A Productive Use of Honors


A 7 6 4
A J 9
J 7
J 9 3 2
J 9 8 5 K 3 2
Q 4 3 10 8 7 5 2
K 10 9 8 6 2 3
------ 10 7 6 5
Q 10
K 6
A Q 5 4Contract: 6 no trump
A K Q 8 4 Opening lead: various

An interesting hand which dovetailed nicely into yesterday's discussion on the handling of honors, since there are two suits where honors must be handled carefully, and both sides have a stake in the diamond suit. As I looked at it, I found that the contract can't be beat, played from the North hand (i.e., with right guesses), as some did. Played from the South hand, I figured a spade lead would beat it (and it could be made on any other lead), and then I said, no, there's a nifty squeeze by which it can be made even on a spade lead, and then finally, that nifty squeeze can be broken up, and indeed, two defenders did just that.
Well, to the hand (without a spade lead). On a diamond lead, declarer wins in dummy and so has two diamond winners. Now there's a difference between two diamond winners without having lost a trick and a second diamond winner through taking a losing finesse. In the former case, you can develop a second spade winner by leading toward that queen. This will allow you two spades, two diamonds, 3 hearts and 5 clubs. A tad ironically, that 10 of spades did almost all declarers in at that point. Just about everyone leading low to the Q 10 got a duck from East and finessed the 10 into the jack!
On a heart lead, declarer wins with the jack, comes to the closed hand on a club and leads low to the J 7 of diamonds. If West goes up, you have 3 diamond winners, and if he doesn't go up, you have only 2 diamond winners, but like the declarer who got a diamond lead, you can now manufacture a spade lead by leading low to the queen.
If you got a spade lead, you must duck it. Now if East returns a club, for instance, you'll have a squeeze, as follows: Run all clubs, sluffing a diamond in dummy. Cash the queen of spades, cash the king of hearts, take the heart finesse, sluffing a diamond on the ace of spades and another on the ace of hearts, so that after 11 tricks, you'll be looking at the 7 of spades and J of diamonds in dummy opposite the A Q of diamonds, and West cannot guard both suits.
But what if East returns a diamond at trick two? Ah, there's the corker. That breaks up the squeeze. Your valuable entry to the closed had has been choked off.
Here's what some declarers and defenders did to themselves: Opening diamond lead, won with the jack. This declarer squandered his queen of spades in this manner. He ran 5 club tricks, sluffing a spade, then cashed the king of hearts and took the heart hook. At this point he wouldn't have the entries he needs to make use of the queen of spades. He could lead low to the queen, but now would have no way to cash two spade winners if East goes up, though if East ducks, of course, declarer now has his two spade winners. As it happened, declarer cashed the ace of spades first and then led toward his queen. East promptly went up, cashed a good heart and gave up a trick to the 7 of spades. This declarer should have counted his winners and counting 3 in hearts would have seen that he needs either the queen of diamonds (unlikely when the jack wasn't covered on opening lead) or the queen of spades as a 12th winner and played accordingly. But he squandered his good position by cashing out 11 top winners rather than doing something for a 12th.
Another declarer: Same opening diamond lead won with the J, club to the ace, king of hearts, finesse the jack, jack of clubs and . . and . . and what? That jack of clubs is a very valuable entry if you want to develop a spade trick by leading low to the Q. Now if he leads toward his queen of spades, well, again, he'll be okay if East ducks, but if East goes up, declarer won't have the entries to cash the spade honors separately. And there was no reason for wiping out that entry before doing something for a 12th trick. Yet, it was virtually the first thing he did, to wipe out his entries, one in hearts and one in clubs! Oh, me.
Further, and this gets a little amusing, this declarer did get a duck from East on cashing the ace of spades and leading to the now bare queen! The problem was, he now had no access to the ace of hearts, and so lost a trick to the king of diamonds and then to the king of spades. He only had to lead toward his queen of spades at trick two.
