Look after four and try for five

Lord Byron wrote, “I know that two and two make four — and should be glad to prove it too if I could — though I must say if by any sort of process I could convert 2 and 2 into five, it would give me much greater pleasure.”

In this deal, South, playing in four spades, would like to try for five, but not if it puts his contract at risk. What should he do after West begins with the three top hearts, and East follows throughout?

South’s double followed by two spades promised 18-20 points with five or six spades. Suddenly North’s hand was worth game, so he cue-bid three hearts, hoping to hear his partner bid three no-trump. But when South showed delayed diamond support, North did the same in spades, and South passed after mentally shrugging his shoulders. (If that was hard, try getting to four spades if South is the dealer.)

If the spades were 3-3 or the jack were falling doubleton, declarer could have drawn trumps and claimed an overtrick. But since West had jack-fourth, if South had cashed his three tops, he would have been in trouble. He would have shifted to diamonds, but West could have ruffed the third diamond to leave declarer with only nine winners: five spades, two diamonds and two clubs.

Instead, South led a diamond to dummy’s king, then played the spade three to his nine. It lost, but West had no defense. If he had led another heart, declarer would have ruffed with dummy’s 10, played a club to his hand, drawn trumps and claimed. When West tried his second diamond, South won with his queen, removed trumps and had 10 tricks.