This hand may be look familiar since I used it in problem #40.
This time neither side is vulnerable and North-South decided to defend
rather than bid 3NT. Take a look.
Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)
Hand #41
Dlr
E
Vul
none
96
J2
AQ82
A9872
Q73
K7543
K7
KJ10
10842
Q986
543
63
AKJ5
A10
J1096
Q54
West
North
East
South
Pass
1NT
2
DBL
All Pass
BIDDING: After South
opened 1NT, West counted his twelve points and decided he should
bid his anemic heart suit. North felt a double would bring
a good return while 3NT might be iffy.
PLAY: North led the
nine of spades won by South with the king. South shifted to the
jack of diamonds and West didn't trust the one notrump bidder on his
right so he rose with the king. North won the ace and continued
with a second spade. South returned a spade for his partner to
ruff and then North led a low diamond to his partner's nine. Now
a fourth spade was led and West was doomed. He had no good
discard and if he ruffed low or high, the defenders would win two more
trump tricks. He tried ruffing with the king and South later won
the ace and ten of hearts. West was able to get to dummy with a
heart in order to take a successful club finesse, but he had lost
eight tricks for -500.
As is often the case, the quality of the trump suit was an important
factor. This demonstrates there is more to evaluating a hand than
just counting the high card points. Also note if West doesn't
cover the jack of diamonds, South has no quick entry to promote the
extra trump trick.
