BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

South opened 1 ♣ . North responding 1 ♥ . South then rebid 2Nt, raised to 3Nt by North. West leads the ♠ J, which holds, and follows with another spade to your ♠ Q and declarer’s

♠ K. Declarer leads a heart to dummy’s ♥ K, and follows with a low cub from dummy. Plan the defence. YoU must go up with the ♣ K at once and, if it holds, lead your last spade. It is obvious that South has the ♠ a, and it won’t be possible to prevent him from taking nine tricks unless West has one of the outstanding aces. If it is the ♥ a, your cause is lost, so you cross your fingers and pray he has the ♣ a.

This must be protected, so that you can clear the spade suit before his ♣ a is knocked out. If your ♣ K loses to the ♣ a with South, it was going to do so anyway, so nothing will have been lost.