BRIDGE One out and two in is good business

When entries are hard to find, it might be best to concede one trick unnecessarily to your opponents.

In today's deal, for example, South is in three no-trump, and West has led a fourth-highest club seven. What should declarer do?

In your partnerships, would South's two-diamond advance be forcing or only invitational? I like forcing, whereas a majority treat it as encouraging but nonforcing. Here, though, North and South pushed on, North hoping that West's opening bid would help to steer his partner's play.

In theory this thought was correct, but declarer played without proper analysis. He called for a low club from the board and won with his nine.

Then he continued with a diamond to the king and a heart to his king and West's ace. A second club ran to declarer's queen. South cashed the diamond ace and played another diamond.

That established winners, but declarer had no hand entry left and went down two.

Declarer has a club winner in his hand, but he needs to keep it on the back burner. He must win the first trick with dummy's club ace, overtake the diamond king with his ace and continue with the diamond jack, driving out West's queen to establish a total of five diamond winners.

Suppose West shifts to a spade. South wins on the board and plays a club to his queen and West's king. After taking the next spade in the dummy, declarer leads a club to his jack and cashes the diamonds. He takes two spades, five diamonds and two clubs.

Watch your entries and your communications.