From                  August 29th, 2007, Board 14

                                          Theme               Deadly Shifts

                                          Difficulty           * * *

                                          Dlr East             None Vul

♠ 4 ♥ QT85 ♦ JT932 ♣ AQ6	North West             East         Dummy
	♠ T9532 ♥ A92 ♦ 8 ♣ K982
West    North   East     South                         Pass    Pass Pass    1♠        2♦        4♦ Pass    4♠        Pass    Pass Pass

You might well have bid 5♦ here, so in the circumstances you had better make sure that you beat their 4♠ contract.  Partner leads the K♦, won by Declarer’s Ace.  A Diamond is ruffed in Dummy, then a Spade to the Ace, Partner playing the Jack.  Next comes the  Club Seven to Dummy’s Nine and your Queen, Partner playing the Five.

You are on lead, how do you justify your shyness in the auction?

SOLUTION

We clearly cannot return a Diamond, that would concede a ruff and sluff.  It cannot be right to continue Clubs, that only leaves Hearts.  So we shift to a Heart.  But which one?  If Declarer has the K♥ it really doesn’t matter which Heart we lead, so let’s give Partner that card, otherwise our situation is hopeless.  Conversely, if Partner has the J♥, again it doesn’t matter, all roads lead to the same destination.

The critical case occurs when Declarer has the Jack, and Partner has the King.  Suppose that this is the situation, and that we lead a low Heart.  Declarer will play low, forcing East’s King which is taken by Dummy’s Ace.  Now, a Heart towards Dummy’s Jack holds Declarer’s trump losers to just one.

What’s the solution?  We must return the Ten of Hearts, not a low one!  Now the defense gets two Heart tricks whatever Declarer does.  Here’s the whole deal.

	♠ AKQ876 ♥ J43 ♦ A5 ♣ 74
♠ 4 ♥ QT85 ♦ JT932 ♣ AQ6	North    West           East          Dummy	♠ J ♥ K76 ♦ KQ764 ♣ JT53
	♠ T9532 ♥ A92 ♦ 8 ♣ K982

Was it obvious to return the Ten?  Well, it’s one of those plays that comes as something of a surprise the first time you see it, but when you give it some thought it makes sense.  The key to the play is that the Ten and Eight “surround” Dummy’s Nine.  Here is another surrounding play:

                                                Declarer

                                                Q87

                        West                                        East

                        KJ9                                         A432

                                                Dummy

                                                T65

Keys to Success

   - Realizing that the shift to the T♥ cannot cost and may lead to a lovely "surrounding play"