While playing at the local dupe, a North/South pair aggressively bid a good 4 ♠ game. Declarer wasted no time in taking 10 tricks. The pair was disappointed when the scores came out, and they received a well below-average score.
« The bidding:
S
Pass
3 ♠
Pass
W
Pass
Pass
Pass
N
Dbl
4 ♠
E
2 ♦ (Weak)
Pass
Pass
« Opening lead: ♦ Queen
North
♠ K Q J 2
♥ A K Q 5
♦ 10 8 4
♣ K 8
West
♠ 10 9 6
♥ 6 3 2
♦ Q J 7
♣ A J 9 6
East
♠ 5 3
♥ 9 7 4
♦ A K 9 5 3 2
♣ 5 3
South
♠ A 8 7 4
♥ J 10 8
♦ 6
♣ Q 10 7 4 2
the play
South should have taken time to assess his assets and make 5 ♠s.
1. Opening lead: ♦ Q, 4 from Dummy, 9 from East, South the 6.
2. ♦ Jack, 8 from Dummy, East the King, and declarer ruffs.
3. Patient declarers realize if they trumped another ♦ in their hand and then drew trumps with Dummy’s trumps, they have 11 tricks: 4 ♠s, 4 ♥s, 2 ♦s, and 1 ♣.
Note: An easy hand to make five if you take a little extra time. Making the extra trick at duplicate is paramount.
tip of the day
Q| My partner and I are new to duplicate. We keep making our contract but are getting low scores. What are we doing wrong?
A| At duplicate, each pair is scored against the rest of the field playing their direction. If, for instance, you make one less trick than the other pairs of your direction, you will receive a low score. Conversely, if you make one more trick than the field, you will get a good score. Take a little extra time to see if you can make extra tricks in your contract.