November 2019 - 61

Solutions to Test Your Play
♠AK2
♥AJ743
♦642
♣83
♠764
♠5
♥ 10 8
♥KQ96
♦QJ97
♦ 10 8 5 3
♣6542
♣KJ97
♠ Q J 10 9 8 3
♥52
♦AK
♣ A Q 10

1.

This is a percentage problem. If
hearts are 3-3 (36%) and spades no
worse than 3-1, you can set up the
hearts for two club discards. However,
if hearts are 4-2 (48%), you can only
set up the suit for one discard. Not
enough. Alternatively, you can take
the club finesse, a 50% shot. The club
finesse offers far better odds, and
that's the move you should make.
Had you one more spade and one
less club, then you should rise with
the ♣A and work with the hearts. In
order to set up the hearts for one club
discard, all you need is for hearts to
be 3-3 or 4-2, a combined chance of
84%, far better than the 50% chance of
a club finesse.
This boils down to a suit combination problem in spades for
no losers. If spades are 3-2, there
is no problem, so concentrate on 4-1
and 5-0 breaks.
If West has J-10-x-x, you cannot avoid a spade loser. If East has
J-10-x-x, you are destined to lose a
spade trick, assuming normal play by
you and East in spades, (East playing
low twice).
If East has a singleton 10 or jack,
you cannot avoid a spade loser However, if West has a singleton 10 or jack,
you are home for no losers whether
you start with the ace from your hand
or low to the queen and then back to
the ace, West showing out. Then you

2.

can enter dummy with a diamond, say,
lead a spade to the 9, cash the ♠K and
claim, as you have 14 tricks.
We now enter the world of 5-0
breaks. If West has all five, you likely
have two spade losers, but if East has
all five, there is some hope. Can you
see what that hope is? How would you
try to counteract that insidious break?
Win the ♥K, lead a low spade to the
queen, West discarding a diamond.
Continue with a low spade from
dummy, East playing the 10, which
you capture with the king, West discarding a club.
Now enter dummy with a diamond
and lead dummy's last spade, just
covering whatever spade East plays.
You remain with the ♠A 9, and East
has the ♠J 8, and dummy has no more
spades. Now what?
You have to plan a trump coup ending in dummy at trick 11; you and East
each remaining with two trumps.
You can't arrange this ending unless
East has at least two clubs and two diamonds, so start by cashing the ♣K J
and the ♦K, both following. Now play
a third high diamond. If East ruffs,
overruff, draw East's last trump, and
you have 13 tricks. East does best to
discard a heart on the third diamond,
as you pitch the ♣Q from your hand
and continue with a high club from
dummy. East is in the same bind he
was on the third diamond. East does
best to discard a second heart, and you
also discard a heart. Now comes the
fourth and last club. This time, East
discards his last heart, but you have
the last laugh, as you discard your last
heart, too. When dummy plays the
♥A in the two-card end position, East
must ruff with either the jack or the 8,
and you take the last two tricks with
the A-9.
A grand slam contract fulfilled via a
trump coup by asking yourself, "What
can go wrong, and can I do anything
about it?"
◾

Advanced Players
Problems are on page 59.
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Sept. 12, 2019

November 2019 Bridge Bulletin

61
November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2019
