From 25th October, 2006, Board 12 Theme Safety Play Difficulty * * * Dlr North E-W Vul Hands Rotated for Convenience
Perhaps Partner should have made a sporting Double of 3♥, that contract looks likely to go down one or two. But here you are, laboring in 3♠ instead. West leads the A♥ and shifts to the T♠. Where are your 9 tricks coming from?
You don't have the entries back to the Dummy to get two Heart ruffs, and draw trumps and retain trump control as you set up the Clubs. So, it looks as if you'll have to make do with just one Heart ruff, meaning that you'll need 3 Clubs and a Diamond trick if you are to get up to 9 tricks. What is your sequence of plays?
SOLUTION
The best line appears to be to win the trump switch on the board with the Queen, and lead a Diamond towards our hand. As it happens, East will pop with the Ace, and revert to trumps (West following), won in hand with the Ace. Now, the last trump is drawn, East pitching a Diamond. How to play the Clubs? If they are 3-2 it does not matter much, but suppose that the are 4-1. The way to avoid two losers in that case is to guess the opponent with the long Clubs, and that would no doubt be East. West started with 8 cards in the majors, and East with just 5. It's hardly likely East started life with 7 Diamonds, so East is the only opponent who can have 4 Clubs. So, after drawing trumps, you lay down the A♣, and lead a Club towards your hand. If East plays low, you'll take the safety play of finessing the Ten.
Keys to Success - Counting the enemy's major suit distribution - Safety playing the Clubs, based on that information.
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