LEARNING CENTER

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This Real Deal was played in last year's Transatlantic Senior Teams. Take the South cards at unfavorable vulnerability:

 AKQ  
 107653  
 J6  
 A97.
 

Your 1 opening is overcalled with 2. Partner bids 3 (limit raise or better) and you decide you are worth 4. Against that contract, West leads two high diamonds:

872  AK42  107  KJ84

AKQ  107653  J6  A97

East plays up the line (standard) and West switches to a low trump. You take the AK and surprisingly East shows up with a singleton (jack)--West started with Q98. Now what?

West can be thrown in with the heart, but you would like to do it when he is out of black cards. You start stripping the hand by playing two high spades, West following. Now what?

Don't play another high spade. Why not? To see, let's look at the real deal:

 

 

 

Vul:N-S Dlr: South	872  AK42  107  KJ84
105  Q98  AKQ853  62		J9643  J  942  Q1053
	AKQ  107653  J6  A97

If you play a 3rd spade, West trumps and exits in clubs. No luck in the club suit--down one.

Once West follows to 2 spades, you are in great shape. Assume for his 2-level overcall (and East's failure to raise with a singleton in hearts) that diamonds are 6-3.

After 2 spades live, play the A and another club. If West is out of clubs, no problem. He would discard and you'd win the K, cash the last spade and throw him in. If he follows to the second club, you are also home. Win the K and West is down to all red cards. Play another spade (just in case) and then throw him in with the trump. No club to lose.

Many top players made the mistake of stripping the hand incorrectly. They started with 3 rounds of spades, instead of playing as indicated.

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