The Southeast Missourian – Jan 14, 1977
We are indebted to Terence Reese and the Bridge World magazine for today’s hand.
South gets to four spades after 2 a club opening bid by West and a heart response by East. He wins the first trick with the ace of hearts over East’s queen and studies the hand. Obviously the hand is going to collapse if East con get in to lead a club through the king.
Also South must find some way to get rid of a couple of his clubs on dummy’s hearts.
Can he accomplish these two things?
Yes, if he can trade his heart loser for a diamond loser. So South cashes his king of diamonds, leads a diamond to dummy’s ace and returns the 10 of diamonds. East plays low and now South Jettisons his jack of hearts.
West takes his jack of diamonds and can find nothing better to do than play ace and another trump.
South wins in dummy, leads the 10 of hearts, ruffs East’s king, enters dummy with another trump, discards two of his three clubs on the nine and eight of hearts and makes his contract.