August 2016 - 52

Intermediate Players

Chalk Talk
BY EDDIE KANTAR

Dlr: South ♠ K Q 7 4
Vul: Both ♥ J 6
IMPs
♦J872
♣J43

♠ 10 9 8
♥ K 10 8 7
♦543
♣K86

♠AJ32
♥AQ
♦ K Q 10 6
♣ A 10 5
West

North

East

Pass
Pass

3♣
4♠

Pass
All Pass

South
2NT
3♠

Opening lead: ♠10.
You draw trumps in three rounds,
East discarding the ♥2 on the third
spade, and lead the ♦K.

1. How do you play if West wins and
exits a diamond?
2. How do you play if East wins and
exits with the ♥10?
You are looking at a diamond loser, a
possible heart loser and two possible
club losers, especially if you have to
broach clubs first. But you don't!
Remember what we said about
equal-length side suits like the hearts
on this deal? Though you normally
avoid them like the plague in the early
play, they often serve a useful purpose
as "throw-in" suits to force a favorable
lead in another suit (clubs in this case)
later in the play. This layout illustrates
that point:

52 Bridge Bulletin August 2016

kantarbridge.com

♠KQ74
♥J6
♦J872
♣J43

♠65
♥95432
♦A9
♣Q972

♠AJ32
♥AQ
♦ K Q 10 6
♣ A 10 5

1. If West wins the ♦A and exits
a diamond, strip diamonds and
then play the ♥A Q. No matter
who wins, that opponent must
lead a club (or else give you a
game-clinching ruff and sluff ). If
East wins the ♥K, and leads a low
club, duck to West and now when
West continues a club perforce,
you take the next two club tricks.
If West wins the ♥K and leads a
low club, play low from dummy,
capture East's honor, and again
you have only one club loser.
2. If East wins the ♦A and exits
with the ♥10, win the ace, strip
diamonds and exit with the ♥Q,
creating the same end position,
once again making your contract.
Some players are incapable of leading the ♥A Q out of one hand or the
other without finessing. Those players
will go down on this deal. After a heart
finesse loses and a heart comes back,
Mr. Finesse-Happy is likely to lose two
club tricks and the contract.

I tell my classes the story of two
wives who are debating which husband
plays worse. Wife No. 1 says it is no
contest. Wife No. 2 disagrees and tells
Wife No. 1 what happened the night
before. Her husband was in 7NT with
12 top tricks needing a heart finesse to
make the contract with the ♥A Q in
dummy and the finesse onside.
Husband No. 2 took the first 11 tricks
and wound up with the lead in dummy,
dummy having the ♥A Q, and led the
♥Q from the dummy!
Wife No. 1 says, "So what's so terrible
about that? Against my husband, that
play works!"
◾

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Election Notice
ACBL members interested in running
for the Board of Trustees of the ACBL
Charity Foundation have until Oct. 15
to submit a written declaration of candidacy.
The ACBL Board of Directors will elect
one of the Foundation's five-member
board for a four-year term beginning
Jan. 1, 2017, at the fall board meeting
in Orlando FL. Trustees do not receive
expense reimbursement.
Candidates should send name, address, player number and biographical
information to ACBL Charity Foundation, 6575 Windchase Blvd., Horn
Lake, MS 38637 or by email (with
"Statement of Candidacy" in the subject
line) to kelley.mcguire@acbl.org.
http://www.kantarbridge.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2016
