Turning Gold into Lead
Turning Alchemy on its Head
|
 10 8 6 5 3 |
|
 A 10 3 |
|
 A 10 9 |
|  J 8 |
| K Q J 7 2 |
|
A 9 4 |
| 8 7 4 | |
9 5 |
|
| 7 6 3 | | Q 8 4 |
| Q 4 | |
10 7 6 5 3 |
|
------ |
|
|
K Q J 6 2 |
|
|
K J 5 2 |
| Vul: No one |
|
A K 9 2 |
| Opening lead:K of spades |
| West | North | East | South |
| Pass |
Pass |
3 |
4 |
| Pass |
5 |
Pass |
6 |
| Pass | Pass |
Dbl |
All pass |
Declarer had an opportunity with that double for a top board. And that's without a redouble. Two opposing pairs had gone down 1100 for top boards N-S, but the doubled 6 hearts, the only one doubled, would have brought 1210 -- if he'd made it.
It's not a terribly difficult hand. You must account for every card in the South hand, with the proviso that you're in six and can afford the loss of one trick. Which means you can even get by without guessing the diamond queen right, though you can't afford to miss the diamond queen and get forced on a 4-1 heart split. But you don't have a 4-1 split against you, and the contract should have been made if declarer had just kept eye on the ball and made sure every card outside of diamonds was accounted for, which means, he must ruff two clubs.
It's not a laydown, exactly. Declarer has re-entry problems. Still, the slam was made by four declarers in a variety of ways, including a misguess on the queen of diamonds. In addition, about 10 people made 13 tricks in game, and another 22 made 12 in a game bid. Here are the four who made slam:
The first got a diamond lead, and there's no use discussing that. You'd have to work at going down with that gift. The second ruffed the spade opening lead, took two rounds of trump, diamond to the ace, the 10 back, winning, the 9 covered and diamonds are home. So this declarer, without having touched clubs yet, led a low club to the jack. West hopped up with the queen, of course, and resorted to the third round of hearts. Declarer can unblock the club jack and return to the closed hand with a spade ruff and claim. Had West led a spade, declarer again would unblock the club and return to the closed hand with a trump lead.
The third declarer went the route of ruffing out South's two low clubs after ruffing a spade opening lead, returning to the closed hand with the king of diamonds for the second ruff. But he still made it, ruffing the last club with the ace, returning with a trump lead, cashing a second round before resorting to the diamond hook, losing, a club back . . . and the record stops. Hm-m-mm. It looks to me that there was an invalid claim. The diamond suit is blocked. Declarer can actually make the hand by jettisoning the ace of diamonds by virtue of the 3-3 diamond split. But did he? Did he claim six stating this line? Or did the defense cave in? Oh! I see how his claim was legitimate. West -- foolishly -- ruffed the third and fourth rounds of clubs! Those useless ruffs, when it's evident that declarer has to ruff anyway, give declarer a tremendous advantage of needing only two rounds to draw trump. This would have been the end position:
|
10 8 |
|
------ |
|
A |
| ------ |
| Q J |
|
A 9 |
| ------ | |
------ |
|
| 7 | |
8 |
| ------ | |
------ |
|
------ |
|
|
Q |
|
|
J 5 |
|
|
------ |
|
At the point where East takes the queen of diamonds and leads a club, declarer has Q 6 of trump and J 5 of diamonds, and he has drawn only two rounds of trump. The defense has no more, thanks to West's unnecessary low ruffs, so unblocking the ace of diamonds is routine on the above layout, returning for the jack with a ruff of a spade. Had West saved three trump (and the hand been played the same way, declarer would have been facing this end-position:
|
10 8 |
|
------ |
|
A |
| ------ |
| J |
|
A 9 |
| 8 | |
------ |
|
| 7 | |
8 |
| ------ | |
------ |
|
------ |
|
|
Q |
|
|
J 5 |
|
|
------ |
|
Declarer now could make only by jettisoning the ace of diamonds on the last round of hearts, for he has to draw West's last heart, and hoping for a 3-3 diamond split which is there. But he wouldn't have a legitimate claim until he tested that possibility. And it wouldn't be beyond some declarers to lead to the ace of diamonds before realizing that now they must necessarily go down, since the only re-entry to the high jack of diamonds is by way of a ruff, establishing West's trump. Indeed, the diamond hook would have been a very foolish play then, since declarer can guarantee his contract on any diamond split by taking West's last trump and declining the diamond hook, cashing the ace and leading the 10. He still has a trump left to cash the jack of diamonds. But since declarer has this extra trump by virtue of West's ruffing, he might as well take the finesse trying for an overtrick.
And the fourth declarer ruffed only one club after ruffing a spade lead, pushed the 9 of diamonds through East, and deciding that was good enough for him, took two rounds of trump and claimed, conceding a club loser.
So there were various strategies by which to make it. Here's someone in four hearts, making 7. Ruff a spade, cash top clubs, ruff a club, ruff a spade, ruff a club high, 10 of hearts to the jack and continue to the third round. Hm-m-m. Do you know how many trump declarer has left? Right. He's out of them. It could have been disastrous on a wrong guess in diamonds, but he guessed right for all of 'em.
Yikes! When I went over the hand to clean up a few obscurities and one grammatical error, I realized to my dismay that I didn't get around to how that declarer butchered the hand, without which, the heading above has no meaning. But I know he did, for it's what triggered my heading. Maybe he did just what I hypothesized above: blocked the diamond suit (ace in dummy opposite J 5) with one trump left while West had one! I dunno and I'm embarrassed.