2015 Yeh Bros Cup Site
BBO Schedule Bulletins
Source: 2015 Yeh Bros Cup Bulletins
Barbara Hackett could be forgiven for liking both Hackett Father and Son, since she is married to Justin.
On this deal from round eight I think everyone should like the combination of play and defence.
Both tables in the match between England and Japan reached 3NT by North on a low spade lead round to the ten and queen. (Unopposed auction: 1
– 2 – 2
– 3NT).
As North Paul Hackett guessed diamonds and cashed four rounds of the suit, East pitching a heart, West a heart then a club. Reading the position very accurately Paul cashed dummy’s two top hearts and led a spade from dummy, covering West’s five with the six. East was in and could not underlead in spades, since Paul still had the jack left (and had West put up the eight, North’s six would have been larger than West’s remaining spot, the five). So all East could do was cash out his spades and surrender the last two tricks to declarer in clubs.
In the other room Justin Hackett also led a low spade and the first trick went the same way. Declarer also cashed out the diamonds, guessing the queen correctly, but here Justin discarded the club ten as East. Now declarer was never going to play for the drop in clubs, but when he tried to strip out the hearts and endplay East, Justin had a small heart left to reach his partner in the endgame.
Have you noticed the legitimate way to defeat the game on a fourth-highest spade seven lead? We all know fourth-highest leads are right – but it is time to revisit ‘third-hand high’. When partner leads the spade seven you know declarer has two honours in spades. Don’t waste a high spade spot at trick one and do not pitch a spade on the run of the diamonds.
Then your partner can later arrange to put you in with a spade if North tries to endplay him by leading a spade to him after stripping off the heart