Bridge
25 June, 2026
Every little part-score deal counts
Playing in a duplicate pairs session with matchpoint scoring, every board counts equally, so little part-score contracts are just as important as slams.
Playing in a duplicate pairs session with matchpoint scoring, every board counts equally, so little part-score contracts are just as important as slams. On this deal, you open 1♦️ (promising 4+ cards) as dealer and rebid 1NT over partner's 1❤️ response, after which everyone passes. West leads ♣️5.
You play low from dummy and East produces the queen, which of course you duck. Back comes ♣️4 and you duck again as West wins ♣️J. She continues with a third club to your ace as East discards ♠️2 (the opponents' signals are "low encourage" and "reverse count").
You will have to make something of the hearts, so you play ❤️Q hoping that East holds the ace. This trick is ducked all around. Next you lead ❤️7 to the 10 and fortunately, this forces out the ace. East returns a heart to West's jack and dummy's king. When you cash the thirteenth heart, East discards ♠️J and you also discard a spade. What do you know and what will you do now?
It looks as if East has both ♠️A and ♠️Q remaining. He must have started with 4 spades, has shown 3 hearts and only 2 clubs, so his shape is 4=3=4=2. That makes West's shape 3=3=2=5. If West has a doubleton ♦️Q, you will be able to make 3 diamond tricks, so you try ♦️A and ♦️K, but the queen does not drop. You have taken 6 tricks, but are you now going down?
No, you have a sure line of play to make your contract. If you exit with another diamond to East, he is endplayed. He can cash two diamond tricks and ♠️A, but on the last trick has to play ♠️Q to your king. So you squeak home with 1 spade, 3 hearts, 2 diamonds and 1 club trick. This was the full deal:
Counting out the opponents' shape can often help with the play of the hand.
Rakesh Kumar
The Southern Highlands Bridge Club runs three duplicate sessions every week (Mon 1:00 pm, Wed 6:30 pm, Sat 1:00 pm) at the East Bowral Community Centre. Highlands players and visitors welcome!
For more information: https://shbc.bridgeaustralia.org
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