In my Christmas competition, there was a question about the lowest trump that can effect an uppercut. The answer was a two or deuce, according to choice! Here is an example.
The auction is straightforward, but remember two points: South’s two-spade response guarantees at least five spades. With only four, he would start with a negative double. And North’s three-spade raise shows three- or four-card support and a minimum opening. With extra values, he would jump to four spades.
Against four spades, West leads his club seven, playing high-low with a doubleton. East wins with his club king and cashes the club ace. What should he do next?
West is so unlikely to have the king-jack of diamonds that East should assume his side is getting only three side-suit tricks: one heart and two clubs. To defeat the contract, therefore, East and West need a trump trick. It is time to try for an uppercut. If East leads a third club, when West ruffs with his lowly spade two and dummy overruffs with the 10, suddenly East’s spade nine will be a trick.
But that is not all. East must remember that when trying for an uppercut, cash all of your side-suit tricks first. Before playing the third club, East must take his heart ace.
Note that if East leads a club at trick three, declarer overruffs in the dummy, takes two rounds of spades, finessing once through East, then runs diamonds. On dummy’s last diamond, South discards his heart queen while East ruffs with the spade king, his natural trump trick.
The auction is straightforward, but remember two points: South’s two-spade response guarantees at least five spades. With only four, he would start with a negative double. And North’s three-spade raise shows three- or four-card support and a minimum opening. With extra values, he would jump to four spades.
Against four spades, West leads his club seven, playing high-low with a doubleton. East wins with his club king and cashes the club ace. What should he do next?
West is so unlikely to have the king-jack of diamonds that East should assume his side is getting only three side-suit tricks: one heart and two clubs. To defeat the contract, therefore, East and West need a trump trick. It is time to try for an uppercut. If East leads a third club, when West ruffs with his lowly spade two and dummy overruffs with the 10, suddenly East’s spade nine will be a trick.
But that is not all. East must remember that when trying for an uppercut, cash all of your side-suit tricks first. Before playing the third club, East must take his heart ace.
Note that if East leads a club at trick three, declarer overruffs in the dummy, takes two rounds of spades, finessing once through East, then runs diamonds. On dummy’s last diamond, South discards his heart queen while East ruffs with the spade king, his natural trump trick.