April 2024 - 54

Newer Players
Lessons Learned
Erosion
" A
long time " is not an
acceptable answer to a
scientifically minded
10-year-old. Overlooking the Grand
Canyon, my father explained how
it was made by the Colorado River
eroding a plateau.
" How long did it take? I asked.
" A long time, " was his unsatisfactory
reply. I decided to test it by leaving
our hose running in a corner of the
yard. It turns out that it takes longer
for a Grand Canyon to form than it
does for the neighbors to complain
about their garden flooding.
While I didn't succeed, I did appreciate
that patience and time can
cause great things. If you aren't in a
rush to take your tricks as a defender,
you can erode declarer's strength
until it collapses entirely.
You, West, hold:
s7 6 4 3 hA K J 3 2 d9 8 cA 3.
The auction proceeds:
You North East
2h
3h
Pass 4s
dummy.
s K 5 2
h 10 9 8 7
d A Q 3
c K Q 9
s 7 6 4 3
h A K J 3 2
d 9 8
c A 3
After declarer calls for a card, partner
plays the 4 and declarer follows
suit.
54 | Bridge Bulletin | April 2024
Pass
All Pass
You lead the hA and take a look at
South
1s
3s
You are using standard signals,
but it's entirely possible partner has
a singleton. (Why didn't they play a
higher singleton?)
You continue with the hK, partner
plays the queen and declarer follows
suit. Notice that partner, correctly,
did not play high-low with a doubleton
queen. Playing the queen guarantees
the jack (and you might find
an underlead in some cases, though
obviously not on this deal). Both declarer
and partner are out of hearts,
so what comes next?
The auction should tell us everything
we need to know. Declarer has
a minimum opening. We can see 14
HCP in dummy, combined with our 12
and partner's 2 (that hQ) is 28 HCP.
Declarer has the rest of the points, so
playing a diamond is pointless.
All hope is not lost, though. On
this deal, you can still make life very
uncomfortable for declarer. If you
play another heart, partner might
be able to ruff. In that case, declarer
can overruff but will have the same
number of trumps as you. You will get
in later with the cA (barring truly
bizarre distribution) and be able to
play another heart.
For this plan to work, though, we
need to keep a heart winner. That
means at trick three, we should lead a
low heart. If you play a high heart, you
are setting up a winner in dummy.
Partner ruffs the low heart and
starts eroding declarer's trump holding
when declarer overruffs. Dealing
out the cards might help you visualize.
See what happens in this position
(after the first three tricks) if you play
a low heart - ruffed and overruffed -
versus any of the other options.
s 7 6 4 3
h J 3
d 9 8
c A 3
s A Q J 8
h -
d K J 10
c J 6 2
A good declarer will try a couple
rounds of trumps (keeping a trump in
dummy) and hope that your partner
is the one with the cA. When you win
the cA and play your hJ, declarer has
no winning options. Declarer can
discard a winner in a side suit (while
conceding the setting trick) or ruff,
but now you are guaranteed to win a
trick with your long trump.
An inexperienced (or optimistic)
declarer might draw all your trump
starting at trick four and play winning
diamonds then a club. You can
now win your club and two heart
tricks for an extra undertrick.
The full deal:
Dlr: South s K 5 2
Vul: None h 10 9 8 7
d A Q 3
c K Q 9
s 7 6 4 3
h A K J 3 2
d 9 8
c A 3
s 9
h Q 4
d 7 6 5 4 2
c 10 8 7 5 4
s A Q J 10 8
h 6 5
d K J 10
c J 6 2

BY MICHAEL BERKOWITZ
michael@larryco.com
s K 5 2
h 10
d A Q 3
c K Q 9
s -
h -
d 7 6 5 4 2
c 10 8 7 5 4
April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024
