North
♠ A J 10
♥ J 10 9 8
♦ A 4 3
♣ 6 5 3
South
♠ K Q 9 8 7 6 5
♥ —
♦ K Q 10
♣ A 7 2
Somehow, you arrive in 6♠ as South — partner’s fault, no doubt.
West leads the ♦9. Is there any hope?
View Solution
You have a chance to make this contract by using dummy’s hearts for club discards. If East has two (or all three) top hearts, you’ll be able to establish a heart winner in dummy, but only if you manage your entries properly.
Here’s the type of layout you’re hoping for:
Dlr:
Vul:
North
♠ A J 10
♥ J 10 9 8
♦ A 4 3
♣ 6 5 3
West
♠ 4 2
♥ K 5 3 2
♦ 9 8 7 6
♣ K J 8
East
♠ 3
♥ A Q 7 6 4
♦ J 5 2
♣ Q 10 9 4
South
♠ K 9 8 7 6 5
♥ —
♦ K Q 10
♣ A 7 2
Win the opening lead with the ♦K, cross to a trump in dummy and play a heart. If East ducks, pitch a club from your hand. Later, you will cross to dummy with another trump and continue playing hearts, intending to discard your last low club.
If East covers with a high heart at any point, you ruff and return to dummy to play more hearts through East.
The only catch is that you can’t draw two rounds of trump right away. You need the trump entries to dummy to set up the last heart.