Memories of Copenhagen 2001

by David Stevenson

Board 19 Dealer South E/W Vul	Q3 J107542 Q2 QJ3
AK10965 6 754 875

West	North	East	South
			1NT
Pass	2	Pass	2
2	Pass	2NT	Pass
3NT	All Pass

Liz's 1NT shows 12-14 points, and dummy is a shock! Partner leads the 3. She seems to have three to an honour - she might have broken the transfer with four to an honour and she would not lead low without an honour. You play the 10, declarer wins with the K. He now leads the 10, 6, 4, to you. Now what?

Did you play a heart back? Sickeningly that is declarer's ninth trick, and he cannot get the spades wrong:

Board 19 Dealer South E/W Vul	Q3 J107542 Q2 QJ3
AK10965 6 754 875		J KQ9 J1083 A10642
	8742 A83 AK96 K9

Board 28 -- Dealer West -- N/S Vul
10 AQ87543 76532 --		A87 K109 AK AK932

West	North	East	South
4	Pass	4NT	Pass
5	Pass	7	All Pass

The opposition assure you they play random carding against a Grand Slam. The lead is the 5, RHO plays the Q whatever you play from dummy. Decide your plan now.

If the trumps are 2-1 you can claim by ruffing a diamond in dummy for your thirteenth. So you have to worry about a 3-0 break. Suppose you cash a top trump, find they are 3-0, and then cash AK. Assuming that no-one ruffs a diamond, are you now home?

Nearly. If you cashed the HA you are home because you can ruff a diamond safely: if LHO has the long trumps then you over-ruff if he puts in a trump: if LHO has the long trumps then you ruff high and then take the marked heart finesse. If West has x=3=x=1 you will get over-ruffed returning to hand, but that seems dreadfully unlucky, and there is no obvious way to guard against it.

Cashing the top trump in dummy [as another English player did] seems wrong because now the third round of diamond will lose to the H J if it is with a doubleton diamond.

The only problem with all this is that I did cash the HA first, and went off in a cold contract! Did I misplay it? The point is that the clubs are 4-4, so you do not need to get a diamond ruffed. The full hand was:

Board 28 Dealer West N/S Vul	Q432 -- QJ984 8754
10 AQ87543 76532 --		A87 K109 AK AK932
	KJ965 J62 10 QJ106

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Editor's note:

• If you want to comment on this article, why not write direct to David Stevenson?
• I shall be pleased to hear from you!

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