Hand of the Week
| West | North | East | South |
| 2♣ | |||
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 2♠ |
| Pass | 4♠ | Pass | 4NT |
| Pass | 5♣ | Pass | 5♦ |
| Pass | 5♠ | Pass | 6NT |
| All Pass |
The game is matchpoints, and after using Roman Key-card Blackwood, which included a 5♦ inquiry that revealed that North held the ♠Q but not the ♦K, you opted for the best matchpoint spot of 6NT.
West leads the ♣Q, which you take with the ace. As you have 12 tricks no matter who holds the ♦K, what is your plan to make a golden overtrick?
Solution
An overtrick is only possible if East began with the ♦K. If diamonds are 3-2 with the king onside, using the ♠Q and ♠10 spades as entries for finesses will produce 13 tricks. The problem comes when East began with four or five diamonds to the king. In that case, you will need three entries to dummy for finesses in diamonds. Suppose the full deal is:
The best play at trick two is to lead the jack of spades and, once West follows, overtake it with the queen. When the cards lie as in the diagram, you can finesse the ♦Q, return to dummy with a spade to the 8 and finesse the ♦J. A spade to the 10 will allow a third diamond finesse and give you your precious overtrick.
If both defenders follow to the first spade, you will fall back on the ♠9 falling singleton or doubleton to give you the needed entry to dummy for the extra diamond finesse in case East turns up with four or five diamonds headed by the king. Otherwise, you will have to be content with only making 12 tricks.