October 2017 - 52

Intermediate Players

The Real Deal
BY LARRY COHEN

larryco.com

Wasting your own trumps
Baseball fans often hear the announcer say that in every game played,
there is something new. It seems the
same way at bridge. Not only is every
deal a new adventure, but I often see
new themes, such as on this deal from
an Atlanta regional. You hold these
South cards:
♠9 7 ♥A Q 4 ♦9 7 ♣A K Q 7 5 2,
and open 1♣ with both vulnerable.
Left-hand opponent bids 2♣ to show
the majors. Partner doubles. The typical meaning of a double of a Michaels
cuebid is penalty-oriented. Partner is
out for blood. RHO doesn't choose a
major. He bids 2♦. What's that?
I like to play it as natural - RHO has
his own diamond suit and doesn't wish
to choose a major. (Reminder: Discuss
with your partner not only what 2♦
means, but what redouble and pass
would mean after the double of the Michaels cuebid.) Anyway, you now have
a problem.
You could pass, which should be
forcing. Partner is not allowed to
double and then sell out on the two
level. You could bid 3♣, but your hand
might be too strong-there is no reason
for 3♣ to be forcing. You could also bid
2♥ (LHO's suit) to show something
there. In that there are arguments for
and against many calls, this could be a
good bidding-panel problem. I'll spare
you the agony and tell you that you end
up declaring 7♣!

52 Bridge Bulletin October 2017

LHO leads the ♥J and you see:
♠AKQ3
♥K63
♦A54
♣ 10 9 4
♠97
♥AQ4
♦97
♣AKQ752
You are in an excellent contract. I
would have two initial thoughts. One,
I can claim if clubs aren't 4-0. My diamond loser goes on dummy's spades.
Two, what the heck was West doing
making a vulnerable Michaels cuebid,
with so few high-card points?
West must have extreme distribution-not your ordinary 5-5 hand.
Should you assume he is void in clubs
and run the ♣10 on the first round?
No. West could conceivably have a
singleton (or doubleton) jack in clubs.
There is no reason to risk a first-round
club finesse. You can always pick up
jack-fourth of clubs onside as long as
you are careful. So, how will you be
careful?
You win the ♥A in hand and lay
down the ♣A. If all follow, you claim. If
LHO shows out, as he does in real life,
would you have the foresight to unblock dummy's ♣10 or ♣9 under your
own ace? If you played dummy's ♣4
(seemingly less wasteful) on your ♣A,
you are down! Here is the real deal:

Dlr: South ♠ A K Q 3
Vul: Both ♥ K 6 3
♦A54
♣ 10 9 4
♠ J 10 8 6 5 4
♠2
♥ J 10 9 8 7 5
♥2
♦J
♦ K Q 10 8 6 3 2
♣-
♣J863
♠97
♥AQ4
♦97
♣AKQ752
West (notice he is 6-6, no surprise)
led the ♥J. You won in hand and laid
down the ♣A, seeing West show out.
Watch what happens if you naively followed with dummy's ♣4 on your ace.
You can still finesse against East's ♣J,
but your entries are bollixed. You cross
to the ♠A to lead the ♣10. East covers!
Ooops! Big trouble.
You can win and go to the ♣9 in
dummy, but East still has a little trump.
How will you draw it? You can't get
back to your hand. Try it!
Now, let's do it the right way. At trick
two, play the ♣A, and when West
shows out, dump dummy's ♣10. Cross
in spades and play the ♣9. East must
cover. Now, go to the ♦A and play
dummy's last club. East remains with
♣8 6. You still have a high club and the
♣7 to take the marked finesse, finish
drawing trumps and then go back to
dummy to take all your winners.
If you don't see it, lay out the cards.
It's not every day that you see such an
unblocking play, squandering your own
good trump spots.
◾
http://www.larryco.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2017
