Optional Play, Ruffing Finesse or Squeeze

Kepri Governor Cup X

	♠ A Q J 3 ♥ Q 4 3 ♦ 4 3 ♣ A J 4 3
♠ — ♥ — ♦ — ♣ —	N W E S	♠ — ♥ — ♦ — ♣ —
	♠ — ♥ A K J 9 7 ♦ K Q J 5 ♣ Q 8 6 2

West	North	East	South
	1 ♣	Pass	1 N
Pass	2 ♥	Pass	2 ♠
Pass	3 ♦	Pass	3 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	Pass	4 N
Pass	5 ♥	Pass	6 ♥
Pass	Pass	Pass

Using precision system, you arrive in reasonable contract of 6 ♥. Opening lead is ♥ 5, how do you plan the play?

There are several assumption that you need to make. Firstly, the ♣ K shall be with west. IT may be doubleton or three times or more. In case doubleton, your task will be easier. Then you may place the ♠ K with west or east. If ♠ K is in east hand, you can ruffing finesse it. Or you my squeeze west if he hold the ♠ K. Which one is your choice?

After wining the opening lead in hand, declarer directly play the ♦ K and continue with the ♦ Q when it win. West continue with trump, and winning in hand ruff a diamond with ♥ Q, every one follow.

What should you do next?
Ruffing finesse will win 50% of the time when east hold the ♠ K. Squeezing west may have been an advantage as you may also win if the ♠ K is only 3 card. Then ♠ A, ruff small spade and club to the Jack. Now the ♠ J, the way you handle it will eventually determine the successful of the contract.

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	♠ Q ♥ — ♦ — ♣ A x
♠ K ♥ — ♦ — ♣ K x	N W E S	♠ — ♥ — ♦ — ♣ —
	♠ — ♥ — ♦ J ♣ Q x

After some thoughts, declarer ruff the spade Jack with his last trump and show the ♦ J to west. Finally west give up.

West hold: ♠ Kxxx ♥ xxx ♦ Axx ♣ K10x

Declarer who choose to ruffing finesse spade will fail.

The Story of the 9

The story of the 9. There is an interesting deal last week. You have to declare the game contract of 4♥ after the following auction. You as dealer open with 1♠ partner responds with 2♣. You rebid 2♥ and rebid ♥ after partner bid 2NT. The final contract is 4♥.
West starts with ♦ 9, here is the complete deal.

	Partner
	♠ J
	♥ J62
	♦ AQ5
	♣ A98765
♠ 765		♠ K1032
♥ K7		♥ Q103
♦ 9876		♦ K543
♣ K1043		♣ QJ
	You
	♠ AQ984
	♥ A9854
	♦ J10
	♣ 2

Declarer finesse the first trick, East won with ♦K. What is the best defense?
One declarer received a club return. He won in dummy and cashes the diamond, before cross ruff (♠ A, ♠ ruff, ♣ ruff, spade ruff, and club ruff). On this trick, East discard his winner ♠K. But declarer has a counterstrike by ruffing his last spade with ♥J, while west discarding his last diamond. East overruff with ♥Q.

The last 3 cards are: South ♥A98; west ♥K7 ♣10; North irrelevan, East ♥103 and ♦3.
When East return diamond, declarer just ruff with ♥8, and claim. Thank for the ♥98.
Another declarer receive the same opening lead, but East switch to a trump. West won with ♥K and return another trump. Declarer won with ♥A and your time to plan your play.

Finally, declarer found the best solution. He goes to dummy with diamond and run the ♠J. East play small. Then declarer cash another diamond. ♣A and ♣ ruff, follow by ♠ ruff. When another club is played from dummy, East is difficulties. Discarding spade, will make declarer spade goods, while discarding diamond, he will bw endplayed. Finally, East chosed to discard his diamond and declarer read the distribution correctly by playing the last trump to East.
If East covers the ♠J, the same situation occurs, thank to the ♠9.

Extra Chance

I have found a good dummy play problem during Poncol Challenge in Jakarta last Friday.

You open with 1NT (15-17), and after stayman, you find the spade fit. After a 4D splinter, you bid 4H (cue) and you arrive in 6S.

You Partner 1NT 2C

2S 4D(splinter)

4H 4NT

5D 6S

all pass

West start with trump and your first problem is solved, but there is still a problem.

Dealer	South
Vurn	US
	North
	♠ A975
	♥ KJ1076
	♦ 10
	♣ A87
	South
	♠ KJ102
	♥ A42
	♦ AJ92
	♣Q10

On west spade, you play ♠7 from dummy and win. How do you continue? Many declarer fail to land the contract because they missguess the queen heart.

