Eliminate the danger

 Sometimes it is fun to match wits with famous player and see if you can do as well (or better) than he or she.  The above hand was played by five-time world champion Billy Eisenberg many a moons ago.

At trick one Billy hopefully tried the ªQ. No luck.  East produced the king.  Billy won the ªA, led a diamond to the ten, cashed the ¨A, crossed to the ©A and discarded dummy’s losing spade on the ¨K.  Billy wound up losing two clubs and a heart.  The question is, how did Billy know to play like this or was he just lucky?

         

He was not lucky. Once Billy saw East turn up with ªK and a high club honor he knew that West had all the rest of the high cards.  Just a minute! When did Billy see a high club honor come out of the East hand?  He did not actually see it, but he knew it was there.  If West had the §AK he would have led a club, not a spade, on opening lead.  Since a high club honor was marked in the East hand, Billy knew that the missing red suit honors were both in the West hand.  You do not get to be a five-time world champion unless you work out things like this.

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