July 2018 - 62

Advanced Players

Mike's Advice
BY MIKE LAWRENCE

michaelslawrence.com

Defense: Looking to the auction for the answer
In a recent online tournament, this
deal came up. Look at this deal from
East's perspective:
Dlr: North ♠ 4 2
Vul: N-S ♥ Q 8 6 5 4
♦A64
♣KQ6
♠A863
♥97
♦ Q J 10 8 3 2
♣J
West
Pass
Pass
All Pass

North
Pass
1♦
3NT

East
Pass
3♦
Pass

South
1♣
Pass
4♥

The auction needs explanation.
North-South were using transfer responses to 1♣. Hence, North's 1♦ bid
said he had hearts. East hadn't opened
2♦ because he had four good spades,
but on the second round, he came in
with 3♦, a weak jump overcall. South
and West passed, and North bid 3NT.
South finally raised hearts, and played
in 4♥.
West led the ♣9, and the play went
very well for East. Dummy's ♣K won
the first trick, and declarer led a heart
to his jack and West's king. West then
led the ♣8, which East ruffed. So far,
South has played two low clubs, so
East knows declarer has the ♣A 10
remaining.
The defense has two tricks in, and
the ♠A is another. What should East

62 Bridge Bulletin July 2018

do now? Switch to diamonds? Lead the
♠A? Underlead the ♠A?
West led the ♣8 for East to ruff. He
could have led a low club, but he didn't.
So West must be signaling for a spade
return.
Here's the entire deal:
♠42
♥Q8654
♦A64
♣KQ6
♠QJ5
♠A863
♥AK
♥97
♦975
♦ Q J 10 8 3 2
♣98543
♣J
♠ K 10 9 7
♥ J 10 3 2
♦K
♣ A 10 7 2
What actually happened was that
East led a low spade. South played the
king, and then discarded dummy's
second spade on the ♣10. Red faces
all around: Even on BBO you could see
them.
What should have happened, and
why? First, note that West didn't lead
a diamond. He chose a club because he
judged that North-South had a club fit,
and he hoped to give East a ruff or two.
His lead was thoughtful.
Now, look at the bidding. South
opened 1♣ in third seat. In third seat,
anything goes. South could have had a
real opener, but he could also have less
than opening values. The actual hand

had 11 HCP, but no one would say this
was a sound opening bid. When North
showed hearts, South refrained from
bidding 3♥. That would have promised
a full opener.
North took some liberties when he
bid 3NT. He felt he had to do something, and 3NT was his guess. South
then bid 4♥, showing he preferred
hearts to notrump.
All of this information is available to
East. East can conclude that South has
a bad opening bid, which means that
West has a decent hand.
At the point where East ruffed the
club, he chose to lead a low spade. This
might work if South has the ♠K J, but
in reality it should never work. Best is
to lead the ace. It is guaranteed to beat
the contract. Can you see why?
The answer to this question can be
learned by reflecting on the bidding.
For South to make 4♥, he needs to
have the following hand or one like it:
♠K J x x ♥A J x x ♦x ♣A 10 x x.
If South had this hand, he wouldn't
pass over 3♦. He would bid 3♥. South
did correct to 4♥ at the end of the
auction, but he can't have a good hand
because he already admitted he had a
bad one.
As East, if you lead the ♠A, your
partner will either have the ♠K, and
you will set 4♥ immediately, or your
partner will have the ♥A, which will
be the setting trick later.
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