rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (06/27/84)
S:87532 H:K73 D:A C:A654 S:AKJ4 S:QT96 H: H:QT986 D:Q93 D:J5 C:KJT873 C:94 S: H:AJ542 D:KT87642 C:Q Contract:4H dbl Lead:AS Who do you place your money on for this hand? And why? ****************************************************** Let's first see how the play will go. Declarer ruffs the spade. AD. Low heart to the J finding out about the trump split. KD(club pitch). Low diamond. If west had only two declarer would be home via two diamonds, 1 club, 1 heart, and 6 ruffs. As it is, he is now in a dilemma. So he ruffs low with nothing better to do. East must overruff else Declarer crossruffs the hand out. East must force with another spade else declarer cashes the AH and runs his diamonds. Declarer ruffs the spade exit. Now another good diamond(club pitch). East must ruff else declarer crossruffs ten tricks. East must exit with another spade for the same reason as above. Declarer ruffs. Cashes the AH. Now another diamond pitching dummy's last club. Dummy is good now whenever east decides to ruff with his last trump. Losing only three trump tricks. So it appears declarer makes the contract. But when you place your money on declarer, east comes up with a defensive play even more brilliant than declarer's play and sets him. What did he do? ***************************** When declarer came off of dummy with a low heart after cashing the AD, east played the QH. This deprived declarer of a necessary entry later since the JH cannot overtake the stiff KH in dummy(as the Ace could). So when east overruffs the third diamond, he can safely exit with a club because declarer loses trump control trying to enter his hand for the good diamonds. So the smart money gets put on the defense. That is if the defense is up to it.