Hand XXXIII
See Throwing high cards to place the lead, pp. 147-149
The Play
Remark.—Y has the knave of diamonds.
Remark (Trick 10).—A plays very well in putting on the ace. He wants two more tricks besides his ace of hearts to save the game. The last trump and best diamond are against him. It is clear, therefore, if A has the lead after the second round of hearts (when he must lead a diamond), he loses the game. It is also clear that unless B has king, knave, and a small heart, the game is gone.
The Hands
(A’s hand is given above.)
| Y’s Hand. | B’s Hand. | Z’s Hand. | |||
| Knv, 8, 7 | ♠ | 10, 9, 6, 3 | ♠ | Kg, Qn, 5 | ♠ |
| 7, 6, 4 | ♥ | Kg, Knv, 5, 3, 2 | ♥ | 10, 9, 8 | ♥ |
| Kg, 10, 5 | ♣ | Qn, 4 | ♣ | Ace, Knv, 9, 7, 6 | ♣ |
| Ace, Knv, 10, 5 | ♦ | 9, 8 | ♦ | 3, 2 | ♦ |
At Trick 2, Y is in difficulties. His strong suit has been led by his right-hand adversary. Under these circumstances, he leads from his strongest weak suit.
At Trick 6, Y’s play in continuing the trump is open to criticism. His better lead seems to be knave of diamonds. Z wins his partner’s ten of trumps in order to draw all the trumps. It is very bad play, for if Z passes the ten, and Y leads the knave of diamonds, the game is certain. This is an example of the very common error of winning partner’s trick. It should seldom be done, and only if a positive advantage can be well-nigh demonstrated from doing it.
At Trick 11, the advantage of winning partner’s trick—when judiciously done—is shown. B, seeing A’s anxiety to get rid of the lead, rightly conjectures that A has two more diamonds. He therefore takes the only course to save the game, by winning his partner’s queen of hearts.