Bridge Column for July 3, 1994 North-South vulnerable. West deals. NORTH S: A Q 10 9 H: 10 9 5 4 D: K 6 3 C: K 5 WEST EAST S: ? 5 4 S: ? 7 6 H: 7 3 H: J 8 6 2 D: A J 10 8 7 D: 9 2 C: ? 9 7 C: ? 6 4 3 SOUTH S: J 3 2 H: A K Q D: Q 5 4 C: Q J 8 2 WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2C Pass 2D Pass 3NT (All Pass) This hand came up at a rubber bridge game and provides an interesting point in the play of the hand at no trump. Many players will open the North hand. I tend to agree that it is correct to pass in second seat. South has a choice of opening bids and either one club or one no trump would be acceptable. In any event, the combined holding is certainly enough for the no trump game. West opened the jack of diamonds and South took some time to count winners. There are actually only four top winners, three hearts and one spade. The rest of the requisite tricks must be developed. The first problem is how to deal with the opening lead. The jack of diamonds could be the top of a three or four card suit, but against the auction shown, it is more likely that this is the top of an interior sequence. A small diamond is played from dummy. East contributes the deuce and declarer wins the queen. The second problem, and certainly the most important, is for declarer to work out which black suit to play first to give him the best chance of making the contract. As far as declarer is concerned, the most important cards in this deal are the king of spades and the ace of clubs. You will note that the position of these cards is not shown in the diagram of the hand. What thought process should you go through to make your decision regarding which suit to attack at trick two? You must assume that your analysis of the diamond position is correct, and that the king is a second stopper. You know that hearts will provide sufficient entries to allow you to lead toward the North hand. From the bidding, it is likely that West does not have both the king of spades and the ace of clubs. If East has these cards, and diamonds are 5-2, as shown, West will not be able to cash the long diamonds. If diamonds are 4-3, East will be able to lead diamonds twice for West, but the defense will win only one spade, one club, and two diamonds. If West has the king of spades, it is not an entry, since you will finesse him for it. Therefore, the only layout that declarer must be wary of is this: NORTH S: A Q 10 9 H: 10 9 5 4 D: K 6 3 C: K 5 WEST EAST S: 8 5 4 S: K 7 6 H: 7 3 H: J 8 6 2 D: A J 10 8 7 D: 9 2 C: A 9 7 C: 10 6 4 3 SOUTH S: J 3 2 H: A K Q D: Q 5 4 C: Q J 8 2 This was, in fact, the actual distribution of the cards. To be successful, declarer must play a club at trick two. West ducks the first club and North wins the king. Another club is led to the jack. If West ducks, declarer can revert to the spade finesse. West will not duck, but will win the ace and play the ten of diamonds. Declarer plays the king from dummy and breathes a sigh of relief when East does not produce the ace. A heart to the ace provides the entry for the spade finesse. East wins the king but can no longer play diamonds. Declarer is able to win any return and makes the contract plus an overtrick. If you started by taking the spade finesse, all would be well if it worked. When it fails, East leads a diamond to knock out your second stopper before you can establish your ninth trick. This situation comes up often. Deciding which finesse to take or not take is a major hurdle for most declarers. Studying hands like this will help you be prepared to make the right choice.