When giving a Ruff'n'Sluff can be a good thing

This was the deal featured in last week's article. There are a number of important lessons for all readers, though most may be a bit difficult for even the advanced players. Nevertheless, I suggest that even the beginner might learn something from the discussion on how South should play this contract in 4S when West leads the six of diamonds. Let's have another look:

Board 9 Dealer N EW Vul

	T432 AJ92 T3 743
J6 T5 K9765 KT52		95 Q86 QJ842 AQ6
	AKQ87 K743 A J98

Put yourself in the South seat. Without seeing the EW cards, what should you be thinking? These are things that you should consider:

1. There are three club losers, and the result will depend on how you play the heart suit. If you play hearts yourself, the best way to play it is to play the king and then finesse the jack if West plays low, a 50% chance. But is there a way you can persuade opponents to open up the heart suit? That would give you extra chances in that suit: if WEST leads a heart, put in the nine from dummy and if West had the ten, you have a 'free finesse'. If East has the ten, you can rely on the normal finesse later by leading to the jack after winning your king.
2. How should you begin? The first thing you should always do is draw trumps, unless it is not a good idea. Is it a good idea? Can it do any harm? The anwer is obvious, you have no reason NOT to draw trumps, at least to see how they break. When you draw trumps you find they break 2-2 which is good to see. Now for the next step. How do you persuade opponents to open up the heart suit?
3. Whenever possible, if you have enough trumps, it is a good idea to eliminate any side suit that you can. That way opponents may be reluctant to give you a 'ruff and slough (pronounced "sluff")' by leading that suit again and will lead another, in this case a heart will be the only suit left if they have taken three club tricks.
4. Will a 'ruff and slough' do you any good? Not if you discard a heart, that will still leave you with a possible heart loser and the need to finesse. But maybe, if you can discard a CLUB in your 'ruff and slough', that would be great. Is THAT possible? Maybe it is. After finding that the trumps break, you can eliminate diamonds by crossing to dummy's jack of trumps and ruffing dummy's second diamond.
5. Now you can lose your inevitable tricks, in clubs. That will result in the hand left on lead having to open the heart suit or giving you that 'ruff and slough'.
   Now for the paradox. Most GOOD defenders will know what a ruff and slough is and try to avoid it, and therefore try a heart, especially if they are in the West seat and do not have the queen. The Easts may be more reluctant to lead a heart.
   Now for the BAD defenders. A bad defender will think nothing of giving you a ruff and slough, even when they have a safe exit card, so they may even do so before all the clubs are cashed, thus giving you the discard of a CLUB. Note that a HEART discard in a ruff and slough won't help as you will still have to solve the heart loser problem yourself. And a very good defender will know that and give you the ruff and slough, but ONLY if three clubs have been cashed. Which brings me to the final clincher.
6. Is there any other possibility? Actually, yes there is. Imagine if either defender has exactly a doubleton CLUB with two honours, e.g. AK, AQ, KQ. Then they will have no option but to win the SECOND club and have to switch to a heart or give you what would be a USEFUL ruff and slough: a diamond lead will allow you to throw your third losing CLUB while ruffing in dummy.

After all that analysis, you will follow the suggested line of drawing trumps, crossing to dummy with the jack, and ruffing a diamond before surrendering the lead in clubs. These losers are inevitable, so there is no point in not leading clubs is there? When opponents take their three club tricks, just hope that they DON'T give you that ruff and slough. If West switches to a heart, as they well might, you will give yourself that extra chance by putting in the nine, and that will pick up East's queen as the cards lay at the time the deal was played.

All in all, I would suggest that if you reason as I suggested and follow the plan, the chances of you making 4S will be almost as good as Deep Finesse's. A good declarer does not always need X-ray vision to achieve the same things as the omniscient Deep Finesse!

Many of Vil's early books can now be read here on the X-Clubs website, for free. There should be many tips for the reader on a number of different topics.