Choose Your Finesse – Part 3

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...) This is Part 3 of Oren's series on Finesses. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2.

Test yourselves with the hands below, and see if you can choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

21. You play 4♠ on a ♣J lead. Which finesse do you take?

You play 4♠ on a ♣J lead. Best chance to make your contract is to win the first trick in hand with the ♣K and play a LOW heart to the ♥Q. If the ♥K is with West, he will win it and continue with another Club. You will win it with the ♣A, cash the ♥Q, come back to hand with the ♠A and throw your club loser on the ♥A.

That way you will lose one Spade, one Diamond and one Heart. If you win the first trick with dummy's ♣A and try the spade finesse, you will go down if the finesse fails: West will continue with another club and you will lose a Club, a Diamond, a Heart and a Spade.

And what if the ♥K is with East?
He will take your ♥Q at trick 2 and continue with a Club. You will still have a chance to make if the spade finesse works. That way you have about 75% chance to make. You will go down only if the ♥K is with East and the ♠K is with west.

22. You play 4♥ and West leads ♣AKQ. Which finesse(s) do you take?

You play 4♥ after West opened 1♦ and East bid 1NT. West leads ♣AKQ. Ruff and try to finesse Diamond to the ♦Q. Points must be divided around 12-6 between opponents for their bidding, so if the Diamond finesse works, you can place both missing queens with East and finesse them accordingly (as West showed already 12 points: ♣AKQ and ♦K).

But here, East takes the ♦K and returns another Diamond. This means the missing queens are in different hands. So, play a third Diamond and ruff. Now count: East's 1NT bid denies 4 cards majors. This means West has 4 Spades. Also, West has 5 Diamonds (as East had ♦Kx) and at least 3 Clubs; this shows that West has at most one Heart. Play the ♥K, and when the ♥Q doesn't drop, finesse to the ♥J next and cash a third Heart. You can place the ♠Q with West now and run the ♠J to make 10 tricks.

23. You play 4♥ on the ♦Q lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ (3NT from North would be cold.) Lead is ♦Q. Ruff the third Diamond and try the Spade finesse. If East wins and plays a Club - win it with the ♣A, play Spade to the ♠A and continue with a Spade ruff, Heart to the ♥Q, another spade ruff, pull trumps and use your ♣K as a final entry to your 5th Spade for a Club discard.

Playing for Spade being 4-2 (or 3-3) is 84%, while playing for the Club finesse is only 50% (as you need to win with the ♣K if you try the club finesse and it fails, losing your last entry for the 5th Spade).

24. You play 4♥ on a ♣J lead. Which finesse(s) do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ on a ♣J lead. Best is to count tricks: 1 Spade, 4 Hearts and 2 Clubs = 7 tricks. You can easily ruff 2 Clubs in hand = 9 tricks.

The 10th trick should come from establishing a Diamond trick: Win ♣A and try the Heart finesse. West wins and plays another Club. Win the ♣K, throwing a Spade from hand. Cash a 2nd trump round, and play a low Diamond to the ♦10.

If East wins and plays Spade – You always manage to limit yourself to only one Spade loser by playing low and losing the trick to West.

If East wins and plays a Club - Ruff, play ♦J, and throw a Spade from dummy (loser on loser). Opponents win and play Spade, but you win it with the ♠A, and throw the last Spade from dummy on the ♦Q.

If, instead of playing the Diamonds you start playing on Spades yourself – you go down.

25. You play 4♠ (after an ambitious bid...) and West leads the ♣Q. Which finesse do you take?

You play 4♠ on a ♣Q lead (East opened 1♣). Win the ♣A and play a Diamond to your ♦K.

To make your contract you need to hope that Diamonds are 3-2 (with ♦A and ♥K both most likely in East's hand for his opening bid).

To make your contract you need to perform both finesses: Diamond to ♦K and Heart finesse.

Did you spot the hidden entry? Play Diamond to the ♦K. If your ♦K wins, play 3 rounds of Spade and continue with another Diamond. Opponents will win, cash the ♣K and continue with another Club. Ruff, and play your ♦10. Opponents will win again but you have now promoted the ♦9 as an entry to dummy to perform the Heart finesse.

If you play the Heart finesse at trick 2, you will lose 3 Diamonds and a Club, since you won't be able to play a Diamond to your ♦K.

