This
deal
is from the Great Northern Swiss Pairs held in Leeds
earlier this month. North South were England
internationals Helen Erichsen and Fiona Brown.
Helen
Erichsen sitting North faced a difficult decision at
her second call. If there were nine running
tricks, then three notrump was likely to be the best
contract, otherwise three notrump would probably go
off. She did well to bid four clubs, which was
a bit murky as to its meaning, but they safely
stopped in five diamonds.
On
a spade lead Fiona won, knocked out the ace of
diamonds, and won the diamond return. She now
had eleven tricks, but had a chance to make twelve
if she could bring in the heart suit for no
losers. West was likely to be short in hearts
so she had to find him with 10x or 87
doubleton. She played the heart queen from
table covered by the king and ace, West following
with the eight. It is now a restricted choice
position, West is as likely to have been dealt 108
or 87 doubleton, but if he held the latter he would
play the eight about half the time. So she
played the jack in attempt to drop the ten - right
in theory, wrong in practice, running the nine would
have been successful. Playing in five diamonds
earned them over 90 percent on the board
anyway.
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