Contract Bridge

When declarer has a choice of two suits to play, he should favor the one from which he might eventually derive some additional benefit, even if his initial hope meets with disappointment.

Consider this deal where South failed to make four spades. East won the opening heart lead with the ace and returned a heart to South’s king.

Declarer drew two rounds of trump ending in his hand and led a club to the jack, losing to the king. East returned a club to the ace, whereupon South crossed to his hand with a trump, cashed the queen of clubs and led a diamond to the king. When East turned up with the ace, the contract was down one, declarer losing two diamonds, a heart and a club.

While South was unlucky to find both the king of clubs and ace of diamonds offside, he should have made his game. He simply played the wrong suit first.

After drawing trump, declarer should ask himself whether there is any advantage to be derived from playing clubs before diamonds or vice versa. He should reason that if the club finesse loses, he has done nothing to help his cause, but that if the king of diamonds loses to the ace, it might still be possible to establish dummy’s diamonds for club discards.

In the actual deal, if declarer leads a diamond to the king at trick five, the defense is helpless. East wins the trick and can do no better than cash the queen of diamonds and play another diamond, ruffed by South.

When West follows suit to the third diamond, declarer is home free. Dummy’s two remaining diamonds provide a parking place for two of South’s clubs, and the club finesse becomes unnecessary.