Big Slam Magazine - Flipbook - Page 67
Butler Stage 1 – Session 3
Avi Kanetkar and George Kozakos scored +123
in this session to zoom to the top of East-West.
This board helped:
Unless your leads are perfect, it's often better to
save against dicey games. 5[x is -200, much
better than seeing 4] make 10+ tricks, which 20
Souths achieved, often after 4]-swish.
South played 3NT after a two-way Checkback
auction. Kanetkar as West led the ]Q(!), the only
lead to give the defence chance. When declarer
lost to the }Q, another spade lead set up partner's ]K-9 over dummy's jack for one off.
Six pairs reached this 6{, maybe via:
WEST
NORTH
EAST
SOUTH
2[
4{
6{
1[
3[
no
end
no
no
5{
no
no
no
One for the road seems justified, with partner
marked with shortish spades. More so if East had
acted earlier.
A diamond lead will shoot 4], provided East has
the good sense to duck with the {K. And yet most
Wests led a club (yuk) or a heart. It's usually
better to lead from the shorter suit with an honour.
Session 4
Everyone opens 2] these days, right? Ideally
East will have two bids to show both minors –
4NT and 4]. One should be this strong hand.
When South bids 5-over-5, West might have a
go, rewarded with a successful diamond finesse.
There were four 920s.
Of course, South could dive again for -300. You
need an understanding partner.