HOMEPAGE > QUIZ > HAND OF THE WEEK > WEEK 43

Dealer : West
Vuln : Both

HAND OF THE WEEK #43
Revealing Discards by Matthew Granovetter

Archives of all back
issues of all daily
columns are available
with Bridgetoday.com
membership (which
also includes 12
issues of Bridge
Today Magazine,
100 archive issues
of Bridge Today
Digest Online, and
one Bridge Today
University course).

Click here for
further details

     North
    K 8 5
    Q 10 3
    A 8 5 4
    K 6 2
West
10 4
4
K J 9 3 2
Q 9 7 5 4
East
7 3
A K J 9 8 6 5
Q
J 8 3
 

   South You
    A Q J 9 6 2
    7 2
    10 7 6
    A 10

West probably has 2-1-5-5 shape. If he held
2-1-4-6, he probably would have discarded
two clubs on the second and third rounds of
hearts. If he has 2-1-5-5, you can make the
contract by eliminating clubs (ace, king and
ruff one) and then ducking a diamond. As long
as East's singleton is the jack, queen or king,
there's no defense. Either East wins and gives
you a ruff-sluff, or West plays the king of
diamonds and is endplayed.

Notice that if East returns the queen of
diamonds at trick two or three, you can make
he hand by winning, eliminating clubs, drawing
trumps and throwing East back in with a heart;
on the third round of hearts you discard a
diamond, and East is endplayed.

If you thought West started with 2-1-4-6
shape, you can make the contract a different
way. You duck a diamond before touching
clubs, and then lead all your trumps to
squeeze West. For this reason, on the actual
hand, West (on a high level) should have tried
to fool declarer by discarding two clubs.

Have a nice weekend!

South

3

West
pass
pass

North
pass
4

East
3
all pass

Opening lead: 4
MANY NEW BOOKS NOW IN STORE

eMAGAZINE | NOVICES | BRIDGE COURSES

COLUMNS | QUIZZES |

BACK TO HOMEPAGE

Copyright ©2002-2024 by BridgeToday
Click here to contact us: bridgetoday.com@gmail.com