Thursday, March 25, 2010

Reno Red Ribbon Pairs 3/18 day 1 part 1

1.

The defense starts a diamond. It comes around to the K, and at this point, north decided to cash the HA, seeing the HJ out of east.

It looks like you need two club ruffs in hand to make the contract (or two spade ruffs, but I can see all the cards.) Anyway, the whole reason I wanted to post this hand was the neat technique in spades. To protect your natural spade winners, you can first cash a high one, and then lead a low one up to the K. If west ruffs, she ruffs air.

You don't have three entries to lead a spade up and ruff two clubs, but it looks like lefty is forced to give something up to you. Cash all your aces first (always looks cool), strip diamonds ending in dummy, lead a spade up to the K. Then, ruff a spade, west overruffs. Anything west does will yield a trick to you, and now you can reach dummy with the HK to ruff another club.

5.

Yes, I bid 1H.

22.

On correct defense, 3H is off 1 for the magic 200. We held them to making 4.

If I lead a trump like a normal person, we're almost forced into the correct defense. North wins the first round of diamonds, and the only shift that makes sense is a spade. The proper play in spades is to lead the T, surrounding dummy's 9. If declarer plays the J, we establish 2 spade tricks, 1 trump, 1 diamond, and 1 club. In fact, now I can receive a promotion, and we beat it 2.

If east rises with the SA, blocking the suit, and continues with a diamond ruff, then a club up, north rises with the CK, leads a spade. Now south exits with a club. This is the position:



With south returning a club, declarer can't draw trumps and play his clubs to discard his spade loser. Say declarer wins the club in hand and leads low to the HT. South wins the K, and exits another club. South will either get a club ruff, or declarer will be forced to lose a spade at the very end, giving the defense 1 club, 1 diamond, 1 spade, 1 heart, and either a spade or a heart.

Good double!

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