June 2014 - 54

Intermediate Players

The	Real	Deal
BY LARRY COHEN

 www.larryco.com

Twelve for me, one for both of you
This	deal	was	played	in	the	South	
Florida	Bridge	Players	team	game	
(a	common	source	of	deals	for	this	
column).	With	both	sides	vulnerable,	
South held:
♠A K 10 6 3 ♥A	K	J	8			♦A ♣A 4 2.
He opened 2♣ and received a response	of	2♦	waiting.	He	bid	2♠ and
his	partner	bid	2NT.	The	pair	had	3♣
available	as	a	second	negative,	so	2NT	
was	natural	and	suggested	something	
more	than	a	total	bust.	South	now	
showed	his	hearts,	and	his	partner	bid	
4♣.	What's	that?	
There	has	been	an	epidemic	Gerber	
outbreak	in	South	Florida,	but	thankfully,	it	hasn't	spread	to	the	expert	
game.	Too	many	intermediate	players	
have	erroneously	been	taught	that	4♣
is	"always"	Gerber.	
On	this	auction,	partner	isn't	showing	a	club	suit.	He	could	have	bid	3♣
over 2♣	to	show	good	clubs,	or	3♣
then 4♣	with	a	weaker	club	one-suiter.	
So	if	it	isn't	clubs,	and	it	isn't	Gerber,	
the	likely	meaning	of	4♣	is,	"I	have	a	
good raise to 4♥,	probably	with	a	club	
control."	
South	now	used	Roman	Key	Card	
Blackwood	and	got	the	answer	he	knew	
he	would	get	-	5♦,	showing	zero	key	
cards.	This	was	the	only	way,	however,	
to	get	to	the	questions	that	he	wanted	
to	ask:	"Partner,	do	you	have	the	trump	
queen	and	what	about	kings?"	South	
bid	5♠	to	ask	about	the	♥Q	and	North	
bid	6♥ denying it.
Assuming	you	aren't	dizzied	by	this	
auction, try the play in 6♥	with	the	

54 Bridge Bulletin June 2014

lead	of	the	♦J.	
♠9
♥76543
♦9864
♣	K	J	9
♠ A K 10 6 3
♥	A	K	J	8
♦A
♣A42
Let's	say	you	win	the	♦A and lay
down	the	top	trumps.	On	the	second	
round,	your	right-hand	opponent	
shows	out	(LHO	started	with	♥Q	10	9).	
Now	what?	
You play the ♠A	K	and	throw	what	
from	dummy?	If	spades	split	4-3,	you	
can	always	set	up	the	fifth	spade	and	
eventually	throw	a	club	on	it,	then	
ruff	a	club	in	dummy.	So,	you	might	as	
well	keep	all	of	dummy's	clubs	in	case	
spades	are	not	4-3.	You	throw	a	diamond	on	the	high	spade,	and	then	upon	
ruffing	a	spade	in	dummy,	you	get	bad	
news:	East	throws	a	diamond.	Spades	
are 5-2.
You	have	two	more	trumps	in	
dummy	to	ruff	your	last	two	spades,	
but	how	will	you	play	the	clubs?	In	
the	(presumably)	expert	game,	both	
declarers	fell	from	grace	and	played	
the ♣A	and	a	club	to	the	jack.	With	
LHO	known	to	have	five	spades	and	
three	hearts	(as	opposed	to	RHO's	two	
spades	and	one	heart),	the	club	finesse	
was	not	a	favorite.	
Something	much	better	was	available.	After	ruffing	the	third	spade,	

declarer	should	ruff	a	diamond	in	
hand	and	then	ruff	the	fourth	spade	in	
dummy.	Another	diamond	is	ruffed	in	
hand.	If	LHO	overruffs,	so	be	it	-	the	
club	finesse	is	always	available	later.	
That	diamond	ruff	lives,	and	the	fifth	
and	final	spade	is	ruffed	in	dummy.	Declarer then plays to the ♣A	and	back	
to the ♣K,	taking	the	first	12	tricks.	On	
the	final	trick,	declarer	loses	to	both	
East's	♣Q	and	West's	trump	Q!	This	
was	the	Real	Deal:
Dlr: South
Vul: Both

♠9
♥76543
♦9864
♣	K	J	9
♠	Q	8	7	5	4	 	
♠	J	2
♥	Q	10	9	
	
♥2
♦	J	10	7	
	
♦	K	Q	5	3	2
♣83
♣	Q	10	7	6	5
♠ A K 10 6 3
♥	A	K	J	8
♦A
♣A42
It	was	fortunate	to	find	LHO	following	to	all	of	those	minor-suit	tricks,	
but	surely	this	was	a	better	line	of	play	
than	taking	a	club	finesse.	
◾

Correction

On page 35 in the May issue, Jeanni
Blume was incorrectly identified as the
owner of the Pompano Beach Bridge
Club. The club is owned by the members.
http://www.larryco.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2014
