From                   5th July, 2006, Board 9

                                          Theme                Trump Promotion

                                          Difficulty            * * * 

                                          Dlr North           E-W Vul

You lead the A♣, Partner playing the Jack, and Declarer the Three.

It looks as if Declarer has one Diamond and 4 or 5 Clubs, and presumably the A♥.  If that is the case, where are you going to find 4 defensive tricks?

SOLUTION

First of all, it cannot be right to continue Clubs, giving Partner a ruff ... Declarer's Club losers have nowhere to go, so there's no rush.  If Partner has the A♦, the defense has 4 tricks almost regardless of what we do next.  Where's the 5th trick coming from?  If it's a Heart, then again there is no rush, we'll get it eventually.

What's left?  Yes, a Diamond shift, then a Club back.  We'll score our 3 Club tricks, then lead a 4th round ... if Partner is courteous enough to hold the Q♠ (singleton or doubleton), then this defense promotes a trump trick.

Keys to Success

   - Realizing that there's no rush to give Partner a Club ruff

   - Arranging for the trump promotion