NEIL HAYWARD BRIDGE

WEST

♠ A K 9 7 6 2 ♥ 76

♦ K76

♣ J T

NORTH

♠8

♥ 9 8 3

♦ 9 5 4

♣ A9 7 5 4 2

EAST

♠ QJ T 5 4 3 ♥ -

♦ QJ T

♣ K Q6 3

SOUTH

♠ -

♥ AK QJ T 5 4 2 ♦ A8 3 2

♣8

Contract: 6♥ by South

Opening Lead: ♠A. What is your plan?

Recommended Line: You can see ten tricks. The club suit will have to be established to provide the extra tricks. It’s easy to achieve this if the defenders’ clubs break 3-3. The greater challenge lies in the more common

4-2 break. In that case, you will have to play five rounds of clubs. That requires four entries to table. Did you ruff with the ♥A at trick one? As is so often the case, to ruff with your smallest trump leads to problems. At trick two, lead a club to ♣A, and ruff a club, using the ♥K. The ♥5 is led to the ♥9, and a club is ruffed, this time with the ♥Q. Next, the ♥4 is led to the ♥8, and a club is ruffed with the ♥J. At last, their clubs are all out of the way. Now comes your moment of glory. You lead your carefully preserved ♥2 to dummy’s ♥3, and cash two winning clubs. *