Contract Bridge

Let’s say you’re declarer at three notrump in today’s hand and West leads a spade. You count six quick tricks and can surely score a diamond for a seventh trick. The question is how to get the two additional tricks you need for your contract.

Obviously, the diamond suit is a more promising source of tricks than the heart suit, since the diamonds are longer and stronger, so let’s say that after taking the queen of spades you lead a diamond to dummy’s queen.

All will be well if East cooperatively takes the ace. Regardless of what he returns, you can then establish the diamonds, losing a trick to East’s jack along the way, and so make your game.

The trouble with this line of play is that East may not take the ace of diamonds when you play the queen from dummy. If that happens, the best you can possibly do is hold yourself to down one.

The way to prevent this is to lead a diamond at trick two and, regardless of what West plays, follow low from dummy instead of playing the queen! In the actual deal, East would win with the nine, but the defense could not then stop you from scoring nine tricks.

You must assume from the outset that the diamonds are divided 3-2. Once this is granted, the contract is virtually assured regardless of where the ace is located, provided the king or queen is not played at the first opportunity.

It is true that this method of play will cost you a trick if it turns out that West has the ace. However, that trick is relatively unimportant because it affects only the question of making three or four notrump, whereas if East has the ace, it affects the much more vital question of making the contract or going down.

Making the contract is always the primary consideration.