From                 2nd August, 2006, Board 2

                                          Difficulty           * * *

                                          Dlr East             N-S Vul
 

North’s 3♦ was preemptive.

North leads the A♦ against your 4♥ contract. 

If trumps are 3-2, you can be sure of 10 easy tricks here.  Four top Hearts, a Diamond ruff, a Spade, and 4 Clubs.  The only realistic chance of an 11^th trick is a second Diamond ruff in Dummy.  But there are entry issues.  For example, if you ruff on the board, cross to the K♥, ruff another Diamond, and cash the A♥, you are faced with the problem of getting back to hand to draw the last trump.  Clearly, you cannot cross on a Spade, that would release 3 winners for the defense. 

The bidding and the opening lead have been most informative, here is what we might reasonably infer:

(a)    Neither opponent has 5 Spades, so they are no doubt divided 4-3

(b)   North has 5+ Diamonds

(c)    North probably does not have a singleton Club, if she did that might well have been her opening lead

(d)   South, for her vulnerable overcall, probably has the missing high cards … K♠, K♦, A♣.

How do you give yourself the best chance of making an overtrick?  What is your sequence of plays?

SOLUTION

It looks as if the enemy Clubs are 2-2, or that South has the singleton Ace.  If that is the case, then it cannot harm to ruff that opening lead on the board and lead a low Club at Trick Two.  If the Clubs are indeed 2-2, then this line of play gives us a much needed entry back to our hand.  South will no doubt jump up with the A♣, and will get out a Club or a Heart … now, communications have been established, and 11 tricks will materialize.  This is the full hand:

Would it have worked to ruff the opening lead, cross to the K♥, ruff another Diamond, cash A♥ and then lead a Club?  Yes, it would … most of the time.  But the danger holding is when South started with 4-4-4-1 distribution … now, after Dummy has ruffed itself out, and Clubs are led, South will win the A♣, continue Diamonds, causing Declarer to lose trump control.  Overtrick?  No, not exactly, this line of play results in down one. 

Playing on Clubs early is the best way to retain control of the hand, giving us a chance to make 11 tricks when things are friendly, while also allowing us to make our contract when there is a 4-1 trump break.

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