Superman would be a tough opponent

Bridge is difficult because one is operating with incomplete information. If only one had Superman’s X-ray vision, it would be much easier. In today’s deal, West had the key play to make. Defending against three no-trump, he led his singleton heart. South took East’s 10 with the king and played a low club. How should West have analyzed the defense? When one heart came around to North, he had unenviable choices. He did not like the timidity or finality of pass. One no-trump suffered from two flaws: no heart stopper and insufficient points. His actual double ran the risk of ending in a 4-2 diamond fit. South might have doubled two hearts for penalty (and collected 300 with careful defense), but he decided to try for a vulnerable game bonus. West led his heart, and East played the 10, conceding a certain loser as quickly as possible. South saw six top tricks: two spades, one heart (trick one) and three diamonds. Clearly, the clubs had to be established, but without letting East get the lead twice: first to establish his hearts and then to cash them. On the low club lead at trick two, if West had put up his queen, declarer would have ducked in the dummy, so West had to follow suit with his three. Dummy’s king was played, losing to East’s ace. East continued with three rounds of hearts. Now

West should have discarded the club queen, which would have defeated the contract. But he wasn’t willing to part with his only winning card. When West took trick six with the club queen and East followed suit, South claimed.