26. You play 4♥ after East opened 1♦. West leads the ♦QJ and you ruff the second Diamond. Which finesse(s) do you take?

You play 4♥ after 1♦ opening from East and double (negative) from West. West leads the ♦Q and you ruff the second Diamond.

As the ♦QJ are marked with West, you can count at least one spade honor and the ♣A with East to justify his opening. So... plan your entries to dummy to perform both finesses: Lead a Heart to the ♥Q and play a LOW spade to the ♠J. That play will save you an entry! West will win and play back a Diamond. Ruff, play a Heart to the ♥A and continue with the ♠10.

If East covers - the ♠9 will be an entry for the Club finesse. If East doesn't cover - You remain in dummy to play a Club to the ♣K.

27.You play 3NT and West leads the ♥Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT and West leads the ♥Q. You have 8 top tricks: 1 Spade, 1 Heart, 2 Diamonds and 4 Clubs.

The 9th trick is likely to come from a successful finesse as you need to make 9 tricks without losing the lead (else opponents will make all their Hearts). But you can improve your chance by playing the ♦AK first: maybe you manage to drop ♦Q or ♦Qx.

If that doesn't happen, try to finesse to the ♠Q. As cards lay, ♦AK drops the ♦Q and you have 10 tricks right away, not needing to take any finesse.

28. You play 4♥ on a ♦Q lead. Why is this hand here? You tried low Diamond twice (maybe the ♦A drops) but East played ♦A on the third round of Diamonds, covering your ♦K. Now what?

You play 4♥ and West lead the ♦Q. You tried low Diamond twice but East played the ♦A on the third round, covering your ♦K.

Now what?

You have 9 tricks and you need to develop your 5th Spade as the 10th trick. For that you need 4 entries: 3 entries for Spade ruffs and another to enjoy your 5th Spade: Ruff the 3rd Diamond with a HIGH trump and play Spade to the ♠A, Spade ruff (HIGH), FINESSE Heart to the ♥7 (!), 3rd Spade ruff (HIGH), Heart to the ♥K, 4th Spade ruff, ♥A to cash opponents last trump, Club to the ♣A, and finally the 5th Spade for a Club discard.

Note: If you don't ruff high in hand, West can set if he plays the ♥8 when you play a Heart to your ♥7.

29. You play 3NT on a ♥6 lead. East plays the ♥10 and you win with the ♥Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT on a ♥6 lead. East plays the ♥10 and you win with the ♥Q.

The idea is to avoid losing the lead to East, as a Heart return from his side will set you: Play Spade to ♠A and continue with the ♣J, finessing if East plays low. That play will bring you to safety even if East has ♣Qxxx. Finesse again to the ♣10, Cash ♣K, and use the ♦A to enter dummy for your high clubs.

30. You play 4♥ and West leads the ♠Q. After winning the ♠A, which finesse will you take? Heart, Diamond or Club?

You play 4♥ and West leads the ♠Q. After winning the ♠A, which finesse will you take? Heart, Diamond or Club?

Diamond is not good as East may play the ♦K and you can no longer get 2 Diamond tricks.

Heart finesse: even if it works, you would still need a successful Club finesse to make your contract.

In other words, you will certainly need to take the Club finesse no matter what happens in the other suits. Therefore, finesse Club to ♣10 at trick 2: if you lose to the ♣J, try to drop the ♥Qx by playing ♥AK, and use your Diamond entry for another Club finesse. If your ♣10 loses to the ♣K - use your entry to take a Heart finesse (you can play the ♥A before, attempting to drop single ♥Q). And finally, if you are lucky (as here), your ♣10 will hold the trick. Try ♥AK to drop the ♥Q, and use your 2nd entry for another Club finesse.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of the test!

Choose Your Finesse – Part 2

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...) This is Part 2 of Oren's series on Finesses. Click here for Part 1.

Test yourselves with the hands below, and see if you can choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

11. You play 4♠ and West leads the ♣J. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠ and West leads the ♣J. Win in dummy and lead a LOW Diamond to your ♦J. If East has the ♦KQ, you manage to promote a Diamond trick for a club discard. If not... You will still make if the Heart finesse succeeds.

12. You play 6♥ and West leads the ♦Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♥ and West lead the ♦Q. As you want to make your Clubs, you need to pull out trumps first. You cannot afford to play the ♥K and run the ♥10, as if the ♥Q is with West - you will lose this trick and the Diamonds later. Planning to ruff Diamonds is not too good either due to entry problems.

The best line is to run the ♥10. If West wins with the ♥Q, your ♥K protects you from a Diamond continuation.

