Bold Bid, Expert Play

Dlr: West ♠ 5 4
Vul: E-W Q 5 3 2
9 6 3 2
♣ 8 6 4
♠ A K Q J 9 6
A Q 4
♣ A K 10 5
West North East South
1NT (1) Pass 2 (2) 4♠
All Pass

(1) 15-17
(2) Transfer to hearts
You blast into game despite the strong 1NT opening on your left. West leads the K. As expected, dummy is anemic. How will you get to 10 tricks?

Solution

Declarer ruffed and drew trumps with the top three spades, noting along the way that West discarded the 8 on the third spade winner. The bidding suggested that the 15 missing high-card points would be on his left, so declarer played the ♣A and ♣K in the hope that an honor would fall. The failure of either the ♣Q or ♣J to appear helped declarer place West with four clubs.
Declarer then led a club to put West on play. After taking his two club winners, West had to lead a red suit, something declarer knew would not be to the defense’s advantage. West did not want to lead a diamond, so he played the A next. Declarer discarded the 4 from hand. This left West still on lead with only red-suit cards remaining. West had the choice of leading a diamond from his king into declarer’s A Q or a heart to dummy’s now-established queen. Either way, declarer had 10 tricks: six spades, two clubs and two tricks in the red suits. The full deal:

Dlr: West ♠ 5 4
Vul: E-W Q 5 3 2
9 6 3 2
♣ 8 6 4
♠ 10 8 ♠ 7 3 2
A K J 8 10 9 7 6 4
K J 7 10 8 5
♣ Q J 7 2 ♣ 9 3
♠ A K Q J 9 6
A Q 4
♣ A K 10 5

The Zoom Room is available Monday through Friday, 3:30 pm-5:30 pm (Eastern).

Getting help is easier than ever with the ACBL Zoom Chat service.
Simply click the "Join Zoom Chat" button below to be taken to our dedicated zoom room.
Once there, click the "Launch Meeting" button to start your session. To hear us and vice-versa - don't forget to "Join with computer audio."

If the Zoom Room isn't available and you need answers, you can email us at membership@acbl.org.

Join Zoom Chat