IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
With Larry Matheny
Math isn’t a
favorite subject for many players but to be successful at bridge, you must know
the percentages of various suit combinations.
Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)
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Bidding: North made a 4
splinter bid showing 10-12 high card points, 4+card spade support, and
shortness in clubs. With no slam
interest, South signed off in game.
Play: West
led the ace of clubs and then accurately shifted to a diamond. Declarer played low from dummy and won the
jack with the ace. The contract was not
in danger but this was a Pairs event so overtricks were important. Holding ten cards in the trump suit, the
percentage play was to finesse for the king.
However, the strong heart suit added another angle to this math
problem. A superior line was to play the
ace of trumps and if the king did not drop, declarer would play good
hearts. If the person holding the king
of spades held at least three hearts, declarer could discard both diamond
losers. So at trick three he led the
queen of spades (might as well tempt a cover) and went up with dummy’s
ace. The king did not drop so after
unblocking the ace-king of hearts, he ruffed his good king of clubs to get back
to dummy. He continued with the queen of
hearts and was relieved when it wasn’t ruffed.
He discarded a low diamond and then the other on the jack of hearts as
East ruffed.
Making eleven
tricks was a good matchpoint score.
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