Don’t be distracted in the suit led

Bernice King, the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr., said, “Refuse to be disheartened, discouraged, distracted from your goals in life.”

When you are declarer at the bridge table, you know your goal. However, sometimes when the dummy appears, you see that partner has overbid again and pushed you into a contract that seems impossible. Do not be immediately disheartened; try to find a chance to succeed.

In today’s deal, how should South play in four spades after two rounds of trumps with both defenders following suit?

East had an automatic balancing takeout double, but he was nervous when his opponents suddenly bid a vulnerable game.

Since East probably has the heart king, South hopes to take five spades, two hearts, two clubs and either one diamond or a heart ruff on the board. But how can declarer get to the board?

South must not be distracted at the beginning; he has to keep the spade six in his hand, so that dummy’s seven becomes an entry. But it cannot be used immediately. Instead, declarer has to cash his top clubs, then run the diamond jack. What does East do after winning with his queen?

If he leads his last club, South should discard his second diamond in case East started with four clubs. But here declarer could ruff high, enter dummy with the spade seven and cash the rest of the clubs. Or, if East cashes the diamond ace, it establishes dummy’s king. Or, if East shifts to a heart, South wins with his queen, cashes the heart ace and ruffs his last heart on the board.