| West | North | East | South |
| 1♠ | |||
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | 2♦ |
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♠ |
| All Pass |
After the North’s 1NT (one-round force), his jump rebid of 3♠ showed a limit raise with three-card support. You bid on to game and West starts with the ♥Q. How do you like your chances in 4♠?
Solution
At West’s heart lead at trick one, declarer paused to consider how he might make ten tricks. Clearly, he needed trumps to be 3-2. If North held the ♦10 instead of the 7 or 4, declarer would have relied on diamonds to make an extra trick. However, the actual suit offered only about one chance in four of being played for two tricks and one loser. Declarer therefore turned his attention to setting up a long club for his 10th trick, almost a three-in-five proposition. After ducking the first trick and winning the heart continuation, declarer played a club to the ace and ruffed a club. Next he cashed the ♠A and led another spade to the king, followed by the ♣K, discarding a low diamond from hand. Declarer was pleased to see that the clubs were 4-3, so he ruffed a second club in hand. A heart ruff returned him to dummy, where he called for the established ♣7, discarding a second diamond from hand. All the defenders made were a trump, a heart and a diamond. Making 4♠. The full deal: