From Board 26, 24th May, 2006 Themes Postponement of Trumps Scrambling Tricks Difficulty * * * Dlr South Both Vul Hands Rotated for Convenience
After the lead-directing Double of the Jacoby Transfer, South’s Redouble showed 3-card support and a good hand.
West leads A♦, then J♦ overtaken by East's Queen. You ruff the third round of Diamonds with the King, West following with a low Diamond. You play the J♥ which holds, then a Heart to the Ten, East pitching a Diamond on the second round.
Even with a trump loser, you can still make this contract if you can guess the location of the Q♠. Plan the play.
SOLUTION
Pardon us, but that Q♠ comment was a complete obfuscation! You don’t need to find the Q♠ at all, you can scramble 10 tricks without a third Spade winner. Cross to the A♠, lead a Spade to the King, cash the AK♣, and ruff a Club. With 8 tricks in the bag and three cards left, you are now in your hand with a Spade loser and the ♥A9 sitting over West's Q8. So, exit with a Spade and claim the last two tricks.
Keys to Success - Realizing that East's Diamond length made the Heart length (and Queen) more likely to be with West - Scrambling 10 tricks rather than trying to guess the location of the Q♠
Postscript It was good technique to play a Spade to the Ace and a second Spade towards Dummy, protecting against West having a singleton in the suit. If that were the case, West cannot gain by ruffing, whereas if the Spades were played in the other order, West could ruff the A♠ and deprive Declarer of his 10th trick.
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