ANOTHER TRUMP SUIT TO HANDLE CORRECTLY

Edith Summerskill, who was a British physician and member of Parliament, said in a speech to the Married Women’s Association, “Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths.”

I try not to sound like I am nagging my students, but I do constantly stress counting, especially at trick one. Now it’s your turn. Last week, I gave six deals in which it was important for declarer to maximize his trump tricks. Almost immediately afterward, I saw this deal, which features one of those themes. How should South play in four hearts? West leads the diamond queen, and the defenders take three tricks in the suit, ending with East’s ace. East shifts to the spade four. Try not to peek at the East-West cards.

North should have raised to three no-trump. Don’t use Stayman with a strong doubleton.

With the opponents having their book (all the tricks declarer can afford to lose), he must play the trump suit without loss.

This is the correct approach: Win trick four with dummy’s spade queen, then call for a low heart. Declarer does this to accommodate a singleton king in the East hand. (If that is the position and South starts with dummy’s 10, West scores a trick with the heart nine.) When East plays low, declarer puts in his queen. After it wins, South crosses to dummy with a club. Now is the time for the heart 10, which here East will presumably cover. Declarer wins with his ace, noting West’s discard. Back to dummy with another club, South plays a heart to his eight, draws the last trump and claims.