If the spades are 3-2 and you find the Queen after west lead it. Don't just depend your contract on successfull finesse of heart queen. Your chance is only 50% without any clue at all. As a declarer you need to find extra chance.

So, what's is the best plan?

After winning the spade in dummy, you can increase you chance by playing club from dummy. If East plays small, you can insert the ten. It is very difficult for East to play small if he has the King. He doesn't know that you have the ten.

If you have a club trik, then you can discard your heart on the Ace of club, and ruff the heart. You succeed even if heart breaks 4-1 and with four cards in East.

Here is the complete deal.

Dealer	South
Vurn	All
	North
	♠ A975
	♥ KJ1076
	♦ 10
	♣ A87
West		East
♠864		♠ Q3
♥ 53		♥ Q98
♦ Kxxx		♦ Q763
♣K9xx		♣J542
	South
	♠ KJ102
	♥ A42
	♦ AJ92
	♣Q10

Another Safety Play Problem

How do you handle this problem when facing the opponents without signal of distribution.

I found this problem when playing with robot in on line bridge game .

Dealer	South
Vurn	All
	North
	♠10 5
	♥ J976
	♦ AK765
	♣108
	South
	♠AKJ2
	♥ AK42
	♦ Q10
	♣A93

After making an opening bid of 2NT, you finally reach 4♥. West opening lead is ♦3. East plays the Jack when you play small diamond from dummy.

What is your plan to fulfill the contract?

If the heart breaks evenly, you will make lots of trick. All you need to calculate if the heart break 4-1 and the queen does not drop.

So, I play the ♥ AK, unfortunately West discards club on the second round. What next?

As we play again opponent without knowing their distribution, you have to handle this contract very careful.

Finally I cash the ♦ 10, but no information we get, beleive that diamond are 4-2.

What's your next move to land this contract?

In my opinion, with only 5 cards club on both hand compare to 6 cards spade between two hands, there is a bigger chance that spade will divide unevenly than clubs. If spade divides 5-2 and west holds the queen, the contract is in danger if we try to ruff the spade to reach the dummy.

With this plan in mind, finally I make a safety play by playing a small spade to 10. I will make the contract no matter where the ♠Q is, as long as the spade distributes no worse than 4-2.

Here is the complete deal.

Dealer	South
Vurn	All
	North
	♠10 5
	♥ J976
	♦ AK765
	♣108
West		East
♠Q8765		♠93
♥ 5		♥ Q1083
♦ 643		♦ J92
♣KJ76		♣Q542
	South
	♠AKJ2
	♥ AK42
	♦ Q10
	♣A93

Entry Planning

When you play a strong club system, you need to prepare to receive many opposition bid. This happens in this deal. North open 1C (strong), East bid 1S, you double, West raise to 2S. North double, you bid 3D, North 4C and you bid 4H which become the final contract.

West opening lead is ♠Q, how do you plan the play?

Dummy

♠ A 2

♥ K Q J 4

♦ K

♣ A K 7 6 5 2

You

♠ 9 8 7

♥ 10 9 5 3

♦ A 9 8 4

♣ J 3

Many declarers fail to land this contract. They just only get 9 tricks when the club breaks unevenly. Here is the most common plans conducted by declarer.

Win with ♠ A, then

Cash ♦K

Play &the clubs; A and K.

Unfortunately, east ruff the second club and return trump.

Declarer is a trick short when East who ruff originally has only 2 trump. So, West will enjoy the last trump when declarer cross ruff.

There is a better solution to this problem if declarer can plan carefully. We need to think if the club break badly.

An immediate cash of ♣ A and K are the solution by keeping the ♦K as an entry to set up the clubs.

Say, east ruff the second club and cash ♠K and return the trump. West win with the Ace, and play another trump.

Win it in dummy, ruff club.

Diamond to the King, and ruff the club.

You can ruff your ♦A in dummy, to draw the last trump and enjoying the club.

It's very simple if you think it carefully.

Below are the complete deal.

	♠ A 2
	♥ K Q J 4
	♦ K
	♣ A K 7 6 5 2
West		East
♠ Q J x		♠ K 10 x x x
♥ A x x		♥ x x
♦ Q J x		♦ 10 x x x x
♣ Q 9 x x		♣ 10
	Declarer
	♠ 9 8 7
	♥ 10 9 5 3
	♦ A 9 8 4
	♣ J 3

Smother Play

In recent No Weekend Without Bridge Tournament, I found out an interesting deal as below.

RHO opponent open with 2♣ (precision), I overcall with 2NT with ♠J9 ♥Q98 ♦AKQ65 ♣A93, LHO support with 3♣. My partner bid 4♣ as indication to have both majors. So, I bid 4♥. All pass.

West start with ♣J, how do you plan to land the contract?

