The Thirty-second Stratagem: Empty City by Xinyi Li

The leading signal is attitude which means higher is more discouraging, lower is more encouraging. This signal is quite different from the 4th best leading. So that both West and East will know there’s no any hope on after first trick. You just have 4, 1, 27 tricks. The structure of is real ugly. Even if doubleton QJ exists, there is still a 8 outside. Setting is impossible because the loser will up to 6 first.

 So how to play now?

I don’t why the stratagem of empty city by Zhu Geliang suddenly emerged in my brain that time. So I won with the J and played a small quickly from the table. She would not continue to attack in a high rate. There’s only one chance for me that West won the second trick and shifted with A. And then I would get 2and brought contract home. Everything happened as expected.

The full deal:

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

Actually, West didn’t calculate the points carefully. I already had AKQ, so it was for me to hold A. And West had KQ and it quite strange that the declarer didn’t set up .

• Xinyi Li member of the “China Girls” team that won the gold medal recently at the 17 World Bridge Youth Championship.

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