DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

This week’s deals have focused on proper timing by declarer. To test yourself, cover the East-West cards. West leads a low heart against your four spades.

Your immediate impulse might be to finesse with dummy’s queen. If so, you need to curb your impulses. If the finesse loses, East will shift to clubs, up to dummy’s weakness. You can take your ace and draw trumps, but when East takes the king of diamonds, the defense will cash two clubs for down one.

Four losers: You have 10 winners: six trumps, a heart, a club and two diamonds. You can go down only if you lose four tricks first.

Take the ace of hearts, draw trumps and let the queen of diamonds ride. East can win, cash the king of hearts and shift to a club, but you win, unblock your jack of diamonds and go to dummy to pitch a losing club on the ace of diamonds.

At matchpoint duplicate, you would have an excuse for finessing in hearts; you might make an overtrick. At IMPs or Chicago scoring, assure your contract.

Daily question

You hold: ♠ Q942 ♥ AQ ♦ A742 ♣ 6 3 2. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one spade, he bids two hearts and you return to three diamonds. Partner next bids three spades. What do you say?

Answer: Your partner has “reversed” and promises a strong hand. Since he has also suggested shortness in clubs, your hands fit together perfectly. Bid six diamonds or cue-bid four hearts. A typical hand for partner will be AK 3, K 1075, K J 1065, A. South dealer

N-S vulnerable