DENVER FALL 2015 NABC – NOV 26-DIC 6
The 2015 Fall NABC is being played in Denver let us look some interesting deals from the bulletin’s series: Take all your chances at bridge – 5 by Eddie Kantar
You open 1, partner splinters to 4
, showing a singleton heart, four or more spades, plus opening-bid values. You have too good a hand to fool around. Partner must have minor-suit honor cards. You bid 4NT, Roman Key Card Blackwood with 1430 responses.
Partner makes a second-step response of 5, showing zero or three key cards. Given partner’s strong bid, partner must have three key cards: both missing aces plus the
K. East doubles the 5
response. Undaunted, you continue with 5NT asking for specific kings up the line. If partner has either minor-suit king, you can count 13 top tricks and will bid 7NT. Alas, partner denies a king by returning to the six level of the agreed suit, spades. I know you would bid 6NT after partner bids 6
with the South hand. It is clearly the right bid, but I want to see how you play 6
with the
5 lead.
Solution
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In a contract of 6NT, you would play low from dummy and claim after East took the king. It would also be quite reasonable to play low from dummy in a contract of 6 had there been no double. However, with the double and the
K placed to your right, you have a safer play. After all, the lead could be a singleton! Go up with the
A, draw trumps, strip hearts, discarding two diamonds from dummy, and exit a diamond to East’s king, stripping both your hand and dummy of diamonds. East, in with the
K, has no answer. If East exits with a club, you have a free finesse in the suit. A diamond exit lets you discard a club from your hand and ruff in dummy. Either way, you have 12 tricks. As it happens, East tipped the duke by doubling 5
. Had East not doubled, West would have led a diamond anyway and you might have gone down playing low from dummy. If the lead isn’t a singleton, playing low ensures 12 tricks.
The full deal: