REDEMPTION SONG

By Eric Kokish

Adversity lurks at every turn. Even an optimist like you knows that there are deals that go badly from the start and get progressively worse. On the best of your bad days you can still recover, but only if you maintain your focus. When the heat is beating you down and even your spectacles are perspiring this can be a daunting assignment, but let’s see whether you can rise to the occasion on this deal from the second match of the first Mixed Teams qualifying round.

With only your side vulnerable, you are East.

West	North	East	South
			2§(1)
2©	2ª(2)	4©	All Pass

(1) Precision-style
(2) Non-forcing but constructive

North leads the ace of clubs and this is what you see:

	ª K J 10 4 3 © 9 4 2 ¨ 9 2 § A 5 4
ª Q 9 5 © A Q J 10 3 ¨ 6 5 3 § K 6

If you were Italian you could suggest a diamond switch by following by the §2, even cards discouraging and sending a suit preference message. Alas, you are from a country that does not support the Euro and you are limited to encouraging or discouraging. Which club do you play to the first trick?

The main issue is what will happen if you discourage a club continuation. Looking at this dummy North is more likely to play a spade than a club, so if you want to prevent that from happening, perhaps you should suggest that a club continuation would be best, now that the damage has already been done in that suit.

You are thinking impure thoughts, however, and you follow low, declarer contributing the six. It doesn’t take long for you to regret this decision for North switches briskly to the ª3, lowest from an odd number of cards. Declarer runs the spade to his nine, draws three rounds of trumps (North following four-nine-two), cashes dummy’s ªA, crosses to the §K (five from North) and leads the ¨5. North follows with the nine and you take dummy’s ten with the king. It’s been a nightmare for your side so far and it looks as if declarer is about to make a contract that was due to fail by at three tricks.

Or can you still recover?

If you haven’t succumbed to the heat and your own special miseries, you can redeem yourself at this, the eleventh hour.

Return one of your “low” diamonds. This leaves you with a major tenace and declarer will have to lose a diamond and a spade for one down.

If you lose your cool and cash the ¨A or exit with a club declarer’s spade loser disappears and he makes his pushy game.

This is the full deal:

Board 15. Dealer South. N/S Vul.
	ª K J 10 4 3 © 9 4 2 ¨ 9 2 § A 5 4
ª Q 9 5 © A Q J 10 3 ¨ 6 5 3 § K 6		ª A 7 6 © K 8 6 5 ¨ Q J 10 4 § 10 8
	ª 8 2 © 7 ¨ A K 8 7 § Q J 9 7 3 2

Cool is your middle name.

The Time Machine

By Mark Horton

Good wine improves with age and so too does the bridge expert. Part of the reason is the accumulation of knowledge over the years. On this deal from the Mixed Teams Round of 32 Austria’s Sascha Wernle searched into the past to find the way to defeat an apparently impregnable game.

Board 14. Dealer East. None Vul.
	ª A © K 10 7 5 3 ¨ K 8 5 4 § K 10 5
ª Q 8 5 4 © Q 2 ¨ J 10 6 2 § A Q 8		ª K J 10 9 © A J 9 ¨ A Q 9 7 3 § 9
	ª 7 6 3 2 © 8 6 4 ¨ - § J 7 6 4 3 2

West	North	East	South
van Cleef	Wernle	Smederevac	Bak
		1¨	Pass
1ª	2©	3©*	Pass
4¨	Pass	4ª	All Pass

It seemed to North that in order to defeat Four Spades some miracle would be required, so he decided to lead the eight of diamonds! Fearing a ruff by North declarer put up dummy’s ace so he was sort of half right. When North came in with the ace of trumps he could cash the king of diamonds and give South a second diamond ruff.

What Sascha had recalled was this deal from the European Open Pairs Championship in The Hague in 1997:

Dealer North. All Vul
	ª 10 7 6 5 © A ¨ A 10 7 § A Q 8 6 5
ª K 9 8 4 2 © 9 6 ¨ 9 8 § K 9 7 2		ª A J 3 © Q 8 7 4 ¨ Q 6 5 4 3 2 § -
	ª Q © K J 10 5 3 2 ¨ K J § J 10 4 3

West	North	East	South
Wernle	Lindkvist	Simon	Fredin
	2§	Pass	2©
Pass	2ª	3¨	3©
Pass	4©	Dble	All Pass

Sascha had led the nine of clubs. Declarer, fearing a ruff by West put up the ace so he was sort of half right. In due course the defenders made three more tricks.

Sascha can hardly wait to see what 2009 has in store, but my guess is it may involve the six of hearts.

Defensive Manoeuvres

By Mark Horton

This deal, reported to me by Martin Schifko, offered a fascinating possibility for the defenders, as it happens one that could be coyuntered by declarer.

Dealer North. Love All
	ª J 9 6 © J 7 ¨ J 5 2 § A 10 9 5 2
ª 8 4 3 2 © K 8 ¨ 7 6 § K 8 6 4 3		ª K Q 5 © Q 10 3 ¨ A K Q 10 4 3 § Q
	ª A 10 7 © A 9 6 5 4 2 ¨ 9 8 § J 7

West	North	East	South
	Pass	1§*	2©
Pass	Pass	3¨	Pass
3NT	All Pass

Let us say as North you find the lead of the nine of clubs, your systemic card from this holding, (you might prefer a low one, but that is a matter for debate). The appearance of the dummy appears to make your choice a good one, at any rate offering more prospects than the jack of hearts.

Dummy’s queen holds the trick, partner playing the jack, and declarer settles down to the diamonds, partner proving to have the nine and eight. After five rounds of the suit this position has been reached:

	ª J 9 © J 7 ¨ - § A 10 5
ª 8 4 © K 8 ¨ - § K 8 6		ª K Q 5 © Q 10 3 ¨ 3 § -
	ª A 10 7 © A 9 6 ¨ - § 7

If declarer now plays a heart to the king followed by a spade to the king, South wins and returns a club. Dummy can safely part with a spade on this trick, but when the ace of clubs is cashed we have reached one of those rare positions when the defenders execute a squeeze:

If Dummy pitches a diamond South discards a heart and North plays a spade. A heart is immediately fatal and if declarer throws away the spade queen he makes no more tricks.

However, if we go back to the second diagram if declarer simply cashes dummy’s last diamond then it is South who is squeezed, the main point being that a spade discard allows declarer to simply play a top spade.

The situation where a defender is repeatedly endplayed is a common one, but provided you keep your head you may sometimes escape your intended fate.

West	North	East	South
	Holland		Brunner
Pass	Pass	1NT	2©
3§*	Pass	3¨	All Pass

South led the king of hearts and declarer won and returned a heart. South had to win and was already faced with a problem. She decided to exit with a trump, which was covered by the queen, king and ace. Declarer played a trump to dummy’s jack and finessed the jack of clubs. South was on lead once more and this time exited with the jack of spades. Declarer won, crossed to dummy with a trump and played a club. When North produced the ten declarer ignored the restricted choice implications and uncertain about the location of the two black aces decided to play South for the ace of clubs by ducking in hand.