Trump Tricks

For a change, here is a part-score.

E-W game, dlr E (hands rotated)

            ♠ J 7 3 2
            ♥ K 10 8
            ♦ 9 5 3 2
            ♣ K J
♠ K Q 10 8 5            ♠ 4
♥ J 5 4 3 2   [ ]       ♥ A 7 6
♦ Q 10                  ♦ A K 7 6
♣ 8         ♠ A 9 6     ♣ 10 7 5 4 2
            ♥ Q 9
            ♦ J 8 4
            ♣ A Q 9 6 3

1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass
2♣ Pass 2♦ All Pass

Q♥ led.

As you can see, this hand wasn’t a triumph for the E-W bidding style. If they can play a heart contract, they may make quite a few tricks. Dealer’s strange decision to open resulted in the heart suit being cut out entirely. Sitting South, I gave passing thought to a 2♣ overcall, but managed to let sanity prevail. Naturally I was pleased with that choice as the bidding continued.

The play was fairly bizarre, much as with the bidding. Declarer won at trick one and led a spade. I hopped up with the A♠ in order to play my second heart through dummy. For some reason, partner didn’t want to take all his winners, so he won that trick with the K♥ and returned the 10♥ next. I was naturally a bit puzzled by this, but all I could do was ruff and play a spade. Declarer took two club discards on the KQ♠, and got out of dummy with a club.

Partner was perhaps a little surprised that his J♣ was “allowed” to win, and he continued with J♠, ruffed low by declarer and over-ruffed by my 8♦. I exited with a club, ruffed in dummy, and declarer played a heart, ruffed by my partner and over-ruffed high by declarer so that he could ruff his last club in dummy with the Q♦, partner under-ruffing. On the next lead, he over-ruffed partner’s 5♦ with the 7♦, and I topped them both with the J♦, leaving declarer’s A♦ to win the last trick over partner’s 9♦.

Down one, but consideration of the score was over-shadowed by my realization that partner, holding four trumps, and at one point having more trumps than declarer, had not managed to take a trump trick. He was over-ruffed or forced to under-ruff four times. By contrast, my modest J84 holding had produced no less than three tricks. By the time I stopped laughing, a new E-W and new boards were in place.