Another deal for a timely loss

Jean de La Fontaine, a 17th-century French poet, wrote, “To win a race, the swiftness of a dart / Availeth not without a timely start.”

To make a contract, the swiftness of a line of play availeth not without careful forethought.

In this strange deal, South has one of the strongest hands you will ever see, and North has almost the weakest hand possible. South understandably drove into six spades. What should he have done after West led the heart king?

North’s three-club rebid was a double negative, warning of a very weak hand, typically 0-3 points. South tried to find a minor-suit fit before jumping to six spades. North put down his hand with a feeling of foreboding and an “I tried to warn you” comment.

Declarer had only 11 winners: five spades, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs. His first thought was that he needed diamonds to split 3-3; but then he realized that he had a second chance if he played the cards in a timely fashion.

South won with his heart ace, drew one round of trumps, then made the key play of leading a low diamond from his hand.

East took the trick and returned a heart, but South ruffed, cashed one more trump, then played off his diamond ace-king. If the suit had divided 3-3, declarer would have drawn the missing trump and claimed. Here, though, when East could not ruff, declarer trumped his last diamond on the board, ruffed a club in his hand, removed West’s final trump and claimed.