If West returns a Spade - you play the ♠A, pull out trumps, and throw 2 Diamonds and a Spade on the good Clubs. If the ♥10 holds the trick, continue with the ♥K, a Club to the ♣K, ♥A (if Hearts split 3-2 you can claim 13 tricks) and Clubs, throwing 2 Diamonds from hand. West can ruff the 4th Club and play a Spade - but you take the ♠A and throw your remaining Spade loser on the 5th Club.

13. You play 3NT on a ♠Q lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT on a ♠Q lead. You have 8 tricks off the top. the 9th trick will come from a successful Heart or Diamond finesse.

Question is, which finesse should you take first?

You must take the Heart finesse. Win the ♠A and play a Heart to the ♥K.

Why? If the ♥A is with East - You will score your ♥K as the 9th trick. If not - You still have a chance to try the Diamond finesse later. But, if you try the Diamond finesse first and it fails - East will return a Spade and now you are down for sure, no matter where the ♥A is (you will lose one Heart, one Diamond and 3 Spades).

14. You play 3NT and West leads the ♦6. Which finesse do you take?

You play 3NT and West leads the ♦6. Win the ♦A and run the ♣10 for a finesse. As cards lay here – You make 10 tricks as the Club finesse works.

However, if Club finesse fails, you can still try to make the ♦Q if West returns Diamond.

But as cards lay here, if you try the Diamond finesse at trick 1, you will not survive a Spade switch at trick 2 (after East winning the ♦K at trick1).

15. You play 4♠ and West leads the ♦4. East wins with the ♦A and continues with the ♦Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠ and West leads the ♦4. (East opened the bidding with 1♦.)

East wins the ♦A and continues with the ♦Q. As the ♦4 cannot be doubleton (you have the ♦32) it is most likely a singleton. If you cover with the ♦K, West ruffs, returns a Heart and you lose one Heart, 2 Diamonds and a Diamond ruff.

So play low on the ♦Q. East wins and play another Diamond, but you finesse to the ♦10 and when West ruffs and returns a Heart - win the ♥A, pull out trumps and throw the ♥Q on the ♦K.

16. You play 4♥ after West opened 1NT. West leads the ♥3 and you win with the ♥9. Play it from here.

You play 4♥ after West opened 1NT. West leads the ♥3 and you win with the ♥9. You need to try to ruff 2 Spades, but also to try to avoid losing the lead to East, as a Heart return from East will sabotage your plan.

So, play Diamond to the ♦A and then a Spade from dummy, covering whatever card East plays (if East plays the ♠Q - Win ♠A and continue with another Spade. East cannot have more than one Spade honor as he has at most 2 points on this bidding).

When West gets the lead, he cannot afford another Heart, else he doesn't make his ♥K. Now you manage to make your two Spade ruffs.

Note: If you play the ♠A and another Spade from hand – East can win the trick and return a Heart – And you are down one.

17. You play 4♠ which East doubled. West, who bid 2♥, leads the ♥Q. Where is the finesse here?

You play 4♠ which East doubled. West, who bid 2♥, leads the ♥Q.

Win with the ♥A, play a Diamond to the ♦K and then another Heart from dummy, finessing East (sort of Expass = playing to your K).

If East ruffs - He ruffs "air", as you will follow with a low Heart. If East discards - You win the ♥K and ruff a third Heart. East can overruff and play the ♠K, but you win with the ♠A and ruff the fourth Heart too. Defenders make only 3 Spade tricks.
Note: If you play the ♥K from hand, East will ruff, continue with the ♠K and you will not be able to ruff two Hearts in dummy as East will overruff the third Heart and cash his trumps. That way you will lose 3 Spades and a Heart.

18. You play 6♥ on the ♣J lead. Which finesse do you take?

You play 6♥ on the ♣J lead. The best chance is to win the ♣K and finesse spade to the ♠Q.

If the finesse loses to West, use the ♠J to try the Heart finesse. If the finesse wins, play ♦AK and continue with the ♥Q from hand. When West wins his ♥K (this round or the next one – as when you continue with the ♥J he must win), you will have the ♥10 as entry to dummy in order to throw a Spade loser on the ♦Q.

19. You play 3NT and West leads a Spade. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT and West leads a Spade (East opened 1♠). It is clear from the bidding that West has maximum 1 point, and both missing aces are with East. If you try to establish the Hearts, East will win the ♥A, continue with Spades and you are stuck with 8 tricks, as Diamonds are not splitting 3-3.

