East-West vulnerable. West deals.

East-West vulnerable. West deals.
NORTH
x A 10 6 3
u A 7
v Q 5
w A 9 6 4 2
WEST EAST
x Q 7 x 9 4
u K J 10 3 u Q 8 6 4 2
v A K J 9 2 v 8 7 4 3
w Q 8 w J 10
SOUTH
x K J 8 5 2
u 9 5
v 10 6
w K 7 5 3
The bidding:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1vDbl Pass 2x
Pass 4x Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead: King of v
Vigorous competition suggests distributional holdings. Does South have to guess which defender holds the queen of spades and elect to take a finesse?
North has a tough choice to make after West opens the bidding. Pass or a two-club overcall are possibilities; a takeout double suffers from the fact that a two-heart response could place the contract in potentially the worst spot. Nevertheless, the latter was North's choice and it worked out well
West led the king of diamonds, cashed the ace and then shifted to a heart. With West probably showing length in the red suits, chances were good that the defender held only one spade. Should declarer plan to finesse East for the trump queen?
That would be an almost certain losing position. South has already lost two tricks, and cannot afford to lose the lead. If he had to concede a club, the defenders would cash the heart trick they have established to defeat the contract. So clubs must divide 2-2. The bidding marks West with four hearts, since East would surely have bid with a six-card or longer suit and West would have opened one heart with five cards in the suit. That would give West 11 cards in the three plain suits, and hence only two spades. Play for the drop. Cash the ace and king of spades and claim the contract with an overtrick.
& copy; 2005 Tribune Media Services
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