An almost sure thing

Once Mahatma Gandhi reportedly said, “In numbers Parsis are beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare.”           

In absences of ‘Apro’ Dara, ‘Apro’ Khershid gave me this interesting deal written by Frank Stewart. I’m sure we shall enjoy and undoubtedly learn the play. Initially,outh misplayed the hand by taking the ♦A, drawing the trumps and then leading the heart to dummy’s ♥J. East won and returned a diamond. South won, took the ♥A and ruffed a heart. When the ♥Q didn’t fall, he tried a club to the ♣Q, and the slam expired.      

To succeed in making this slam South had an almost sure thing. He must take the ♦A-K, ruff a diamond high, cash the ªK-Q and ruff the last diamond high. Now he can draw trumps and lead a heart to the ♥J. East wins but must return a heart or a club and South gets free finesse and his 12th trick. There’s no such thing as “for sure”. That’s the only sure thing I do know.   

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Safety Play

India is celebrating Navarati festival, which is dedicated to Goddess Durga. It is a ‘nine night’ festival ending on Dasshera, which is the tenth day that celebrates the victory of the good over evil.

South wins the ©J wtih the ©Q, cashes one high diamond and leads a club to dummy’s §J.  When the finesse wins, he returns to another high diamond, revealing normal 3-2 break.

With four diamond winners assures, he can afford to make a safety play in clubs.  And, instead of repeating a finesse to dummy’s §Q, he leads a club to dummy’s §9.  Had this lost to East’s §10, only an overtrick would have been lost.  However, when East discards, South reaps a huge bonus. He can now claim not only his slam but an overtrick as well.

A first-round finesse to dummy’s §J and another finesse to dummy’s §Q would limit South to only three club winners instead of four and with no dummy entry outside the club suit, South would score only eleven tricks instead of twelve or thirteen.

Don’t be afraid to fail, be afraid not to try.

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Twitter ID  : @HemaDeora

China's challenge

Four No-Trump was too high, but as the play developed it took a combination of brilliant  plays for the defence to prevail.      

North led the ♠6. South took his ♠Q and rather than simply continue spades, he switched to the ♣8, declarer winning in dummy as North followed with ♣6.

Declarer unblocked the ♣A and played a spade to the Jack. South went in with the ♠A and exited with a spade, declarer winning in the dummy and cashing the remaining spade winner, discarding two hearts from his hand.

Now came the Ace and King of diamonds, on which North delivered the ♦Q. That avoided the first possible endplay.

When declarer continued with dummy’s ♦4 the crocodile reared his head and South went up with the ♦J, avoiding the second possible endplay.

He exited with a diamond and the declarer had to surrender a heart trick at the end.     

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The Sensible Answer

The cultural melting pot that is Mumbai is enjoying a brief respite from fortnightly barrage of festivals. But, we better get ready for Diwali crackers!

Sometimes weak two-bid makes it difficult to find another trump fit. Above deal one would prefer to reach 6♣.

East wins trick one with the ♦K, then switches to the ♥Q. West following suit. To solve this problem correctly, not only must you trust your right-hand opponent to defend correctly, but must also notice the strong aroma of rodent wafting across the table. The normal percentage play for no spade losers is to cash dummy’s ♠K, then to finesse your ªJ. But if East had ♠QXX, why didn't he lead the ♦A at trick two, forcing South to ruff in the dummy? He must know you have another diamond.

The only sensible answer is that he has three low spades. If he taps the dummy. South has no choice but to try to drop the doubleton ♠Q. Now, though, East has left declarer with a losing alternative. Don't fall for it. Cash dummy’s ♠K, and then play a spade to your Ace, expecting West to furnish the ♠Q.

It takes a lot of people to make a winning team. Everybody’s contribution is important.

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Twitter ID  : @HemaDeora