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| See Your Results From This Weeks Bridge |
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4 Click on the appropriate date
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| This Weeks Winners are.... |
♥ Congratulations to Ann and Sue, this weeks winners on 29 January 2025.♥
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| Hand of the Week! |
Show Detail |
Fourth Suit Forcing and Playing Safe
This is board 2 from Wednesday 29 January 2025.
East is dealer and holds a shapely red-dominated hand and opens 1 Heart. South passes. West continues the bidding with 1 Spade and east shows their second red suit 2 Diamonds. With East/West holding a diamond fit and game going values, West has a lot of thinking to decide the best contract. Does West just support the Diamonds suit and bid 5 Diamonds, or is there an alternative bid that they can make to help towards a preferable 3NT contract? Or does East just take charge and rebid their glorious Heart suit to game?
If East/West achieve a 3NT contract by East, what lead should South make? How should East plan the play to deal with the awkward Club distribution?
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| Show Answer |
Although 5 Diamonds is an achievable contract to play, 3 NT might give us a better score if we can make overtricks. A bid that West can use is bidding the fourth suit as a forcing bid (Fourth Suit Forcing) that shows game-going points and asks for more information from partner regarding their hand. In this hand, West holds a Club King that would be makeable on a Club lead. So West can bid 3 NT as a sign off. Some players might just rebid their attractive Heart Suit to game given that they are only missing the Heart King and also have an attractive second suit.
Playing in 3NT by East, South has a decision regarding opening lead. Of the 2 suits available, both have possibilities but neither really stand out. For declarer, however, a club lead would be more difficult and would restrict their tricks to 9 (1 Club, 5 Diamonds, 1 Heart and 2 Spades). Should declarer take an early Heart finesse? If the finesse fails a return to the club suit might threaten the contract if the clubs split 5-3 in the opponents hands. On this occasion with the clubs splitting 4-4, the defence can only make 3 club winners and the King of Hearts - contract made.
On a more benign lead (for declarer) of the 4 of Spades, life will be a little easier. They can play safe by not attempting the spade finesse on the lead (in case North was holding the Queen of Spades) but rather winning the opening lead and trying the Heart finesse immediately. When finessing into South's hand we protect our King of Clubs by not allowing the defence to play from the North hand through the weak King of Clubs in dummy . On this hand with the Ace of Clubs with North, the King of Clubs is safe. But switch the Ace of Clubs to South's hand and defence could easily cash at least 4 Club tricks plus the King of Hearts if the Clubs were played through the dummy from North. With the Heart finesse failing, defence can only make one further trick with the Ace of Clubs, and declarer can now make 11 tricks regardless of defence play (5 Diamonds, 4 Hearts and 2 Spades). If a Club is returned by South after making the King of Hearts (allowing North to make their Ace of Clubs), the King of Clubs in Dummy prevents defence from making further tricks in that suit.
Fourth Suit Forcing can help clarify if 3 No Trumps contract is possible where there is no fit in a major suit and hands hold sufficient points for game.
Do not finesse into the danger hand
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