TEST YOUR PLAY
The Test Your Play column is an advanced-level declarer-play quiz, widely considered the most challenging problem collection available.
December, 1995, Problem B
Rubber bridge
South dealer
East-West vulnerable
| NORTH ♠ 8 2 ♥ 7 6 5 2 ♦ K Q ♣ A K 8 7 5 |
||
| SOUTH ♠ A K J 10 9 ♥ A ♦ J 10 9 8 7 ♣ 3 2 |
| SOUTH | WEST | NORTH | EAST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ♠ | Pass | 2 ♣ | Pass |
| 2 ♦ | Pass | 2 ♥ | Pass |
| 2 ♠ | Pass | 3 ♠ | Pass |
| 4 ♠ | Pass | Pass | Pass |
West leads the heart jack.
Plan the play.
Solution
| NORTH ♠ 8 2 ♥ 7 6 5 2 ♦ K Q ♣ A K 8 7 5 |
||
| WEST ♠ Q 6 5 4 ♥ J 10 4 3 ♦ 3 ♣ Q 9 6 4 |
EAST ♠ 7 3 ♥ K Q 9 8 ♦ A 6 5 4 2 ♣ J 10 | |
| SOUTH ♠ A K J 10 9 ♥ A ♦ J 10 9 8 7 ♣ 3 2 |
Four spades by South
Lead: Heart jack
If your diamonds were not blocked, the correct play would be to win the heart ace, cash the ace-king of spades, then knock out the ace of diamonds, never leading trumps again. Assuming trumps were three-three or one opponent had four to the queen, you would lose two trump tricks and one diamond. (Taking a spade finesse, or leading a third round of trumps, would risk losing control against a four-two trump break, because the opponents would have an additional lead value with which to force a trump out of the closed hand.)
However, with the blockage in diamonds, that play is not good enough to prevail against all four-two trump breaks. For example, suppose the cards are distributed as in the diagram. If the play begins heart ace, spade ace-king, diamond to the ace, heart, you have to play off the high diamond in dummy; this requires you to force the closed hand an extra time.
Instead, you must play diamonds early, after one round of trumps, running the risk of a diamond ruff (but losing only when that ruff comes with a short trump holding). After diamonds are unblocked, you can use the second trump honor to return to the closed hand to continue diamonds.
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