Playing a club to the ♣10 is an option (a very bad one...) to try and hunt for 4 Club tricks. Another option would be to play for the ♣J doubleton...

Best line is: Win the lead, play a Diamond to the ♦A, and then a low Club from dummy. East must play low, else you score 4 Club tricks. Win with the ♣ K and start playing on Hearts. That way you steal a Club trick to be your 9th trick.

20. You play 4♠ on the ♦K lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠ on the ♦K lead. If you win the ♦A and play a trump - You will lose tempo! West will win and switch to the ♥J. You can try the ♥Q but East will cover and now your contract depends on a Club finesse, which fails. You lose one trick in each suit on this line of play.

Best chance is to play the ♣J from dummy at trick 2! Opponents will win but that play will allow you to throw your Heart loser on the third round of Clubs.

A matter of tempo: Establish your trick before opponents establish theirs (and also make sure to keep a Club entry: If you play ♣A and ♣Q, you will not have a quick entry to dummy).

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the test!

Choose Your Finesse – Part 1

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...)

Test yourselves with the hands below, and see if you can choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

1. You play 3NT, and West leads the ♠Q.

Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT, and West leads the ♠Q.

You have 7 tricks and you need to get another 2 from the red suits.

Take the heart finesse first! If it fails, you must get 4 Diamond tricks. Take the diamond finesse and hope for the ♦Q with West and diamonds splitting 3-3.

If the heart finesse works, you need only 3 Diamond tricks. In this case you must take the safety play, to avoid losing two Diamond tricks. Taking the diamond finesse here will make you lose two diamond tricks. Play ♦A, then a diamond to the ♦K.

As cards lay here, the ♦Q drops and 9 tricks are guarenteed. But even if the ♦Q doesn't drop, you can play a third diamond to the ♦J. You will make the ♦J if West has ♦Qxxx or if Diamonds are 3-3.

In other words, taking the heart finesse before touching diamonds will help you decide how to play the Diamond suit later on.

2. You play 4♠ on a Diamond lead.

Which finesse do you take, if any?

Win with the ♦AK (throw club) and play a heart to the ♥K.

If you try the spade finesse instead, you will need much more than 50%, because, even if it works, you need to hope for a 2-2 split, as you have no entry to repeat the finesse.

As cards lay here, both finesses succeed, but trying spade finesse – You will still lose to the ♠K and 2 heart tricks. While playing a heart to the ♥K (has 50% chance) limits your heart losers to one.

3. You play 4♠ and West leads the ♥4.

Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠. West leads the ♥4.

From the lead and bidding, everything is clear: Points are about 12-6 with your opponents.

West does not have ♣AK (nor ♣KQ, else he would have lead a club), and he has one heart honor (with ♥KQ, North would lead the ♥K).

This means East has ♣K + a Heart honor, and West has the rest of the top honors. So the ♠Q is surely with West, and you need to finesse West instead of playing for the drop.

4. You play 3NT and West leads the ♥Q.

Which finesse do you take?

You are playing 3NT and West lead the ♥Q. West is the dangerous hand, as he holds long hearts, so it is important to knock out his entry as early as possible, in case both finesses fail.

Win the ♥K and finesse diamonds. West will win and play hearts, but you hold up, win the third heart and then finesse clubs. The finesse fails, but East has no more hearts and you have 9 tricks: 2♠, 2♥, 2♦ and 3♣.

If West tries to get smart and ducks the ♦K – switch to clubs – You have your 9 tricks even if the club finesse fails (as the ♦J won a trick).

5. You play 4♥ and West leads ♠AK and a third spade. You ruff, play club to dummy and try the heart finesse. West wins with the ♥K, and continues with the ♣J.

How do you plan to avoid a diamond loser?

You play 4♥ and West leads ♠AK and a third spade. You ruff, play club to dummy and try the heart finesse. West wins with the ♥K and continues with the ♣J.

Stop and count! West is a passed hand and you saw him already with 11 points: ♠AK, ♥K and ♣J. This means the ♦Q must be with East. So... Win the ♦K and finesse diamonds to your ♦ 10.

6. You play 4♥ and West leads the ♦K.

Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ and West lead the ♦K. You need to try to avoid giving the hand to East, as a spade from him might set the contract (and that will happen if you try club finesse).

