Avoid temptation to avoid a lead

Arthur Helps, a 19th-century English author, wrote, “Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought.” If so, might that not be a criticism of the author?

Bridge players need to do card reading, which definitely requires thought. In today’s deal, how should South read the cards in three notrump after West leads his fourthhighest heart six, East puts up the queen, and South wins with his king?

After South opened two notrump, North was right to settle for three no-trump. With no singleton or void and insufficient points for a slam, go for the nine-trick game. Note that in five clubs, the defenders could make declarer guess the heart suit.

South starts with eight top tricks: three spades, one heart (the first trick), three diamonds and one club. Usually in no-trump, declarer plays on the suit where he has the greatest number of cards, which, in this case, would be clubs. However, if South runs the club queen at trick two, East will take the trick and return his heart nine (high from a remaining doubleton). The defenders will win one club and four hearts.

Trick one tells declarer that West has the heart ace, because East was playing third hand high. So, South needs to avoid letting East get on lead while establishing his ninth trick.

Declarer should play a diamond to dummy’s king, then return a diamond to his 10. Agreed, this is not the percentage play for five tricks in the suit, but he needs only four, and he must keep East from winning a trick. Here, South ends with an overtrick.