| North | ||
| ♠K 6 | ||
| ♥ A 3 2 | ||
| ♦ A Q 5 4 2 | ||
| ♣ J 5 2 | ||
| South | ||
| ♠ A Q J 10 9 2 | ||
| ♥K J 5 | ||
| ♦ 9 3 | ||
| ♣ 7 3 |
You respond 1♠ to partner’s 1♦ opening bid and leap to 4♠ after partner rebids 1NT.
West starts out with the KQ and a club to East’s Ace. You ruff and lead a diamond to the queen trying to set up a diamond for a heart discard while dummy remains with side suit entries. East wins, otherwise this hand wouldn’t be in here, and exits with a low heart. Plan the play.
Well, you can stick in the jack and if it holds you have 10 tricks, but what it if is covered? Now you must use your ♥A entry to dummy to take the trick. This is the entry you need to set up the diamonds. You have just put all of your eggs in the heart finesse basket, the wrong basket. You will go down if West has the ♥Q even if diamonds are 3-3 or 4-2 because you won’t be able to draw trumps ending in dummy if the diamonds set up.
The stronger play is the ♥K followed by the ace and a diamond ruff. If diamonds are 3-3, draw trumps and discard a losing heart on a winning diamond using the ♥A as the final dummy entry.
If diamonds are 4-2, cross to the ♠K and trump another diamond setting up dummy’s fifth diamond. Now draw trumps and hoping spades are 3-2. If so, dummy’s fifth diamond will provide a resting place for your losing heart, the HA the entry to wrap it all up.
This line of play basically requires spades to be 3-2 (68%) if diamonds are 4-2 since you are going to have to trump three times in your hand (two diamonds and a club). However, if diamonds are 3-3, you can even handle 4-1 spades. But you do come home lame if diamonds are 5-1 (15%) and the ♥Q was with East all along. Nonetheless, the play of the ♥K at trick five is far and away a better play than sticking in the jack or playing low.
| ♠ K 6 | ||
| ♥ A 3 2 | ||
| ♦ A Q 5 4 2 | ||
| ♣ J 5 2 | ||
| ♠ 8 7 3 | ♠ 5 4 | |
| ♥ Q 9 8 | ♥ 10 7 6 4 | |
| ♦ 10 8 7 6 | ♦ K J | |
| ♣ K Q 10 | ♣ A 9 8 6 4 | |
| ♠ A Q J 10 9 2 | ||
| ♥ K J 5 | ||
| ♦ 9 3 | ||
| ♣ 7 3 |
Tip When setting up a long suit, use dummy’s trump entry (or entries) to trump the long suit saving the side suit entry for last. (♠K before the ♥A)