The race often goes to the most careful

Gertrude Stein, in “Everybody’s Autobiography,” wrote, “Everybody knows if you are too careful, you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something.”

Not good bridge players. They are successful because they think carefully before plunging forward at trick one.

In today’s deal, how should South play in three hearts after West leads the diamond queen, and East follows suit with the king?

After an intervening weak jump overcall, responder, with support for his partner’s major, bids one level higher than he would have done without the intervention. So, here, three hearts indicated the values for a single raise. With a game-invitational hand, he would have jumped to four hearts. And with game-forcing values, he would have cue-bid four diamonds.

The careless declarer will win the first trick and play a trump. East will take the trick and return his remaining diamond. West will shift to the spade queen, which establishes five tricks for the defenders: two spades, one heart, one diamond and one club.

The careful declarer immediately leads the club jack (or queen) from his hand. If West ducks, declarer loses only one spade, two hearts and one club. If West wins with his king, cashes the diamond jack and switches to the spade queen, South wins on the board and takes his two clubs honors, discarding a spade from the dummy. Then he loses only one trick in each suit.

Did you notice that if South plays the ace and another club, West can immediately shift to the spade queen and strand declarer in the dummy?