Puzzle 7F28 (Jul 95) by Richard Pavlicek

The Oblivious Shift Principle

3 NT by South

	10 3 2 A Q 10 K 10 2 J 10 9 8
A 9 5 9 8 7 6 9 8 7 7 6 5		J 7 6 K J 5 A J 4 3 4 3 2
	K Q 8 4 4 3 2 Q 6 5 A K Q

West Pass

North 3 NT

East All Pass

South 1 NT

Assume West leads a heart. Are you a player or a defender?

Solution

	10 3 2 A Q 10 2 J
A 9 5 8 7 6 9 8 —		J 7 6 K 5 J 4 3 —
	K Q 8 4 4 3 Q 6 —

East is endplayed. A spade return gives up the contract immediately. A heart return is won in dummy, then the last club and  A force the defenders each to keep three spades and two diamonds, then declarer exits with his last diamond to force a spade lead. A diamond return by East (from the diagram) is equally helpful to declarer.

It looks like declarer can always make 3 NT.

But wait! What if East makes the “oblivious shift” to a low diamond at trick two? This loses a trick outright, but curiously, it prevents declarer from gaining another. If declarer wins the  10, unblocks the clubs and leads a diamond, East ducks the queen (or wins the king with the ace and returns a diamond) leaving declarer without resource. A variety of endings can arise according to declarer’s play, but the defenders always prevail.

Could there be a moral here? If you are about to be endplayed, is it better to succumb sooner than later? It often is.