Please put yourself in the East seat for today's deal. South's vulnerable
3
opening bid silences everyone. All right,
perhaps not you, but pass must be acceptable.
West leads the
3
and declarer plays low from dummy.
Both sides vulnerable South deals
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
3 |
End |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:
3
As more contracts are won or lost at the first trick, it is sound policy
to always take some time before playing your
first card. Third hand should not feel
obliged to play quickly even if declarer
makes a "shotgun" play from dummy at trick
one. So, now, after appropriate
consideration, which card would you play
with the East hand?
If you place your trust in "third hand high" and play the
A,
you will discover that declarer can take
three club tricks by playing the jack on the
second round, trapping West's queen. He will
make his contract, losing only one club, one
heart and two diamonds.
If instead you rely on a different adage - "Aces were created to capture
kings" - and play the
9
at trick one, you should fare considerably
better. Declarer wins the first club with
the ten but must lose two tricks in the suit
if he is left to play it himself and West
saves his queen to cover the jack. West must
not both win the first heart and revert to
clubs.
With the
2
in dummy, East can be sure that West's lead
of the three (playing standard fourth-highest
leads) is from a suit of three or four
cards. Therefore declarer has three or four
clubs himself and the defenders can not lose
their club tricks if East withholds his ace.
The
four hands: