Attack! Destroy!

Playing in a regional Flight A pairs where everyone has over 1000 masterpoints, I sit down as West against a pair that I do not recognize.

S: K103
H: 632
D: KQ6432
C: 4
S: J762
H: KQ5
D: A985
C: J10

NorthSouth
2D:2NT
3S:3NT
Pass---

2D: was a weak two in diamonds and 3S: showed a spade feature. Since I expect declarer to be well-prepared for a heart lead, I choose to try to attack the entry to the long diamonds by leading a spade.

Declarer plays low from dummy and wins partner's S:8 with the 9. That turns out to have been a mistake as we shall see. Declarer continues with the D:J, which I, of course, duck, partner following with the 10. She is not very happy that the diamond held and thinks for a little while. (1000? Really?) When she continues with a small spade towards dummy, I am ready to destroy the entry to the diamonds by hopping in with the Jack. She wins the King and plays a diamond off the table, but I win this and exit with a club, holding declarer to only eight tricks. The whole hand was:

S: K103
H: 632
D: KQ6432
C: 4
S: J762
H: KQ5
D: A985
C: J10
S: 84
H: J1084
D: 107
C: Q8732
S: AQ95
H: A97
D: J
C: AK965

Declarer should have won the first trick with a high spade, so that my entry-destroying play would not work. Then she would have made the contract.


Copyright © 1994 Jeff Goldsmith