Board 07

Board 07

♠ K 9 7 6
♥ A 9 6
♦ A 4 3
♣ Q 5 2
♠ 10 5
♥ 8 5 2
♦ 10 6 2
♣ A K 9 8 4
N
W   E
 
S
♠ A J 4 3
♥ 10 4 3
♦ J 8 7
♣ 10 7 6
♠ Q 8 2
♥ K Q J 7
♦ K Q 9 5
♣ J 3

Dealer:

South

Vuln:

All

W N E S
1NT
Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥
Pass 3NT End

Contract:

3NT by South

Lead:

♣8

We play low from dummy on the first trick, and East's ten is covered by our jack.

This is not very nice. West's ♣8 lead is ominous – it may well be a 5-card suit. So, we cannot afford to set up a spade trick, and will have to rely on the red suits. We should take four hearts first and hope that opponents discard a long diamond, or that diamonds are 3-3.

We want to win the third round of hearts in hand, so we must play ♥A on the first or second round. We should count any diamond discards. Then we start on the diamonds. Again, we want to win the third round in hand, so must play ♦A before that point.

We are lucky – the diamonds are 3-3, and we make our fourth diamond for nine tricks.