| West | North | East | South |
| 1♠ | |||
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | 2♦ |
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♠ |
| All Pass |
In response to your 1♠ opener, partner’s 1NT bid was forcing for one round. Partner’s next bid – 3♠ – showed a limit raise with three-card support. You bid the game and West leads the ♥Q. What is your plan for taking 10 tricks?
Solution
After West’s lead, declarer paused to consider how he might make 10 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 *S*A and led another 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. He returned to dummy with a heart ruff and called for the established ♣7, discarding a second diamond from hand. The defenders made only a trump, a heart and a diamond. Making 4♠. The full deal: