Both sides vulnerable. South deals. North S: Void H: K J 9 2 D: K J 4 3 C: Q J 10 8 7 West East S: J 2 S: 9 8 7 5 4 H: A 10 4 H: 7 5 D: 10 8 7 6 D: Q 9 C: A K 9 6 C: 5 4 3 2 South S: A K Q 10 6 3 H: Q 8 6 3 D: A 5 2 C: Void The Bidding: South West North East 1S Pass 2C Pass 2H Pass 4H All Pass Opening lead: CA Duplicate bridge is a game of errors. The essence of the game is to reduce your errors and recognize when the opponents have make a mistake and not let them get away with it. This hand is a fine example. Playing in four hearts, West leads the ace of clubs which is ruffed with the three of hearts. Declarer plays the ace and king of spades, discarding small diamonds from the dummy. When West plays the jack of spades at his second opportunity to play spades, declarer stops leading spades and puts the six of hearts on the table. West plays a small heart and the king in dummy holds this trick. The two of hearts comes back to the queen and the ace. At this point, the best play that West could make would be to play his last heart, but he got out with a diamond. Here is the end position: North S: H: J 9 D: K J C: Q J 10 8 West East S: S: 9 8 7 H: 10 H: D: 10 8 7 6 D: Q 9 C: K 9 6 C: 5 4 3 South S: Q 10 6 3 H: 8 D: A 5 2 C: Void Declarer must take advantage of this error. He wins the king in the dummy and trumps a club with his last heart. A small spade is led. West discards a diamond and a small heart is called for from dummy. The jack of hearts pulls the last outstanding trump while declarer discards a small diamond. Now, a diamond to the ace is the entry for all of the remaining spades. Making six is a tie for top on this hand. Often, when the opponents land in their third suit it is right to lead a trump. Usually, this defensive approach can reduce the number of ruffs available for declarer. ____________________________________________________________________