The way to avoid East is to let the ♦K win the 1st trick! Win whatever West continues. Draw trumps, throw club on the ♦A, and continue with ♣A and another club, performing a ruffing finesse on East. Ruff East's ♣K, go back to dummy on hearts and throw 2 spades on dummy's clubs. Note that even if the ♣K is with West - you are still safe (as the ♠K protects you), losing ♣K + 1 more spade trick (you throw one spade before losing to the ♣K, and later 2 more spades on the promoted clubs).

7. You play 3♠ and West leads ♦AK, then switches to a low club. East wins the ♣J, cashes ♣A and continues with a spade.

Do you try the finesse, or play for the drop?

You play 3♠ and West leads ♦AK, then switches to a low club. East wins the ♣J, cashes ♣A and continues with a spade.

Do you try the finesse, or play for the drop?

NOTE! If East has ♠Qxx, all he has to do is play a third club, forcing you to ruff in dummy, and thus making sure you can no longer finesses spade...

So... East is tempting you to make a mistake. Just play ♠AK and drop West's ♠Qx.

8. You play 3NT and West leads the ♠10. How do you plan to play the Heart suit?

You play 3NT and West leads the ♠10. You ask East about the lead and he explains that a 10 lead can be either Top of nothing OR 2 higher cards than the 10. So realizing that the ♠Q is surely with East (if the 10 lead means the 9 + a higher honor – try to play the ♠J), you play a low spade from dummy (maybe East has Q or Qx).

Win in hand and play ♣KQ. When all follow, play the ♣J to the ♣A and continue with a heart to the ♥9. West wins the ♥K and continues with another spade.

Win and play the ♣6 to your ♣7 in dummy. Play another heart and finesse to the ♥J for your 9th trick. If you lose 2 heart tricks, you would need to hope to drop the ♠Q.

9. You play 6NT on a Diamond lead. Which finesse(s) you do you take?

You play 6NT on a diamond lead. You have 11 tricks. To maximize your chances, play a low heart to the ♥J.

If the ♥Q is with West, the ♥J will be your 12th trick.

If the ♥J loses to the ♥Q, you can still try to drop the ♥10 by playing ♥AK (as happens here).

Finally, if this doesn't work either, you can try the spade finesse (or a Heart-Spade squeeze) as your last option.

10. Against 4♥, West leads a trump. Which finesse do you take?

Against 4♥, West lead a trump.

If you run the ♠J for a finesse – you will lose to the ♠K, and then you lose 2 more diamonds after a ♦J switch. You will also lose 1 club trick later on.

So... Draw trumps and play a LOW spade from dummy to your ♠J. If East wins and plays a diamond – you will lose 2 diamonds and one spade, but you will be able to throw 2 clubs on your promoted spades. If East plays low – win the ♠J, which means you will not lose a spade trick. Also, if the ♠K is with West, your ♦K will protect you from losing 2 diamond tricks and you will be able to throw a diamond loser on one of the spades later on.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the test!

One point too many

"Oren, I'm leaving the club," Stella said to me in desperation.
"Why? Am I not smiling enough at you?" I asked with a large smile.
"No. It is just that in your club I never get any points while in other clubs I get plenty. Today, for instance, every hand I lift – I have zero points," she murmured.

Her partner added immediately with a wink: "Which is very good, for today she makes no mistakes at all."

Stella got mad: "Obviously! How can I possibly make mistakes holding no points? Come and have a look! Here, I am going to pick up the cards for the next hand. I haven’t seen the cards yet. Let's make a bet that it's another zero points hand."

Stella is so cute. Especially when she is mad... She was sitting East and picked up a hand with a whole one point, which seemed an improvement...

She threw me an angry "I told you so" look to prove her claim.

I remained at her table to see what happens (and also to give her some mental support).

Dealer West, E-W vulnerable


Stella's partner doubled 4♠, angrily, with her heavy hand.

She lead ♣AK. Stella followed first with the ♣7 and then with the ♣8.

"At least I can help my partner with count giving," she whispered at me, covering her mouth.

Her partner understood that declarer has no more clubs and switched to the ♦K. Stella rushed to follow with the ♦10. She looked very bored and just waited for the hand to end.

Declarer won the trick with the ♦A, ruffed a Diamond and played a Heart. He asked for the ♥Q when West played low. Stella followed with the ♥9 and continued whispering at me, still covering her mouth with her hand: "You see? I keep jealously all my points," she said cynically.

