Contract Bridge

When a player holds cards equivalent to each other in rank, such as K-Q-J or J-10-9, they are said to be “equals.” On most occasions, it does not matter which card is played from equals, but sometimes, as in today’s deal, one equal might prove to be more equal than another.

West’s Q-J of hearts won the first two tricks, declarer hoping to find the singleton or doubleton ace in the East hand. After that possibility failed to materialize, South ruffed West’s heart continuation with the seven. A club had to be lost eventually, so the success of the contract depended solely on the favorable location of the king of trumps.

Accordingly, South crossed to dummy’s king of clubs and led the jack of spades, which held after East played low. Declarer then led a second spade from dummy toward his A-Q-10 and repeated the finesse. But when West showed out, South had no way to get to dummy for a third finesse, and he finished down one.

Although South was unlucky to find East with four trumps once he turned up with the king, he was in fact a victim of his own carelessness. Had he handled his trump equals correctly, he would have scored 10 tricks easily.

Declarer’s undoing

occurred at trick three, when he ruffed the third heart with the seven. If he had ruffed with the nine instead, he could then have led dummy’s eight for the first trump finesse and followed from his hand with the seven. The jack would be finessed next as declarer followed with the ten. This sequence of plays would have allowed South to remain in dummy for the third finesse that would trap East’s king and so seal the contract.

Cards might be equal to each other, but that doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same.

Tomorrow: Lethal defense.