Complimentary Issue of Better Bridge Magazine March / April 2020 | Page 17

♠ 7 5 3
♥ K 8
♦ A J 7 4
♣ K J 9 5
LEAD
♥Q
3 NT
n
w
e
s
♠ K 2
♥ A 5 3
♦ K 8 3 2
♣ A Q 8 3
We start with eight top tricks: two
hearts, two diamonds, and four clubs.
We need one more. The diamond suit
can provide two extra tricks if West
holds the ♦Q and the diamonds
divide 3-2. However, it would be a
risky idea to take the diamond finesse.
East is the ‘dangerous opponent.’ If
the diamond finesse loses, East may
switch to a spade, trapping our ♠K
when West holds the ♠A, and the
defenders will get enough tricks to
defeat the contract.
Since only one extra diamond trick is
needed, the best plan is to ignore the
maxim and start by playing the ♦A
and ♦K. If the ♦Q doesn’t appear,
you can lead toward dummy’s ♦J,
hoping it is with West. If it turns out
East has three diamonds including
the ♦Q, then you will have to hope
East also holds the ♠A.
Now let’s consider another deal
where we again reach 3NT and West
leads the ♥Q.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1NT
Pass
2♣
Pass
2♦
Pass
3NT All Pass
♠ A K J 2
♥ 7 5
♦ A 4 2
♣ 9 6 4 2
LEAD
♥Q
n
w
e
s
♠ Q 5 3
♥ A 4
♦ K J 7 5 3
♣ A Q 3
Always take into
consideration the entire
deal and any information
from the bidding and play.
We have eight immediate winners:
four spades, one heart, two diamonds,
and a club. We need one more, and
we have an eight-card diamond suit
missing the ♦Q. However, taking
the diamond finesse is not our best
play. Once the ♥A is driven out, the
defenders will have enough heart
winners to defeat the contract if the
diamond finesse loses.
In addition to the chance in
diamonds, we have a second chance
for a ninth trick in clubs if East holds
the ♣K. Our best play is to combine
the chances. After winning the ♥A,
we can take the spade winners and
then play the ♦K and ♦A. If the ♦Q
falls, we have eleven tricks. If the
♦Q doesn’t fall, we can try the club
finesse, our second chance.
In our final deal, we reach 4♠ after
this auction:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1♦
Double Pass
4♠
All Pass
♠ J 10 6
♥ A Q J 6
♦ J 9 3
♣ A Q 5
3 NT
LEAD
♦A
n
w
e
4♠
West leads the ♦A. We have three
diamond losers and are likely to lose
them right away, so we must avoid a
spade loser. There are eight combined
spades, missing the ♠Q, so the maxim
suggests we plan on taking the spade
finesse. Before automatically doing
that, however, we should consider the
auction.
West opened the bidding and the
only outstanding high cards outside
spades are the ♦A-K-Q. If West held
a six- or seven-card diamond suit
headed by the ♦A-K-Q and nothing
else, West would have opened with a
weak two bid or a three-level preempt.
However, West opened the bidding at
the one level so almost certainly must
hold the ♠Q.
After West takes the first three
diamond tricks and we then gain the
lead, we should play the ♠A and ♠K,
hoping West started with either a
singleton or doubleton ♠Q. So much
for eight ever!
C onclusion
While “eight ever, nine never” is a
useful maxim, it is a guideline and not
a rule. With eight or fewer combined
cards, we should always consider the
complete deal along with the auction
and play so far before routinely taking
a finesse for the missing queen.
s
♠ A K 9 8 2
♥ K 7
♦ 10 5 4
♣ K J 4
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