Page 11 - Leads Against Notrump

11
The Oldest Maxim
Finesse
A third way to develop extra tricks is through the fnesse. This is
an attempt to win a trick when the opponents hold one or more
higher-ranking cards in the suit. For example:
♣ Q 8 4
♣ 10 7 5 3 2 ♣ A K J
♣ 9 6
If West leads a club to East’s ♣A-K-J, the ♣Q can be trapped
in the North hand. This is a successful fnesse for the defenders,
and they take the tricks to which they are entitled.
Of course, the layout of the suit may not look exactly like
this between the defenders’ hands, so both defenders must
look for opportunities for fnesses to trap high cards in both
the dummy and in the declarer’s hand. Here’s a complete deal
where South has opened 1NT and North has raised to 3NT:
NORTH
WEST EAST
SOUTH