Sun-Tzu - The Nine of Clubs
The real life Sun-Tzu lived around 2,500 years ago in China, and is remembered for the "Ping-fa - The Art of War", the earliest known treatise on war and military science. The book is still studied with enthusiasm and its tenets applied to modern-day living. Indeed some recommend its use in the most tempestuous of American battlefields - the divorce courts!
The Pack's Sun-Tzu was studious, and sage-like, always a careful planner like his counterpart. His byword taken from the Ping-fa was;
The individual without strategy
who takes opponents lightly
will inevitably become the captive of others.
| Debbie | |||
| ♠ 7532 | |||
| ♥ 642 | |||
| ♦ KQ | |||
| ♣ K1082 | |||
| Sun-Tzu | |||
| ♠ AK | |||
| ♥ AKQJ109 | |||
| ♦ 86 | |||
| ♣ A97 | |||
Love All, Dealer South
| North | East | South | West | |
| Debbie | Putto | Sun-Tzu | Gaia | |
| 2♥1 | 3♦ | |||
| 3♥ | Pass | 4♣2 | Pass | |
| 4♦2 | Pass | 4NT3 | Pass | |
| 5♣4 | Pass | 6♥ | End |
1. Strong two opening
2. Cue bids
3. Blackwood
4. No aces.
Gaia led the ace of diamonds and continued the suit - Putto following with the jack and four. Are you, esteemed grasshopper, "an individual without strategy", or have you formed a play of campaign yet?
We've been somewhat aggressive during the bidding, but aggression is often a virtue, and the battle is not yet lost.
Looks like diamonds are divided 7-2. Obviously the problem is to avoid the loss of a club trick. If Putto controls the blacks, a simple squeeze will work. At trick eleven I'll hold three clubs, while dummy has a spade and two clubs and Putto won't be able to keep both suits. For that to work Gaia's distribution will have to be something like 7222, giving Putto 5224. If Gaia has two or more hearts, that's the line that I'll adopt.
What if Gaia has a singleton heart? In that case she must hold three cards in one of the black suits and I'll be forced into playing for the doubleton queen-jack of clubs, or possibly a miss-defence by Putto. I admit, not the most promising of strategies.
Finally, what if Gaia is void in trumps? That will mean she has six black cards and technically my best hope is that she or Putto holds the queen-jack of clubs bare. But I think I can see another possibility.
The original Sun-Tzu once wrote, "When strong, appear weak. When weak, appear strong." If I can convince Gaia that I'm weaker in hearts and stronger in clubs, I might induce an error from her. For instance if she believes I need two entries to dummy to finesse in trumps she might attempt to block the club suit. To create that illusion I'll start by playing a heart to the ten.
On the heart from dummy two red threes appeared; a heart from Putto and a diamond from Gaia.
So Gaia is void in hearts, time to present her with a problem, I'll lead the nine of clubs like a person whose holding is AQ9 or AJ9.
This was the position viewed from Gaia's seat and her musings on the situation.
| Debbie | |||
| ♠ 7532 | |||
| ♥ 64 | |||
| ♦ | |||
| ♣ K1082 | |||
| Gaia | |||
| ♠ 1084 | |||
| ♥ | |||
| ♦ 10953 | |||
| ♣ J53 | |||
| Sun-Tzu | |||
| ♣ 9 | |||
I have to hope for a black suit winner or a trump trick to beat the contract.
Why isn't declarer drawing trumps? I sensed Sun-Tzu was a little disappointed with dummy's cards. Could it be that he is missing a heart honour and he's crossing to dummy to repeat the finesse? The odds favour south to hold six or more trumps, so if partner's high heart is the queen we stand no chance.
No, I think I must play Putto for the Kxxx in hearts - in which case Sun-Tzu will need to cross to dummy twice. If he has four clubs to the ace-queen there'll be no defence, but if he holds precisely AQ9 he may try for a second club entry by finessing my jack and playing the ten. However, I have a counter to that manoeuvre. If I play the jack and force the king to win, I can deny Sun-Tzu the second entry to dummy he needs, so that's what I'll do.
The jack of clubs was taken by the king and, much to the chagrin of Gaia, a successful finesse against the queen followed.
The full deal;
| Debbie | |||
| ♠ 7532 | |||
| ♥ 642 | |||
| ♦ KQ | |||
| ♣ K1082 | |||
| Gaia | Putto | ||
| ♠ 1084 | ♠ QJ96 | ||
| ♥ | ♥ 8753 | ||
| ♦ A1097532 | ♦ J4 | ||
| ♣ J53 | ♣ Q64 | ||
| Sun-Tzu | |||
| ♠ AK | |||
| ♥ AKQJ109 | |||
| ♦ 86 | |||
| ♣ A97 | |||
If you think Gaia made a mistake ask yourselves how she should have defended had the hands looked like this…
| Debbie | |||
| ♠ 7532 | |||
| ♥ 642 | |||
| ♦ KQ | |||
| ♣ K1082 | |||
| Gaia | Putto | ||
| ♠ 1084 | ♠ QJ96 | ||
| ♥ | ♥ K953 | ||
| ♦ A1097532 | ♦ J4 | ||
| ♣ J53 | ♣ 764 | ||
| Sun-Tzu | |||
| ♠ AK | |||
| ♥ AQJ1087 | |||
| ♦ 86 | |||
| ♣ AQ9 | |||