	♠ 10 8 6 5 4 2
	♥ A 7 6 5 4
	♦ 10 6
	♣ void
	Declarer
	♠ J 9
	♥ Q 8 7
	♦ A K Q 5 4
	♣ A 9 3

At the least we are not in 4♠ without chance at all. With correct defense, event 4♥ is beatable.

I need to assume some key cards in order to land this contract. Heart shall be 3-2 and ♥K doubleton. It will be nice if diamond breaks 3-3.

So, I ruff the opening lead and lead a small heart from dummy. RHO win with ♥K, and thanks he switched to diamond. Winning with the Ace, I play ♠9. RHO won with ♠Q and returned another diamond.

Won with ♦K, I play another spade, RHO win with ♠K.

With no more diamond, RHO returned club, which is too late.

Won with the Ace, I cash ♥Q, both follow. Then ♦Q and diamond ruff.

Ruff a spade and run the diamond winner, smother LHO trump. A great end. However, the contract was solely saved by the defender who returned diamond. If RHO return club anytime he win, the contract shall be failed.

The complete distribution was as below.

	♠ 10 8 6 5 4
	♥ A 7 6 5 4
	♦ 10 6
	♣ void
West		East
♠ A x x		♠ K Q
♥ J x x		♥ K 10
♦ J x x x		♦ x x
♣ J10 3		♣ K Q x x x x x
	Declarer
	♠ J 9
	♥ Q 8 7
	♦ A K Q 5 4
	♣ A 9 3

"Impossible switch"

Defenders frequently face a difficult switch in the middle of the game. As in the diagram below, after South pass, West open the bidding with just 2♠ (week-2), North double for take out, East pass, and South jump to 4♥. After think quite a while, North pass with 19 HCP. West start with ♠A and continue spade after you make a discard. How would you defend this hand.

	♠ Q 10 4 3
	♥ A 9 4
	♦ A Q 4 3
	♣ A K
		East
		♠ void
		♥ Q 10 8 7 2
		♦ 6 5
		♣ 10 x x x x

Firstly, what will you discard? Most defenders will discard diamond on the first trick. Say, you ruff the second trick and see declarer play his ♠K. What will you return to beat the contract? If declarer has the ♦K and 5 cards hearts, nothing you can do. If declarer has ♠Kxx and 5 cards heart, declarer has 10 tricks. So, your hope is declarer has only 2 card spades and no ♦K. With this analysis, have you found the best return? The best return is diamond, and when you get another lead, lead your second diamond. This will break up the squeezed. So, don't ever discard your diamond. If you return other than diamond, West will be squeezed in diamond and spade. After a club return, won in dummy, declarer will cash the ♥A, shocked for a while and then give lead to you by ducking a heart. Win another club in dummy and finesse heart and another heart will squeeze west. Poor west is unable to guard both spade and diamond. The complete distribution as below:

	♠ Q 10 4 3
	♥ A 9 4
	♦ A Q 4 3
	♣ A K
West		East
♠A J x x x x x		♠ void
♥ void		♥ Q 10 8 7 2
♦ K 10 9		♦ 6 5
♣ x x x		♣ 10 x x x x
	Selatan
	♠ K x
	♥ K J x x x
	♦ J x x x
	♣ Q J

Can you see another way to defeat the contract? The easiest way is: don't ruff the second spade. Just discard and you will find declarer will have no way to land the contract. Defensive play is hardest part of the game in bridge.

Fail to Land in the Slam

Competing in match point tournament, you should play consistently good to finish in the big threes. I found this hand in the last round of the session and fail to find the key cards.

	♠ Q 6
	♥ Q 5 4
	♦ A K 10 6
	♣ K 9 3 2
West		East
♠ 5 4		♠ 3 2
♥ A 9 x x		♥ K 10 x x x x
♦ Q x xx		♦ 7 6 5
♣ J 4 3		♣ A x
	Declarer
	♠ A K J 9 7 6 5
	♥ void
	♦ J 5
	♣ Q 10 7 3

We reached a very optimistic contract of 6♠, without opposition bidding. I start with 1S, north respond with 2NT (natural), 3C from south, 3D from north, 3S, 4S,5H, 6C and corrected to 6S.

West started with ♦x, I found my self in early decision whether to finesse diamond or find out the Jack of club. After some thought, I play the ♦ A from dummy and throw the Jack from the hand.

Running 4 round of trump, I play a club to the King, East win with the Ace and return the heart. I have to find the ♣ J to land the contract. As you may see, the ♣ J was offside and I fail to land it.

Actually, as the cards located, I can save the slam. Just run all my trumps including the ♣ Q, West will be squeezed in club and diamond. Then finesse the diamond to land the contract.

