January 2025 - 62

Advanced Players
Mike's Advice
A suit combination
Dlr: South s A 7 5 4
Vul: None h A K J 5
d 6 4 3
c 9 8
s K 9 6
h Q 10 4
d A 5 2
c A 6 3 2
West North East
Dbl
1h Pass
Pass 3NT
All Pass
South opened 1c and West doubled.
North might well have redoubled.
He felt that getting his majors
into the bidding was more important,
a decision that is reasonable but not
clear. Bidding 1h gives up on collecting
a penalty on defense. South rebid
1NT and was raised to 3NT.
West led the dK.
South has eight easy tricks. Where
might a ninth come from?
There is only one answer to this
question. It has to come from spades.
If spades are 3-3, you can take three
spade tricks. Is there any other possibility?
Perhaps.
South ducked the first diamond
and then ducked again when West
led the queen. When West continued
with the jack, South won. East played
the 7, 8, and 9 on these three diamond
leads.
Do you agree with South's play
so far? In fact, it is a bit dangerous.
If West had somehow found a club
switch, the defense might come to
five tricks even if spades divide 3-3.
South might regret holding up in that
case.
Time to go after the spade suit.
How would you do that?
62 | Bridge Bulletin | January 2025
South
1c
1NT
South went to the dummy with a
heart and led a spade towards his
hand. East played the 8 and South
played the 9. There's no reason to
bang down three rounds of spades to
see if they divide evenly. South had
spotted an extra chance by playing
spades as he did.
Do you see what South is hoping
for? South's main hope is that spades
divide 3-3, but he can delay that need
by finessing the 9 on this round. He
doesn't give up any chances this way.
West wins the 9 with the jack.
He cashes the d10 and exits with a
heart. And now?
South ran off the rest of the heart
suit (they divided 3-3), both opponents
discarding low clubs. South led
a spade to his hand, East playing the
10 on this trick and West the 2. When
South led his s6 towards dummy,
West played the 3. The missing spade
is the queen. Surprisingly, South is in
a position to take a finesse. Should he?
West is known to have three hearts,
four diamonds, and six black cards.
If East has the sQ, it means West
made a takeout double with J-x-x-x
in spades and x-x-x in hearts. This is
unlikely, so the spade finesse is surely
correct.
Here's the complete deal:
s A 7 5 4
h A K J 5
d 6 4 3
c 9 8
s Q J 3 2
h 9 7 3
d K Q J 10
c K 4
s K 9 6
h Q 10 4
d A 5 2
c A 6 3 2
s 10 8
h 8 6 2
d 9 8 7
c Q J 10 7 5
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BY MIKE LAWRENCE
michaelslawrence.com
Postmortem: If North had redoubled,
West would have run to 1d. You
can set that a trick or two, but getting
to 3NT is routine. But, of course, you
have to make it.
South had to spot the odd play in
spades. Had East played the 10 on
the first lead from dummy, South
would have to win and then lead the
9, playing West for the queen and
jack and East the 8.
Then, at the end, South cashed the
four hearts to get a count on that suit.
You won't often see a combination
like the spade suit here, but the fact
that this one exists suggests that
other odd situations can occur.
In the defense, East had a chance
to help West know what to do. East's
clubs are good enough that he can
afford to signal with the queen, telling
West that East has clubs under
control. Helpful hints like this make
life easy for your partner. 2
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
January 2025

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