Oct 30 2011
Choice of Coup – Morton’s Fork or Trump
Lance and i were playing in one of the pairs events in Morehead City’s sectional tournament, when this hand cropped up.
We bid pretty easily to the correct game – 4H. I have two pointed-suit aces to lose, and i need to pick up the trumps. I also need to avoid two spade losers, but 11 tricks are certainly possible.
I received the lead of the diamond Ace, after which LHO switched to a low club. I won the club 9 with the King and played a heart to the King and a heart back to my Queen.
The takeout double may suggest hearts are 1-4, but i thought it was too early to commit to the heart finesse. Besides, people have been known to make takeout doubles with Jxx in this field. Alas, this takeout double was actually correct, and LHO pitched a diamond on the second heart.
At this point, there are actually TWO possible lines to 11 tricks. The first is a Morton’s Fork Coup – i can lead up to the spade King, and if LHO ducks, i’ll pitch one spade on the diamond King, then hope for 3- 3 clubs to dump the other spade on the 13th club while RHO ruffs, a loser-on-loser play.
So i try leading a low spade, but LHO is having none of that as she pops the Ace. She returns a diamond. Now i have to play for a trump coup. This line ALSO relies on 3-3 clubs, by the way. I play low on the diamond and ruff in hand. Next is a low spade to the King, then the good diamond King, ruffing, with the heart 8.
Now my trumps are shortened to the length of RHO. Now i play the club Queen and a club to the Ace, as RHO follows. The fourth club executes the trump coup. If RHO throws a diamond, i throw the good spade from hand and can claim with the AT of hearts over RHO’s J7. If she trumps the fourth club, i just overruff, pull the last trump, and i get the last trick with the spade Queen.
Pretty interesting hand, i thought, with two choices of coups to get the overtrick!
Note, LHO can make life harder for me by returning a spade after she pops the Ace. Now i’m one obvious entry short of being able to execute the trump coup. However, it’s still possible: i have to make the counter-intuitive play of winning the spade King in dummy to ruff a diamond. Then i have to finesse the club Ten to ruff the last diamond. When that works, i’m in the same situation as before – overtake the club Queen with the Ace to play the 13th club.
October 30th, 2011 3:43 pm
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