Puzzle 7F25 Main

Lightner Misfire

by Richard Pavlicek

South’s final bid was ill-judged based on the imminent heart ruff (North’s 5 raise implied no heart control) and he was headed for a rout. East doubled the slam to request an unusual lead (not a heart or a trump) which is typically based on a void. If West could have put his hand on a diamond, the Lightner double would have paid huge dividends, down five.

East deals	K		West	North	East	South
None vul	10 3 2				3	4
	10 4 3 2		Pass	5	Pass	6
	A K Q 9 2		Pass	Pass	Dbl	Pass
7 6 5		4 3 2	Pass	Pass
—		A J 9 8 7 6 5
K J 9 8 7		—
J 10 8 7 6		5 4 3
	A Q J 10 9 8
	K Q 4
Lead: J	A Q 6 5
6 × South	—

West reasoned that East’s void could be in either minor. If it were in diamonds, the ruff might not be necessary, since West rated to win one or more diamond tricks; but if it were in clubs, the ruff might be crucial. Oops.

Declarer now can succeed, but it requires exacting play. Do you see the light?

Make 6 after the J lead.

Puzzle 7F25 Main

Top Lightner Misfire

Solution

The key play comes at trick one: Declarer must win the club in dummy and discard the diamond queen from his hand. The remaining clubs must be left untouched.

6 × South	K		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	10 3 2		1. W	J	A	3	Q!
	10 4 3 2		2. N	K	2	A	5
	A K Q 9 2		3. S	Q	6	2	3
7 6 5		4 3 2	4. S	J	7	2	4
—		A J 9 8 7 6 5		continued below…
K J 9 8 7		—
J 10 8 7 6		5 4 3
	A Q J 10 9 8
	K Q 4
	A Q 6 5
	—

Three rounds of trumps are led, overtaking the king and discarding a club and a diamond from dummy. This is what remains:

win 8	—		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	10 3 2		5. S	K	6	2	5
	10 4 3		6. S	5!	J	3	6
	K Q 9			West is endplayed
—		—
—		A J 9 8 7 6 5
K J 9 8 7		—
10 8 7 6		5 4
	10 9 8
	K Q 4
	A 6 5
South leads	—

South next leads the K, which East is obliged to duck. (If he wins the ace, he is endplayed and must give dummy the lead and declarer the contract.) Now it is West’s turn: South leads a low diamond, which West must win (else declarer gets to dummy with the 10) only to find himself hopelessly endplayed.

The importance of discarding the Q early is apparent. If South remained with A-Q-6 and led the queen, West could simply duck to leave South stuck in his hand without recourse.

Curiously, based on East’s Lightner double, the play of this hand is not really double-dummy. Once East follows to the club lead, one can deduce he is void in diamonds. Therefore, a top-notch player could visualize the double endplay from the start, though it’s unlikely he would have bid to the treacherous slam.

Puzzle 7F25 Main

Top Lightner Misfire

© 1995 Richard Pavlicek