If you feel you're behind in a team game and time is running out, it
sometimes pays to take aggressive action. Here is a hand where
pushing for a slam
paid off.
Scoring: Team Game (IMPs)
Hand #4
Dlr
N
Vul
Both
Q
8752
AKJ86
AJ7
AK732
J3
542
963
9854
Q1094
Q87
84
J106
AK6
103
KQ1052
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
2
Pass
3*
Pass
4
Pass
6
All Pass
* Splinter (singleton or void in
spades w/club support)
BIDDING: In an
eight-board Swiss Team match, North-South were behind and they knew
it. This pair uses a 2/1 game forcing system so South's first bid
forced to game. North's made an aggressive jump showing spade
shortness and good club support. Encouraged, South next cue bid
his heart control and North bid the slam.
PLAY: West led his spade
ace and shifted to the jack of hearts. Declarer won in hand and
led back the jack of spades covered by the king and ruffed. Now
declarer saw he could either rely on the diamond finesse or a
squeeze. Always the showman, South decided to play for the
squeeze. This called for either opponent to hold four or more
hearts along with the queen of diamonds. He drew trumps followed
by the spade ten and the top two hearts. Declarer continued by
playing
the rest of his clubs. In the three card ending, declarer held
the heart threat card in his hand while dummy held the
AKJ of diamonds. East had a problem: he had to discard from
the Q87 of diamonds and the heart queen. Knowing the heart
situation, in tempo East discarded a low diamond hoping declarer would
finesse. But South read the end position and played the top
diamonds to wrap up twelve tricks.
Their opponents stopped in a calm 3NT taking ten tricks after a low
spade lead. This was a win of 12 IMPs and the team won the match
by 4 IMPs. Such heroics sometimes work but they often
backfire. This does show the importance of estimating your
results as you play a match.
*