BRIDGE

A safety play is a play made by declarer to guard against a bad break in a key suit. It often involves deliberately conceding a trick that might not have to be lost in order to guarantee the contract.

There are dozens of card combinations that lend themselves to a safety play, but the determining factor in whether or not one is called for is dictated by the particular circumstances of each deal.

For example, take this case where West started by cashing the K-Q of clubs. He could have made life more difficult for declarer by continuing with a club, but he shifted to the 10 of hearts instead.

South put up dummy’s ace and cashed the spade ace, felling West’s jack. Had the contract been five spades, declarer would have had no choice but to play the king next, hoping West had started with the doubleton Q-J.

But South could afford to lose a trump trick and still make his contract, so he decided to guard against the possibility that East had started with the Q-9-4-2 of spades. If East actually had this holding, cashing the king of spades would establish two trump tricks for East.

South therefore led a low spade to dummy’s ten at trick five, retaining the K-8-6 in his hand. East took the ten with the queen and returned a club, yielding a harmless ruff-and-discard, but declarer was in full control. He ruffed with the six, crossed to dummy’s queen of hearts and led a spade through East’s 9-4 to the K-8 to secure the contract.

It is true that if West had held the doubleton Q-J of spades, South’s method of play would have cost him a trick. But overtricks are of minor importance when declarer’s primary concern -- the contract -- is in jeopardy.