Chance to Shine

Today’s deal is from a match-point event. West had two opportunities to shine but missed both of them. Let us see whether you can do better.

You are vulnerable and the opponents are not.

Playing Precision, you pick up, as West the following hand and you are the first to speack

You decide to pass and rightly so. North passes and your partner, sitting East, opens 1D. South, overcalls 1H and you bid 2C. North enters the auction now with 2S and your partner jumps to 4H!. Your righty, South, bids 5H. What do you do?

Analysis:

Partner appears to have a huge fit for clubs and is showing a singleton heart, a splinter in opponent’s suit. You have a stiff spade. You can easily infer partner’s hand to be something like S x-x-x H x D A-K-Q-x C A-x-x-x-x.

You know that it is a glove-fit that you have found. What are you waiting for? Just bid 6C!

But, let us say you do not see any merit to bid the slam. Let us say you choose to double 5H for penalty instead. What do you lead?

You need to maximise on your defence as you have definitely been bid out of your vulnerable club game. Do think about how the defence should go before you read on. After you find your opening lead, you can look at all four hands below and think out how the defence should continue.

This is the full hand

Discussion

In 6C, which you will be declaring, you can draw trumps as soon as you gain the lead and claim twelve tricks.

6D will go down on a club lead. If declarer, your partner, draws trumps he can ruff only one spade and therefore there will be two losers in the suit. If he does not draw trumps, north can win the first spade and give his partner a club ruff.

In 5H doubled, the defence should go as follows:

You lead your singleton spade; declarer wins in hand and plays the heart ten.
You go up with the ace, put partner in with a diamond.
You ruff the spade return and exit with the heart nine!

Declarer will have three diamond losers and will be down four for a score of +800 to EW.

If you bid 6C or defeat 5H doubled by four tricks, you will score an absolute top as no one bid 6C in EW or no one bid 5H as NS.

Did you bid 6C? If you did, I must admit you are a fine bidder. Did I hear you say you found the winning defence to 5H doubled? You are probably one of the finest defenders in the country!

Do put down your comments on the hand in the comments section below

Disclaimer : All opinions are entirely those of the author and are no reflection of the views of the BridgeFromHome Team.