March 2025 - 54

Intermediate Players
Mike's Bridge Lesson
Using spot cards wisely
S
pot cards are important. Their
value can show up in many
ways. For example:
Dummy
c J 9
Declarer
c Q 5 4 3
If this is your club holding, you may
get a trick (given sufficient time and
entries). You might not get a trick.
You will get a trick if the defenders
lead the suit or if you are able to
finesse the 9 and it forces out the ace
or king.
Dummy
c J 9
Declarer
c Q 10 5 3
Add the 10 and you go from having
zero or one trick to having two tricks
for sure (assuming adequate entries).
Here's a deal where these spot
cards really play a role:
Dlr: North s Q
Vul: N-S h A Q J 7
d J 8 4 3 2
c A K 3
s K 10 8 7
h K 3 2
d A 9
c 7 6 4 2
West North East
1d
Pass 2NT
Pass
South
1s 1NT
3NT
All Pass
West leads the s9. East considers
his play and finally follows with the
6. South has the first spade trick. He
has four more in hearts, one in diamonds
and two in clubs. That's eight
tricks. Is there a sure way to get nine
tricks? Say diamonds don't divide,
nor do the clubs: If South attacks
diamonds, the defenders can attack
clubs. Nine tricks may not be easy.
There is a play, however, that will
allow declarer to get nine tricks no
matter what the defenders do.
The answer lies in the spade suit.
When East lets the queen win, South
should overtake it with the king and
continue with the 10, which will
lose to East's jack. Declarer has two
entries to his hand to set up a spade
trick and then get to his hand to use
it. Here's the complete layout:
s Q
h A Q J 7
d J 8 4 3 2
c A K 3
s 9 3
h 9 8 6
d Q 10 6 5
c Q J 8 5
s A J 6 5 4 2
h 10 5 4
d K 7
c 10 9
s K 10 8 7
h K 3 2
d A 9
c 7 6 4 2
BY MIKE LAWRENCE
michaelslawrence.com
There's nothing East can do. He
made a good try by letting the queen
win at trick one. If East takes the ace,
as many would, declarer's play will
be easy. He would be able to set up
a second spade winner, giving him
nine sure tricks.
Postmortem: In the bidding, North
had an awkward hand. He had choices.
He might have opened 1d intending
to reverse to 2h if South bid 1s.
The problem with this choice is that
the North hand isn't strong enough to
reverse. North has the questionable
sQ, and his diamonds are pathetic.
North's actual choice of 1d then
2NT isn't terrible. Once partner bids
spades, a singleton queen isn't as
big a deterrent to bidding notrump.
However, a 2NT rebid should show a
slightly better hand.
North might have opened 1NT.
This bid describes the point
count perfectly. It lies about the
distribution.
I think it is fair to say that North's
hand doesn't offer a perfect sequence.
I would choose 1NT and suspect
that it would be the popular choice.
There's nothing wrong or illegal
about bidding 1NT with a singleton
ace, king or queen. It isn't usually
done, but when the time is right, a
1NT bid with a singleton can be a
good solution. It can backfire if your
partner transfers you to your singleton
suit. Opening 1NT with a singleton
is not guaranteed to work. 2
54 | Bridge Bulletin | March 2025
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
March 2025

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