Test your dummy play

THIS week’s deals have focused on the importance of counting your tricks as declarer, a simple but vital task. To test yourself, cover the East-West cards. Against four hearts, West leads the deuce of spades. How do you proceed?

You have six trump tricks, two diamonds and a spade, and you have time to ruff your third club in dummy. When you can count 10 tricks, make sure you take them. Grab the ace of spades and lead a club to your queen. West wins and shifts to a trump. You win, concede a second club, win West’s trump return in your hand and ruff your last club in dummy.

LAST TRUMP

Then you can come to the king of diamonds to draw the last trump and take the ace of diamonds. Making four.

In real life, declarer finessed with dummy’s queen on the first spade, and East won and shifted to a trump. Declarer couldn’t recover. He conceded two clubs, but the defence got to lead trumps twice more, stopping a ruff in dummy, and declarer had no other chance for a 10th trick.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: 7 6 AK J 8 74 K 2 J 7 3. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he bids one spade. What do you say?

ANSWER

A jump to four hearts might work, but if partner has a low singleton heart and good values elsewhere, you might belong at 3NT. A jump to three hearts would be ideal if forcing, but most pairs treat it as invitational. Bid two clubs, the “fourth suit,” merely asking your partner to make another descriptive bid.

South dealer N-S vulnerable Opening lead – ♠2