Too much information to process

“You’ve written that winning players learn from their mistakes,” a club player remarked to me. I nodded.

“I’m not learning much from mine,” he sighed. “I have too much information to process.”

Most errors players commit are basic, such as the failure to set up long-card tricks. At today’s four spades, South won the first club, drew trumps, led a heart to dummy’s ace and returned a heart to his queen. West took the king and led another club, and the defense got a club, a second heart and a diamond. Down one.

Declarer wins 10 tricks with elementary technique. At Trick Two he leads a diamond, starting to establish the suit.

Say West wins and leads another club. South wins, ruffs a diamond and gets to dummy with high trumps to ruff two more diamonds.

South can then draw the last missing trump and go to the ace of hearts to take the good fifth diamond. If trumps or diamonds split badly, South would still have a chance.

This week: setting up a suit.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ KQ ♥ A65 ◆ Q 7642 ♣ A K 3. Both sides vulnerable. The dealer, at your right, opens one heart. What do you say?

ANSWER: This problem is tough. You have 18 points and a five-card suit, but game chances are uncertain; you lack playing tricks. No action is attractive. To double with poor spade support or overcall two diamonds on a ragged suit is unappealing. A 1NT overcall would be the choice of many experts. To pass might be a winning action.