16: Don’t Overruff
07 Nov 2013, by in Bridge BitesThis week you are West, defending 3♠. You must make three good plays in order to beat this contract. Are you up to the challenge?
Both Vulnerable
You lead the ♥J which holds the trick, Partner playing the Ten. Partner wins the second Heart trick with the Eight, and then plays a high Heart. Declarer ruffs this with the Nine and it’s time for you to make your first good play.
Well, we suppose that the title of this article is something of a clue, and you must decline to overruff. That’s the first hurdle cleared. Now Declarer leads the ♠Q, and you have arrived at the second hurdle. Do you win this trick?
No, you duck this trick. As it happens, Partner wins with the King, and plays yet another high Heart. Declarer ruffs this with the Ten, what do you do?
Don’t overruff! If you overruff with the Ace that will be the defense’s last trick, as Declarer has the ♠J to look after your Eight. But if, for the second time, you decline to overruff, you will have the Ace-Eight sitting over Declarer’s Jack-Seven. Down one!
Let’s admire Declarer’s long and robust Spade suit. The Ten and the Nine are big cards! After the Ace-King have been knocked out, those intermediates can look after the rest of the suit. In fact, even if the trumps split 4-1, it looks like that lovely Spade Nine will come to the rescue and make sure that the enemy ♠8 does no damage. But, remarkably, by the simple expedient of not overruffing a couple of times, it turns out that even the A86 will produce two natural trump tricks!
This post is courtesy of: BRIDGE BITES from the American Contract Bridge League by Brian Gunnell
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