Contract Bridge

In planning the play of a notrump contract, declarer’s first responsibility when dummy appears is to count his certain winners. These are the tricks that can be taken immediately. However, declarer may occasionally be lulled into a false sense of security if he completes this assessment superficially. As a case in point, consider what happened to South in today’s deal.

Declarer played low from dummy on the diamond lead and won East’s six with the eight. He could now count nine tricks — three diamonds, four clubs and the two major-suit aces — but the count was a false one. Taking four club tricks was easier said than done, due to the lack of an entry to dummy.

South began by cashing the diamond ace, learning that West had started with the Q-105-3. Next, in an effort to overcome the club blockage, he played the K-J of clubs, overtaking the jack with the queen. He then cashed the ace, hoping the ten would fall. When it didn’t, he tried leading a spade to the queen, but after the finesse lost to West, he was out of ammunition and finished down one.

Actually, there would have been nothing wrong with declarer’s counting to nine tricks if he had given more consideration at the outset to his entry situation. Since a side entry to dummy was needed to ensure four club tricks, the proper play at trick one was to take East’s six of diamonds with the ace!

All that would then be needed for the contract to succeed is for West to have led from a legitimate diamond suit, certainly a normal expectancy against three-notrump. After taking the ace, declarer next cashes the king of diamonds and K-J of clubs, then leads a diamond toward dummy’s J-9.

West can do whatever he pleases, but he cannot prevent South from sooner or later reaching dummy with the jack of diamonds to collect the A-Q of clubs for his eighth and ninth tricks.