Chapter 7
The Right Time to Finesse
© 2006 - Marty Bergen
Page 79
The Right Time to Finesse
Appreciating the Nine
Contract: 4
Lead:
 J |
|
North
 K
Q J 2
K
9 3 2
K 7 4
7 2 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
South
A
9 6
A
J 5 4
8 3 2
A K 5 |
|
|
West North
East South
--
-- Pass
1NT
Pass
2
Pass 2
Pass
4
All Pass
You
duck West’s
J
lead, hoping that East started with AQ doubleton – but he
follows with the
5.
West continues with the
6,
and East wins his
A
Q. East then leads the J, which you win with your ace.
Through no fault of your own, you need the rest. Your black
suits are solid, so the suit that will “make you or break you”
is hearts.
Question 1: If trumps don’t divide 3-2, is there any chance
to make the contract?
© 2006- Marty Bergen
Page 80
The Right Time to Finesse
Question 1: If trumps don’t divide 3-2, is there any chance
to make the contract?
Answer: The only intermediate trump in the N–S hands is
dummy’s
9.
Therefore, the only 4-1 split you can handle for no loser is a
singleton queen with East. Because of the E-W
intermediates, in all other cases, you cannot pick up the suit
for no losers even if you can see the E-W cards. This is even
true if West has a singleton queen. If you are still in
doubt, I suggest that you take one suit from a deck of cards and
try it out for yourself.
Question 2: Exactly how would you play the trumps?
Once
again, I suggest thinking about your answer before reading on.
Answer: With 8 cards missing the queen, it is normal to
finesse, as opposed to “playing for the drop.” If the E-W
trumps divide 3-2 and you are lucky enough to find East with the
Q,
all is well.
However, because of the potential of dummy’s
9,
you should start the trumps from the North hand. You’ll
need to get to the board, so begin by leading a spade to dummy’s
king.
© 2006- Marty Bergen
Page 81
The Right Time
to Finesse
Then
lead the
2,
intending to finesse your jack, and hope for the best. However,
when East plays the
Q,
you win the ace and cash the
J.
As expected, East shows out. It is then child’s play to lead
through West’s
10
8 to dummy’s
K
9.
Once
all the trumps are drawn, you can easily win the last four
tricks with three spade winners and the K.
Contract: 4
Lead:
J |
|
North
K
Q J 2
K
9 3 2
K 7 4
7 2 |
|
|
| |
West
10 7
10 8 7 6
J 10 9 6
Q 8 6 |
|
East
8
5 4 3
Q
A Q 5
J 10 9 4 3 |
|
| |
|
South
A
9 6
A
J 5 4
8 3 2
A K 5 |
|
|
By the
way: If you had foolishly played dummy’s
K
at trick 1, you’d go down! E-W could then play four
rounds of diamonds. When East ruffed the fourth round with his
Q,
you couldn’t shut out West’s
10.
© 2006- Marty Bergen
Chapter 8:
YOU Can Execute an
Endplay .........................
87
|