Declarer continued with a Club ruff and with the ♠AK. Then he played another Heart from dummy, and When Stella played her ♥J he played LOW from hand, allowing her to win the trick!

"What do you know? I managed to win a trick!" she continued sarcastically. But now she was truly fixed, being on lead with only Diamond cards remaining.

When she played a Diamond, declarer was able to throw a Heart loser from dummy, ruff it in hand and claim the rest, explaining he is ruffing Hearts in dummy and Club in hand.

Her partner was very angry: "Just when you finally got some points, and you already manage to make mistakes, giving away a doubled contract!"

"What points?! I only got one point!" yelled Stella.

"One point too many!!" her partner shouted back.

I decided to interfere in the "conversation," in an attempt to prevent the thirld world war breaking here, in my club:

"Stella, you got end-played by winning that trick, it allowed declarer a ruff/sluff. You should have paid more attention to the play and throw away that ♥J when declarer played the ♥Q. That way you will not get stuck in hand and declarer will always lose 2 Heart tricks, going one down."

Stella was miserable: "You want me to throw away all my points of today's session? You are asking too much from me!..."

What were you thinking about?

Steve has been playing Bridge for 2 years. As he felt he was ahead of his class mates and really wanted to progress faster, he made up his mind to hire a private teacher. She was very nice and very clear in her comments, and never got angry or upset – no matter what. These conditions were ideal to him. His progress was meteoric as he learned many things within a short period of time. Mostly they were playing in a local club, with known opponents.

After they won a few trophies there, his teacher suggested: "Let's change atmosphere. The Bridge Festival is about to begin. Let's go and play there. You will meet players from all over the country. You can show them all what you are worth", said the teacher and winked.

Steve looked horrified, but the teacher continued: "Come on now, what can possibly happen? Even if our score will not be good – it will still be an adventure for you. There will be plenty players from abroad, world class player who won many important tournaments all over the world. And it is surely an experience to play against them. Only in the Festival you get the chance to play against such good players."

They registered to one of the main events, a pair tournament.

It was indeed an experience, just like the teacher said. So many new players, and good level too, nothing like playing at the local club. And such a festive atmosphere! With the Mayor, and the Minister of Culture speaking at the Opening Ceremony, granting trophies to the national team who had just won an important tourney overseas, plus a huge store selling Bridge books and cards and other bridge themed items: table cloth, shirts, glasses and mugs, card holders, bidding cards and so much more...

During the tourney his teacher said: "Pay attention! At the next table we are going to meet a former world champion! And she pointed at a player who was sitting at that time with his back to them.

Steve panicked and turned pale: "You know I'm new to all this. What chances do I have against a world champion?"

But she only smiled and said: "Trust me, you will survive."

Steve sat at the table, still feeling quite nervous.

"Hello," said the Champ and smiled warmly.
"H..hi", said Steve back, chocking a bit.

He expected the Champ to be a tough and snappy person... And not such a nice guy.

On the following deal, his teacher managed a brilliant defense against the Champ:

Dealer N, N-S vulnerable:


Steve lead the ♦10. His teacher in East won with the ♦K. Then she paused and thought for over 3 minutes! Steve had never seen her thinking for so long. But he was more impressed by the champ's behavior. The champ didn't say a word. Not one. Nor did he seem uncomfortable whatsoever. He simply sat calmly, respected his teacher's thoughts, and waited patiently for her to play.

Finally she continued with low Heart. The Champ won and played another Diamond but East won with the ♦A, played the ♥A and continued with a third diamond which Steve ruffed to set the contract.

"Well done opponents", complimented the Champ while smiling and writing down the score.

After the round Steve said: "Wowww, that was a real adventure, playing against a Champion and setting him. What a nice guy. Well done to you my teacher! Please tell me, what were you thinking about for so long, and how did you come to the right play?"

"Well, from your opening lead I understood that you have a doubleton. From the bidding South is known to have 6 cards in hearts, so you have 3. That makes his distribution 1-6-4-2. The ♣A is obviously in his hand too. At the beginning I was tempted to play the ♥A and another heart but then, declarer will pull your 3rd heart, play a diamond to the ♦Q and promote his ♦J while his 4th diamond will go on the 3rd club. Not good.

Then I thought that the setting trick must come from a diamond ruff.

