NEA Bridge: Remember that partner is human

There are times when an expert makes an abnormal play that works brilliantly. There is someone in the back of the expert's mind telling him that this is the moment to deviate from the textbook. Today's hand is a good example.

North's three-spade rebid was a limit raise, inviting game. South, with a hand not worth an opening bid despite its 13 points, passed promptly.

West led the club seven: three, ace, five. Back came the club jack: queen, king, six. Reading the club position accurately, West switched to a deceptive heart four. East won with the ace, and declarer dropped the jack. Stopping to count the points, East realized there was no future in diamonds, so he returned the heart five: queen, seven, six. Not anticipating the danger, declarer ran the spade queen. However, East won with the king and played a third heart, which West ruffed to defeat the contract.

Note that if West had switched to the heart seven at trick three, playing high-low, declarer would have foreseen the potential ruff. Then he probably would have played the ace and another spade and not risked the finesse.

Apparently, that was a brilliant defense. But now it is time to come clean. That was how West hoped the play would go. But he had a partner who also saw the heart four. Knowing this couldn't be high from a doubleton, East, after winning with the heart ace, returned the club nine! Now declarer could afford to take the losing spade finesse and still make his contract.

The best laid plans o' mice an' bridge experts, gang aft a-gley.