Contract Bridge

A tactical maneuver

Declarer sometimes can manufacture a trick that does not exist naturally by forcing the opponents to lead a particular suit. Dozens of card combinations lend themselves well to this type of trick development, and declarer should always be on the lookout for it.

For example, examine the club holding in this deal. If declarer plays the suit first, regardless of whether he leads initially from dummy or his hand, he loses three club tricks against normal defense.

Thus, if South plays a low club to dummy’s jack, East wins with the king and returns the ten to garner three tricks for his side. If South leads the queen instead, West takes his ace and returns a club to produce the same result. The defenders likewise score three club tricks if declarer initiates the suit by playing from dummy first, whether he leads the jack or a low club to the queen.

But if the defenders initiate the suit, they can score only their A-K, and declarer winds up with a club trick. It does not matter whether East or West leads the suit first; declarer simply plays low from the next hand to achieve his goal.

Declarer can put this knowledge to good use on the present hand. South wins the opening heart lead with the king and sees that he has four potential losers — a diamond and three clubs. He then cashes the K-Q of trumps and Q-A of hearts.

Declarer next leads a diamond to the ace, deliberately rejecting the finesse, and exits with the queen. He does not care which defender actually wins the trick, since that player has to return a club or yield a ruff-and-discard, and either way the contract comes home.

Note that if South attempts the diamond finesse at trick six and it loses, a diamond return will force him to initiate the club suit himself, and he will go down one.