| Dlr: North | ♠ K Q 10 8 3 | |
| Vul: Both | ♥ J 9 2 | |
| ♦ K Q 6 2 | ||
| ♣ 6 | ||
| ♠ A | ||
| ♥ Q 8 7 6 3 | ||
| ♦ A 9 8 | ||
| ♣ K 8 7 2 |
| West | North | East | South |
| 1♠ | Pass | 2♥ | |
| Pass | 2♠ | Pass | 3NT |
| Pass | 4♥ | All Pass |
Here is one last deal from the 43rd World Bridge Team Championships in Lyon, France, in 2017. Put yourself in the South seat and plan the play in 4♥ after West leads the ♦7.
At one table where this deal occurred in Round 19, declarer played low from dummy and took East’s ♦10 with the ace. At trick two, declarer led a low trump. West rose with the ♥A and exited with the ♥5. East won the trick with the king and got off play with the ♥10 to declarer’s queen. Declarer cashed the ♠A at trick five then crossed to the dummy with a diamond to the king (West threw a club). Next he played the ♠K and ♠Q, throwing two clubs from hand. As the spades did not break, declarer played dummy’s club to his king. West took the ♣A and ♣Q to set the contract. Can you do better?
Solution
There was no hurry to cash the ♠Q. Instead, declarer needed to find out how the spades were breaking without releasing that card. After cashing the ♠K, declarer should have ruffed the ♠8. This would have revealed that West had begun with 5=2=1=5 shape, making it 5-to-3 that the ♣A was on declarer’s left. Declarer should then have played with the odds and cashed his remaining trump, discarding the ♦6 from dummy and reducing everyone to four cards. West would have had to keep two spades and the ♣A Q.
Declarer plays the ♦9 to dummy’s queen and West has to throw a club, probably a fatalistic queen. A club to the king and ace would then have left West on play with the ♠J 9 alone. Declarer would have won the last two tricks with dummy’s ♠Q 10. The full deal:
| Dlr: North | ♠ K Q 10 8 3 | |
| Vul: Both | ♥ J 9 2 | |
| ♦ K Q 6 2 | ||
| ♣ 6 | ||
| ♠ J 9 7 4 2 | ♠ 6 5 | |
| ♥ A 5 | ♥ K 10 4 | |
| ♦ 7 | ♦ J 10 5 4 3 | |
| ♣ A Q 10 5 4 | ♣ J 9 3 | |
| ♠ A | ||
| ♥ Q 8 7 6 3 | ||
| ♦ A 9 8 | ||
| ♣ K 8 7 2 |