DAILY BRIDGE CLUB:

This week’s deals have treated proper timing by declarer. To test yourself, cover the East-West cards. Against six spades, West leads the ace and a low trump; East follows.

You have 11 tricks: one club ruff in dummy, five trumps, three diamonds and two hearts. To succeed, you can set up a long card in a red suit. Which do you try?

You want to succeed if either suit breaks 4-2 or 3-3. It looks right to attack the diamonds, the stronger suit, but if you take the queen and ace, East discards. Then you need a 3-3 heart break: Dummy has only one entry left, so you can’t succeed if hearts break 4-2. Down you go.

Start with the A-K and a third heart, ruffing. When West discards a club, you ruff a club, ruff a fourth heart and reach dummy with a diamond for the good fifth heart.

If hearts broke 5-1, you would shift to the Q-A of diamonds. If East-West followed, you could cash the king, ruff a diamond, return to dummy with a club ruff and enjoy the diamond.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ J94 ♥ AK652

◆ AK652 ♣ None. The dealer, at your right, opens one club. What do you say?

ANSWER: One option is a double, but with a twosuited hand, it’s better to start showing your suits, lest competition make it hard to show both. Another option is an “Unusual” 2NT to show length in the two lower-ranking unbid suits, but that bid would suggest a hand with fewer defensive values. Most experts would overcall one heart.