| North | ||
| ♠ 9 7 3 | ||
| ♥ A 9 5 3 2 | ||
| ♦ Q J 10 9 | ||
| ♣ 6 | ||
| South | ||
| ♠ A 5 4 | ||
| ♥ Q J 10 8 7 | ||
| ♦ K 4 | ||
| ♣ A Q 10 |
After you open 1♥ in fourth seat, partner’s leap to 4♥ ends the bidding.
West leads the ♠2, fourth best, to East’s king and your ace. Now what? Plan the play.
You are staring at three losers, two spades, the ♦A, not to mention the ♥K. Working with diamonds is out of the question as they will win and cash a spade trick reducing you to the heart finesse.
If you take the heart finesse and it loses, down you go. But wait! What about the club finesse? If that works, you can discard a spade from dummy on the ♣A. But wait! What if the club finesse loses and the heart finesse was working all along!
Both finesses are 50-50 propositions, but why guess when you can ‘combine’? And guess what? There is a ‘two-king’ combining rule.
When dealing with two suits each missing a king and a finesse for either will land you your contract, but if you take the wrong one, down you go, play the ace of the longer suit (hearts), and if the king doesn’t drop, take a finesse in the shorter suit, clubs.
The chance of finding the singleton ♥K coupled with the club finesse if the ♥K doesn’t drop, is your best bet. Also, when you lead a heart to the ace, lead the queen. West may be someone who has covered every honor with an honor since birth.
| ♠ 9 7 3 | ||
| ♥ A 9 5 3 2 | ||
| ♦ Q J 10 9 | ||
| ♣ 6 | ||
| ♠ Q 10 8 2 | ♠ K J 6 | |
| ♥ 6 | ♥ K 4 | |
| ♦ A 8 6 5 | ♦ 7 3 2 | |
| ♣ J 9 8 3 | ♣ K 7 5 4 3 | |
| ♠ A 5 4 | ||
| ♥ Q J 10 8 7 | ||
| ♦ K 4 | ||
| ♣ A Q 10 |