BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

You are on play as South in 4 ♥ , and require four of the remaining five tricks for your contract. ReadeRs frequently tell me that their main difficulty in solving these little problems is in visualising the end position. Unfortunately, that will always be the case until one gets the hang of counting the opponents’ hands accurately, and noting the significance of the smaller cards. don’t worry, it is very, very difficult, and less than 5 per cent of players in the country can do it!

When you now play ♥ 4, you are going to squeeze both opponents in two suits — a double squeeze. West must discard a diamond or bare his ♠ a, which will be knocked out to promote your ♠ 10; therefore east must keep diamonds guarded, and so discards a spade (as does dummy). Next comes ♦ aK before playing dummy’s last spade, which puts West on lead to concede his ♠ 6 to your ♠ 7!