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Deal of the Week
by Bucky Sydnor
(sydnoriv@yahoo.com)
Who Has the ♦K?
As we grow in our defensive skills, we want to add the ability to place outstanding aces, kings, and even queens with partner or declarer. There are a number of ways we can do this: one is through the bidding. Once play has started , the most obvious for defenders are their signals to each other. (CAUTION: Declarer can read those signals as well, and is also looking to place the outstanding high cards.) A third is how Declarer plays the hand. Yet another is how partner defends.
Today’s deal is an example of placing the ♦K by the bidding. My partner and I are in the second round of a club Swiss event. Partner is 2nd seat, all white, holding (spots approximate):
♠J ♥A1093 ♦A97654 ♣104
S, the dealer, opens 1♣ and the auction proceeds:
S---W---N---E
1♣--1♦---Dbl..P
1♠--.P---.2♣-..P
3♦--.P--..3♠--.P
4♠--.all pass
N’s bidding was confusing, in spite of the fact that the N/S pair have a long-standing partnership, and both are established Intermediate players. I’ll look at that problem below. Regardless of the confusion, it’s your lead, as W.
This is a tough one, for me at least, but thankfully I was not on lead. As I looked at partner’s hand afterwards, this was my thought process:
- Leading the ♠J may finesse partner and help Declarer.
- Both the hearts and the diamonds have unsupported aces, and leading or underleading them is generally a big no-no.
- Meanwhile clubs were Declarer’s first bid suit and raised by N.
As I said, when I looked at it, this was a tough call.
It wasn’t for my partner.
Here’s a clue to her thought process: Who has the ♦K?
Figured it out? If not, then try Clue #2: what did S’s 3♦ bid mean?
The answers to the clues, in reverse order, are that 3♦ was asking for a diamond stopper. 3♠ denied one. So, neither hand in the partnership had the ♦K, which would be a stopper. Therefore, I, E, should have the ♦K.
Based on this reasoning, W led her unsupported ♦A, though she could have led a low diamond if she had really been confident in her deductions.
Here is the deal:
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