Why I didn't see this line? Unfortunately, I have threw the diamond when running my trump. Oh dear, I have said goodbye to my slam with my discard. But, didn't you see, if I didn't throw any diamond when drawing trump the contract always fail if East could find the correct return? Yes, East will return a diamond, giving one trick but that's not enough for contract. So, the correct line is finessing the ♣ J.

Percentage Play (3)

In a recent tournament, I found an interesting board as displayed below. The bidding is simple, 1NT from South and North raises it to 3NT.

		Dummy
		♠ 10 8
		♥ A K
		♦ 9 8 5 4
		♣ A 8 7 6 5
		You
		♠ K Q 5 4
		♥ Q 10
		♦ K J 4 3
		♣ K J 3

Contract 3NT. West started with small heart. What is your plan?

First of all, let's list some requirements to fulfill the contact. Club shall be divided evenly with the queen is on your right. What's else?

If you can count for 5 tricks in club, you have 7 sure tricks. In what suit(s) will you take the other two? One trick easily develop from spade, but it will be only the 8th, how about the ninth?

Let's analyze our chance. Will we bring home the contract if East has the ♠ A? Assume that after winning the 1st trick in dummy, you play spade. Best defense for East is to play, and you win with the ♠ K. Next you play club to ♣ A, and finesse club. Success!!! But you don't have entry to take the ♠ Q.

Another possibility is to immediately finesse the ♠ J by running the ♠ 10. But, alert defender will cover the it. Event if you have the ♠ 9, this line is only a 50% chance of success. (Remember, you don't have the nine).

How about playing the diamond? You need to steal a diamond trick first. Assume at trick 2, you play a diamond, East plays low, you have to rise with the King. When it wins, you can directly establish your 9th trick in spade. If East is an alert defender, he may rise with ♦ A, then switch to heart. You still have chance when East also has the ♦ Q, so you can finesse for the ninth. It's a difficult hand, although your combined strength is 26 HCP with a 5 running tricks, you still have difficulties to bring home the contract. In my opinion, playing the diamond is the best percentage play to land the contract.

Throw Your Winner!!!

In a recent tournament, I found an interesting board as displayed below. The bidding is using precision system, South open 1D, North 1H, South rebid 1NT (12-14) and North jump to 3NT. West lead spade, Declarer hold up for 2 round and win the 3rd round while discarding heart from dummy.

		Dummy
		♠ 7 6
		♥ 10 6 5 4
		♦ A K Q 10 9 5
		♣ 6
	You
	♠ J954
	♥ K92
	♦ 43
	♣ A J 43

Contract 3NT. Declarer then run 6 diamond tricks, what's defensive plan?.

A novice defender will give an encourage signal for heart by discarding the ♥9 and then leave the ♣ A alone. Declarer then exit with club to west, who cash the spade and has to play a heart to the fork. Even if declarer can read the position correctly, west actually could beat the contract.

Here are the logic.

West is the victim of the end-play. If declarer hold the ♣K outside of ♥AQ, nothing can be done. Contract can't be beaten. However if declarer just has the ♣Q instead of ♣K, then can throw his winner and retain the ♣Ax. He will win with ♣A and play club to east ♣K who will play the heart through declarer. So, sometimes the winner shall be threw. Here are the complete distribution

	♠ 7 6
	♥ 10 6 5 4
	♦ A K Q 10 9 5
	♣ 6
West		East
♠ J 9 5 4		♠ K Q 3 2
♥ K 9 2		♥ 873
♦ 4 3		♦ 76
♣ A J 4 3		♣ K x x x
	Declarer
	♠ A 10 8
	♥ A Q 6
	♦ J 5 2
	♣ Q 10 7 2

Losing Squeeze Card

Playing with robot will make you stress. I found an interesting hand during my play in Bridge Base Online (BBO) with a robot there.

Partner robot, open a strong NT (15-17) and i have the following hand,

♠ K Q 3 ♥ Q J 9 ♦ A K 3 ♣ K 9 5 4

I directly bid 6NT. Here are the hands.

	Dummy
	♠ K Q 3
	♥ Q J 9
	♦ A K 3
	♣ K 9 5 4
	Declarer
	♠ A 9 8 2
	♥ A K 8 6
	♦ J 4 2
	♣ A 7

Robot won with the King di dummy?!. Then run 4 times hearts. West follow 3 times, discard one of its clubs. Robot now continue with 3 round of spade, unfortunately the suit didn't break evenly, when East still hold the last spade. Meanwhile robot has been destroy the club establishment as it has been threw on the 4th heart although West now only 2 club left before cashing ♣ A.

Robot try to drop the diamond, but the queen still in their seat and robot fail to land the contract.

