Watch my partner, David Berkowitz (he so loves it when he is the star), play this deal from the Reisinger Board-A-Match Teams in San Francisco (2007).
He held the South cards, with the auction as shown.
Vul: North South
Dlr: South |
 A K 8 5
 Q J 7 6
 6 3
 A 7 6
|
|
|
|
|
| |
J 7 6 3 2
K 10 8
8
K Q 10 8
|
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1NT (12-14) |
2* |
3** |
4
|
| Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
|
*Majors
**Weak
West led the A (East dropping the jack), then the K. What is your plan?
Without a warning, I think 99 out of 100 declarers would shrug and start drawing trumps. Maybe even 100 out of 100.
Not David. He made a very thoughtful play at trick three. After ruffing the diamond, he played the K!
It was most unlikely that East could get a heart ruff (West would have already tried that). Meanwhile, the big advantage to playing hearts first was revealed when East(!) won the A.
Yes, East had the A and the J. That meant that West, for his 12-14 point notrump, had all the remaining HCP, including the Q.
Does that affect your plan? You know West started with at least Qx. If he has exactly Q109, nothing you do will matter. But, if he has Q10x or Q9x, you can pick up the suit for no losers to make an all-important overtrick (every trick counts in this form of scoring).
After East won the A, he shifted to a club. David won in hand and led the J, knowing West would cover. After West played the Q, David won dummy's ace and East showed out!
Yes, spades were 4-0. No problem. David continued with a low spade from the dummy to give West his trump trick at once. That was the last trick for the defense. David could win any return and finesse in trumps (West remained with 10x) and claim 10 tricks.
Vul:
Dlr: |
A K 8 5
Q J 7 6
6 3
A 7 6
|
|
Q 10 9 4
5 3
A K Q
J 5 3 2
|
|
--
A 9 4 2
J 10 9 7 5 4 2
9 4
|
| |
J 7 6 3 2
K 10 8
8
K Q 10 8
|
|
Obviously, playing low to the A on the first round of the suit would have been fatal. Declarer would have to lose 2 trump tricks for down 1.
This was a well-played deal, of course, but as so often happens in BAM, the effort was a total waste of time. Our teammates played in 3NT the other direction. Had it gone down (it should have), then David's careful play would have earned the win on the board. However, poor defense (A, K then a low spade) let declarer make 10 tricks for a ridiculous 430 to East-West. David would have won the board even had he gone down four in 4! Making 620 was overkill, but landed him in print. Computer print, anyway.
