Bridge Plus, edited by Sally Brock, is published monthly in England in a small-page format. It probably contains more instructive articles and quizzes than any other bridge magazine.
This deal was provided by Andrew Kambites in a series about leading against a suit contract. Look at the West hand. What would you choose against six hearts?
South opened with a weak two-bid, showing 5-9 high-card points and a six-card suit. North responded with the Grand-Slam Force, asking his partner to bid seven hearts with two of the top three trump honors. (Roman Key Card Blackwood has almost killed off this convention, but it can be useful when the asker has a void.)
Leading your singleton is not a good idea — if partner has an entry, your trump ace will defeat the contract without your needing a ruff. To attack with a heart is also unwise. That leaves the black suits.
The club jack is safe but too passive. North was interested in a grand slam. Partner will not have the king and queen of clubs. Instead, lead a spade, hoping partner has the queen.
At the table, North had really dropped the ball by failing to convert six hearts to six no-trump. South then misguessed the play. He could have taken the spade finesse to get home, but he hoped three rounds of diamonds would stand up. (Diamonds 4-3 — 62.17 percent — is more likely than a 50-50 finesse.) West's second-round diamond ruff and heart ace defeated the contract.
Lead aggressively against small slams, passively against grands.
Full details are available at www.bridge-plus.co.uk.
This deal was provided by Andrew Kambites in a series about leading against a suit contract. Look at the West hand. What would you choose against six hearts?
South opened with a weak two-bid, showing 5-9 high-card points and a six-card suit. North responded with the Grand-Slam Force, asking his partner to bid seven hearts with two of the top three trump honors. (Roman Key Card Blackwood has almost killed off this convention, but it can be useful when the asker has a void.)
Leading your singleton is not a good idea — if partner has an entry, your trump ace will defeat the contract without your needing a ruff. To attack with a heart is also unwise. That leaves the black suits.
The club jack is safe but too passive. North was interested in a grand slam. Partner will not have the king and queen of clubs. Instead, lead a spade, hoping partner has the queen.
At the table, North had really dropped the ball by failing to convert six hearts to six no-trump. South then misguessed the play. He could have taken the spade finesse to get home, but he hoped three rounds of diamonds would stand up. (Diamonds 4-3 — 62.17 percent — is more likely than a 50-50 finesse.) West's second-round diamond ruff and heart ace defeated the contract.
Lead aggressively against small slams, passively against grands.
Full details are available at www.bridge-plus.co.uk.