Bridge Deal of the Week (Jan 05 2007)

Problem:

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♥*    pass    2♠
pass    3NT     all pass

Playing in a pair event, you choose to open a 15-17 NT in preference to opening 1♥, and reach 3NT after a transfer sequence. Concealing the heart suit turns out to be an advantage, as West leads the ♥5. You play low from dummy, East shows out discarding the ♣6, you win the trick with the 9. You lead the ♠10 at trick 2, West plays the King without any thought, you win with dummy's Ace. You continue by playing a diamond to the Jack. West wins the Ace, and plays the ♥8, you win the trick with dummy's Ace, East discards a spade. The contract is safe, but since the scoring is matchpoints, plan the play to score 11 tricks.

Hint:
You have 2 tricks in spades, 5 in hearts, and two sure minor suit tricks (the ♣A and ♦K) on top. Prospects in the spade suit look bleak. Your best bet is to tackle the minor suits, but there is only one more entry to dummy (the ♠Q).

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Bridge Baron deal No: N5076-53130-02656-62594-62694-03154

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Deal Of The Week