This next declarer, playing from the North hand, got a low diamond lead, ducked, the king winning, and now he's only a heart finesse away from 12 tricks. He can't lead low to his queen of spades. He's already lost a trick. So you run your tricks and take the heart hook. But no, on a spade shift through the A 7, declarer ducked and he was down at trick 2. Well, is it any more foolish to play West for the K of spades than for the Q of hearts? I'm gonna say yes. Those aren't equivalent situations. Ducking the spade lead works only if West made a boo-boo, but the heart finesse will be entirely out of his hands, and yes, I would not advise -- indeed, would strongly argue against -- banking on a defensive error when you have the tickets within your power to fulfill your contract. Partners have a way of pointing out how you could have made the contract, and what do you say to that?
Another declarer, playing from the South hand above, got a diamond lead, the jack winning, and he ran five club winners. Oh, me. I've inveighed against this a hundred times if I've done so once. Now you've only got one entry to dummy and so cannot cash your spade honors separately even if favorably placed. In fact, like a declarer above, if you now use your heart finesse for an entry to dummy to lead toward the queen of spades, you're either going to have to cash the ace of hearts, making yourself wide open in that suit, or let it sit, allowing East go to up with the king with impunity and lead a spade. The only entry to dummy and the ace of hearts is now by way of overtaking the queen of spades, which defeats the purpose of leading toward the queen in the first place.
Please, please, please. You want to establish a 12th winner somehow. Don't cash out your high, established cards just yet! You may need that suit for entries, as you would here. When the jack of diamonds holds, there should be a lead to the queen of spades at trick two. Lose the tricks you must early. You're going to be far better off doing so than in putting off a potential loser until late in the hand, and for a number of reasons. Lemme see. Losing the tricks you must early (and can afford, of course) offers these advantages: You might be rectifying the count for a squeeze; you're retaining entries among established winners that you might desperately need later; and not least, you'll see what works, and hence what other risky plays you need take, or will be able to avoid.
Here's another declarer who got a diamond opening lead, promptly led five clubs and then . . . then . . . led the queen of spades into the king! Oh, c'mon. That's not a finesse. Lead toward your honors. (Well, by and large).
Okay, here are some declarers who made the contract. Was it through shrewd play? Or defenders doing themselves in? Well, the first one wasn't exactly through clever declarer play. Opening lead won with the jack of diamonds, five clubs run, West discarding 3 diamonds (!), a spade and a heart. Now the queen of spades was "finessed" into the king, and a spade return went to the ace, now a heart to the king and a lead to the ace of hearts (West playing the queen), and the jack of hearts was cashed. Come to think of it, West was squeezed on that card, though I hardly think declarer planned it that way and wonder if he knew West held the last guard against the 7 of spades. Anyway, West blanked his king of diamonds on that last heart, and now declarer dropped the king with the ace and cashed the queen for his contract.
Here's a declarer who took the opening lead with the jack of diamonds, led low to his queen of spades, East ducking and . . . and . . .finessed the 10! Yet he made his contract because West led still another diamond, which gives declarer 3 diamonds, 3 hearts, 5 clubs and a spade for 12. You aren't going to talk that guy outta leading from a K! Since his partner hadn't covered the J of diamonds, opening lead, one would suspect that declarer had A Q, no?
Here's another who led toward the Q 10 of spades and finessed the latter (only this was at trick 5). That West did the same thing, leading diamonds still again! Further, there is no squeeze here since East can now guard the 3rd round of spades while West can guard diamonds and declarer would have to go down.
Still another: jack of diamonds holds opening lead, finesse a low spade to the 10 and jack, and West leads still another diamond. I dunno. I call it falling in love with their suit. They don't wanna give up pumping that suit, though it's very costly.
Here's one who got a diamond lead (playing from the North hand above), let it ride, up went the king and declarer has his 12 winners (with a heart finesse). Incidentally, you don't have to take your king in that position. If you play the 10 (or 9 or 8), you hold declarer to two diamond winners. He can still make the contract, but there's a greater chance he'll go wrong than if you make 3 diamond winners immediately available.
And one last hand: diamond 8 that rides around to the queen, the J remaining in dummy. Four clubs run as West discards 3 diamonds and a low heart, then a low spade to the 10 and jack, and now West lays down the king of diamonds. He smothers the jack, of course, and now held the top diamond and there's no squeeze because East can control the spade suit, but on the 5th club, West discarded his last diamond! The high one. Declarer now cashed the 5 and 4 of diamonds and didn't need the heart finesse.