Bad Trump Split

Bad Trump Split? Don’t Give Up.              ♠♥♦♣

            Here’s a hand from Thursday 5/27 in Vineyard Haven (hands rotated):

                                           ♠ QT7
                                           ♥ T4
                                           ♦ T95432
                                           ♣ AQ
                                              N
              ♠ –                                               ♠ AJ932
              ♥ J97653                                      ♥ Q82
              ♦ J8               W                  E       ♦  Q6
              ♣ KT943                                      ♣ J92
                                              S
                                        ♠ K8654
                                         ♥ AK
                                         ♦ AK7
                                         ♣ 765

            South deals, nobody vulnerable. Here’s how the bidding went at our table:

South         West           North           East
1♠               2♥               2♠               Pass
3♣*             Pass            4♠**           all pass

* Help-suit game try. Although South’s spades are ragged, with such strength in the red suits, he won’t need much for 10 tricks so long as the opponents don’t rattle off three club tricks. It’s worth making an attempt. Partner will sign off at 3♠ with a minimum raise.

** With a maximum raise to 2♠, two honors in spades, and most of her strength in the help-suit, North has an easy 4♠ bid.

            The opening lead is the ♥J. You take the ♥A and lead a low spade. West discards a heart. Aaaargh! There is a 5-0 trump split. You play the queen, and East takes the ace and returns the ♥Q to your ♥K. Now what?

            Clearly taking out trump will be a disaster. Faced with at least two trump losers, you’re going to need the club finesse, so you do that first. It wins, so you cash the ♣A, return to your hand with the ♦A and cash the ♦K, then ruff a club on the board. So far, so good. This is what’s left (and you know where everything is):

                                           ♠ T
                                           ♥ –
                                           ♦ T954
                                           ♣ –
                                              N
              ♠ –                                               ♠ J932
              ♥ 9765                                         ♥ 2
              ♦                    W                  E       ♦  –
              ♣ KT                                           ♣ –
                                              S
                                         ♠ K865
                                         ♥ –
                                         ♦ 7
                                         ♣ –
 

            Lead the ten of diamonds. East should ruff low, but no matter what he does, he can get only one more trump trick (three in all), and you make 4♠ (+420). If instead East discards the ♥2, you lead another diamond, overruff whichever trump East plays, and concede one trump, making 5♠ (+450).

            4♠ was also down one (-50) and down two (-100). One pair stopped at 2♠, for +170.

            5♦ also made for +400.

            The best score on the hand was 3NT making five (+460). When the diamonds break, you can try the winning club finesse. You take six diamonds, two clubs, two hearts, and a spade. If East is trigger-happy with his ♠A, you might even take 12 tricks. I think it’s hard to bid 3NT with at least an eight-card fit in spades, but perhaps that South was apprehensive about his ragged spade suit and bid 2NT after his partner bid 2♠, showing the heart stoppers and game interest.  With club stoppers and long diamonds, North can raise to 3NT. You can’t quarrel with results, but I’d rather be in 4♠.

            It’s kind of surprising that holding ♠AJ932, four players passed 4♠. You’d think somebody would have doubled.

Results from 5/27. 7.5 tables in play. 1. Barbara Besse & Miles Jaffe 2. Duncan & Jocelyn Walton 3. Don Nelson & Lou Winkelman. 4. Sari Lipkin & Sue Collinson. 5. Michele Riel & David Donald