BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

WEST plays 4 ♥ . North leads a small spade. How should West plan the play?

THE danger is adverse distribution. the most probable breaks are 3-1 in hearts and 4-3 in diamonds, and the safe way for the contract is to go for diamond ruffs rather than trying to draw trumps.

at trick 2, West should lead a diamond. the defence will win and can take a club trick, thereafter probably switching to a trump.

this must be won in dummy and the ♠ KQ cashed, two diamonds being discarded from the closed hand.

West returns to hand with a club ruff and ruffs a diamond, then another club ruff and another diamond ruff, and all he has to lose is one more trump.

if the defence switches to a trump at trick 3, West will discard a club on the ♠ K, and still get his essential ruffs.

if West makes the mistake of crossing to dummy with the ♥ a at trick 2, in order to discard losers on the ♠ KQ, he will go down unless he is subsequently lucky enough to find a 2-2 trump break.