Q&A Test Answers 03
The bidding has been uneventful, 1NT by West, 3NT by East. Partner leads the TEN OF HEARTS and this is what you see in dummy:
 K93 |
 QJ7 |
 AQ93 |
 J42 |
Your hand:
| Q64 |
| K54 |
| J42 |
| 9863 |
What is your analysis of the situation?
When declarer covers with the jack in dummy, which card do you play?
What are the lessons to learn here? It is not a good idea to automatically presume that partner has
anything other than the nine to go with the ten. Try and work out why partner has led the card she has.
“Third hand high” or “cover an honour with an honour” is a guideline, but asking yourself what
partner has led and why should be a rule.
If you think about it, declarer will have a balanced hand of 12-14 points, dummy has the required
points for 3NT (an opening bid opposite and opening bid should equal game), and no interest in a
major, and partner, who has the opening lead, looks to have about 9 HCP and has chosen to give
nothing away by leading what she did.
The most likely heart holding for partner is 109x or 109xx. In any case, declarer should have the ace, so
covering the jack with your king cannot be the right move. If you had been second in hand and declarer
had led the queen, would you have covered seeing the jack also in dummy?
The rule has always been that you don’t cover the first time but only when declarer leads the jack next.
Covering the first time can only expose partner to a finesse that may give declarer an extra trick, as you
will see when I show you the full deal next.
Here is the full deal, as I recall it from some time ago. I don’t know the full story but the result ended
up well for the NS pair.
Dealer W EW Vul
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The bidding has been 1NT from West, 3NT from East. Can you see why North has chosen the ten of
hearts as the opening lead?
It is always a good idea to plan your defence and not just follow the guidelines.
“Fourth highest of longest and strongest”? There is only one ‘fourth highest’ and low from Jxxx is not
usually a successful opening lead, in fact should be avoided where possible. Take a look at the deal
above and see what would happen if North leads a low spade.
North has chosen a ‘passive’ defence, which often will pay off, at least in the right circumstances.
South should recognise that and respect it by continuing the careful defence the same way. That is why
having a regular partner and ‘reading partner’s mind’ is so crucial to good defence. Look again and this
time see what happens of South covers the jack of hearts when North has led the ten: declarer wins and
finesses the seven on the way back and makes four heart tricks to contribute to what is now an easy
enough nine tricks. A good declarer will probably still make 3NT even if South does not cover the jack
of hearts, but many will struggle, and fail, given North’s excellent opening lead and South’s continued
cooperation.
