PLAY THE CARD KNOWN TO BE HELD

We have been studying declarer's problems at trick one. Another critical factor is playing the right card. The simplest rule to remember is for declarer to win -- or try to win -- a trick in his hand with the top of touching cards. The most common exception occurs in a no-trump contract when declarer has the ace-king in hand; then, he should win trick one with the king.

This deal features another example of playing the right card. Against South's six-spade contract, West leads the heart queen: two, ace, ... ? What should declarer do?

The bidding was short and spectacular. After two passes, East decided that it was unlikely his side had a slam. So, in the hope of silencing the opponents, he opened four hearts. South, though, had one of the strongest hands ever. Seeing 12 tricks, he jumped to six spades. (As a side issue, note that most tournament players do not treat a four-no-trump overcall as Blackwood, asking for aces. The bid shows a big minor two-suiter, a version of the Unusual Notrump.)

The secret is to play the card you are known to hold. Here, if West had the king and queen of hearts, he would have led the king, the top of touching honors. So, East knows that South started with the heart king. He must play that card immediately, with no hesitation.

Now East might try to cash the diamond ace. He shouldn't, because presumably South wouldn't have jumped to six off two cashing aces. However, he might. But if declarer plays the heart jack at trick one, even a soporific East will find the right return of a heart.