EIGHT EVER , NINE NEVER: YES,YES....BUT THAT MANTRA IS FOR BEGINNERS......( Article Professor Hu Chi Ku Chi )

Much has been written about what to do when you and your partner have a 9 card fit (usually 5 opposite 4 ) and all that is missing is the elusive queen. Do you play for the drop relying on a 2-2 split, or do you finesse against the first opponent who has followed again on the second round of the suit ? Well, according to the age-old maxim you play for the drop.........unless of course you have gathered evidence and/or inferences from the bidding and/or play that the finesse offers better chances of capturing the queen. If, for instance, during a competitive auction your RHO has made a take-out cue bid in your suit, then surely that suggests he holds the singleton, placing his partner with the other three. Again, if competent opponents have bid to a high level on thin values, then this surely suggests that one of them does not envisage having more than one loser in your suit ! So what if your opponents have remained silent, and the early play of the hand reveals nothing. Do you stick with the old maxim ? Well, NOT if you are believer in the Law of Symmetry. This states that if you and your partner have in your short suit holding an even split........then, a reciprical 2-2 split will also show up in the opponents' short suit holding. So the odds are more in favour for the drop. However, if you and your partner show up with a singleton in your short suit holding, then the Law of Symmetry suggests that your opponents' 4 card holding will also reveal a singleton , by virtue of a 3-1 split. So now the fineese improves your odds for picking up that elusive queen. Indeed, statistical studies of 10oo's of computer dealt hands have clearly shown that by applying the Law of Symmetry, your chances of making the right call are greatly improved. Yet perversely, there is one final point that needs to be considered.......and this involves the need to deliberately go anti-system. Imagine being in 5 spades, and as dummy comes down you sense that most of the field will be in 6 spades. The contract is there only if the queen can be picked up. If the pairs in slam have nothing at all to go on ( and the Law of Symmetry favours a 2-2 split) , then most declarers will play to drop the queen. But you mustn't. There's no point in doing the same, because if the queen falls then 5S+1 scores very few match points. However, by going anti-system and opting to finesse, you have a chance of making a few match points. So say it fails..... what have you lost ? It is obvious that 5S tick is no more wretched than 5S+1, when slams elsewhere in the room are being brought in. However, should the finesse be the masterly play, then your wonderful 5S+1 will certainly outscore all those making either 5S tick or 6S-1.