Actually, there are many ways to land the contract. After cashing the ♣ A, actually contract is still in controlled situation. Knowing that West hold 5 clubs, robot can play its losing squeeze card, spade, squeezing West if he hold the ♦ Q or endplaying East if he hold that card.

The simple way is to let west win the first trick. He will be squeeze when robot runs its winner. Here are the complete distribution.

	Dummy

	♠ K Q 3
	♥ Q J 9
	♦ A K 3
	♣ K 9 5 4
West		East
♠ 5 4		♠ J1076
♥ 10 3 2		♥ 754
♦ Q 7 6		♦ 10985
♣ QJ1063		♣ 82
	Declarer
	♠ A 9 8 2
	♥ A K 8 6
	♦ J 4 2
	♣ A 7

Play According to Contract

Indonesian Bridge League, a new way to select the team to represent Indonesia has just been started last week. In qualification round, we found out the distribution below. Most contracts were 6♦, and one pair reached 7♦.

	Dummy
	♠ A J 7 6
	♥ A 6
	♦ A J 5
	♣ A K J 6
	Declarer
	♠ K 5
	♥ 9 2
	♦ K Q 10 9 3 2
	♣ 7 4 3

Contract 6♦. On the bidding, North started with strong (1♣ precision, or 2NT ), East overcall with 2♥. The slam was played either in South or in North.

I was a declarer in the South and received a ♥7 as opening lead. I play the Ace and keep the ♥9 in my hand. Draw 2 rounds of trump, which divided evenly. I continue to play a small heart from dummy, lucky me as East play the ♥J, and won the trick and at the same time was threw-in. So, I claimed immediately.

In case East played small and West won with ♥10, I would be on test. How do you execute in case West play a small club? There are 2 reasonable ways to fulfill the contract. First play 2 rounds of club, if the queen does not fall, you have to finesse the spade. Other choice is to try to ruff the spade, when the queen falls, you are home. If the queen is still there, then play all of your remaining trumps and decide how cards are distributed outside.

Franky Karwur, one of Indonesian top bridge play were facing a grandslam in diamond for the distribution above. How will you bring home the contract when heart as opening lead?

After winning the heart lead, Franky played the ♣A, when ♣10 drops, he countinued with the King. Wow... the ♣Q fell down. Franky then played 3 rounds of spade and ruff it. When West has a Queen guarded, he claimed for a simple squeeze. A logic play from one of Indonesian top bridge player. Congratulation Franky.

Here are the complete distribution

	Dummy
	♠ A J 7 6
	♥ A 6
	♦ A J 5
	♣ A K J 6
West		East
♠ Qxxx		♠ 7 6 3
♥ 1075		♥ KQJxxx
♦ 86		♦ xx
♣ 9xxx		♣ Q10
	Declarer
	♠ K 5 ♥ 9 2 ♦ K Q 10 9 3 2 ♣ 7 4 3

Avoidance Play and Suit Handling

Every time you bring the contract, you have to handle it carefully. I found out a passive lead on the contract below, but need a careful execution to bring home the contract. North started with 1D (Precision) and as South I responded 1H (may be 3 cards), when North supported 2H, I close the auction with 3NT. West, chose to start with middle spade and now your time to save the contract.

	Dummy
	♠ A J 7 6
	♥ A J 9 7
	♦ K 5
	♣ 8 6 5
	Declarer
	♠ K Q 5
	♥ 10 4 2
	♦ 9 2
	♣ A K 9 4 3

Contract 3NT.

Thanks to the lead as diamond lead will destroy the chance. However, you still have to play it carefully. Have you made a reasonable plan?

There are 2 suits where you may get additional tricks, namely heart and club. However, you have to avoid west get the lead.

What is your hope on this lay out? First, west should not have both honor in heart. In case west doesn't have any heart honor, then you shall pray that east hold the ♣ Q two or three times. Then, how do you execute it?

After winning spade opening lead in South, you should start with a small heart to the 9. Assume this fail, and east return club. Winning it, play another low heart (!!!). When west follows with heart honor, you save the contract by 4 tricks in spade, 3 in hearts and 2 in clubs. The heart handling is the highest percentage play to get 3 tricks with that combination. If you play the ♥ 10 on the first or second time then you you need another luck in club.

If the second heart finesse fail, a small club return from east shall be won and play the 3rd round in the hope that east hold the last club. If east play the ♣ Q on the second club, you may leave him winning that trick. The idea is to prevent west from getting the lead.

However, there was no reward to my careful play because west hold the ♥ K 8, so the player who started with ♥ 10 also won the contract. However the careful play will win the game in the long run.

