February 2020 - 52

Intermediate Players

The Real Deal
BY LARRY COHEN

larryco.com

Not Hall-worthy
Even the world's best have their
bad moments. A newly-minted ACBL
Hall-of-Famer (remaining nameless)
had one on this deal from the 2019
Vanderbilt Teams. He held:
♠10 9 ♥K Q 10 7 5 3 2 ♦9 4 ♣5 4
At unfavorable vulnerability, his
partner opened with a strong club.
Right-hand opponent showed the
minor suits, and eventually, the opponents sacrificed in 5♦ against 4♥.
This propelled South into 5♥, against
which West led the ♣J. The layout:
♠AQ54
♥AJ
♦K7
♣ A 10 7 6 2
♠ 10 9
♥ K Q 10 7 5 3 2
♦94
♣54

52 Bridge Bulletin February 2020

If both the ♠K and ♦A are with
LHO, all will be good. Declarer won the
♣A and drew trump, ending in hand
(they were 2-2). He led another club
(all following), losing to RHO's ♣9, and
a spade was returned to the 10, jack and
queen. Declarer ruffed a club - LHO
showed out - and ran some trumps. As
you can see from the Real Deal, this
was down one:
Dlr: North ♠ A Q 5 4
Vul: N-S ♥ A J
♦K7
♣ A 10 7 6 2
♠KJ83
♠762
♥86
♥94
♦J8652
♦ A Q 10 3
♣J8
♣KQ93
♠ 10 9
♥ K Q 10 7 5 3 2
♦94
♣54

In addition to the club trick lost,
declarer had to lose two diamonds.
Where did he go wrong?
He made an error that encompasses
probably the most important theme in
trump-suit contracts: "Should I draw
trump?" The answer here should have
been "No!" Why not? Dummy's ♥A J
are precious entries.
Declarer should win the ♣A and
return dummy's ♣10 at trick 2. It's
important to play the 10 to keep West
from winning the trick. Yes, East
showed minors, but at this vulnerability, against a strong club, he could easily
be only 4-4 or 5-4. If clubs turned out
to be 5-1, nothing would be lost - declarer could still hope the ♠K and ♦A
were right. When, in fact, clubs turn
out to be 4-2, there is no need for both
finesses to work.
East can win, but there are still
plenty of dummy entries. Declarer can
use them to ruff a third club and then
a fourth club. Once trumps are drawn,
he can reach dummy by taking a spade
finesse to throw a diamond on the fifth
club. All he should lose is a trick in
each minor for plus 650.
At the other table, South was allowed
to play in 4♥. A diamond was led,
which held the contract to 10 tricks. ◾



http://www.larryco.com

February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020

In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
Inbox -Letters to the Editor
A Message from the President
Columbus NABC
Effervescent Success
Repeated Finesse
Hot Streak
San Francisco Results
ACBL Board Minuts
Golden Gate, Silver Screen
Hall Of Fame
Club News
Ruling the Game
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
West Hands -Bidding Box
Boehm on Bridge
Misplay these Hands with Me - by Mark Horton
East Hands -Bidding Box
Challenge of the Month
Better Bridge with Bergen-Marty Bergen
Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
Test Your Play
Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
Solutions to Test Your Play
My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
George's World - by George Jacobs
Lessons Learned - Michael Berkowitz
Instant Matchpoint Game Winners
Tournament Talk
New Life Masters
Life Master Milestones
In Memoriam
Obit - Claude W. Cain III (1944-2019)
Obit - Martin Miller (1937-2019)
Obit - Joyce Penn (1940-2019)
Obit - Charles Frederick Gill (1949-2019)
Big Games
Tournament Directory
February 2020 - 1
February 2020 - 2
February 2020 - 3
February 2020 - 4
February 2020 - 5
February 2020 - In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
February 2020 - Inbox -Letters to the Editor
February 2020 - 8
February 2020 - A Message from the President
February 2020 - Columbus NABC
February 2020 - 11
February 2020 - 12
February 2020 - Effervescent Success
February 2020 - 14
February 2020 - 15
February 2020 - Repeated Finesse
February 2020 - 17
February 2020 - 18
February 2020 - Hot Streak
February 2020 - 20
February 2020 - 21
February 2020 - 22
February 2020 - 23
February 2020 - San Francisco Results
February 2020 - 25
February 2020 - 26
February 2020 - 27
February 2020 - 28
February 2020 - 29
February 2020 - ACBL Board Minuts
February 2020 - Golden Gate, Silver Screen
February 2020 - Hall Of Fame
February 2020 - 33
February 2020 - Club News
February 2020 - 35
February 2020 - Ruling the Game
February 2020 - The Bidding Box
February 2020 - 38
February 2020 - 39
February 2020 - It's Your Call
February 2020 - 41
February 2020 - 42
February 2020 - 43
February 2020 - Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
February 2020 - Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
February 2020 - Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
February 2020 - Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
February 2020 - Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
February 2020 - Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
February 2020 - 50
February 2020 - Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
February 2020 - The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
February 2020 - West Hands -Bidding Box
February 2020 - Boehm on Bridge
February 2020 - East Hands -Bidding Box
February 2020 - Challenge of the Month
February 2020 - Better Bridge with Bergen-Marty Bergen
February 2020 - Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
February 2020 - Test Your Play
February 2020 - Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
February 2020 - Solutions to Test Your Play
February 2020 - My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
February 2020 - Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
February 2020 - Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
February 2020 - 65
February 2020 - Lessons Learned - Michael Berkowitz
February 2020 - Instant Matchpoint Game Winners
February 2020 - Tournament Talk
February 2020 - New Life Masters
February 2020 - Life Master Milestones
February 2020 - 71
February 2020 - Obit - Martin Miller (1937-2019)
February 2020 - Obit - Charles Frederick Gill (1949-2019)
February 2020 - Tournament Directory
February 2020 - 75
February 2020 - 76
February 2020 - 77
February 2020 - 78
February 2020 - 79
February 2020 - 80
February 2020 - 81
February 2020 - 82
February 2020 - 83
February 2020 - 84
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