Cover their hands, uncover your play

Bridge is a tough game because the textbook approach does not work all of the time. It can be difficult to spot the exceptional deals. Today, let’s look at one of the earliest play techniques a beginner is taught — a finesse. Normally you take one, hoping it will win and gain you a trick. However, there are times when you shouldn’t take a finesse, for one reason or another.

Armed with that helpful hint, how should South play in four spades after West leads the heart six?

What would you have bid with that South hand over one heart? The original South hoped both to buy a useful dummy and to shut out the opponents. He succeeded on both scores. If he had bid only one spade, a modern West would have made a preemptive jump to three hearts, getting to the nine-trick level with nine trumps. Then North might have squeezed out three spades, but even if he had passed, South would have rebid three spades, and then North would have raised.

When the deal was originally played, South won the first trick with the heart ace and immediately took the spade finesse, running his queen. When that lost to the king, the declarer could not avoid losing one spade, one diamond and two clubs.

Rather than commit himself immediately, South should lead the diamond king at trick two. When that is won by West, it marks the spade king in East’s hand; otherwise, where are the values for his opening bid?

Winning the return, South should lead the spade queen (tempting a cover from West, just in case) and put up dummy’s ace. When the king drops, declarer is home.

- July 27, 2023