bridge

July 29, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

bridge

East-West vulnerable. North deals.

NORTH

xK J 9 5 4

u8 6 4 3

vA K 5

w10

WEST EAST

x2 xQ 10 7 6 3

uA Q 9 7 5 uK J 10 2

vQ 10 9 8 4 3 vJ

w9 wK 8 2

SOUTH

xA 8

uVoid

v7 6 2

wA Q J 7 6 5 4 3

The bidding:

NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST

x Pass 2w 2NT

Dbl 3u 4w Pass

4v Pass 4u Pass

5w Pass 5x Pass

6w Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Ten of v

Two-suited overcalls such as the unusual no trump are useful to get your side to a good spot or to a cheap sacrifice. When the opponents buy the hand, however, these distributional bids might point declarer to a winning line. This hand is from a knockout team match.

At one table, North-South bought the hand at five clubs, just making. At the other table the auction went as shown. West’s two no trump was a red-suit takeout, and South had just one story to tell. Despite a singleton trump, North started a cue-bidding sequence and North-South ended in six clubs, against which West led the ten of diamonds.

Declarer won the opening lead with dummy’s king and immediately led a low spade from the table. East followed low and declarer took the deep finesse, playing the eight from hand! When that held, South cashed the aces of clubs and spades, then forced out the king of clubs. South eventually discarded a losing diamond on the king of spades and lost only a club trick.

Note that it would not have helped East to play the ten on the first spade lead. Declarer can still set up a spade trick via a ruffing finesse.

What made declarer take the deep finesse in spades at trick two? West’s vulnerable two no trump overcall marked him with an awful lot of red cards, so a singleton spade was a distinct possibility. The odds on that singleton being neither the queen nor the ten were 2-to-1 in declarer’s favor.

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