Contract Bridge

An open-minded approach

One of the pitfalls a player must learn to avoid is to become overly committed to a particular line of play. The successful declarer is always prepared to alter his plan whenever developments indicate that a better approach is available.

Take this case where West led the

K-A and another heart against four spades, East ruffing the third round. After overruffing, South drew three rounds of trump, on which East discarded two clubs. A club finesse then lost to the queen, and East returned the jack of diamonds.

Declarer won with dummy’s ace and cashed the K-Q. When the suit failed to divide 3-3, South tried a second club finesse in order to get rid of his losing diamond. But the finesse lost, and East cashed his good diamond for down two.

There’s no denying that declarer was unlucky. Had the diamonds split 3-3 or the trumps divided 2-2 after East ruffed the third heart, or had West held a club honor, South would have gotten home safely. Nevertheless, he should have made his game. Although his line of play had many chances to succeed, he failed to adapt to the circumstances he encountered.

Early in the play, he learned that West had started with six hearts and three spades. It was therefore reasonable to assume that East held length in both minor suits.

There was no harm in drawing three rounds of trump and taking a club finesse. But when East won and returned a diamond, South should have taken the trick in his hand and carefully reviewed his options.

In order to retain his diamonds, East had been forced to discard two clubs when the trumps were drawn. So instead of testing the diamonds to see if they would split 3-3, declarer should first have led a club to the ace and ruffed a club. After East’s king appeared, a diamond to the ace would have allowed South to collect the club jack for his 10th trick.