Jimmy Sez # 20

 

Sometime great optimism which turns to pessimism, turns to complete blindness if you are not concentrating on the task at hand.  West had made a perfectly good speculative double of  what appeared to be a sacrifice in the face of a sure 4H game.  The dummy that came down however, made the double look less likely to succeed. 

 

Here is the bidding and the hands:

 

E         S         W        N

P         1S       2H       P

4H!      4S       DBL    P

P         P                                            

 

S- 5 2

                                                            H- K 8 2

            S- 9 4                                      D- K J 10 5                            S- 10 7 8

            H- Q 10 9 4 3                         C- 7 5 4 2                               H- A J 7 6 5

            D- A Q 8 7                                                                              D-

            C- A 10                                   S- A K Q J 6 3                       C- K J 9 8 6

                                                            H- 

Lead:  Heart Ten                              D- 9 6 4 3 2

C- Q 3

 

South gambled and West must now  do some serious thinking if his double is to succeed.  After the first heart was ruffed, South played the Ace, King and Queen of trumps. He then placed the nine of Diamonds on the table.  West, not knowing the distribution and worried that South had the Club King ducked.  He was quite surprised to find his partner showing out and playing the Club nine. At this point, knowing partner has the Club King, what would you, sitting West do when South plays the next Diamond?  If you hopped Ace you just let Declarer make his contract.  Remember!, he still has two trump entries to his hand.  The first will be used to finesse then drop the Diamond Queen and the second will be used to enter his hand and score the last diamond.  In order to beat the hand you must duck a second time stranding Declarer in dummy in order to force him to exhaust his entries before he can set up the last diamond.