Both vulnerable. South deals.

Both vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x Q J 10
u 8 7 2
v A 6 4 3
w A J 3
WEST EAST
x 8 4 x 9 7 3
u J 9 5 u K Q 6 3
v K 10 9 2 v Q J 7 5
w 9 7 5 4 w 10 8
SOUTH
x A K 6 5 2
u A 10 4
v 8
w K Q 6 2
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
1x Pass 1NT Pass
2w Pass 3x Pass
4u Pass 5w Pass
6x Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Four of x
We are creatures of habit. When trying to win extra tricks via ruffs, we look to find them in the hand with the shorter trumps, and tend to overlook the possibility of a dummy reversal, where you treat the hand on the table as the master hand. This deal is an object lesson.
North-South were playing five-card majors with forcing no-trump responses. Hence North's first two bids described a hand with the strength for a limit-raise in spades (10-12 points but only three-card support). When, after South's heart cue-bid, North showed first-round club control, South elected to contract for 12 tricks.
West led a passive trump and declarer saw that the problem was to avoid losing two heart tricks. Since there was no way to safely discard one from the North hand without exhausting North's trumps. South had to search for an alternative line, and dummy's strong trump holding suggested a dummy reversal. That would work if spades were 3-2.
Declarer won the first trick in dummy, cashed the ace of diamonds and ruffed a diamond in hand. When both defenders followed to the next trump, won in dummy, declarer ruffed another diamond with the king of trumps and, using the jack of clubs as an entry, trumped the remaining diamond with the ace. A club to the ace provided the entry to draw the remaining trump, and declarer scored 12 tricks -- three trumps in dummy, one heart, one diamond, three diamond ruffs in hand and four clubs.
& copy; 2005 Tribune Media Services
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