♠ A K 3
♥ K 9
♦ J 6 3
♣ 10 8 7 6 2
==
♠ J 2
♥ Q 8 7 5 3 2
♦ A Q 7 4
♣ Q
West North East South
1♥
1♠ 2NT Pass 3♥
All Pass
West led the ♣K against 3♥ on the bidding as shown. West continued with a low diamond to the 9 and queen. Declarer played the ♦A and another. This cleared the suit as diamonds split 3-3. East won the ♦K, and exited with the ♠8, taken in dummy.
Declarer ruffed a club to lead a heart to the king, winning the trick. South continued with another heart and East played the ♥10. Because the scoring was B-a-M, overtricks were crucial. Did West start with ♥A J 4 or ♥A 4?
If East had the ♥J 10 6, he would play the jack half the time and the 10 half the time (at least theoretically). That says he doesn't have both. But if West had ♥A J 4, it doesn't matter what you do, so you can throw restricted choice out the window. Declarer decided to duck, hoping his left-hand opponent had a (now) stiff ace -- West showed out! Down one!
East was Italian player Giorgio Duboin. Here are all four hands (rotated):
♠ A K 3
♥ K 9
♦ J 6 3
♣ 10 8 7 6 2
♠ Q 10 9 5 4 ♠ 8 7 6
♥ 4 ♥ A J 10 6
♦ 10 5 2 ♦ K 9 8
♣ A K 4 3 ♣ J 9 5
♠ J 2
♥ Q 8 7 5 3 2
♦ A Q 7 4
♣ Q
What happens if Duboin had routinely won the ♥A when South led to the king? Declarer will win the spade continuation and lead the ♥9. When East plays low, declarer would let that run to guarantee his contract at no cost. By ducking, Duboin had given declarer a losing option.
This play allowed Duboin to win the award given by the International Bridge Press Associaton for best defense of the year in 2007.
Actually if West had AJx declarer's play is irrelevant, so ducking the T is normally just a no-brainer, no-lose play (against non-Duboins) and is the percentage matchpoint play even against Duboin. Playing the Q is a cute, farsighted safety play at imps, obviously necessary against world champs.
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDelete