Bridge - The Scotsman 04/02/2012

WHEN your contract appears to depend on a finesse or two, you should consider which type of finesse gives you the best chance.

You open a weak no trump, and partner transfers to clubs. 2NT shows club support, and his new suit shows slam interest. You cuebid your spade control, and the auction takes on a life of its own. North leads the jack of diamonds, and you win dummy’s ace. You have ten top winners: how will you go about developing two more?

You might run the jack of hearts. If that scores, or North covers, you have 11 tricks (12 if hearts break 3-3) and you can get the twelfth trick from spades whether that finesse works or not. If South produces the queen you have created one extra trick, and can try the spade finesse for the twelfth, but if that loses too you will be one down. Alternatively, you could start by finessing the queen of spades. If that scores you can cash the ace and, if the king does not drop, discard dummy’s third spade on the king of diamonds before taking the heart finesse. If the spade finesse loses there is still the chance that spades break 3-3 and you can discard your third heart on the fourth spade. So if either finesse works your contract will make.

The way to make the contract when both finesses fail is to take an indirect spade finesse, leading a low spade towards the jack. This guarantees your contract whenever North has the king of spades. If North takes the king you have three spade tricks and can discard both dummy’s small hearts on the fourth spade and the king of diamonds; if he ducks the king you can discard dummy’s third spade on the king of diamonds and take the heart finesse for the overtrick. And, if South has the king, your contract still makes when spades are 3-3, failing which you can fall back on the heart finesse.