If the distribution changes slightly

Kin Hubbard said, “Who remembers when we used to rest on Sunday instead of Monday?” In this column, you get to rest on Sunday. I had further thoughts about last Monday’s deal, realising that if the defenders’ hands changed slightly, declarer would make his four-heart contract in a different way. West leads the diamond five, East wins with the ace and returns the diamond three. What should declarer do? West might have started with a low club. This would have worked perfectly if East had won with his 10 and switched to a low diamond. Last week, the trumps were 3-1, so dummy had none left after declarer had drawn them. He then played spades from the top and got home when the jack dropped. He took four spades and six hearts. Today, though, hearts are 2-2 and spades unfavourable. So, after ruffing at trick two, South cashes the heart ace and plays a heart to the king. When that denudes the defenders, declarer should ruff dummy’s last diamond in his hand. He cashes the spade ace and spade queen, then plays a spade to the king. When West discards a diamond, the contract has become a certainty; South does not need West to hold the club ace. Declarer leads dummy’s spade 10, East covers with the jack, and South discards a club. East is endplayed. If he shifts to a club, dummy’s king takes a trick, and declarer wins three spades, six hearts and one club. Or if East leads his last diamond, South sluffs another club from his hand and ruffs on the board to take three spades and seven hearts.