Vil Gravis on 16WED
Wednesday Review 13
It is quite clear that many of our newer players have simply not got into the habit of THINKING about
the hands they play or defend. It really is crucial that you THINK and don't just play by instinct, or
according to the very basic 'rules' you have been taught, because simply playing your cards by taking
your tricks, or by following some simple guidelines will not give you the best results. This deal
provides a case in point.
Board 5 Dealer N NS Vul
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AKQ842
J2
976
K2Firstly, the NS hands should be very easy to bid to game in spades. North opens 1S and South responds
2C. North might jump to 3S to emphasise the quality of the hand, in which case South would raise to
game, or North might simply rebid 2S in which case South, with 11 points and spade support, would
raise to 3S, making North's decision to go to game a very easy one.
Of eight pairs at the Hutt club, six were in 4S but two stopped in three. It was the play, however, that was the problem for five out of the eight
declarers, because they must have simply followed what they have been taught in lesson one of
declarer play: draw opponents' trumps so they can't do you any damage.
True, you set a trump suit so
that YOU can be in control, but if you take out all of opponents' trumps and find that you do yourself a
damage at the same time, that is not a good idea is it? Just a moment's thought and a look at declarer's
possible losers should tell any reasonable declarer that there is a DIAMOND loser in declarer's hand that
cannot be disposed of if three rounds of trumps have to be led to clear the trumps from defenders. The
answer therefore is, or should be, quite simple: Do NOT draw trumps: play on diamonds
immediately. After two rounds of diamonds, you will be able to ruff the third round in dummy and only
THEN draw opponents' trumps after ALL your trumps, and that includes dummy, have done their job.
There are other ways to make 4S but this is the simplest. You may care to see if you can think of
another way on either a diamond or club lead.
Motto for the day: Learn to THINK and then learn WHAT to think. Bridge is not just about turning
your cards over.
