Author: Larry Cohen
Date of publish: 08/01/2023
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
We all know about third-hand high and some of the main exceptions. This exception was exceptional. In the 2023 Senior Team Trials, this board was played 8 times. South opened 1
, North responded 1
and South jump-shifted to 3
. Half the pairs stopped in game (all making) and half reached 6.
Vul:N-S
Dlr: South |
 74
AQ9753
K
10863
|
|
K952
42
QJ43
974
|
|
J1083
KJ108
1095
J2
|
| |
AQ6
6
A8762
AKQ5
|
|
One West player led an ill-fated spade against 6 and declarer had an easy time. The other 3 West players led a trump. Two declarers played brilliantly to make 1370. They won the J with the ace and went to work on hearts. A finesse to the queen lost, but another finesse was about to work. No, not the spade finesse. East returned a spade, but declarer won the ace. He went to the K and played the A and ruffed a heart high. Next came the A to throw dummy's spade loser. Now, declarer was able to play a club to the 8(!) -- that is the finesse (against the 9) that won. Now a heart ruff with declarer's last (high) trump set up the suit. A spade ruff to dummy let him play the 10 to draw West's 9 and the dummy was high.
Beautifully played, but those watching online had the option of clicking "DD" -- the Double-Dummy Solver. They noticed a red (Down 1) for East playing the 2 at trick 1 but a green = (making) if East's plays the J. Indeed, as you saw above, the J allows for that late 8 finesse to dummy.
My partner, bless him, figured this all out at the table! Yes, David Berkowitz worked out to play the 2 on my trump lead! He didn't know the exact layout, but experience told him that keeping his jack could be crucial. Was it ever! Declarer won the 5 (winning high is no better) and tried some major-suit finesses, but there was no way to overcome David's brilliant play. In desperation, declarer finished down 2. Our teammates stopped in 5 making, so David's play gained us 13 IMPs instead of losing an equal number.. Notice that the first trick went 4, 3, 2, 5--something you don't see every day but I'm glad we saw it here.
