Daily Bridge Club

Test your dummy play

This week’s deals have treated the technique of combining chances as declarer. To test yourself, look at the North-South cards. Choose your approach at four hearts when West leads a trump.

In real life, South didn’t give himself the best chance. He drew trumps, took the A-K of diamonds and led a third diamond, hoping for a 3-3 break. He got that, but when East won and led the queen of spades, South lost three spades for down one.

LAST DIAMOND

South should start by winning the first trump with dummy’s ten and finessing with his jack of clubs. West takes the queen and leads another trump, and South wins in his hand and takes the ace of clubs and A-K of diamonds. He discards his last diamond on the king of clubs and ruffs a diamond.

When the diamonds break evenly, South can return a trump to dummy and pitch a spade on the 13th diamond. He loses two spades and a club.

By the way, if you think 3NT would have been a safer spot, I agree. North might have raised 2NT to 3NT.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ 973 ♥ A 10 6 ♦ AK 6 2 ♣ K 6 4. You open one diamond, and your partner responds one heart. What do you say?

ANSWER: This is a basic situation but troublesome. I advocate raising a major-suit response with three-card support in an otherwise suitable hand, but this hand has no ruffing potential. A bid of 1NT with no strength in spades is unattractive and might wrong-side a notrump contract, but that is the action I would choose. South dealer N-S vulnerable