Entries, Entries, Entries
|
 K 9 8 4 |
|
 A Q 5 3 |
|
 A 8 |
|  8 6 2 |
| J 6 5 2 |
|
10 7 3 |
| J 7 6 |
|
9 8 4 2 |
|
| Q J 3 |
| 10 7 6 2 |
| Q 7 3 | |
10 9 |
|
A Q |
|
|
K 10 |
|
|
K 9 5 4 |
| Contract: 6 no trump | |
|
A K J 5 4 |
| Opening lead: various |
Three people failed to pick up 12 tricks on this hand requiring what can only be termed a delicate sensitivity to the entry problem, or rather entry situation, which needn't be a problem. One was in game and had such a bad board coming in the first place that he hardly damaged his score with the loss of 13/100ths of an IMP. The other two were in little slam, and it need hardly be pointed out how much they damaged their score by going down one (something like 18 IMP's). And the three who managed to screw up the hand found three different ways to do so.
The first one I looked at (a slam bidder) got a low heart lead which rode to the 10! Whoop-de-do! That gives us four heart winners, no? Nobody else is going to get four heart winners. The problem is, bridge is played in four suits and the aim isn't four heart winners, exactly, but maximizing your chances of twelve (or maybe 13) winners. But it was that Greek gift that did him in.
He cashed the K of hearts, unblocked the spades and went to dummy with the A of diamonds, cashing two more hearts. And now he has a problem. He's in dummy for the last time, of course. Either he cashes his king of spades or he lets it go. Actually, he didn't have as much of a problem as I postulated and as he seemed to think. He must leave that K of spades in dummy, figure he got that trick in an extra heart and bank on either 3-2 clubs, or if 4-1, an onsides Q. So where others are getting 3 spade winners, 3 hearts, two diamonds and four clubs, he will get four heart winners and two spades, the rest being the same. But he didn't see it that way. He cashed the K of spades, took the club hook and was promptly down on West's J of spades.
The second declarer in slam to go astray got a diamond opening lead which he took in dummy, which wouldn't have hurt him in the slightest if he'd gone right to the club hook. After all, he's got control of hearts and so the second entry to dummy cannot be eliminated before spades are unblocked. Well, this declarer did go after clubs immediately. He led to the ace! Oh! Well, none of this first-round finessing against the queen. We cash the A first and then take a second-round hook, eh? Well, I need hardly tell you that it proved his undoing. He has only one more entry to dummy, from which he got around to that club hook, losing and taking a diamond back. He now ran his clubs, cashed the A of spades and at trick 11 overtook the Q, cashed the A of hearts and conceded the 13th and setting trick to West's J of spades.
Please. Delaying the finesse of a queen for a round is often a good idea, of course. Stiff queens sitting behind the A K have been known to fall. But this is such an improbable situation that if there is any reason to forego that first-round top honor, you'd do well to pay heed to that reason. And having a paucity of entries is certainly one of those reasons. Or didn't declarer notice how few entries he had? It would seem so.
The third declarer, the one in game, also got a diamond lead, and let it ride to his king. A good start. He has preserved a key entry. He now cashed the K of hearts and went to the Q, took a losing finesse and got a diamond back. Oh, oh, oh! Did we forgot something? Like unblocking spades! And now he has no chance. He went to his clubs, cashed the A of spades and at trick twelve overtook the Q with the K in dummy, but it was a costly entry and he had to concede the last trick to East's 10. Two overtricks, but . . . .
Take good care of your entries, very good care. They are neither more nor less important than your top cards. If you don't have an entry to those top cards, they're not winners. How many entries are there to dummy? How many do you need? I.e., how many tasks do you have to do specifically from dummy? And does it matter what sequence they're taken in? Some answers: As a trick question, there are of course 4 entries to dummy, since you can overtake the K of hearts and the Q of spades. But on a you-know-what-I-mean basis, you have only two entries. And you happen to have exactly two tasks that can be performed only from dummy (cash the K of spades after unblocking and taking the finesse) and yes the sequence does matter, since you're going down if you cash the K of spades before taking the finesse.
Of course it's far easier to analyze a hand when at leisure. No argument. But any declarer should see quickly that entries Northward are exiguous at best. You have no entries in spades, none in clubs, just one in diamonds and only one in hearts (only one productive entry, of course). The declarer who takes a diamond lead in dummy had better get to that club hook immediately. That's one of your entries and the finesse is one of your tasks and it's the one that must be performed first. The declarer who takes a diamond lead in the closed hand can now unblock spades, cash a heart and go to dummy with a second heart for the finesse. Do not cash a third round of hearts. You've got that solid A of diamonds entry for later. Do not cash the K of spades. That'll come later. And the hand unfolds very easily.