Do you lose early or late?

This year, I received far more entries for my Christmas Competition than last year even though in 2019 a typo ruined the main question.

There was one perfect entry, from Steven Stein of Larkspur, Calif. The runner-up was Stanley Morris of Amherst, Nova Scotia. Morris also included two senryu, of which I preferred this one: Have a bridge party / Make bids your partner knows well / Praise partner’s good plays.

If your partner made today’s contract, you should congratulate him — or thank him if you were playing for money! How should South plan the play in four spades after West cashes the heart ace and continues with the heart king? Did West have a more successful defense available?

North had an awkward rebid over three diamonds. He hoped that his partner would read him for only two spades, because with three, he would have raised spades immediately. South thought about continuing with four clubs, but game in that strain would have failed if West had started with his two top hearts.

The declarer realized that he had to draw trumps before running the clubs. That would be easy if they were 3-3, but what if they were the more likely 4-2?

South saw the solution. After ruffing the second heart, he led his remaining low spade. Now declarer could ruff a third heart on the board; when instead East played two rounds of diamonds, South won, drew trumps and took the clubs.

To defeat the contract, West had to shift to a diamond at trick two — very tough to find.