North-South vulnerable. South deals.
North-South vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
9 3 2
K 6 5 4 2
A 2
A 8 7
WEST EAST
A K 10 7 6 4 J 5
A 7
K 9 8 6 J 10 5 4 3
4 2 Q 10 9 6 5
SOUTH
Q 8
Q J 10 9 8 3
Q 7
K J 3
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
2 2 4 Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead: King of
Kerry Sanborn is one of the top-ranked women in bridge. In the 1960s, her partnership with the late Barry Crane was amongst the best in Duplicate Pairs competition. They won the World Mixed Pairs in 1978 and a host of other titles.
A sound technician, she never overlooked the obvious. Consider this deal.
East-West have a cheap sacrifice against four hearts. However, Sanborn decided that her defensive values gave her a chance to beat the opponents at four hearts. How would you defend after you win the first two tricks with the ace and king of spades?
Suppose you lead a third spade. Declarer ruffs, crosses to the ace of clubs and takes the club finesse, which wins. South then clears clubs by cashing the king and exits with a trump. You win the ace, but now either have to concede a ruff-sluff or lead away from the king of diamonds up to declarer's queen. Either way, the contract is safe.
West did not give declarer a chance to display his technique. At trick three she cashed the ace of hearts before leading a third spade. The possibility of an endplay had evaporated, and she could sit back and wait to score the king of diamonds for the setting trick.
This column is written by Tannah Hirsch and Omar Sharif. For information about Charles Goren's newsletter for bridge players, call (800) 788-1225 or write Goren Bridge Letter, P.O. Box 4410, Chicago, Ill. 60680.
& copy; 2006, Tribune Media Services
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