A designed hand

How do you feel as defender when facing a hand that's designed for declarer to land his/her contract? I found it many times and holding quite a bunch of high cards, I was threw in every time I won a trick. But this case, I was in dummy and saw my partner bring home the contract. Here are the complete distribution. For your information, the hand was shuffled manually.

	Dummy
	♠ J 9 7 6 2
	♥ Q 8 7 2
	♦ 6 5
	♣ 10 6
West		East
♠ Q 5		♠ 10 8 4 3
♥ K 6 5		♥ 10 9 3
♦ K 10 8 3		♦ Q 7 4
♣ A 8 7 4		♣ J 5 2
	Declarer
	♠ A K
	♥ A J 4
	♦ A J 9 2
	♣ K Q 9 3

Contract 3NT.

How do you bring the contract if ♦3 is the opening lead? In executing any contract, you have to make a plan. When you find out a difficult situation, you need to make some assumptions of card and be optimistic.

Seven tricks are in sight, 2 from spade, 2 from heart, 1 from diamond and 2 from clubs. What is your assumption on this lay out? First, west should have many high points so that east cannot attack you. Here are the assumptions: ♥ K should be with west (max 3 cards) as well as ♣ K. But the ♣ J shall be with east. Because your 4th club is too small then you need to pray the ♠ Q to drop in second round. Otherwise you need a defensive error.

So, you win ♦ Q with Ace and play two rounds of spade and see west's ♠ Q drop. Then play ♥ A and small heart (♥ J also okay, but I prefer small one). Best defense west plays small and declarer win ♥ Q and cash the ♠ J for a heart discard, west will have difficulties in finding discard. If west discard his "meaningless" club, he presents the contract to declarer. Next play the ♣ 10 for a finesse. West can't escape from end play.

First question: Why small heart at trick 4? By playing small heart you are intending to play the queen from dummy. If you play the jack, then you are not confidence enough to overtake it. If west play low on ♥ J and you play small from dummy, you bound to fail with best defense. Can you see it?

Second question: can you fulfill the contract without diamond lead? I leave it to you.

Another Interesting Hand

In favorable vulnerability, right hand opponent open with strong NT (15-17), I hold ♠ 3 ♥Q 3 ♦AKJ873 ♣ 9763 and overcall 3D. All pass. West started with ♥5. Plan your play!

	Dummy
	♠ Q J 7 2
	♥ 10 8 7 2
	♦ 6 5
	♣ A Q J
	Declarer
	♠ 3
	♥ Q 3
	♦ AKJ873
	♣ 9763

East won with the ♥ K and switch to a small diamond. Not knowing the position of high cards yet, I chose to play the Ace and continue with club finesse. East won with the King and return a small spade. This return will bring home the contract. Won with the ♠ A, West return another club. Here the position after 5 tricks and defender has won 3 tricks.

	Dummy
	♠ Q J 7
	♥ 10 8 7
	♦ 6
	♣ A
	Declarer
	♠
	♥ Q
	♦ KJ873
	♣ 97

How do you continue? Ruffing finesse spade for club discard? Not logic. If you want to do that it means club divided evenly. So finesse diamond, draw one more round of trump and play heart. East was end-play. Here are the complete hand

	Dummy
	♠ Q J 7 2
	♥ 10 8 72
	♦ 6 5
	♣ A Q J
West		East
♠ A 10 6 5		♠ K x x x
♥ J 6 5		♥ A K 9 x-
♦ x x		♦ Q x x
♣ 10 x x x		♣ K x
	Declarer
	♠ 3
	♥ Q 3
	♦ AKJ873
	♣ 9 7 6 3

The interesting aspect is when East return club at trick 4. Won in dummy, finesse a diamond then declarer play a spade. If West follows the rule of second hand low, he gives declarer the contract. West will be squeezed in 3 suits: club, heart and spade.

Many ways to bring home the contract

Last night I played online bridge in Bridge Base, famous with BBO. I found out an interesting board as below. You West Partner East

You	North	Partner	South
1H	pass	2H	pass
4H	pass	pass	pass

Here are the complete deal.

	Dummy
	♠ K 7 5 2
	♥ J 8 7 2
	♦ Q J 7
	♣ 8 2
West		East
♠ AJ109		♠ 8 6 3
♥ Q 10 5		♥ K
♦ A1065		♦ K9832
♣ 7 6		♣ KJ54
	Declarer
	♠ Q4
	♥ A 9 6 4 3
	♦ 4
	♣ A Q 10 9 3

I have to bring the game contract in heart. West start with ♣ 7. After winning East' ♣ K, I play Ace of trump and continue. West win the 2nd round and play a third heart. I won in dummy and finesse club to bring home the contract. On the other table, West start with ♦ A and continue. South ruffs and then play the Ace of trump. When the King drops from East, South continues with a small spade. West is in dilemma. If he plays the Ace, then declarer just need a club finesse to land the contract. Because 2 more club loosers can be discarded from diamond and ♠ K. So, West plays small spade. Won with the King, declarer then plays the ♦Q to discard his ♠ Q. Finesse club and cross ruff club and spade and West discards all his spade during the process. Declarer has 9 tricks so far and just need 1 more trick. Here are the 3 cards ending when declarer play spade from dummy.

