Solution: DSBA Declarer Problem of the Month

DSBA Web Page Declarer Problem of the Month

July, 1999

This month's hand is from the first session of our recent DSBA Charity Pairs tournament.

Dealer: North
Vulnerable: N-S

	NORTH K Q T 9 6 K J 5 2 Q T 3 5


	SOUTH A J 4 A T 4 3 A 5 4 K Q J

AUCTION
NORTH	EAST	SOUTH	WEST
1	Pass	4NT	Pass
5	Pass	6NT	Pass
Pass	Pass

West leads the 8. East wins the A and returns the 3, West following with the 4. Plan the play.

Solution

It appears that you need four heart tricks to make your slam, so the first order of business is to figure out whom to play for the Q. This may seem like a toss-up, but it is far from that; there are several clues that suggest playing West for the Q is superior to playing East for the Q. To reach that conclusion, you must follow this sequence of deductions:

1) Both opponents know from the auction that the declaring side is missing an ace. This is a consequence of the fact that South did not bid 5NT to ask for kings (asking for kings does NOT necessarily mean that YOU will be able to bid a grand if you hear the right response; rather, it also guarantees possession of all 4 aces so that PARTNER can bid a grand when he holds the right hand).

2) Since West knows an ace is missing, he will not lead from an unsupported honor in hearts, diamonds, or clubs, because he does not expect to find any help there from partner. He will be looking for a safe lead.

3) Since West DID make a safe lead, HE IS MORE LIKELY TO HOLD ANY MISSING HONORS THAN EAST. The reason for this is restricted choice. If West has none of the missing honors, he is equally likely to lead any suit. However, when he has one (or more) missing honor, the likelihood of a safe club lead increases because he is unable to lead the suit with the honor. To make this as clear as possible, consider the case where West holds xxx Qxxx Kxx 8xx. Using the logic above, West will lead a club 50% of the time when holding this hand (not 25%). If the hand were Qxx Qxxx Qxx 8xx (obviously not possible here, since North holds the Q), the likelihood of a club lead increases to 100%.

So, suppose West has the Q. The only thing that could go wrong is if hearts break poorly. But this can be overcome assuming West also has the K. You must time the play perfectly, though, to give yourself the best chance AND to assure only a one-trick set should the heart finesse fail (which could be critical at pairs, since many will bid to a slam here).

Win the club (pitching a diamond), cash the A and finesse the J. When it holds, if East follows, claim. If East shows out, cash all of dummy's spades (pitching two diamonds), and the cross back to the A to reach the following ending (South to lead):

	NORTH --- K 5 Q ---
		SOUTH --- T 4 --- Q

In the above ending, West can keep two hearts and the

K. When you cash the

Q, he is squeezed in the reds.

The full deal:

	NORTH K Q T 9 6 K J 5 2 Q T 3 5
WEST 7 5 Q 9 8 7 K J 7 8 7 6 4			EAST 8 3 2 6 9 8 6 2 A T 9 3 2
		SOUTH A J 4 A T 4 3 A 5 4 K Q J

Two final notes: Perhaps the two most interesting points to this hand are details which did not occur in practice. The first is to note that the hand can still be made if East has the

K and West has the

J. Win the second club (pitching a diamond), cash all of the spades (pitching a diamond and a heart), and lead the

Q!! East must cover (or it is the 12th trick), and then the

T becomes the diamond threat in the red-suit squeeze against West. This is called a "transfered menace". However, declarer should NOT play the hand this way, for the same reason that he SHOULD take the recommended line. Just as it is more likely that West holds the

Q because of the lead, it is also more likely that he holds the

K, so the recommended line is preferable.
The second interesting point is to follow the play if East does NOT win the first club trick. Sometimes, such a defense will prevail. On this deal, however, the declarer can always succeed double-dummy. The play is complex, but all variations essentially lead to West being squeezed, either as above, or "without the count" (in these variations, West is squeezed out of his clubs, and then is endplayed in one red suit to concede the 12th trick in the other red suit).

Thanks to Pete Filandro of Smyrna, DE, for his analysis of this month's hand.

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