Timing is Everything

West	North	East	South
			2♣
Pass	2♦	Pass	2♥
Pass	2♠	Pass	2NT
Pass	3♥	Pass	4NT
Pass	5♦	Pass	6♥
All Pass

Partner’s “thoughtful” 3♥ bid has led to a dubious venture. How do you plan to keep him happy when West leads the♥7?

Solution

Assuming the trumps are 3-2, you have 10 winners along with some severe entry problems. You have to hope the full deal is similar to this:

The first move should be to rise with dummy’s king of trumps. The second is to take the diamond finesse. When that holds you are almost home. Cash the ♠A and ♦A, then ruff a diamond. After discarding the ♣2 on the ♠K, cross to hand with the ♣A (you didn’t take the club finesse did you?) and draw the trumps. All you lose is a club.

Now is the time to thank partner for his “helpful” 3♦ bid – after all, you would never have driven to a heart slam without it!