A Nice Position
Sylvia and I had a pretty good set in a team game this afternoon. I found this position during the game (for an extra undertrick) a little unusual.
The opponents arrived in 4♠ After South with nobody vulnerable opened 1♠ in third and I overcalled 2♠ Michaels. Passed hand North took a shot at the spade game.
So your hand is
| ♠ 653 | ||
| ♥ J4 | ||
| ◊ 97 | ||
| ♣ KQ10965 |
The opening lead is a high diamond and this is the dummy:
| ♠ A94 | ||
| ♥ 532 | ||
| ◊Q652 | ||
| ♣ AJ2 |
Nice partner switches to a club and declarer wins the club ace and plays a spade partner winning the spade queen. Now partner plays a club to your club queen. It is your moment. It looks like partner is
1-5-5-2.
We have a spade trick, a club trick, two diamonds, and maybe we can make two heart tricks. (Yeah, yeah I am just trying for extra undertricks).
If partner has the heart AQ we can return either heart and partner will take the two hearts and her diamond. But what if partner has the KQ9? Now we have to return a small heart form the J4. This is the only defense. Partner did well not to cash her diamond earlier.
Maybe I have seen this position before but it is pretty and I don’t recall it just now. Here is the whole hand
| Dealer:
Vul: |
North | ||||
| ♠ | A94 | ||||
| ♥ | 532 | ||||
| ♦ | Q652 | ||||
| ♣ | AJ2 | ||||
| West |  |
East | |||
| ♠ | Q | ♠ | 653 | ||
| ♥ | A10876 | ♥ | J4 | ||
| ♦ | AK1043 | ♦ | 97 | ||
| ♣ | 83 | ♣ | KQ10965 | ||
| South | |||||
| ♠ | KJ10872 | ||||
| ♥ | KQ9 | ||||
| ♦ | J8 | ||||
| ♣ | 74 | ||||
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related
Is the word “undertricks” unique to Canada or is it a British thing too? I found it a bit confusing because I’m used to thinking in terms of “setting” a contract when I’m on defense. (I only do undertricks when I’m declarer.)
Isn’t this one of the BOLS tips? I think it was by Rixi Markus.
From memory: “From Hx holding consider leading low”.
Most common situation where this needed was when partner could not return the suit without losing a tempo or a trick, if you led the H from Hx.
Congratulations on finding this at the table.