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Worth the risk?

Today’s deal comes from one of the tournaments held last weekend. Let’s see the defensive problem, then salute the winners of the various events and return to the problem at the end.

 

 

You are East and after South opened a weak 1NT (11-14), and your double of Stayman, your partner leads 9 to the final contract of 4. Declarer plays K from dummy at trick 1. Plan the defence.

 Let's salute the weekend winners:

Hawke's Bay Congress (Hastings)
Open Match-Point Swiss Pairs
Ray	Gruschow		Graeme	Norman
Intermediate Pairs
Malcolm	Kirkby		Joy	Williams
Junior Pairs
Megan	Dravitzki		Alice	Dravitzki
Intermediate Teams
Graham	Potter		Rob	Armstrong		Trish	Murphy		Jillian	Ramsey
Swiss Pairs
Ken	Yule		Alister	Stuck
Open Teams
Colin	Carryer		Sandra	Calvert		Jenna	Gibbons		Christine	Gibbons
Otago Southland Congress			(Dunedin)
Otago- Southland Provincial Pairs
Sam	Coutts		Brad	Johnston
Otago- Southland Provincial Teams
Graeme	Stout		Jeff	Thompson		Peter	McCaskill		Peter	Hall
Auckland Congress
Queen’s Birthday 15A Pairs
Grant	Jarvis		Michael	Ware
Queen’s Birthday 5A Restricted Pairs
Mereana	Cullen		Kevin	Birch
Queen’s Birthday 15A Teams
Matt	Brown		Mike	Doecke		Michael	Ware		Malcolm	Mayer
West End Walk-In Pairs
George	Sun		Alice	Young

 

  Otago Southland Congress Pairs and Teams Winners

   
Brad Johnston and Sam Coutts                   Peter McCaskill, Jeff Thompson, Graeme Stout and Peter Hall

Match-Point Pairs winners at Hastings

 

Graeme Norman and Ray Gruschow

Today's deal came from the Hawke’s Bay Congress held in Hastings. 

 Did you duck the K at trick 1? That certainly seems one and was the successful approach. Of course, had declarer held four clubs, meaning the lead was a singleton, you could have taken a quick four tricks, A, A and two club ruffs. There was still a way to beat the contract if 9 was top of a doubleton:

 

 

The fact that the declarer was likely to lose a trick to your K meant that the defence could still prevail as long as West could gain the lead either in trumps or possibly in diamonds.

After the K wins the first trick, South has no bother in drawing trumps. Then, they would take that heart finesse and you must under-lead your A and hope. If instead at trick 2, declarer plays a diamond from dummy planning on your taking the A, you must be brave and duck….either way, there will be four tricks for the defence, two clubs, K and K.

It is hard to tell when you request partner to lead a suit as to how short they are in that suit. An immediate club return at trick 2 would not have worked on this occasion. However, you should now be glad you doubled 2 for the lead as no other lead threatened the contract. 

Richard Solomon

 

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