint that he has spade tricks. A trump
holding of A-Q-x in the West hand is
entirely possible.
Let's say you ruff the second heart
lead with the 2 and lead the 3
toward dummy's 10-9-8. West does
not want you to get to dummy, so he
takes his queen. He leads another
heart, which you ruff. What now?
Let's say you ruff the third heart
with the 4. If you lead a spade
honor, the defense lets you have the
trick, again shutting you out of getting to dummy, so let's say you lead
your low spade. (Your spades at this
point are the K-J-5.) If you lead the
5 instead of an honor, West wins and

once again you cannot get to dummy.
There is an answer that does not
come to mind immediately, but which
may occur to you on a future deal as
a result of seeing this layout. Here
is the solution: When you ruff those
heart leads in your hand, ruff the
second one with a spade honor. The
allows you to retain two low spades,
ensuring that you can get to dummy
sooner or later.
Of course, when you finally draw
trumps, ending in dummy, you are
out of trumps and that means that the
diamond finesse better be on. If it is,
you make 4. If it is off, West gets
his diamond and he gets another heart
trick, too.
Deals like this are annoying for
another reason. It may turn out that
West has the singleton K, in which
case all of your good work comes to
naught. It may turn out that you could
have forced your way to dummy with
a diamond in order to finesse the Q.
Different layouts offer different winning lines, but the actual winning line
is not known until the play is over.
Still, the line shown is a good one that
deserves consideration. If you agree,
you must see the need to unblock the
spade honors along the way.
r

Mini‑McKenney update
As reported in the April issue, Michael Myers of Ottawa ON was
the winner of the 2008 Mini-McKenney contest in the 200-300
masterpoint category. The write-up about Myers, however, incorrectly stated that the points he earned in 2008 came mainly from
club play; in fact, the vast majority of his points were earned at
regionals and the Fall NABC in Boston.
Regarding his achievement, Myers (who also became a Life Master in 2008) said, "Phase one completed. Thanks to all my friends,
good partners and tough opponents who've made learning enjoyable."
Bridge Bulletin

http://www.michaelslawrence.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2009