At first, I thought to play ♦AK and a third diamond. The idea was that you will ruff, forcing the ♥Q out. Later on, when I get the ♥A I will play a fourth diamond which you can ruff higher than dummy's ♥3. But... declarer can play ♣AKQ, throwing his 4th diamond from hand and only then play hearts. That way, he can ruff his fouth diamond high in hand, losing just 2 diamonds and a heart. So... that won't work either. And then I realized that if I play a low heart at trick one I'll be able to keep control of the hand, and continue the defense as I did to allow you to ruff the third diamond even if you have three small hearts," she explained.

"Wowww! It took you only three minutes to find all this! It will take me three hundred years to get to this level," said Steve with admiration.

"It's all relative. This line would take the Champ exactly three seconds," said his teacher with a smile.

Trick 1 Decisions - Part 5

If you enjoyed Part 1; Part 2; Part 3 and Part 4 of this test, lets go ahead with more hands. But remember! After you see the dummy, before to run the trick to your hand...

STOP!!!

• Count your tricks and your losers.
• Plan your play.
• Plan your entries.
• Ask your opponents about their leads and carding system.

And only then start to play.

Try to make your decision before you look at the solution. No peeking!
The following hands are your test. Give yourself 10 point for each time you made the contract, and 0 for making the wrong decision. Be honest! Did you score well?

For the purpose of this test we'll assume, about the leads:

• 4th best against NT always promises an honor, denies sequence (3cards sequence, full or broken vs NT, and 2 card sequence vs trump).
• Low lead in Partner's suit promises honor.
• 2nd best from a suit without honor.
• 10 and 9 leads are either top of nothing (1098x, 987x) or 2 higher (KJ10xx, Q109xx)

Start the test now!

41. Against 6♠ West leads the ♥8. What do you do?







The Heart lead suggests that the ♥K is with East. Your best chance for a 12th trick is to promote the 5th club. However, for that, you need 3 entries, in case clubs are 4-2. So... Play LOW at trick 1, using the ♥9 in hand to force East win the trick. East wins with the ♥10 but can't afford to return a Heart (else you score the ♥Q) so he plays back a Diamond. Win with the ♦A. Play ♠A, ♣AK, club ruff, spade to ♠J and a 4th club ruff. Pull the remaining trumps, and use the ♥A as entry to play the 5th club, throwing the Diamond loser from hand.

If you try the ♥Q at trick 1, East will get the ♥K, return a Heart and destroy your entry to the 5th club.



You play 4♥ and West leads the ♠7 (East was a passed hand and then overcalled 2♠). What do you do?







Win the 1st trick with the ♠K! Why? Because if you run it automatically to your ♠A, play ♣AK, ruff club and play Heart to the ♥J – West can hold up. You continue with the ♥Q but now West wins with the ♥A, plays his 2nd spade and now you are locked in dummy with the ♠K. You try Diamond, but East wins, continues spade, and West's ♥10 is promoted (no use to throw a Diamond instead of ruffing since East will continue with another Spade.)

So, win the ♠K at trick 1, play ♣AK, ruff club and continue with a Heart. Holding up will not save West now, as you have the ♠A to enter your hand and pull out his ♥10.



You play 7♠. West bid 2♠ (Michaels, showing ♥ + minor) and East bid 4NT (= asks West to bid his minor at the 5th level). West leads the ♦K. What do you do?







Don't blow this! If you automatically throw a Heart loser, you will not be able to avoid losing a club, no matter how you try to tackle this suit. Instead, throw a club from hand! Pull trumps, play ♣AKQ, ruff a 4th club in hand, go back to dummy with the ♥A (or trump) and throw your Heart loser on the 5th club. 100% success!



You play 3NT. West leads the ♠7 (4th best). Which card do you play from dummy? East wins the ♠A and continues with another Spade. What do you do?







You have 6 top tricks. To make 3 more, you need the Diamond finesse to work, and if East has ♦Kxxx, you would need to finesse 3 times. For that – you need 3 entries. So, try the ♠10 at trick 1 in case W has ♠AQ. When East takes the ♠A (which means the ♠Q is surely with West) drop your ♠K!! That move will create your 3rd entry via the ♠J. If you play low on the ♠A, East will continue with spade. If you play low again – West wins, plays a 3rd spade and your ♠K wins in hand leaving you without any more entries for the for 3rd Diamond finesse.



South plays 3NT doubled. What do you lead?







Note! Partner's double is a lead directing, asking you to lead the suit bid by dummy. If you ignore it and lead a Diamond – declarer will win in hand and play on clubs, scoring 9 tricks (4 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, 3 Hearts).

