Chapter 6
To Finesse or Not to Finesse?
© 2006 - Marty Bergen
Page 69
To Finesse or Not to Finesse?
The
Case of the Missing Queen
Contract: 6
Lead:
 A
N-S vul |
|
North
K
Q 9 2
5
K 10 8 2
K J 9 8 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
South
A
J 10 8 5
4
A J 9 5 4
A 4 |
|
|
West North
East South
2 Dbl.
5 6
All Pass
E-W
took advantage of the favorable vulnerability to make life very
difficult for N-S. South’s jump to 6
did not come with
any guarantees, but with such a good hand, it would have been a
mistake to not bid a slam after North’s takeout double.
West
led the
A
and exited with a trump. To make his slam, South needed to avoid
a diamond loser.
Of
course, everyone knows that the normal play with nine
cards missing the queen is to play for the drop: “eight ever,
nine never.”
© 2006- Marty Bergen
Page 70
To Finesse or Not to Finesse?
However, because playing for the drop is only slightly better
than taking a second-round finesse, South was in no hurry to
commit himself in diamonds. Instead, he set out to discover what
he could about the E-W distribution in the other suits.
Any
time you have a chance to acquire potentially useful
information, you should be delighted to do so. This is
especially true when there is more than one way to play a
particular suit. Sometimes, you are able to learn only a little;
at other times, a complete count of the other suits is available
– as long as you are willing to observe, discover and count.
South
won the trump shift in his hand with the jack and led another
spade to dummy’s king. When both opponents followed, declarer
turned his attention to finding out how the seven E-W clubs were
distributed. South cashed the
A
and led a club to dummy’s king. He then led a club from the
board and ruffed it. When West showed out on the third round,
South knew it all.
West
was known to have started with two spades and two clubs.
Declarer placed West with six hearts for his weak two-bid.
Therefore, West must have exactly three diamonds. South cashed
the
A,
and led the
4
and confidently finessed dummy’s
10.
Making six.
© 2006- Marty Bergen
Page 71
To Finesse or
Not to Finesse?
Here
is the entire deal:
Contract: 6
Lead:
A
N-S vul |
|
North
K
Q 9 2
5
K 10 8 2
K J 9 8 |
|
|
| |
West
7
4
A
J 10 7 3 2
Q 7 3
7 5 |
|
East
6
3
K
Q 9 8 6
5
Q 10 6 3 2
|
|
| |
|
South
A
J 10 8 5
4
A J 9 5 4
A 4 |
|
|
West North
East South
2 Dbl.
5 6
All Pass
By the
way: When declarer ruffed the third round of clubs, suppose
West had followed. South would then have crossed to dummy with a
trump and led North’s last club as a discovery play. Once
declarer learned whether West started with three or four clubs
along with his known eight cards in the majors, South would know
exactly how many diamonds West started with,
and would play accordingly.
© 2006 - Marty Bergen
Chapter 7: The
Right Time to Finesse ............................... 77
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