	Dummy
	♠ 7 5
	♥ J
	♦ -
	♣ -
West		East
♠ -		♠ 8
♥ Q 10		♥ -
♦ 10		♦ 9 2
♣ -		♣ -
	Declarer
	♠ -
	♥ 9 6
	♦ -
	♣ 10

When East play ♠ 8, declarer knows that the 8 is the highest spade. If he ruffs, west will overruff and draw his trumps, so he discards his club winner. If trump was 2-2, then he is safe as he will get his 10th trick. If East started with his lonely ♥K, then by discarding his ♥J will win en-passan. So, there are many ways to land the contract.

It's not a Match Point Game

There are two main types of scoring in bridge, an imp and match point game. In the former type, you can play safely to bring home the contract while in the latter you should play for overtricks, bidding aggressively such as making a penalty double on a thin contract. I found out such player characteristic on a team event. I was first to speak and opened 1S (precision), LHO overcalled 2H, partner raised, RHO made an information double, I passed. LHO bid 3D(natural), all passed, and back to me and reopen with 3S. RHO made a penalty double.

South	LHO	Partner	RHO
1S	2H!	2S	X
pass	3D	pass	pass
3S	pass	pass	X

West started with a small diamond. Here's the hands.

	Dummy
	♠ J 8 2
	♥ Q 8 7 2
	♦ K86
	♣ 865
	Declarer
	♠ A 10 9 4 3
	♥ K 4
	♦ J 4
	♣ AJ32

How do you plan the play? There is a danger you will go down more than 1 trick. You can see that 3D is a good contract. So, you have to play for 1 down at maximum. I play low on dummy, East win with the ♦A. He returns a small club. To have a better chance, I play the Jack, but it loses to ♣K. Next club I win with the Ace on East ♣Q and I play a third round of club, East win and all follow. A diamond return is won in dummy, diamond ruff and I play a small heart to Queen. Next a heart (East play the Jack) to a stiff King. West win and return the heart. I ruff. Here's the position on 4 card ending.

	Dummy
	♠ J 8 2
	♥ 8
	♦
	♣
	Declarer
	♠ A 10 9
	♥
	♦
	♣ 2

I calculate west's distribution. 5 cards heart along with 4 cards diamond and he has shown 3 cards club, hence he has 1 card spade at maximum. He has shown ♥A, ♣ K and ♦Q. So, west should begin with a stiff honor in spade. So, I lay down the ♠A and see west follow with ♠Q. I ruff my last club with ♠J with result in with just 1 down, just a flat board as 3D just books in other room. Did you recognize that West made an overcall with just 11 high card point and a stiff honor in opponent suit? It's not a match point.

Double Dummy Defense

On the last session in the swiss event, you need to win as many victory point as possible to grab the championship title. However, when you are on the high ranking table, your opponent is also a good team. So, you need to play very carefully especially in the defense. I found it in recent tournament. I was first to speak and opened 1D (precision), LHO pass, partner bid 1NT, RHO pass as well as you. LHO bid 2D (majors), partner passed, RHO bid 2H. As partner was on the balancing position, he doubled for take out, I passed with: ♠ K1095 ♥ KJ105 ♦ 865; ♣ AJ.

You	North	Partner	South
		1D	pass
1NT	pass	pass	2D(*)
pass	2H	pass	pass
X	all pass

The first decision is the opening lead. Which card do you start with? The choices are ♠9, ♥10, ♦6. Club is not my choice with this holding. I chosed to start with with ♦6, declarer play the ♦Q, partner played low. Next comes the the ♣9. You win with ♣J. What next? This card will determine your team success. If you find the correct card, then your team at least will be in the second, you will be the 5th otherwise.

	Dummy
	♠ A J 8 2
	♥ Q 8 72
	♦ J107
	♣
You
♠ K1095
♥ KJ105
♦ 85
♣ A

What will play next? Spade? Heart? or another diamond? Let's make some calculation. What inference do you get with the way declarer handle the contract? It seems that declarer does not have 2 honors in club along with ♦A. Then, partner hold the ♦K. So, partner already shown ♦K with either ♣Q or ♣K. The missing honors are ♥A and ♠Q. Which one is in partner hand? If he just has ♠Q, partner will not double in balancing position. So partner must have the ♥A doubleton or singleton. As he bid 1NT, most probably he had 2 cards in heart. So, you have a double dummy defense now to beat the contract. What card will you return?

