This deal occurred in the 2009 Las Vegas Regional:
Vul: None Dir:South |
8 6
K J 5 4 3
A
10 8 5 4 3
|
|
J 9 3
8 2
J 9 8 3 2
K Q 9
|
|
10 7 5 2
A Q 9 6
10 6 5
J 6
|
|
A K Q 4
10 7
K Q 4 3
A 7 2
|
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
Berkowitz
|
|
Cohen |
Sontag |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1
|
Pass |
1
|
Pass |
2NT |
Pass |
3
|
Pass |
3
|
Pass |
3NT |
(All Pass) |
|
I've simplified the bidding to show a normal "Checkback" auction.
Berkowitz (West) chose to lead the
8.
Would you rather play or defend?
I'll tell it as a story and see if you can spot any errors.
After the heart lead, dummy played low and I won the
Q. I returned a diamond and it looks as if declarer has only 7 top tricks.
In dummy, declarer led the
8 and passed it to West's
9. Berkowitz returned the
K won by declarer, who exited with the
10.
I won the
A and exited with the
7 in this position:
Vul: None Dir:South |
8 6
K J 5
--
10 5 4
|
|
J 9 3
--
J 9 8 3
Q
|
|
10 7 5 2 9 6
10 5
--
|
|
A K Q 4
--
K Q 3
7
|
|
Sontag won the
A and cashed the
K and
Q. Then, in desperation, he cashed the top spades and threw me in with the 4th round of spades. Lo and behold, I had to give dummy the last two tricks in hearts for the contract.
So, can 3NT always be made after West's heart lead?
Astute readers will notice my error (thanks a lot). I did well to exit with the
7 in the diagrammed position. Exiting with the
2 would have been fatal. In fact, the
2 was the most important card remaining in my hand. I should have played all my high spades under declarer's A-K-Q. Then, when he tried to throw me in with the fourth spade, declarer would have found himself winning the
4 (with me following with the carefully-preserved deuce). That would be a good trade for me. I'd have given him an extra spade, yes, but only for his 8th trick. Then, he would have to give the last 2 tricks to West--down one.
But, I wasn't the only one who took his eye off the ball. At trick 3, when declarer passed a club to David, recall that he continued clubs. Declarer won his
A and made a big error. He played his
10 to my ace. WRONG! He should have cashed his A-K-Q of spades and K-Q of diamonds first. Then, and only then, he should exit in hearts. Now, I have no answer. If I've unblocked all my high spades, declarer would have cashed the
4 before throwing me in with hearts. If I've kept a higher spade, all I get is that high spade and the
A. Try it yourself.
Lastly, Berkowitz (West) was also to blame. When he won the
9 at trick three, he should have played a heart. That would have gotten the
A out of my hand at the right time. Then, I could never get thrown in during the endgame.
I realize this is a hard deal to follow (thus the "Advanced" tag). Anyone with double-dummy software or the patience to lay out the cards might be able to see all the variations. Bottom line: three errors were made -- one by each expert. I hope that makes all my readers feel better.