Smarter Than a Second Grader?
We learn to count in first- and second-grade, but somehow this basic skill deserts many bridge players in the heat of battle.
West leads a low Heart and East (correctly) inserts the Jack. Two more Hearts are cashed, followed by a trump shift. “Rats!” mutters Declarer, who had been planning to cross-ruff the entire hand, scoring all nine trumps separately. Those ruffs, plus the ♦A, would be enough to fulfill the contract. But, after the trump return, the cross-ruff leaves Declarer a trick short, so it’s time for Plan B.
Our Declarer’s (faulty) Plan B was to set up Dummy’s Diamonds. He won the trump return in hand, cashed the ♦A, then Club ruff, Diamond ruff, Club ruff, Diamond ruff. This line of play required good breaks (such as Spades 2-2 and Diamonds 3-3, or failing that the doubleton ♦K). But Declarer’s luck was out and, as the cards lie, it was impossible to enjoy those long Diamonds.
Our second-graders need no luck, instead they’ll do some counting:
- N-S have 23 HCP, so the other guys have 17
- In the Heart suit East showed up with 5 of those 17 missing HCP
- West opened the bidding and surely has the remaining 12 HCP
Once Declarer realizes that West has the missing high cards (obviously including the ♣A and ♣Q), it’s routine to win the trump return in hand, and take ruffing finesses against West’s high Clubs. Declarer leads the ♣K which is covered by the Ace and ruffed. Back to hand with a trump. Then the ♣J is led, and run around if West declines to cover. When the dust has cleared, Declarer will have scored 5 trumps in his hand, plus two Club ruffs in Dummy, plus two Club tricks, and the ♦A. 10 easy tricks for the second-graders!
Article courtesy of the American Contract Bridge League. Visit www.acbl.org for more about the fascinating game of bridge.
