| Dlr: West |
♠ 10 9 7 3 2 |
|
| Vul: E-W |
♥ K 6 4 3 |
|
|
♦ A 2 |
|
|
♣ J 3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
♠ K Q J 8 4 |
|
|
♥ 8 7 5 |
|
|
♦ K 3 |
|
|
♣ A K 6 |
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
2♥ (1) |
Pass |
4♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
(1) Good raise in spades
West leads the ♥Q. You play low from the dummy and East wins with the ♥A, obviously a singleton. East continues with the ♣10. How will you play after winning with the ♣A?
Solution
Considering that East, who had passed his partner’s opening bid, took the first trick with the ♥A, declarer placed the ♠A on his left. Clearly there would not be a problem if West had at least two trumps, so declarer turned his thoughts to overcoming the problem of West having a bare ♠A.
Declarer’s plan was to strip the minor-suits from his hand and dummy before playing a trump. If East ruffed the ♥K he would then have no satisfactory exit card. So after taking the club shift at trick three with the ace, declarer cashed the ♦A and ♦K, then cashed the ♣K and ruffed the ♣6 high. Only then did he call for a trump from dummy. West took the ♠K with the ace and returned a predictable ♥J. Declarer covered this with the king and East ruffed with his remaining trump. With only minor-suit cards remaining, East had to play one, allowing declarer to throw his heart loser on the return and ruff it dummy for his 10th trick. The full deal:
| Dlr: West |
♠ 10 9 7 3 2 |
|
| Vul: E-W |
♥ K 6 4 3 |
|
|
♦ A 2 |
|
|
♣ J 3 |
|
| ♠ A |
|
♠ 6 5 |
| ♥ Q J 10 9 2 |
|
♥ A |
| ♦ Q J 10 6 |
|
♦ 9 8 7 5 4 |
| ♣ Q 7 4 |
|
♣ 10 9 8 5 2 |
|
♠ K Q J 8 4 |
|
|
♥ 8 7 5 |
|
|
♦ K 3 |
|
|
♣ A K 6 |
|
