Okay,
so this is a day of rest. If you want to
keep your mind a bit more active than your
weary body, try your luck with these two not-quite-single-dummy
problems, which share a theme. They're well-travelled
deals that may require some trial and error
analysis. Hint: Solve 1 before tackling 2.
Deal 1: 6
by West, on a diamond lead. West ruffs the
diamond and plays the
A.
South discards a diamond. North is void in
clubs. Continue.
Deal 2: 4
by West, on a spade lead. Hearts are four-one.
South has five diamonds to the king. Plan
the play.
Hint 2: Think about unblocking.
Solutions:
Deal 1: Draw all four outstanding trumps discarding a diamond from dummy (this
is a key play). Play ace-king-jack of clubs.
If South were to duck, you would continue
with the
10,
forcing the queen, and claim the slam.
Therefore, South must win the
Q
on the third round and must return a diamond
to force out your last trump. Unless you are
careful to discard the
10
from dummy on this trick, the club suit will
be blocked and you will have no way to reach
the fifth club in your hand, your twelfth
trick.
Deal 2: Win the
A
and draw all the trumps, discarding a spade
from dummy on the fourth round. Play a
diamond to the ace, then the
Q.
South must take the king now to block the
diamonds. If he plays a spade (best), you
cannot ruff in hand and discard the blocking
J
because the dummy still has two spades
remaining. You have two club losers in your
hand so you exchange losers by discarding a
club on this spade and the next, if the suit
is continued. If South can play yet another
spade, you ruff and can finally discard the
blocking
J.
If the opponents switch to clubs at any
point, win the ace, get the
J
out of the way, ruff an appropriate black
card to hand and cash the precious fourth
diamond.