5th WORLD JUNIOR CAMP Vargesztes, Hungary July 2003
We shall be discussing Mari Ryman’s themes, of how to become a better player, and how to help your partner to do so too in next articles. But in addition to sound psychological advice, Mari’s lectures feature a number of testing declarer play and defensive problems. Can you find your way home on the three deals set out below:
Answers
1. This is a classic example of using technique – on this occasion, a dummy reversal. Win the heart, play the 
2 to the 8 and ruff a heart high. Then cross back to dummy’s 10, if both opponents follow ruff another heart – if trumps are 4-1 you will have to rely on the spade finesse. Once you ruff a second heart you can cross to the 
A, ruff a third heart, then go back to the 
A to draw the last trump pitching your spade, and take the last four tricks with your high diamonds.
2. This hand is all about foresight.You can guarantee four diamond tricks for your side by leading up to the J-10 twice. Even if diamonds are 5-0 West can do no good by taking his Q prematurely, and if East has all five diamonds you have a simple finesse against his nine. So you win the first heart in hand with the 
K lead a diamond to the J as East discards, come back to hand with a club and play a diamond – and West takes his Q and plays a club, screwing up your entries. To avoid this problem, win trick one with the Q, come to hand with a club, and lead a diamond up.When the J scores cross back to hand with a club, and play a diamond up again. West can win as before, but now if he leads a heart you win in dummy, unblock the diamonds, and cross to the K to run the diamonds, pitching spades away, and claim the rest.
3. Unlike the first two deals this is a combination of deception and technique.Your only danger on the hand is that all three red-suit honours are missplaced.Your best play is almost certainly to win the spade lead, and try a low heart out of your hand unless West has shown heart length in the auction. West (unless he is a mind-reader) will play low, whatever his hearts are. Now you draw trumps and lead a heart to the ace and another heart. Even if West wins and gets off play with a diamond, East will be endplayed for sure on winning. Note that if East wins the K you can draw trumps and strip off the hand at your leisure and endplay him in diamonds.