However, if you lead a spade, as Partner asked, Partner will win trick 1 cheap and play back a Diamond. You win the trick cheap over declarer's card and play another Spade to Partner's hand. A 2nd Diamond will be played from Partner's hand and you take declarer's ♦Q with your ♦K and play back a 3rd Spade. Partner wins again, cashes his 4th spade and plays a 3rd Diamond to declarer's ♦A. When declarer plays on clubs now - defense wins the ♣A and cashes 2 more Diamonds: 5 down!! (4 Diamonds, 4 Spades and 1 Club for defense). What a swing! Instead of -600 you get +1400!



South plays 4♠. Partner leads the ♥10 and declarer plays the ♥K from dummy. What do you do?







Duck (encourage with the ♥7)! Partner's lead is clearly from a doubleton (♥10x). Why can't it be a singleton? Because South opened 1♠ and rebid 2NT = he has NO 4 carder Hearts. If Partner had a singleton Heart then declarer would have rebid 2♥. Partner has around 7 points. You need to hope he has a trick in trumps and a Diamond trick. Still, you need another trick to set, which needs to be a Heart ruff. Since the ♥A is your only entry to hand, you must duck at trick 1. When Partner gets the hand with his ♠A, he plays his 2nd Heart to your ♥A and you let him ruff a Heart. The ♦K will be the setting trick.



Against 3NT West leads the ♠5. What do you do?







Partner's lead is 4th best of his long suit. That means he has an honor (the ♠J).

How many Spades does he have? Five. Why? Because declarer's 2♦ bid denies a 4 card major. So Partner must have ♠Jxx5x.

If declarer plays a low spade at trick 1 – Take it with the ♠Q and continue with the ♠K at trick 2 (!) to save your ♠2 as entry to Partner's ♠J. When you get the hand with the ♣K, you play your 3rd spade and defense gets 4 spade tricks and the ♣K.

What if declarer plays the ♠A at trick 1? Then you must unblock the ♠K (!) to keep the real important card in hand: the ♠2. When you get the hand with the ♣K, you continue with ♠Q and the ♠2 to Partner's ♠J and his remaining spades.



Against 4♥ Partner leads the ♠K. What do you do?







You can easily count P to have 5 points (15 for declarer, 11 in dummy and you have 9 = 35 together) which are the ♠KQ. So, 3 sure tricks for defense: 2 in spades and 1 in Heart. The setting trick must be a Diamond ruff, but you need to show Partner the way: Overtake with the ♠A at trick 1 and play your singleton Diamond. When you win the ♥A later, play a Spade to Partner's marked ♠Q and he will let you ruff Diamond for 1 down.



You play 4♥ and West, who bid 2♥ Michaels (showing 5 Spades + 5 cards in a minor), lead the ♣K. What do you do?







Play low from dummy! Why? To avoid East later on (the dangerous hand). If you take with the ♣A at trick 1, pull trumps and try to develop Diamonds – East will win the 3rd Diamond, switch to the ♠Q and defense gets 3 Spades and 1 Diamond.

But if you let West hold the 1st trick, your ♠K will protect you from a spade continuation. You win whatever West continues, pull out ♥AQ, play ♦AK, throw your 3rd Diamond from hand on the ♣A. Ruff a 3rd Diamond, go back to dummy with the ♥K, and throw 2 spade losers on the 2 remaining Diamonds = Making 11 tricks!



You play 3NT and West leads the ♥6. What do you do?







If you win the trick in dummy or win in hand cheap with the ♥J (East plays low at trick 1) – You will crash! When you try to develop clubs – West holds up, winning the ♣A on the 2nd round, and then switches to Diamond the next trick. You try the ♦J but East covers with the ♦Q. So you win in hand with the ♦K and play spade to the ♠K, trying to enter dummy. But East takes the ♠A (if you try to run your ♠10 – East will play low, waiting with his ♠A to your ♠K) and returns a Heart. You can try to play low – But West will win his ♥K, play a 3rd Heart and defense will get 3 Hearts, 2 Spades, 1 Club and a Diamond trick = 3 down!

So, play safe. Make sure you keep an entry to the dummy by winning trick 1 with the ♥A. Play your Clubs now. West will hold up once, get the ♣A next and play Diamond but you win the ♦K and play a low Heart to the ♥10. West must win this trick with his ♥K (or your ♥10 makes the trick), but now you have a sure Heart entry to dummy to your remaining long Clubs.