From                   1st April, 2009, Board 7

                                          Difficulty            * * *

                                          Hands Rotated for Convenience

West leads the ♦4.

You can count one or two losers in the trump suit (or even three on a very bad day).  The only other losers are in Spades … if West has ♠KQ there will be only one Spade loser, otherwise it looks like two losers in the suit.

Assuming a lucky Heart situation, what’s the best line for 11 tricks?

SOLUTION

It’s too bad that West found the passive Diamond lead, if he had broken the Spade suit instead, and if the Spade honors were split, then that would hold the Spade losers to one.  Not to worry, perhaps the defense can be forced to break the Spade suit anyway.  This is a perfect set-up for an elimination play.

Win the Diamond in hand with the Ace, cash the ♥A, play ♣K, ♣A, ruff a Club, cash ♦K and ♦Q.  Now, with the minor suits eliminated, exit with a Heart.  As it happens Hearts are 2-2, and whichever defender wins the second Heart (actually it’s East) will be forced to:

-         Either break the Spade suit

-         Or concede a ruff and sluff.

Whichever it is, there will be just one Spade loser and one Heart loser.  Making 11 tricks.

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