The finesse of the four lands a contract!

Yiji Starr, from Wayland, MA, has a reputation for playing the tough hands well. 

That the reputation is deserved is illustrated by her declarer play on the deal below.  The hands were played in a BAM event at the Seattle NABCs. 

Yiji reported the deal to our local unit’s website and has permitted me to enhance that report on this blog.

After East opened the bidding with a gambling 3NT call (solid 7+ minor with no outside A or K), Yiji’s 4♠ overcall closed the bidding.  West led the ♦2.

 

North ♠  QJ3  ♥  A72 ♦  J983  ♣  AT4

South ♠  AK9854   ♥  Q4  ♦  7 ♣  Q973

East won the ♦T and returned the ♦Q (possible suit preference with a club void?).  Yiji ruffed with the trump ace and West, playing upside down count and attitude signals, discarded the ♥3.  Yiji drew three rounds of trumps ending in hand, East following and West pitching the ♣5 and ♣6.

So, East was dealt seven diamonds and three spades while West has eleven of the unseen 14 cards in the rounded suits (eight hearts and six clubs), including the two rounded kings.  The discard of two clubs suggested to Yiji that West might have longer clubs than hearts, as did the possible suit preference connotation of East’s Trick 2 play of the ♦Q when the ♦K and ♦A were equivalents.  Yiji concluded that West’s most likely distribution was 1=5=1=6.

Yiji led the ♣3 from hand at Trick 6.  When West followed with the ♣2, Yiji, backing her construction of West’s distribution, played dummy’s ♣4.  When the ♣4 held (!) as East could not follow suit, Yiji ruffed a diamond back to her hand and led a second club toward the AT, forcing West to split honors.  Having won the ♣A, Yiji could force the other club honor with the ten and set up her ♣Q for a third club winner: six spades, three clubs and the ♥A landed the contract for a win on the board.

 

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠   QJ3 ♥   A72 ♦   J983 ♣   AT4
West ♠   2 ♥   KJT63 ♦   2 ♣   KJ8652		East ♠   T76 ♥   985 ♦   AKQT654 ♣   —
	South ♠   AK9854 ♥   Q4 ♦   7 ♣   Q973

What if West had played his clubs differently on this layout, so that he played one of his non-honor, non-deuce clubs on the first round of that suit, forcing the ♣T from dummy?

The contract could still be made via a squeeze/endplay.

After winning the ♣T at Trick 6 in this scenario, declarer can ruff a diamond to hand and play off her last trump.  With declarer having advanced her last trump for her seventh winner (six spades and the ♣T) of the first eight tricks, the position is this:

 

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠  —  ♥   A72  ♦   J ♣   A4
West ♠   — ♥   KJT ♦   — ♣   KJ8
	South ♠   (9) ♥   Q4 ♦   — ♣   Q97

 

Whichever suit West were to pitch on this trick, declarer can (after pitching a diamond from dummy) now play Ace (for an eighth winner) and small of that suit, placing West on lead with his now-singleton king.  West would eventually have to lead away from his remaining king, allowing declarer to score both the ace and queen for her ninth and tenth tricks.