BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. West deals.
NORTH
x 10 8 5 2
u Q 8 3
v A K
w K 10 9 3
WEST EAST
x K 6 x 4 3
u A K 10 7 5 4 u J 9 2
v 6 3 v J 8 4 2
w Q 5 4 w A 8 6 2
SOUTH
x A Q J 9 7
u 6
v Q 10 9 7 5
w J 7
The bidding:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1u Pass 2u 2x
3u 4x Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead: King of u
Sometimes you need no more than a look at dummy to see how you should play or defend a hand. Consider this deal.
After West's one heart opening bid and East's raise, South's distributional hand warranted competing with two spades. Regardless of what West did next, North had enough to raise to four spades.
West led the king of hearts. What should West lead at trick two?
It should be obvious to West that, unless East holds the ace of clubs, there is no chance for the defense. Therefore, West should shift to a low club, and leave declarer to guess whether he is underleading the ace or not.
Suppose instead that West exits safely with a diamond. Let's consider the hand from declarer's point of view. The defenders have banked a heart. If East holds the king of spades, the contract cannot be defeated -- declarer can lose only two clubs to go with the heart already lost. And if West holds the king of spades, East must hold the ace of clubs for his heart raise.
After winning the king of diamonds, declarer leads a trump to the queen and king. Declarer wins the diamond return in dummy, draws the outstanding trumps and then takes the club finesse. When the jack loses to the ace, he can claim 10 tricks.
& copy; 2005 Tribune Media Services