Bridge in the Cupboard

Juliet - The Six of Diamonds

When we left the Cupboard Bridge Match the Spades were leading due to an excellent play by Ernestine. By coincidence it was another six, Juliet, the Six of Diamonds that was at the helm of another challenging hand from the first round.

Superstitious people might be worried that two sixes taking centre stage on the 6th of the month could have ominous overtones, "666" being considered a sinister number. The Pack have no such reservations however, as they are to a card realists with a deep-rooted scepticism of anything remotely mystical or preternatural.

Outwardly Juliet would never have been taken for a hard-edged diamond type, her impish smile and sense of fun setting her apart from the other members of her clan. Perhaps it was her secret friendship with Romeo, the Jack of Hearts that softened her nature somewhat. However, woe betide any opponent who underestimated her ability to concentrate and her determination to win, which are the hallmarks of her tribe.

As a demonstration of Juliet's powers of analysis, consider the following hand, which she played against the Heart Team.

	Napoleon
	♠ 53
	♥ K75
	♦ AKJ6
	♣ J1042

	Juliet
	♠ ---
	♥ J9
	♦ 852
	♣ AKQ98765

	West	North	East	South
	Little Mo	Juliet	Napoleon	Florence
			1♠	5♣
	End

With East-West vulnerable, Florence, the dealer opened one spade, an adventurous leap to five clubs by Juliet, and three passes completed the auction.

Little Mo led the seven of spades on which Florence played the ace and Juliet paused to formulate a plan of action. How do you think she tackled the hand? Try to work it out then see if your line of reasoning matches Juliet's.

Now it's time to start work and I must remember to concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. Okay, lets see, I have eight club and two diamond winners, one short of the contract as usual. The problem is, if the diamond finesse isn't working I may lose a diamond and two heart tricks.

Maybe it's right to discard a diamond immediately, then I can try to establish an extra trick by ruffing the third round of the suit. Alternatively, I can ruff and draw the trumps then I'll have the choice of leading diamonds or hearts, either from hand or dummy, one of four options. Actually, leading diamonds from dummy would be a waste of time so that leaves three lines to consider.

Just a second, I can draw the trump by crossing to dummy then ruff the last spade, which will eliminate the suit and perhaps make things harder for the defence. As the General's "Guide to Bridge in the Cupboard" says, "Force your enemy to fight on your ground".

What next? Well, I could play on hearts. With this particular combination I think the lead should come from the table. Then if east has the ten, the nine will force an honour from west and I must make a trick with the jack or king. There's also the chance that east might play high, holding both the ace and queen of the suit. Finally, if nothing good happens in hearts I can fall back on the diamond finesse.

Another line is to play on diamonds first, cashing the ace in case there is a singleton queen, and then returning to hand for the finesse. That will work if West has the queen, if the suit breaks three-three or if east has the doubleton queen, as she would be forced to return a major suit. And if all else fails I'll be able to try a heart towards the king.

That seems the best plan to me. Though there is something in the back of my mind, an adage that a chess piece came out with the other day. What was it now? Oh yes, "If you find a good plan, stop and look for a better one".

It's annoying but if east had the lead after the spades are eliminated the contract would be lay-down. A heart would guarantee that the king wins a trick, a diamond would run round to the AKJ and a spade would give me a ruff and discard. So maybe that's the answer, I have to lose a trick to east.

I could play a diamond towards dummy and if west plays low I can lose the trick by playing myself, the six. However, if west plays an intermediate card, it looks best to win with the ace, return to hand with a trump and lead another diamond. Then if west cannot beat the six a second time I can guarantee the contract by playing low.

The only time this fails is when west has something like the doubleton nine-seven of diamonds. Then the play will go, small diamond, seven, ace, small. Back to hand with a trump followed by, small diamond, nine, jack and queen. Then east will return the ten, trapping my eight and... good heavens! Little old me, 'the six' would have become a winner!

Let's just recap to be sure. I ruff the first trick, cross to dummy in trumps and ruff the last spade. Then I lead a diamond to dummy on which west must play an intermediate card like the seven, as otherwise I'll play the six. Next I return to hand and play another diamond. Actually the eight looks simpler. Again west is forced to better this card with the nine say, and I take the finesse. Assuming this loses to east, she can either give me a ruff and discard, lead a heart round to the king or since the seven, eight, nine, jack and queen of diamonds would have gone, she can lead from her ten of diamonds round to dummy's king-six.

In my book that's a 100% line. I must remember to thank that chess piece for his advice.

The full hand:

		Napoleon
		♠ 53
		♥ K75
		♦ AKJ6
		♣ J1042
	Little Mo		Florence
	♠ K9872		♠ AQJ1064
	♥ Q10632		♥ A84
	♦ 94		♦ Q1073
	♣ 3		♣ ---
		Juliet
		♠ ---
		♥ J9
		♦ 852
		♣ AKQ98765

Juliet followed her plan and as you can see she was able to guarantee the contract by losing the second diamond trick to east, west having played the nine on the first round.

As the teams were scoring the second set of eight boards, Boudicca, the Queen of Diamonds made a point of congratulating Juliet on her fine play. When the results were posted, the Spades were still in the lead by a slight margin. Once again the Clubs were in last place but there was an ominous look of determination and mischievousness about them.