Bridge and crossword
ENGLAND retained both the Junior Camrose (under 26) and Peggy Bayer (under 21) for home countries, this year held in Belfast. Our first deal features a coup that could be found in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. (1) Perfect shape for the takeout double and, as a passed hand, partner will not expect much more. (2) Might raise to Two Clubs. (3) Catching up, as Three Clubs sounds like a reluctant preference with two small cards. (4) Hoping partner has short spades.
Declarer won the Heart lead in hand and, at trick two, led his singleton Diamond. West won the Knave and continued passively with a Heart to dummy’s Ace. Declarer ruffed a second Diamond (high), crossed to the ten of clubs, ruffed a third diamond (high), crossed to the Knave of Clubs and ruffed the last Diamond.
With both red suits eliminated, the scene was set. Declarer cashed the Ace of Spades and led a low Spade. Crunch point. At the table, West played a hard-to-resist Knave. No good—east overtook with the Queen and, with no Spades left, had to lead a Heart. Declarer ruffed in hand, discarded dummy’s remaining Spade and claimed his 11-trick game.
Can you see what West has to do? He must rise with the King of Spades, swallowing his partner’s Queen, enabling him to cash the Knave. Because of the swallowing effect, this ploy is known as a Crocodile Coup, hence the reference to Papua New Guinea.
Can West work out to do this? I think so—would declarer really play this way (Ace and another) with Ace-queen-low-low of Spades?
On our second Belfast deal, declarer appears to have a Diamond to lose, in addition to the Ace of Spades. How, therefore, can Six Spades make? (1) Not playing Transfers. (2) Showing a Spade fit and the Ace of Hearts. (3) Roman Key Card Blackwood, enthused by partner’s cooperation and his lovely control-rich 5431 shape. (4) One or four of ‘five Aces’ (including the King of Spades). (5) Asking for the Queen of Spades. Answer: yes.
West led a Diamond (best), declarer winning in hand. Instead of seeking to make his own hand good, declarer focused on making dummy’s hand good—by ruffing three hearts in hand and, later, discarding dummy’s third Diamond on his fourth Club. A Dummy Reversal.
At trick two, declarer crossed to the Ace of Hearts and ruffed a Heart. He then led a Spade to the Queen, which, when it held, tended to imply West held the Ace. He ruffed a third Heart, then crossed to the Queen of Clubs and led a fourth Heart.
When East followed, declarer had a tricky decision as to whether or not to ruff high. If West held the Ace of Spades, ruffing high would be wrong only if West began with a doubleton Ace (in which case, he might have risen with the Ace). Declarer guessed correctly and ruffed high, West discarding a Club (overruffing no better).
Declarer led up his remaining low Spade, West winning the Ace and leading a second Diamond. Winning dummy’s King, declarer cashed dummy’s Knave of Spades, discarding a Diamond from hand, and scored the last three tricks with the Knave of Clubs and a Club to his Ace-king. Slam made.