	Dummy
	♠ A J 8 2
	♥ Q 8 7 2
	♦ QJ10 7
	♣ 9
West		East
♠ K1095		♠ 7 6 3
♥ KJ105		♥ A3
♦ 865		♦ K93
♣ AJ		♣ K8764
	Declarer
	♠ Q4
	♥ 9 6 4
	♦ A74
	♣ Q10532

The best return is ♥J. If declarer cover, defender will play for 4 rounds of heart. So, declarer will only have 4 diamond tricks, 1 heart trick and 2 spade tricks, total 7. If declarer ducks in dummy, a second heart will be won by East (partner). East will return the diamond, declarer will win in dummy. A diamond to the Ace will win result in the following distribution.

	Dummy
	♠ A J 8 2
	♥ Q 8
	♦ 7
	♣
West		East
♠ K1095		♠ 7 6 3
♥ K 10		♥
♦ -		♦ -
♣ A		♣ K876
	Declarer
	♠ Q4
	♥ 9
	♦ -
	♣ Q1053

So far, declarer just had 3 diamond trick. He was in dilemma. If he ruffed a club, then play the last diamond, West will ruff and draw last trump. Although he was throw-in, declarer just collect 7 trick, 3 diamond, 1 club ruff and 2 spade trick. However, West should return ♠K!!! On the other hand, if declarer finesse spade and ruff the third round, ruff club, there is no entry to ruff another club. Either way will end with 7 tricks only. A very difficult defense. I failed to find the best defense, so our team was in 5th place.

Watch Out the Card Played on the First Trick

When a defender makes an opening lead, and dummy cards are displayed, you have to take a careful action in managing the contract. Inspect the dummy carefully and think for some times before playing the first card from dummy. In the following deal, you can elimate the guess if you play carefully for the first trick. Below is the bidding:

South	West	North	East
1S	pass	2D	pass
2S	pass	3S	pass
4C	pass	4NT	pass
5S	pass	6S	all pass

West started with ♥7 and East suprises you with a ruff. Your contract is in danger when East return a club. Here are the complete distribution.

	Dummy
	♠A J
	♥A J 10 5
	♦A Q 10 4 2
	♣J 3
West		East
♠ 5		♠10 7 6 3
♥ K98753		♥ void
♦ J62		♦ K9843
♣ K75		♣ Q984
	Selatan
	♠ KQ9842
	♥Q 4 2
	♦ void
	♣ A1062

Several declarers will play the Ace on club return and play a spade to Jack followed by a small diamond ruff. Then play a second trump to dummy. When West discard his heart, declarer then assumes West is 1633. So he plays the ♦A and he has to assume that is West holding in the diamond, Jack or King. Declarer has to assume West hold an honour in diamond in order to fulfill the contract. As the cards lie, if he choose to play the ♦Q, pinning the Jack, he will succeed. He will fail otherwise. Did you notice that declarer can easily land the contract as long as he throw his ♥Q on the first trick. So, he may ruff a second diamond, draw trumps and use his heart entry to play the ♦A. When ♦J appears, he can finnese East King. So, be careful with your card play on the first trick. If declarer fail to unblock the ♥Q, West can refuse to cover the Queen. Then, declarer will be short of entry to play the diamond.

Second Hand High

One of the basic lesson in bridge defense is to play second hand low. However, bridge is a game with full of exceptions. This is why bridge become an interesting game. Frequently, you have to play in a different manner, as in the diagram below. At love all, the bidding is as below:

West	North	East	South
1D	pass	1S	2H
X	2S	pass	4H
allpass

West started with ♠5 and declarer immediately play ♠J which held the trick. Declarer then play the spade to the King at the second trick. At trick 3, he continues with ♥2, plan your defence!

	Dummy
	♠ A J 8 2
	♥ A J 5
	♦ 10 9 7
	♣ 8 6 3
You
♠ Q95
♥ K5
♦ AJ62
♣ K975

If you play according to the rule second hand low, you give a chance for declare to fulfill their contract. Below are the complete distribution.

	Dummy
	♠A J 8 2
	♥A J 5
	♦10 9 7
	♣8 6 3
West		East
♠ Q95		♠ 10 7 6 3
♥ K5		♥ Q8
♦ AJ62		♦ Q843
♣ K975		♣ J104
	Declarer
	♠ K4
	♥10 9 7 4 3 2
	♦ K5
	♣ AQ2

Declarer will play the Ace, cash the ♠A, then exit with the heart, throw you in. So, before playing any card you have, please take several considerations!!!.