Test your counting

This week’s deals have treated counting the distribution of the defenders’ hands to help in placing a vital card. To test your counting, cover the East-West cards. Try to make today’s four spades.

West, who bid diamonds, takes the K-A of diamonds, and East follows with the deuce and six. West shifts to the jack of clubs. You finesse with dummy’s queen, and East takes the king and returns a club: eight, ten, ace.

Say you take the A-J of trumps next, and West discards a diamond. When you ruff dummy’s last club, he discards another diamond. You draw the last trump and must pick up the hearts to make your game.

OVERCALL

West had one trump and two clubs and surely had six diamonds for his vulnerable overcall. (If he had five hearts, the bidding — and defense — would have been different.)

Cash the ace of hearts. When East plays the deuce, lead a heart to dummy’s eight. When East shows out, you return to your hand with a high trump and lead a third heart to the jack.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: ♠ J 953 ♥ KJ 84 ♦ 8 7 ♣ A Q 6. The dealer, at your right, opens one club. You pass, the next player raises to two clubs and your partner doubles. The opening bidder passes. What do you say?

ANSWER: Your partner has a good hand to enter the auction between two bidding opponents. You should have an easy game at a major suit. To make sure of finding an adequate trump fit, cue-bid three clubs. When partner bids a major next, raise to game. South dealer Both sides vulnerable